Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 115
>Chapter Title: The Antlion's Web
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*
The best way to solve most societal problems is, naturally, to eliminate their root cause.
However, not all societal problems are of the eliminable kind. In such cases, the social leadership typically attempts to divert public attention by pointing to a specific internal group. (The authorities in this field included Hitler, Stalin, and Mao Zedong.)
It is an act of shifting the costs and public anger arising from a societal problem onto a tangible target. Nearly all defeated nations have had to resort to this tactic quite frequently. This is because directing blame toward the poor incurs a lower cost than directing it toward the leadership.
The most common excuse is, ‘There was a traitor within.’
To twist it a bit more complexly, ‘It wasn't that the enemy was superior or that we were inferior, but because of one specific person's overwhelming ability.’ (Japan actually built a shrine for Yi Sun-sin after the Imjin War.)
Idolizing the enemy, surprisingly, helps to solidify internal cohesion. In the vein of, “Our preparations and plans were perfect, but we were just unlucky our opponent was *him*!”
This is a mentality shared by almost all demon factions that were crushed by the Hero's Party. The kind of thinking that says, *what could we have done when our enemy was the one who killed the Demon King?*
The problem was that the dwarves never directly clashed with the Hero's Party (as they were responsible for rear logistics support or infiltration of enemy lines).
Therefore, the dwarven leadership created another ‘overwhelming adversary.’ As it happened, there was an individual they had frequently confronted, who had even killed one of the Seven Dragon Generals, and who had indeed inflicted concretely calculable damage upon the dwarves.
The Black Widow. Major Ivan Petrovich. The Dagger of Krasilov, the Great King’s Executioner, the Woodsman, and the despair of the dwarven intelligence units.
There is usually a point to be cautious of when creating such an ‘adversary.’ If that adversary is still alive and active, the entire nation risks sinking into a sense of defeatism.
But on that point, the dwarven leadership was relieved. Major Ivan Petrovich had died along with the Dragon General Aviditas. The gloomy bastard they hated to see had taken the son of a bitch they wanted to tear apart down with him.
Now, they could attempt the ‘idolization of evil’ with peace of mind.
What? A food shortage? Ivan, again!
What? Goblins on a rampage? Ivan, again!
What’s that? All our export routes are blocked? Ivan, again!!
Job instability, population decline, an extreme drop in gross national product, the bankruptcy of numerous munitions factories, a surge in the impoverished class, and a widening wealth gap.
Faced with all the typical societal problems of a defeated nation, they just had to shout, "Ivan, again!" and everyone would accept it and return to being docile laborers. For these avatars of egalitarianism, Ivan was something of a panacea.
And now, those present here were paying the price.
Not an abstract price like a societal problem, but a coldly forged, tangible, physical, and visible price. (It was unfair. The leadership at the time who had sold Ivan's name had not joined the rebels.)
“Ivan Petrovich… it’s… him again!”
Looking at the corpse of a dead dwarf impaled on a pole in the middle of the street, the command headquarters of the 3rd Munitions District was gripped by terror.
In an age where reviving the dead was no trivial matter, the most gruesome resurrection awaited them after they had signed an MOU with the faction known as the pinnacle of necromancy.
*
In Ivan's opinion, he was not the one playing the most crucial role in this mission. (It certainly wasn't the dwarves. They just had to advance. Besides, Ivan didn't expect human-level performance from moles.)
Although he had roughly named it 'Feint East, Strike West,' that wasn't the core of this operation. If one were to insist on using that saying, it should be called 'Feint East + Feint East + Feint East' and simultaneously 'Strike West + Strike West + Strike West.'
Three different operations unfolding from three directions had to be perfectly complementary, with each functioning as the main axis of the overall plan.
Ivan was the bait for the operations on the other fronts, and at the same time, the field agent tasked with eliminating Aviditas's minions.
The dwarves were bait to support Ivan and Enrique, and at the same time, the main axis of the operation to contain the rebel's main forces.
Enrique was bait to divert the attention focused on Ivan and the dwarves toward herself, and at the same time, the rescue team tasked with confusing the enemy command's intelligence to save the scribe's son.
On this board, there was no role for a piece to be used as bait and then exit. Everyone had to fulfill their role, and they all had to succeed simultaneously.
Therefore, Enrique's role was the most important.
She must not expose her location, as the moment she was discovered, the scribe's son could be moved to another location.
Yet, at the same time, she had to inform the enemy command of the fact that she might be targeting the scribe's son.
This was because the rescue of the key figure had to be executed without error, in conjunction with the completion of the operations on the other fronts.
That was why Lucia was here. While there was no need to communicate with the dwarves, constant communication with Enrique was essential.
Ivan snapped his pocket watch shut and looked at Lucia.
“This time too?”
“Yes, this time too.”
Lucia closed her eyes, waited for the signal, then nodded. Ivan let out a small sigh. All of Enrique's prospective target points had turned out to be wrong. This was the third time.
Day 5 of Operation Feint East, Strike West. By this time, they should have found the facility where the scribe's son was being held.
