Chapter 19 : Mutant Subjugation

Winter Castle Kreutz was a place where large and small battles never ceased.

A shield protecting the Empire from the demonic beasts pouring out of the Demonic Realm, and the northernmost front line.

Therefore, the fact that Winter Castle was under attack was, in a way, nothing particularly unusual, but the problem was that I had now become a party to that war.

“4th Special Task Force, all members assemble!”

With Edric’s resounding shout, the members of the 4th Special Task Force stopped everything they were doing and gathered before Edric in an instant.

“Winter Castle is currently under attack. Therefore, in accordance with emergency measures, the 4th Special Task Force will be promoted early from the rank of trainee to Private Second Class, and the 4th Special Task Force will be immediately deployed to the mission.”

As I already knew, Winter Castle seemed to be under attack.

Furthermore, the situation seemed urgent enough to hastily call up even the 4th Special Task Force, who were still trainees.

“Each of you, assume combat readiness and reassemble here in three minutes. Move!”

The serious demeanor of Edric, who had always appeared relaxed, spoke volumes about the current situation.

“Yes, sir!”

With a powerful shout, the members of the 4th Special Task Force moved urgently.

Returning to the barracks, the first thing I did was put on Aichuwong’s equipment instead of the cold-weather uniform supplied by Winter Castle.

From now on, it was a real battle with my life on the line.

No matter how valuable the equipment was, I had no intention of dying a dog’s death by needlessly saving it.

“Hey, what’s that? It doesn’t look like what you usually wear. Was that what you brought back from your leave?”

“I got a new one.”

“Looks pretty good. Don’t have any spares?”

“Unfortunately.”

“A pity.”

Conlan smacked his lips as if disappointed.

Due to its environment, Winter Castle’s regulations on attire were not very strict.

No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were practically nonexistent.

It was just that most soldiers didn’t have equipment superior to the cold-weather uniforms provided by Winter Castle, so they just wore what was supplied.

That’s why the members of the 4th Special Task Force, including Conlan, were also wearing layers of the clothes they had on when they were first dragged to Winter Castle, but since they were clothes worn in other regions, they weren’t of much help in Winter Castle.

Perhaps that was why Albino, who had been quietly watching, also chimed in.

“It’s an item made from Radyun leather. Where did you get something like that? It must be quite rare.”

“I found it.”

“Hmm. For something you found, it seems to have a bit of a blood smell left on it…… well, it doesn’t matter.”

It seemed the smell of Aichuwong’s blood still lingered.

I thought I should set a day to do laundry, but in this severe cold, I wanted to avoid laundry if at all possible.

“……”

Perhaps because of the mention of Radyun leather, Alicia and I made eye contact, and then Alicia hastily averted her gaze.

For some reason, I felt like I had caught a glimpse of a human side to that machine-like woman.

‘That aside…….’

Having finished my preparations, I turned my gaze to the final weapon I would take.

The supply-grade weapon was naturally not a consideration, and the choice was, of course, between the spear and sword that Aichuwong had used.

────────────

[Rogus’s Straight Sword]

Classification: Weapon

Grade: High

A straight sword born from the hands of the artisan Rogus.

Useful for both stabbing and slashing.

────────────

────────────

[Arkon’s Bone Spear]

Classification: Weapon

Grade: High

A spear made by grinding the bones of Arkon.

It is extremely sharp and tears apart the wounds of those it pierces.

────────────

In terms of performance, they were all of a similar level.

That’s why I couldn’t help but be more conflicted.

‘It would be difficult to take both.’

Usually, with two types of weapons like this, it was common to use the spear as the main weapon and the sword as a secondary armament, but I had no intention of engaging in close-quarters combat face-to-face with demonic beasts in the first place.

Even wearing Radyun leather equipment and possessing the Orb of Water, facing a demonic beast head-on meant putting my life on the line.

No matter how much my stats had increased, there was no way it would be possible with my still pathetically weak physical abilities.

Soon, I briefly contemplated which one to take before my gaze shifted to Rogus’s Straight Sword.

It seemed that if I were to use these weapons, it would be in a very urgent situation, and a sword that could be drawn and swung immediately seemed more fitting than a spear that had a long reach but was difficult to use in a hurry.

‘Strictly speaking, a sword would also be difficult to use…… but for now, this should be fine.’

If there was one fortunate fact, it was that Rogus’s Straight Sword was not overly burdensome in terms of weight or size.

All preparations were complete.

Likewise, the other members of the 4th Special Task Force also seemed to have finished all their preparations as they gathered at the assembly point.

There was still no sense of bond or camaraderie among the members of the 4th Special Task Force, but it seemed a semblance of a community sharing the same fate had begun to form.

“Everyone’s here. I will explain the mission.”

As soon as we gathered at the assembly point, Edric cut to the chase without any preamble.

“You probably have a rough idea of the situation from the sounds outside, but Winter Castle is currently under attack. The enemy’s scale is estimated to be a horde of at least 3,000 demonic beasts, and our forces are currently engaged in battle.”

