Lord of Training - Chapter 54



Only Krnovel

54. Operation Eye Contact.

“You all probably know from the conversation we had earlier. Right now, in this jungle, there are the Lacrosse Empire Army and the Arica Republic Army together, not just us.”

I told everyone what I knew and what Colonel Morgan had just provided.

Then the trainees looked worried.

They all came to awaken their spirits and encountered a huge reef.

Our kingdom’s information was the latest and we sent the fewest troops, so our chances of success were slim.

The good news was that the Empire was currently at war with the Kingdom of Bavaria to the north and was facing off against the Allied Forces on the border of the Kingdom of Lutes, so there was a dire shortage of Aerial Magic Knights and they were not dispatched here.

Lieutenant Phelps said.

“But since the size of the Imperial Army is large, shouldn’t we join forces with the Arica Republic Army?”

“Does everyone think so?”

Everyone nodded.

At that moment, trainee number 2 raised his hand.

“That’s a bit strange.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Arica Republic army met us and just turned back. If the Imperial Army had been too many and burdensome, wouldn’t Colonel Morgan have been the first to suggest that we join forces?”

I chuckled to myself.

Among the trainees, Baron Paolo was the smartest. He was a trainee with quick wit and a lot of knowledge, so I wanted to raise him well and keep him as a staff officer.

“Good job. If the Imperial Army had been here for four days, the Arica Republic Army would have arrived at about the same time. And they knew through wiretapping that the Imperial Army had moved to attack the Labyrinth Gate. That means they knew the size of the Imperial Army in detail.”

Then Lieutenant Phelps hit his knee.

“Ah! Then you must have brought at least enough troops to deal with the Imperial Army.”

Phelps realized it, albeit belatedly.

The other members and trainees nodded their heads as if they understood what Phelps said.

Lieutenant Herman said.

“Is it possible that Colonel Morgan gave us false information?”

“What are you going to do? We’ll soon find out information about the Imperial Army.”

“I guess so.”

Since the Imperial Army had no aerial magic knights, this information was easy to obtain just by observing from afar.

There was no need to tell lies that would soon be discovered.

“I think the Arica Republic Army is stronger than the Imperial Army. Especially since they have an aerial magic unit, if the two of them fight, the Imperial Army will be no match for them.”

“That doesn’t mean we can join hands with the Empire. Haa!”

Trainee number one sighed.

“As expected, we entered the wrong gate.”

“Why do you think so?”

“That’s because our forces are the smallest.”

“Who said our forces were small?”

“yes?”

Only Private Number 2 was already laughing, as if he knew what my question meant.

The other subordinates also had expressions of confusion.

“We are the only ones who know that we have a small number of troops. The Empire and the Republic of Arica have probably brought about 50 noble children who have awakened, and have kept them in the main force. So where are our noble children?”

“Are we the children?”

Trainee number one tilted his head and answered.

“Look at your current state. Who would think you are noble children? You are just soldiers.”

“Aha! Then Colonel Morgan will know that we have a separate main force!”

“Yes. And this will be a big variable. If some search party finds the gate first, they will quickly return and pick up the noble children.”

“I guess so.”

“But we can enter the labyrinth gate as soon as we find it. If we exploit that small difference, we can easily win with a small force.”

The battalion members and trainees gaped in amazement.

“Wow! So the battalion commander foresaw this and deliberately made us into trainees.”

“Huh? Well, you could say it like that.”

“Wow! You really see the big picture. That’s amazing.”

“Oh my goodness! You’re a few moves ahead!”

“Okay! Let’s stop talking nonsense after we enter the labyrinth gate. Let’s all move to the center of the jungle.”

Honestly, I didn’t know that making noble children into trainees would have such a butterfly effect.

If the results are good, then everything is good.

So, we must first win the fierce battle of wits.

***

From that day on, our battalion was divided into two groups of four squadrons and monitored the jungle and the sky.

