On the Brink of a Mana Overload

Hanna and I snapped a salute and stepped out of the command barracks. The moment we were outside, she stopped dead in her tracks, as if the emotions she'd been holding back had finally surged up. Cupping her face in both hands, she began to sob, quiet and broken.

"Lieutenant… thank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you. Truly… truly, thank you. All of it… it's all thanks to you, Lieutenant."

Her shoulders heaved as she wept, utterly different from the composed figure she'd cut inside the barracks just moments before. Without a word, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

And that night, my barracks bed had no time to stop creaking.

"Nngh, hah… ahh♡ Lieutenant… please, let me thank you with this body…♡"

Her sweat-slicked naked body rocked her hips furiously on top of me. With her new Sergeant insignia freshly pinned to her uniform, she moved as if desperate to repay every bit of the reward money and honor she'd received today, giving it all back to me with her flesh alone. Her full, supple breasts swayed deliciously right before my eyes.

Status Analysis.

"I-I'm about to—! Lieutenant… ahhaaang♡!"

With her scream, her scorching pussy clamped down on my cock like it was convulsing. At that same instant, I spilled a heavy load of hot cum into the condom. Her vaginal walls twitched and spasmed, greedily suckling at my cock as if determined to milk out every last drop.

Exhausted, I collapsed on top of Hanna. Her soft, lush body accepted my weight without complaint, and as I savored that addictive plushness, I spoke.

"Haa… haa… Hanna…. We're out of condoms now."

"Then… raw it is…♡"

"That's… not happening. Last time I couldn't hold back, but we really can't be careless about this…"

"Then at least let me make you happy with my mouth…♡"

Hanna lifted herself from my arms and turned around, facing the other way. Bending her upper body down, she took my cock into her mouth while presenting her hips toward my face. A damp, heat-soaked pussy spread open right above my face.

That night, Hanna took my cock until she fell asleep.

A few days ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠later, the day of the operation. In the pre-dawn hours, the Ashen Forest was still submerged in darkness and damp morning fog, the sky not yet lightened.

But the entire earth was trembling. The thunder of thousands of boots pounding the soil mingled with the faint scrape of metal equipment and the low growl of vehicle engines. The entire 7th Regiment had begun to move.

"1st Battalion, commence flanking maneuver east as scheduled!"

"Artillery, prepare smoke rounds for screening fire at coordinates OOO-XXX!"

Orders spread through the communications net and out into the darkness. Our 2nd Company was falling into formation as well. And at the very head of it all, facing the deepest dark of all, was my 3rd Platoon.

"Platoon Leader, all personnel ready."

Sergeant Gunter reported, his voice taut with tension. Behind him, the platoon members were already crouched low, muzzles trained on the forest. It was a transformation impossible to compare with the ragtag mess they'd been just a few months ago.

I nodded and turned to Captain Serafina standing beside me. She was peering through her binoculars at the darkened forest. The cold dawn air grazed her snow-white cheeks and stirred a few strands of her silver hair.

Status Analysis.

"GRUUAAAH!"

At last, they revealed themselves. With a roar that shook the very bedrock, a tide of greenish-black poured out of the Ashen Forest's darkness. Brazen war horns tore through the dawn stillness, and hundreds of crude tribal banners advanced through the fog.

"So they've finally crawled out."

Serafina said quietly.

I fixed my gaze on the Minimap flickering at the edge of my vision. The forest boundary that had been empty mere moments before began to flood with red dots in an instant. Thousands of them, even by a rough count—a force rivaling the Regiment's full strength.

From that moment on, the rear command post began receiving communications at a frantic pace. The signalmen pressed receivers to their ears and shouted back the Colonel's orders, word for word.

"Orders from the Colonel! All units, assume First Combat Readiness!"

"Artillery, commence barrage on Primary Target! Coordinates Anton-7! I say again, coordinates Anton-7!"

The instant the order fell, the sky above the ridge behind us split with a successive crack of shells tearing through the air.

Shiiiiiii—! KWA-KWA-KWABOOM!

Dozens of shells arced over in graceful parabolas and sent colossal pillars of earth surging up along the forest's edge. The orcs' lead formations were shredded like paper under the barrage, but the enemy's momentum never wavered. If anything, they surged forward faster, howling straight through the bombardment.

"2nd Battalion, 3rd Battalion! Advance! Draw their main force toward the center!"

The order came down again. Sharp whistles rang out in unison from the 2nd and 3rd Battalions arrayed on the battlefield's flanks. On the Minimap, wave after wave of green dots—everyone but us—began charging furiously forward.

