“When will Uncle come back…?”
Emilia was waiting for Yujin. Since the students and mercenaries had been separated and gathered at the train station, the students had all been accommodated in lodgings assigned by the officials.
“He really isn’t coming back. I wonder what’s going on…”
Sylvia, who was sitting beside her, stopped counting the patterns on the ceiling and spoke up. Budika, bored from waiting, was snoring softly. Lian and Emil, who had been housed separately in the men’s quarters, were probably bored as well.
“I thought we’d at least get a briefing on the precautions before entering the demon realm.”
“Right.”
Just as Sylvia said, they had expected the officials to gather the students for some guidance, but instead, everyone had been brought here, told that details would be announced later, and then the officials disappeared. Judging by the officials’ grim expressions, Emilia had a hunch that something was happening.
“Could it be a monster attack like during the ice disaster?”
“No way…”
Sylvia shook her head at that suggestion. Enderdebelt was one of the northern border fortresses of the Empire, protected by three massive walls facing the demon realm.
“Not even the orc hordes fifteen years ago could break through.”
If anything like the ice disaster had happened, they wouldn’t still be sitting around like this. Considering the history, Sylvia’s worries weren’t really justified, but recalling yesterday’s events made Emilia realize that their safety wasn’t absolute.
“Well, Uncle will let us know when he comes back.”
Sylvia shrugged and was about to close her eyes when—
Knock, knock, knock!
There was a sound of knocking at the door.
Was it an official coming with information? Just to be safe, before unlocking the door, Emilia asked out loud.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Needle. Open the door.”
“Huh?”
Why was it Uncle Needle instead of Yujin? Usually, Needle was always with Yujin wherever he went.
As fellow mercenaries, their mutual trust was shaky.
‘Of course, yesterday the kids were entrusted to Needle, but that was a special situation because Yujin had to leave to save this side.’
Needle had originally headed to gather the mercenaries along with Yujin, so why was he the only one returning?
“What about Uncle Yujin?”
“I came to explain everything, including that.”
So Yujin must have had some reason to send only Needle back? Something felt off, so Emilia opened the door. Needle inspected the people inside the room and asked,
“Where are Lian and Emil?”
“They’re in the men’s dormitory, separately.”
“Is it close by?”
Emilia pointed out the way to the men’s quarters. Needle listened to the directions, left briefly, and soon after returned with the boys.
“Hmm…? What’s going on…?”
Budika sensed the movement and lazily got up. Once all five students were gathered in one place, Needle sat on the floor and told everyone to sit down.
“I just heard this from the military officials of this fortress.”
Those words startled everyone.
“What!?”
“The military?”
“What’s happening?”
“Where’s Uncle Yujin?”
“What on earth is going on?”
The flood of questions made Needle furrow his brows.
“…..”
Like Yujin, Needle had quite the temper. Provoking him now would probably end with someone getting punched.
Silence fell again, and then Needle continued.
“There is currently a risk of a monster invasion in this fortress.”
His words shocked everyone, but they fell silent, more curious than panicked about what exactly was going on.
Needle pointed his thumb toward the window as if indicating something outside.
“They say the third wall has collapsed.”
“What!?”
“Lian?”
Not only was the wall’s collapse shocking, but Lian suddenly jumped up, making everyone even more startled. Of course, one of the impenetrable triple walls falling was a huge deal, but ‘to be that shocked…’
Needle noticed the odd reaction and twitched his eyebrows.
“What’s wrong? Do you have relatives among the soldiers stationed there?”
Lian scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“N-no…”
“Then calm down and listen.”
The mercenary’s cold tone made the boy sink back down. Given the situation, Needle’s tension was understandable.
When the room settled, he rubbed his forehead.
“So, all of us, including the mercenaries, will be conscripted as reserve forces under Imperial Law Article 30.”
That meant Uncle Yujin would be deployed as a reserve to the frontlines. But if that were the only reason for his absence, then Needle shouldn’t be here either. There had to be another reason. Emilia carefully asked.