The trainees and I waited in the middle of the jungle.

We weren’t looking for the gate.

We were just observing the suspicious movements of the Arica Republic Army or the Imperial Army. Fortunately, the Arica Republic’s Airborne Magic Knights had 1 battalion of 13, 4 fewer than us, so they did not provoke us recklessly.

And the Arika Airborne Magic Knights were also very busy as they had to monitor both us and the Empire at the same time.

Perhaps Colonel Morgan was fooled.

Who would have thought that our trainees, who had marched for days without even washing properly, were of noble birth?

So, of course, we were moving assuming that our main force was somewhere in the south.

A few days passed like that.

Chi-chik!

“Lieutenant Phelps, what’s the situation in Arica?”

– Five aerial magic knights and two battalions are searching the jungle to the southwest.

Chi-chik!

“Lieutenant Kalin, what about the Empire?”

– Three battalions are searching the eastern sinkhole area. And four Arica Airways Magic Knights have flown over to the north while searching the eastern area.

Likewise, the Republic of Arica was also under surveillance by going back and forth between the Imperial Search Party and the main force.

If the nobles of the main force move, they will find the labyrinth gate and respond immediately.

But since we didn’t know where our main force was, four aerial magic knights were watching from the south.

Chi-chik!

– This is Lieutenant Kalin. There’s some suspicious activity over here.

“Tell me exactly.”

– Suddenly, a single Imperial soldier flies across the sky, flying quickly to the northeast. Then, the Imperial soldiers stop searching and gather towards a sinkhole.

Finally found it!

Even the imperial bastards used their heads.

It’s not that there are no aerial magic knights at all, but they have already noticed the surveillance of the Arika Aerial Magic Knights and have hidden them because their numbers are small.

“Where exactly is it?”

– If you come straight from the center to the northeast, you will see us in the sky.

“Carlin Squadron and John Squadron, standby above, Phelps Squadron and Herman Squadron, come to us immediately!”

Chi-chik!

– yes!

– yes!

We waited for Phelps’ and Herman’s squadrons to arrive.

And he started running in a northeasterly direction with the trainees.

I ran like that for a long time, but I still hadn’t reached the area where the sinkholes were.

If I had flown, I would have arrived long ago.

But that doesn’t mean I can abandon my trainees······.

Chi-chik!

– This is Ensign Kalin. The Arica Republic Airborne Knights have also noticed. They are transmitting a radio message.

“Don’t respond, just hide in the nearby jungle and watch! I’ll contact you when I get nearby.”

– Yes! Come quickly.

You little shits are gonna ride the shit rope!

First of all, whoever entered the labyrinth gate first was the owner.

If I couldn’t clear it, I would die inside, but if it was around D-rank, I and my battalion members could easily clear it.

And we had enough canned food and drinking water to last us a year inside the gate without starving, and we had plenty of weapons, ammunition, and supplies.

In addition, the youngest daughter of the Marquis Bertio, the chairman of the Lords’ Council, had stored food, alcohol, cigarettes, tea, coffee, and other luxury items in the subspace warehouse.

Bang! Tata tang! Bang!

As we ran for another half day, the sound of gunfire grew closer and closer.

This was the sound of a fierce battle between the Arika Aviation Magic Knights and three battalions of Imperial troops.

The Imperial Army is trying to buy time for the noble children of their own country and the main force to arrive, while the Arika Aircraft Magic Knights are fighting to secure the gate for now.

“Commander, here we are.”

Carlin’s squadron and John’s squadron joined in.

“It’s definitely in that sinkhole. Come on in.”

“No! Wait a little longer.”

“yes?”

“There are still too many Imperial troops. The trainees could be harmed if they move down the sinkhole. Our mission is to awaken the trainees and return safely to their home country.”

“Ah! Okay, I understand.”

At that moment, I felt the trainees looking at me with emotion.

Burdensomely.

