Chapter 13

After running and running for what felt like ages, I finally arrived at a clearing in the forest.

Leaving white footprints on the ground, I walked to the center of the clearing and bent over, resting my hands on my knees.

Panting heavily, hot breaths escaped my mouth one after another.

“Think I’m gonna puke…”

After sprinting at full speed for several minutes, my head was spinning.

Not that I wanted to run this much, but it was unavoidable.

Since making as much distance as possible from Princess Selvia was top priority.

“If the princess hears about my asylum request, we’re screwed…”

It’s the princess’s nature to execute traitors no matter what.

So disappearing like a ghost without her knowing was the best course of action.

“Where do you think you’re running to, you damn…!”

“Huff…”

Just as I was catching my breath, I heard the voice of a United Nations soldier.

Turning calmly, I saw the six soldiers I’d spotted earlier approaching, out of breath.

Since they weren’t pointing their guns at me, it seemed they were open to talking.

And since I didn’t want to fight either, I raised my trembling hands.

“…Let’s calm down and have a conversation. I am Lieutenant Daniel Steiner, Deputy of the Operations Staff at the General Staff Headquarters. Identify yourselves and your unit.”

Nice. I smoothly introduced myself while mentioning my affiliation and rank.

If they weren’t idiots, they would’ve realized that someone from the Operations Staff has strategic value.

“Who do you think doesn’t know who you are?”

Strangely though, the UN soldiers just furrowed their brows, looking annoyed.

“Whatever. Where’s the princess? Answer carefully because it might save your life.”

“…The princess?”

When the word “princess” came out of the UN soldier’s mouth, my mind froze.

How could they know that the person traveling with me is the princess?

Princess Selvia isn’t stupid. She wouldn’t have gone around bragging about coming to the northern front disguised as a war correspondent.

Thus, only a select few would know that Princess Selvia was here at the northern front.

And those select few were people Selvia deemed trustworthy.

Given Selvia’s meticulousness in selecting talent, there was no way they could be spies.

Then who leaked this information and attacked us?

As I pondered, a chilling realization struck me.

“The prince.”

Family changes everything…

Because he could observe Princess Selvia’s every move up close.

In fact, I knew Prince Arno von Amberger had clashed multiple times with his younger sister Selvia over the succession to the throne.

Apparently, their conflicts went beyond mere surface-level disagreements.

“To think he’d try to assassinate his own sister. What a lunatic.”

With the truth revealed, I lowered my hand.

Now that I knew, there was no reason to surrender anymore.

Because these soldiers in front of me weren’t actually from the United Nations.

They were the prince’s assassins, disguised to make it look like the princess was attacked by the UN.

Thinking it was all the prince’s staged drama made my blood run cold.

“Did the prince send you?”

My words made the soldiers hesitate, confirming my suspicions.

“Now that I think about it, your UN uniforms are suspiciously clean.”

“…What’s your point?”

“Normally, for guerrilla warfare infiltration, veteran soldiers are sent. Sending rookies drastically lowers mission success rates. But you guys look like fresh recruits in brand-new uniforms. Does that seem right to you?”

If they’d really wanted to disguise themselves properly, they should’ve worn battle-worn uniforms like experienced soldiers.

Unable to refute my point, the soldiers eventually chuckled nervously.

Their squad leader stepped forward.

“Guess you are the elite everyone says you are. You’ve figured out the situation, haven’t you? Join us, and we’ll guarantee your rise to power.”

“You mean the prince?”

“…Show some respect. The Crown Prince.”

Seeing the growling soldier, I couldn’t help but laugh at how pitiful it was.

“What’s so funny?”

“Watching you cling to a rotten rope makes me feel sorry for you. The Crown Prince? He’s not fit to be Emperor. The future belongs to the princess, not that useless guy.”

Giving sincere advice from the perspective of someone who knows the future, but judging by their scowling faces as they gripped their rifles, they didn’t appreciate it.

“Honestly, thanks for being honest. No need for further conversation…”

From here on out, it’s speed above all. As the soldier spoke, I drew my revolver from its holster.

Simultaneously, I concentrated mana into my central nervous system, accelerating my neural functions.

Instantly, my field of vision expanded greatly while my pupils contracted.

The world before my eyes moved in slow motion.

The startled soldiers slowly raising their guns, opening their mouths to curse, some even charging towards me – everything played out like a slow-motion scene.