“Is Uncle Yujin’s absence related to that as well?”
“Yeah, probably…”
Needle rubbed his temple.
“He seems to have gone as a staff officer to plan military operations.”
“Really?”
Everyone was surprised by the answer. They knew Yujin was skilled, but not that he was trusted enough to be appointed as a military staff officer.
“Don’t be surprised. That guy has plenty of experience hunting monsters.”
Needle said matter-of-factly. Despite their usual bad blood, he acknowledged Yujin’s skills.
“So, what should we do?”
This time Lian asked Needle. The collapse of one of Enderdebelt’s triple walls was a serious security threat for the entire Empire.
“Will we be drafted into active duty soon?”
In that case, students at the Royal Academy would also be conscripted as military resources. It was natural for the country to draft the talents it nurtured, so they had to prepare for the call.
“Well…”
Surprisingly, Needle’s response was lukewarm. Even though one of the Empire’s greatest defenses had fallen, he didn’t seem to think the situation was that serious.
“Really?”
Lian, bewildered, got a shrug from the mercenary.
“If it were Yujin, he wouldn’t let things get that bad.”
Perhaps mercenaries of a similar caliber could roughly estimate the situation’s severity. The world of seasoned mercenaries was truly profound.
“What you’ll have to do is simple.”
“Huh?”
Everyone tilted their heads at the cryptic remark.
“Just in time, I hear footsteps.”
Needle turned toward the door. At first, they hadn’t heard the footsteps, but now the official who had guided them reached the door.
“Ah, everyone’s gathered!”
The official looked brighter than before.
“There’s something you all need to help with!”
*****
“Why hydrochloric acid and hot air balloons?”
Frost Snow asked curiously as she watched the worksite. The students were helping sew leather pouches for the balloons’ gondolas. Gluing the leather was a simple task that students could handle.
“The reason is simple.”
Yujin held up his index finger.
“Bones dissolve in hydrochloric acid.”
If the acid was sprayed from above via the balloons, few monsters could withstand it. If there were such tough ones, this fortress would’ve fallen already.
“Is that really the only reason?”
“What matters is whether we can get results from it.”
He glanced at the mercenaries carrying glass bottles. There was a paper mill here that made paper from the trees of the Great Mountain Range. The bleach used in the paper-making process was hydrochloric acid. The pouches for the acid were supplied by the paper mill as well.
“Do you have battlefield experience?”
Frost Snow scoffed.
“I’m a knight, of course I do!”
“What’s the most annoying thing on the battlefield, in your opinion?”
“Annoying, huh…”
She furrowed her brows, thinking deeply. She realized this question was connected to his previous one. After a silent moment searching for the right answer, she replied,
“The ones who shoot lead bullets from afar.”
“Right. That would be annoying for a knight.”
A fitting answer.
“Then we should get rid of the bullets from those annoying monsters, shouldn’t we?”
Yujin didn’t expect to kill all the monsters with hydrochloric acid. The acid might scatter as it fell from the sky. But what it definitely did was—
“Dissolve the bones, causing flesh to stick and fuse.”
That would stop monsters from firing bones as projectiles.
“So you mean to block their ranged attacks!”
Frost Snow’s eyes sparkled with understanding. After hearing this much, she could guess the rest.
Monsters deprived of ranged attacks would be forced into close combat, and “humans have guns, a fine means of communication.”
The enemy would be forced into melee while they fired their guns. With 2,000 troops, extermination was possible.
“Excellent! Excellent!”
The knight laughed heartily and patted Frost Snow on the back.
Thud!
“Ugh.”
A lion’s hand felt like a mace. Anyway, the operation’s outline was what Frost Snow had been told. After luring monsters to a certain point, acid rain would be sprayed from the balloons.
“I hope we can finish them off today.”
