Ambush Beyond the Canyon
The air inside the tent remained heavy and oppressive.
The moment Arteon declared that he and Isaac alone would carry out the reconnaissance, the atmosphere froze solid.
“Absolutely not!”
Grein raised his voice first.
“You’re going on a recon mission with just the two of you? And the company commander and platoon leader themselves, no less.”
At his resolute gaze, the other platoon members lifted their heads.
Grein took another step forward.
“We’re coming with you. Haven’t we trained ourselves half to death for a day like this? Give us the chance to prove we can be of use on the battlefield.”
Arteon closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them slowly.
“No. Not this time. Right now your coordination with me isn’t there yet. The situation is far too dangerous to charge in relying only on individual skill.”
Going alone would have been easier on his mind.
But Isaac would never have allowed him to go by himself.
That was why the two of them moving together was the best option available.
Yet at those words, dissatisfaction flooded the faces of the platoon members.
First Squad Leader Barter spoke in a low, rumbling voice.
“I’m disappointed, Platoon Leader. Every one of us can handle mana now. Are you saying people like us would only get in the way?”
The other soldiers’ gazes turned cold as they flicked between Barter and Arteon.
Arteon shook his head.
“In the way? How could you ever be in the way?”
He paused and looked at each of them in turn.
The images of men who had poured out blood and sweat for the past three months rose before his eyes.
There was not a single soldier in this place who did not know how hard they had worked.
But…
“That’s exactly why, Barter.”
“……What do you mean?”
Arteon regarded his platoon with a firm gaze and continued slowly.
“You’ve only just begun to awaken your abilities. The seeds planted in the ground have barely sprouted. Before those sprouts even grow proper leaves, before any buds form…”
His voice dropped lower.
“There is no need to meet a reckless death.”
The platoon members’ expressions hardened.
Arteon pressed on.
“Of course the battlefield is not a place that waits for you to grow. It is always a place where you stake your life.”
He paused briefly, then continued.
“But there is a proper measure to things. Seven reconnaissance teams have already been wiped out. Every one of them was skilled and experienced at scouting. Not a single man returned.”
Cold sweat slid down the spines of the soldiers.
Only Arteon knew the truth: beyond the canyon right now lurked not ordinary Kar warriors, but beings of a higher tier that his current platoon members could not hope to face.
If it were a straight fight, we might manage somehow. But in terrain we don’t know, with this darkness tangled into everything… that changes the story completely.
Even these outstanding soldiers could die screaming in an instant.
And if he lost even one of them, the entire plan going forward would be shaken.
Right now…
Rather than take the risk, he had to preserve his full strength.
Arteon hardened his resolve and spoke.
“Now is not the time to take risks. Captain Isaac and I moving is the best course.”
Of course, if there had been four or more fighters at the four-star level whose coordination was already seamless, it would have been a different matter… but if not, better to have none at all.
At his resolute expression the platoon members’ shoulders sagged heavily.
Arteon added one final word.
“Once this reconnaissance is finished and the main force arrives, the real war begins. Then you will face enemies far stronger than anything now. Swallow your frustration and hone your senses even sharper.”
“……Understood.”
Grein bowed his head reluctantly.
The others lowered their gazes one by one and fell silent.
Anger and frustration mixed in their eyes.
Are we still not enough?
Grein clenched his fist, forcing down the surge of emotion.
Arteon watched them in silence, then turned without another word and stepped out of the tent.
The place I’m heading… is not somewhere I can fight while protecting these men.
Outside, Isaac was already waiting.
“Finished saying your goodbyes?”
“Are you all right, Company Commander?”
“Of course I am.”
Isaac lightly lifted the sword at his hip, showing quiet confidence.
Arteon nodded.
“Then let’s move out.”
“Right.”
Their gear had been reduced to the bare minimum—just the packs on their backs.
The backs of those packs were reinforced with thin steel plates against possible surprise attacks.
When the gate leading toward the canyon opened, a strange tension wrapped around their bodies.
“Whew… getting nervous.”
Isaac muttered under his breath.
At that moment Claw, who had been waiting at the base entrance, approached them.
“Captain Isaac. Lieutenant Arteon.”
He held out a small box.
“The Legion Commander instructed me to deliver this to you personally.”
Isaac raised an eyebrow.
“……What is it?”
Claw opened the box. Two silver rings gleamed inside.
“Magic tools imbued with Flash and Shield magic. Single-use only, but they will certainly help in a critical moment.”
Arteon and Isaac exchanged a glance, then slipped the rings onto their fingers.
Magic tools of any kind were immensely valuable in their own right.
Even for soldiers heading into danger, receiving such personal supplies was proof of how specially Velkain regarded them.
Isaac bowed his head.
“Thank you. We will return with results.”
