Surviving on the Northern Front with Gukbap

Chapter 78 : Ambush (1)

Ambush (1)

Although this was my second time living as a soldier, I had no experience with war.

Still, after coming to the continent of Belkhazium, I'd fought for my life several times.

So, I was able to take in the situation with relative calm.

'Still, what should I do?'

I recalled my days in the army.

Back then, we had received training on how to respond according to operational situations.

But Ian as a medieval soldier hadn't received any such training.

Well, what can I do? A soldier should act like a soldier and just await orders from his commander.

With that, I shifted my gaze up to the platform where the higher-ups stood.

'They look overwhelmed.'

I saw Ralph, receiving reports from the platoon leaders.

Although he kept a calm face, I could see his flustered inner thoughts.

Frankly, I worried if big-jaw big brother would be able to handle this well,

when someone tapped my shoulder, thunk.

"What are you standing around for, looking like an idiot? Move!"

It was the Special Investigator soldier who'd battled wits with Jeros.

He and the other members of the Special Investigations Unit rushed past me up to the platform.

'So they're all mana users. No wonder the Special Investigations Unit is different.'

Regardless, I too followed them and stood before the battalion commander.

Jeros was already cackling at the battalion commander's side.

"Kukuk. Since the departure ceremony, we've got the minimum personnel at the spirit stone quarry. Terrible timing."

"Haha. Both us and them, we've really ground our teeth for this round."

As the commander said, our departure ceremony had been much faster this year than in previous years.

It was a secret, but we'd leased a squire.

The problem was, the enemy's ambush was a step faster,

and it happened at the worst possible timing for us.

As if on cue—

"Hahaha. But this is just too advantageous for the other side, even for a coincidence."

The battalion commander grinned as he spoke.

"It's possible our information's leaked to them."

He had a good point.

They wouldn't launch a massive ambush in the late winter, while the weather's not fully cleared, for no reason.

But Jeros spoke as if it were someone else's concern.

"Kukuk. If word got out, who else is to blame?"

The Special Investigations Unit looked askance at their new leader Jeros,

but he wasn't wrong.

'I've felt it before – there's no control over information flow.'

Legion's death, ex–3rd company commander Devanne's injury, and more.

Soldiers gossiped openly about such things, and even the village folks knew.

A little spying would have revealed our status easily.

Of course, it would be greedy to expect medieval folks to possess proper security awareness,

and on the other hand, you could call it the commander's incompetence,

but the battalion commander responded slyly.

"Haha. I'll have to keep tighter control on information from now on. But that's for later. Right now, shouldn't we protect the spirit stone quarry, Special Investigator Jeros?"

"Kukuk. True enough."

If it felt like I was suffocating from the conversation, it wasn't my imagination.

"Good. Then I'll give you your first assignment as Special Investigator. Head to the spirit stone quarry immediately and block those beastkin."

"Fine. Kukuk. Members, follow me."

Just then, the battalion commander's mustache twitched.

"Haha. The Special Investigations Unit soldiers here will move with me. You'll be the only one rushing to the spirit stone quarry."

Even Jeros, veteran as he was, faltered at such a surprising order.

"You want me to go alone?"

"That's right. Wouldn't it be much faster for you to go by yourself rather than going with them? At least twice as fast, don't you think?"

"......."

Jeros narrowed his usually slit eyes.

For the first time in a while, I saw his irises reflected the battalion commander,

yet the old man merely held his ambiguous smile.

"Haha. Weren't you listening? Hurry. There aren't any company commander-class combatants at the spirit stone quarry right now."

Despite the urging, Jeros didn't budge.

So, as the other soldiers in the square bustled about,

the Special Investigations Unit, including me, stood frozen for who knows how long.

"... Kukukuk. Interesting. Understood."

Jeros's body shot off like an arrow.

'What? That speed is absurd.'

Even for a 3rd-rank like me, his speed was incomprehensible.

The difference of even a single rank was enormous,

and Jeros seemed to be at the top of the 4th-rank.

This must have been why the commander sent him alone.

'If you're going up against Jeros, you definitely need Plerine.'

For a split second, I thought of Plerine again,

but the cursing unit member's voice pulled me back to reality.

"That's our battalion commander, all right!"

The foul-mouthed one, who'd been deadly serious until now, looked almost excited.

