Two hours earlier...

“Hey, come here!” shouted Gra - an officer of protection squads - to one player. “What unit are you from?”

A twenty-three years old, skinny, frightened guy came over, took off his gun, pulled out the magazine and a round from the chamber.

“Second Machine Gun Company under Ghoton and his deputy Perstes, sir.”

“Where is your firing position?”

“On the north wall.”

“Did you check the machine gun?”

“Twice.”

“Good. Where are you headed now?”

“To the barracks,” the player continued to answer with a worried look and an incomprehensible sense of guilt. “I want to rest before the fight.”

“What happened to your personal weapon?”

“I haven’t had the time to clean it, sir,” he answered, his lips pressed together.

“There’s rust and dirt on it.”

“My bad,” he replied, not believing it himself.

Gra stepped closer, took the weapon and twirled it in his hands.

“You don’t think you’d need a regular rifle to fight a dragon, do you? I can see you think so. What if your friend turns out to be a traitor and kills you in the heat of the battle? Would that be your defense?”

“But...” the player paused and could not find anything to say to the complaint.

Gra threw the weapon back to the player and said with a stony expression on his face:

“You know that only the best deserve to fight here, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“So be it. Next time I catch you and see any fault again, you’ll be replaced.”

The player saluted and ran away. Gra and his wife stopped the soldiers of various units and pelted them with questions for about ten more minutes, then amused themselves by assigning everyone they met to protect this or that building and sending them to an eight-hour duty. Everyone spat and cursed behind their backs, but they followed orders. Then the two officers of the attack squads approached Gra.

“You mind reminding me of your plan, hmm? Buddy.” Ghoton asked with an exasperated look.

“Of course, my dear friend. When the enemy appears in the sky, the first one of us who sees it will fire a signal flare into the sky and call for help from Bernavi in the eastern fortress and Lettarongan in the western fortress. We’ll force the dragon to come to us, and at the right time, the protection squad will draw its attention to themselves. Then, Zeeaa,” he turned to her, catching her arrogant smile and nodding at her in greeting, “your squad will create a protective dome at my command and fire the first salvo of cannons. We’ll disorient the dragon that way. Then your units will join the fight, Ghoton...”

“My units?” The attack officer interrupted him with growing anger in his voice. “My troops? You sent me mages from the Top Secret guild. Which, if you remember, we have a fucking huge suspicion that they’re trying to fuck everyone over. And you, instead of kicking them out of the fortress walls and replacing them with other reliable people, send them to me in fucking full force. They take up 80% of the seats in the attack! These sly-ass bastards will stab me in the back at the first opportunity on orders from Vvy or Latludious, and then everyone else as well.”

“Ghoton, with all due respect,” began Gra, looking first at his wife and then at him. “Their guilt has not yet been proven. That’s why we have no reason to kick these brave Top Secret guys out. Don't forget, there's a guild alliance here. Besides, you heard Yleen put me in charge of the operation.”

“Top Secret won’t dare to kill us all at the beginning of the battle,” Gra’s wife spoke in a low voice. “If we die, they die. The dragon won’t discern who is on which side and will burn everyone indiscriminately. And when we are victorious, under my husband’s guidance, of course,” she leaned her huge head on Gra’s shoulder, smiled, and continued. “They’ll be under the constant supervision of our guild.”

“That would be a huge mistake. You underestimate them.”

“Listen to the smart woman, friend.”

“I’d rather trust my inner voice.”

“Sexist,” she barked, but no one paid any attention to that and continued the conversation.

“Have you ever wondered why Yleen didn’t appoint you?” Asked the officer of protection squads in an arrogant tone.

“Every time I talk to you.”

“Because you’ve led nothing. You’re level nine, man. Be glad they gave you some responsibility. All you’ve been doing for a year is politics.”

“As if you did something else?”

“No. Tough Rise has gone through several dungeons under my leadership. The Lord of the Vanguard trusts me more. Just accept it.”

Ghoton came dangerously close to Gra, feeling his stinking breath and gritting his teeth.

“I’ll lead my boys. The ones I trust. And get us out of here alive. You’re gonna have to deal with this shit on your own.”

Gra laughed in his face, squinting his eyes at his wife.

“I don’t care. Do as you please, but remember, if you disobey, you’ll lose everything you’ve worked so long for. If you do what I tell you to do, you’ll be all right. If you prove yourself, maybe next time, Yleen will put you in my place. But for now,” Gra changed his voice to a more serious and confident one, “you will obey and lead both your men and those of the Top Secret guild. Do you understand me?”

Ghoton took a step back and spit under his feet, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Stop!” Gra commanded. “You haven’t heard the rest of the plan. Since you asked, I’ll tell you the whole thing.”

The attack squad officer stopped and looked at him, turning halfway around.

“I’m listening.”

Zeeaa watched the two officers squabble and laughed her mouth off with her hands at her sides.

“You guys should have more confidence in yourselves.”

Gra cleared his throat and continued,

“After a volley from the cannons, a squad of mages led by you, Ghoton, will use tactical class spells, and along with them, the machine gunners will open fire from the large-caliber weapons set up around the perimeter of the fortress. We’ll hold the dragon until Lettarongan appears, who will stab the monster in the back. That’s where we’ll swat it like a flea.”

“I still can’t believe that our military commander fought along with the others,” Zeeaa said. “He’s always alone, and now the prodigal son has returned, no kneeling, no apologies for his long absence, no baldness, no rags, and surrounded by three musketeers and a strange lady.”

Everyone fell silent and stared at her with questioning eyes, mixed with surprise and incomprehension. Zeeaa became embarrassed and continued:

“I just remembered Rembrandt’s painting.”

“I wonder why he came back in the end...” said Gra.

“Probably afraid of what people will think of him, so he buckled under the pressure,” said Zeeaa.

“Men!” Gra’s wife laughed. “So predictable!”

“Is that all?” Ghoton asked.

“We’ll communicate via voice chat, and you can also add your deputies and deputies’ deputies there. Orders and commands, if possible, duplicate in writing. Not all players can hear. Let’s disperse. Today or tomorrow, we’ll have to fight. We must preserve our strength. We cannot lose. The reputation of all senior officers and the success of the scouting mission, for which we have prepared so long, is at stake.”

Ghoton left, saying nothing. His cloak was waving like a bloody pirate flag. Zeeaa saluted, summoned a pair of players, and ordered them to carry themselves to her favorite chair next to the cannons. The two protection squad officers were alone with each other and looked at her and laughed.

“A hell of a girl, isn’t she?” said Gra. “Well... Everyone seems to have gone about their business, so it’s time for us to go, too.”

“What are we going to do, darling?” asked his wife, running her index finger down her husband’s swollen cheeks.

“I suggest we go to that...” Gra put out his index finger and started looking for the right place. “That tower over there!”

“What are we going to do there?”

“Have some tea, take a rest.”

She poked him in the side with her elbow, winked and said:

“Come on, let’s get some rest.”

They walked past the players of the protection squad sitting on the ground, chatting among themselves and shouting strange vulgar jokes. When the two officers entered the tower, the wife asked,

“And when did you have the time to come up with a plan?”

Gra laughed and answered,

“Experience, my dear. I don’t have to think it up in advance.”