chapter_0011

10 – Suddenly a War Hero

10 – Suddenly a War Hero

I momentarily thought I had misheard, but Frien’s eyes were filled with conviction.

“…Telescope.”

“Yes, Officer!”

I received the telescope from Frien and examined the entrance to the Edelkrall Canyon, furrowing my brow.

Just as Frien had said, a company-sized unit was advancing.

But why would they come to the Edelkrall Canyon, a minefield?

Puzzled, I examined the front lines and let out a dumbfounded chuckle.

‘They’re marching in ten columns. And two soldiers are walking far ahead of the rest.’

The soldiers walking in the lead were, in effect, a mine-clearing team.

If no explosions occurred in their path, it meant there were no mines.

Therefore, Jeremy’s unit was following in the footsteps of the lead soldiers.

‘Those soldiers in the lead… I don’t think they’re doing it willingly.’

Zooming in with the telescope, I saw fear etched on the faces of the soldiers in the lead.

Would they have volunteered for the lead while trembling with such fear? Absolutely not.

No matter how I looked at it, there was a high probability that some kind of coercion was involved.

Turning the telescope, I saw a soldier in the rear, about 30 meters away, openly aiming a gun at the lead soldiers.

If they deviated from the lead, they were to be shot on sight.

Jeremy must have issued an order similar to that.

‘Using his subordinates’ lives to check for mines…’

It was a truly diabolical idea.

But there had been worse things in the history of war, so it wasn’t surprising.

Sighing, I lowered the telescope and looked around, saying,

“Target approaching. All squads prepare for battle.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than the squad members lowered themselves and took out the rifles they had been carrying on their shoulders. Immediately after, they checked the Mana Cylinder attached to their opposite shoulder.

That cylindrical object, which included various mechanical devices and counters, was the Empire’s advanced war equipment.

Its function was to store Mana in advance and use it when needed, allowing people to use up to twice as much Mana in wartime, depending on the person.

That meant that the Empire’s soldiers could fight twice as well as soldiers from other countries.

Of course, it was a bit of an exaggeration to calculate it simply in numerical terms, but it was no exaggeration to say that the invention of the Mana Cylinder, called the culmination of Mana Engineering, made the Empire a powerful nation.

‘In fact, no country can beat the Empire in a one-on-one all-out war…’

The problem was that its overwhelming national power caused fear and resentment in other countries bordering it.

I was reminded of the reason I was trying to escape the Empire and checked the counter on my Mana Cylinder, just like the others.

After confirming that there were no problems, I took a prone shooting position at the edge of the cliff.

The soldiers also lined up along the cliff, following my lead.

Looking down at Jeremy’s company gradually entering the depths of the Edelkrall Canyon, I whispered just loud enough for the soldiers to hear,

“I’ll take care of the enemy commander. As soon as I fire, you guys engage in rear fire to block their escape route. Prepare Mana Bullets.”

“Prepare Mana Bullets!”

The soldiers, who shouted in a small voice like me, generated Mana in the hand holding the magazine.

It was an act of temporarily imbuing bullets with Mana to increase their destructive power and penetration.

Mana-infused bullets surpassed most magic and were very easy to cast, as all you had to do was infuse them with Mana without any special incantation.

Just as medieval knights disappeared with the development of guns, magic, with the exception of a few practical ones, became a relic of the past in this world after the effectiveness of Mana Bullets was proven.

It was a prime example of how technological advancement destroys romance.

‘Anyway…’

If I succeed in killing Colonel Jeremy here, won’t I accumulate more merits?

The Princess is watching from behind, so I have to fight, but if I achieve results here again, it’s like blowing away my chance to escape the Empire.

So what should I do? Feeling Selvia’s gaze, I opened the scope of my rifle.

Shouldering the rifle and looking down at the ground through the scope, I saw Colonel Jeremy walking in the center of the formation.

The magnification of the scope wasn’t high enough to see his face properly, but seeing that only one person was wearing the uniform of a high-ranking officer, that person was Colonel Jeremy.

If I succeed in killing Colonel Jeremy here, I’ll definitely get a special promotion.

I can’t let that happen. I didn’t want to be tied to the Empire any longer.

‘Then…’

All I had to do was become a fool who failed to kill Colonel Jeremy even though the opportunity came.

‘I have to act like I missed the aim.’

Having made my decision, I slightly turned the muzzle and aimed at the soldier walking side by side with Colonel Jeremy.

I took a deep breath, held it, created a Mana Bullet, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The bullet, tearing through the air, pierced the soldier’s head.

Following that, the squad members’ gunshots rang out in succession, making my ears ring.

