Chapter 41. 23:59:54
Unho: “How long has it been?”
“36 hours and 43 minutes.”
Still a long way to go.
With a mighty swing of my hammer, the countless gray shells charging at me were swept away.
Whoosh!
A large technique to buy some time.
The broken shells shattered into little fragments, scattering like buckshot and embedding into the bodies of the endlessly rushing enemies, slowing them down.
“I’ll rest for three minutes.”
A barrier of hot wind arose between the pushed-back enemies and me. As Unho cast the magic to create the wall, I slumped down, catching my breath.
No matter who you are, when combat drags on like this, your mind and body get exhausted, and you feel the necessity to take a breather.
Just as I brought down my hammer, Unho changed the usage of magic.
From minor spells to assist me to large-scale magic to deal with numerous foes.
The shellfish trying to cross the hot wind were obliterated by a massive spear of water, allowing me to catch my breath for a moment.
I wondered if the barrier was intact. Looking back, I saw the wall created from Infinite Architect’s concrete.
Just yesterday, it looked absolutely unassailable, but now it was crumbling and emitting smoke.
Through the gaps in the ruined wall, enemies invaded, and somehow the heroes and soldiers were holding them off in a standoff.
This much was still within expectations.
As I surveyed the state of the wall, a small fort came into view.
A small fort surrounded by gray forces.
Were there no heroes to defend it? All the soldiers were retreating.
The soldiers who had been guarding the fort were retreating, shooting bullets, but it wasn’t enough to fend off the gray army.
The scene where grenades fired in unison and exploded was quite impressive, managing to momentarily halt the footsteps of the shellfish—yet that was all it could do.
The shellfish pushed through the bursting flames, advancing, while the soldiers used the brief time from the explosion to withdraw quickly to the lower floors.
Watching that retreat scene, I felt relieved. Losing the fort was painful, but at least no one had died.
As I was thinking this, something strange caught my eye.
Even though the soldiers had retreated, a field gun was still blasting away.
It wasn’t a matter of firing pre-loaded rounds; I could see the turret adjusting the angle to prepare the next shell.
It meant someone was still operating that field gun.
Foolish.
I had seen this scene countless times on the battlefield.
The final act of self-sacrifice.
I knew well what was going through the soldier’s mind, preparing for the next attack inside the cramped metal box of the field gun.
A thought to take down even one more enemy, at the cost of their own life.
It wasn’t due to a lack of time to flee, nor was it because they felt cornered. It was something driven by a sense of responsibility or perhaps the psychology of a hero.
The field gun kept firing, even as the gray shellfish were destroying other howitzers.
Even if the barrel warped or the field gun broke, they were beyond the limits, experiencing an instinct that this was their last stand.
How long had it been since then?
After exhausting their rounds, the hatch opened, and several soldiers with short firearms emerged.
Soldiers filled with the conviction to take down at least one more enemy.
Foolish kids.
Self-sacrifice at their age.
If I could, I would want to help them, but doing so would break my first line of defense.
At least, I wanted to see their final stand, so I watched them.
The soldiers, having desperately fired all their bullets, looked at the enemies with hollow expressions.
The heroism that had suppressed their fear of death faded away, leaving fear behind in their hearts.
Tears streamed down their faces, and their open mouths searched for someone with one last cry.
In their final moments, who would they think of?
As the pincers of the shellfish swung, and the soldiers braced for their end.
“….Well done.”
Someone rose from the stairs below the fort.
A hero in gray clothing, fluttering a white cape, brandishing a silver hammer. My student and successor, Baek Sihyeon.
Baek Sihyeon arrived at just the right moment, swiftly cleaning up the area.
As if the gray shells couldn’t stop her hammer, she kept swinging it, shattering everything in her path as she advanced.
So, real combat is the answer, huh?
Her movements were seamless.
There were visible gaps here and there, but compared to just moments ago, she was much cleaner and more fluid.
Sliding her center forward while adjusting her rotational power, she struck down enemies, then fluidly moved to the next rotation without pausing her hammer.
A beautiful spiral of motion.
Not too shabby.
After a brief moment where Baek Sihyeon tidied up the gray shellfish, the soldiers who had barely survived sat dazed on the howitzer.
I could imagine how uncertain they must have felt about whether they had really survived.
Self-sacrifice in a situation where they could potentially survive isn’t all that favorable, but they certainly deserved praise.
