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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“Comrade Inspector! This is a different story!!”
Captain Felix, the commander of the Lymansk Armory Guard Company, yelled at Yegor Ivanov. They were already short-staffed, and now their own men were being killed by the Mutants.
Even the defensive line they had painstakingly set up was being attacked indiscriminately by the Mutants, who couldn’t distinguish friend from foe. Sergeant Maxim Stepanov, standing right before them, was one of the survivors.
He had just escaped an attack by a Mutant while returning to the defensive line after noticing the intrusion. “Our men are being slaughtered! Why are our allies…!”
“Major Karl, as he said. What’s going on?”
“I apologize, Comrade Inspector. Their intelligence is comparable to that of a rhinoceros. They can’t distinguish friend from foe yet.”
“Make sure you improve it next time. The Empire’s sword shouldn’t turn against itself.”
“I will explore various means.”
Major Karl bowed to Yegor. However, there was no apology for the Guard Company Commander who had just lost his men in vain. Although Major Karl was the overall head of the Lymansk Armory, Captain Felix was in charge of the guard company that managed it.
The ones dying were the Guard Company members, not the Inspector’s entourage. How could there be no mention of it?
Captain Felix exploded in anger and grabbed the Major’s collar.
“Comrade Major Karl! Are you only talking to the Comrade Inspector!? We need a plan for our men who are dying right now…!!”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down, Comrade Captain. It’s not like they would have been able to stop them anyway.”
“Even for you, Comrade Inspector, to say such a thing…!!”
The moment Captain Felix turned his head, a gun barrel came into view.
Bang!
Before he could react, a bullet pierced his forehead. Blood splattered on the wall, and he collapsed.
“Well now, it seems the Captain was killed by the rebels from outside.”
Yegor said without a hint of hesitation. Sergeant Maxim Stepanov, who had barely escaped, felt his world go white.
“Isn’t that right, Comrade Sergeant?”
His red eyes now turned to Maxim. Feeling a murderous intent run down his spine, Maxim prostrated himself.
“Y-Yes, sir! Comrade Inspector!”
“But there’s a problem.”
“What is it?”
“One of the specimens has died.”
Major Karl added nonchalantly. How could a Mutant have died so soon after being deployed? Yegor’s eyebrows twitched.
“Perhaps they’re not just some ragtag rebels. It seems there are mages.”
“Mages?”
Red October was the most powerful among the numerous rebel organizations, but they hadn’t secured any high-level personnel like mages. They were a group formed by runaway commoners and slaves with no real power.
If they had such talent, they wouldn’t have joined Red October, but would have pledged their loyalty to the Empire and seized wealth and honor.
“How do you know?”
“I am the designer of the Mutants. I know their weaknesses. The current Mutants don’t have any resistance to magic. Unless they were hit by concentrated fire on a vital organ or a large-caliber bullet, it can only be a mage.”
The Major said with confidence. Yegor pondered for a moment, then clicked his tongue as if he had realized something.
“Tsk, I didn’t think it would come to this…”
“Do you have a hunch?”
“Are there any other artifacts stored here?”
“Excluding the monster factors used for Mutant development… the only artifact is the Pearl of Premonition.”
“Then it must be the Ukrainians.”
There was no other possibility. Only a force like the Ukrainian Duchy could formally deploy mages capable of dealing with Mutants. The third nation of Valter or the Polanian Republic wouldn’t attack Lymansk. And they had a clear motive for the attack: to retrieve the Pearl of Premonition.
After all, they were the ones who had snatched the plan of the great Archmage of the sky, Sony Zeppelin.
‘That woman would have no qualms about sending in a unit.’
According to the ‘internal’ collaborator in Ukraine, she was definitely up to something. Was it the attack on the Lymansk Armory?
Yegor Ivanov blew on the still-smoking barrel of his gun. He then turned to the robed figures waiting behind him and said, “The intruders are Ukrainian. Leave one or two alive, and wipe out the rest. Show those fools who dared to trespass the way of the General Directorate of Intelligence.”
The robed figures didn’t reply. Instead, they rushed out of the room as soon as the order was given. They drew the pistols hidden in their pockets and channeled mana from their core. Mages of the General Directorate of Intelligence. Specialists in killing.
Sergeant Maxim Stepanov, watching them, gulped.
