"Meow?" Miraj voiced beside Sylvester's ears as if asking him what to do next.
Sylvester closely watched what was happening to the money. A few people walked around with trolleys, placing or collecting coins on the table. Intrigued, Sylvester decided to follow them and see where they were heading.
'What are they doing? Is this a normal night in the vaults or something special?' Sylvester wondered silently.
"Chonky, I need you to go and follow that cart. Find out if it leads to a larger vault. If it does, then come back and guide me there. But if it doesn't, search for any other vaults. But never enter any of the vaults—they likely have strong protective measures in place." Sylvester ordered Miraj, his most trusted partner in crime.
"Aye, Aye!" Miraj wasted no time and flew into the air before landing on the trolley. It was being pushed by a woman dressed similarly to the other workers there. It was definitely some sort of an organized workgroup and not a simple one-night operation.
Soon, Miraj disappeared from view, and Sylvester silently awaited. He used his heightened senses to ensure no one approached him too closely. His main concern was the Grand Wizards guarding the place, and if they decided to make their rounds, it could spell trouble.
Woosh!
"Maxy!" Miraj came flying like a rocket and perched on Sylvester's head. "They are taking a lot of money out. I heard them talking…they said it was the biggest purchase the Empire ever made."
"A purchase? What kind of purchase?" Sylvester grew even more troubled. What could be so incredibly expensive?
"Any clue what it is?" Sylvester asked. "Did you notice anything out of the ordinary? Someone new, weird, or any strange words?"
Miraj mumbled under his breath, his eyes clenched in deep thought. "Hmm…I think…Ummm…I only saw a very pale man with tiny eyes, and…he said, Queen Mother…That's it."
"Warsong?!" Sylvester suddenly recalled the name of the Kingdom situated south of Masan, which had been at war with Masan for over a century. The ruler of that Kingdom was a young boy, and his mother ruled as the Regent, who had taken a liking to the title of Queen Mother.
"Buying peace with money?" Sylvester wondered. "Masan couldn't defeat Warsong in over a hundred years."
As he pondered, he remembered the scene from the Emperor's court. "That man I suspected of being the Shadow of Masan had red sand from Warsong on him. So then...do they intend to establish peace in their own territory before attempting to attack the East?"
"Maxy, isn't Warsong good? They sent that nig—"
"It's Ninja!" Sylvester corrected him. "Yes, they sent that Ninja. Technically, Warsong survived this long because the Church had been fighting a proxy war with Masan by sending supplies to Warsong. But now, with the Church preoccupied with Beastaria and the East weakened, it's in their best interest to make a deal… But this isn't in my best interest."
"Then we steal?"
"Yes." Sylvester fixed his gaze firmly on the gold. "Tonight, we sabotage Masan's peace plan. With no money, not only will the peace deal crumble, but the internal economy of Masan will also implode…Allowing the Church to appear as a savior, spending gold on the people."
But the issue was how they were going to do it. The money wasn't concentrated in one place but spread throughout the expansive hall. Some of it was in multiple vaults as well, and it was going to be a challenge to retrieve it quickly. Not only that, if Miraj was to vanish it, it would be quickly noticed.
A minute passed, and Sylvester was busy coming up with a plan. He had a wide range of abilities, and along with Elder magic, he had a plethora of options at his disposal. But, at the moment, he could only think of one ability to use, but it was still in the experimental stage.
"Chonky, I'm going out. I need you to keep your mouth open the entire time." Sylvester made up his mind. "The money will automatically enter your mouth."
"What about the people?" Miraj asked.
"I'll take care of that," Sylvester replied, changing the look of his clothes to blend in with the crowd. Then he altered his face a bit to avoid being remembered by anyone.
Then, he took a deep breath and walked out of the corner. A few glances from the workers fell on him, and confusion was evident. However, they refrained from raising any alarms as Sylvester silently walked away, looking like one of them.
The tables were set in long rows and columns with ample space to walk between them. Each table had two trollies beside it, one containing the money to be counted and the other meant for the counted money to be placed.
Most of them were gold coins, with a few silver and even fewer bronze ones. The total value was also unknown, considering the vastness of the Empire.
"Chonky, get ready." Sylvester soon arrived somewhere in the middle of the rows and columns of workers. He closed his eyes there after stopping and raised his arms sideways, displaying his palms in each direction.
'This was always the intended goal for Metal Manipulation...Don't fail me now…Sylvester,' he told himself.
"What's happening to the lights?!"
Immediately after Sylvester raised his palms, the light crystals on the ceiling started to flicker. The men and women working nearby grew annoyed and sensed that something was wrong. Finally, their eyes rested on Sylvester.
