El Maestro (2)
British forces had entered via two routes—Highways 15 and 70—both leading straight to Puerto Vallarta. Of course, they weren't single-track roads all the way; there was always the chance they'd branch off midway, so it wasn't certain yet if luck would favor me. I waited for the satellite photo analysis to update, feeling like a high-roller at the track with a fortune on the line.
The CubeSats orbiting in low Earth orbit lacked the resolution to pick out individuals, but they more than delivered for spotting vehicles. The wait between the third and first satellites—74 minutes and 29 seconds—felt agonizingly long right now, though.
Of all times, a branch point during this gap.
Puerto Vallarta had become the perfect hunting ground, even without anyone rigging it that way. Kindling was piled everywhere, just waiting for a spark. With Mexican military and police locked in a death match with the cartels, I could pick off the Round Table's vanguard however I pleased. To stop me now that everything was set, they'd need a master-level mage of equal preparation. All I needed was for the Brits to march into this city. That was it—no more to wish for.
The shipments docking at the port? I could just hold them offshore for a couple days.
This fight in Puerto Vallarta would be nothing like the "meat shield war" in Guadalajara. It'd be over quick, and I'd make sure of it.
"Hyungnim."
Suyeon drew my attention.
"Photos already?"
"Not yet, but headquarters' field support team confirmed an engagement at a place called La Cienega de los Ahumados. Source is a video uploaded by a local early that morning."
"Uploaded?"
"Meaning the original's been deleted now. The team barely secured a copy. Major platforms are blocking posts under vague 'inappropriate content' excuses. Probably government requests from the UK and US."
"Ah."
That'd only delay the spread by a day or two at best, but hiding ongoing ops was basic protocol. With US help, they could make any intel as hard to find as al-Qaeda's regular online bulletins. If they nailed the initial response before it blew up.
"The location, though—La Cienega... what?"
"De los Ahumados. A small mountain village between Highways 4 and 70. Best if you see the map and video yourself."
Suyeon tapped the laptop on the table and turned the screen my way.
The village—"Swamp of the Burned Things"—sat deep in the mountains. Cleared land, but linear tree growth along watercourses and lingering puddles hinted at its past.
Time stamp: pre-dawn, just before sunrise. The shaky footage captured the filmer's voice trembling with fear. Hard to grasp why they'd risk peeking out the window with a phone, but I was grateful for that foolish contradiction.
"Pause."
Click.
Suyeon froze the video. I grabbed the laptop and rewound frame by frame.
Amid streams of tracer fire, a matte hunk of metal rolled into view. A massive knight in full plate.
I hit play again.
The knight surged up, raising his shield.
Kagagang!
Tracers and AP rounds hammered the shield's face, sparking wildly.
"¡Levanta el escudo! ¡Reúnanse a mi alrededor!"
"Raise your shields! Rally to me!"
At the knight's roar, smaller knights lifted shields and clustered. Their black-painted shields flashed only where rounds had stripped the matte coating.
Five knights total. One handed the giant a longsword too big for him.
"¡Maestre! ¡Es tu espada!"
"Maestro! Your sword!"
Maestre—the title for the big one. Yeah, the largest was the knight commander.
The Maestro sheathed the blade, then drew a Russian big-bore assault rifle—the ASh-12.7—from inside his hefty shield.
Bang! Kwabang! Kwabang!
He handled the seven-kilo beast with ease, firing controlled bursts. Each muzzle flash shook the focus wildly—the filmer was terrified.
Damn it. If you're scared, stay scared to the end. Already vertical video narrowing the frame.
I focused on sound over the jitter.
The Maestro's shots looked casual but hit true—distant gunfire from the Brits tapered off. Cover response, probably.
"¡A este paso, estaremos rodeados pronto! ¡Vuelve! ¡Vuelve rápido!"
"At this rate, we'll be surrounded! Fall back! Fall back now!"
The cartel knights backed up in formation, shields aligned. The shaky focus lost them behind a stone wall.
I itched to shove my head into the screen. Even more when a platoon of British Awakened sprinted past in pursuit.
The rest was just echoes of sporadic gunfire in a mountain hamlet at night.
