novelraw Chapter 175 : Chapter 175
Chapter 175 : Chapter 175
Chapter 175 - Hardeon (7)
At the northern end of Hardeon, the highest and most barren mountain range in the entire empire stretched out horizontally.
The Valdes Mountains.
Beyond this natural barrier was a place untouched by the empire's influence.
It was a land of death where Barbarians and all sorts of monsters lived intermingled.
Historically, the northern region of the Valdes Mountains was said to have been a long-standing headache.
Whenever monsters and Barbarians ran rampant, the empire's border regions were always devastated.
History repeated itself without fail, and the current border region was in the midst of a war with the barbarians.
Defending the northern border region was the Hardeon Empire's 3rd Legion.
Shin Ah-yeon and I applied as low-ranking soldiers here.
What Miruel had requested of us was the assassination of the 3rd Legion's commander.
We had entered the tiger's den to catch the tiger.
Due to the long war, they were short on every single soldier, so we were able to be assigned to the 3rd Legion without much difficulty.
“They call the current Hardeon Empire the age of the sword, but this expression seems unfitting, Unit Leader.”
“Why? Because they can’t properly handle one Barbarian force?”
“That's right. Is this really a war that should drag on for two years...”
This was something Shin Ah-yeon said because she did not know much about Barbarians.
The physical abilities of Barbarians were not on a level that ordinary humans could handle.
Even without learning any martial arts, their bodies could casually throw around boulders of a considerable size.
Of course, gladiators who had properly learned the sword would often transcend even these physical differences, but once Barbarians reached a certain level of civilization, they would develop bodies stronger than most swordsmanship through systematic training.
It was highly probable that the current Barbarians had entered this stage.
Above all, it was said that a powerful leader who had united all the Barbarian forces had appeared.
Even during my time as Johan Raven, I had seen Barbarians of this level.
Barbarians with a proper central figure were a force that could never be ignored.
When these barbarians, most of whom had the hearts of warriors, gathered in large numbers, they were truly like a legion of high-ranking monsters.
“By the way, Ah-yeon, you look good in men's clothes too.”
In this world, women could not become soldiers, so a disguise was inevitable.
“Thank you.”
“...Was that something to be thankful for?”
“Because you complimented me, Unit Leader.”
“Anyway, with your way of speaking, there’s no way you’ll be found out. You’re a soldier through and through.”
At that moment, the sharp shout of the squad leader was heard.
“Hey, you two newbies! We’re busy as hell, how long are you going to stand there spacing out! Get over here right now!”
The unit Shin Ah-yeon and I were assigned to was the supply unit.
Among them, our company was in charge of food transport and distribution.
“You two!”
“Yes.”
“Stop acting like idiots and start filling this cart with food crates right now! Move!”
The squad leader's voice was full of irritation.
As large numbers of combat troops were brought in due to the war, the workload of the supply unit naturally increased.
From the atmosphere, it seemed that things had gotten a bit complicated.
There were so many supplies to be loaded that the schedule had been pushed back.
“Hurry up! I said hurry up! In war, supply is life!”
He must have been so busy that he put us, the newcomers, to work right away without properly teaching us the job.
It seemed he wanted us to figure it out on our own, but the work did not seem very difficult.
All we had to do was sort the boxes by item and stack them neatly on the cart.
“Anyway, the problem is that they take all the useful-looking guys for the combat branches! Why are all the guys who come to the supply unit so pale and weak-looking!”
“Right, just by looking at their faces, they look like they couldn’t even be used as meat shields.”
The squad leader's words were meant for us to hear.
For a moment, Shin Ah-yeon flared up and showed her killing intent, but then she glanced at me and just let out a sigh.
“The Unit Leader is not someone who should be hearing such things.”
“Stop talking and start working. Before we get another earful.”
Sure enough, the squad leader's shout was heard again.
“You two! By the time I get back, you'd better have two carts filled! If the supply is late today, even if you are newbies, you won’t escape punishment under military law, so keep your wits about you!”
“Yes.”
“I’ll say it again, supply is life!”
Leaving those words behind, the squad leader left to check on another area.
‘The squad leader, the kid is pretty worn out.’
At that sight, a chuckle escaped me.
In fact, it would have been perfect if we had been assigned as combat troops, but being a supply soldier was not bad either.
I could observe the layout of the military camp by transporting supplies to the front lines every day, and when the opportunity arose, I could infiltrate the legion commander's barracks.
“Ah-yeon, you hand the boxes over to me. I’ll be the one to load them onto the cart.”
“Yes, Unit Leader.”
Shin Ah-yeon's feet began to move busily.
She quickly ran to where the items were and brought a box to me.
The way she handed it over politely with both hands felt like she was submitting a report for approval.
“You’re not going to keep doing it this way, are you?”
“...Then what should I do...”
“Don't go back and forth, just throw the boxes to me.”
“What? How could I possibly dare to throw something at you, Unit Leader?”
She said with an apologetic expression.
