Chapter 141
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141
As he channeled fire energy into his blade, the flame-infused dagger stretched far beyond its original length.
His back throbbed with pain, but Kart suppressed it and smirked.
"I bet you've never seen anything like this before, kid."
Plenty of subjugation squads named themselves after dragons, but the Nixir Red Dragon Subjugation Squad had actually hunted one. The crimson armor Kart wore was proof of that feat.
It seemed the man hadn't been lying about being from an A-rank Subjugation Squad. Furthermore, Kart's intuition told him this wasn't the full extent of the man's power.
He must be hiding a trump card of some sort.
Flames wrapped around the elongated dagger. The man, who had been smiling so smugly until now, looked flustered for the first time. He swung his rapier, unleashing a wave of sword energy.
—The flames swallowed the sword energy whole.
The enemy was undoubtedly skilled, but fighters of that caliber were a dime a dozen in the Nixir Red Dragon Subjugation Squad. And Kart was the captain of that very squad.
"Did you think we'd be easy? That anyone who isn't a Hero is a pushover?"
"Ugh..."
The man stumbled backward, his instincts screaming that those flames were lethal. The intensifying fire looked ready to consume everything inside the tent at any moment.
"We'll meet... again."
Realizing he stood no chance, the man turned to flee.
But without a flicker of warning, Kart lunged.
Panicking, the man swung his sword in desperation. The flame-infused dagger clashed with the rapier.
Clang!
Unable to withstand the sudden impact and searing heat, the man lost his grip. The masterless rapier flew high into the air, tearing through the tent ceiling and snagging in the fabric above.
Damn him!
The man gritted his teeth. His mind reeled at the unexpected turn of events, but a single thought echoed relentlessly in his head.
I cannot die here. I still have too many missions left to complete.
"Next time, I will kill you no matter what. In the name of God, I will surely—"
He reached for the Veil magic scroll hidden in his robes to block the incoming flurry of attacks.
But just then, a spark from the swinging dagger—like a fleck of molten metal—flew into the man's eye.
"Aaaaargh!"
The man collapsed, screaming in agony. It felt as if the moisture in his eye was boiling away. For someone who had been smiling so elegantly moments ago, it was a pathetic, unsightly shriek.
Kart tossed the dagger to the ground.
A blade that melted under dragon fire was useless. Instead, Kart drew his own weapon, which he had placed on a wooden crate.
Clutching his ruined eye, the screaming man desperately activated his scroll. A protective veil unfurled before him.
But Kart's sword, forged from dragon bone, effortlessly tore through the veil as if it were paper.
"P-please, spare me."
These are the bastards who brought down Felstein. Humans worse than the monsters that slaughtered tens of thousands.
"I asked you who you thought we were."
Kart, no stranger to slaughter, felt no reason to hesitate.
*
Thirty minutes before the night raid.
Having summoned everyone earlier than scheduled, Kart presented two severed heads to his officers.
One head had a completely caved-in face; the other belonged to a white-haired young man, his locks scorched black.
"We're changing the plan."
The officers of the Nixir Red Dragon Subjugation Squad stared, their shock at the sight of the heads plain on their faces. Kart, however, remained completely unfazed.
"There are individuals in silver-white armor out there. They're as skilled as A-rank Subjugation Squad members, and I've learned they call themselves the Holy Knights. We need to find every last one of them."
There was no time to waste. Kart pointed at five of his officers.
"Go wake Magino, the lord of this territory, immediately."
Rummaging through his coat, Kart tossed an emblem onto the table. It was proof of his identity.
"If the lord gets angry, tell him I ordered it. Press Magino by any means necessary to track down the remaining Holy Knights. Kill them the moment you find them. I warn you, fight with everything you have from the start. They are traitors colluding with the Orcs."
The officers stared into Kart's eyes before lowering their gaze to his armor.
Kart's red armor had the property of glowing purple when channeling fire energy. That hue had not yet fully faded.
It meant a battle had just taken place.
The captain fought.
For them, that fact alone was enough. The context didn't matter.
"Understood, Captain."
One of the officers asked, "Then what about the personnel for the night raid?"
"We are reorganizing. Only Rainmay and I will go."
"That's too dangerous."
"Rubhem is far more dangerous right now. The two who came to kill me haven't returned, so their allies will realize something is wrong soon. There's no telling what they'll do or where they'll strike."
He’d seen six of them introduced behind Magino earlier. Even if that was their entire group…
"There are at least four left in this territory."
Sending five officers to deal with them was already stretching their forces thin. Since the enemies were colluding with the Orcs, if they dragged things out, the Orcs might catch wind of the night raid.
They had to pull off both the raid and the elimination of the traitors. If they were to send the absolute minimum number of people for the raid, it had to be just two.
Kart and Rainmay.
The captain and the vice-captain.
The strongest swordsman and the strongest mage of the Nixir Red Dragon Subjugation Squad.
"If anyone has an objection, speak now."
"But Captain, you are currently the military commander of the castle. If the enemy attacks while you are out on the raid..."
"It won't take long. Thirty minutes at most. Our squad can easily hold out for that long on its own."
"In that case, I agree."
"We will follow your lead, Captain."
"We will carry out your orders."
"Don't die, Captain."
There were no further objections. The night grew deeper. With no reason to linger, everyone dispersed to carry out their respective duties.
*
Outside the castle, the night was filled with the cries of phantom beasts. They flew tirelessly through the sky long after sunset, circling as if searching for a gap in the castle's defenses.
Had they come any closer, they would have been shot down, but they maintained a cautious distance, keeping a constant watch on the castle.
Evading the eyes of the phantom beasts, Kart and Rainmay slipped out the back of the castle, circled around, and made their way through a dark reed field.
