Chapter 49: 3rd third day.

"Ah... I’m dying of exhaustion."

"I only got 3 hours of sleep yesterday."

The Third Company members stationed at each defensive point yawned one after another. Their faces were haggard with fatigue. It was only natural.

Starting with the ambush on the first day, they had been on constant alert for enemy attacks through the second day.

"At least it’s only this much. At least no monsters are showing up. I heard other units even had monsters released on them."

"It’s hard enough dealing with the enemy, but monsters too? Ugh. I don’t even want to imagine it."

"Still, if we get through today, we’ll move on to the offensive phase without much trouble, right?"

"Hey, I guarantee they’re coming in today. They’re intentionally testing us to drain our stamina."

Whether it was day or night, an enemy attack could come at any time. Because of this, the Third Company members had to rotate shifts and focus on defense 24 hours a day.

'It’s about time they showed up.'

Kim Hyun-jun also knew that something would happen today. He didn't remember the exact time, but he recalled that an attack had come during the early morning hours.

He had been diligently scanning the interior of the defensive point, but there were no particular anomalies yet. The archers also reported that they hadn't found anything unusual.

'I’ll know once I wait.'

He decided to focus his search in earnest once the enemy’s first wave arrived.

***

Time passed, and it was ten minutes before 3:00 AM. A soldier guarding the eastern edge of the defensive point detected the enemy.

Forces were slowly closing the distance. The scale was that of a company.

"Enemy intrusion!"

"Everyone, stay sharp! Wake up!"

"Yes, sir!"

At the soldier's signal, the Third Company Commander, Captain Do Min-gyu, quickly assessed the situation and issued orders. After repositioning the soldiers, he gave the order to fire to prevent the enemy from approaching any further.

*Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat!*

"Cover! Take cover!"

The engagement began with training rounds flying back and forth. The scattered defensive forces began to concentrate in one area.

'It starts now.'

At that moment, Kim Hyun-jun focused his eyes and scanned the interior of the base.

That force was a distraction. Before his regression, he hadn't realized it, but now he knew. The enemy had intentionally concentrated their forces in unfavorable terrain. They had also committed a large number of troops so that it wouldn't be perceived as a mere distraction. All of this was prepared for the second wave.

"Corporal Kim Hyun-jun! A hole is being opened under the tree roots inside the base!"

While the engagement was ongoing on both sides, several archers approached Kim Hyun-jun and informed him of the anomaly.

"Bingo."

When he went to the location, a hole was being dug in real-time. As expected of archers with good observation skills. He was glad he had told them in advance.

*Shhh. Shhh.*

The soil was bulging slightly at that spot. It wasn't very large now, but soon a hole large enough for a person to pass through would be opened. And the enemy would pour in through that hole.

The reason they had lost the battalion tactical training before his regression—it was because of an infiltration team that dug a tunnel to enter the base.

'They must have been using the blind spots to dig since the afternoon.'

Perhaps because they were soldiers who had awakened mana, the speed of digging the path was fast. It was bound to be quick since they dug through the dirt by loading mana into military shovels.

The infiltration team mostly consisted of Sergeants. Furthermore, there were even spearmen with piercing attributes, so they had cleared the path without hesitation.

'It was a fresh idea, I’ll give them that.'

Who would think of digging a tunnel from the outside to infiltrate? However, from the perspective of someone who already knew, that infiltration team was no different from fish jumping into a net.

"Company Commander! I've identified troops attempting to infiltrate the interior of the base!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"They are infiltrating by digging a tunnel from the outside!"

"A tunnel? That’s a considerable distance... Let’s go check it out for now."

Kim Hyun-jun reported to the Company Commander immediately, but as expected, the Captain seemed skeptical at first.

"No way. They’re really digging their way in?"

However, he had no choice but to believe it soon. After checking with his own eyes, he saw that they were indeed attempting to intrude from the outside.

"Shieldmen and swordsmen! Get over here!"

"Yes, sir!"