His voice was firm.
Claw bowed in return.
“I pray you both return safely.”
Arteon and Isaac said nothing more.
They simply shared a look heavy with resolve, then started walking.
Soon the damp darkness swallowed them whole.
Behind them the wind rose and shook the tents.
Left alone, Claw quietly clasped his hands and murmured,
“……Please come back safely.”
When the tent light flickered in the wind, a long shadow of unhidden worry stretched across his face.
The moment Arteon and Isaac stepped beyond the base, heavy air rushed into their lungs.
The darkness was thicker than usual; clouds had swallowed the moonlight until even the ground at their feet was only a faint blur.
In the silence, the mere rustle of grass sounded loud.
Isaac’s face was set as he unrolled a scroll.
“This is the map of the plain’s entrance the Legion Commander gave me himself. We move to this point as quickly as possible.”
His finger indicated the path that led through the canyon and out onto the open plain—a dangerous place that had to be checked.
Arteon nodded.
“Understood.”
Yet as he looked at the map, memories from his previous life rose unbidden.
He had not spent long years in Helikel Canyon, but…
…Now that I’m out here, it all comes back one piece at a time.
Familiar terrain.
The flow of the wind and the shadows of the hills began to surface vividly in his mind.
Flames and the stench of blood from the past overlaid his vision.
As he ran behind Isaac, Arteon noticed the captain’s hesitation.
Completely unknown ground, and darkness this thick—it would be a real ordeal even for Isaac.
Arteon spoke.
“Captain, if you don’t mind, may I take the lead?”
Isaac’s eyes locked on him for a moment, then he nodded.
“Would you?”
He accepted readily.
He already knew Arteon’s senses surpassed his own.
Hadn’t the younger man already pulled ahead of him some time ago?
Arteon nodded and moved to the front.
“……Huu.”
He drew a quiet breath and pulled up his mana.
Every sense sharpened; the world beyond the darkness grew clearer.
And then—
Pa-bat!
Arteon’s body shot forward like an arrow.
At the sudden increase in speed Isaac clenched his teeth and followed hard on his heels.
The two of them raced through the dark, closing in on the entrance to the plain marked on the map.
That was when it happened.
“……?”
A strange, alien sensation brushed against him.
Arteon’s brow twitched. His feet stopped.
Isaac’s heart plummeted.
“What is it?”
He felt the shift in atmosphere and asked at once.
Then his own pupils trembled.
The air had turned ice-cold. Even the wind that scraped against his eardrums felt unnaturally heavy.
As if every hidden presence had lifted its head at the same time…
An indescribable pressure seized his entire body.
In that same instant Isaac’s hand flashed to his sword and swept it backward on pure reflex.
Chang!
A blade that had come flying out of the darkness bounced off his sword with a sharp ring.
“Fuck… when the hell…?”
Isaac spat a curse and scanned the surroundings.
All around them—tree shadows, underbrush, the very currents of the wind—killing intent-laced gazes pierced the two men.
They were already completely surrounded.
Yet Arteon’s eyes did not waver.
If anything, they grew colder and more focused as they locked onto the darkness.
There was only one thing that surprised him.
Why are these bastards… here?
Figures that rose with perfect clarity from Arteon’s memories.
As their shapes slowly emerged from the dark, thick killing intent began to coil in his gaze.
“I never expected him to make such a bold decision.”
“Neither did I. Stationing ‘them’ right at the entrance to the plain…”
The Kar officers gathered in Belikezel still could not shake their puzzlement at the order their Taman, Krelmuk, had given this time.
War had not even begun, yet he had already placed those ones at the plain’s threshold—and all for the sake of catching a few imperial scouts.
Then someone entered the room and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk…! You idiots.”
“K-Kortzan-nim!”
“You’ve arrived.”
Both officers shot to their feet, faces stiff with fear.
As Belikezel’s second-in-command and Krelmuk’s right hand, Kortzan’s mere presence was terror itself to them.
Moreover, he was a warrior who had been granted five feather tattoos.
Kortzan looked them over.
“So you dare question the Taman’s decision.”
“N-no, we were only—”
“We would never presume such a thing.”
Both men shook their heads frantically.
Kortzan let out a small sigh.
Crushing them underfoot was easy, but he had been told often enough that a leader sometimes needed to embrace his subordinates as well.
He spoke.
“Their role right now is immense. The imperial dogs will not learn even a fraction of this land before they all die.”
And if that happened…
“When the empire later brings its main force… they will walk into this place with no information at all.”
They all knew how terrifying that was.
How much damage was inflicted when an army advanced into enemy territory completely blind.
Especially for those calculating imperial bastards—there was no need to say more.
Kortzan snorted.
“They will take nothing from this place.”
The two officers could only swallow hard.