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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“Damn it!!!”
“Second Lieutenant! What’s wrong all of a sud… Wait, Lumia?”
Belle’s expression turned to shock as she quickly grasped the situation.
I gritted my teeth. I had underestimated the trait penalties. To just leave her be, even knowing about her terrible Combat Aversion trait… it was purely my mistake.
It wasn’t intentional desertion. I could easily guess that she had panicked. Even those without specific trauma like Lumia could experience this during operations.
Regardless of age or gender, everyone experienced mental stress and shock when bullets rained down, comrades died before their eyes, and enemy blades flashed.
And in those moments, those with weaker mental fortitude, be they soldiers or officers, would often panic, abandon the front lines, and flee.
“Damn it…!”
But I couldn’t rashly go after Lumia now. Even with Belle Meyer’s magic barely holding the line, I couldn’t leave my post with the situation devolving into a chaotic melee.
Bang! Crack, crack!!
“Ugh!!”
“Die!! Die!!”
The soldiers lunged forward, thrusting their bayonets. Bandits fell to the ground, impaled, but others fought back, swinging their weapons.
Our side was also suffering casualties. The Flare Lumia had cast was fading.
‘It’ll be a real hell once darkness falls.’
The Flare was the only thing allowing us to distinguish friend from foe. Once it faded, the already chaotic battlefield would descend further into disarray.
‘Then…!’
I looked at the dispersing flames. I had successfully cast Fireball, which meant I had magical ability.
My stats were maxed out, including Combat Power as a mage officer. I steeled my resolve. First, I had to deal with the immediate problem. Lumia could wait.
I focused on understanding the structure of magic, recalling the essence of the basic elemental theory I had been studying for two days.
“Activate.”
I awakened my dormant mana core. My heart pounded, and mana surged through my body like a bursting dam. I controlled my breathing and analyzed the structure of the Flare still illuminating the sky.
Flare. Red magic. A bright, non-explosive flame that lit up the sky. A beacon of light in the darkness of the battlefield.
Whoosh!!
As soon as I visualized it, a bright flame ignited before me. A red light, different from Fireball. I successfully cast the spell and immediately hurled the flames towards the sky.
“…?!”
As if by magic, the surroundings became as bright as day.
“Wh, what?!”
While the Flare Lumia had cast was bright enough, the one I created wasn’t just a simple light source. The sky turned indigo. The faint darkness vanished in an instant, drastically changing the battlefield environment.
“Th, this is…?”
Belle Meyer looked back in disbelief, but even I, the caster, was surprised.
“Solar Prominence?! You used that for illumination?!”
“We can talk later. For now, let’s focus on supporting the front lines!”
I had prevented the loss of visibility, but that was it. Lieutenant Ivan’s 4th Company was slowly being pushed back by the relentless bandits.
They had managed to hold them off for a while, but it seemed like a matter of time before our defenses crumbled.
“Hahaha!! They’re lighting the way for us! Thank you very much, Mr. Mage!”
The bandit leader swung his axe, and a soldier fell. A non-commissioned officer, seeing the death of his subordinate, charged at the leader, but…
Bang!!
“Ugh-!?”
“Protect the Boss! Break through and escape the encirclement!!”
The bandits guarding the leader weren’t just going to stand by and watch. Their momentary confusion turned into triumphant grins as they continued to push forward.
They were practically on top of us now.
‘I practiced using magic, but…! Can I really control it?’
Just as I was carefully weighing the risk to my allies against the need to eliminate the bandits, about to unleash a spell…
“Reinforcements have arrived!! Support is here!!”
Someone suddenly shouted. A flash of violet lightning pierced the front lines.
Crackle!!
“You useless pieces of sh*t.”
A man in casual clothes, holding daggers in both hands, stood on the ground crackling with electricity.
“What?!”
“Of all the times, they attack a perfectly good fortress while I’m on leave.”
A strangely familiar back and a distinctive gravelly voice. Belle Meyer’s eyebrows furrowed, and she began withdrawing the mana she had deployed.
“Sergeant Belle? What are you doing?!”
“If he’s here, this battle is already won. As frustrating as it is, my magic will only get in the way.”
I finally realized who the man was.
“Sergeant Claude Rain…?”
“See for yourself, Second Lieutenant. Why that man isn’t discharged even though he acts as he pleases.”
