81漫画

Chapter 26: The Legendary Platoon Commander (5)

“That’s right. Also… and this is only conjecture at this point, but reportedly, the Demon can talk.”

The primary distinguishing feature between demonic beasts and Demons was simple: whether they could speak the human language or not. This was why Iselan suspected that Black was a Demon.

At that moment, Tini arrived with the documents regarding Carter. Included was a log of all the reports Carter made to Iselan.

“I have a question,” said Henry.

“Ask away.”

“Why did Platoon Commander Carter pursue Black? Did Black perhaps do massive damage to the fortress?”

“For revenge.”

“Excuse me?”

“Carter first encountered Black when he was still in the infantry. At that time, he was a commander in an infantry company, and he had lost several of his beloved men to Black while out on a mission in the 7th district.”

“It seems like he had a close relationship with his men. Were they from his hometown or something?”

“No, it was forged out of the time he spent with them in the infantry.”

“Then they must have been highly loyal to him.”

“That’s right. He was someone who could garner loyalty and respect from anyone. He was just that sort of guy.”

“So he applied for this special mission to avenge his men?”

“Correct. This mission was actually a mission I gave to him specifically so he could get his revenge. It was practically his personal mission.”

‘My God.’

Carter had truly been a loyal man. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone this far to exact revenge for a couple of his men that he had simply met while in the army.

“Well, there was a need for someone with outstanding talent, and it was also true that he was the best among the applicants. And a guy with that kind of motivation is much stronger than you think.”

‘He was a massive fool.’

He might have been a massive fool, but considering that he was out for revenge, he had made all the perfect choices. It would have taken a long time to pursue Black, so Carter must have intentionally applied for the special task force that was relatively independent with little outside interference. He even managed to turn his personal revenge quest into an official mission to get the most support he could from the army.

Carter was a fool in some ways, but Henry didn’t think badly of him. After all, Henry, too, was using his godsent second life to exact revenge.

‘No wonder… only because he was such an idiot, the platoon commanders hold him in such high regard.’

Carter’s excellent reputation was well-known. Seeing how he even changed his company in order to take revenge for his former subordinates, he must have garnered plenty of respect in the Needle company.

In addition, he had spent five years with them. Henry could only then vaguely understand the feelings of the platoon members.

‘I should return Carter’s belongings quickly.’

Henry had put on a dramatic show by pretending to burn Carter’s belongings as a form of shock therapy. But now that he had a clearer picture of what was going on, it was time for him to persuade the Needle company with carrots, not sticks.

“But relative to the amount of time Carter spent on this, he was able to obtain very little information. Him being new and inexperienced definitely played a part, but the Demon moved so sporadically that it was hard to keep track of when and where it would appear.”

“Is that why you called the Demon sinister and prone to causing chaos?”

“Beasts normally won’t hunt if they’re full. But this Demon isn’t even hungry, and yet enjoys killing our men in the fortress. If that isn’t causing chaos then what is?”

It was a reasonable conclusion. The Demon was clearly killing for pleasure if it wasn’t hunting to eat.

“And… despite this mission initially being for Carter’s revenge, Black has now turned into a key target for the fortress as well. It has to be dealt with by the special task force someday anyways, so you should look into it.”

“Understood.”

“All the details are in these documents, so take a look, and you will start this afternoon. I will grant you a special break in the morning to gather information.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“No need to thank me… oh, and one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“I know you’re a smart guy, and I know you’ll do well, but don’t overdo it. If you die a dog’s death out there, we won’t even be able to retrieve your corpse.”

It sounded like a warning, but it was a thoughtful piece of advice. Some of the commanders had already died, and Iselan didn’t want to lose a genius like Henry.

‘Crazy bastard, how about you don\'t give me this kind of mission, then?’

Henry gathered the documents and silently returned to his residence.

* * *

‘Demons, huh.’

When it came to Demons, Henry had had a few encounters with them in the past. He had run into them when he confronted the Demon King. The beings who commanded the demonic beasts under the Demon King were Demons.

That’s what made the whole situation even weirder. As far as Henry was aware, Demons only appeared from the 3rd district onward.

‘What on earth is with this Demon?’

It could speak, but it was designated as a 6th district demonic beast. There were signs that it was a Demon, but nothing was yet to be confirmed…

It was truly an enigma.

‘If it’s really a Demon, then this is going to be a headache.’

There were subclasses within the Demon race. Even mages were powerful enough to subdue novice Demons. However, certain Demons, ones with years’ worth of accumulated magical power, would be difficult for Henry to handle at his power level.

That was how dangerous Demons were.

Henry began to collate all the available information about Black by reading through the documents Tini had provided.

‘This is all?’

For a report that was the culmination of five years of effort, it contained an absurdly small amount of information.

Henry’s final summary of Black’s characteristics, according to what was listed in the report, was as follows.

- Black is good at transformation skills.

- Black is a 6th district Mystic Monster, but it sometimes appears in the 7th and 8th districts.

- Black can speak human language.

- Black has condensed magical strength.

- Black’s body is not uniform.

- Black is intelligent, and it is certain that he is smarter than the average human.

‘This makes things difficult.’

This was the kind of information that could be determined on the first encounter. Henry had no choice but to complete this mission in his own way.

“Let’s take a look.”

Sitting at the table and planning delusionally was something only incompetent civil servants would do.

One had to get directly involved to achieve anything.

Only by getting directly involved and formulating a plan based on the information one had could one develop an ideal strategy. Having made his decision, Henry called Allonde over before lunchtime.

“Did you call for me?”