Fortunately, the preparations ended only by nightfall. After receiving instructions for the next day’s tasks, the students and mercenaries went to sleep, while this group climbed the second wall to watch for monsters that might come at night.
‘The full moon has risen.’
The pearl of the night sky shone down on the land. Its light made the vast green sea ripple in the wind, and the leaves of the giant trees swayed as one, like waves.
[What a magnificent sight.]
Ilru, who had been quiet, finally spoke, seemingly uninterested in human affairs.
‘It’s beautiful.’
Though the gorgeous scene was somewhat tainted by the lurking monsters beneath.
[Since ancient times, forests and seas have been objects of reverence, fear, and mystery.]
‘That makes sense.’
Even a hundred years ago, forests had their own legends.
‘Did the ancients think the same?’
[Many did. Spirits lived in the woods, and massive tentacled monsters swallowed sailors in the seas.]
‘Not much different from now.’
Human imagination seemed to run along the same lines. Talking with an ancient like this stirred many thoughts. But thinking too much before a battle was only a hindrance.
‘Better to stop the chatter here.’
Tomorrow would bring a great fight. The battlefield might be easy, as told to Frost Snow, but no matter how favorable, the outcome was never certain.
“Someone will have to draw the monsters’ attention.”
They couldn’t let the monsters spot the balloons in the sky.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Going to act as bait all alone?”
“Crazy, just crazy.”
The mercenaries around him clicked their tongues. By noon, after all preparations were complete, everyone had gathered at the second wall, where one man passed through the fortress gate and headed toward the Great Forest.
‘Bait, huh.’
Frost Snow mulled over Yujin’s suggestion from dawn. The planner of an operation always knew the perfect timing, so he volunteered to lure the monsters.
- The balloons carrying hydrochloric acid can’t be intercepted by the monsters.
It was true they had to protect the balloons from being shot down early, but—
‘He doesn’t even consider his own risk.’
She thought he was older and more experienced, but he treated his life as a means to ensure the plan’s success. Such thoughts weren’t typical of a mercenary in his twenties.
‘Who exactly is he?’
He had more monster-hunting experience than any other mercenary and faced battle with remarkable composure.
‘Few knights are like that.’
Frost Snow felt a sort of respect. What life experiences had he endured? How compressed were his memories at such a young age?
“Sir Frost Snow! Yujin is about to fire a flare!”
“What!?”
At the subordinate’s report, she focused again. Between where the third wall stood and the Great Forest lay a midpoint, where Yujin stood alone, aiming a flare pistol at the air.
Bang!
Smoke puffed from the barrel as a red fireball ascended into the sky. The brilliant light and loud noise were enough to awaken the monsters sleeping in the forest.
Kkirruk?
An eerie sound stirred movement in the Great Forest. Red lights began to flicker between the great trees—eyes of the monsters attacking the fortress.
“You bastards…!”
The monsters had not retreated even after their previous attack. They had been hiding along the forest’s border, waiting for the right moment. Their malice was clenched in gritted teeth, determined to finish them off.
Kaaak!
Soon black shapes poured out of the forest. On the backs of the four-legged monsters were white spots.
Those were their spines—their ranged weapons.
“Yujin is running!”
As the subordinate reported, Yujin started running toward them.
“All units, battle readiness!”
“Battle readiness!”
At the command, soldiers gathered below the gate. Positioning behind the barricades and sandbags, 2,000 troops prepared for concentrated fire in front of the second wall.
“What about Yujin!?”
“Five seconds to the target point!”
The target point was the place to signal the balloons to explode. Considering the acid’s falling speed and time, it was chosen so as to hit the monsters as much as possible.
“Five!”
Yujin loaded a flare into his pistol while running.
“Four!”
The monsters chasing him were drawing closer.
“Three!”
Yujin aimed the barrel toward the sky.
“Two!”
The monsters readied their spines to fire.
“One!”
The flare shot from the barrel.
“Fire!”
At the same time, the balloons burst their acid pouches.