From Trash to Villain Master of Card: With Harem of Evil women-Chapter 70: Operation Ghost
Aschenfall — Two Days Later, Midnight
The team gathered in the inner courtyard, away from curious eyes.
Ten figures dressed in mercenary clothing—dark leather, mismatched armor, weapons without insignias. Nothing that connected them to Neudämmerung.
Kaito checked his own gear one last time. A sword with no decorations. A hooded cloak. Face partially covered with a scarf that could be raised when necessary.
It felt... strange. Like playing spy instead of leading openly.
But it was necessary.
Naporia approached, also disguised. Her blue imperial uniform replaced with generic brown leather. Her sword wrapped in cloth to hide its distinctive design.
"I feel weird without my proper armor."
"I know. But if someone identifies you as the Empress of the Sword..."
"Neudämmerung is guilty by association. I understand."
She raised the scarf to cover the lower half of her face.
"Better?"
"It helps. But your eyes are still distinctive."
Naporia considered that.
"Then I’ll avoid looking directly at people."
Valeria appeared next. Her black plate armor had been replaced with something more generic—dark gray, without identifiable markings.
But her axe... that was impossible to fully disguise. Too large, too unique.
"Valeria, that axe..."
"Necessary for function. If I must break doors or walls, alternatives are inadequate."
Kaito sighed.
"At least wrap it in cloth. So it’s not obviously your weapon."
Valeria nodded and proceeded to wrap the axe methodically.
Drake arrived last, checking the group.
"Bram and his five specialists are ready. Aria too."
He pointed toward where Aria was adjusting her own mercenary clothing—surprisingly comfortable in the disguise.
"And Werner gave us updated information an hour ago. Guards change shifts at two in the morning. That’s our window."
Kaito nodded.
"Then let’s review the plan one more time."
He unfolded a small map on a nearby table.
"The fortress is here. Fifty guards according to Werner, but only ten on the night shift. The rest sleep in the barracks."
He pointed to the entrance.
"The main entrance is guarded. Two guards. Bram and his specialists neutralize them silently."
"Then we split. Group A—me, Naporia, Drake, three guards—go to the cells. Here."
He touched the eastern section of the fortress.
"Group B—Valeria, Aria, two guards—secure the escape route and prepare the horses."
"If all goes well, we’re in and out in twenty minutes. No alarms."
Naporia spoke.
"And if something goes wrong?"
"Then Group B becomes the rearguard. Valeria holds off pursuers while we evacuate."
Kaito looked at Valeria.
"Can you hold a position against twenty or thirty soldiers for five minutes?"
Valeria responded without emotion.
"Affirmative. Function feasible."
"Good. But only if absolutely necessary. Priority is avoiding combat."
Drake added.
"And there’s a secondary objective. Werner mentioned the base also stores equipment for the ’bandits’ attacking our villages."
"If we have time, we take evidence. Weapons with Avernor markings. Documents. Anything that proves the connection."
Aria touched the bag on her hip.
"I brought the camera from the ruins. Primitive but functional. I can photograph evidence quickly."
Kaito looked at her.
"Sure it works?"
"Ninety percent sure. Lilith and I tested it yesterday. It takes blurry but recognizable images."
"Good enough."
Kaito rolled up the map.
"Everyone understand?"
Nods all around.
"Then we move. Total silence during travel. Communication only by signals."
---
At the Gates
Adelheid and Lilith were waiting to say goodbye.
Adelheid approached Kaito first.
"Come back alive. That’s an order."
"I’ll do my best, Commander."
Adelheid hesitated, then hugged Kaito briefly.
"I’ll miss you. Again."
"Only two days."
"Two days too long."
She pulled away, recomposing herself.
Lilith approached next, touching Kaito’s cheek.
"Be smart. Not brave. Smart."
"Can’t I be both?"
"They rarely work together."
She kissed his other cheek softly.
"Come back to me."
"Always."
Lilith turned to Naporia.
"Protect him."
Naporia nodded seriously.
"With my life."
"Good. Because if he dies under your watch, I’ll kill you myself."
It wasn’t a joke.
Naporia smiled.
"Understood."
Lilith looked at Valeria.
"And you. If you need to stay behind to cover the escape... do it. But survive."
Valeria processed that.
"Survival function: accepted as secondary priority."
"Make it primary."
"...I will consider parameter adjustment."
