Chapter 95
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Lakeside Night (14), Santa Margarita Lake
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The operation objective had been achieved. There were no more enemies to lure out. The squad crossed the river once again. This made the third time since sunset. Everyone moved at a familiar pace.
The riverbank in the black dawn was littered with corpses. Scattered here and there. Not many in number. Winter gave the squad members a brief moment to rest. It was time to recover the American soldiers' remains. Recovery didn't necessarily mean transportation.
"Cut off their dog tags and secure the helmet camera memories. If they have notebooks or anything, check the contents. There might be decisive evidence left. Be careful not to let them get wet from the rain."
Even as he issued the orders, Winter didn't hold high hopes. The battery life on mil-spec helmet cameras was typically around four hours. In Winter's case, he carried more spare batteries than most. It was due to the Department of Defense's publicity office's greed. They wanted everything the boy officer saw and heard on the operation field.
Harris's Captain's subordinates had no reason to be like Winter. The batteries would have run out long ago. It was equipment they turned on and off at will to begin with. There was no reason to leave evidence. Notebooks were even less likely. If Captain Harris had been in his right mind, he would have strictly disciplined his men on this matter.
'Still, it's not impossible. Maybe one of them felt a pang of conscience...'
It was necessary regardless. Not only had they massacred civilians, but they'd also engaged in an extermination battle among fellow American soldiers. The U.S. government would react extremely sensitively to this incident. The more evidence, the better.
This wasn't just Winter's wishful thinking. Squad leader Joel Hernandez remarked,
"Whatever the case, we need to salvage something plausible."
"It'd be nice if we find some, but we can do without. The evidence and witnesses we already have should be enough, don't you think?"
Tap tap. Winter tapped his own camera. It was meant to reassure them for now, but it wasn't empty words. The footage recorded so far was sufficient evidence on its own. It even captured the entire exchange with the captain. There would be civilian testimonies too. Bribery? Coercion? Absurd. Burying it under press censorship was more realistic. Patriotic reporting. It had high plausibility.
"It's because you're the lieutenant that it's sufficient. It's a blessing in disguise for us. If someone else had been in command, we'd be extremely worried after returning."
In the process of covering up the incident, the treatment the involved parties received was obvious. Unexplained reassignments and transfers. Followed by dangerous missions. In a state of martial law, such administrative actions were entirely possible and necessary. At the crossroads of humanity's extinction, citizen distrust in the military could lead to catastrophe.
Lost in thought, Winter shook his head slightly to return to reality. He spoke to the sergeant.
"Think a bit more positively. Just because this happened, they might disclose it as is. If the news only reports overly positive stories, wouldn't trust drop?"
"What I mean is, with you here, the chances of that are higher."
Winter gave a relaxed smile.
"It's funny coming from me after telling you to think positively, but don't take this the wrong way—I'm just curious."
"What?"
"Aren't you worried they'll bury me along with it from above?"
The sergeant chuckled.
"That's the most absurd thing."
"Why?"
"Are you really asking because you don't know, or are you incredibly humble?"
"Never mind. I get it without you saying."
Winter quickly raised his rifle. Rat-a-tat-tat! Directed fire, three-round burst. All hits. The variant lunging at the soldier staggered and fell. The soldier, having escaped danger, screamed a beat late. "Aaaah!" He collapsed backward, scrambling away in a fit. Thud! Thud! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat! A full magazine emptied into the already dead corpse. Casings rained down. The other soldiers panicked too.
"What the hell! What happened!"
"Damn it! This bastard was playing dead! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
Winter approached and calmed him down.
"Quiet. Why'd you let your guard down? After seeing them use their heads yourself."
"S-sorry. Was that you who shot first, Lieutenant?"
"Yeah. It was me."
"Thank you so much. I must've gotten too complacent thinking it was over."
The private trembled. He seemed pretty shaken. Guilherme chimed in.
"Over? What over? Nothing's over until you return to barracks and get the disband order. Forget that, and you'll end up going home as a corpse. Be grateful you have a good commander."
"That's enough."
Winter patted his back until the soldier calmed.
Evidence collection wrapped up soon. Whether they'd salvaged anything useful would only be known after returning. Winter had the soldiers toss the deceased's weapons into the river. Hernandez asked,
"What now, sir? Join up with the platoon leader like this?"
"Join up? Well..."