"We’re going to form a perimeter, so move as instructed!"

"Understood!"

With the Company Commander's quick response, a net was formed to catch the infiltrating troops. After that? It went without saying. The infiltration team failed their operation so miserably it was almost pathetic, and every single one of them was taken prisoner.

There were as many as thirty-five people. It was an amount equivalent to a platoon.

"...What?"

"No, how did they know?"

"This is ridiculous."

The faces of the captured enemies were stained with shock. They had worked hard digging the ground since broad daylight, yet the defenders had laid out a perimeter as if they had known all along. Since they had gone through all that trouble and achieved nothing, it was understandable they were shocked.

"Who on earth noticed?"

Eventually, they even became indignant. At the questions from several prisoners, the soldiers' gazes turned in one direction. At the end of those gazes was Kim Hyun-jun.

"I expected that since this place is difficult to break through from the front, they would aim to infiltrate the inside."

The answer that came back was on the level of 'I just had a hunch.' Either his intuition was good, or he had happened to discover it by luck. Or both.

"The base is quite wide; I didn't think we'd be caught so quickly."

"Phew... I spent all day digging a tunnel only for it to end like this."

"Talk about bad luck."

Regardless, the operation had failed so hollowly that they had even become prisoners, so for the infiltration team, it felt like they had only suffered for nothing. The time they spent digging the ground alone had exceeded half a day.

"Gather the prisoners inside. And Hyun-jun!"

"Corporal Kim Hyun-jun!"

"You really did it! Well done!"

After the situation was mostly wrapped up, Captain Do Min-gyu grabbed Kim Hyun-jun's shoulders and shook him back and forth. He was smiling so brightly his gums were visible, showing how good he felt.

"I heard you were going around scouring the inside of the base. How did you come up with such a commendable idea?"

The Company Commander mentioned that he hadn't expected the enemy to dig a tunnel and infiltrate, even saying that Kim Hyun-jun had saved them. It made sense. The distance was quite far to reach this point by digging a tunnel. It was also difficult to check every single blind spot in a large base.

'I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for the regression.'

So, he gave a reasonable excuse. From the enemy's perspective, it might feel unfair, but what could they do?

'I can't lose again after regressing.'

It was a moment where he reaped the benefits of regression.

***

The Third Battalion's defense ended without much damage. Now the roles were reversed, and the Third Battalion had to break through the Fourth Battalion's base.

"Everyone is doing well. Let's give it our all until the end."

"Yes, sir!"

Each company commander and platoon leader encouraged the soldiers. An administrative transition period was currently granted as a break, leaving them with a few hours of downtime.

"From now on, we will organize teams. Starting with the First Company..."

While checking the soldiers' conditions, the Third Company Commander, Captain Do Min-gyu, organized teams according to the instructions handed down from above.

"Pardon? I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. You mean Corporal Kim Hyun-jun?"

During the process, it seemed the instructions from above had changed, as they called for Kim Hyun-jun separately.

"Hyun-jun. They want you to take on a diversionary role at point B-3 with the members of the Third Platoon."

"Corporal Kim Hyun-jun. Understood."

The location of B-3 could be compared to a person's flank. He was assigned the role of distracting the enemy there.

'The Battalion Commander must be trying to break through in one go.'

This was a different pattern from before his regression. It seemed the plan was to use a minimum force to distract from both sides while concentrating the remaining troops to pierce through the center at once. It was risky, but if successful, it was an operation that could end things quickly.

Of course, Kim Hyun-jun had no intention of merely performing a diversion. Since it had come to this, he planned to make a definite hole in their defenses. Taking the victory quickly was also a factor included in the training score. The Battalion Commander's intention seemed to be that as well.

"Everyone. Once the administrative transition is over, a signal to depart will be issued, so be ready to leave immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

However, the Battalion Commander was even bolder than expected. He had adopted a completely different strategy from before the regression.

'Don’t tell me they’re doing this because of me.'