Adelheid spoke to the whole group.
"If you don’t return in three days, I’m sending a rescue. Regardless of political consequences."
Kaito nodded.
"Let’s hope it’s not necessary."
The group mounted their horses—also generic, without Neudämmerung markings.
And they rode into the night.
Into enemy territory.
Toward a mission they couldn’t fail.
---
The Border — Four Hours Later 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
They crossed into Avernor territory without incident.
There was no physical line marking the border. Only a subtle change in terrain—slightly different trees, less maintained road.
But everyone felt it.
Tension increasing. Every sound potentially hostile.
Bram pointed ahead.
The fortress was visible in the distance. Small compared to Aschenfall, but solid. Five-meter stone walls. A watchtower in the northwest corner.
They stopped five hundred meters away, hiding in dense forest.
Kaito studied the fortress with a spyglass Aria had brought.
"Two guards at the entrance. One in the tower. That’s three visible."
Drake added.
"Patrol every thirty minutes according to Werner. Last one passed twenty minutes ago. Next in ten."
"We wait for it to pass. Then we move."
Ten minutes felt like an hour.
Finally, two guards emerged for a perimeter patrol.
"Now. Group A with me. Group B with Valeria."
They split, moving with practiced silence.
---
Bram and his specialists reached the entrance first.
The two guards were talking quietly, bored.
Bram signaled. His men moved like shadows.
Ten seconds later, both guards were unconscious. Not dead—Kaito had been clear about that—just asleep from precise strangulation techniques.
They dragged the bodies out of sight.
Kaito, Naporia, and Drake followed them in.
The entrance wasn’t locked—arrogant confidence or simple carelessness.
The interior was functional. Stone hallways. Torches spaced every ten meters. The smell of dampness and metal.
Werner had drawn a basic map from memory.
The cells were in the basement. Stairs at the end of the east hallway.
They moved silently, hugging the walls, avoiding direct torchlight.
A guard appeared from a corner.
Naporia reacted instinctively.
Her hand covered the guard’s mouth while the other struck a pressure point on his neck.
The man collapsed.
"Well done," Drake whispered.
They continued.
The stairs descended in a spiral. Darkness increasing.
At the bottom, weak torchlight revealed the cell area.
A guard sat in a chair, half asleep.
Bram neutralized him before he could cry out.
Kaito looked at the cells—six total.
Four empty.
Two occupied.
In the second cell: a woman in her thirties, gaunt but conscious. Two children sleeping on a narrow cot.
Elena and her children.
Kaito approached the bars.
"Elena."
She looked up, eyes wide with a mix of fear and hope.
"Who...?"
"A friend of Werner. We’ve come to get you out."
The tears started immediately.
"Werner... is he alive? Is he okay?"
"Alive. Worried about you. That’s why we’re here."
Drake worked on the lock with picks.
Click.
Door open.
Elena woke her children gently.
"Thomas. Greta. Wake up. We have to go."
The children—eight and six years old, exactly as Werner had said—woke up confused.
"Mom? What...?"
"Shhh. Quiet. These men are going to help us."
Kaito knelt to the children’s level.
"Hello. I’m... a friend of your dad’s. Can you walk?"
Thomas—the older one—nodded.
"Yes, sir."
Greta hid behind her mother, scared.
Naporia approached, lowering her scarf to show her face.
"Hello, little one. I know it’s scary. But I promise, we’ll take you home. To see your dad."
Something in her voice—unexpected gentleness—made Greta nod tremblingly.
"Dad is waiting?"
"Yes. Very anxious to see you."
---
The Warehouse
As they evacuated the family, Drake pointed to a hallway leading deeper.
"The warehouse should be there. Two minutes to check."
Kaito hesitated.
Primary mission complete. Every additional second was a risk.
But evidence against Avernor could change everything.
"Two minutes. No more."
Drake, Naporia, and two guards moved toward the warehouse.
Kaito stayed with the family, guiding them toward the stairs.
Aria appeared from above.
"Escape route secured. Valeria is with the horses."
"Good. Take the family up. We’re going for evidence."
Aria nodded, gently taking Elena and the children.
Kaito followed Drake toward the warehouse.
What they found confirmed everything.
Boxes with the Avernor symbol—the radiant sun carved into the wood.
Inside: weapons. Uniforms. Documents.
Drake opened one of the documents.