Winter lingered on the forest shadows. The unidentified special variant he'd spotted during the firefight nagged at him. The first-discovery reward was one thing, but more than that, he wanted to trigger a positive change in the worldview.
But was conducting a search now, with this manpower, a wise choice?
Seeing the boy officer hesitate, the squad leader asked again.
"Is something bothering you, sir?"
"I think I saw something earlier."
"What?"
"I want to confirm it. It was pretty big..."
After gauging the risk a bit more, he gave orders.
"Report how much ammo each of you has left."
The results were a bit tight. Some had plenty, some short, but the latter were more numerous. They redistributed to ensure no one was critically low. About two spare magazines per person. Enough for one engagement in a pinch, then retreat.
The soldiers' morale was the issue, though. Seeing signs of another task, fatigue showed on some faces. The rest probably felt the same inside. They'd had return in sight.
It was understandable. Since leaving base, it had been trial after trial. Winter encouraged them.
"I know you're all tired. I want to give you rest, but it's tough. I'd appreciate your understanding. If what I saw was an unconfirmed special variant, getting intel now is good for the future."
Hernandez replied,
"No need for that, Lieutenant. Just order us like an officer. Kicking these guys' asses is the squad leader's job."
Guilherme shot him a mocking look. Winter formed a faint smile.
"Alright. That's an order. Follow me."
Winter took point on the search, as expected. Suggestions to set a separate point man were rejected. It was directly tied to the squad's survival. And 「Tracking」 was needed too.
Badly damaged trees appeared. The footprints between them were large and deep. The soldiers held their breath. So far, every new special variant had caused heavy casualties. No reason this one would differ. Tension was natural.
"Something this size has to be a grumbler, right?"
One soldier's opinion. Winter denied it.
"The prints are different. And if it was a grumbler, why didn't it join the fight earlier? It tramples its own kind while charging."
Winter took in the surroundings. Branches broken, trees stripped bare. Trunks deeply gouged. But it didn't seem like mere passage caused these traces. Winter tilted his head.
'Why? Any reason to deliberately smash trees?'
Likely related to the variant's traits, but he couldn't guess what.
「Tracking」 continued. The soldiers' tension frayed. Occasional stumbles in their steps. Signs of mental strain, fatigue, stamina depletion. Even stimulants had limits.
The monster appeared without warning.
He hadn't anticipated it. No sensory correction alert. The heat source, hidden by obstacles until now, seemed to pop out of thin air. The silhouette was clear. Not a grumbler.
Pushing aside bewilderment, Winter immediately raised his hand. The squad dispersed into cover.
"2 o'clock, distance about 40. One enemy contact."
The privates' night vision didn't have thermals. They only spotted the target after Winter gave direction and range. Hernandez whispered,
"Engage?"
"Grenades first. Hold fire until ordered. Kraus, McKenzie. Ready."
Not chosen for power. Tactical judgment. Monster's abilities unknown. Shooting would reveal their position. Grenades too. Silent, flashless hand grenades were ideal. Hard to pinpoint attack direction from explosions.
Noise might draw new enemies, but for now, it was just that one. Prioritize the unknown right in front.
Two soldiers positioned behind bushes. Each held a grenade, looking to Winter. He nodded, counted three, and they threw simultaneously.
Thwack! One veered slightly, hitting a fig branch. As the monster turned, the accurate one detonated point-blank. Almost simultaneously, the second explosion. The forest shuddered with the blasts, afterimages lingering from the flashes.
Kyaeeeeeee—
The ground shook. Heavy monster charging. Slower than expected. It slammed full-body into a fig tree. Boom! Impressive mass—the thick trunk shook as if to snap. And that was it. Great strength, but woefully inadequate for a special variant's superhuman power.
Grumblers uprooted and hurled trees, after all.
'Did the grenade hit make it think we're over there?'
Better that way. Now the monster was like a angry, anxious beast. Wary of every unseen direction. Movements very sluggish.
"Give me the launcher."
Winter took the rocket launcher from a soldier. Heavier than a rifle. Unlike the usual light LAW, what Jeffrey gave him had a warhead in kilograms. Just the propellant was over ten times a grenade's.
Might not penetrate a grumbler's physical resistance, but it should work on this.
"Everyone, wait here."
He didn't fire right away. The powerful backblast. Firing position would be instantly exposed.
