Chapter 54
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: First Blood
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The moment they heard a battle was imminent, the squad members’ expressions hardened.
Though they had all undergone intense training in their previous units.
‘Is this the first real combat for all of them?’
At least Dianal and Kyle had some practical experience fighting monsters in the Bronserian Forest.
Demian looked at the others and asked.
“I'll be direct. Has anyone here ever killed someone before?”
“……”
At Demian’s question, they all clamped their mouths shut, as if struck dumb.
So they really had no such experience.
‘Jerka and Terka don’t seem like the types to hesitate over something like that.’
Besides, Dianal and Kyle would be fine since they had experience fighting monsters.
The problem was the rest of them.
Without knowing anything about them, it was difficult to prepare.
Demian spoke to Vincent.
“Captain, how about we have Jerka and Terka, Dianal and Kyle, and the rest form three groups to face the enemy?”
“That would be efficient, but we need to take them down quickly. If any of them escape, we could be the ones in danger.”
This operation was also a race against time.
Demian nodded at Vincent's words.
“If they each take one, and you take one, Captain… I will handle the rest.”
“……?”
For a moment, Vincent’s eyes blinked wide.
He couldn't quite grasp what he was hearing.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Leave it to me. I will see it through.”
“That…”
Just as Vincent frowned and was about to say something.
—Do you think age and skill are correlated?
Leonhard’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
In terms of skill, hadn’t he already defeated a knight from the Monster Knights?
‘I’ll trust him.’
If it seemed too much for him, he could always step in to help.
Vincent quietly drew his sword, and the other squad members drew their weapons as well.
*Click. Click.*
Demian connected the two rods from behind his waist.
It was a custom-ordered spear from Erkal, designed so that two shafts could be joined together for use.
In mountainous terrain or areas requiring swift movement, it could be split in half and secured to his waist.
As the spear was assembled in an instant, Vincent looked at Demian with a surprised expression.
‘Was there… such a thing?’
It was an uncommon type.
It seemed a bit fragile, but it looked quite useful in a pinch.
Vincent looked at his squad members.
They all seemed ready, their eyes filled with resolve.
Soon, Vincent took the lead, slowly closing the distance to the enemy.
After getting as close as they possibly could.
“Hoo… hoo…”
Someone’s breathing grew loud.
It was a sign of the crushing tension weighing on their chests.
But the sound of breathing was too loud to get any closer.
Vincent bit his lip.
“Now!”
*Fwip!*
With Vincent’s soft cry, the squad members charged toward the enemies before them.
“Wh-what the!?”
“It’s an enemy!”
At the sudden attack, the men who had been sitting shot up and grabbed their weapons.
For being caught off guard, their response was remarkably fast.
A glint flashed in Demian’s eyes.
‘As I thought…’
These were no ordinary men.
Demian lunged like a tiger at the man closest to the front.
*Swoosh!*
“You crazy bastard!”
One of the men swung his sword frantically at Demian's attack.
He first needed to parry the man’s attack and then find a moment to steady his breath.
*Shweeeek!*
“……!”
But the spear flying toward his shoulder suddenly took a sharp turn.
*Stab!*
“Kuaaargh!”
Demian’s spear deeply pierced the man’s left thigh.
As the man flinched with a scream.
*Slash!*
He slashed the man’s abdomen.
*Thrust!*
And followed by piercing through his neck.
“Gurgle…!”
The man with the spear in his neck staggered, making a gurgling sound before collapsing to the ground.
The fight had ended so instantaneously that not only the enemies but also his allies flinched.
And then…
“Run!”
“These guys aren't ordinary! Run!”
The ambushed enemies shouted and began to scatter in all directions.
“You think you can get away?”
“There’s no escape!”
With a minimum of two and as many as four to a team, they couldn't easily escape.
*Fwip!*
Demian quickly kicked off the ground and planted his spear in the back of a fleeing man.
‘I’ll end this with all my strength.’
These were not opponents he could afford to fight half-heartedly.
If not for the surprise attack, their forces would have been evenly matched.
But with three or four men dropping dead in an instant, the tide of victory had turned completely in their favor.
“Don’t kill them all! Capture them!”
Vincent shouted to the other squad members. But Jerka had already killed one of them.
“Dianal, Kyle! Get that one!”
“Heh heh, don’t you worry!”
Kyle slammed the man in front of him with his shield and then got behind him.
*Squeeze!*
“Aaargh!”
An agony as if his bones were being crushed washed over him from Kyle's monstrous strength.
As the man caught by Kyle continued to scream.
“Quiet.”
Dianal tore a piece of cloth from another man's clothes, rolled it up, and stuffed it into the man's mouth.
The situation was over in an instant.
Two were captured, and eleven were killed.
Half of the slain enemies were Demian’s handiwork.
“Hoo… huuk…!”
Once the situation was resolved, a few squad members’ hands trembled slightly.
Their first time killing someone.
An unidentifiable emotion washed over their entire bodies.
But then.
*Grab.*
“It’s okay. We just did our job.”
Demian said, gripping their shoulders tightly with both hands.
