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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Tartulke dropped his massive axe to the ground. Thick blood dripped from the blade.
“Heh heh, it’s so easy once the walls are down.”
Corpses littered the path behind him. The heavily armed Belgordo Fortress guards had fought to the death even after the walls were breached, but they were helpless against Tartulke’s overwhelming force.
The Leader of the West. The head of the largest, strongest, and most ferocious bandit group in the western part of the Empire.
He wasn’t crazy enough to provoke the Imperial Army, but he had easily plundered the private armies of local lords and wiped out formidable mercenary groups chasing the bounties on his head.
So what chance did the disorganized and poorly supplied Ukraine Principality Army have? It was only natural that they were no match for him.
“Boss, George says he found the cargo those guys were looking for.”
“Really? Bring it here now!”
A gaunt young man brought a sparkling, round jewel. Even Tartulke, who knew nothing about magic, could sense the tremendous amount of mana contained within it.
“Is this the ‘Pearl of Premonition’?”
It looked exactly like the picture Inspector Yegor Ivanov had shown him. He had explained it wasn’t just a jewel but an artifact with special powers, so this mystical power must be it.
“Seems about right. Bring the mages from the Information Bureau.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Once his subordinate left, Tartulke poked and prodded the Pearl of Premonition. A strange energy flowed through his senses every time he touched it with his rough hands.
According to legend, simply possessing this artifact granted one divine knowledge.
Even someone with no knowledge of magecraft could become as skilled as a 1st-class mage, and those with innate talent could reach a realm beyond the reach of others.
A flicker of greed arose in Tartulke’s heart, but he quickly changed his mind.
‘Things tend to go wrong if you get greedy.’
He especially didn’t want to provoke the Imperial Inspector who had identified himself as Yegor Ivanov.
Once one reached a certain level of skill, they could objectively assess the strength of others. Even he, who held some sway, was nothing more than a moth to a flame before Yegor.
One strike.
He had been brought to his knees with a single attack, without the need for a prolonged exchange.
The leader of a bandit group, you say? It would be fitting to sever your head and display it in the Imperial capital square.
“C, Comrade! I’m truly sorry! I’ll do anything if you spare my life!!”
Anything?
With his life on the line, there was no time to think, and he accepted the offer to lead his bandit group and secure a ‘special artifact’ from Belgordo Fortress on the Ukraine border.
Attacking a fortress across the border with just over two hundred bandits… it was practically a suicide mission, but Yegor had even provided mage support.
‘At least I saved my life, thanks to that.’
Tartulke sighed in relief. Just remembering Yegor barging into his hideout sent shivers down his spine.
Yegor had promised not to interfere with Tartulke’s activities as long as he handed over the artifact safely. It was an excessive reward, even considering the raid on a remote fortress.
It meant the Empire considered this artifact incredibly important.
“Boss, I’ve brought them.”
“Welcome, comrades. You were a great help in capturing the fortress!”
“…It is the Pearl of Premonition.”
The figures cloaked in black robes didn’t react to Tartulke’s flattery. They simply examined the Pearl of Premonition he handed over and carefully stored it in a prepared container.
“Now that we’ve achieved our objective, we’re leaving.”
“Understood, Squad Leader.”
“Wait! Where are you going?”
“The Ukrainian army must have received news of the fall. They’ll be here soon. The Empire’s involvement in this incident cannot be revealed.”
“What?! Does that mean…?”
“If you value your lives, you should leave quickly as well.”
The reason the Information Bureau had kept the bandits alive was simple. They were expendable.
Whether they raided fortresses across the border or plundered cargo, they were a group that wouldn’t cause any further trouble.
Even if a few surrendered and told the truth, who would believe them? With the artifact secured, Tartulke and his bandits had served their purpose.
However…
‘Wouldn’t it be nice to sow a little more chaos among those Ukrainian vermin?’
Boris, the squad leader of the Information Bureau’s mage unit, tossed a map of the fortress at Tartulke.
“The Ukrainians will immediately form an encirclement. But since visibility is limited at night, if you carefully move through the lower terrain on the left, you should be able to break through.”
“C, Comrades! Are you really leaving like this?!”
“Good luck.”
That was all. The mages were enveloped in mana and vanished before Tartulke’s eyes.
High-level wind magic: Teleportation. A spell that shifted space along the flow of air to pre-designated coordinates.
Even though it couldn’t cover as much distance as using a scroll, it was far beyond what he, a mere bandit, could comprehend.
“You… you f**king bastards!!”
Tartulke finally realized Inspector Yegor’s intentions. The Information Bureau had never intended to let them live from the beginning. They were just hunting dogs, used and discarded.
“Damn it!!!”
Tartulke stomped his feet in uncontrollable rage.
“B, Boss!! We can see a large number of lights not far from here!”
It was a double whammy. Did they deploy as soon as they heard the fortress had fallen?
Tartulke calmed his racing heart and collected himself.
“Gather the men.”
“Boss!?”
“We’ll kill those bastards and return to the Empire with our heads held high!”
