The Chase Begins
“I’d love to take it with us, but we can’t during a mission.”
Garen tossed the Bellingcho onto the ground with a regretful tone.
“You’re still young, Colonel Garen. You don’t need herbs like that, right?”
“What? Haha! Exactly.”
Garen let out a hearty laugh at the well-timed flattery and slung an arm around my shoulder.
“You get it, Major. As long as you keep training your body consistently, you won’t need to rely on stuff like that until you’re pretty old.”
“You’re absolutely right, sir.”
I wasn’t sure how closely it tied to physical training, but hey, it couldn’t hurt.
“Anyway, aside from the first day, things have been pretty smooth. No real dangers.”
“That’s a huge relief, isn’t it?”
Unlike our initial expectations of the mission’s difficulty, there hadn’t been any life-threatening battles since day one.
At most, we’ve only faced about ten at a time.
We’d destroyed a total of nine mana devices so far, including today.
“I don’t know the exact cost per unit, but we’ve probably saved at least a division’s worth of annual operating expenses.”
“No doubt we’ve exceeded it.”
Inflicting damage equivalent to a division’s budget with just twenty men?
This was insane efficiency—something that deserved to go down in history.
In terms of combat alone, it’s a decisive victory.
Gaining territory didn’t always mean victory.
Economic damage like this hits harder.
Honestly, holding more land didn’t produce anything right away. It just felt good.
But financial losses? They sting immediately.
No time lag at all.
“This is thrilling, isn’t it?”
“Yeah… well, it’s pretty exhilarating.”
I hated to admit it, but the rush from smashing each one was indescribable.
“Found another one. Sun’s setting soon, so let’s destroy this and pull back.”
Lt. Col. Orpia, leading from the front, spotted yet another enemy mana device.
“That’ll make ten. Mind if I take a crack at destroying this one, Colonel?”
“Go ahead.”
She readily approved Garen’s request.
“Whew, it’s ridiculously huge.”
Standing before the massive mana device, Garen drew his sword.
“Wouldn’t this be better?”
Orpia offered him a dagger made of mana stone, but he waved it off.
“My sword’s more than enough. It’s just a rock.”
“Uh… alright.”
She wasn’t one to push, so she sheathed it without a second word.
One wrong move and he could lose a tooth or worse. What’s he thinking?
It didn’t have reinforced circuits, but it was still way tougher than stone.
Whatever, he’s got it handled.
Since he was someone I didn’t need to worry about, I watched quietly from behind.
And moments later.
Garen swung down with full force on the mana stone.
Crack-crack-CRACK!
“Holy shit.”
Unlike the mere scratches from before, it split clean in two.
The top half slid down like it was on skis and hit the ground.
“As expected of the company commander! Incredible!”
“Kuh, what a perfect strike!”
The Special Forces guys behind us cheered in awe.
Even they thought it was impressive.
No need to go that far, but damn, he’s nuts.
Orpia, watching beside me, looked surprised too.
“I’d heard you were skilled, but this is next level.”
“Haha, it’s nothing. A man in the Special Forces has to manage at least this much.”
He played it off casually, but his shoulders were already up to the sky.
Looked like he just wanted to show off. Nah, probably not.
I shook off the stray thought and examined the cross-section of the mana stone Garen had cleaved.
I could tell from his form, but this is art.
Running my hand over it, it was flawlessly smooth—no snags anywhere.
“How the hell do you even do that?”
How could a human achieve machine-like precision?
“Major, how’d I do it?”
Lost in it, I didn’t notice Garen come up behind me until he spoke.
“Pardon…? It’s nothing.”
I yanked my hand away from the surface, but he was sharp about swords.
“Haha! Impressed by that strike, huh?”
“Y-Yes… exactly. It was amazing.”
I nodded vigorously in agreement.
“You could do it too with practice. Speaking of, do you know the most important thing when cutting something this tough?”
“The most important? Strength, right?”
It seemed like an easy question, so I answered without thinking.
But that wasn’t what he wanted.
“Wrong. Strength’s a given. The key is uniformity. I thought you’d figured it out from touching the cut, but no.”
“I figured strength was a bit more crucial.”
With a sword or whatever, you needed power to swing in the first place.
