Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Iljimae (1)
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“What... what the hell do we do, sis?”
“I don’t know! You think I’ve got a clue, damn it!”
Not far from the collapsing fortress.
Erika gritted her teeth.
Just as Theo had instructed, all the hostages had been safely evacuated to the secure zone.
But right at that moment, the enemy bombardment began.
For some reason, the fortress itself had collapsed.
The Fifth Squad was facing massive casualties.
Of course, she had to go help her comrades, but she had no idea how to even approach.
Rushing in blindly could just make things worse.
A rookie who’d only been on the job for three days couldn’t do a damn thing right.
‘Goddamn it, goddamn it, goddamn it! This isn’t the battlefield I imagined...!’
She’d thought that once thrown into real combat, she’d shine from the start.
Reality was a cesspool.
“What about us! What happens to us!”
“Where are the other squad members? It looks like the terrorists are counterattacking—we need to get out of here fast!”
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up!”
“How do you screw this up so bad? If you came to rescue us, do it right!”
The problem was the hostages freaking out and causing a scene.
Grit!
Stress had bloodshot veins bulging around Erika’s eyes.
Boom!
Holcus slammed his sword into the ground.
“Shut the fuck up, you worthless shits!”
“...!”
“...!”
“...!”
“This mess—who do you think caused it? If you weren’t such idiots, you wouldn’t have gotten captured in the first place!”
Holcus’s bulging eyes swept over the hostages.
They shrank back like turtles, averting their gazes.
“One more peep out of you, and I’ll leave your asses here for good, got it?”
The hostages were mostly merchants who’d only learned basic swordsmanship for self-defense.
They didn’t even dream of fighting back.
Swoosh.
Holcus turned to Erika.
His grin seemed to say, ‘How’d I do?’
Erika let out an incredulous chuckle, but somehow, her clogged mind eased up a bit.
‘If it were Theo. What would Theo do here?’
A fellow rookie who’d handled everything perfectly without a hint of panic, figuring out his role on his own.
Thinking of that moment cleared a path ahead.
“Let’s go.”
“How? Looks impossible to even mount a rescue there.”
“No need for rescue. They’re the North’s finest White Dragon Knights. They won’t go down that easy.”
“Then? Storm the enemy lines?”
“No. The ones who set this trap would’ve prepared for wyverns too.”
“You’re killing me here. Spit it out straight—what’s the plan?”
“We hit them when they think it’s all over and let their guard down.”
“...?”
Holcus couldn’t make heads or tails of his sister’s words, but Erika was already mounting her wyvern.
She called out to the hostages.
“This spot’s hard to spot from outside, so stay put for now. Do not step out under any circumstances.”
Before the startled hostages could grab her,
Whoosh!
Erika and her wyvern shot vigorously into the sky.
* * *
The White Dragon Knights’ Fifth Squad was having an unexpected encounter inside the shelter.
“Squad leader?”
“You... Evelyn?”
The shelter already had visitors.
The original Fifth Squad leader, Trainer Isben—who’d been reported dead—and four of his squadmates.
Plus other hostages who’d gone missing during the rescue.
It seemed the shelter had been used to detain people separately.
“It’s the squad leader!”
“The squad leader’s alive!”
The group’s faces lit up at Trainer’s survival, naturally.
Flash—
Right then, the Black Skulls who’d been secretly watching moved in.
Aiming for the moment of carelessness.
But.
“Who the hell do you think you’re messing with without your captain?”
Slash! Slash!
Their ambush posed no real threat to the Fifth Squad.
Selphard casually shook the blood off his sword as he approached Trainer.
“What the hell happened to you, seriously?”
Despite his grumbling tone, Selphard clamped his trembling lips shut.
Trainer and the survivors were in rough shape.
Not a single one hadn’t lost at least one limb, and some were burning with fever, barely able to stand.
“Yeah... no idea what happened here. Haha. But we survived, so good to see you all again. Especially you, Evelyn, back in one piece.”
Trainer touched his severed left leg, then smiled at Evelyn.
“That arm—a prosthetic?”
“Yes. It is.”
Evelyn removed her glove to reveal her iron left arm.
“Huh, seamless.”
“Ma-jang made it for me.”
“Ma-jang...? I knew she had hidden arts up her sleeve, but this too?”
There were surgical techniques, healing magic, or divine spells to restore severed limbs.
But they worked by reattaching and regenerating tissue.
Nothing created a prosthetic that moved like a real limb.
If they could implement this, it’d be revolutionary—restoring lost forces on a massive scale.
And giving severe casualties like them hope of recovery.
“I’ll ask Ma-jang later.”
“Just the offer means the world. Haha!”
Trainer chuckled lightly, then hardened his expression.
“But first, we gotta escape... Think you can manage? Sounds like chaos out there.”
