5

“Eld, I’m coming in.”

“Ange, I’m late.”

When we reached the room assigned to Squad Thirty-One, the other members were already gathered. Well, even if we’d rushed, there was bound to be a gap—people in the base versus us out in town.

“Alright, everyone’s here.”

With us now present, all of Squad Thirty-One’s members had assembled, and Captain Bodwan began explaining the situation, spreading a map across the table.

“Reports just came in—enemy Armunale units that’ve broken through the buffer zone are attacking both Salza and Soare Forts. Twelve units total—six each. Once our machines are prepped, we’ll head to Salza Fort to reinforce our allies.”

Twelve units. That’s no small force.

I couldn’t hide my surprise at the number. The biggest number I’d ever learned about in the academy was eight machines. This advance was far beyond that.

Even Orell, and the others too, seemed equally stunned—just staring at the number like they’d been slapped.

“Hey now, twelve units? What the hell’s the intelligence corps been doing?”

“Intelligence reported seven units as usual, posted at the front line. Probably taken by the enemy.”

“Can’t even spot their spies, and they’ve got some damn good ones over there, huh?”

Orell lets out a sigh, shoulders curling up. True enough—without even realizing their intelligence unit’s been wiped out, taking over wouldn’t be that easy. Gotta subdue every spy in the city at once, or the word’ll get out.

Means this whole raid’s been planned down to the last thread.

“Wasting breath here won’t change a thing. Let’s deal with what’s right in front of us.”

“Aye. Armunale’s prepped. Just need to assemble it. Twenty minutes, tops.”

“Fifteen. As soon as our units are live, we’re all going out.”

“Can’t help it. Ritz, Caline—let’s move.”

“Yeah, yeah. What about gear? Same as usual?”

“Got a request? I’ll reconfigure the magic.”

The captain’s basic gear: two swords slung on either hip, a harmonica pistol strapped to his back. Magic spells—fireball, upgraded fire lance, clay lance for brute force, basic magic shield, and shock gravines for targeting people.

“Keep the magic as-is. Add a tower shield to the gear.”

“What, you want us to lug around something that heavy?”

“Might be enemies holed up in the fortress. There’s not much cover there. A shield’ll come in handy.”

“Got it.”

We settled on the Armunale’s loadout. Orell and the maintenance crew headed down under the machine.

Now it’s our turn to get orders.

“Benoit, Eld—both of you will be part of the scout unit, working alongside the others to assess the battlefield. The scouts are gathering at the first vehicle bay. Head there. They’ll explain everything when you get there.”

‘Got it!’

Same as always, really. Ride ahead of the mechs on horseback, scout the field, relay the intel to the squad leader. Nothing’s changed. Do it like we always do, and it’ll work out fine.

Just as I and Benoit were about to bolt from the room, Ange grabbed my wrist.

“Ange?”

“Be careful. Don’t you dare die.”

“I know. Not planning to croak on such a dull opening, not me.”

I gave her head a quick thump, and she let go.

Then, for real this time, I took off at full speed, Benoit and me racing toward the bay.

Call it a vehicle bay, but really—it’s just a stable.

By the time we arrived, the other team members were already gathered, each one getting their horse ready.

We hurried to pull Bouvier’s horse from the stable, saddled it up, and got it prepped for departure.

Then, an officer came striding over.

“Listen up while you work. I’m Lieutenant Ritz, Jakarta Intelligence Officer. I’ll be leading this reconnaissance squad.”

An Intelligence Officer—elite, picked from within the reconnaissance unit itself. They’re the ones who gather intelligence from around Jakarta, coordinate reports from the spy network, and deliver the vital info straight to the commander.

This time, he’s coming to the front lines himself.

“We’re heading toward Salsa Fort. Through the B-20 sector—via the towns of Varis, Hyluen, and Parast. Move at top speed. We’ll swap horses in the towns along the way.”

“Understood!”

“Pole, Phil. Can’t help it today—gotta push hard, alright?”

