Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Roger That: Supply
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Supply.
The 20,000 routed soldiers who had abandoned the eastern border fortress and slipped into the uncharted lands between needed far too much.
They needed food to eat,
vehicles in large numbers.
Lumber and metal to craft whatever was needed on the spot,
clothing and bedding to prepare for the coming cold,
and of course, medicine for the unusually high number of patients could not be overlooked.
While Count Kali Stehold risked his life to draw the enemy's attention with guerrilla warfare, those left in the rear had to hurry with logistics.
"We head to the Goblin Fields for hunting and foraging duty. However, Kang Geohan, Helena, Gerot, Loen, Harkrux, and Kaltz—the six of you will move as a separate unit. Head in the opposite direction to the Mirage Desert, scout the surroundings, and if possible, carry out hunting and foraging in the Mythical Beast Fields."
At Rikane Gold's orders, Rafal Black raised an eyebrow.
"Aren't the Mythical Beast Fields close to the fortress? The risk of encountering the enemy is too high!"
"That's why you're going to the Mirage Desert first to scout."
"But we're White Knights. Dodging the enemy just to complete the mission will be—"
Rafal Black couldn't comprehend the current orders.
The main force was heading to the deep uncharted Goblin Fields, a place where the Logot Kingdom was unlikely to have advanced.
In other words, a spot where they could reliably rack up achievements.
On the other hand, the Mythical Beast Fields assigned to Kang Geohan and his group were near enemy territory, posing a high risk of combat.
Even if they scouted the Mirage Desert to avoid danger, it was essentially a throwaway mission—they'd likely just run around, accomplish nothing, and return empty-handed.
Sending rookies on such a task?
It reeked of malice.
The other veterans in the tent jeered.
"Someone has to scout anyway, right? Might as well send the White Knights who aren't much help."
"If they think they're so great, they should at least pull their weight."
Rafal Black gritted his teeth.
Their words weren't entirely wrong.
In any organization, rookies were often stuck with the grueling, thankless jobs.
But Riders were different. Each one was a precious asset, so guiding and nurturing them was the virtue of the trade.
Especially now, in wartime? Seniors should be looking out for them.
This was...
Bullying.
"Enough. It's already decided. No more arguing."
Rikane Gold nailed it shut.
Any further objection would be insubordination.
Rafal Black bit back his words and withdrew.
"Understood. Since it's the mission you've entrusted, we'll do our best to produce results."
Rafal Black's stomach churned. If only Sir Saxen Gold were here...
With Saxen off campaigning with the Count, there was no senior left to advocate for Kang Geohan.
But...
"What are you talking about, Rafal?"
"Pardon?"
"What did you hear earlier? Rafal Black, you're not with Kang Geohan. You move with the main force."
"What?!"
"Kang Geohan has upgraded his Gigant to near-Jotun levels. Add Kaltz Black, and with four White Knights, it's basically a full scout unit composition. No need for you too."
"But—"
"Go relay the orders. We're squeezing out supply vehicles that don't exist, so at minimum, bring back as much as the vehicles you get loaded. Oh, and the commander for that scout unit is Kang Geohan."
Rikane Gold turned away coldly.
Rafal Black's eyes shook in bewilderment.
"Kang Geohan..."
A unit composed entirely of White Knights, save for Kaltz Black.
An unprecedented formation.
* * *
Ten Sleipnirs and three scout squads.
One Red Knight and three Blue Knights.
That was the force assigned to Kang Geohan's team.
Helena White grumbled.
—Ten Sleipnirs...? They've already decided a normal supply run is impossible for us?
Sleipnirs with their eight wheels kicked up sand as they crossed the Mirage Desert.
Trailers massive even by Earth standards. Ten of them wasn't an insignificant number.
But considering it was for a supply run with six Gigants, it was still pathetically meager.
Loen White vented her complaints too.
—And we're way weaker than a standard unit? No mainline Jotun Gigants, all White Rider pilots... This has to be an order to just run and hide. It's downright scary....
A classic mission: grueling and dangerous, with little reward. It was impossible not to be annoyed.
"Ha... Seniors. So frustrating...."
Kang Geohan felt the same dissatisfaction with the situation.
"If only Sir Saxen Gold were here, or even Sir Rafal Black... We could've thrown down with the enemy."
But his stance differed from the others.
While Helena and Loen fretted over the mission's dangers and despaired at the paltry rewards, Kang Geohan was disappointed at the lack of a chance to fight.
"The Femoral with its 2-core 4-thread heart. I want to test it out already."
His body itched for action. His demonic power over 3,000 PDM, the Femoral upgraded beyond Cyclops limits—he was dying to put his skills to the test.
But in this situation, they had to avoid combat at all costs... His blood boiled.
That was when it happened.
—Mirage over there!
The mystical phenomenon of the Mirage Desert, the 'mirage,' began.
Ripple—
From the wind-swept desert floor, colorful heat hazes rose thickly.
The barren sands instantly transformed into a flower-strewn hill painted in shimmering haze.
Tsss—!
Kang Geohan quickly popped the hatch and stepped out.
He donned the issued mana-filter goggles.
"Ah...!"
He'd heard about it beforehand, but a gasp escaped anyway.