A feint. A baiting maneuver.

Our 1st Battalion, containing our 2nd Company, remained in reserve. All we could do was watch from the ridge as two massive armies collided.

"……"

The soldiers around me swallowed dryly or tightened their grips on their rifles with stiff faces. Crushed by the overwhelming killing intent the battlefield exuded, not one of them could open his mouth easily.

Gunfire shook the forest. Orc roars and human screams tangled together into a single horrific din. On the Minimap, red and green dots began churning violently into one another. Battles great and small were erupting simultaneously across every stretch of the front line.

Quietly, I used Status Analysis on Serafina standing at my side.

She stared at the battlefield without the slightest movement. Looking at her alone, one would think she felt nothing at all before the hell unfolding in front of her. But I knew that even now, in this very moment, she was fighting an invisible pain.

I turned my eyes back to the field. Under the ferocious resistance of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, the orcs' main force was gradually being compressed toward the center. Soon, our turn would come.

Right then, the promised signal arrived from regimental command. A green signal flare, fired from the rear, streaked across the dawn sky.

"The Colonel's signal!"

The 1st Battalion Commander's voice tore through the air like a flare of its own. A battle cry erupted from the units behind us. And with it, the very air around us changed.

"2nd Company, follow me!"

Serafina's voice rang out crystal clear. Drawing the officer's pistol at her hip, she threw herself down the ridge ahead of everyone else, with our 3rd Platoon hard on her heels.

We plunged into the heart of the battlefield, clambering over corpses and shell craters. The stench of gunpowder mixed with the copper tang of blood stung my nose, while the endless crack of gunfire, screams, and clashing metal rang in my ears.

Our objective was the orcs' flank. Even amid the chaos, Serafina found the shortest route without a flicker of hesitation and led the company to it. And at last, we reached the most vulnerable gap in the enemy's defensive line—their exposed side.

"Sergeant Hanna!"

Serafina shouted as she ran.

"Yes, Captain!"

"Where's the most dangerous one?!"

"Ten o'clock, behind the shield wall! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'm sensing a powerful shamanic signature!"

The moment Hanna's report ended, a frigid cold began condensing above Serafina's left palm. A silver-white bullet, forged from the moisture of the air itself freezing solid. She rammed it into her pistol's chamber and, without a moment's hesitation, squeezed the trigger at the space beyond the shield wall.

SHWAAK—!

The Mana Bullet streaked away in a blue arc, punched clean through a shield-bearer's thick iron shield, and burst the chest of the orc shaman behind it.

"GAKHAAAK!"

With the shaman's death rattle, the faint shamanic barrier spread around him shattered like glass.

"Now! 3rd Platoon, punch through!"

I seized the opening without hesitation and gave the order. The platoon opened fire in unison.

Status Analysis.

Enemy information windows flashed past the edge of my vision like a storm. Orcs thrown into confusion, their barrier gone. But among them, some were already shaking it off and hefting their axes.

"Machine gun, nine o'clock! Shred those axe throwers behind the shields first!"

Thanks to Status Analysis and the Minimap, my orders were more precise than anyone else's field of view. The machine gunner swung his barrel around without a second's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠delay, and a furious hail of rounds sheared through the axe throwers' upper bodies.

"1st and 2nd Squads, ready grenades! Throw them behind that shield wall! Their reinforcements are bunched up there!"

On the Minimap, the follow-up forces were packed dense and tight directly behind the red dots marking the shield-bearers. Without hesitation, my platoon members pulled their grenade pins.

DUDUDUDUDU! KWAKWABOOM!

The orcs cowering behind the shield wall toppled helplessly, one after another.

"The Captain and 3rd Platoon have opened the way! 1st Squad, assault!"

Lieutenant Walter seized the moment and gave the order. Like the veteran he was, he commanded the 1st Squad with practiced ease, widening the breach our 3rd Platoon had carved.

"2nd Squad, we're going too!"

"4th Platoon will cover the flank!"

Lieutenants Erika and Franz shouted as they came up behind. The two platoons focused on mopping up the remaining orcs.

DUDUDUDU!

At last, the entire 2nd Company was committed to the fight. We poured out rounds without pause. And above all, no one shone brighter than Serafina.

"Hanna!"

"Two o'clock! Big bastard with an axe!"

SHWAAK—! BANG!

Keeping Hanna—wielder of Mana Sense—glued to her side, she hunted down the critical targets one by one. And each time, her pistol flared silver-white, and the target was obliterated.

Before long, the gunfire died. The battle settled into a lull.