When the trainees returned to their home countries, it was okay for them to be scolded for not being able to awaken the spell or for being too harsh. It didn’t matter if they didn’t get promoted anyway. However, if a trainee died, they could become enemies with that trainee’s family.

There was no reason to make an enemy.

I was planning to take at least one more person alive, to the extent of my ability.

Because now they are all my trainees.

Nine Arika Airborne Magic Knights were fighting three battalions of 900 Imperial soldiers who had surrounded a giant sinkhole.

Although they had 100 times more troops, it was the Imperial Army that was dwindling in numbers.

Since all the aerial magic knights had awakened mana, they were shooting with an effective range twice as long, and since there weren’t many awakened magicians in the imperial army, few bullets were making a proper impact.

And the air magic knights don’t stay still.

Shoot while flying in the sky.

Bang! Tata tang! Bang!

Flash!

Kwaaang! Kwaaang!

“Ahh!”

“Ugh!”

Hwarurur! Hwaraaa!

When Colonel Morgan’s bullet exploded, more than a dozen soldiers fell, and a fierce flame spread, burning the trees around the sinkhole.

And around it, black, smoky smoke was billowing out.

“Cough! Cough!”

“Ugh!”

The Lacrosse Empire Army was in a state of utter despair as bullets flew from the sky, flames and smoke spread throughout.

The reason why the Imperial forces had not been decreasing in number so quickly was because there was a lot of cover, such as trees, around the sinkhole, but they were unable to come to their senses when the trees were engulfed in flames.

“Okay! Now! Get them on board one by one!”

I was thinking of sending down only 16 people first.

“good!”

The battalion members carried the trainees one by one and ran through the smoke, jumping into the sinkhole.

Swish! Swish!

In an instant, 16 people disappeared into a black hole.

The hole was so deep and large that the crew returned in about 20 minutes.

“Phelps, have you checked the gate?”

“Yes, go down to the bottom of the sinkhole and go another 200 meters into the cave in the center and you will see it.”

“Okay, we’re running out of time. Let’s move on!”

“yes!”

Again, 16 people carried 16 people and lowered them down the sinkhole through black smoke and flames.

And then it came back up after about 20 minutes.

Now there are 8 left.

However, as the fire died down, the smoke began to thin out, allowing the Imperial forces to gain visibility.

“Ugh!”

Then one of the aerial magic knights was shot and began to fall into the jungle.

It’s not like he’s immune to bullets just because he’s an aviation magician.

Two colleagues who saw it flew over to catch it.

The imperial forces took advantage of the opportunity and fired concentrated fire.

The other aerial magic knights were desperate to provide covering fire.

I couldn’t wait any longer.

Now was the chance.

“Kallin Squadron and Herman Squadron carry the trainee. The rest provide cover!”

“yes!”

“let’s go!”

We started running.

Dadadak!

“Huh? What is it?”

“Who is that?”

The imperial troops stopped shooting at the sky and just looked blank.

Then the commander shouted.

“Enemy! Shoot!”

The imperial army belatedly aimed their rifles at us.

But we were faster.

Tutata tata tang! Bang! Ppop!

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

Swish! Swish!

The battalion men jumped down the sinkhole, past the Imperial forces.

And I ran last.

At that moment, the Arika Airlines magic knights who had discovered me began to follow me in a hurry.

But as the Imperial Army fired their rifles from all sides, they had to raise their altitude again.

But Colonel Morgan, who had managed to avoid the bullets here and there, followed me alone.

“Stop! Where are you going!”

If you stop when I tell you to stop, you’re an idiot.

The leading members of the unit were seen arriving at the bottom of the sinkhole and running into the cave with the trainees.

[Use the Air Shield (lv.3) skill.]

[Use the Air Shield (lv.3) skill.]

[Use Halo (lv.2) skill.]

Papat! Shhh!

“Stop following me!”

I stood in front of the cave.

End