The other Special Investigations soldiers were the same.

Confused by the sudden change in mood,

I immediately understood why.

"I gave these Special Investigations Unit soldiers the same order as you."

The battalion commander's Brain Voice.

And by 'the same order,' he meant,

'To monitor Jeros, of course.'

That's why the Special Investigations Unit soldiers were ecstatic.

They thought they'd have to serve a crazy man as their superior,

but instead, they only had to pretend to serve him while actually watching him.

What an old snake that geezer was.

Anyway, it seemed suspicion about Jeros had grown even stronger.

But why appoint someone you suspect as the new Special Investigator?

No way—!

'Could he know the true identity of Legion's corpse?!'

I didn't know. I really didn't.

What was hidden behind that ambiguous smile?

'In the end, I'll have to tell the battalion commander everything about Jeros if I want to know.'

As I was thinking and pondering the timing,

"And you, cook."

The Brain Voice I thought had ended continued.

"I told my other soldiers to die, but you're the exception. No matter what, under any circumstances, don't die."

What?

He injected me with a lethal dose earlier, telling me to die, and now he's telling me not to?

"If it looks like you'll die, survive by giving up another soldier's life. Understood?"

Of course, if I ever found myself truly about to die, I'd do anything to survive.

But the idea of sacrificing someone else to save myself, even before such a situation arises, didn't sit right.

"......"

I silently locked eyes with the battalion commander.

For someone about to face a major battle, his pupils were calm.

There was a depth there—earned from years rolling on the battlefield of this medieval fantasy world.

"Remember: your life belongs to me. Haha."

How bloody annoying.

First Jeros, now this bald old geezer.

Why do they all act like my life belongs to them, when it should be my own?

"Battalion commander! Ready to deploy!"

The blond Lantz came rushing over with a serious look.

"By the time we arrive, the spirit stone quarry will likely have already been breached."

"Hahaha. The beastkin are faster than I thought. Or perhaps they're using some odd tactic."

Wait a minute—then that means Jeros is headed alone into the very midst of hundreds of incoming enemies.

"Haha. Looks like we'll have to go on the offensive, not defend. Steel yourselves. We move out now."

"Yes, sir!"

"The Special Investigations Unit and Ian, move with me."

"Yes, sir!"

I replied almost by reflex and followed the bald one,

but as I glanced around, I realized something was missing.

'Where did Schutmann disappear to?'

*

We began our march as we left Granfen.

This was no drill, but a true march for battle, and it felt new.

Crunch, crunch.

Compared to the minor Demon Realm raid, there was less snow.

But it was still just as uncomfortable.

'Heroni's beastkin—are they making their assault in this condition?'

Even as I thought this, I noticed some strange footprints far ahead.

The steps were widely spaced and faintly imprinted.

From the look of it, they seemed to be Jeros's tracks,

'The problem is, there's another set of odd prints like those.'

Could those be Schutmann's tracks as well?

Either way, the direction was definitely toward the spirit stone quarry,

and as I pondered this and walked along for a while,

"Hey, outsider cook."

The foul-mouthed Special Investigations Unit member spoke up.

He seemed much more composed than the other soldiers, likely due to greater combat experience.

"I hear you're close with that psycho slit-eyes. Weren't you uncomfortable around that bastard?"

He tried to act all friendly with me,

but honestly, I found him more uncomfortable than Jeros.

"Who knows. Is it bad if we're close?"

He bristled at my reply.

"This little punk's getting mouthy with a Special Investigations corporal?"

Ah, right. I was a recently-reenlisted rookie.

I fumbled for words to get out of it,

"Enough, Ricky."

A random woman's voice cut in.

"The battalion commander is right next to you."

A Special Investigations member with her face hidden by a helmet scolded Ricky, who clicked his tongue.

"What did I do wrong? It's the mouthy rookie who's disrespectful."

"Commander Legion told you not to harass the newbies for no reason, remember? Or did you forget?"

"... Tch. Fine, got it."

As soon as Legion's name was mentioned, Ricky's attitude instantly softened.

That woman—she knows how to handle people.

With Ricky shifting his focus to chatting with another unit member,

the helmeted soldier came closer and addressed me.

"I heard this is your first battlefield, but you're not showing any nerves. Is it really your first time?"

She was about my height,

which was probably why I hadn't realized she was a woman.