"Signed orders. By an Avernor captain. Instructing ’destabilization operations’ against Neudämmerung."
"This is... definitive evidence."
Aria had followed, camera in hand.
"I’m photographing everything. Give me thirty seconds."
Click. Flash of magical crystal light.
Click. Another image.
Click. Full document.
"Enough. I have five clear images."
Drake took the original document as well.
"This comes with us."
Then they heard it.
ALARM!
Bells ringing. Shouts. Running footsteps.
Someone had discovered the unconscious guards.
"Shit! Move!"
---
The group ran toward the stairs.
Above, chaos had begun.
Guards emerging from barracks. At least twenty, dressing as they ran.
And these weren’t wearing bandit clothes.
They wore Avernor uniforms.
Full. Official.
Naporia drew her sword.
"They knew we were coming!"
"Or they just got tired of pretending!" Drake responded.
Valeria appeared at the entrance, axe unwrapped.
"Family secured with the horses. But escape route compromised. Thirty soldiers blocking the eastern exit."
Kaito assessed quickly.
"Group A exits through the main entrance. Group B... Valeria, can you hold them?"
Valeria looked toward the thirty approaching soldiers.
"Function feasible. Five minutes maximum."
"Enough. Do it."
Valeria moved toward the eastern corridor with surprising speed.
Her axe rose.
And then it began.
---
The Corridor
Valeria positioned herself at the intersection of two hallways.
A perfect choke point. Only three soldiers could attack her simultaneously.
The first charged with a spear.
Valeria deflected it with the axe handle, spun, and struck the man with the flat side.
He flew back three meters.
Second and third attacked together.
Valeria blocked both strikes, pushed back with force that threw them against the wall.
Fourth. Fifth. Sixth.
All fell within thirty seconds.
The remaining soldiers hesitated.
This wasn’t a fight. It was a massacre.
One shouted.
"It’s one of the villains! The Butcher!"
Valeria tilted her head slightly.
"Correct identification. Retreat recommended."
None retreated.
Pride—or orders—kept them fighting.
Bad for them.
---
Meanwhile — Main Exit
Kaito and the rest had reached the horses.
Elena and the children were already mounted, guarded by two soldiers.
Naporia eliminated resistance near the entrance—three guards down in seconds.
Aria mounted quickly, securing the photographic evidence.
Drake counted heads.
"Everyone present except Valeria!"
Kaito looked toward the fortress.
He could hear the fight inside—shouts, metal clashing, orders being shouted.
"Give me a minute. I’ll get her."
Naporia grabbed his arm.
"No! Too dangerous!"
"We’re not leaving her behind!"
"Then I’ll go!"
And before Kaito could protest, Naporia ran back toward the fortress.
---
Chapter 61
Naporia found Valeria in the hollow.
The ground was a cemetery.
Uniformed corpses covered the earth like a shroud.
Dozens. More than a hundred.
But they hadn’t been enough.
Valeria still stood in the center.
Surrounded by the last fifteen.
Sweat and blood mingled on her armor.
Naporia knew the truth immediately.
They weren’t thirty enemies.
There had been more than two hundred.
They had waited hidden among the rocks.
Waited until she was alone.
Waited until no one could help her.
And still they hadn’t fled.
Naporia observed the battlefield.
Every square meter had a body.
Some burned. Others split in two.
Many simply shattered.
Valeria had resisted alone.
But she was paying the price.
A deep gash on her left arm.
Blood seeping through broken plates.
Blows to the ribs, visible in her posture.
Her breathing was heavier than ever.
Still she didn’t fall.
Still she fought.
The fifteen attacked in waves.
Three from the front, five from the sides.
Coordinated. Professional.
They knew they couldn’t defeat her easily.
But they also knew they could wear her down.
Valeria blocked a slash with her axe.
Another blow struck her side.
CLANG! CRACK!
The armor gave way a little more.
She didn’t even grunt.
Only responded with an axe strike.
A soldier flew, split in two.
But two more took his place.
Naporia was already moving.
Her sword sang as she drew it.
Four soldiers fell before they could turn.
Their heads rolled almost in unison.
The semicircle broke instantly.
Naporia positioned herself beside Valeria.
"Valeria! Time to go!"
Valeria took down another with a blunt strike.
The body fell like a sack of stones.
"Rearguard function incomplete."
