Chapter 73
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Chapter 73 - 훈련은 실전처럼, 실전은 훈련처럼 (5)
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Training is like real combat, and real combat is like training (5)
Tang, ta-ang!!
Sharp gunshots kept echoing out.
In the dead of night when everyone should have been fast asleep, the village, which had been filled with nothing but quiet, settled darkness, was soon covered by people's screams and roars.
Even the sentries they had posted had been silently subdued, and the gunshots ringing out from all over were terrifying to no end.
However, they were a group of criminals who had risked their lives to cross the border. Though disorganized, they began to put up a counterattack.
"Platoon Leader! The bastards have holed up inside a building! What should we do!?"
"Just wait a moment...!"
Hilton Calia, the 4th Platoon Leader, carefully poked her head out. It seemed there were some officer-class members among them, as despite being pushed back quite quickly, the enemy had fortified a civilian house and were defending it.
Even if personal firearms were overwhelmingly superior, they couldn't penetrate thick walls to explode or anything.
If the enemy was hiding behind cover and holed up, it was madness to send troops in.
But.
'Hold back...!!'
Hilton continued to suppress the boiling rage of the battlefield from within. Inside her, another personality of Hilton's kept provoking her.
'Holed up? Just crush something like that. Let's charge, why not?'
'Shut up, it's not the time for that yet...! It's not that dangerous of a situation...!!'
She knew.
If she let herself run wild like this, she could slaughter every single enemy holed up in there.
But what about her platoon members?
The position Hilton had always held was that of a 'combatant'. It was her first time properly commanding since she was assigned to the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion.
She couldn't just run wild like before. If she did, what would happen to the platoon members who trusted her? She had gotten a glimpse of what would happen if she ran wild without a plan during the last snow mountain training.
So she had to hold back even more.
"Platoon Leader?! Your orders!!"
"We wait until support arrives!"
Hilton knew her own level well. She was a 1st Class Violet magician, but she was someone specialized solely in lightning magic.
In fact, the former members of Enok Levandel's platoon had been strange people. Originally, magicians didn't handle attributes other than the ones they were specialized in.
She couldn't cause an explosion with powerful firepower like Lumia, nor could she crush a wall with immense water pressure like Bell.
Of course, she had learned a few advanced Violet magics, but given that the enemy was holed up in a brick building rather than a wooden one, her magic would surely be ineffective.
So, forcing an entry here would definitely mean sending her subordinates to their doom.
Piiing—!
"Platoon Leader, it's dangerous!!"
A bullet grazed past Hilton's eyes as she was surveying the field. If the vice platoon leader hadn't pulled her back just in time, she would have been seriously wounded.
"Th-thank you, Sergeant."
"Please don't just throw your own body around! If you get hurt, I can't command this alone...!"
Just then, a woman with silver hair came over with a flustered expression.
"Platoon Leader Hilton!? What are you doing here?"
Lumia Blue, the company's adjutant. She was currently running around all over the battlefield, acting as the eyes and mouth for the company commander, Enok Levandel.
"W-we have a fortified enemy ahead...!! We can't recklessly enter."
"Fortified?"
Lumia approached Hilton's side and peeked out. As expected, bullets started flying again. Lumia, startled, stepped back.
There had to be at least ten people holed up in that two-story brick house.
"We need artillery support."
"We don't have something like a mobile artillery piece, do we?"
"I'm talking about magic bombardment!"
Lumia looked around. As a 1st Class Red magician alone, she was out of her depth to break down that sturdy fortress.
And in that moment, Lumia's eyes caught sight of the company commander, who was running around earnestly while holding a pistol.
"Company Commander!!"
"Lumia, Hilton! What are you doing, not advancing any further? The enemy is starting to set up a defensive line!"
"The 4th Platoon seems to be blocked by that defensive line!"
Enok Levandel hurried over. He instantly grasped the situation and nodded.
"We'll provide bombardment. Lumia, prepare Flame Buster!"
"Yes!"
He already knew that Hilton wasn't well-versed in magics other than Violet. She probably hadn't learned the advanced Red magic, Flame Buster.
However, it was enough even without Hilton.
Enok judged as much.
"Fire on my signal!"
Lumia and Enok exchanged glances. Soon, red mana mixed with the gloom where the light had faded, and a magic circle spread from their fingertips.
"Ready, fire!!"
Flame Buster was activated almost simultaneously. The moment the straight-line flame struck the bricks, a tremendous explosion erupted, and a scarlet flame shot up.
"...!!!"
A near-perfect harmony between the two.
Soon, the brick outer wall, which had been like a small fortress, crumbled down, and the screams of the robbers echoed out.
"4th Platoon, advance as you are to link up with the 3rd Platoon! Lumia, we're proceeding towards the 1st Platoon's direction! We'll quickly take out the boss first!"
The company commander uttered just that and then headed deeper into the battlefield with Lumia.
That sight was enough to give Platoon Leader Hilton Calia a deep inspiration.
"You heard the Company Commander?! We're advancing!"
Hilton shouted as she stood up. Her platoon members, who had been positioned behind her, rose as well.
"You bastards! Charge! If you don't want your功劳 stolen by others, charge in without looking back or forth!!"
"Yes—!!!"
Highly motivated soldiers screamed as they ran through the street. With the path ahead blown wide open, there was nothing that could block the 4th Platoon members.
They would charge in before the robbers could set up a defensive line and turn them all into ghosts who would never return.
They would deploy swiftly and crush even the enemy's reinforcements.
In the future, they would take the vanguard in every battle.
This was the moment the legend of the 'Assault Unit' began.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Fell from the sky, you say?"
"Yes, Boss! It's a complete mess outside right now. You have to escape!!"
