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Chapter 67: The Infiltration Mission (1)

After praying to his god, Mika returned to his tent just before dawn. It was at that moment when a group of imperial soldiers approached our campsite on horseback. Among them were Marcellus and Decius.

As for the rest of the imperial soldiers, I didn’t know who they were. They were probably from the same unit as Marcellus and Decius. Since Marcellus was second in line, I surmised that the actual captain was the one walking at the front, donning opulent armor that was hard to miss.

However, his presence was weak. Though taller than Marcellus, the captain’s presence was feeble. He was as thin as a withered tree, with a sickly pale complexion and thin, snakelike eyes that gave him an eerie appearance.

Marcellus, Decius, and the others were all strong fighters, but the one who seemed the most arrogant was also the weakest. At first, I wondered if he was simply good at hiding his strength, but it seemed that he was truly weak.

I know that in human society, strength doesn’t always equate to greatness. In fact, the emperor I saw with my compound eyes exuded an air of dignity but wasn’t particularly strong, with the Imperial Guardians standing behind him being the stronger force. Nevertheless, I was merely surprised that this applied to the military as well, not to the point of being amazed.

“Everyone, wake up!”

When the cavalry arrived at the campsite, Marcellus bellowed out the order. Most of the demons had already risen to the other parties’ presence from the ruckus they made and were up in their tents. At the sound of the command, they swiftly emerged from their tents and formed a neat line.

Their movements were so well-coordinated that I couldn’t even blend in after being slow to respond. Reluctantly, I joined the front row after descending from the carriage. Standing next to me was Mika, who also appeared to have arrived late to the party.

“Listen up, everyone. This is the First Division of the Imperial Army’s Eighth Regiment ……

“Spare us the long talk.”

The thin man who appeared to be the captain cut off Marcellus’ speech with an expression of deep annoyance. He sniffed disdainfully at Marcellus, who bowed with closed eyes, before speaking clearly. “Produce results, no matter what.”

“We have accepted such unknown monsters like you. So work diligently and produce results. Otherwise, die. If you die, dispose of your body completely, even the bones. That’s all.”

After his one-sided speech, the man who seemed to be the captain turned his horse’s head and rode back toward the Imperial Army’s camp. Five out of ten people followed him, leaving only four people, including Marcellus and Decius.

Marcellus took a deep breath and then dismounted from his horse. The other three also dismounted and lined up behind Marcellus.

“From here on, we will begin our infiltration and outskirts surveillance missions. I will lead the infiltration mission, while Decius will take command of the surveillance mission. Does anyone have any questions?”

Although Marcellus knew that no one would have any questions, he still asked us. As expected, no one had any inquiries, and Marcellus nodded with a serious expression.

“Alright then. Let’s get to the infiltration mission right away. The three of you, grab your equipment and come back to me,” he ordered.

Following Marcellus’s instructions, the three of us went to the back of the carriage to retrieve our weapons. I grabbed the two swords that Hatakeyama had made for me; Mika took a large dagger and several throwing knives, while Rinne picked up a short staff that was likely to be used for spiritual arts.

When we regrouped with Marcellus, he had already taken off his clattering armor and replaced it with a simple leather armor. Although he had said that he would be in command, it seemed that Marcellus himself would be participating in the infiltration mission.

It was a highly dangerous mission, but it was only natural that Imperial soldiers would accompany us. This was because we had no way of reporting back the information we gathered without them.

“You’ve arrived. Now let’s get to the occupied territories.”

“I understand.”

“Yes.”

“…”

Mika responded politely, Rinne responded with a flat voice, and I simply nodded in silence. Rather than getting offended by our different reactions, Marcellus laughed cheerfully.

Leaving Decius behind to instruct the other demons, we set off towards the northern end of the camp. During our walk, Marcellus updated us with various stories, speaking of a wide and deep river that flowed in a northerly direction. According to him, the invading army held complete sway over the territory on the other side of the river.

Both banks of the river used to be vast planted forests established by the territory’s lord’s family. This region was a hub for forestry, and it flourished before the invasion. The high-ranking officials of the empire took a keen interest in the high-quality timber and luxury woodwork produced in this area.