Fame always brought wealth. As members of one of the Empire's most renowned subjugation squads, they possessed numerous high-grade magic tools that granted stealth. Walking silently with the aid of these tools, they eventually saw an open plain through the reeds.
Tents packed tightly across the plain came into view. That was undoubtedly where the Orc infantry was stationed.
"From this distance, what can you do?" Kart asked quietly.
Even though she was right beside him, Rainmay replied via telepathy.
[I can cast a few intermediate spells, Captain.]
Having come this far, they could start a fire somehow. However, they had to account for the numerous Orc shamans on the other side. They needed a stronger fire, one that couldn't be easily extinguished with water.
Something like high-tier magic.
"...We're moving closer."
[There are sentries patrolling. We'll be spotted.]
"It doesn't matter if we are. Let's move."
[...Understood.]
With Kart in the lead and Rainmay following, they slowly approached the tents, using trees and rocks for cover. Ducking behind a large boulder, Kart turned to Rainmay.
"Do it. Use your strongest spell. It doesn't matter if it's bright and flashy. I'll cover you."
Rainmay nodded and extended her staff toward the tents.
Blue mana scattered across the plains gathered toward her staff. The concentrated mana coalesced at the tip, glowing brilliantly.
In the darkness where the moon was the sole source of light, something brighter than moonlight shone with a blue radiance. There was no way the Orcs wouldn't notice.
"A-An ambush! Ambush!"
The first Orc to spot them bellowed toward the camp. Kart tore a scroll containing the Dumb Dagger to bring the Orc down, but another Orc saw this and blew a horn.
One by one, the Orcs in the camp began to wake.
"Hurry!"
"It's ready!"
Since they had already been spotted, there was no longer any need for stealth. Abandoning telepathy, Rainmay shouted at the top of her lungs.
High-tier magic: Vulcan's Rain.
A rain of fire poured down.
The quiet night instantly transformed into a living hell. Screams erupted from Orcs burning alive inside their tents.
Orc shamans cast spells to extinguish the fire, but these flames were not so easily put out.
"Captain, we have to run! The phantom beasts are heading this way—"
Rainmay cried out, but Kart raised a hand to silence her.
His gaze was locked on a distant part of the camp.
"Go on ahead if you want."
"Captain!"
"...This is our chance."
I can't let him slip away.
Kart muttered under his breath and drew his sword, his eyes fixed on a single Orc charging toward him.
If Kart's memory served him right, there was no mistaking that armor.
"That guy... is a gatekeeper."
He had been thoroughly researching the Orcs since before they departed from Riaze.
The very first thing Kart did upon arriving in Rubhem was assess the strength of both allies and enemies. After all, before being a fierce warrior, he was a leader responsible for over a hundred subjugation squad members.
He knew all too well that ignorance led to incompetence, and incompetence laid the foundation for defeat.
Thus, he had already figured out how the main Orc army operated. He knew that Nilkumbal was a coalition of six major tribes, that four gatekeepers commanded different battle zones, and that the main army was led by the Legion Commander, Kurak, and two gatekeepers. He knew how many Orcs each commanded, how to distinguish a decurion from a common Orc, what kind of armor centurions and thousand-man commanders wore, and exactly which tribe each gatekeeper belonged to.
...Knowing all of this, there was no way he wouldn't recognize a gatekeeper.
The gray skin, the red hair, and the prominent scar across his abdomen.
"It's Gorgo of the Tazak tribe. I'm sure of it."
Kart drew his sword from his waist. As he channeled fire energy into the dragon-bone blade, flames erupted along the grooves carved into the metal.
The flickering flames wrapping around the sword gradually took shape, solidifying into a blazing blade easily three times the length of the original.
He had said the night raid would be quick, that they would return within thirty minutes, but...
"...I can't just leave now."
The situation had changed. This was an unexpected opportunity.
If Kurak had completely unified the six major tribes, the Orcs of each tribe should have been mixed together indiscriminately. However, the current main Orc army operated with each tribe staying grouped together. This was easily discernible when looking down from the ramparts.
It means they prioritized fostering solidarity within individual tribes over integrating them all.
But keeping the tribes separate also meant that if Gorgo died, Kurak wouldn't be able to manage the resulting drop in the Tazak tribe's morale—at least, not in the middle of a battle.
In short, the head of this single Orc was worth more than those of thousands of others.
"Captain."
Urgency laced Rainmay's voice. With Gorgo charging from the camp, there was no time for a long discussion.
"This is dangerous."
The longer they dragged this out, the worse the situation would get. They didn't have much of a plan, either.
"I can win."
"I'm sure you can. But if you die..."
"..."
"If you die, it's over."
Her words carried a heavy weight.
Kart was the practical and spiritual pillar for everyone in Rubhem. If he died, the morale of the soldiers in the castle would plummet. Above all, there would be no one left to command the forces inside.
Rainmay glared at Kart with sharp eyes. If he was just being stubborn, she had every intention of dragging him away using teleportation magic.
"I will win," he stated his resolve once more.
Kart was well aware of the responsibility resting on his shoulders. He was acting with full knowledge of it, meaning he had no intention of backing down.
A brief silence ensued.
"Well... since you said you'll win, you'd better win." Meeting his gaze, Rainmay lowered her head and let out a sigh.
"If it looks like I'm going to lose, don't hesitate to run," Kart said.
"If that happens, I'll just blast you far away and take all the credit for myself."
The monstrous roars drew closer. After exchanging light banter, they turned their heads in unison.
Rainmay gripped her staff with both hands and took her stance. Kart raised his flaming sword high, drawing out the fire energy within his armor and blade to its absolute limit.
"We go all out from the start."
With Kart and Rainmay at the center, a pillar of fire shot dozens of meters into the sky.