"Whew..."
I breathed deep to settle the irritation from tension, mulling the intel.
Short clip, solid gains.
"Looks like the Round Table wants their knight commander alive."
"Sir?"
"Yeah. Look at the Brits' gear and speed."
Kyung-tae, who'd questioned, watched my rewind and nodded.
"Got it. Not as good as our guys, but damn light on their feet. Gear and packs look fifty kilos easy, and firepower's no joke."
Right. If the Brits wanted him dead, he'd be gone by now. The Maestro outclassed them individually, but couldn't bridge the force gap alone.
Conversely, still chasing means their force isn't enough to capture him.
Or first time relying on mana in combat, underperforming.
Bottom line.
"This isn't a quick chase-down. It's a marathon."
Amid the anxiety, a touch of relief. Worst case for me: over before I could intervene.
"If only we could intercept right now..."
The idle regret slipped out. Pointless, so neither Kyung-tae nor Suyeon replied. They knew why.
Britain was top of the Five Eyes. With US intel assets, who knew how many recon sats watched this turf? Moving to intercept before dusk was suicide.
Drones at high altitude too. High-end camouflage netting or IR-blocking ghillie? Neither on hand—we hadn't planned for this.
Couldn't send underlings either.
Nightfall helped. Image software could normalize light and saturation to daytime levels, but sat and high-alt recon lost res at night. Real-time processing narrowed the watch area due to data limits.
Best: Brits crawl into the city. Next best: chase drags west till dark.
Mountains teeming with Awakened trees and beasts would scramble senses, letting me commit full force. IR from skies? Jammable.
Time dragged in jittery wait. I felt like a sailing captain scanning for enemy sails. No sign on the endless sea, but menace lurked beyond every horizon. Spot a hostile mast cresting the sky-sea line, and tension spiked ship-wide.
Captain couldn't look away—like battle imminent. But from the high deck, ten klicks minimum. Enemy clear, but dozens of minutes to contact. Assuming no evasion. One flees, chase could last weeks without clash. Wind, currents deciding...
"Hyungnim."
Suyeon, closer without me noticing, eyed me worriedly.
"Called three times. Maybe skip the awakener this time."
"..."
Damn. I rubbed my face.
Sleep short already, near-all-nighter last night? Felt fatigue differed from true, but tension drained body and mind.
Better if enemy in sight. Or maybe magic enhancement altered the drug's kick.
Get it together. Burn out before contact?
The sea-sail delusion stemmed from my old mentor's ghost in my head. Kid me, he was already a relic dreaming of destroyer captaincy. Noble romance, boy's aspiration.
I tossed a neutral question to seem fine.
"Situation change?"
"...Yes. Knight remnants clashed with Brits again at San Sebastian village."
"Where?"
"Here."
Suyeon pulled up a map on her tablet. Straight-line 40km from La Cienega de los Ahumados, 35km from Puerto Vallarta.
If first clash pre-dawn... plenty of time to move.
Bang gas mask, heavy load, 6km mountain trail: ten minutes for me. Not a Round Table master for nothing. Awakened squad? Dawn to morning, 40km mountains easy. Knights unknown, but double or triple feasible depending on route.
"How'd you snag this source so fast?"
Near real-time—clash just happened. Unlike the half-day lag on the first.
Net vast, can't fully block, but those island scum throwing everything at initial containment? Near-live intel tough.
Suyeon answered promptly.
"Prepared ahead."
"How?"
"When knights hit La Cienega, I figured no coincidence. Hunted prey carrying enough emergency rations? Doubtful."
"Ah."
"Hiding in open mountains but hitting villages? Calorie grab, unavoidable. Extreme drain from enhanced rough-terrain movement means high odds of another village soon."
Should've thought of it myself. I pressed my temple.
"So, 'prepared' means...?"
"ID'd SNS users in predicted path villages, had org scholars in broadcast reach out. Send photos/videos of knight-Brit clashes, good payout. But no leaks elsewhere."
Simple, efficient.
"Well done."
Short praise, then after a beat:
"I always count on you."
Suyeon's eyes widened briefly. A flicker, then downcast: "Yes."