Disliking what they did doesn’t negate their courage.
Having wrapped up the area, Baek Sihyeon began leading them down the stairs.
There was no need to risk protecting a shattered fort, so it was a natural choice.
Just as she was trying to disappear from my sight down the stairs.
Our eyes met.
It wasn’t just a coincidence of turning my face; she was looking directly at me.
Did she want to see me?
I waved my hand in response to her gaze, and Baek Sihyeon shook her hammer joyfully, seemingly thrilled to have found me.
She must still have some energy left.
“You did well.”
I’m not sure if she could hear me, but I praised her with my lips.
Unless she had some ability to read lips, it wouldn’t reach her unless I amplified my voice.
I’d have to praise her again later.
“Three minutes are up!”
“Alright.”
With a happy heart, I took my hammer again and shifted my gaze towards the gray army.
What could have been a gloomy moment of watching someone die turned into a bright scene of a hero saving someone.
“My student can’t be behind me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Shihyeon saves people.”
If my student could do it, I could’t possibly fall behind.
As the hot wind barrier Unho set up dissipated, I swung my hammer cheerfully at the approaching enemies.
How much time had passed since that last rest?
Now, I swung my hammer, utterly thoughtless.
The shouts to raise the morale of our side had long stopped.
Now that we had shifted to retreating, how many could survive became far more crucial.
Morale-boosting was no longer necessary.
Rather than doing something foolish like a desperate charge or fighting to the last man, the priority was to come back alive as much as possible.
The barrier had fallen.
There was no more artillery support, and I could no longer hear the cries of the soldiers. The heroes’ efforts and struggles failed to stop the enemies.
The tense standoff collapsed in an instant. The heroes couldn’t withstand the slightly strengthened enemies, and like a domino effect, the frontline crumbled.
The command center hastily ordered to abandon the first defense line and retreat.
Of course, such orders had nothing to do with me.
I had to remain here until the last moment, swinging my hammer.
To ensure that at least one retreating ally survived. So humanity could win the following combat.
That was our role.
Though I couldn’t see it clearly from a distance, the comrades in other areas must also be staying behind, protecting our allies.
Not yet.
“What’s the status of the retreat?”
“There are still life signs!”
Unho, who had quickly thinned out since the battle began, shouted loudly.
Having regained his original clean silhouette, he was tirelessly casting magic above his head, yet signs of fatigue were palpable.
The once stiff white fur had drooped to the ground, unable to defy gravity, and the size of the magic circle shrank to less than half.
The oily fur had long turned into canine hair.
This was dangerous.
I could still hold out, but Unho was on the verge of exhaustion.
He was trying to maintain a cheerful voice to prevent me from feeling anxious, but from the looks of him, it had already started to break down.
“Where are the life signs?”
“Everyone else has evacuated, but there’s still one spot left.”
“Aside from that, everyone else has evacuated, right?”
“Let’s head there. Guide me.”
After hearing my words, Unho raised his hand and turned his body in that direction.
Before us stretched a plain filled with gray shellfish. Their gruesome figures clung to the concrete of the wall, gnawing away at it, revealing that we had lost in the first battle.
It’s okay.
This Pacific wall is nothing but a makeshift barrier put up to lessen the enemy’s numbers. If we win in the next skirmish, there won’t be a problem.
Thinking this, I threw myself into action.
Instead of swinging my hammer, I stepped lightly on the enemies. Then I gathered strength in my feet to leap over to the next enemy’s head.
Crunch!
The refreshing sensation of hard shells shattering under my boots greeted me.
Of course, I wouldn’t simply pass by.
I had to smash all the enemies I used as stepping stones.
Each enemy I stepped on would disappear like a fragile bridge.
With every move of my feet, the sounds of cracking resonated rhythmically as I advanced with steps.
Crunch. Crack. Snap!
Spattering gray flesh, I dashed across the gray plains.
“There are twenty over there!”
“I see them too.”
Through the narrow gap formed in the wall, the last survivors emerged.
A few heroes and injured soldiers. They seemed to be surrounded as they made their way towards the exit.
“The entrance is over there!”
“That’ll be too late.”
I summoned my hammer and gripped it tightly.
This wall had lost its branches. Therefore, it would be fine for me to destroy it myself.
As my swung hammer collided with the wall, a big hole opened up—the shortest route to reach those calling for help.
CRASH!
“Ahhh!”
“Is that an enemy?”