A total of five locations were on the list. Places carefully selected for their ability to hold a kidnapped VIP, thwart rescue attempts by special operation units, and facilitate communication with the outside in a crisis.
Of those, three had now been searched. The task was not just searching a single building, but an entire enemy company-sized camp with absolutely no intelligence, all without being detected. The mission's difficulty was hardly less than Ivan's.
But with three out of five checked, she should be getting close. Unless, by some sheer coincidence, he was being held in the very last candidate location.
“Ah, Senior! There’s another one coming! Wow, they’re really bunched up this time!”
“Move to position C-11 and lie in wait. I'll strike in 15 seconds.”
“Ah, ahh, wai-wait a minute!!”
Lucia hastily rode the shadows and moved to the opposite side of the building. Ivan shouldered his long rifle and turned his gaze.
Beyond the broken window, in the plaza, stood a single trembling dwarf.
The dwarf was wounded, sobbing and screaming. Ivan watched the dwarf's contorted face through the scope, then impassively shifted the muzzle.
“Just wait a bit! We’re coming!!”
A group of terrified dwarves, wearing armor plates exceeding standard issue specifications, was approaching.
Five of them.
Ivan carefully examined the dwarves' equipment through his scope. Their frontal armor was impossible to penetrate with the rounds he was currently using.
He rubbed his tired eyes and slowly controlled his breathing. Through several test shots, he had already familiarized himself with this firearm's specifications. Like all dwarven weapons, it was a ridiculously precise piece of machinery.
He exhaled halfway, held his breath, and pushed his index finger into the trigger guard. The resistance of the spring felt pleasant against his fingertip.
His target was 1.5 cm below the pauldron. The section of chainmail that became exposed the moment the arm was lifted. Even that couldn't be penetrated with a single round, but it was the most vulnerable point from the front.
-Tang—!!
The moment he fired, the dwarf at the front snapped his head up.
*He has line-of-fire detection.*
He hadn't spotted Ivan, but it seemed he had pinpointed Ivan's concealed position. The dwarf quickly gestured and yelled something at the top of his lungs.
A *whoosh* sound reached Ivan's enhanced hearing. It was the sound of incoming artillery. They had identified his hiding spot and were about to bombard it.
There was about a three-second window between the launch and impact. And for superhumans, three seconds was more absolute than the number suggested. Ivan's hands were already moving, his eyes narrowed.
-Clack.
Before the sparks from the first shot's impact had died down, his hands had finished reloading. In the same shouldered position, having completely controlled the recoil with both arms, he fired again. *Tang.*
-Clang!!
The bullet, striking within a 0.1mm margin of error, hit the chainmail section precisely. The impact, exceeding its tensile strength, loosened the chain links.
The moment he saw the sparks fly, *clack*, he swiftly reloaded.
*Grind,* he tensed his muscles to align the sights.
*Hoo…* he took one last exhale to steady his breath.
-Tang—!!
-Crack!!
The chainmail section broke, and the pauldron came loose. Ivan tossed the rifle and picked up a javelin. With line-of-fire detection in play, repeating the same attack was pointless. The moment the armor broke, the target would surely dodge.
*Dodge this.*
Ivan's right arm stretched to its limit with a creak. He immediately twisted his waist, channeling the elastic force to launch the spear.
*Whoosh,* the spear tore through the air, flying like a missile. The moment the javelin was away, Ivan dropped low and ran.
-Thud.
He kicked off the windowsill. He twisted his body in the dizzying sensation of flight. The moment he exposed himself, more than seven shots were fired, all locked onto him by danger sense.
He parried what he could, dodged what he must, and deflected the rest with his armored left hand. Ivan's body blurred for an instant.
-Clang, clack-clack!!
He kicked off the wall that had rushed up to meet him. Next. He kicked off another wall. Even while leaping through the air, Ivan's gaze remained fixed on the plaza.
Twisting his body every time his danger sense flared, correcting his altered trajectory to dash forward again, kicking off walls. Finally.
-Crash!!
Just as the dwarf, who had barely dodged his javelin, hastily regained his posture.
“You bastaaaard!!”
Ivan was landing in front of him, pulling the javelin embedded in the ground free.
The javelin, driven deep into the earth, was still vibrating with residual force. Ivan lifted the spear and plunged it straight into the stunned dwarf's shoulder.
The spearhead shattered the scapula, crushed the patella, and tore through the neck, emerging from the other side.
Feeling the gruesome sensation in his hands, Ivan released the shaft and immediately ducked.
-Tang—!! Tat-tat-tat-tat!!
Numerous bullets riddled the body of the dwarf, who had died without even a chance to scream. It was fine. A dwarf's frontal armor plate could not be penetrated, even by dwarven-made rounds.
They needed to bring in heavy weapons. And that heavy weapon was just now landing on his initial hiding spot.
-BOOOOOM—!!
Feeling the searing heat surge at his back, Ivan reached behind him. An axe and a dagger found their way into his grasp.
He drew them and threw himself at the next target. The dwarf, just shaking off his surprise, was hastily raising a warhammer and charging at him.
-Thwack!