Taking a deep breath, I aimed my revolver at their heads and pulled the trigger.

The explosion of gunpowder and the bullets firing looked unreal, as if floating through zero gravity.

But the bullets were steadily heading towards the soldiers’ heads.

Just as I moved the revolver’s barrel to finish off the last soldier, the neural acceleration wore off, returning the world to normal speed.

Bang!

Five gunshots rang out almost simultaneously, blowing the soldiers’ heads apart in quick succession.

Without a chance to scream, the soldiers collapsed.

However, the last one. Even as the neural acceleration ended, this soldier kept charging towards me.

“You bastard!”

Trying to aim, my hands trembled violently.

This was the backlash from using neural acceleration, putting strain on my body.

Though it was the useful ability that helped me graduate top of my class from military academy, the physical toll after use was undeniable.

If it hadn’t been for the mana cylinder, I wouldn’t have been able to take out five men at once. Without it, the neural acceleration would’ve worn off midway, and I’d be the one dead.

That’s how extreme the mana consumption was.

“Damn…”

My head throbbed and my body felt like it was sinking into quicksand, unresponsive.

But if I don’t kill this guy, I’ll die. Struggling to focus my mind, I pulled the trigger.

Bang! The gunshot echoed loudly as the charging soldier’s arm exploded.

Missed. Despite losing an arm, the soldier kept charging, screaming in agony.

Right after, the soldier closed the distance and tackled me, pushing me back.

“Ugh!”

I fell backward into the snow.

The soldier climbed on top of me, pulling out a combat knife and trying to stab my head.

Instinctively, I grabbed his wrist.

“Shit! You son of a bitch! Die already!”

The soldier spat curses wildly.

But I lacked the strength to counter them.

All I could manage was holding his wrist with both hands.

“Guh…”

It wasn’t working. There was no strength in my hands.

I could see the knife tip getting closer to my eye, but I couldn’t stop it.

Fear coursed through my spine.

“…What? Is this it? Am I dying?”

They say you see your life flash before your eyes before death, but all I felt was futility.

I wanted to deny death, but the strength in my hands was slipping away.

Right then.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and the soldier’s side of the head exploded.

The soldier immediately slumped forward, falling onto me.

Quickly grabbing the dagger, I stabbed him deeply in the neck just to be sure.

After pushing the body aside, I slowly sat up.

Regulating my rough breathing, I turned to see a group of people wearing Imperial Army uniforms with gas masks.

‘The Imperial Central Army… more specifically, the Imperial Guard.’

I roughly guessed who sent them.

Sure enough, Princess Selvia came running shortly after, slightly late.

Seeing her worried expression made me feel guilty for causing unnecessary trouble.

Unaware of my feelings, Princess Selvia knelt down close by.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

I nodded.

“I’m fine. Thanks to the Imperial Guardsmen. So… ”

Trailing off, Princess Selvia seemed to notice something and looked down.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to deceive you. I just thought that as royalty, I wouldn’t be able to properly assess you, so I disguised myself as a war correspondent.”

Though I already knew, let’s pretend I didn’t.

“So, did you learn much about me?”

It was an attempt to lighten the tense atmosphere.

“Of course.”

However, Princess Selvia took my words seriously.

“First, during the operation planning phase, you contradicted Captain Heinz’s opinion and established a new theory. Since it turned out to be reasonable, it shows that you have a strong will that doesn’t bow to authority and a keen insight into the battlefield.”

That was just something I blurted out because I wanted an honorable discharge.

“At Edelkrall Gorge, you instantly identified Colonel Jeremy disguised as a soldier. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense that the first shot hit Colonel Jeremy.”

That doesn’t make sense because I shot a random soldier and it turned out to be Colonel Jeremy.

“Lastly, you possess a spirit of sacrifice willing to dedicate yourself for the empire’s citizens. After all, you risked your life just to save a war correspondent.”

I was thinking of the asylum opportunity and made up an excuse to escape.

None of it matched reality, but looking into Princess Selvia’s earnest eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to say otherwise.

Besides, if I told the truth, I’d be executed immediately.

“Lieutenant Daniel Steiner.”

Princess Selvia solemnly declared, gripping my hand.

“Representing the royal family, I declare that you are a treasure born to the empire.”

It was so embarrassing, I thought I might die.