"I am nervous, in my own way."

"Yeah, right. Tell that to someone who hasn't seen real rookies."

She pointed up at the soldiers ahead.

Just as she said, it was easy to spot those with experience from those without.

"Is that what it's always like for first-timers?"

"There are rare exceptions. You look like you're one of them."

"If that's a compliment, thanks."

"Nothing to thank me for. Instead, why don't we, the battalion commander's direct subordinates, trade some information?"

She openly stated her intent.

Direct was fine by me.

"What kind of information?"

"I'll tell you an unwritten rule of the northern warzone that an outsider rookie like yourself wouldn't know. Normally, you'd learn it the hard way, but I'll give you a heads-up. Interested?"

She seemed proud, but I asked,

"Is it something like, 'no tragic past stories allowed'?"

"... Tch. So you already know, huh."

Of course I do.

After all the talk I've had with Jeros and Ralph.

The sister rules include, 'no talking about what you'll do after the war,' 'no confessing to her after you get back,' and finally, 'no bragging about drawings of your family.'

Supposedly, if you violate these, you incur the gods' wrath and die or something.

I get it, though.

"Just what exactly do you want to find out from a rookie outsider like me?"

Looking disappointed, the helmeted woman grinned.

At that moment, the other members of the Special Investigations Unit all turned to me.

"Jeros. We want to know more about that crazy bastard."

I figured as much. It was obvious.

Since he was both their superior and someone to be watched, they'd be curious about Jeros.

But to think they tried to trick me out of premium info with some battlefield superstition—

I barely suppressed a laugh, when—

"Stop!"

The march halted.

Soon after, Lantz appeared and whispered something to the battalion commander.

"I'll check it personally."

Tak!

The commander dashed to a nearby large conifer,

and like a monkey, he scaled it to the top in no time.

'What's he doing—cupping his hands to his eyes?'

It looked just like he was peering through binoculars.

Could that actually work?

Curious, I imitated the old man's stance,

imagined a telescope, and directed my mana through my hands.

Focusing on my imagery and mystical power,

'Let's try to create it with the same feeling as when I make Sword Energy. Mana is flow. It connects. Connect!'

Ricky sneered at me from beside, "Yeah right, as if someone like you could do it!"

I ignored him and focused.

'Huh?'

Why...does this work?

I was shocked.

I could see in minute detail—as if through real binoculars.

'Nice magnification.'

Amazed, I peered at the battalion commander's huge, magnified mustache.

But the bald old man's expression was unusually serious.

Curious, I turned my makeshift scope in the same direction as the commander.

'Goddamn.'

I swallowed a sigh and a curse.

The spirit stone quarry's entrance was tightly shut.

In front, two men, stained red, swung their swords wildly.

One had his face hidden with a mask and hood,

the other's silver hair streamed out behind him.

'Schutmann and Jeros!'

Those two were guarding the spirit stone quarry's entrance.

"Haha. Looks like we won't need a siege."

The battalion commander's voice brought me back, and I lowered my hands.

The old man had returned to us and said to Lantz,

"We'll have to accelerate."

His face was very serious.

"All troops, charge."

* * *

Thirty minutes earlier,

on the snowy mountain path leading from Granfen garrison to the spirit stone quarry.

Tadadadat.

Two figures dashed forward, leaving long afterimages behind them.

They moved faster than most beasts, yet strangely, their steps kicked up no snow.

「Schutmann, sir. I'll follow orders for now, but what do you intend to do next?」

「Thanks to you, things should work out well. After this, return to the knight order. You've worked hard until now.」

At Schutmann's order, Jeros narrowed his eyes.

「There are still too many uncertainties. Don't you need my help a little longer?」

「What you've done so far is enough. I can't let you get hurt any further because of me. Return now.」

Tadadadat!

「I'm fine. Please, let me stay by your side just a little longer—」

Chak!

"?"

As Schutmann came to an abrupt halt, so did Jeros,

and immediately Schutmann's Brain Voice reached Jeros.

「Have you grown attached to Granfen or something? You're not staying here just to 'help' me, are you?」

「No, sir.」

「If not that, then—」

Schutmann's sharp gaze pierced Jeros.

「Is it because of that outsider cook?」

As snow fell from a branch in the snowy mountain,

the winter birds resting there fluttered up in surprise.