We won.
Really, without any exaggeration, we won by the slimmest of margins—a single sheet of paper’s difference.
An operation that involved giving up flesh to take bone. It was an opponent we couldn’t defeat unless we did something like that.
Worthy of being the monster who once oversaw the entire Intelligence Bureau, the techniques I had learned from Claude Rain through blood and sweat weren’t enough to easily overpower him.
“Cough!! Cough cough!!”
But there was no time to revel in the joy of victory. As I coughed, a terrible pain surged through my body. The wet sensation on my tongue and throat was unmistakable.
As I exhaled with difficulty, splat! A spray of crimson blood hit the floor.
“Shit… arm…!!!”
I had suffered internal injuries. At least five ribs must have been broken. Even though I was wearing protective gear under my uniform to absorb impacts, it came to this.
I couldn’t tell if my lung had been pierced or if something else had ruptured.
Above all, the pain was so intense I couldn’t even breathe properly.
If the enemy hadn’t let their guard down for even that last moment…
The one lying on the ground would have been me, not Yegor.
“Colonel Enok Revendale!!!”
A frantic voice called out from behind me. It was unfamiliar. Through my blurred vision, I saw a soldier who still looked quite young.
“Are you alright?!”
I couldn’t respond. As I swayed, he panicked and caught me, supporting me.
“Medic!! Bring a medic over here!!!”
At least it’s fortunate that unlike a few years ago, I have allies nearby.
I closed my eyes while thinking such trivial thoughts.
*
Unlike the Eastern Tower’s operatives, who were completely annihilated by Enok Revendale’s solo efforts, things were entirely different for those who infiltrated the rear gate of the Okhraine Army Training Facility.
This was the Soviet Empire’s Intelligence Bureau.
It wasn’t because Enok Colonel and the 8th Assault Mage Infantry Battalion were monsters—it was far from being an easy fight.
Moreover, trainees less skilled than regular soldiers could never hope to handle them.
The commander of the 2nd Training Brigade gnawed nervously at his fingernails as the gunfire continued incessantly.
“Communication from the 3rd Battalion! They’re reporting heavy losses…!!”
“What about reinforcements?”
“The 2nd Battalion, but the trainees there are completely terrified. They might not be able to fight properly…”
“Damn it!! Did you deploy the Military Police Special Task Force or not?!”
Of course, the brigade commander had no way of knowing that the force turning the training facility into a bloodbath was the Intelligence Bureau of the Soviet Empire.
Thus, the commander could only suffer from an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.
Are these fellow Okhraine soldiers really so vastly different in skill?
Besides, bringing in trainees with no fighting spirit would only increase our casualties.
And yet, it was impossible to withdraw the battalions guarding the main headquarters of the training center where the Crown Prince resided.
Who knows what kind of situation we’ll face next? If we recklessly request reinforcements and Orlando Rus III is assassinated, who will take responsibility? What will happen to the fate of Okhraine?
“We’ll try to hold on with our own strength first! Pull back some of the 3rd Battalion troops slightly, then mix them with the conscripts! At least they’ll shoot in the same direction!!”
It was a desperate measure.
In reality, even the conscripts leading the charge lacked combat experience compared to the enemy.
Mentioning exchange ratios was meaningless.
However, they were still subordinates of the brigade commander. We couldn’t let the sacrifices of souls shattered by bullets be meaningless.
Once again, the trainees marched toward death. To stop the enemy’s advance. To protect their ruler from falling into the hands of evil men.
Even those without ranks picked up their rifles and advanced.
But even as the 2nd Brigade fought valiantly, problems wouldn’t be solved.
The agents of the Intelligence Bureau hadn’t focused their main assault on just one direction.
“Deceive the enemy about our numbers. Keep attacking from various angles until their defensive forces are disrupted, then strike deep into their weak points with our sharpest blade.”
These were the final instructions Yegor Ivanov gave to his subordinates before going to confront Enok Revendale.
By the time the Ukrainian forces had managed to break several counterattacks and breach the defensive line, they couldn’t effectively track the members of the Intelligence Bureau anymore.
Right now, the group the 2nd Brigade is dealing with consists of merely ten people.
Out of the four teams that infiltrated the rear gate, they’re only two groups. And yet, an entire brigade is tied up against this number of enemies. This is the reality of Okhraine.
They may have adopted somewhat reformed training methods, but they’re still far too rigid and lack real combat experience.
For the Intelligence Bureau of the Soviet Empire, who’ve come through dozens of life-and-death situations, the soldiers of the Okhraine Army Training Facility were nothing more than tasty prey.
“Cough…!!”
“All clear.”
A group of soldiers rushing in for reinforcements was wiped out.
A corner of the alley was covered with the bodies of Okhraine soldiers, their pooled blood forming puddles.
A scene that chillingly matched the word “slaughter.”
With a ridiculous exchange ratio of 1:6, they mercilessly cut down every enemy they encountered.
Finally, they succeeded in infiltrating the headquarters.
“Take the right side.”
“Remember clearly—don’t use Imperial language.”
Through eye contact and lip movements, they conversed smoothly, nimbly, and naturally as they swiftly ascended the headquarters.