After listening to Captain Ritz’s plan, Monsieur Bnois ran his hands over the two horses. They snorted and huffed, as if to say, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Men, are you ready to go? Then let’s move out!”

Thirteen horses reared and galloped forward, Ritz leading the way. I stayed just behind the line of riders, alongside Monsieur Bnois, and we burst out from the base.

We pushed hard for about twenty minutes, then reached the first town. Already waiting there were fresh horses, all ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Magic carriages must’ve gone ahead and pre-staged them in each town. Speed like this is handy when you need it. Always dust-covered, but useful.

I handed Pole and Phil over to the town’s stablehand, then mounted the borrowed horses and set off again.

Swapped horses again in the town, pushed on for over two hours, and then—there it was. The final town came into view. And the sight from afar stole our breath.

“Salsa’s already fallen!?!”

The third town, Parast, was being swallowed by flames. Black smoke rose from houses. Refugees burst out, running toward us, faces streaked with dust and terror.

Two Armunale were tearing through the town. Every swing of their arms sent rubble flying through the air.

One was the same type we’d seen before—green base with red lines. But the other was clearly different.

A crimson machine, soaked in what looked like blood. It gripped a club in one hand, its whole form like something out of a nightmare.

“Out to the grasslands! We’ll get swallowed by the crowd!”

Ritz officer gave the order right away, and we veered off the path into the grass. Not two heartbeats later, villagers flooded the road—fleeing with whatever they could carry.

—Fire two red flares! Squad eighteen, twenty-two, twenty-five, scatter! If the intel’s right, four more are coming in. Find them—raise your flares! Thirty, thirty-one, you’re out. Come with me—let’s draw their attention this way.

Just as instructed, the three squads sprinted across the grass, splitting left and right.

"Y-yeah, can you really do that?"

One of the recruits called a "bad luck" lot—still young, with a hint of green—spoke up. Probably an older brother, maybe one or two years ahead of me.

And I’ll say that’s true—against Armunale, our human magic is pathetically weak. Every little move they make feels like a killing blow to us.

And yet—can you really stop them like that?

“Anyone’d find it annoying if a bug was flying right in front of their face. Dashing around, flinging magic at the camera. Can’t let them march any further.”

『Got it!』

So even bugs can do something useful, huh? Though they tend to get squashed pretty easily… Seriously, am I gonna die like this? A real dud of a fate.

“Keep moving through the town, use the rubble to dodge and weave. I’m counting on each of you to hold your own!”

With that, Lieutenant Ritz spurred his horse faster. The others followed suit, all speeding into the town.

I was just about to do the same—reaching for the reins—when Bouvier slid in beside me.

“Eld, just focus on staying alive. No need to draw their attention. Don’t go playing hero.”

“Meaning I should just ignore orders?”

True, my magic’s mostly wind-based—might not even blind them properly. But that doesn’t mean I can just run off and ignore commands, does it?

“Your real job’s not scouting. It’s piloting. Scouts? Plenty of those around. But pilots? Not so many. The weight on you’s heavier than you think.”

“B-But—”

Stop treating scouts like disposable tools! War means people die—maybe that’s inevitable. But that doesn’t mean anyone should die needlessly.

“Of course I don’t plan on dying. So just hold on till the captain shows up. We’ll both tough it out.”

Bouvier gave my shoulder a single, quick slap and urged the horse faster.

I stayed right on his heels and plunged into the town, now a pile of rubble.

As soon as I entered, I leapt off the horse and used my air thruster to dart into cover.

The town was a mess—rubble scattered everywhere, no room to ride. The others had probably abandoned their horses too, slipping in one by one.

The horses, quick to sense danger, bolted out of town just seconds later.

"Right then, enemy aircraft—"

I peeked out from behind cover. One of the two enemy craft, the red one, already had Ritz officer clinging to it, hurling magic at it. Fire spells weren’t doing much damage, but they were blinding the camera and clearly pissing off the pilot.

