chapter_0107

106 – Who is the One Being Hunted?

106 – Who is the One Being Hunted?

The next day.

Except for the minimum number of personnel on guard, the entire force at the forward base ascended the ridge of the western mountains as soon as the weather permitted.

This was because a command had been issued by the battalion commander, Daniel Steiner, to conduct reconnaissance and fortification training.

The troops, equipped with sandbags, twelve mortars, and four machine guns, were able to hear new orders from Daniel as they prepared for realistic fortification exercises.

─ Construct the fortifications in a manner that surrounds the forward base.

In short, they were to train by assuming that their own forward base was the enemy’s and forming a siege line around it.

Although the troops found it hard to understand, they decided to follow the battalion commander’s first order.

After leveling the ground, they set up the mortar positions and installed the machine guns.

The unit’s snipers climbed up the sheer cliffs on the side to take their positions, while the special operations company, originally tasked with guarding the forward base, received orders to block the retreat.

Since they were familiar with the terrain near the forward base, they were deemed perfect for the task of blocking the retreat.

There was nothing wrong with the command itself, so Burnard decided to comply, joining the company directly under the headquarters and taking up positions to conceal themselves.

Afterward, they received a standby order, and Burnard and his troops rested among the trees.

Burnard, arms crossed and leaning against a tree, sighed and turned to look beside him.

Lieutenant Mckell was sitting on the ground, spreading out a map and practicing the art of reconnaissance.

“Hey.”

When Burnard called out, Mckell looked up.

“Did you call for me?”

“Yeah. I want to ask you something.”

Burnard scratched his head and said, “What’s the point of this training? I just can’t understand the idea of surrounding an enemy forward base.”

“Hmm. Could you elaborate?”

“It’s a forward base, right? It’s the base that should be most vigilant? So how does it make sense to surround such a base from all sides? Are they idiots or something?”

It wasn’t an unreasonable statement.

However, Lieutenant Mckell just laughed it off.

“Indeed, if this is a training exercise to surround an enemy forward base, it would be nonsensical.”

“See? I thought you were some genius staff officer sent from headquarters, but it seems the rumors were exaggerated.”

“Please refrain from such remarks. The rumors are not exaggerated.”

“…What do you mean? Didn’t you just say it was nonsensical?”

As Mckell folded the map, he replied, “I said it would be nonsensical if this were merely a training exercise.”

Burnard blinked in confusion, still not understanding, as Mckell tucked the map away.

“I participated in the operation to invade Nordia with the battalion commander. If you knew how the battalion commander conquered Nordia, you wouldn’t see this as just a simple training exercise.”

“…Are you suggesting it’s not a training exercise?”

“Exactly. He must be preparing for something.”

Looking at Mckell, who spoke with conviction, Burnard replied with a hint of reluctance.

“If he’s preparing for something, why hasn’t he told us? What about the last two weeks we’ve done nothing since coming here?”

“The battalion commander has an extreme aversion to his plans leaking through others’ mouths. Do you really think he did nothing during those two weeks?”

“Then could it be…?”

Mckell nodded.

“There’s a saying that a tiger waits patiently before striking. In my view, the battalion commander has merely been lying in wait like a predator seeking an opportunity.”

As Mckell stood up, he turned his gaze toward where Daniel was.

He could see Daniel, away from the troops, frowning with his hand on his chin.

With that contemplative look in his eyes, he was surely devising numerous detailed plans in his mind.

Watching Daniel, Mckell murmured with awe.

“It seems… he is ready to reveal his claws.”

Of course, contrary to Mckell’s expectations, Daniel Steiner had no particular thoughts at that moment.

‘That bird looks familiar. What was its name again…?’

He was merely trying to recall the name of the bird perched on a branch, preening its feathers.

–

Meanwhile, Bleff, the crown prince of the Belmore Kingdom, was leading an elite battalion toward the forward base where Daniel Steiner was located.

He wished he could bring more troops, but due to the mountainous terrain, having too many would make it difficult to control the situation, so he exercised restraint.

Moreover, he needed to capture Daniel Steiner before he could escape, so it was necessary to move stealthily, hence the insistence on a battalion-sized force.

Leading the battalion, Bleff set out early in the morning and only arrived at the imperial forward base located in a basin halfway up the mountain by nightfall.

Although the troops were somewhat fatigued from the climb, they were still fit for battle, so Bleff ordered an immediate charge without hesitation.

