Chapter 182. The Prelude (2)

The massive body of the Exceed-class magical beast disintegrated in mid-air, its black ashes scattering in all directions, trailing tails of dust.

Glancing around, I saw black ashes fluttering down like snow all over the main street where Enoch stood.

[Point-Blank Bombardment]

One of the techniques Alicia used in the original work.

It was treated as a high-risk technique that no one else in the Dragoon Corps used, but its power was so certain that no one could argue against it.

A moment later, with a booming sound, the aftershock of the bombardment tore through the main street, ripping at the ears.

The aftermath of the bombardment, which had erupted skyward, had completely blown away the low-lying dark clouds in a large donut shape.

The sun, now visible in the cleared blue sky, poured down its brilliant golden light.

It was like a tribute to the splendid performance of the Dragoon member whom Enoch had predicted would be the key to this operation.

Whoosh.

Alicia, who had immediately spun her lance behind her back, rotated her body once and landed on the ground without slowing down.

As she stood on her sleek legs and swung her arm back, her lance ejected cartridges with a clatter, letting out a reloading sound.

Alicia stood up, her gaze fixed on me, and silently awaited her next instructions.

And from behind her, from somewhere on the main street where dust and black ash swirled low, came the hushed admiration of the freelancers who had been engaged in battle.

“……Wait a minute. W-what was that! Is it possible to control bombardment-type magic so precisely?”

“That magical beast, whatever experimental subject it was, was at least Exceed-class……!”

“I don’t even know what just happened. Is that how you use that huge magic gear! To use such a tactic when you could get caught up in it yourself……!”

A combat style that seemed quite reckless, as it was a technique that delivered the maximum blow to the enemy without regard for being caught in the explosion one had triggered.

That was probably possible because Alicia’s innate ability to handle mana was exceptionally outstanding.

However, this was not the end.

Enoch looked up at the sky for a moment.

The swarm of experimental magical beasts, now leaderless and wandering the sky, was still roaring, having lost all reason.

They began to scatter and charge towards the freelancers who were continuing to engage them.

From the alley next to us, the screams of freelancers mixed with a crushed scream were heard.

Turning quickly, I saw a pterosaur-like experimental magical beast that had ambushed him from the alley sky.

The freelancer, crushed by the creature’s sharp beak and claws, stretched out his arm with a distorted expression.

“H-help me!!”

But it was too late.

The awl-like part next to the flying magical beast’s beak pierced his neck and injected a glowing green liquid.

A strange gurgling sound echoed through the alley, and as the freelancer under the creature struggled.

“This thing!!”

A freelancer who had come to help from the side frantically swung a mechanically designed warhammer and shattered the pterosaur’s beak.

“Hey, are you okay!”

However, the man who had been injected with the glowing green liquid suddenly twitched, his eyes rolled back, and he began to convulse bizarrely.

His body immediately swelled, and black shells sprouted from his body, his form twisting and changing into something inhuman.

“M-magical beastification?! Keoheok!”

The warhammer user, who was watching his comrade’s body rapidly begin to undergo magical beastification before his eyes, widened his eyes at the arm of the infected magical beast that was suddenly swung at him.

“Get out of the way!”

Other experienced freelancers who were watching the situation immediately pulled him back and pulled the triggers of their rifles at the mutating magical beast.

The battle was still ongoing.

It was true that Alicia’s elimination of the magical beast leader had reduced a lot of the damage, but the remnants of the magical beasts were no longer under control.

Therefore, it would also become difficult to predict the enemy’s movements.

For a moment, my fist clenched.

The squad was assembled, but the real test was just beginning.

It wasn't the first time I had acted as a commander, giving orders to Sirocco, but it was the first time I had commanded a full squad in such a full-scale battle.

Just then, one of the magical beasts in the swarm that had reached the sky above broke away and fell.

It began to dive straight down towards the citizens who were frantically fleeing next to Enoch.

The moment Enoch turned to block it—

TAAAAAANG!!

A clear trajectory of a pink bullet flying at supersonic speed was engraved next to Enoch, and a jet-black mana stone sniper round pierced the magical beast’s head.

The creature crashed to the ground, rolled a few times, and then crumbled into ash with a dry sound.

“Hit. Target silenced.”

A sniper round that flew with a trail of pink light. A familiar voice rang out from right next to where it had come from.

“You said citizen protection earlier. As expected of an official Elsyde Main House mission, right? Honestly, as long as the pay is good, there’s nothing more to argue about.”

Facing Enoch, who was looking her way, April took her eye from the scope of her sniper rifle, which was spewing white smoke from its muzzle, and walked over.

She lowered her rifle at an angle, cycled the bolt back, and a brass-colored casing was ejected from the chamber with a sharp metallic clang.

With a pinging sound, the empty cartridge flew out, and white smoke drew a parabolic arc in the air.

“Hey, Direct Lineage Member.”

Before the brass casing, dancing in the air, could fall, April chambered the next round, brushed past me, and momentarily glanced over.

“Me and the other squad members, lead us with confidence.”

Our gazes met with the pink eyes under the baseball cap.

“…As a professional, I will definitely do more than what I’m paid for.”

Enoch calmly met her gaze and nodded slightly. April responded with a faint smile.

“Good! Then let’s get to work!”

First, the priority was to sort out the situation.

Enoch slowly looked down at his terminal. He confirmed the enemy, marked with a red light spot on the display.

“I’m giving the order.”

Accelerating his thoughts, he lifted his head and stared at the remnants of the magical beasts that still covered the sky.

