Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Black Forest
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Black Forest.
It was exactly as its name suggested.
A pitch-black darkness that devoured even the moonlight.
It had been several hours since they slipped away from the garrison and began moving stealthily.
'Lightweight.'
Damian looked down at his viper leather armor.
It clung perfectly to his body, an excellent feel.
No restrictions on his movements.
'With this...'
He could move even more efficiently through the darkness.
The ability he had stolen from an Imperial scout was proving its true value.
'No footsteps... at all.'
Damian was astonished by his own senses.
It truly felt like he had become a shadow.
"...".
Marcus Sinclair, walking right in front of Damian, glanced back.
'This rookie...'
His movements had been extraordinary for some time now.
More stealthy than even himself, a veteran of the reconnaissance team.
'How is that kind of movement possible?'
He had followed the legion commander's orders, but Marcus had still been displeased about including a mere rookie.
Now, though, his opinion was starting to shift.
[Stop.]
That was when it happened.
Aaron Holt, the reconnaissance leader at the forefront, gave a hand signal.
He too had traded his usual silver plate armor for dark light armor.
"Black Forest entrance. From here on, a single footstep could mean life or death."
Aaron slowed his pace as he issued the warning.
They were now properly entering enemy territory.
'I can see.'
But the darkness posed no problem for Damian.
The abilities he had absorbed up to now were showing their worth.
'Wind direction, humidity, even the distant cries of beasts.'
Everything came into sharp focus.
And not just that.
'Footprints.'
Slightly crushed blades of grass.
Traces brushed against tree branches.
The ability gained from the reconnaissance leader was guiding their path.
'Four people. They passed this way just recently.'
The information clicked into place in an instant.
Damian signaled Aaron with his hands.
[Ahead, enemies spotted. Four.]
Aaron's eyes went wide.
'Enemies?'
An enemy presence that even he hadn't detected.
And this rookie had noticed it first?
[Certain?]
[Certain.]
Damian's firm hand signals.
Aaron hesitated for a moment before making his decision.
[All units, battle ready.]
His team members moved swiftly at the order.
They crouched low and advanced with quick strides.
And moments later.
'There.'
Four shadows visible in the distance.
An Imperial scouting party.
"Damn it, how long do we gotta stay stuck in the middle of this filthy forest?"
"Tell me about it. We could just steamroll those pathetic stragglers and call it a day."
They looked relaxed.
Off their guard.
'Now.'
The instant Aaron signaled the attack.
Damian moved first.
'A chance to devour new abilities.'
He couldn't let it slip away.
Shing!
A perfect ambush.
Dawn gave off a faint glow.
"Wh-what the?!"
"Enemy attack!"
The Imperial soldiers reacted too late.
Slash!
Dawn traced a silver arc through the air.
The head of the foremost soldier flew.
A new sensation washed over him along with the blue text.
His body felt even lighter.
"You bastard!"
The remaining three soldiers charged at once.
But.
'Manageable.'
Their movements were crystal clear in Damian's eyes.
Clang! Clang!
He parried the attacks and surged forward.
Puk!
The second.
Slash!
The third right after.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Only one enemy remained.
"Hii, hiiik...!"
The last soldier staggered back in terror.
Unable to believe the scene before him.
Right then.
Puk!
Squad leader Ben stabbed the soldier in the back.
A fatal wound, but not quite lethal.
Damian didn't miss that split-second opening.
Slash!
He aimed for the neck to finish it completely.
Situation cleared.
The Imperial scouting party of four wiped out.
Perhaps because it happened so fast, the reconnaissance team's jaws dropped.
'No way.'
'Four in an instant...?'
Marcus's expression was especially priceless.
His face stained with shock and astonishment.
"Impressive."
Aaron was fairly surprised as well.
But he didn't show it.
Instead, he made the optimal call with cool judgment.
"We press on. Damian, take point from here."
Essentially a leadership swap.
Marcus's pride took a hit, but he had no words.
He had witnessed the overwhelming difference in skill and senses with his own eyes.
"Roger that."
From then on, for a while.
Damian cleaved through the darkness without hesitation.
'Proficient Tracking' sketched a clear map in his mind.
The path of the Imperial main force.
Following the traces was no challenge.
How much farther did they go?
[Stop.]
Damian signaled.
The entire reconnaissance team dropped low immediately.
"What is it?"
Aaron Holt approached quietly and asked.
"Up ahead."
The spot Damian indicated.
It was a sight hard to believe was the heart of the Black Forest.
"This is..."
Aaron's eyes widened.
The towering ancient trees had all been felled.
A massive artificial clearing.
And filling it.
'A large-scale garrison.'
Endless rows of tents and roaring campfires.
And more than that.
'That flag...?'
Crimson field with an embroidered golden lion.
The symbol of the Ironpole Empire.
The most intimidating banner among them.
"Imperial Guard."
Ben muttered in a dazed voice.
The Empire's elite of elites.
A strategic weapon capable of turning the tide of war.
"No way..."
Marcus's face drained of color.
"Why is the Imperial Guard here...? Rumors were flying that the emperor was personally commanding the eastern front!"
"Not the east. The north."
Aaron's expression hardened gravely.
