I thought I must have misheard for a moment, but Prien’s gaze was filled with certainty.
“…the telescope.”
“Yes, Lieutenant!”
As I received the telescope from Prien and scanned the entrance of the canyon, I frowned.
As Prien had said, a unit of company size was advancing.
But why had they come to the Edelkrall Gorge, which was a minefield?
As I looked over the formation with confusion, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity.
‘They are marching in that ten-column formation. There are two soldiers walking far ahead in the front.’
The soldiers walking in front were essentially a mine-clearing team.
If no explosion occurred along their path, it meant there were no mines.
So, Jeremy’s unit was following in the footsteps of the vanguard.
‘The soldiers in the front… don’t seem to be doing this willingly.’
When I zoomed in with the telescope, the faces of the soldiers leading the way were filled with fear.
Could they have volunteered for such a scary task? Absolutely not.
The probability that some sort of coercion was involved was very high.
As I turned the telescope, I saw a soldier in the rear, about 30 meters away, openly aiming a gun at the soldiers in front.
“Should they break formation, they’ll be shot on the spot.”
Jeremy must have given a similar order.
‘To confirm the presence of mines at the cost of a subordinate’s life…’
It was truly a devilish idea.
It was not surprising because history was full of even worse occurrences in wars, though.
Sighing, I lowered the telescope and looked around.
“The target is approaching. All squads, prepare for battle.”
As soon as my words finished, the platoon members lowered their bodies and drew the rifles they had slung over their shoulders. Immediately after, they checked the mana cylinders attached to their opposite shoulders.
That cylindrical object, which contained various mechanical devices and counters, was the Empire’s advanced warfare equipment.
Its function was to store mana in the body for use at will, allowing individuals to use up to twice the normal amount of mana in wartime depending on the person.
This meant that the Empire’s soldiers could fight twice as effectively as soldiers from other nations.
Of course, this was a simple numerical comparison, which might involve some exaggeration, but it would not be an overstatement to say that the invention of the mana cylinder, known as the crystallization of magical engineering, made the Empire a great power.
‘In fact, there isn’t a country that can defeat the Empire in a full-scale one-on-one battle…’
Due to this overwhelming national strength, the Empire had garnered fear and outrage from neighboring countries.
Recalling the reasons for wanting to escape the Empire, I checked the counters on my mana cylinder like the others.
Confirming there was no issue, I took a prone position at the cliff’s edge.
The soldiers lined up behind me as well.
As I looked down at Jeremy’s unit moving deeper into the canyon, I whispered just loud enough for the soldiers to hear.
“I’ll handle the enemy commander. As soon as I fire, you will open fire from the rear to block their escape route. Prepare the magical rounds.”
“Magical round preparation!”
The soldiers who echoed my words in small voices concentrated mana into their hands gripping the magazines.
This was the act of temporarily infusing bullets with mana to enhance their destructive power and penetrative ability.
Mana-infused bullets could surpass most magic spells, and since it only required infusing mana without any special incantations, the difficulty of casting was quite low.
Similar to how medieval knights faded into obscurity with the development of firearms, after the effectiveness of magical rounds was proven, most magic in this world, except for a few practical ones, fell into relics of a bygone age.
The advancement of technology could be regarded as a prime example of how romanticism was undermined.
‘By the way…’
If I succeed in killing Colonel Jeremy here, wouldn’t it add to my achievements?
With the princess watching from behind, I needed to fight, but if I achieved results here, it would mean losing my chance to escape the Empire.
So, what should I do? Feeling Selvia’s gaze, I opened the scope of my rifle.
As I steadied the stock and looked through the scope to observe below, I could see Colonel Jeremy moving through the center of the formation.
The magnification of the scope wasn’t high, so I couldn’t see his face clearly, but as I saw one person wearing a senior officer’s uniform, it had to be Colonel Jeremy.
If I succeeded in killing Colonel Jeremy here, I would surely be promoted.
That absolutely can’t happen. I didn’t want to be entangled with the Empire any further.
‘So then…’
If I end up failing to kill Colonel Jeremy despite getting an opportunity, that would be a disaster.
‘I must make it look like I missed.’
After making up my mind, I slightly turned the muzzle to aim at the soldier walking alongside Colonel Jeremy.
I took a deep breath, held it, created the magical round, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet shot through the air and pierced the soldier’s head.
Following that, the gunfire from the platoon members rang out one after another, deafening my ears.
I briefly raised my head to look back, finding about 17 Allied soldiers falling dead with blood splattering.
