episode_0003

It hadn’t even been 24 hours since I was assigned, but it felt like a storm had already passed through. Without any time to adjust to the unit, we were immediately directed from our company tents to conduct a reconnaissance mission at the meteor crash site. It was our first real encounter with the national army and an enormous black cuboid of unknown origin, along with monsters.

The 1st Reconnaissance Battalion only briefly stopped by the battalion headquarters before heading straight for Sang Marge, the largest city near the border. Upon visiting the headquarters, it became apparent that the entire battalion was also planning to move to Sang Marge. Evacuating all the way back to Sang Marge, significantly beyond the usual operational radius of the 93rd Independent Guards Battalion, located quite north along the long border between the Kingdom of Francia and the Muscovy Republic, must have been due to some directive from higher command.

When Claire visited the battalion headquarters, she reported on the unidentified entity, although it didn’t seem to escalate to higher command, just in front of a few officers including the battalion commander. The investigation into the annihilation of A Company was brought up, but it didn’t seem to progress further up the chain of command.

Sang Marge was sizable enough to be considered one of the largest cities in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Francia. Situated close to the Muscovy Republic and bearing the nickname “Northern Anchorage,” it was the foremost trading city in the northern seas, handling a significant amount of logistics through its port. However, due to the deteriorating diplomatic relations with the Republic, it wasn’t as prosperous as it used to be, but it still held its charm.

The classical appearance of the city, reminiscent of the 18th century, left a strong impression on me. Until I enrolled in the Madobyeong Training Academy, I had lived within the confines of a church orphanage run by a religious group of the Kingdom of Francia, and thus, I could genuinely marvel at the sight of a city different from those of the 21st century.

Outside the city, in addition to the 93rd Independent Guards Battalion, there were several other bases using Sang Marge as a supply hub. Bases such as the 13th Infantry Division, the 2nd Royal Artillery Battalion, and the 147th Infantry Division were stationed here. Being the most crucial city in the northeast of the Kingdom of Francia, it naturally had a substantial amount of supplies to distribute and an abundance of reasons to defend, which led to the proliferation of nearby bases.

Today, except for me who was on standby, the rest of the squad members, including Claire, had returned from the front line to the rear base after nearly a month. They were all relaxing in the cozy beds and – though it only applied to officers – warm baths when a problem arose.

“Ah, damn it.”

It wasn’t his usual style to curse, but he had to say it. It was visible through the window inside the base, but it was clear as day. The night sky had turned as bright as midday just a while ago, and the meteor, or rather, it was no longer appropriate to call it a meteor, had “landed” in a location not far from the port of Saint Marg, where there were no interfering ships around. Due to the noise and light, the citizens of Saint Marg, as well as the surrounding units in the base, would have known that something had fallen.

The cube-shaped object we had seen just a few hours ago had landed in the middle of a coniferous forest, which could have minimized casualties, but this time it was different. Since such a thing had appeared right next to a densely populated area, it was obvious that there would be tremendous casualties. As I stepped outside the base, there was only murmuring. It seemed like people thought it was just a strange phenomenon.

“Marianne!”

As expected, B Squad was the quickest to act. We were the only ones who had seen its true form. Claire was now fully armed. Behind her, Alphonse and Jang were also completely prepared for combat. While our squad at the assault battalion’s base had completed our preparations, the others still seemed bewildered.

“It seems like we’re the only ones aware of the danger.”

“Soon enough, everyone will know whether they want to or not. It would be nice if Lieutenant Erdua could recognize the danger a little faster.”

Neither the battalion nor the division took the cube-shaped object seriously. They were assuming that A Squad had been wiped out in a trap set by the national army. Anyway, even if our squad had finished preparing for combat first, there was nothing we could do. Since we were not on a solo mission, we had to wait in the base like this until we received orders from the higher-ups.

To minimize the damage to Saint Marg’s, nearby units need to react as quickly as possible. However, there’s no sign of such a response yet. In fact, I doubted whether even if they did respond, they could prevent it. Can front-line infantry really deliver a blow, not being magic infantry? Unless they engage in artillery fire… At that point, my thoughts went mad, and I recalled that Saint Marg was a port. Although I hadn’t seen the port yet, wouldn’t there be naval vessels? Of course, since the cubic thing had landed in the sea, there was a high possibility that the port would be disabled, so it seemed unlikely to be of much use.