Upon hearing the crown prince’s command, the soldiers began to infiltrate the imperial forward base stealthily.

There were imperial soldiers on guard, but there weren’t many, so they could be easily subdued.

After watching his soldiers enter first, Bleff hesitated for a moment before entering the forward base himself.

Thanks to this, Bleff thought he had secured an easy victory.

Having quickly dealt with the sentries and entered the forward base, he could now slaughter all the sleeping imperial soldiers and capture Daniel Steiner.

Feeling a rush of joy at the thought of achieving great merit, Bleff ordered his troops to kill all enemy soldiers except for Daniel Steiner.

The soldiers, upon receiving Bleff’s command, searched the forward base to carry out their mission, but strangely, no gunfire was heard.

As ten minutes of silence passed, Bleff felt puzzled and summoned his officers.

He needed to ascertain what was happening.

“I clearly ordered to kill all enemy soldiers except for Daniel Steiner. Why is there no gunfire?”

The officers remained silent.

They, too, were just as clueless about what was going on.

While everyone maintained their silence, Colonel Galebalt, Bleff’s direct aide, finally spoke up with difficulty.

“Your Highness, I regret to inform you that…”

Galebalt’s voice trembled slightly.

“There are no imperial troops visible here.”

“What?”

Bleff frowned as if he had heard something absurd.

It was incomprehensible that there were no enemies at the enemy forward base.

“There are no imperial soldiers at the imperial base? Did you search properly?”

As Bleff reprimanded, the battalion commander, who had been listening, chimed in.

“Colonel Galebalt speaks the truth. I ordered the troops to conduct a search, but…”

The battalion commander bowed his head in shame.

“There are no signs of the imperial army in any of the command post, barracks, supply depot, medical station, storage, communication center, restroom, maintenance shop, watchtower, training facility, or underground facilities.”

“What do you mean…?”

Bleff sensed that the situation was turning strange and swallowed hard.

“Are you saying that the imperial army has vanished overnight?”

“I apologize, but I am only relaying the facts.”

Naturally, the battalion commander would not lie to the crown prince.

Despite knowing this, it was a fact that was impossible to accept.

“Then where on earth did the imperial army go…?”

Anxiety began to creep up his spine.

The joy that had been swirling inside him dissipated, and fear began to rear its head.

Just when he might have felt that the night air was unusually cold, a non-commissioned officer rushed in.

The sergeant, wearing the insignia of a staff sergeant, stopped in front of Bleff and prostrated himself on the ground.

“Your Highness! I have discovered that the imperial army’s footprints lead to the western ridge. I sent out scouts, and…”

Beads of sweat formed on the sergeant’s forehead and dripped down.

“…the reconnaissance results indicated that they were constructing fortifications armed with mortars and machine guns.”

Bleff’s uneasy premonition turned into certainty.

As Bleff trembled in panic, the sergeant squeezed his eyes shut and said, “Your Highness! It seems we are surrounded…!”

Murmurs of unease began to spread.

Everyone was assuming the worst since there were no enemy troops visible at the forward base.

However, only Bleff could not acknowledge his own blunder and turned to his aide.

“Colonel Galebalt! Is that true!?”

Galebalt could only bite his lip and lower his head.

“It appears so. They are likely blocking the retreat by now. I would have done the same…”

The voice, heavy with despair, settled heavily in the air.

After hearing a definitive answer from his aide, Bleff shook his head in disbelief.

“It can’t be. It can’t be. Did the information leak? The person who relayed the information to me was someone bribed by the Allied Nations. So how…?”

Bleff’s complexion turned pale.

“How does Daniel Steiner know all our plans!”

Galebalt bit his lip and then exhaled softly.

“It seems there is an informant loyal to Daniel Steiner within the Belmore Kingdom. It’s possible that Daniel Steiner… came here targeting you from the very beginning.”

Daniel Steiner had dug a trap using the information that Crown Prince Bleff was aware of.

At this point, there was no other way to think.

“Ah…”

As everything fell into place for Bleff, he felt a wave of weakness wash over him.

An officer nearby rushed over to support him, but there was no spark in Bleff’s eyes.

Bleff, feeling that he had been played by Daniel Steiner’s scheme, let out a hollow sigh.

“To be hunted…”

A hollow voice escaped from Bleff’s lips as he hung his head.

“Was it not Daniel Steiner, but me?”

Only then did Bleff realize.

A mere human can never hunt a demon.