To the naked eye, it was just a chaotic swirl of colors like mixed paints, but through the mana-filter goggles, the hazes formed a coherent landscape.
The blue grass stretching over the sand was the Mythical Beast Fields to the south of the Mirage Desert,
the flaming forest to the north and east was the Forest of Fire Spirits.
This was the secret of the Mirage Desert: the 'Mirage Map.'
Real-time views of the surrounding areas, compressed to a 100:1 scale and displayed as mirages.
That was why they sent the weakly equipped Kang Geohan team here—they could scout safely and know when to run.
It was an asset of the eastern border fortress, honed through long years of exploring and researching the surrounding uncharted lands, unknown to the Logot Kingdom.
The Mirage Map spread before their eyes.
The group focused on the Mythical Beast Fields. That was their main target.
Mythical beasts could be hunted for food, yielded medicine, and provided materials for tools—a true bounty for logistics.
The question was whether Logot Gigants had advanced that far.
If they had, they'd have to abandon the rich Mythical Beast Fields and scrape by in the barren desert and Forest of Fire Spirits.
"Ah... They're there."
Loen murmured like a groan.
In the rippling Mythical Beast Fields on the sand, tiny model-like Gigants appeared. One Titan and four Vyabas—a scout unit.
"But the enemy unit's small, isn't it? Standard scout comp is one mainline and five advanced trainers, right? They're short one?"
Loen voiced her doubt.
The enemy unit had one fewer Gigant than Kang Geohan's group.
Kang Geohan brightened.
"That's fightable!"
"No. Sir Kang Geohan White. Look over there. And there too."
Helena White shook her head.
Where she pointed, two more enemy scout units of five Gigants each were visible.
They were spread far apart, so it hadn't been obvious at first glance.
"Three scout units of the same size. They're distant now, but if fighting starts, we could get surrounded."
"Urgh...."
Kang Geohan let out a groan.
Helena's voice grew heavy.
"This is unexpected too. Not one unit, but three...."
She gnashed her teeth.
"No choice. We give up the Mythical Beast Fields. We'll sweep the Mirage Desert and Forest of Fire Spirits for usable materials and head back...."
Was surrender the only option?
Kang Geohan hesitated, gripped by regret.
Then, a thought flashed through his mind.
A hypothesis born from his desperate wish to find an opening for battle.
"Isn't it weird?"
"What?"
"Why are three units clustered in one area?"
Kang Geohan met Helena's eyes. Hers swept over the landscape on the sand.
Gigants stood with lines of trailers behind them.
Each unit trailed 30 to 50 trailers—impressively laden.
"Well... With all those trailers, they're probably hunting mythical beasts for supplies too?"
"Right. But think about it. Why three units in one spot, scattered like that for hunting? And look closer—the trailer counts and support personnel vary wildly between units. It's almost like...."
Helena looked up at Kang Geohan in surprise.
"You... don't tell me?"
"Yeah. They might not be unified."
Borders touched, but uncharted lands surrounded them, so exchanges between nations weren't brisk.
Thus, little was known about the Logot Kingdom or its internal affairs.
So Kang Geohan imagined.
"What if the Logot Kingdom isn't as unified as the Linekarl Kingdom under its king?"
What if nobles and royals loosely allied for their own gains, competing even among themselves?
Then it explained three units in one area, spread apart, with mismatched trailers and troops.
Different factions!
Helena's eyes gleamed.
"So, Sir Kang Geohan White means... if the enemies are competing with each other,"
She swallowed hard, strange ambition glittering in her eyes.
"We pick them off one by one?"
"Exactly."
"Confident?"
She meant, could they definitely overwhelm one enemy unit one-on-one?
Kang Geohan nodded.
"Dead certain. We've got more numbers, and eight golems besides."
"They've got a Titan, mainline equal to a Jotun. Yours is a Cyclops, even upgraded—still inferior. Sure?"
"Dead certain."
Kang Geohan answered coolly. No bluff.
Helena slowly nodded.
Then, watching Gerot scowled.
"What?! How do you know they're different factions? It's just a guess—no, imagination! Helena, why you too? Are you crazy?"
Loen chimed in with a hesitant look.
"Y-yeah. I agree with Gerot this time. Too reckless."
Helena turned to them.
"No... It's not just imagination. Kang Geohan's guess is probably right. High chance."
"What? How do you know?"
Gerot sneered.
"Ha, what, you a Logot spy?"
"Gerot!"
"Repeat that. Sir Gerot White."
Loen raised her voice, fury blazing in Helena's eyes.
As the argument heated, Harkrux raised a hand and shouted.
"Friends! Me!"
With eyes on him from the sudden yell, Harkrux grinned with his handsome face.
"I'll test it. Show ourselves from afar, see their reaction. If they all chase, or just some—let's find out."
He tapped the Gigant hatch.
"Lightweight armor stripped from Lvaim—super agile. Plus sonic mobility unit. Even if they have superior Titans, they won't catch me. I'll go check. Leave it to me, boss."
He glanced at Kang Geohan, the mission commander.
Kang Geohan peered into Harkrux's eyes, then nodded.
"Let's do it. Count on you, Harkrux."
"Roger that!"
A confident smile lit Harkrux's face.