In that moment, the trembling in their hands stopped.
“…Th-thank you.”
The man said to Demian.
“……”
And Vincent simply watched Demian with a steady gaze.
It was a situation that defied any rational explanation.
“…Let’s hurry back. Others might come, hearing the noise.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
The bound men struggled violently, but.
*Whack! Thwack!*
Demian struck the back of their necks with his spear shaft.
*Thud.*
Looking at the two who had instantly become docile, Demian said.
“We return as quickly as possible.”
Demian spoke calmly.
He was truly a strange one.
***
“……Hah!”
Returning to the border guard headquarters, the members of the Kaion Unit all collapsed onto the floor, utterly spent.
They had been on edge until the prisoners were handed over.
And as soon as the situation was over, the tension had finally broken.
“…I don’t understand what just happened.”
Dianal muttered softly as he entered the barracks.
The battle that had unfolded after encountering the enemy was still vividly etched in his mind.
To that, Jerka replied.
“Kuh… still, thanks to the surprise attack, we were able to kill them for sure. Those bastards seemed pretty tough.”
Although they had won, their opponents were not to be taken lightly.
Even after being ambushed, they had put up quite a fierce resistance.
Demian looked at the squad members and said.
“The Captain is in a meeting with the border guard commander, so rest until then… any injuries?”
“None, sir.”
“Just a slight scratch, but this is nothing.”
Fortunately, it seemed no one was hurt.
Demian also sat down and let out a small breath.
“……Hoo.”
In a way, this could be called his first battle against ‘people’ since his return.
Demian lightly clenched and unclenched his fist.
Better than he thought.
‘It wasn’t bad.’
His body’s movements.
The atmosphere of the battlefield.
‘My current…’
My skill level.
However, there were still many areas that needed improvement.
In particular, his ability to handle mana seemed to require continuous practice through real combat.
‘In an actual fight, it felt… a little clumsy.’
It was harder to use as naturally as he did during practice.
“What are you thinking about? No, what are you thinking about, sir?”
Kyle asked as he approached Demian.
Demian shook his head.
“Nothing. More importantly, how was it just now?”
“…What was?”
“It was your first real battle. Against people.”
“……”
At those words, not only Kyle but also the others around them fell silent.
It wasn't that they didn't have an answer, but rather they were recalling the memory of that moment.
“Honestly… it was just okay. I don’t think it felt good.”
Kyle let out a small sigh.
He hadn’t felt it when fighting monsters, but after fighting people, a very unpleasant feeling lingered.
Kyle continued.
“I’ve been in so many fights… but somehow, this feels strange.”
“Because unlike a fight, war is where you have to kill the enemy.”
That’s what war was.
It was impossible to predict what might happen at any moment, and even with skill, one could be crushed by the atmosphere and killed.
Demian looked at his squad members and said.
“Remember just one thing when you fight on the battlefield.”
At his words, everyone looked at Demian.
Demian continued.
“You might roll in the dirt, get torn up, get on your knees and beg…”
Demian repeated the one thing he always emphasized to his subordinates.
“Do everything you can to survive. Gold and jewels are meaningless if you’re dead.”
Not dying.
That was the one thing Demian stressed most on the battlefield.
At those words.
“……You better not die either, Vice-Captain. From what I saw earlier, you were rampaging like a beast.”
“Hahahahaha, I saw that too.”
Jerka burst out laughing at Dianal’s words and chimed in.
The heavy atmosphere was instantly lifted.
Demian smirked.
“I’m strong, you bastard.”
As they were talking and joking around.
“Is everyone unhurt?”
Vincent returned after finishing his meeting.
At Vincent's words, everyone nodded.
“We’re fine. Are you alright, Captain?”
“I am fine.”
“Did you find out anything from the men we captured?”
Demian asked Vincent.
This was the most important thing.
Vincent nodded.
“The experts are working on it, so something should come out soon. But the general situation… doesn’t look good.”
They had already requested support from the 1st and 2nd branches, as well as the rear units.
“It would be fine if they retreat… but if they choose an all-out war, the situation could get complicated.”
“An all-out war means declaring war, doesn't it?”
At Demian’s words, the others’ expressions stiffened.
“A war is going to happen?”
“War? No way… what are you…”
“There’s no justification… is there?”
Everyone muttered a word of denial.
It was a natural reaction.
‘Those living in this era wouldn’t even think a war could break out.’
It was a time when conflicts between nations were all resolved through diplomacy.
Wars involving armed conflict were almost nonexistent.
This was especially true for a large kingdom like the Baroque Kingdom.
‘That’s why the chaos was even greater when the Empire started the war.’
Even after the war broke out, people thought their own lives would be unaffected.
Some even called it a ‘complacency about safety.’
But it was only after about half of the kingdom's citizens were dragged to the battlefield that everyone realized the situation.
That a grave situation had arrived.
And now.
Demian thought about the troops gathered at the border.
‘Their identity will be revealed soon enough, but…’
He couldn't clearly assess the current situation.
However, there was one thing he could surmise.
‘The war has already begun.’
Demian’s eyes settled into a calm gaze.