Compared to the other members of the platoon, Allonde had a bit more experience and age, and was the deputy platoon commander in charge of the special task force.

Deputy platoon commanders were responsible for miscellaneous duties and managing the soldiers on behalf of the platoon commander.

“We’ve received a mission. We’re patrolling the 6th district this afternoon.”

“The 6th district?”

Henry’s blunt expression raised Allonde’s curiosity.

“The creature is known as ‘Black’... I’m sure that you know him, don’t you, Deputy Commander?”

“...Of course.”

Carter’s death was all thanks to Black, so there was no way Allonde would not have known about it. When Henry mentioned Black by its name, Allonde’s eyes sharpened.

“I took over Platoon Commander Carter’s mission. I would want to catch him right away if I could, but it’s not as easy as it sounds, is it?” asked Henry.

“That’s correct.”

“The five years’ worth of information that Platoon Commander Carter gathered isn’t of much use. So I intend to investigate this Demon again, starting from scratch. Since today’s the first day of the mission, I intend to just do some light reconnaissance. So spread the word to the platoon.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, and one more thing…”

“Yes?”

“Take these with you.”

Before Allonde could leave the residence, Henry held out a large box that he had hidden under the bed next to him.

“What is this?”

“The belongings of your former platoon commander.”

“...Pardon me?”

“Did you really think I burnt them all? I have no need for them, so take them for yourselves. Is that Gabo guy doing alright, by the way?”

“Ah…”

Allonde’s face expressed a mix of emotions as he tried to process what he just heard.

“What are you still doing here, standing around? Move along.”

“Ah, ah, yes! Understood!”

Right before Allonde stepped out of Henry’s residence, he suddenly turned back to look at Henry.

“Platoon Commander, sir.”

“Why are you still here?”

“Thank you very much. And I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. But if you guys show me an attitude like that one more time, I won’t look past it. Make sure to convey that to the men.”

“Yes, sir! Salute!”

Allonde saluted Henry loudly. His arm was sharply angled, and his face was full of sincerity. It was a genuine salute, used by the Imperial Army to show respect. But Henry waved his hand, ushering Allonde along.

“Salute’s a bit too much.”

The Imperial Army’s salute was used as a sign of respect for someone regardless of their respective ranks, and it wasn’t something that was performed casually. Allonde saluting his new platoon commander, whom he had been uncomfortable with in the beginning, meant that he had dropped the ill feelings he had toward Henry.

‘How sweet.’

With that thought in mind, Henry got up.

‘Then, shall I make a move as well?’

A platoon meant team play. The most important thing was teamwork, and in order for a team to work well, every member had to have deep trust in one another. Now, Henry had secured a basic level of trust by returning the former platoon commander’s belongings to the platoon members. One of them saluting Henry was evidence of that, especially because it was Allonde, the deputy platoon commander.

Henry soon filled his desk with documents outlining the details of his men, as well as a couple of short, blank parchments.

Although it was important to investigate Black as ordered, he had another reason for suggesting a mission in the 6th district in the first place, and he had not forgotten about it.

* * *

“Everyone, gather around.”

“Yes, sir!”

After lunch, the special task force members gathered together at Henry’s order. Many were anxious about what Henry would pull next.

“Did everyone eat their fill?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Starting now, we’ll begin the reconnaissance mission in the 6th district, as I have already mentioned to our deputy platoon commander.”

The looks of apprehension disappeared from everyone’s faces. They had already heard the truth from Allonde. In addition, since this was a mission to uncover Carter’s death, they were not only motivated but burning eagerly with passion.

“Then let’s set off.”

In order to enter the Demonic Beast Forest, they had to pass through the defensive line located at the rearmost part of the fortress, which was a large wall. The wall at the rear of the fortress was exceptionally taller and stronger than the other walls, and as a result, the most dangerous place in the fortress was paradoxically also the safest. There were always a large number of elite soldiers, priests and wizards around to stand guard.

As soon as the special task force arrived at the wall, the guards standing on duty stopped them.

“Identify yourselves.”

“We are the special task force platoon, belonging to the special task force company, under the direct command of the Commander-in-Chief. Platoon Commander Henry Morris and nine other men.”

“What’s the nature of your business?”

“We’re on a mission.”

“...Enter!”

Hundreds of soldiers entered and exited this district every day. Each time, they had to present an access permit and go through a strict reporting system to get past the security. This was because they could not afford to make an error and let a demonic beast in by mistake.

But the special task force was different. It was a unit directly under the command of Iselan, the highest-ranking commander among the commanders. All of them could easily pass through without a permit and without going through the strict reporting system.

Creaaaaak.

As soon as permission was granted, the huge gate in front of them creaked open.

This was only the first gate. When all the platoon members passed through, the first gate closed with a loud thud, and the second gate opened immediately after.

‘Security is definitely tight here.’

The reason for using two gates was the same reason why the security was so tight; to prevent any monsters from sneaking in.

Creaaaak- thud!

Using a pulley system, the second gate opened slowly from top to bottom. It was a drawbridge that connected the fortress to the Demonic Beast Forest over the huge cliff.

“Let’s go.”

As soon as the bridge was in position and secured, the platoon crossed it with unified footsteps.

‘It’s just as dark as I remember.’

As they crossed the bridge, Henry squinted and took a glance downward at the deep, wide ravine. Henry had split open the earth and created this ravine himself with an earthquake.

‘Reminds me of the good old days.’

They soon reached the end of the bridge, and Henry stepped into the Demonic Beast Forest for the first time in decades.