Chapter 14
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Chapter 14 - Hidden Evil in the Shadows (1)
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Tartuk set his massive axe down on the ground with a dull thud. Thick, fresh blood dripped from its edge, pattering onto the soil.
"Keh heh heh... If only the walls had come down, this would've been a cakewalk."
The path he had carved was littered with corpses.
The heavily armored guards of Belgorod Fortress. They had fought to the bitter end even after the walls were breached, but they were helpless against Tartuk's overwhelming might.
The Chief of the West.
The leader of the largest, strongest, and most ferocious band of brigands in the western reaches of the Empire.
He was mad, but not mad enough to provoke the Imperial Army. Still, he had stripped the local lords' private forces bare with impunity.
And any sizable mercenary companies that came to claim the bounty on his head had been wiped out to a man.
What chance did the motley crew of the Ukran Duchy's army, which couldn't even receive proper supplies, possibly stand?
It was only natural they were no match for him.
"Brother! George says they've found the cargo you're looking for!"
"Oh? Bring it here at once!"
Soon, a scrawny young man approached, carrying a single, glittering round gem.
The sheer quantity of mana contained within it was immense, a presence so profound even Tartuk, who had no knowledge of magic, could feel it.
"So this is the 'Omen Pearl'."
It looked exactly like the image Inspector Egor Ivanov had shown him.
Since he'd specified it wasn't just a gem but an artifact with a special power, this mysterious energy had to be the real deal.
"Seems to be it. Call the mages from the Intelligence Directorate."
"Yes, Brother."
As his subordinate vanished, Tartuk poked at the Omen Pearl.
With every touch of his rough hands, a strange energy flowed through his senses.
According to legend, this artifact could grant the knowledge of the heavens simply by being in its possession.
Even a human with no knowledge of the arcane could attain the skill of a first-rate mage, and one with innate talent could reach a realm others could not even approach.
Realizing this, a faint greed bloomed in Tartuk's heart, but he quickly reined himself in.
'If I try to swallow it, I'll just get indigestion.'
He especially didn't want to provoke the Imperial Inspector, Egor Ivanov.
Once one reached a certain level, one could objectively perceive the strength of others.
Even he, who had a certain reputation, was nothing more than a moth before Egor.
One blow.
He hadn't even needed to exchange a few blows; he was brought to his knees in a single attack.
- A chief of a bandit gang... I should cut off your head and hang it in the capital's square.
- C-colleague! I am truly sorry! If you spare my life, I'll do anything!
- Anything, you say?
He had no time to think about the consequences when his life was on the line.
He had accepted the proposal to secure a "special artifact" at Belgorod Fortress on the Ukran border, leading his band of just over two hundred brigands to attack a fortress across the border.
In a way, it was a suicide mission, but Egor had even provided mages under his command for support.
'Still, I guess I owe him my life.'
Tartuk let out a sigh of relief.
Just remembering the time Egor had barged into his hideout without warning made his skin crawl.
Egor had promised not to interfere with Tartuk's affairs in exchange for the safe delivery of the artifact.
The reward was excessive, even considering they were attacking a remote fortress.
It must mean the Empire placed immense importance on this artifact.
"Brother, we've brought them."
"Welcome, colleagues. You were of great help in this fortress assault!"
"...This is indeed the Omen Pearl."
The figures cloaked in black robes showed no reaction to Tartuk's fawning words.
They simply examined the Omen Pearl he handed over and carefully stored it in a prepared container.
"Our objective is complete. We're leaving."
"Understood, Squad Leader."
"Wait! Where are you going!?"
"The Ukran army will have heard of the fall of the fortress. They'll be here soon. We can't let it be known that the Imperial Army was involved in this incident."
"What...!? So you mean...!"
"If you value your lives, you'd best get out of here quickly."
There was no special reason the Intelligence Directorate had kept the bandits alive in the first place.
They were a type of expendable.
A bunch of miscreants who wouldn't cause any trouble, whether they invaded a fortress across the border or plundered a shipment.
Even if a few surrendered and spilled the beans, how many people would believe them?
Once they had securely retrieved the artifact from the fortress, Tartuk and his band of brigands had served their purpose.
However.
'It wouldn't be so bad to cause a bit of chaos for those Ukran bastards until the very end, would it?'
Boris, the squad leader of the Intelligence Directorate's Mage Corps, tossed a map of the fortress at Tartuk and said:
"The Ukran bastards will form a perimeter immediately. But since it's night and visibility is limited, you can break through if you carefully move to the left, where the terrain is relatively low."
"C-colleagues-!! Are you really leaving like this!?"
"Then, good luck."
That was all. The mages' bodies were momentarily wreathed in mana, and they vanished from Tartuk's sight.
High-tier Wind Attribute Magic.
Teleportation.
A magic that moved an entire space through the flow of air to a pre-designated coordinate. While it couldn't travel as far as using a scroll, it was far beyond the level of a simple brigand like him to ever catch up to.
"You... you goddamn sons of bitches!!"
Only then did Tartuk understand Inspector Egor's true intentions.
The Intelligence Directorate had never intended to spare them from the beginning.
They had used them as they pleased and, once the play was over, thrown them away like worn-out shoes. They were nothing but hunting dogs.
"GODDAMN IT!!!"
Tartuk, unable to contain his surging rage, stomped his feet in fury.
"B-Brother!! They say they can see a huge number of lights not far from here!"
From the frying pan into the fire.
Had they marched out the moment they heard the fortress had fallen?
Tartuk steadied his frantic mind and pulled himself together.
"Gather the men."
"Brother!?"
"We're going to kill those bastards and return to the Empire with our heads held high!"
