Chapter 28
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Operation White Anvil
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A week flew by in an instant.
From one to three in the afternoon, I’d take Alter’s classes with Rireu, then collapse from exhaustion. After resting, I’d wake up, review the material, and collapse again. The days passed in a blur.
“A letter from Company Commander Bellua.”
As I was finishing my afternoon meal, a young servant delivered a securely sealed letter. I carefully broke the seal and began to read.
[Unfortunately, a large-scale Mutant unit and numerous Mazoku have been confirmed in the swamp twenty kilometers from the forest zone. As expected, several traps, such as mana mines, were also discovered inside the forest zone.]
It was just as I’d feared.
The Mazoku hadn't missed the loophole in our agreement and were preparing a surprise attack. Bellua’s ominous premonition had hit the mark perfectly.
“...Tsk.”
The Mazoku were as vicious and cunning as their reputation suggested; we never expected them to overlook a loophole in the contract in the first place.
This was a situation I had already anticipated. I took up a quill and penned a short reply.
[I will handle it. Please prepare for ‘Operation White Anvil.’]
I had to clean up my own mess.
That day, I went to bed earlier than usual.
Tomorrow was going to be a very busy day.
* * *
The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. I woke up four hours earlier than usual, gathered my robe, hat, and grimoire, and stepped out of my room.
Alter and Rireu were already up to see me off. Unlike our expedition to the Enquer Highlands, they were now clad head to toe in combat accessories, staves, and robes.
Beyond the castle's main gate, instead of the usual lavish imperial carriage, a military carriage and a large company awaited me.
I took a deep breath of the dawn air as I looked at the countless dwarf soldiers in sturdy, well-maintained armor, standing in perfect formation. Human, orc, and elf soldiers were interspersed among them.
“Today, we march to reclaim our lost lands.”
The soldiers’ faces were tense. They knew. We weren’t just going to build an outpost.
We were going to launch a surprise attack on the ambushing Mazoku.
There would be a battle. There might be injuries and deaths.
Injuries and deaths that might have been avoided if I had been just a little more careful.
‘…Ah, damn it.’
Again, the damn smell of the corpse wagon brushed past my nose.
“Today’s expedition could have been a much simpler affair. But my mistake has introduced an unforeseen variable.”
As a commander, I didn’t know what to say to boost the soldiers’ morale.
Just a month ago, I was a jobless loser who dropped out of middle school, fiddling with sheet music and MIDI controllers in my room. What could I possibly know about the psychology of soldiers before a battle?
“The fight that is about to happen might have been avoided if I had exercised a bit more caution. But I made a mistake.”
So I decided to just be honest about what I was thinking.
“I will formally apologize for this foolish mistake after everything is over.”
Having decided to fight, I would have to be prepared for sacrifices. I understood that logically, but…
“It will be quite a sight. A general bowing his head to common soldiers.”
My heart wished for every single one of them to return to their families without a scratch.
The air in the cemetery I had visited before was so heavy it felt like it could crush my frail shoulders.
I hoped I would never have to go to a place like that again.
I made that wish, knowing full well it was impossible.
“So please… until I bow my head, let no one die.”
Faint smiles appeared on the soldiers’ lips.
Had their tension eased, even a little?
If so, that was a relief. But perhaps it was a smile of pity, watching a young greenhorn trying so hard to calm their nerves.
Either way, it didn’t matter.
They were smiling, and the faint tension that had filled the ranks had dissipated.
For a rookie commander, I’d say I did pretty well, wouldn't you?
“We depart now.”
“All troops! To your horses!”
As soon as I finished speaking, Bellua, who stood beside me, shouted loudly. The dwarves let out spirited roars in their characteristically deep voices and mounted their horses. Rireu and Alter covered their ears as if the noise was too much and climbed into the carriage.
“General.”
Amidst the soldiers scrambling to their mounts, a familiar voice cut through the clamor of the crowd and reached my ears.
“...Squad Leader Rex.”
The orc squad leader with a mechanical arm and a giant axe slung over his back. Rex had approached me at some point and offered a quiet salute.
Amidst the departing troops, I quietly returned his salute.
On the prosthesis that replaced his completely severed right arm, the number 6 was painted in reddish-yellow.
When I lowered my hand, he snapped his arm back to his side with military precision, as if he had been waiting. It had been less than a month since he’d gotten the prosthetic, yet he handled it as freely as his own arm. It was nothing short of astonishing to me.
“General, you created an opening in the Akilliptus Forest Zone, a place we wouldn’t have even dreamed of retaking. A massive opening. So it is more than enough.”
Rex’s crimson eyes held a deep, indescribable emotion.
His words felt like pity for a genius burdened with heavy responsibilities at a young age, but also like a rebuke to a fool who believed he could control everything despite being only human.
“None of us are perfect. Even the great Sword Saint makes mistakes, so how could we be any different?”
Rex continued speaking as he gently stroked the horn of the Komodo standing beside him.
“So when this is all over, you do not need to apologize. Warriors are those who have resolved to die to protect the morrows of the innocent. None of us will complain that the circumstances weren't ‘perfect.’”
“It seems my pledge doesn’t sit well with you, Rex.”
“A commander bowing to his subordinates is unheard of among us orcs. Of course, I know you are not an orc, General, and that we must respect our cultural differences, but…”
Orcs are warriors armed with a uniquely strong hierarchy and a rigid military ethos. Rex, having been raised as an elite soldier in such a culture, seemed uncomfortable with the promise of a general bowing to common soldiers.