Zebret, the boss of the bandit group that had made its nest in Modor Village, wondered if he was dreaming for a moment.
Just a few hours ago, he had been sleeping comfortably without a worry, but now a sudden attack from the outside?
But it was clear to anyone that the situation was turning urgent. Gunshots were ringing out nonstop from outside. And just moments ago, his subordinates who would normally be sprawled out here and there snoring had all disappeared to fight.
"Furthermore, according to the guys who came back alive, they were dressed in all-black uniforms, different from the Bialtok Security Force."
"All-black uniforms? The National Gendarmerie?"
"That could be the case, but judging by the fact that they fell from the sky, they might not be..."
"Goddammit! They're coming at us with their teeth gnashed!"
Zebret cursed and slammed his chair down. He judged that all of this was because of the 'Yekaterina' he had captured not long ago.
Yekaterina Pedro.
The eldest daughter of Count Jack Pedro, the honorary lord of the current Bialtok region.
A few days ago, he had annihilated a Bialtok escort unit he had happened to encounter while on an expedition to a nearby village, and the person accompanying that escort unit was none other than Yekaterina Pedro.
An aristocrat. Even if it was just honorary, she was the scion of a family that oversaw the entire region on paper. To Zebret, she was a reward far more valuable than hundreds of gold bars.
Given that skirmishes with punitive forces had been frequent lately.
Zebret had been seriously contemplating how to solidify his group's position in Bialtok from now on.
And in the midst of that, he had captured the Count's daughter. With just that, Zebret could negotiate with the lord under much more favorable conditions.
That's why he had told his subordinates not to lay a finger on Yekaterina's party. They were able to live quite comfortably in the corner prison, even though they would normally have been subjected to horrific treatment or worked to death.
If they were to be raped by his subordinates, or gang-raped... Zebret, who was nothing more than a bandit boss, wouldn't be able to handle the consequences once that happened.
He wasn't an idiot like other bandit bosses.
The main reason he had fled the Sovye Empire in the first place was for treason against the imperial family.
At least, he was the type to think about the aftermath before acting.
The reason he had captured the village maidens was that there was no powerful force to protect them.
Moreover, to control his subordinates, who were nothing but stupid criminals unlike himself, he had to give them some form of reward.
"And they couldn't wait to deploy the Central Army. Since it's come to this, I can't be gentle either."
Now, the only choice left for Zebret was to flee. If the Central Army had truly been deployed, the collapse of the bandit group was a certainty.
Then, how to preserve his own life from now on was the key.
"Bring that noble wench here right now! If you want to live, pack your gear and follow me!"
"Y-yes...! Yes, got it, Boss!"
Why do we take hostages? If the main purpose of the ones attacking now is to rescue Yekaterina.
As long as Zebret holds Yekaterina's life in his hands, his own safety should be preserved.
Soon, the subordinate who had run in a hurry to the place where the prisoners were held brought a woman whose hands were bound in chains. Her platinum blonde hair hadn't lost its luster even after being thrown into an underground mine for days.
In this situation, she could have been sobbing and screaming, but instead, she looked at Zebret with eyes that seemed to burn.
"Your impatience is showing, Zebret. It's already too late for regrets."
"You fucking bitch! The Boss was merciful enough to stop you from suffering a terrible fate!"
Pa-ak!
The subordinate kicked Yekaterina's stomach hard, and she collapsed on the spot, letting out a pained cough.
"Prop her up properly. Gag her mouth so she can't say anything useless. We're going out the back door. Hurry!"
"Yes, Boss!"
First and foremost, escaping the village was the priority. If he used the external mine passage he had deliberately left open for situations like this, he could escape safely.
But before he could even drag the hostage away, the door to the mine office he was staying in was shattered first.
Patzzuk!!
Two men appeared amidst the violently rising lightning. A seasoned warrior with a distinct scar on his face, and a blonde man who looked obviously noble. Was he an aristocrat related to Yekaterina's family?
And behind them, a group of people rushed in. They were all thoroughly armed soldiers.
In that short amount of time, they had broken through all resistance and reached the center where Zebret was.
"You bastar... Guk...!"
The subordinate quickly aimed his gun, but a dagger flew in with a purple flash and pierced his neck straight through, making him fall.
It was a sight of killing a person without a shred of mercy.
Zebret, whose courage was by no means weak compared to others, couldn't help but shrink back at the sight of his subordinate dying, spurting blood profusely right before his eyes.
"Goddammit!"
Still, what could he do? If he gave up like this, he was dead anyway.
Zebret roughly pulled Yekaterina in front of him. He grabbed her hair, and she squeezed her eyes shut in pain.
Then, he immediately pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Yekaterina's head, shouting.
"I know who you want! If you want this woman to be safe, get out of the way right now!"
No matter how fast the warrior who killed his subordinate was, he was faster at pulling the trigger. That was a natural fact.
But their reaction was strange.
They showed no sign of wavering even after seeing Yekaterina. It was Zebret who was at a disadvantage as time passed, so he thought he needed a stronger move.
He turned the gun he was aiming at Yekaterina towards the front. Then, he tried to pull the trigger at the blonde man standing at the forefront. Zebret was the one in the advantageous position. Rather, if he killed the noble without hesitation, that would be a sufficient threat to them.
Tang!!
A single gunshot rang out. Zebret tried to shout with a grin, but what flowed from his mouth was instead a painful scream.
"Graaaah!!!"
Clatter. The pistol he had been holding fell to the floor, and red blood dripped onto it.
Smoke was rising from the gun held by the blonde man.
Had he hit his arm in that instant? How was that possible? The question that instantly arose couldn't be answered.
Puk.
With the sound of flesh tearing, the dagger that had flown in pierced Zebret's forehead.