“Our objective is to engage and destroy the scattered magical beasts that have lost their leader, while protecting the citizens.”

Unlike the sword that Enoch had always used in the darkness, avoiding the eyes of others and hiding his identity.

Here was the powerful and ideal squad that Enoch Elsyde had been trying to complete as another sword that he could wield even in the light in this operation.

April asked from the side.

“Alright, what’s the plan?”

Glancing at the other freelancer teams moving on the side and quickly assessing the changing battle situation, Enoch came to a conclusion at once.

“First, the sniper will disperse and move to a sniping point. Prioritize sniping the magical beasts that have broken away from the formation and are individually attacking citizens.”

April, who had been silently observing the magical beasts’ situation until now, nodded.

“I saw a tall building earlier. I’ll go there. But it’ll be tough to go alone.”

“I know.”

Enoch nodded. He had no intention of sending a sniper, who was vulnerable in close combat, alone from the start.

“Alicia will provide cover and break through to that point. After securing the surrounding area, she will return and engage in battle.”

“Roger, I understand!”

Alicia replied instantly, spinning around, and after glancing at April with her lance held at an angle, she exclaimed.

“As per orders, I will now take the lead!”

“Good. I’ll be right behind you.”

Alicia, her long hair fluttering as she held her lance at an angle, kicked off the ground and shot forward.

She raised her lance at the magical beasts flying towards the sky and, while moving, pulled the trigger several times, launching an anti-aircraft barrage.

Through the magical beasts that were being torn to shreds in the sky with a roar that seemed to crush the eardrums.

April, with her sniper rifle held at an angle, quickly followed behind her.

“Hey, what about me?”

Just then, Sirocco, who was wagging her tail above her bare legs, asked with a sharp voice.

“Sirocco, you will move with me and protect Nano, who is securing our field of vision. Stay close to me.”

At that, Sirocco’s eyes widened slightly, and she looked up at me and asked.

“I’m not hunting magical beasts?”

“That’s right. That’s enough for now.”

“…Hmph, fine.”

At that order, Sirocco turned her head slightly and agreed, her cheeks puffed out slightly as if she was a little displeased.

***

The battle, which had begun with a sudden encounter, finally came to an end at dusk when the last remaining magical beast was killed.

The process was excellent.

Enoch’s squad successfully evacuated the citizens, and only two or three of the engaged freelancers were killed, with about a dozen suffering minor injuries.

When the entire squad, including Alicia, regrouped after the battle ended.

What poured down on Enoch’s squad as they walked down the main street were the gazes of the other freelancers.

“Th-that’s insane. Even if he is a direct lineage of the Elsyde. Is that even possible……?”

“That Dragoon soldier, I’ve heard of her. They say she’s close to the 10th Rank, specializing in point-blank bombardment.”

“The sniper next to her is a freelancer from the 37th outsourcing district. I know her because she has a high corporate reliability rating.”

“That blonde woman with the visor is also an 11th Rank. Rumors about her were spreading around, so I knew.”

“……What am I looking at right now? So there’s a squad with one 10th Rank and two 11th Ranks in an outsourcing district like this……”

Not only were they not the kind of individuals that a single squad leader could control, but in the first place, it was rare for such high-level combat personnel to participate in an operation ‘for’ the outsourcing district.

But there were also voices of doubt.

“Why a Dragoon all of a sudden? Weren’t their noble bodies not supposed to get involved in our operation?”

Alicia, standing next to Enoch, seemed a little intimidated by those voices, her expression slightly crestfallen as she held her lance.

Unable to watch her so dejected despite her performance, Enoch gently looked at her and asked.

“Are you alright, Alicia?”

“Ah, yes! Yes. I’m fine.”

She waved her hands frantically.

But it seemed that this situation, with people’s assessments and attention pouring in from all sides, was not very pleasant for her innocent personality.

After all, she had disobeyed an order.

In addition, although she hadn't officially joined the squad, thanks to her performance winning the recent battle, I had learned something for certain.

When she eliminated the magical beast leader, the experimental magical beasts lost their command.

I was certain that the experimental magical beasts moved according to the orders of a commander somewhere, but the detailed command on the scene was 우선 in the hands of the ‘leader-class’ magical beasts.

This could be very valuable information. It might be a key element in this operation.

“Hey. Something’s strange.”

Just then, Sirocco, who had been walking beside me and silently observing the situation, glanced at me and asked.

“You said there were two thousand magical beasts. There were barely a hundred just now.”

“That’s right. The attack just now probably wasn’t the main force.”

At Enoch’s calm reply, Sirocco crossed her arms and asked back with a sharp look.

“Hmph, so what are you going to do now?”

Enoch slowly nodded.

“I have a plan.”

The magical beasts that had suddenly attacked the outsourcing district must have been bait for reconnaissance and to gauge our strength. However, they had attached a fairly useful individual, an Exceed-class, as their leader.

In that case, we could also gauge their strength to some extent.

Not only the number of the enemy, but also the fact that they had a large number of so-called ‘leader-class’ magical beasts, which were classified as dangerous species.

The clues obtained from repelling this surprise attack were faint, but enough information was given to grasp the situation.

If my thoughts had reached that far, it was only a matter of time before I concluded how the enemy would act next.

Enoch lifted his head and looked outside the outsourcing district.

The outermost area of the city where a vast wall was built.

The main force was hiding somewhere in the border area of the outsourcing district, where the dense darkness of the forest, made up of giant trees tinged with the burning colors of the sunset, had fallen.

And their attack would begin soon.