“Everyone on this continent moves forward by supplementing each other's shortcomings. My point is, there is no need to apologize for every little mistake when you have already achieved something great. Does not even the great Sword Saint move with a party to cover his own weaknesses?”
“...I understand what you’re saying.”
“My apologies for overstepping.”
Having said his piece, Rex bowed his head and apologized.
Rex, whom I hadn't seen in a while, was still a proud warrior and a man of character who knew how to consider others.
“Not at all.”
I replied with a reassuring smile. Hearing my answer, he nodded, turned, and began to heave his massive body onto his Komodo.
I watched until Rex was mounted, gave a simple nod, and then climbed into the carriage where the mages were waiting.
Soon, the sound of hooves and rolling wheels filled the air.
Inside the carriage, besides me, Rireu, and Alter, there were four other mages from the company.
They were mid-rank mages, around the 4th or 5th Circle, and veterans with plenty of combat experience.
“...Hoo.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
The tightly knotted muscles in my shoulders, tense for who knows how long, began to slowly loosen. The pressure that had settled in my heart also faded away.
The leisure to look up at the sky returned.
The weather today was far too fine for a thunderstorm.
I took a deep breath, admiring the clear sky.
The air of the Middle Ages was far more refreshing and pleasant than I had ever imagined.
* * *
In a small swamp, a mere ten kilometers from the Akilliptus Forest Zone.
This swamp, thick with undergrowth and dotted with small caves, was teeming with Mutants, their bodies filled with potent venom.
“...The humans have entered the forest zone.”
A Mazoku with its eyes shut spoke in a dry, emotionless tone.
He could see the dwarf infantry, clad in silver-heavy armor, cautiously advancing into the forest of giant trees.
It was thanks to the visual link he had established with the Mutants secretly planted around the forest zone.
“They look like a reconnaissance team. The main force will show itself soon.”
“Considering the distance from the forest zone to here… it would be more efficient to start moving the Mutants now. If we move them quickly, we can attack before they set up a temporary camp.”
“I agree.”
Within a deep cave in the swamp, somber, chilling voices exchanged words. As if in response to their voices, the ground began to tremble. Monsters, their bodies filled with deadly venom, started their march toward the Akilliptus Forest Zone.
They were Mutants covered in moss and leaves, bizarre fusions of rabbits and trees, or twisted combinations of orcs and elves.
These venom-filled monsters contaminated the air and corrupted the land simply by moving.
The ten Mazoku hidden in the cave sent all the Mutants under their command charging toward the Akilliptus Forest Zone. In the aftermath, old trees that formed the swamp collapsed, and the ground gave way.
In the deepest part of the now-quiet cave, the Mazoku closed their eyes, focusing all their mental energy on controlling the Mutants.
“This isn’t some cult’s ritual site…”
Someone expressed their disgust at the dark, damp, and utterly ghastly scene.
The voice was young, yet cold.
“...?”
The Mazoku snapped their eyes open in unison, turning their heads toward the source of the voice.
There stood a white-haired boy, cloaked in a jet-black robe and holding a red lantern.
“How…”
There wasn't a single Mazoku here who didn't know the boy's identity.
The young genius mage who had fought the Overlord and survived; a brilliant strategist with the incredible nerve to extort a high-ranking lord.
The sudden appearance of such a major figure brought the Mazoku’s thoughts to a screeching halt.
“...”
The Mazoku's main fighting force, the Mutants, were all currently heading for the Akilliptus Forest Zone.
Even if they were hastily ordered to return, it would take at least ten minutes for them to get back.
Could they last ten minutes?
Ten ordinary Mazoku, not even high-ranking ones… against the monstrous mage who had fought the Overlord on equal footing?
No… even if they fought at full strength with all their Mutants, could they even win?
“...”
No matter what strategy they considered, the only outcome they could derive was ‘death.’
“...How can you be here?”
In the depths of despair, one of the Mazoku threw out a meaningless question.
“Turns out my reconnaissance team is better at their job than I thought. It’s all thanks to my capable subordinates.”
The boy answered as he carefully placed the lantern on the damp cave floor.
“And now, it’s my turn to repay that favor.”
*Crackle…!*
A faint electric spark danced through the boy’s pure white hair.
The light that illuminated the dark cave dazzled the eyes of the Mazoku, which were accustomed to the darkness.
‘Ten of them, just as the scouts reported… a perfect number to test my current level.’
For nearly a month, the boy had studied and trained in magic under an 8th-Circle mage without missing a single day.
He had undoubtedly become an incomparably stronger mage than when he first fell into this world.
But he himself couldn't gauge exactly what level he had reached.
The nature of [Blooming], which released all his stored mana in a single use, made it impossible to measure his level through sparring with someone.
He had to avoid using up his painstakingly accumulated mana on something like a duel, only to find himself unable to fight when a real emergency arose.
‘In the game, the ‘One-Shot Mage’ had to be at least level 20 to fight ten ordinary Mazoku at once.’
Which meant the Mazoku right in front of him…
were nothing more than a punching machine to test the level of his ‘power.’
“Blooming.”
*CRACK!*
The glass of the lantern shattered as it was struck by the electricity erupting from the boy’s body. The oil trapped inside floated on the water pooled on the cave floor. The current flowing from the boy’s body leaped across the shattered glass like stepping stones. The scattered oil ignited.
In the next moment.
A massive torrent of electricity burst from the boy’s body, shattered the cave ceiling, and finally reached the clouds.