Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Backstab (4)
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Uwaaaah!
Clang-!
The noise shattering the quiet night made Gunter lift his head.
'They're here.'
In the direction he was watching.
Nelly, Ivan, and Pana came running urgently from where the commotion originated.
But despite their frantic pace, the three wore bright expressions.
"They came! Just like Clarice said!"
"They really showed up at the spot he told us about!"
Their excited voices lit up the faces of everyone gathered around Gunter.
Among them, Shleman muttered with a look of disbelief.
"It was real?"
Shleman smacked his lips in exasperation.
Letting out a faint sigh, he turned to Gunter with eyes that said he'd been beaten.
"...You were right, Gunter. Clarice is a man of honor."
"Of course. He's a scion of Clan Ban."
Shleman pulled a face at Gunter, who nodded with a slightly pleased expression.
'Who would've thought Clarice would actually play the spy.'
Honestly, when Gunter had told him he'd sent Clarice in as a spy, Shleman had been skeptical.
It was uncertain whether Yuri Holland would gather the deserters and consolidate power as Gunter predicted.
Even if he did, it was doubtful Clarice would fulfill his role as a spy.
'I figured it was a win if he didn't just betray us...'
Yet the very scenario Gunter had worried about had come to pass.
And Clarice, truly acting as a spy just as Gunter had asked, was feeding them intel on the enemy.
Even so, Shleman hadn't fully dropped his suspicions until then.
And a few hours ago.
Clarice had warned them of an impending night raid by the enemy, even revealing the infiltration routes.
Shleman had countered that this was likely false info leaked by Yuri Holland to deceive them.
But Gunter disagreed.
He insisted Clarice was a man of honor and that they shouldn't belittle his devotion to them.
The sharp clash between Gunter and Shleman's stances.
Shleman had been the first to back down.
If Clarice was right, they needed to prepare.
Time until the raid Clarice predicted was short.
So they moved swiftly.
First, to prevent any real insider from leaking info back, they set up a system where everyone watched everyone else.
They arranged for even brief tasks to be done in groups.
They also used bushes and branches to create decoys that could pass for people in the dark.
Furthermore, along the enemy's infiltration paths, they scouted inconspicuous spots to hide.
And what Gunter and Shleman put the most effort into.
Was the people around them.
Gunter looked at those around him.
Nelly, Ivan, and Pana were from his original squad, but the rest of the squad members were different.
Some were familiar from the squad leader meetings.
Not only that.
Most were top performers from the end-of-month evaluations or holders of Silver Dragon or Gold Dragon badges.
Thus, Squad 7 and Squad 9 under Gunter.
Both squads had been entirely replaced with elite true heavyweights.
This was a plan inspired by Clarice's tip about swapping squad members.
A so-called elite squad of twenty.
And the purpose of this special squad was, naturally, to counter Yuri Holland's Squad 1.
At first, when he proposed creating this elite squad, many opposed.
If the elites gathered to face Squad 1 didn't disband after achieving their goal, it would disadvantage other squads.
Only after Gunter and Shleman staked their family names and promised to revert everything upon success could they proceed.
The elite squad thus formed watched from away from the outpost.
To see if the enemy would truly launch a raid as Clarice's intel suggested.
And now, with Clarice's intel proven true.
It was time for the twenty elites to fulfill their purpose.
"Prepare. If they've started over there, Squad 1 will arrive here soon."
The group buzzed at Gunter's words.
Yet for some reason, their numbers totaled only nineteen.
The crucial 9-1 spot, Squad 9's leader position, was empty.
This too was due to Gunter's insistence.
[The 9th Squad leader spot was originally Clarice's. If everything goes as his intel says, it's only right to restore his position for his devotion to us.]
Many agreed with Gunter, so Shleman was temporarily handling Squad 9.
"I'll give the assault signal. Stand by until then."
"If the surprise attack fails, follow the countermeasures he provided."
Under Gunter and Shleman's command, they quickly took positions and hid.
Gunter, crouched in the bushes, sharpened his gaze.
'Squad 1 will appear at the 9 o'clock position from the outpost.'
Per Clarice's intel, five squads would strike simultaneously from 11, 1, 3, 5, and 7 o'clock.
People would then flock to the open path at 9 o'clock to escape.
That's when Squad 1 would infiltrate a bit later for a second wave ambush—Yuri Holland's plan.
Everything had matched Clarice's intel so far, so Squad 1 should soon appear at 9 o'clock.
The plan was to counter-ambush them the moment they did.
The nineteen elites held their breath, staring ahead.
How much time passed like that.
Gulp-.
In the utter silence where even his own swallow was audible.
Rustle-.
Far off, bushes stirred as three figures emerged.
'They're here.'
'Even this was real!'
The three were the Squad 1 that Gunter and Shleman had awaited.
And Yuri's group was slowly approaching the ambush point.
Their conversation drifted over.