He twisted his body to avoid the hammer and stabbed his dagger into the gap in the chainmail gauntlet covering the wrist. As the strength drained from the dwarf's hand, he swung his right arm and brought the axe down.
*Clang!* Sparks flew from the dwarf's neck. The axe blade had been blocked, but it seemed the shock had not. The dwarf's posture faltered.
He stabbed his dagger once more into the loosened chainmail. *Thud, thud, thud.* Three strikes in a single breath. The armor securing the dwarf's helmet and pauldron was torn away.
Ivan called this ‘work’ the ‘can opener.’ Within the Annihilation Squad, only about five agents could pull this off.
-Clang!!
The instant the helmet flew off, he swung the axe to finish it. Confirming the kill by the sensation of the cervical vertebrae in the neck completely shattering, he threw himself forward.
“You… monster…!!”
The remaining dwarves screamed and fled. He couldn't afford to waste any more time. The number of shots triggering his danger sense was beginning to exceed his ability to react.
*Whoosh,* he heard the launch of the next artillery shell. Ivan immediately raised his left arm, using the armor plate to shield his neck. *Ping,* a bullet struck the back of his hand and ricocheted off.
“Black… Widow…!!”
The dwarf hanging on the pole, gasping for breath, glared at Ivan with eyes full of resentment. Ivan glanced at him impassively before dashing away toward the city.
Long after his figure disappeared from the plaza, the sounds of cannons and gunfire continued. Only after several more volleys of bullets struck the plaza did it regain its silence.
The dwarf slowly let his head hang and sobbed. Trapped like prey caught in a spider's web.
In less than ten seconds after the rescue team appeared in the plaza, two of his kin who had rushed to save him had become corpses.
This was the Black Widow's way of fighting.
*
The Annihilation Squad's standard manual included a tactic called the ‘Antlion's Pit.’
It referred to a strategy of leaving a single wounded soldier in a highly visible location, then picking off the forces dispatched to rescue that soldier one by one.
The presence of an ally screaming day and night in plain sight demoralizes the entire army. The enemy is forced to choose between putting the wounded soldier out of his misery with a sniper shot or attempting a rescue at the risk of further casualties.
The typical solution to this is to dispatch a superhuman soldier as the rescuer. It's a natural course of action. This manual focuses on neutralizing the enemy's reinforcements through sniping.
A superhuman cannot be killed by a sniper. They have line-of-fire detection. Therefore, the original ‘Antlion's Pit’ is meaningless against a superhuman.
It was from that point that Ivan's reputation began to resonate among his enemies.
Appearing from nowhere to ambush elite soldiers like superhumans whenever they were dispatched, then shaking the bait again, waiting for the next superhuman to be sent in.
Spinning a web and sharpening his fangs in the darkness.
The moniker he earned at the end of it all was the Black Widow. The dwarves had to learn his epithet before his real name. And by the time Ivan's real name was known, he had become a legend in the dwarven intelligence community.
A legend who had been killed by Aviditas was now casting its shadow over dwarven society once more.
*
The command's decision to anticipate Ivan's infiltration and prepare a trap was remarkably swift and accurate. Thanks to their quick initial response, they were able to minimize meaningless losses.
Firepower capable of facing the Hero himself, even if he were to lead a direct assault, was lined up in the heart of the munitions factory. This would be enough. That's what they thought.
If he wanted to kill the dwarves and stop the factory, he would have to charge head-on. All other paths had been blocked.
But when the first night passed and a dwarf was caught in the spider's web, they remembered the Black Widow.
Even if they bombed the area where he was presumed to be stationed, the next day another dwarf would be hanging from a pole.
If they sent a search party, the entire party would disappear, and one survivor would be hung from a pole again.
When they mobilized all the goblins for a wide-area search, he would lie perfectly still, only for another pole to be erected in a different location soon after. Naturally, a dwarf was hanging from it.
And so it went for several days.
When one screaming dwarf fell silent, he would tie up another, repeating the process.
Publicly demonstrating his ability to infiltrate at will, abduct someone without a sound, and display them in the plaza.
Two more days passed like this.
When they realized they hadn't set a trap but had fallen into one, and chose to hold their position to prevent further losses.
When the remaining dwarves had finally lost their will to fight and were convulsing in panic.
-Ruuuumble—!!
The entire munitions factory began to hum and vibrate.
The fluttering sound of flapping wings, louder than cannon fire, echoed throughout the entire cavern. A dwarf, looking up, whispered amidst a small, ember-like spark of hope.
“Have you come…?!”
A swarm of bats took flight, filling the cavern ceiling. A tide of subterranean vermin—snakes, lizards, centipedes, and rats—began to pour in from the tunnels beyond the cavern.
A hissing noise filled the air from all directions, and when they had finally scattered throughout the factory complex.
[Ivan Petrovich—!!!]
A voice like scraping steel plates echoed thunderously throughout the factory.
Ivan snapped his pocket watch shut and rose to his feet.
Andgrund, Operation Feint East, Strike West, Day 7.
>05:30.
The target had finally arrived in the trap.
*