Surely that wasn't it. The hunter tactical training was a battalion-scale exercise, after all. He meticulously checked his equipment, including his training spear.

***

Time passed, and the members of the Third Platoon were in cover near the enemy's B-3 base. Their role was to draw as much of the enemy's attention as possible when the signal came.

"I'll dive in first and stir things up."

Kim Hyun-jun asked for permission to take the lead. He was volunteering for the most dangerous role.

"Alright. Give it a try."

"Hyun-jun. I'll give you plenty of buff magic."

"I'll count on you, then."

Even if the other Third Platoon members didn't know, the Third Squad members already recognized Kim Hyun-jun's skills. Sergeant Yun Seong-jin nodded without saying much. Corporal Han Ji-han was already casting small buff spells on Kim Hyun-jun one by one.

**[Stamina Recovery magic has been cast.]**

**[Haste has been cast.]**

**[Iron Body has been cast.]**

**[Knight’s Blessing has been cast.]**

'Even if I went in without them, I could manage, but it’ll be easier with buffs.'

The allies were exhausted during the two-day training period, but the enemies must have been exhausted as well. On the other hand, what about him? He was as good as 100% in top condition. Whenever he used his stamina recovery skill, Spearman's Will, his stamina recovered completely.

Not only that, but thanks to the buff spells Corporal Han Ji-han cast in succession, his body overflowed with strength.

"Hyun-jun. Now!"

"Yes!"

A moment later, the signal to start the operation was issued, and Kim Hyun-jun, having received the buff magic, dashed out with his spear.

"Enemy spotted!"

"Are the signal lines just for decoration? Report the intrusion immediately!"

"Yes, sir!"

"And fire! Don't just stand there dazed!"

"Yes, yes, sir!"

Training rounds rained down, but it was meaningless. Kim Hyun-jun was so fast that it was difficult for them to even get a lock on him with their sights.

"Block him!"

"What are you doing, you idiots! It’s just one guy!"

As he entered the interior of the base without much effort, defensive forces came swarming out.

'Footsteps of the Magic Spearman.'

Kim Hyun-jun put strength into his feet and performed the Imperial Spear Arts: First Form. A company-sized force swarmed him, but in this situation, Kim Hyun-jun actually had the advantage.

'Now is the time, while their formation is messy.'

Utilizing the Imperial Spear Arts, he swung the training spear low to break the enemy's balance. He thrust to keep them from approaching beyond a certain distance. All the while, he kept moving to maintain the diversion.

This was a headache for the enemy. In the blink of an eye, an enemy had entered the base and was running wild, and furthermore...

"Enemy forces in front as well!"

Because the Third Platoon members weren't just standing still either. Starting with the archers, including Jeong Ye-na and the private first class, firing training arrows like mad, they tried to break through the front of the base.

*Beep, beep! Beep, beep!*

Signals notifying deaths from the training suits followed one after another. Most of them belonged to the enemy. Kim Hyun-jun was already going beyond a simple diversion and was destroying the base.

'As I thought, these guys are drained.'

The reason it was easier than expected was Corporal Han Ji-han's reliable buff magic. And it was thanks to the enemies who had lost their strength as the training progressed. After cleanly smashing the B-3 base, Kim Hyun-jun went further inside to carry out his diversion.

"This is crazy! What? Why are those guys all the way in here?"

"Base B-3 has been breached!"

"You morons! They clearly look like a diversionary team, and you got breached by them? What were you doing!"

The base had been breached so easily it was almost pathetic. The situation was already as good as over.

"Retreat! Retreat to point B-1! Fall back!"

The enemy company commander made the bold choice to abandon two bases, but it was already too late. Their own Battalion Commander had already made a much bolder decision.

**[The training has ended.]**

Thus, less than 2 hours after the roles were swapped, the training ended. The result was an overwhelming defeat for the Fourth Battalion, whose hidden base was completely ransacked, and an overwhelming victory for the Third Battalion.