“Comrade Sergeant.”
“Y-Yes, sir…!!”
“Withdraw your troops from the defensive line and destroy all the materials with the surviving soldiers.”
Destroying the materials. He had learned about it when he first became the armory’s guard sergeant. The procedure to incinerate all the experimental data in the basement in case of an intrusion. Maxim nodded vigorously, emphasizing his usefulness.
“Of course, Comrade!!”
“I’m counting on you. When all this is over, I’ll personally report your contributions to the Emperor.”
“Leave it to me!”
Not only had he been spared, but he had also been promised a hefty reward. Maxim Stepanov had no other choice. He quickly saluted Yegor and scurried out of the room, which was now littered with the Captain’s corpse.
“Major, you should also prepare for evacuation. With mages involved, it’s uncertain if the Mutants will survive. Your survival is crucial for the continued success of the Empire’s grand project.”
“I’ve already prepared some data for such a situation.”
“Very thorough. I like it.”
“Oh, and… I also created a device that will automatically detonate the entire facility after a certain amount of time. Should I activate it?”
Of course, Major Karl Schumann was even more insane than Yegor Ivanov.
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“Th-This is the experiment storage.”
The captured armory soldier trembled as he spoke. With a gun to his temple, he had no choice. I nodded, and Platoon Leader Hilton Callia, who was waiting at the door, carefully opened it. The fierce warrior she had been during the battle was gone, replaced by a shy and introverted demeanor.
‘How does her personality change so quickly…?’
I was genuinely curious, but this wasn’t the time for idle chatter. Retrieving the Pearl of Premonition was the top priority. As the prisoner had said, the storage room was filled with all sorts of experimental equipment.
Glass jars filled with unknown drugs and monster factors. All sorts of reference books and magical tools. And among them, the most eye-catching was a large jewel resting on a luxurious silk cushion.
The Pearl of Premonition.
The intel was correct; it was stored here at the Lymansk Armory.
I retrieved the Pearl of Premonition into a pre-prepared container and knocked the prisoner unconscious. We couldn’t be dragging a prisoner around when speed and stealth were paramount.
We had already secured the minimum amount of human intelligence, so more prisoners would only slow us down.
“Good, the objective is complete. We’ll begin our withdrawal immediately.”
Cleaning up the survivors wasn’t our job. Although the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion was in charge of the infiltration, the 3rd Mobile Battalion was responsible for area control and cleanup. Since the Mutants were roaming the facility, the Soviet Empire would have difficulty making the incident public.
The expected response was the purging of the armory’s management personnel, excluding the key researchers and those in charge. It was in the best interest of both the Empire and Ukraine to cover up both the Mutant development and the Ukrainian special forces’ attack.
The subsiding gunfire suggested that the 1st and 2nd Platoons, who had gone to inform the other companies about the Mutants, had taken care of the situation. As fellow battalion members, we had to at least get them out alive.
As I was about to withdraw the troops…
Kiiing—
The sound of a magic circle being deployed. Instinctively sensing a threat, I turned my head just as Roxanna pulled me towards her and deployed a defensive barrier.
“Captain, it’s dangerous!!”
Ice shards, flying fiercely, were intercepted by Roxanna’s Magic Missiles, and those that weren’t were shattered by the barrier.
Bang! Bang!!
The unit members, quickly assessing the situation, returned fire, and the figures hiding inside took cover.
“Enemy mages!”
Right, it had seemed too easy. Of course, a unit researching Mutants would have mages stationed there. But a few mages wouldn’t be able to turn the tide. Their only weapon would be pistols. In this situation, we had to press our advantage.
“Everyone, charge! Don’t give them an opening!”
The 4th Platoon Leader’s eyes gleamed. Hilton, reacting to the word ‘charge,’ pulled out her pistol.
“Chaaaaarge—!”
She shrieked and charged forward. Her 4th Platoon immediately followed.
“Damn it, the Platoon Leader’s switch flipped again!”
“Charge!! Charge!!”
They fired relentlessly at the mages hiding behind the wall.
Bang, bang, bang!
As the loud gunfire ceased, Platoon Leader Hilton threw a limp, robed figure in front of me and said, “Cleared, and ready!!!” Hilton Callia.
She was a remarkable woman, no matter how many times I saw her in action.
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