He had been cowardly for a moment, but he was still the man known as the Chief of the West, the one who had plunged civilians into terror.
Being captured and executed by the Ukran army was not the end he had envisioned.
"They're just Ukran! Let's slaughter them all!!!"
He would break through their encirclement and return to his homeland, just to show them. If he could do that, the Intelligence Directorate would have no further reason to get involved.
He would survive and make his name shake the world even more.
Tartuk's eyes blazed with fighting spirit as he raised his axe.
Bell's 'Water Burst' shattered the ranks of the enemies charging from the front.
A mid-tier Water Attribute Magic that compresses the water vapor in the air and detonates it in an explosion.
A highly effective technique against soldiers with low resistance to pressure, like those who weren't wearing heavy armor.
Nice shot, Bell Mayer!
"Good! Sergeant Enok. Keep the magical support coming just like this!"
Lieutenant Ivan shouted this before running toward the front line. Once the situation had escalated beyond a simple cleanup of leftovers, he couldn't just watch from the rear.
Just look at this.
Even though Bell had used her magic, a large number of brigands remained.
How many did they bring with them? Did they leave no one at the fortress?
When I first heard the fortress had fallen, I judged with certainty that they would engage in a siege battle.
Why cross the border in the first place if they were just going to loot the fortress's supplies and scram?
In the game, undefended or poorly guarded fortresses were frequently attacked by bandits and marauders.
And often, the brigands who repelled the army would settle there and use it as a sort of camp.
'That's a truly frustrating situation.'
And even if they didn't plan on settling down, one would normally think they'd choose to fight a delaying battle behind the sturdy fortress walls.
The Ukran army had mobilized and marched out immediately upon hearing the fortress had fallen.
This was probably because the brigands wouldn't be focused on looting the fortress's supplies.
Wouldn't the logical choice be to realize they were already surrounded and reluctantly hole up inside the fortress?
But these guys aren't fighting a siege; they're forcing their way through the encirclement.
'Whatever the case, repelling them is the top priority.'
BOOM! BOOM-BOOM!!
Gunshots rang out loudly. I drew my pistol from my holster and ran toward Bell Mayer, shouting.
"Sergeant Bell!! Don't aim for the vague mix in the front; target their rear line!"
"Understood...!!"
Bell's mana surged once more. A blue light flashed, and a long stream of water coiled around her.
"Blue Dragon's Lament!!"
Like a water dragon diving for its prey, the gathered streams of water converged and shot up into the sky.
KWAAANG!!!
SHAAAAA-!
They crashed back down to the ground, unleashing a torrent of thick rain.
A high-tier magic, notoriously difficult to control even among Water Attribute spells.
The attack, which had precisely struck the rear of their formation, began to cause significant turmoil among the brigands. However, it was still not enough to stop them from breaking through our defensive line.
Lieutenant Ivan probably hadn't expected the enemy to engage in a full-frontal assault like this.
The wide, thin firing line, set up to avoid friendly fire during the night battle, was unable to exert much stopping power against the sheer quantity of enemies swarming forward.
In the end, the brigands became entangled with the soldiers who were holding the initial defensive line.
This led directly to hesitation in the rear units.
If they shot their guns while friend and foe were mixed together, they risked shooting their own comrades. No one in the 4th Company wanted such a tragedy.
"All troops! Fix bayonets and charge!!!"
Deciding it was too dangerous to use guns when they were already in a melee, Lieutenant Ivan boldly chose to engage in close-quarters combat.
"Fix bayonets-!"
"Charge forward!!!"
"WAAAAAAH-!!!"
The soldiers' war cries overlapped with the sound of gunfire, and the situation on the battlefield sank deeper and deeper into a quagmire of chaos.
This is bad.
Even for regular army troops with superior equipment and proper training compared to a bandit mob, clashing head-on with the enemy on a night battlefield was never a wise situation.
Now that it had come to this, even Bell couldn't recklessly use her magic.
She, who had been instantly reduced to a dog chasing chickens, looked at me, not knowing what to do.
"Squad Leader... what do we do now?"
Just then.
My eyes caught a man wielding a massive axe. He had menacing tattoos covering both arms and was built like a tank, likely around 190 cm tall.
"Forward! Push forward! Fame and riches await us once we break free!!"
He sliced the head off an unfortunate soldier blocking his path with a single swing, then let out a roar to boost his men's morale.
'That guy is the leader.'
I was wondering how a bandit could command such a collective movement, but it turned out the chief was leading from the front.
Of course, he was pushing forward with his men, trying to break through the encirclement, but he had been forced back slightly by the fierce resistance of our company.
There were no friendly forces tangled up nearby right now.
This was the perfect opportunity to snipe him with magic.
'Water magic is better for wide-area attacks. In a situation like this, it's better to use Fire, which is good for concentrating single-target firepower!'
"Sergeant Lumia!"
I quickly looked for Lumia.
Captain Arendt had ordered me to keep her out of combat as much as possible, but in this situation, I needed the power of the "Red Mage."
To ensure a successful operation, one must be willing to take risks even when aware of them.
"Sergeant Lumia?! Why aren't you answering...?"
However.
Lumia had already vanished without a trace. She had been right behind me just a moment ago, hadn't she?
Then, the penalty listed for Lumia Blue on my status window flashed through my mind.
[Combat Avoidance]
[Will withdraw at the first sign of combat.]
'No way.'
I turned my trembling head to look at the forest behind me.
The rear, where a dark shadow was cast, as if extinguishing the last flickers of a Flare spell. There was nothing there but an unnerving, deathly silence.
Lumia Blue had deserted.