He might have acted cowardly for a moment, but he was still the Leader of the West, the one who instilled fear in the hearts of civilians.
Being captured and executed by the Ukrainian army wasn’t the end he had envisioned.
“They’re just Ukrainians! Let’s kill them all!!!”
He would break through the encirclement and return to his homeland. If he could do that, the Information Bureau wouldn’t bother him anymore.
He would survive and thrive, his power growing even stronger.
Tartulke’s eyes blazed with determination as he raised his axe.
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Belle’s ‘Water Bomb’ shattered the ranks of the enemies charging forward. It was an intermediate water magic spell that compressed and detonated water vapor in the air.
It was incredibly effective against units without armor, like the ones before us, who had low resistance to pressure.
Nice shot, Belle Meyer!
“Good work, Second Lieutenant Enoch. Please continue providing magical support!”
Lieutenant Ivan said, then ran toward the front lines. Now that it wasn’t a simple mop-up operation, he couldn’t just stand by and watch from the rear.
Even after Belle’s magic attack, there were still many bandits remaining. Just how many had they brought? Had they left no one behind at the fortress?
When I first heard that the fortress had fallen, I assumed they would hole up inside. Why would they cross the border just to take the fortress’s supplies and leave?
Even in the game, neglected or poorly defended fortresses were frequently attacked by bandits and marauders. And the bandits who defeated the garrison often used those fortresses as their bases.
‘That was always a pain in the ass.’
And even if they weren’t planning to stay, wouldn’t they normally choose to fight a delaying action, protected by the sturdy walls?
The Ukrainian army quickly mobilized and deployed as soon as they heard the news of the fortress’s fall.
The bandits likely weren’t focused on looting, so wouldn’t the logical choice be to hole up inside the fortress, realizing they were surrounded?
But instead of a siege, they were trying to break through the encirclement.
‘Whatever the reason, suppressing them is the priority.’
Bang! Crack, crack!!
Gunshots rang out. I drew my pistol and shouted to Belle Meyer, “Sergeant Belle!! Aim for the rear, not the ones mixed up at the front!”
“Understood…!!”
Belle’s mana surged again. Blue light flickered, and streams of water swirled around her.
“Azure Dragon’s Lament!!”
Like a water dragon lunging at its prey, the streams of water converged, shot up into the sky, and then…
BOOOOOM!!!
Splash!!!
…crashed down like a torrential downpour. It was a high-level water magic spell, difficult even for specialists to control.
The bandits were thrown into disarray by the attack that accurately struck their rear, but it wasn’t enough to stop them from reaching our lines.
Lieutenant Ivan probably hadn’t expected the bandits to engage in a full-frontal assault.
The wide and thin firing line, deployed to avoid friendly fire at night, wasn’t effective against the sheer number of charging enemies.
The bandits ended up clashing with the soldiers holding the first line, and this led to hesitation from the rear units. If they fired their guns in the chaotic melee, they risked killing their comrades.
No one in the 4th Company wanted such a tragedy.
“All troops!! Fix bayonets and charge!!!”
Perhaps judging it too dangerous to use guns in close combat, Lieutenant Ivan boldly chose hand-to-hand combat.
“Fix bayooonets!!!”
“Charge forward!!!”
“Waaaagh!!!”
The battlefield descended further into chaos as the soldiers’ shouts mixed with gunshots.
This wasn’t good. Even if our regular troops were better equipped and trained than the bandits, a head-on clash in the darkness of night wasn’t a wise decision.
With the situation like this, Belle couldn’t use her magic recklessly either.
Flustered, she looked at me, lost.
“Second Lieutenant… what do we do now?”
Just then, I saw a man wielding a massive axe. A huge bandit, nearly 190cm tall, with menacing tattoos covering his arms.
“Forward!! Charge forward!!! Honor and riches await us if we escape!!”
He decapitated the unfortunate soldier blocking his path and roared, bolstering the bandits’ morale.
‘That’s their leader.’
I had wondered how a group of bandits could be so organized, but it seemed their leader was leading the charge.
He was pushing through our encirclement with his subordinates but was slightly pushed back by the fierce resistance of our company.
With no allies entangled nearby, this was the perfect opportunity to snipe him with magic.
‘Water magic is better for wide-area attacks. In this situation, fire magic, which is easier to focus on a single target, is better!’
“Sergeant Lumia!!”
I quickly searched for Lumia. Captain Ardent had told me to keep her out of combat as much as possible, but in this situation, we needed the power of a ‘red mage.’ To ensure a successful operation, I had to take calculated risks.
“Sergeant Lumia?! Why isn’t she answeri…?”
But Lumia had vanished. She had been right behind me just a moment ago. Then, Sergeant Lumia Blyue’s penalty, listed in the status window, flashed through my mind.
Combat Aversion
Deserts when combat is imminent.
‘No way.’
My head trembled as I turned to look at the forest behind us. The rear, shrouded in shadows as deep as the fading Flare, was eerily silent.
Lumia Blyue had deserted.
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