“They’re instructing us to equip for combat within the encampment for now,” reported Sergeant Alphonse, who had visited the battalion headquarters. The forces of Company C and the battalion headquarters were all gathered at the encampment training ground, and the nearby infantry division would likely be in a similar situation. They probably didn’t receive any information about what had landed in the sea, but instinctively, they would have felt a sense of foreboding, like a deer placed in front of a tiger.

Ten minutes passed, or perhaps a little more, when the first gunshot was heard. It wasn’t from the encampment outside the city, but sporadic gunfire began to be heard within the city. Was it the ground forces from the warship firing? Or the city’s police force?

Gunshots started to be heard more frequently. It meant that dealing with the garrison forces inside Saint Marg would be difficult. Faint screams of high tones were heard alongside the gunshots. There was truly no time to hesitate now. If we wanted to save the citizens of Saint Marg, we had to act immediately.

“Dispatch from the battalion! We are entering Saint Marg!”

Finally, Lieutenant Erdwa’s command came down. He must know what he’s up against. By now, we should largely accept Claire’s report as fact.

“Lieutenant Claire! Assign Unit B to reconnaissance duty. Withdraw immediately if it looks dangerous.”

“Understood! Unit B, advance at full speed!”

It has finally arrived. They began rapid marching almost at a running speed. As we approached Sangmarg, gunfire and screams grew louder. Somewhere, a fire had broken out, and flames rose high, gradually dyeing the night sky red. Well, when something happens in the city, it’s impossible for there not to be a fire. That’s actually a good sign.

As we moved inward, the number of people going in the opposite direction increased, making it increasingly difficult to advance. Citizens who had realized that something serious had happened were fleeing the city.

If only 4 members of B Company were at the forefront, it seemed that the remaining platoon or infantry company would have quite a hard time entering the interior. I even felt anxious about whether they might not receive proper support amidst this traffic congestion, which was not just any traffic jam.

Forcing our way through the crowd, at one point, the human tide noticeably diminished. Is this area a battlefield? However, the gunfire was barely audible. Either the guys from the cube-shaped thing were all dead, or Sangmarg’s security forces had been hit…

After running for a while, we finally reached the city square. A dismal scene unfolded before us. Traces of defensive lines set up with carriages and cargo boxes were visible, along with what appeared to be a considerable number of meat pieces. The condition of the bodies was dreadful. They were scattered almost like jigsaw puzzles, torn apart here and there. The state of their uniforms couldn’t even be confirmed. Unidentified life forms appeared, and the local commander who had quickly established a defense line in that short time was competent. It’s just that the situation wasn’t favorable.

After witnessing the brutal deaths of A Company and the national army, I had preemptively cast a mental defense spell to keep from feeling sick. Claire and the other squad members were also forcibly holding back their emotions at the grim sight.

“Be careful. There might still be some around here.”

Traces of corpses suggested that the massive entity responsible for massacring Alpha Company wasn’t present. It seemed likely that it was the small fry I barely managed to shake off during the pursuit after setting fire to my coat. Swallowing dry saliva, one of them held an unextinguished torch in hand. It must have belonged to a security guard who became someone’s meal, and the remaining torch, I presumed. For these little guys, having this is probably better than not. Others also seemed to have picked up something burning from somewhere.

Crackle crackle crackle

The sound of hundreds of them passing by felt like whispers beside my ears, coming from all directions. Just black, featureless cylinders with four black legs—unidentified small creatures, about the size of a chicken seen in the Moscovi Republic. They were surrounding us near the square.

“Square formation! Square formation!”

At Claire’s command, the four of us faced the eyeless entities, our guns aimed at what could only be described as elongated shapes rather than actual targets. It was a laughable attempt at forming a square. Around the remains of the burning crate and defensive line, the encirclement seemed slightly thinner. We had to find a way out before the entire squad perished.