I glanced up and saw about 17 Allied Nations soldiers spurting blood and collapsing.

It was a decent first shot.

But the enemy commander was still alive.

If the enemy confirmed that the number of soldiers killed by the first shot was around twenty, they would easily realize that it was a squad-sized unit.

As far as I knew, Jeremy was a seasoned rat. He would immediately deploy a Mana Barrier and run away, either forward or backward.

Many soldiers would die in the process, but would Jeremy, who used his subordinates as mine-clearing teams, care?

If Jeremy escaped from here, I could become an officer who failed in his mission.

‘Come on. Run away quickly, Colonel Jeremy!’

Waiting with my eye on the scope, I saw Jeremy’s company in a panic.

One of them, who appeared to be an officer, began to shout something and then put down his weapon.

‘…Huh? Why are they putting down their weapons?’

I watched in bewilderment, not understanding, as the enemy officer and soldiers knelt down one by one and raised their hands.

A clear sign of surrender. An expression that they had no intention of continuing the battle.

Frien, who had been firing next to me, also tilted her head, wondering what was going on.

“…It’s a surrender?”

“No. There’s a possibility that it’s an enemy deception. They might pick up their guns and attack us when we go down…”

No sooner had I spoken than the officer shouted something and threw his gun towards the minefield.

The soldiers also followed the officer and threw all their guns into what appeared to be a minefield.

“…It’s definitely a surrender.”

What’s the reason? I didn’t know, but in any case, the enemy had surrendered, so the operation was over as of this moment.

“Everyone, stand up. We’re going to capture them.”

*

I went down to the Edelkrall Canyon and ordered the squad members to capture the prisoners, then walked over to Colonel Jeremy and told him to explain the whole story.

More precisely, to tell me why they surrendered.

“You shot the Colonel dead!”

Colonel Jeremy… Correction. The look-alike wearing Colonel Jeremy’s uniform glared at me and shouted.

“We were ambushed. And if there’s such a difference in intelligence that you even knew we switched clothes, it was clear that we couldn’t win. If we ran forward, it would be a minefield, and if we ran backward, it would be a dog’s death.”

In short, the soldier I killed with my first shot was actually Colonel Jeremy disguised as a soldier.

The company, which had lost its commander in an instant, judged that the enemy had the upper hand in everything, and their morale rapidly deteriorated. They surrendered as a result.

‘Damn it…’

I was dumbfounded and wiped my face, and the soldier clenched his fist in resentment.

“Damn it…! You damn Imperial soldiers! If we had known that you were just a squad, we would have fought back! You devilish bastard…! Deceiving us all! Go to hell-”

Thud! With a thud, the soldier collapsed into the snow.

Frien, who had been listening to the story, had struck the soldier’s neck with the butt of her rifle.

Frien, coldly looking down at the enemy soldier, looked at me and saluted.

“Squad Leader! We have captured 87 enemy soldiers, excluding the 18 who were killed!”

Listening to Frien’s words, I realized that a single squad had defeated a company.

As I took a cold breath and remained silent, Frien added,

“…You’ve earned merits, so aren’t you happy? Ah! Such achievements are natural for the Officer. I was rude!”

What is this woman talking about? As I frowned, a camera shutter went off with a ping.

Startled, I closed my eyes and turned my gaze to where the camera shutter had gone off, and Selvia was standing there.

Selvia, lowering the camera, looked at me with an admiring look.

“Congratulations. You were perfect, from the establishment of the operation to the assassination of the target.”

“Wait. That picture you just took…”

“When we return to the Imperial City, I’ll order… No. I’ll ask them to put it in the article. A war hero who captured a company with a squad has been born, so shouldn’t I be happy to help?”

I wanted to tell her not to, but the other party was the Princess. I had no right to refuse.

Selvia, who seemed to like me, took a step closer and playfully poked my waist.

“How is it? How does it feel to be a war hero?”

“…”

It was the worst.

But there was no way I could say that to the Princess of the Empire.

Regaining my composure, I said as calmly as possible.

“I was just doing what was natural for the Empire, so it’s absurd to call me a war hero. What I did was just one of the many battles that take place on the front lines. So I’m worried that publicizing this battle in the Imperial City will seem like making a fuss.”

Please don’t publicize my merits in the Imperial City. That’s what I was saying indirectly.

But Selvia, hearing my words, looked surprised for a moment and then soon smiled faintly.

“Indeed. As I’ve heard, you are a role model for soldiers. So much so that I want to take you away as soon as possible.”

…I think I’ve been misunderstood. It must be my imagination?