"Ah, seriously! I told you it's not like this? We saw it earlier! The moment our guys charged in, they popped out like they were waiting to hit us from behind. This has to mean our info leaked!"
"I'm hungry."
...Though it was less conversation and more Arin yapping nonstop.
She stuck to Yuri's side, ranting that the operation was doomed.
Poppi nodded in agreement, but Yuri just picked at his ear.
"We need to retreat now!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Arin pouted at Yuri's half-hearted reply as he walked.
Meanwhile, Gunter carefully gauged the distance.
'Ten more steps. A bit further... come deeper in.'
The perfect spot for an ambush.
Gunter prayed they'd reach it.
'Two more steps!'
In that breath-held moment.
Yuri halted with exactly one step to go.
Arin brightened and asked.
"Finally turning back? Good call. I told you it's a trap!"
"Shut it and loose an arrow."
"Suddenly? An arrow? Where?"
She questioned the abrupt order but had already nocked one.
And.
"There."
The instant Yuri pointed, she released.
Swish-!
The sharply shot arrow flew into the bushes ahead.
Clang-!
A metallic ring echoed as the arrow bounced off above the bushes.
Arin's face hardened in tension, and Poppi swiftly raised his shield to cover the front.
Swift reaction.
Then Yuri's laid-back voice came.
"Once we're spotted, ambush loses meaning, no? Got a plan for after it fails?"
At Yuri's taunt, eighteen people burst out from all sides.
Each grabbing weapons, swiftly taking positions.
Finally, Gunter emerged from the bushes where Arin had shot.
Per the post-failure countermeasures, the eighteen surrounded Yuri's group at intervals.
Arin shrieked as they were instantly encircled.
"Damn it, I told you! It's a trap! You never listen!"
"I'm hungry!"
Arin fumed, and so did Poppi.
Yet Yuri calmly picked his ear.
"What a fuss."
He thumped his chest.
"Hey, you don't trust me?"
"Nope."
"I'm hungry."
Yuri promptly ignored their quick nods.
"Hey, who am I? Yuri, the guy who brawled with a tiger! Don't chicken out—we got this."
"Really?"
"Probably?"
"...Damn it."
"...I'm hungry."
Arin and Poppi pouted.
As Yuri's group bickered, the encirclement tightened.
Arin and Poppi shed their playfulness, faces serious as they powered up.
Tension hung thick.
Rustle-.
Bushes beside Gunter rustled, and another person appeared.
Everyone but Yuri jolted in tension.
Both sides soon lit up with joy.
Arin and Poppi waved first at the newcomer.
"Huh? That's one of ours! What's his name? Uh... anyway, hey, over here!"
"I'm hungry!"
An ally appearing amid encirclement—who wouldn't be thrilled?
But their reactions soon flipped.
"Good work, Clarice Ban."
Gunter too welcomed the newcomer, Clarice, with a glad face.
"Thanks to your intel, this went smoothly."
Arin and Poppi's eyes bulged at his words to Clarice.
Soon, fire spewed from Arin's mouth.
"No way... that bastard's the traitor?! Yuri, I told you! There had to be a leak!"
Arin, convinced there was a traitor leaking info.
She vented upon facing him at last.
Meanwhile, the moment Clarice reached his side, Gunter signaled Shleman.
Understanding, Shleman removed one of two armbands from his arm and tossed it.
Gunter snatched it and offered it to Clarice.
"Take it. It's yours."
Clarice accepted the 9-1 armband wordlessly, staring at it briefly.
"Welcome back."
Gunter's brief greeting came with a slight smile as he refocused on Yuri's group.
Right then.
"Gunter Irons."
Gunter turned at the low voice calling him.
And he saw it.
Clarice, holding the 9-1 armband in both hands, smiling at him.
'Ah...'
Gunter sensed something ominous in Clarice's smile.
And that premonition became reality.
"I told you, you trust people too easily."
With that, Clarice tore the armband forcefully.
Rip-.
Even cowhide ripped by bare hands—the armband shredded helplessly.
"......?!"
"What?!"
"W-what are you doing!"
Screams erupted everywhere at the sudden turn.
But the 9-1 squad leader armband was already ruined.
This meant Squad 9 was wiped out.
Half of Gunter and Shleman's prized elite force had vanished into nothing.
"...W-why?"
Clarice approached the dazed Gunter, who murmured blankly.
He answered flatly.
"Empty honor won't fill an empty stomach... that's Clan Ban's teaching. Honor? Hah."
With a small scoff, Clarice brushed past the frozen Gunter.
Not just Gunter—everyone was stunned, staring blankly as Clarice strolled casually.
Even Arin and Poppi.
Step, step-.
Clarice's slow steps led him.
Right to Yuri.
Yuri grinned with crinkled eyes.
"Man, my eye for people is spot on. You could hit the theater circuit."
Yuri flashed double thumbs-up with a cheeky grin.
Seeing it, Clarice recalled the moment days ago when he'd joined Yuri's side.