Three others are doing the same—hovering near those red machines, but their spells are all wide of the mark. No good. Not even close.

Still, if four of them are bunched up over there, I should draw attention away from them.

Benoit told me just to keep running, but I’m not just running. I’ve trained for this. Every damn thing I can do, I’m doing it.

Cutting through rubble with the aeroslaster, inching closer to the green one.

The green machine’s been tearing up the cannons mounted on the outer walls. Town guards are all dead—no one left to fire them—but I guess they’re just being careful.

“Guess I’ll try a shot.”

Won’t blind it, but it’ll know I’m here. Can’t keep hiding like this.

“Aero Blast!”

The gust of wind slammed into the craft’s head, jolting it slightly before vanishing.

Right away, the camera swung toward me.

“Tch. Still not hearing me, huh?”

I’d thought maybe with all those moving parts on its head, it might’ve picked up on something. But no—human magic just doesn’t pack enough punch. Still, I’ve made my presence known. Time to get out of sight.

I dive through the broken window of the abandoned house with an Aero Slash, slipping out of the enemy’s view and starting to move. Almost immediately, a massive explosion roars from behind me, and a voice rains down.

“Still alive, huh? Flitting around like some damn winged bug. I’ll squash you just like I did that last one!”

Explosions keep coming, one after another, crumbling the buildings around the enemy craft.

Flinging magic, swinging the sword, tearing down houses—it’s like watching a god of destruction. Though really, it’s just pure, dumb rage.

The pilot’s already twitching from all the attacks from the town’s soldiers. No wonder he’s been smashing cannons left and right.

Perfect. If he’ll take the bait, I’ve got a trick or two.

Leap out from a house, bare chest exposed, and blast magic at the machine from behind. Of course it bounces off the armor—doesn’t matter.

Keep firing in rapid bursts, and the enemy craft finally turns, annoyed.

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”

The massive sword swings down. But right now, it’s just noise.

I leap high with the aeroslaster, twist through the blade’s path using the active wing—right past the cockpit. Of course, they’ve got hand-to-hand magic, so I’m not planning to stick around—

“Air Block, Triple Setup. Go!”

I conjure a foothold of air beneath me and leap higher still.

My body clears the aircraft’s height, vaulting over the enemy’s cockpit and plummeting behind it.

They’re so caught off guard by my movement they just stand there, head-mounted camera fixed on me, staring straight up into the sky.

From behind, I’ve got a perfect view of their cute little backside!

Seizing the moment, I unleash the strongest magic I’ve got.

“Storm Hammer!”

A dense mass of air blasts toward Armunale’s rear end.

*Thud!*—something entirely different under my fingers, and I silently give myself a victory pose mid-fall.

The aircraft wobbles, shifts forward by a step—well, that’s about par for the course.

I land, then instantly dive into the nearest building.

“Cut it out already!”

The sword swing, flicked back over my shoulder, just happened to smash through the roof of the building I’d ducked into.

“Tch, air blast!”

I blast the falling debris away with an air blast.

“Right there!”

The debris flying out through the ceiling gave away my position. I leap out on instinct—then a magic blast hits the building just before me, the shockwave slamming into my back.

A few pebbles’ worth of rubble hit me hard, but thank the stars, no big chunks took me down.

I stabilize with an aeroslaster burst, scanning around for another building to hide in. That’s when I realize my mistake.

There’s nowhere left to hide.

I drew too much attention to myself. The enemy craft’s been tearing up every building nearby.

“Shit.”

“Got you! Die already!”

Enemy craft thrust its left arm out, and a sphere of water rose up at the tip. Might look like just a lump of water, but Armunale’s hand was five meters above the ground. Raise it higher, and it could go seven meters up. What happens if a water sphere that massive—big enough to hide Armunale’s hand completely—comes hurtling down from that height?

Oh… I might actually die…

The thought flickered in my head before I could stop it. Instantly, my body froze—like it had turned to iron.

I know I should move. I should run. But my body won’t listen.