To them, this place was a beehive.
You can kill a few bees when they attack individually, but when hundreds come at you, it becomes problematic.
Until now, they’d been hunting sporadically, but from this point forward, they needed to capture the queen bee and sever her head.
“Damn it, the 5th Company got taken out!”
“Strengthen the external perimeter immediately!!”
Tap tap tap—
Busy Ukrainian soldiers moving around. The agents of the Intelligence Bureau quietly recalled the layout of the Army Training Facility while trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.
The facility map provided in advance by the coup forces proved very useful.
Surely, they wouldn’t have left someone as important as the Crown Prince in just any room. If they search a few distinctive locations, they should be able to find him without much difficulty.
“Comrades, go upstairs and search the general’s office. We’ll head to the Operations Control Room.”
“Understood.”
As the squad leader quickly issued orders, the agents dispersed.
They had to somehow locate and eliminate the Crown Prince. Only then could they completely reverse the unfavorable tide of the civil war.
Already, sturdy youths of the Soviet Empire were preparing to advance near the border.
Though the foolish Okhraine kids failed to secure the Crown Prince, they had contingency plans prepared for such an eventuality.
“Is it okay for us to stay here?”
“I don’t know. Just do as we’re told.”
“It’s frustrating not knowing what’s happening outside…”
Crunch. Snap.
Unluckily, the necks of two patrolling soldiers broke instantly.
Against human weapons capable of wrestling with bears barehanded, the unprotected sentries became cold corpses without even letting out a scream.
“Should we disguise ourselves?”
“No time. You’ll take responsibility if we get discovered faking it.”
As the squad leader spoke, an agent nodded and tossed the two Okhraine soldier corpses into a random room. That was when the problem arose.
Bang!!!
The sudden gunshot echoed loudly, and the squad leader quickly turned his head. The agent dragging the corpse was shot in the forehead and collapsed.
“Damn!”
“Fire!”
BOOM!!
The moment they witnessed this, they began retaliating, but their bullets lost power and fell as they were pushed back by a powerful water cannon coming from outside the door.
“Sorcerers?”
“I knew it. Who do you think these bastards are?”
The person who appeared from the room was a red-haired officer. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger of her Reinhardt pistol.
Bang!
Another agent was slammed to the ground with a single gunshot.
“SHOOT!!”
Bang! Tattatatat!!
One of the agents fired his machine gun. Sparks flew wildly, heating up the muzzle, but…
“Aqua Gate…!!”
Their attack was blocked by another woman who emerged from inside the room, casting a magic spell.
A wall of water.
Different from other types of magic, the density of water itself was sufficient to act as effective bulletproof shielding.
Only then did the squad leader recall the names of the two women classified as dangerous individuals to watch out for just before the mission.
“Bella Meyer, Lune Aire…!!”
“What are you calling us by name so familiarly, spies?”
With a face that belied her harsh cursing,
Lune Aire coolly pulled the trigger.
Three losses, including the squad leader. With gunshots already heard, it was certain that Ukrainian forces would soon arrive.
Faced with the worst-case scenario, the agents of the Intelligence Bureau chose to regroup with their allies below.
“Hey, you bastards!!”
“Stop right there!”
They fired their guns at the agents scattering like cockroaches, but unfortunately, none of the shots hit.
“Bella, stay here! I’ll go after them and come back!”
She was still recovering. The fact that she could use magic at all was due to her being a 1st-class Blue Mage, but she was pushing herself too hard.
Ultimately, she had no choice but to step in here.
Lune Aire quickly exchanged the magazine of the revolver Enok had given her and began tracking the agents.
“There they are!”
“Gah…!!”
“Alex! Damn it…!! Gahhh!!”
Bang, Bang!!
Even amidst this, the gunshots didn’t cease. Every time they encountered Ukrainian soldiers rushing toward the sound, they accurately eliminated them.
Rather than anything else, they had to survive as long as possible and kill as many Ukrainians as they could.
Reinforcements from the coup forces would arrive soon.
Since they had occupied the rear gate, if the Capital Guard Division and military police who had fully defected joined them, even if the assassination failed, they could give meaning to their sacrifice.
But…
“?!”
When she descended underground to chase after her scattered comrades-in-arms, there was only one agent in the same uniform left.
There should have been about six remaining.
Why only one?
“Where did everyone go?”
As one of the senior agents sensed something unusual and slowly approached while raising his weapon,
His shoulder-mounted machine gun sprayed bullets.
Tatatatatat!!!
The remaining agents who narrowly escaped were transformed into unrecognizable lumps of flesh in an instant.
“Caught you, bastards!!”
At that moment, Lune Aire finally caught up to the basement and aimed her gun at the last remaining person, but…
“Wait, wait! Don’t pull the trigger. Got it? I’ll take off my mask.”
“Huh?”
“Fucking knew you’d still be alive, Lune.”
A familiar voice.
A face she couldn’t forget.
She dropped the Logan P02 she was holding in her hand.
“Nikolai Hilbert…!!”
“You look healthy for someone who was captured, Lune.”
Because they were old comrades who had parted ways under unavoidable circumstances.