Claude gripped his daggers tightly.
“You bastard!!”
The bandit who had just killed a non-commissioned officer lunged with his bayonet, but it was he, not Claude, who spurted blood.
“Gah, ugh—!!”
The bandit collapsed, blood gushing from his wound. Faint sparks of lightning crackled on the daggers’ blades.
Crackle!
“Roman!!! You bastard! I won’t let you get away with this!!”
The huge bandit leader roared and swung his axe at the death of his subordinate. His booming voice echoed through the night sky, and at the same time, Claude vanished from sight.
“…Huh?”
That dumbfounded sound was the last thing I heard before the leader’s body froze mid-swing. His large head rolled off his shoulders as if he were a dismembered toy doll.
“Damn it, he was loud for nothing.”
Claude reappeared, grimacing as he wiped the blood off his hands. He had killed two people in the blink of an eye and acted as if it were nothing.
‘The Thunderous Butcher.’
It was one of Sergeant Claude’s titles, which I had seen in the unit management screen. I had wondered what it meant… but now, he was living up to his chilling nickname.
“The boss is dead in one hit…?”
“B, Boss!”
With their leader dead, the bandits’ morale plummeted. The Ukrainian army didn’t miss the opportunity.
Bang! Bang!!
“Pursue them to the end! Don’t let a single bandit escape!!”
More troops, who had entered with Claude from the rear, were joining the fight.
“Company! Now’s our chance! Push them back!!”
The tide of the battle turned instantly as Lieutenant Ivan’s company, seizing the opportunity, began to press the bandits hard.
The bandits scattered like leaves, having lost their leader. Even those who had broken through the defense lines fell one by one, struck by bullets.
‘We won.’
I sighed in relief, then realized something I had forgotten.
“Right! Lumia…!!”
I quickly turned my head to check the direction she had been standing in. While I hadn’t been able to see clearly before, I could now make out the tracks of someone running into the forest.
“Sergeant Belle, I’ll leave the rest to you!”
“What? Second Lieutenant!?”
“I have to bring Sergeant Lumia back!”
A panicked shout came from behind, but I didn’t have time to respond. The leaderless bandits would be easily subdued soon.
Since they had already attempted a desperate breakthrough and been stopped, their annihilation was inevitable.
In the meantime, I had to bring Lumia back before other commanders, or even the main force, arrived. Desertion during an operation? Seriously?
‘This won’t end with just me!’
I ran into the night forest, filled with a mix of panic and exasperation.
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Her head throbbed. Everything before her eyes was white; she didn’t even know where she was going. Lumia Blyue. She just ran.
Until the gunshots faded. Until the screams and furious shouts could no longer be heard.
Thump!
“Kyaaa!”
What stopped her panicked flight was a protruding tree branch. She hadn’t seen it in her frantic escape. Lumia tumbled to the ground. She rolled on the grass, the bitter taste of dirt filling her mouth.
Even after falling, she couldn’t collect herself, but a sudden bright light illuminated the sky. For a moment, she thought it was daytime.
A huge flame was floating in the air. It wasn’t a simple Flare. It felt almost as big as the sun.
“Oh my god…”
Even in the 3rd Battalion, filled with talented individuals, not many could cast magic of that scale. Especially not during an active battle.
“Could it be… Second Lieutenant Enoch?”
As soon as she remembered the name she had momentarily forgotten, Lumia realized what she had done.
Unauthorized departure during an operation. It was a serious crime, punishable by immediate execution, depending on the circumstances. Her panicked mind cleared instantly, and a chill ran down her spine.
“Ah, ah…”
She couldn’t think straight. Lumia Blyue scrambled to her feet. The battle was still raging. If she returned quickly, it might not be a big problem.
But…
“What’s that? Huh…? Hey, wait.”
A voice from nearby made her turn her head reflexively. Her violet eyes landed on a group of figures in suspicious black robes.
“…”
“…”
Her eyes met with the one standing at the very back. His gaze wasn’t that of an ordinary person.
The eyes of a killer, someone who had taken lives.
Lumia froze, as if meeting a predator, in the ensuing silence.
“Who are you…?”
She forced herself to speak, but the robed figures didn’t answer. They exchanged glances, then…
“She saw us. She has to die.”
“Leave it to me.”
They charged at Lumia without warning.
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