At that sight, I could not help but touch my forehead.
“Then you won't be able to receive sparring guidance from me in the future.”
“...”
“Because you won’t even be able to point the tip of your sword at me.”
“N-no, that’s not it!”
Shin Ah-yeon was dumbfounded and waved her hands in denial.
The intensive sparring guidance I had been giving her recently had played a big role in the improvement of her skills.
“If you understand, then go and throw.”
“Yes!”
Although Shin Ah-yeon hesitated at first, her movements soon became mechanical.
The weight of the supplies was considerable, but the strength when infused with mana transcends physical limits.
SWISH!
SWISH!
The boxes thrown by Shin Ah-yeon landed in my hands without a break.
I lightly pushed the boxes towards the cart.
The boxes that left my hands filled the empty spaces precisely without a single error.
In Earth terms, it was like Tetris.
Before long, one cart was completely filled with supplies.
At this pace, the two carts the squad leader had sternly ordered us to fill could be done in an instant.
SWISH!
SWISH!
Before we knew it, we were completely absorbed in our work without a word.
Since it was winter, the shadows were gradually lengthening, and the sun was slowly heading west.
Seventeen carts were filled in an instant.
“Ah-yeon, this is enough.”
“Yes, Unit Leader.”
Shin Ah-yeon's breathing was only slightly ragged, but her mana operation was still stable.
It would have been perfect if she had used her mana a bit more efficiently to do the work, but it was too much to expect that much.
Just seeing her practice her mana control during simple repetitive work was commendable.
I went into the shade of a tree and started the Mana Breathing Technique.
Although there was no Spring of Elixir, healing my body was something I could not skip for even a day.
I could not waste even this kind of spare time.
“Hey! You two! Are you crazy?”
The returned squad leader started by cursing right away.
“You should be running until your feet sweat, but you’re sitting here resting? I told you! In war, supply is life! You two, according to military law... Huh? What is this!”
The squad leader's eyes widened as he saw the seventeen fully loaded carts.
“We hurried. Because supply is life.”
“You, you bastards! Did you mess with the supplies?”
“How could we? If we mess with the supplies, it’s our heads on the line.”
Still unable to believe it, the squad leader climbed onto the cart and checked the supply boxes one by one.
But there was no way he could find a problem.
All the boxes were perfectly maintained in their original state.
“What are you two! What on earth did you do!”
“Does it matter how we did it? In the army, I’m told that results are what matters.”
“Well, that’s true!”
It was the first time a smile appeared on the squad leader's face.
“You bastards! I really like you!”
“I thought you said we looked like we couldn’t even be used as meat shields.”
“Of course, I did! Just looking at you two, you’re made for supply! Who in their right mind would use you as meat shields!”
The delayed work was resolved in an instant, and there would be no disruption to today's supply.
At that fact, the squad leader let out a sigh of relief and laughed like a madman.
***
The second day.
The way the squad leader spoke to us had completely changed.
Just by the two of us joining, the squad's work speed had noticeably increased.
“Wow! What is this! Is this even possible?”
Watching me and Shin Ah-yeon work, the squad leader could not close his gaping mouth.
But his surprise was only at this level.
Because of his non-combatant perspective, he could not properly gauge the level of our mana usage.
“You guys. What did you do before enlisting?”
“Well, we did something similar.”
“I knew it! From the first time I saw you, I got an A-class vibe! I’m glad I didn’t lose supply geniuses like you to another squad!”
Our squad's work was finished much faster than the scheduled time.
This would be an overwhelming speed even within the entire supply company.
“The squad leader has something to say to you two.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“Stay with me for life.”
I had not expected him to say something like this.
“...”
“I promise. When I become a platoon leader, I will pull you two into my line. It's better for you two to grow here for life rather than getting into the combat side. Isn't it?”
I was about to let out a hollow laugh, but I nodded my head.
“Squad Leader. On that note, we also have a request to make.”
“Tell me. Anything.”
“We would like to participate in the transport today as well.”
“It’s still a long way until your turn for transport duty comes around. Is there a reason you want to change it?”
“We are not trying to change the order.”
“Then?”
“For the time being, we would like to volunteer to go every day. To properly grow in this supply business, we need transport experience as well.”
At my words, the squad leader made a strange expression for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Wahahaha! You’re amazing guys! To volunteer for work you don’t even have to do! I am very happy to confirm that my eyes were not mistaken!”
The squad leader looked genuinely pleased.
It was just surprising that this was not an act.
“Then are you giving us permission?”
“Alright! I will report to the company commander so that you two can participate in the transport operation starting today.”
“Thank you, Squad Leader.”
From the supply company's base camp to the front line was about an hour and a half's distance.
There, our assassination target, the legion commander, would be commanding the entire military camp.
‘Once I’ve been there and back, I’ll have a clear picture.’
Today's task was to confirm their strength.
I had no intention of dragging out a single assassination for a long time.
After all, there was still a long road ahead.