Her voice sounded more strained.
"Three minutes remaining for objective."
Naporia decapitated another attacker.
"We don’t have three minutes!"
Her sword whistled through the air.
"There are too many! Move now!"
Valeria processed the words.
Function versus direct orders.
A fraction of a second of calculations.
Then the slight nod.
"...Accepting parameter modification."
She dodged a spear by centimeters.
"Retreating."
Both began to fall back.
Naporia covered the fast flanks.
Her sword was a silver blur.
Three deaths in two seconds.
Valeria covered the heavy front.
Her axe swept like a wall.
No one could approach without dying.
But more kept coming.
They always kept coming.
Naporia spun and cut throats.
Valeria crushed skulls with the haft.
Together they were a perfect mechanism.
Fast. Deadly. Unstoppable.
They reached the entrance of the hollow.
The path to the horses was close.
But then Valeria stopped.
Naporia turned, alert.
"What’s wrong? We have to move!"
Valeria looked directly at her.
Her eyes always empty.
But something different now.
"Naporia. Thank you."
Naporia blinked, confused.
"For what?"
Valeria processed the question.
As if searching for the words.
"For coming back. Function did not require..."
She paused slightly.
"...that you risk your life for me."
Naporia looked at her for a second.
Then a smile appeared.
Small but genuine.
"It’s not function, idiot."
She pointed at the corpses behind.
"We’re a team."
Valeria blinked slowly.
Processed that for a moment.
Internal calculations. Evaluations.
Then she nodded gently.
"I understand. Concept of... camaraderie."
Naporia chuckled.
"Exactly. Now run."
She looked back, more shadows approaching.
"Before more come."
Valeria nodded again.
And they ran.
Toward the horses.
Together.
---
[END OF Chapter 61]
---
The full group galloped toward the forest.
Pursuit behind them—ten Avernor riders.
But Neudämmerung’s horses were faster. Better trained.
They reached the border thirty minutes later.
Crossed back into safe territory.
The pursuit stopped at the border line—they didn’t want to create a major international incident.
The group didn’t slow until they were three kilometers inside Neudämmerung.
Finally, Kaito raised his hand.
"Halt!"
Everyone stopped, panting.
Kaito looked around, counting.
Everyone present. Family rescued. Evidence secured.
Mission complete.
He turned to Valeria.
"Are you injured?"
"Minor damage. Function at seventy percent. Estimated recovery: twelve hours."
Naporia dismounted, approaching Valeria.
"You did well in there. Holding off thirty alone."
Valeria looked at her.
"You came back for me. That was... unexpected."
"Unexpected?"
"Logically, you should have escaped. My loss was acceptable for mission success."
Naporia punched Valeria’s shoulder—not hard, but firm.
"Your loss would never be acceptable. Understood?"
Valeria processed that.
"...Understood."
Something passed between them.
Mutual understanding. Respect.
A bond formed in combat.
---
Return to Aschenfall — Dawn
They arrived as the sun was beginning to rise.
Adelheid and Lilith waited at the gates.
Werner was there too, under escort.
When he saw his family, he collapsed to his knees.
"Elena! Thomas! Greta!"
Elena dismounted and ran.
The children followed.
A family embrace in the middle of the courtyard.
Crying. Laughing. Alive.
Kaito watched with something warm in his chest.
This. This is why we do it.
Adelheid approached.
"Mission successful, I see."
"Completely. Family rescued. And something more."
Aria approached with the photographic evidence.
"Definitive proof. Avernor is behind the attacks."
Lilith took the images, studying them.
"This changes everything. With physical evidence, we can present a case to the Council."
"Avernor won’t be able to deny it."
Kaito nodded.
"Then we prepare a formal presentation. Show the world what’s really happening."
He looked at his team—exhausted but victorious.
"Everyone rest. You deserve it."
As they dispersed, Naporia stayed with Valeria for a moment.
"Valeria?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. For holding them off. For giving us time."
Valeria tilted her head.
"It is my function."
"No. It’s more than that."
Naporia touched her shoulder.
"You’re more than a function. You’re our comrade. Our sister in arms."
Valeria processed that for a long time.
Finally, she responded.
"Sister. New concept but... acceptable."
Naporia smiled.
"Good. Because you’re stuck with us now."
And for the first time, something that might be a smile crossed Valeria’s face.
Small. Brief.
But real.