That was excellent first shot shooting.
However, the enemy commander was still alive.
If I confirmed that the number of soldiers killed by the first shot was around twenty, it was easy to notice that the enemy was of platoon size.
As far as I knew, Jeremy was a seasoned rat. He would surely deploy a mana barrier immediately and escape, either forward or backward.
During that process, many of the soldiers would die, but would Jeremy care if he’s using subordinates as a mine-clearing team?
If Jeremy escaped from here, I could very well become an officer who failed his mission.
“Come on. Run away quickly, Colonel Jeremy!”
As I waited with my eye to the scope, I could see Jeremy’s unit in a panic.
One of what appeared to be the officers among them began to shout something and then dropped his weapon.
‘…Huh? Why are they dropping their weapons?’
Confused, I watched as the enemy officers and soldiers began to kneel one by one and raised their hands.
An obvious sign of surrender. It expressed that they had no intention of continuing the fight.
Even Prien, who had been shooting beside me, seemed puzzled and tilted her head.
“…They are surrendering?”
“No. There’s also a possibility that it’s a trick by the enemy. If we go down, they might attack with their guns…”
Just as I said this, the officer shouted something and threw his weapon toward the minefield.
The soldiers followed the officer’s lead and threw their weapons toward what seemed to be the minefield.
“…It’s definitely a surrender.”
What on earth could the reason be? I had no idea, but since the enemy surrendered, the operation was over from that moment.
“Everyone, get up from your positions. We’re going to bind them.”
*
Having gone down into the canyon, I ordered the platoon members to bind the prisoners and walked over to Colonel Jeremy to ask him to explain the reasons for their surrender.
To be precise, I wanted to know why they surrendered.
“You shot the Colonel!”
Colonel Jeremy… no, the lookalike dressed in Colonel Jeremy’s uniform yelled at me.
“We were ambushed. Besides, if they could tell the difference in our attire, it was certain that we couldn’t win. No matter which way we run, it’s a minefield in front, and certain death behind.”
In other words, the soldier I killed with my first shot was actually Colonel Jeremy disguised as a soldier.
In the blink of an eye, the unit, having lost its commander, judged that the enemy held an advantage, and their morale plummeted rapidly. They surrendered just like that.
‘Damn…’
As I wiped my face in disbelief, a soldier clenched his fist in frustration.
“Damn it…! Those wretched Empire soldiers! If I had known you were just a platoon, I would have fought back! You devilish bastards…! To deceive us all! Go to hell—”
Pow! With a sound, the soldier collapsed into the snow.
Prien, who had been listening to the conversation, struck the soldier’s neck with the stock of her rifle.
As she looked down coldly at the enemy soldier, Prien turned to me and saluted.
“Lieutenant! We have bound 87 enemy soldiers, excluding the 18 who were killed!”
As I listened to Prien, it sank in that a mere platoon had defeated a company.
As I exhaled a chilly breath in silence, Prien added:
“…You achieved a great feat, but aren’t you happy? Ah! I suppose such an accomplishment is expected for you, Lieutenant. My apologies!”
What the hell is this woman talking about? I frowned, and then the sound of a camera shutter went off.
I flinched, closed my eyes, and turned my gaze to where the shutter sound came from to see Selvia standing there.
Lowering her camera, Selvia looked at me with an expression of pride.
“Congratulations. You not only planned the operation but also flawlessly carried out the assassination of your target.”
“Wait. That photo you just took…”
“When we return to the capital, I will order—no, request—that it be published in the newspaper. A war hero has been born, one who captured a company with only a platoon. I believe that deserves recognition, don’t you?”
I wanted to tell her not to, but she was the princess. I had no right to refuse.
Selvia, seemingly pleased with me, stepped closer and playfully slapped my waist.
“How does it feel? To have become a war hero?”
“…”
It was the worst.
But there was no way I could say that to the Empire’s princess.
Regaining my composure, I spoke as calmly as I could.
“I merely did what any soldier of the Empire would. Calling me a war hero is too much. What I accomplished was just one of many battles happening on the front lines. I fear that publicizing this incident may come across as excessive.”
It was my way of asking her not to broadcast my achievements to the capital.
However, upon hearing my words, Selvia’s expression briefly showed surprise, then shifted into a sly smile.
“Indeed. As I’ve heard, you truly are an exemplary soldier. I’d like to recruit you right away.”
…I feel like I might’ve misunderstood something. Probably just my imagination?
—