"The Empire's target was our 6th Legion from the start. They plan to sweep the northern front clean before winter hits."
An overwhelming disparity in forces.
The 6th Legion was done for at this rate.
'...No, something's off.'
While everyone fell into chaos.
Damian alone stayed calm.
'Why's it so noisy?'
Instead, he carefully observed the scene unfolding before him.
The clamor drifting from the distant garrison.
A level of disorder unimaginable for an elite unit.
Shouts and the stench of alcohol carried on the wind.
'I can feel it all. Everything.'
The abilities he had absorbed told him so.
'Discipline... way too lax.'
But.
No matter how you sliced it.
They couldn't ignore that overwhelming scale and those flags.
Speculation was just speculation; what they saw was plain reality.
"No more scouting. We return now."
Aaron made the swift call.
The confirmed threat outweighed any suspicions.
"Time is critical. We have to inform the legion commander."
As the reconnaissance team hurriedly turned to withdraw.
"What're these rats?"
A rough voice from behind.
The entire team's bodies stiffened.
'Spotted.'
An Imperial patrol that had snuck up on them unnoticed.
They too wore the ornate armor of the Imperial Guard.
"Who'da thought Coldwood rats were hiding in a dump like this!"
The patrol leader drew his sword with a shout.
A fight they couldn't avoid.
"Take them down fast!"
The moment Aaron gave the order.
Damian charged first.
'Imperial Guard.'
An opportunity he couldn't miss.
A chance to devour their abilities.
He anticipated powerful skills like Imperial swordsmanship or advanced command techniques.
Shing!
Dawn traced a silver arc through the darkness.
A single strike aimed at the patrol leader in the flashiest armor.
"Ha! Got some guts on you!"
The patrol leader swung his sword.
But.
'Slow.'
And far too simplistic.
Movements that made a mockery of the Imperial Guard name.
No—frankly speaking, they were abysmal.
Clang!
Damian casually deflected the attack.
Then closed in and severed the neck.
Slash!
An all-too-easy victory.
"...!"
Damian's movements faltered for a moment.
'Mercenary-Style Practical Swordsmanship?'
That was the Imperial Guard's swordsmanship?
Absurd.
"C-Captain's down!"
"N-No way...!"
And it didn't end there.
The remaining patrol members floundered in panic.
Their movements were far from elite soldier material.
Rough, crude, and sloppy.
Puk! Slash!
Aaron, Ben, and Damian pounced on the openings without mercy.
Crude handiwork. Axe throwing.
No matter how you looked at it, these weren't Imperial Guard skills.
'A ragtag bunch of misfits. Nothing more, nothing less.'
Either way, the situation was over.
The patrol of five annihilated in seconds.
An anticlimactic fight.
A heavy silence fell.
"...This is really the Imperial Guard?"
Ben muttered in disbelief.
"Something's definitely wrong. They're too weak. This isn't the Guard I know."
Aaron couldn't hide his bewilderment either.
His gaze turned toward the distant garrison.
"What exactly... are they hiding?"
"Can't say for sure from here, but isn't it obvious? A deception."
Damian spoke up.
He couldn't use his absorbed abilities as evidence.
So.
Time to put that to use.
"That fight just now is proof. The real Imperial Guard wouldn't drop that easily."
Damian removed the dead patrol leader's helmet.
You couldn't judge everyone by looks alone, but no matter how you sliced it, he looked more like a rough mercenary than Guard.
"If this army is fake, it explains the garrison's atmosphere too."
"The garrison's atmosphere?"
"You all probably sensed it. It didn't feel like an elite unit."
"...Yeah, you're right."
Everyone nodded at Damian's words.
They had each felt the subtle wrongness too.
"A massive fake army... and a deception."
Should they infiltrate?
No, too dangerous.
'If they're staging a deception this huge, there have to be real elites mixed in there.'
Security was everything in a large-scale operation.
They wouldn't fill it with fakes alone.
Even standing here was risky.
'Our duty as scouts ends here. Report what we've found and await orders.'
Not a call for the reconnaissance team to make.
Aaron Holt, having reached a conclusion, spoke.
"...All units, quick return."
The return order.
Damian took the lead.
"Let's move."
Their footsteps were faster than ever.
The fate of the 6th Legion hung on this intel.
"...!"
Right as they broke into a full sprint.
'...Killing intent?'
His senses, honed by countless devourings, screamed.
Caution.
A "beast" lurked nearby.
And not just that.
"...Everyone, down!"
That beast was swinging its claws.
Right now.
In the form of a "sword."
Slash!
Aaron, Ben, and Marcus reacted swiftly.
They dropped at the shout and survived.
But the other two from the reconnaissance team.
"Charles! Bailey!"
They couldn't dodge.
Flying heads and spurting blood were proof.
"A sharp-eyed rat slipped in among you."
The one who had sliced down two well-trained soldiers in an instant.
Perhaps he could have killed more.
He murmured as such.
He bore the Empire's crest—a clear "knight."
"...All units, battle prep."
Aaron Holt regripped his sword as he spoke.
Tension laced his voice thickly.
"Stake your lives. The opponent's a knight who's reached the Sword User realm."
The "real deal" Aaron Holt had feared earlier.
That Imperial knight now stood before the reconnaissance team.