Edric continued.

“The mission of the 4th Special Task Force is to pursue and subjugate the mutant identified as the main culprit of this attack. Any questions?”

Mutant.

It was a name I was hearing for the first time as well.

“What is a mutant?”

“It’s a new type of demonic beast that has recently started appearing. It has been identified as being larger and stronger than a typical demonic beast, and in addition, possessing a considerable level of intelligence.”

“Isn’t it a typical chieftain-type individual?”

“No, it’s not a chieftain-type individual. That much is certain.”

Why was it?

That this unheard-of existence called a mutant felt strangely familiar.

“If there are no other questions, we will depart immediately. We don’t have much time.”

Edric did not delay for a moment.

As soon as the 4th Special Task Force stepped out of the barracks, screams and roars echoed.

-Screeeech!

-Kruk, krururuk!

-Kaaack!

Thud!

Thuuud!

“Move it, move it!”

“Reinforce the north gate! A large demonic beast has appeared!”

“Bring more arrows!”

Even though our current location was not at the castle gate where the direct battle was taking place, the heat of it was extraordinary.

Edric spoke.

“The north gate is in the middle of a battle, so we can’t exit through there. We will go out through the south gate and pursue the mutant.”

They called it a pursuit, but it was practically the same as entering the middle of a horde of over 3,000 demonic beasts to assassinate a key figure.

‘……Hmm.’

I should have known from the name, the 4th Special Task Force.

No, I should have known from the very beginning when they created a new unit with criminals composed of mages, who were ostracized beings.

The mission we were assigned was not a mission that typical Winter Castle soldiers were given.

“……Hmm. This won’t be easy.”

“So it comes to this.”

As if proving that fact, the expressions of Conlan and Albino, who had been relaxed all this time, hardened.

“……”

At least in Alicia’s case, since she was usually expressionless, it wasn’t very apparent, but I could tell she was tense from the subtly changed atmosphere.

When we arrived at the South Gate, the Guard Team Leader looked at Edric and spoke.

“You’re here. I wish you good luck.”

“Yes, you too.”

It was an incredibly dangerous mission for trainees who had been training for less than a week, but from the beginning, such things were not a consideration for Winter Castle.

A unit made of mage criminals.

This also meant that as far as Winter Castle was concerned, they were expendable.

‘Tsk.’

But I had no intention of dying meekly.

I will survive.

By any means necessary.

***

We moved on foot.

In the first place, the operational area was near Winter Castle, and in this mission that required utmost stealth, riding something like a horse would get us discovered by the demonic beast horde, surrounded, and killed, so it was a natural choice.

Edric stopped walking.

“We will pursue the mutant from here.”

“How do we identify the mutant?”

“You’ll know it when you see it.”

It was an incredibly vague statement, but usually, there was a reason for saying things like that, so I said no more.

“If possible, avoid engagement until we find the mutant.”

There were no objections.

At least among the members of the 4th Special Task Force, there was no one who wanted to go on a rampage in the middle of a demonic beast horde of over 3,000.

Rustle, rustle-

Everyone held their breath and carefully stepped on the snow-covered ground.

Although we hadn’t been professionally trained in stealth movement, thankfully, the screams and roars of the fierce battle that was unfolding concealed the sound of our movements.

-Kaaack!

-Screeech, screeech……!

And, the screams of that war grew closer as we walked.

It wasn’t just the sounds that were getting closer.

The smell of something burning, the smell of iron, and the smell of blood filled the air.

“……You’re keeping up better than I thought.”

Albino, who glanced back at me, said with a surprised look.

Just as he said, the old me would have given up and collapsed from this forced march long ago, but now that my physical abilities had been enhanced by the Orb of Water, I was barely able to keep up with the 4th Special Task Force’s advance speed.

‘That’s not all.’

What the Orb of Water brought me was not just rapid muscle recovery, but also minor stamina recovery and increased regeneration.

[The ‘Orb of Water’ assists in the wearer’s stamina recovery.]

Although it didn’t bring about a dramatic effect like when I was in front of a campfire, that minor effect made me a little less tired.

Better than nothing, I suppose.

“This much is a piece of cake.”

“You talk big.”

“I don’t think that’s something the person who lost to me should be saying.”

Albino’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

He must have known that I was always the first to drop out during physical training, so it was no wonder he found my current state strange.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter either way.’

As we were stealthily moving through the bushes, Edric, who was in the lead, gave a hand signal to stop.

The reason was obvious.

-Grrrrr…….

There was a demonic beast right in front of us.

And not just one or two, but dozens of them.

【Lv.5】

【Burning Hars】

A level 5 named entity.

On top of that, there was no way I could fail to recognize the thing protruding like a horn from Burning Hars’s forehead.

Its unique color was something that couldn’t be hidden.

‘Ascension Stone Fragment!’

At that moment.

[Kurururu!]

The creature saw us.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep