The night in Alubarna was no longer peaceful after the brief clash beside Mirror Lake.
Shrill alarm whistles tore through the silence above the Royal Palace like the mournful cries of night owls. A jumble of footsteps, clattering armor, and shouted orders rose from every direction. Countless torches spread and intertwined like slithering venomous snakes through the Royal Palace's intricate corridors and courtyards. The entire Royal Palace, that sleeping beast, had been jolted fully awake.
The Fake King—or rather, Mr. 2 Bon Clay, who had perfectly imitated Cobra's appearance and manner—stood on the highest terrace of the Royal Bedchamber, wrapped in an ornate sleeping robe. Expressionless, he looked down over the palace grounds as torchlight rapidly illuminated them. He maintained Cobra's slightly sickly appearance and air of concern for his country and people, but deep in his eyes lay cold calculation and a trace of anger at being disturbed.
"Your Majesty." A figure shrouded entirely in a black robe approached from the shadows, his voice as harsh as scraping iron against stone. "The ambush at Mirror Lake failed. Pell saw through the disguise and broke out with help from unidentified reinforcements. Chaka... could not be recaptured."
"Unidentified reinforcements?" The Fake King's voice carried Cobra's characteristic weary rasp, but his tone was cold as iron. "The rats the princess brought back? Or... people from Hua Country?"
"We cannot confirm. Their methods were strange, unlike the usual fighting styles in Alabasta. One used unusual concealed weapons, resembling the style of certain assassin organizations in West Blue, but matching none of the known groups. Another wielded a heavy axe, and one used a chain sickle. All were highly skilled and coordinated well. They did not seem like a disorganized rabble," the black-robed figure reported.
The Fake King, Mr. 2, fell silent for a