Heroes mistook me for an enemy, aiming their weapons at me as I broke through the wall.
“I’m here to save you, you fools.”
In the blink of an eye, a guy staring right at me took his focus off the enemy in front of him.
Lack of training, clearly.
Instead of greeting, I swung my hammer and killed the enemies.
Crunch! Snap! Smash!
The gray shellfish that had surrounded the survivors turned into flesh in an instant and disappeared, momentarily leaving the survivors dumbfounded, unable to believe the scene unfolding before them.
“You’re alive!”
After a moment, their realization came, and filled with joy, they cheered and bowed their heads towards me.
“Thank you! Thanks to you, we survived!”
A strangely familiar face, a magical girl holding a wand, smiled at me, and even though her face glowed with triumph, I couldn’t help but throw words at her that didn’t quite fit.
“Wasn’t there a retreat order? Why are you still here?”
“I… was helping the injured soldiers, but then…”
Injured soldiers.
Most were severely wounded.
A soldier with a bandage wrapped around his head, another missing limbs, and others on crutches.
At first glance, it didn’t seem like a huge problem.
After all, there were heroes designated for transporting the injured in every battle. But those heroes were higher-ranked, A or B-ranked.
Not some immature hero grinning right before my eyes.
“Where’s the officer? You don’t seem like the ones responsible for evacuating the injured soldiers.”
“You little brat, what do you know!”
One armored male hero jumped out at me, clearly annoyed by my words.
His impulsiveness was halted by my hammer pointed at his face, and I spoke to him.
“I’ve been doing this hero thing since before you were even born. Shut it.”
The atmosphere dropped instantly.
I must have overreacted. However, this was a serious matter.
If we’re not careful, all of them could lose their names as heroes through the management’s controls.
I turned to the magical girl who seemed to be the leader of this group.
“I’ll ask again. Where’s the officer in charge of evacuating?”
Normally, another hero would be in charge of the injured, and these heroes should have retreated with the main force long ago.
There are only two possibilities to think of here.
First.
An incompetent commander assigned these kids to evacuation duty.
And second.
“Could it be that you disobeyed orders and deserted?”
They deserted to flee, only to find themselves trapped here with the injured ones and unable to escape.
This was a question I could have turned into a defense, but the heroes said nothing.
They hung their heads, appearing as if they had no words to say.
It seems they deserted.
We are in a mobilization order now. Desertion from the battlefield could lead to revocation of hero status, depending on the severity.
Just as I was about to activate the communication magic to contact the command center.
“I oppose this! The officer in charge fled, and these heroes came to protect us!”
A soldier on crutches rushed forward.
It was as if the honor of being a hero was more important than his own knees, charging at me in a fallen posture, risking it all.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. If you find it hard to believe, we have other soldiers who can testify.”
Finally, the pieces of this situation quickly fell into place in my mind.
The hero assigned to evacuating the injured fled, and they disregarded the retreat order to separate from the main force to rescue the soldiers.
The reason they couldn’t answer my question was probably that the act of desertion and disobeying orders itself was true.
But, that desertion was for the sake of protecting soldiers, not fleeing from battle.
“Is what this soldier is saying true?”
“…Yes. We disregarded the main force’s orders and moved to save them.”
Regardless, these people needed to be sent to the rear, so I activated the communication magic and connected with the command center.
“This is Haram Lee. An emergency situation has arisen. A number of injured have been discovered.”
– Commander Macbeth is currently in battle. Please convey the message.
“Sixteen non-hero injured. Four heroes. The hero responsible for evacuating the injured has abandoned their mission and fled. The other heroes flagged this. They fulfilled their duties as heroes. Requesting forces to evacuate them.”
With this report, their violation of orders would be cleared. Since I had reported that they did what they were supposed to as heroes, their disobedience would be overlooked.
– Understood. Please provide the names of the heroes in that area.
“You all. What’s your hero names?”
The heroes tensed, glancing at each other, before one by one, they timidly named themselves and their registration numbers.
I conveyed that and lastly, the magical girl, who had been the leader of these survivors, spoke up.
“I am Green Green. Registration number…”
Green Green?
At those words, I was taken aback and looked up at her face.
That familiar visage began to merge with memories from the past.
Green hair. Wind magic. The dark night. The one who pointed a wand at me.
My first ambusher, the magical girl, spoke right before me.
Having been ambushed by me, she was more of a hero than anyone else present at that moment.
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