Evelyn nodded gravely.
“Black Skulls were just bait. The real enemy’s elsewhere.”
“Real enemy...?”
“Anything ring a bell?”
“Now that you mention it, something does.”
“Tell me.”
“Not certain. Didn’t see it clearly. We got ‘ambushed’ too, after all.”
Evelyn’s eyes sharpened.
“You fell into a reverse trap too, then.”
“Exactly. Problem is, the ambushers knew our drop time and exact landing spot ‘precisely.’”
“...Where do you think the leak came from?”
“No other way it could’ve happened.”
Evelyn bit her lip.
Trainer’s meaning was clear.
—There’s a mole in the family!
A deep one, likely.
White Dragon Knights’ ops were classified; even squad members weren’t briefed until the day before.
“Worse, they knew us inside out. Like they knew exactly how to take us down easy. Even our armament.”
“...”
No clearer proof.
‘We jumped straight into the tiger’s mouth without knowing.’
Evelyn ground her teeth.
Rage boiled at how her subordinates nearly died because of those beastly scum.
“Not Black Skulls. The ones we faced here had decent organization for a new group, but they didn’t know Ragnar that well.”
“So a third party took down you and Fifth Squad, then handed you to Black Skulls.”
“Not certain, but yeah.”
“Hm...”
“But hearing you, seems that third party’s ditching the now-useless Black Skulls and burying us with them.”
Trainer smirked up at the ceiling.
Rumble—
The bombardment continued even after the fortress fell, shaking the ceiling and raining dust.
“Didn’t know about this shelter, apparently.”
But they’d be found soon.
They’d come to finish the job.
“How’d you find this place, though? Underground in that chaos—shouldn’t have been easy.”
Trainer shifted topics slightly.
Even for a counterattack, Evelyn’s group needed rest.
He spoke to clear their heads.
“Thanks to our rookie.”
“Hm? Rookie?”
Trainer tilted his head at Evelyn’s smile.
Not just her.
Selphard, Arin, even the other squadmates were grinning.
Trainer followed Evelyn’s gaze.
A boy stood there, face so young he’d just earned his trainee swordsman title.
What could a kid like that have done?
Trainer tilted his head again, then belatedly noticed Theo’s state was off.
He looked pale.
About to say something,
Thud!
Theo suddenly staggered and collapsed sideways.
“Theo!”
“Hey! Rookie! Hang on!”
Evelyn and the squadmates rushed to him frantically.
* * *
“Hah... hah...!”
Theo was drenched in cold sweat, breathing raggedly.
The squadmates cleared space for him to lie down comfortably, stripping off his stuffy armor and clothes to help him breathe.
“...This kid grabbed the bald hammer, spotted the enemy raid, and led us here? In that chaos?”
“Yes.”
“Broke Torkel’s Awakening Ceremony record too?”
“Yes.”
“Possible...?”
“It happened.”
“A monster.”
“Yeah. A monster.”
Trainer clucked his tongue after hearing everything about Theo.
He’d been cut off outside during the Awakening Ceremony, so no updates.
Monster.
The word fit perfectly.
A pretty boy who looked too delicate to pick a flower.
“But a monster like that’s worth saving and bringing back. White Dragon Knights’ blessing.”
Trainer rolled up his sleeve.
“Let me check him out.”
“Please.”
Trainer had the best medical skills in the Knights, having graduated the Academy’s medical track.
Moments later.
“Hmm...”
“Something bad?”
“Squad leader! We have to save him. He saved me and Arin.”
As Evelyn and Selphard stared, Trainer shook his head calmly.
“No need to worry. Just exhausted. Rest and he’ll be fine.”
The squadmates finally sighed in relief.
Facing Slow, finding the shelter—constant tension. No wonder he was drained.
They’d been there too.
“But...”
“...?”
“Never mind. Better wait till he wakes.”
Evelyn sensed Trainer hiding something, but luckily, Theo regained consciousness soon.
“You okay, Theo?”
“Yes. Sorry for the trouble.”
Theo bowed his head deeply to Evelyn.
Truth was, he’d felt off since entering the shelter but couldn’t hold out and collapsed.
His whole body throbbed now.
The spirit demon poison had flared, letting him endure till now—but it’d ripped out his last reserves.
Worst was the headache.
‘The poison pierced my cerebrum, expanding my cognitive domain... but the aftereffects are brutal.’
Theo felt much ‘smarter’ now.
Likely from the evolved hatchling synchro linked to his brain.
Problem: the info overload from the world was overwhelming, causing excruciating headaches.
Staying like this would only worsen it.
‘What do I do?’
He needed a way.
Or escaping Ed’s beast horde soon would be impossible.
“You.”
Then.
Trainer leaned in abruptly, tone dead serious.
“How’d you open the Brain Gate—something only grandmasters can access?”