"Why are you standing like that?"
"Who are you? Which sector?"
Not only did the lights flicker faster, but the range of the effect also began to expand, eventually taking over the whole underground hall. Work came to a halt in response to the darkness taking over.
Bzzz…!
Amidst that darkness, a strange, short burst of lightning appeared on Sylvester's raised palms. However, they didn't grow bigger or touch anyone, for creating lightning wasn't his intention.
Thud!
"Kayleen!" A man suddenly shouted as the woman working on the table beside him fell to the ground, eyes closed, unconscious.
Thud!
Thud!
As if a ripple spread out with Sylvester in the middle, every man and woman began to fall to the floor similarly. Like dominos, the effect spread out, eventually reaching the far end of the hall.
Sylvester's breathing turned heavy, and he finally opened his eyes to look around. The lights were immediately restored, but his breathing remained strained. "Aah…Good…It worked!"
"What worked?" Miraj asked, confused.
"Sweet Magnetism Manipulation!" Sylvester revealed, but it was not the time to discuss his ability. "Keep your mouth open, Chonky. I'll use metal manipulation to fly all the gold here into your belly. Then we rush to the vaults!"
Finally, Sylvester started swinging his arms like the conductor of an orchestra. Like a stream of water, the gold began to fly into Miraj's mouth. Sylvester didn't leave silver and bronze coins either; he made them join the stream of metal.
Miraj was like a giant drinking the ocean. Everything vanished into his abyss called mouth the moment it touched his jaw.
The speed was rapid, and within three minutes, Sylvester stole all of the money that was there. So he wasted no time and picked Miraj up before heading towards the vaults. There were also a few workers, but they were on the ground with closed eyes.
Since the money was being transferred, the vaults were left open, making it easier for Sylvester to carry out his plan. It was even more delightful as the vaults were not only filled with coins but also diamonds, precious stones, gold statues adorned with precious stones, art, and much more.
Woosh!
A storm sucked everything away into Miraj's dimensional belly. One vault, then two, and eventually, they emptied all five of the colossal spaces. But by the end, thirty minutes had passed, and the shifts had changed.
"How do we escape, Maxy?" Miraj asked after the tiring day of work. "Do we fight?"
Sylvester smirked as he approached the stairs that led to the surface. As per his knowledge, a Grand Wizard was supposed to be sitting there.
"We won't fight, Chonky…We'll make them move." Sylvester schemingly smiled and shut his eyes, preparing to use the Solarium Web to contact Aurora, who was also in the city for some 'official' business.
Since she was nearby, he quickly spoke with her. "I'm done here... Do it."
"Understood."
It was a brief exchange but held profound meaning behind it.
Sylvester raised his hand and showed Miraj the countdown with his fingers, starting from five. Eventually, the last finger closed, and time ran out.
Boom!
At that instant, a resounding blast came from outside the castle. The effect was such that the whole castle began to shake and scare all the soldiers outside. Following the blast were more noises of some nearby buildings turning into rubble.
Boom!
But then, another blast resounded, and one more nearby castle fell apart like a house of cards. It was impossible not to react, as nobody ever expected that to happen in the most protected city.
"Run! Run for your life!" The soldiers panicked and ran around.
Sylvester, from underground, kept watching the reaction of the Grand Wizard sitting outside. From the looks of it, the man seemed uninterested in the mayhem.
Boom!
But then another blast came, and this time the Grand Wizard stood up with a frown and raced to the exit. After all, the latest explosion sounded too close.
"This is it!" Sylvester found a small window of opportunity and jumped out of the underground stairway's door. He changed his disguise to match the soldiers and hurriedly left the building grounds. This time it was easy since all minds were occupied with looking at the rubble of the building.
Once outside, without stopping, he ran towards the royal castle to find his usual refuge. He had the confidence that nobody, even in their wildest dream, could imagine how that much gold could be stolen in a single night, especially without many thieves.
So, Sylvester knew he was well in the clear for the time being. And that made the night feel quite fruitful. Once again, he had proved that it didn't take an army or a bloody battle to destroy a Kingdom or an Empire.
Woosh!
Thud!
Some more buildings had exploded in his way as Aurora activated the blasts she had placed before. The heist he completed required a lot of planning, studying routes, guard posts, and their jurisdictions. They had even prepared detonations for an escape route in case they were caught.
"That was fast!" Aurora met Sylvester halfway. "How much were you able to take?"
Sylvester smirked boastfully.
"Everything! Their gold, their economy, and—their peace!"
"..."
Thank you for reading. GT votes are much appreciated.