And if your technique sucks, just overwhelm with brute force.
Technique alone couldn’t overpower, but strength could.
“That’d work for bare hands. But you use a sword, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Imagine just raw power without uniformity. What happens?”
“Hm.”
I ran a quick mental simulation.
Swing wildly at it like a maniac.
One obvious outcome.
“The blade would shatter.”
“Exactly. That’s why uniformity matters more.”
“Ah…”
It wasn’t complicated, so it clicked right away.
Yeah, technique wins out there.
I was thoroughly convinced—and painfully aware of my own gaps in knowledge.
“Especially for something this hard, you need near-perfect uniformity.”
He pointed at the mana stone’s cross-section with his eyes.
“Lately, I’ve been training on scarecrows to build that uniformity.”
Impressed, I blurted out something I shouldn’t have.
“Oh? Working on fundamentals like that? You should’ve told me sooner.”
“Pardon…?”
“After regular training, I’ll check your form personally. It’ll be fun.”
I was already training with the Special Forces, and now he wanted evenings too?
This was exactly why I kept it hidden.
Damn it, my mouth. My stupid mouth.
Sew it shut already.
It only caused problems when it opened.
“Ha… haha, I already train in the evenings. Adding more might wear you out, sir.”
“You’re not Special Forces, so we don’t get much time together. I have to make the most of chances like this, right?”
His words were so touching I couldn’t refuse.
Grateful as hell, but so sad.
I knew it in my head.
From the moment Hamus said “handle it yourself,” Garen’s guidance was like rain in a drought.
But if people always followed rational judgment like machines, every student would be at Seoul National University.
“Then… I’ll humbly accept your help, sir.”
“Haha! I’m doing it because I want to—no need to feel burdened. Can’t you quit the Intelligence Agency? You fit right in with us.”
Garen probed again, still not giving up on me.
Thankfully, Lt. Col. Orpia was nearby.
“Major Palan’s Intelligence Agency until the day he dies. Don’t poach him.”
She smiled protectively, but it somehow felt bittersweet.
On the day I die, I just wanna be a civilian.
No—civilian starting tomorrow.
“I see. What a shame. Hard to find talent like this.”
Garen eyed me hungrily.
“I agree—he’s special. Anyway, let’s head back for tod—.”
Weeeeng.
As Orpia started mentioning withdrawal, the tracking mana device in her hand beeped to life.
“Huh? What’s this?”
She sounded flustered.
She noticed first, but the others caught on quick.
“Wasn’t it off until now?”
“Yeah. Direction’s shifting slightly too. Looks like they’re installing or moving them.”
Once she voiced what we all suspected, the air went still.
And all eyes turned to Garen, leading the Special Forces.
“Hm. Let’s pursue. Our quality trumps theirs, and their numbers won’t be huge.”
I agreed completely.
Gork Mountains were imperial territory—they couldn’t bring in large forces.
Full strength?
We’d crush them, no question.
“What do you think?”
Garen asked Orpia after his call.
“Same here. I’ve got questions anyway. Could be an opportunity if we play it right.”
Her instant reply, no hesitation.
With movement this clear, running scared wasn’t an option.
Yeah, let’s go. With Special Forces on both flanks, what’s there to fear?
Compared to past ordeals, this was a greenhouse.
“If we lag, the tracker stops. Move fast.”
Garen addressed the company after stating his piece.
“We’re meeting Aditz scum soon. Heighten your senses. Don’t get hit by blind shots.”
“Yes, sir!!”
Voices and vibe shifted in an instant.
Intense.
I blended into their energy as best I could and joined the pursuit.
* * *
“Looks like they headed this way. Hmm.”
Major Ricardo examined the tracks on the ground, stepping forward carefully.
Robin watched him with pity.
“Seems like more than expected. Easily over fifty.”
“Fifty? At most thirty.”
Robin cut in, unable to stand it, crumpling Ricardo’s face.
“What makes you so sure?”
“I could ask the same. Where do you see fifty from?”
“Answer my question. When did I give you permission to question me?”
Ricardo lunged with furrowed brows, but Robin just shook his head.
“Tracks consistently show just over twenty on the approach. Need I say more?”
He had more solid evidence but skipped it.
No point in the hassle.