The world slowed down—like slow motion. And suddenly, Bounoir’s face floated into my mind. Then Captain, Orell, Ritz, Carine, Mirage—each one appearing in turn. Just like the day we joined the squad.

Then came Batis and Leon, and Rayla—friends I’d met at the academy.

Back further still, the villagers, the village chief, Papa, Mama. And then—

“Can’t die!”

As the water sphere loomed, my world snapped back into color, my body freed.

I lunged sideways with a sudden burst of Aerostrider, kicked up with Windblast, and shot skyward.

The *thwack* of the water sphere hitting just past me—unbelievable how loud it was, how hard the spray slammed into me.

No thought for balance—just a wild dodge—sent me crashing straight back into the ground.

“Got it!”

Rolling and tumbling, I slammed into falling debris again and again, joints screaming. But hey—pain means you’re still alive, right? That’s the line I need right now, isn’t it?

When the spinning finally stopped, I pushed myself up, ignoring the ache all through me.

I’m soaked from head to toe, but I’m still breathing.

Too bad. The “I did it” flag seems to have a bonus on the enemy side, huh?

“Still alive, you idiot!”

I shouted it loud, and the enemy finally noticed me—must’ve been using their sound amplification.

“Stubborn little cockroach!”

“Who the hell are you calling a grasshopper? You’re the one eating up someone else’s land! Go back to your hole!”

“Kingdom’s spineless soldier!”

“Hah, you’re the one getting flustered by a spineless soldier, aren’t you?”

“You’re the one who’s been running around like a scared rabbit, talking big now?”

The enemy machine raised its arm again, aiming straight at me.

But I’m not rattled. No reason to be. No need to run.

“Die!”

“You’re the one who’s dying. Commoner.”

I barely heard the low voice when a single Armunale shot out from the building’s shadow, lunging straight at the enemy machine and driving its blade straight for the pilot’s seat.

Perfect surprise—enemy didn’t budge a step, just got pierced clean through the cockpit.

At the tip of the Armunale, still sticking out from the wreckage, hung blood and what looked like Imperial soldier’s clothes.

It swayed gently as I pulled the blade free.

“Eld, you alright?”

“Yeah, barely. You’re quick on the draw, Captain.”

The Armunale that pierced the enemy—its pilot was our Third Eleven Armunale Unit’s Bodwan Captain.

I caught a glimpse of the Captain’s machine rolling by, so I shouted loud and clear, drew its attention—worked like a charm.

My uniform’s in tatters, but I brush off the dust and get up. A sharp pain shoots through my side—hand to it, and there’s a cut, a single slash through the fabric, like something sharp like a stone shard sliced me open.

Not deep, really. Just a slow seep of blood from the wound. Lucky I’m still alive, that’s for sure.

“Where’s the other machines?”

“Two are going after the red one. The rest chased the Armunale we found. I’ll be heading after the red one soon, but first—Eld.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Why are you still here? Didn’t you get the order to pull back ages ago?”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t even notice, did you?”

Guess I was just dumb enough to ignore the retreat order and keep drawing enemy fire like an idiot. I mean, dodging attacks while waving my body around like that? No wonder I didn’t notice anything—couldn’t even spare a thought.

A quiet sigh came through the mic as I gently looked away from the cockpit.

“Seriously. Eld, get behind me.”

“Okay?”

“If we don’t pull back now, we’ll get caught in the crossfire.”

“On it—right away!”

That’d be a mess. If we got caught in that magical brawl, we’d be dead before we even had time to blink.

I circled around behind the cockpit using the aeroslaster, then jumped through the hatch the captain had opened.

“Excuse me.”

“Hang on behind me. No time. We’re heading straight for the red one. Looks like it’s having a rough time over there.”

Behind the cockpit, the two machines stood flanking the red one, like bookends. One had lost an arm—its movements stiff. The other limped, damaged in the leg.

“Got it. Thanks.”

He lifted me behind him, then the commander’s machine surged forward, magic humming as it charged toward the red Armunale.