Even in darkness, no room for carelessness.
He crouched low and ran. Sideways 20 meters, slid 3 meters, then immediately took stance.
The monster was still there. Head whipping around. As if trying to glare everywhere at once.
'Excited? Angry?... Seems more like fear.'
No 「Survival Instinct」 warning, weak 「Combat Sense」 alert. What the hell?
Pondering, he pulled the safety pin from the warhead tip. Ting—clear, faint metallic sound. Barely audible to Winter alone. He flipped up his NVG for aiming. Shouldered the launcher, centered the monster in the sight, triggered.
Boom! His whole body vibrated. The HE round traced a rain-like path. Winter felt launch and impact almost simultaneously. Shockwave visible. Spreading downpour. Reverse geyser, then dense streams pouring.
Explosion passed.
But no monster reaction.
What? Winter prone, stared ahead.
No movement. Only thick steam distinct from mist. Unusually abundant. Apparently from fluids the monster exuded.
Sensory correction alert gone entirely.
Counting internally for safety, Winter slowly rose.
Rejoined squad, approached cautiously, observed from distance.
"No way it's dead? That easy?"
Guilherme muttered in disbelief.
The special variant lay dead, sprawled skyward. Odd posture due to body imbalance. Massive swollen back shifted center of gravity. Protruding spine striking.
Back surface covered in countless boils. What he thought fluids were yellowish pus oozing from them.
Not sure if pus exactly. Visually similar. Still leaking post-mortem. Even explosion wounds rarely bled; mostly spewed pus. Gush, gush. Enormous amounts. Sickening steam rising. Wind shifted, foul stench approached. Winter shouted.
"Gas masks on!"
「Survival Instinct」, 「Crisis Detection」 silent. Not toxic.
Still, natural order regardless.
Winter fired a few rounds into the corpse. Where to hit for effect. Thunk! Thunk-thunk! Pus splattered on impacts. Yellow, highly viscous. Endless flow covered ground. Blood always thinned mixing with pus.
Hernandez muttered queasily.
"What tumorous mass is this?"
Soldiers edged back. Winter didn't stop them. Encouraged more distance. Reports would go up; no need for needless suspicion from above.
'If infection or poisoning suspected, lengthy quarantine.'
Would clear eventually, but time waste till then was issue.
"Lieutenant. Think these have biochemical attack means? Explains the pathetic combat power."
Guilherme's question. Winter shook head.
"If asking my feeling... no. But no basis to conclude now. Better mark position and withdraw. We just report. Health service team will recover later."
Winter pulled GPS and map. Marked location, noted coordinates.
"Good work, everyone. Let's head back. Jeffrey's waiting."
Orders given, retreat steps quickened. Soon almost jogging.
Foul slime spread wide. Began flowing down slope.
============================ Author's Note ============================
#Quiz
What is that variant?
#3:20 AM
Author: Extremely tired, but for some reason, my head is clearing up more and more.
Friend: Ever heard of the return light phenomenon?
Author: That's not it...
Friend: lololololol
#Q&A
Q. BlueCrystal: @Author, I want to see comments. It was really my way of savoring the afterglow after episodes—what's with this emptiness?
A. You asked, so I'll do it again. Gotta moderate since some hate it. :)
Q. Sopetem: So where's the signing event? I'll attend as long as it's not outer space.
A. Hmm. Tough, right? In my view, if this novel came out in print, even the first print wouldn't sell out and end up remaindered. Signing event in that situation? Nah.
Ah. Not saying my novel sucks—paper books just don't sell these days. Don't misunderstand. Haha. Hope more see it as ebooks.
Q. Anarkh: @Read it sacrificing sleep these past days.. Was gonna quit Noblesse but subscribed a month for this. Thanks for staying on Noblesse for existing readers. Will read your next work post-finale, premium or published lol. Tossing manuscript coupon and vanishing.
A. Glad it's sleep-depriving worthy. Thanks. Will strive to foster irregular sleep habits in readers henceforth.
Man, I'm so nice. Personality proportional to leg count...
Q. Reineysis: No Munpia.. Better premium here.. Anyway, going to site starting with 'na' for webnovel serialization??
A. Just order and timing differ—will hit all major platforms eventually. Kakao too. But entering Naver first means harder ads on Kakao? Already eyes on it as Noblesse series...
On Naver, it's N Store, not webnovels.