However, such specialty products are disappearing from the empire. The reason being that many laborers and woodworkers who worked in the forestry were massacred by the invading army. The lord’s family also suffered heavy casualties in their fight against the invasion, and only one surviving child remained. Marcellus lamented that it was impossible to imagine how long it would take to rebuild such forests.

Leaving aside the idle chatter, ahead of us on the road we were walking, there was a large bridge that spanned the river until recently. Initially destroyed by the Imperial Army during their retreat, it was quickly rebuilt by the invading army, only to be thoroughly destroyed once again during the fortress’ siege when the invading army withdrew.

Now that the construction of the fortress, which serves as a frontline base, is underway, there are no prospects for the bridge’s reconstruction. Consequently, both the Imperial and invading armies are obliged to cross the river and traverse the forest on the other side for surveillance purposes.

Decius and his companions’ task was to cross the river and remain vigilant for any invading army soldiers lurking in the forest, and if discovered, to immediately eliminate them. Conversely, we had to cross to the opposite bank, where the invading army was likely on guard. I wondered if I was the only one who felt like we would be blasted by their cylindrical weapons if we were caught before we could cross the river.

We departed early in the morning and made our way north, taking several small breaks along the way. We arrived at the planted forest at dusk, while the sun was setting. I thought that perhaps we would cross the river under the cover of darkness, but Marcellus declared that he knew of another way to reach the other side.

“As a matter of fact, before the front lines moved down here, my father had a war buddy who worked in forestry in this area. He died in battle….but I heard something from him back then. He said that there is an underground cave near the mouth of the river that leads directly to the opposite bank.”

An underground cave… such a thing exists? It seemed to be an emergency exit used by those who had no choice but to reach the other side when the bridge collapsed. Even most locals didn’t know much about it.

Nevertheless, Marcellus was speaking from hearsay rather than personal knowledge. Thus, he didn’t know the exact location and planned to start the search tomorrow.

It’s all rather rough and improvisational, or rather, not much of a plan at all. I began to feel a bit bored, so I followed Marcellus to a secluded meadow near the forest, away from the main path, where we began setting up camp for the night.

This kind of work is Mika’s specialty more than anyone else’s. He quickly made the preparations alone. He cut the weeds with a short sword, lit a fire with the firewood he picked up from the forest, and swiftly caught birds flying in the sky and rabbits running in the grass with his throwing knives and cooked them over the fire. This roasted meat and the rations we brought with us were our dinner for the day.

“…I couldn’t find a chance to even help. It might be rude to say, but I was quite surprised at the level of your skill.”

“I’m flattered.”

“And, munch… Mm, it’s delicious! The cooking is perfectly done! You’re good at cooking too!”

Marcellus praised Mika for his skill, to which Mika responded briefly. Marcellus suggested that we should eat together, so we started our dinner around the campfire. While commenting on the crispy skin and juicy meat of the birds, Marcellus devoured them eagerly.

I ate the rabbit that was handed to me by Mika. I crushed the meat and bones with my jaws and swallowed them, which made the other three look at me in disbelief. I wondered if I had done something strange, but upon closer inspection, I realized that they did not eat the bones. Oh, so you’re supposed to leave the bones. I didn’t stop eating them because it seemed like a waste.

“W-wow, your jaw strength is incredible… Has he always been like this?” Marcellus asked.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know the details,” Mika replied.

“What do you mean?”

“These two are not atonement soldiers.” Renne explained.

“….What do you mean by that?”

Marcellus widened his eyes in surprise when Rinne said that while nibbling on the bird meat with her small mouth. Apparently, Marcellus didn’t seem to know the backstory of how Mika and I became demons. So that was the case. Well, leaving me alone, Mika won’t be able to tell him the truth. After all, he is a living witness who knows that the Empire and Karelvo conspired to steal Orvo’s research.

But thinking about it, if Mika could be a witness, why didn’t Karelvo kill him? It wasn’t out of kindness… that’s for sure. He was a despicable person who, driven by envy towards his own flesh and blood, had killed his brother and stolen his research. Perhaps Karelvo wanted to inflict revenge on Mika through torture. Regardless, only Karelvo knew the true reason behind his actions.

Marcellus , who didn’t know the whole story, covered his mouth with one hand and thought for a moment before speaking wearily.

“I’ve read all the information given to me about you guys since then. It stated that all of you were atonement soldiers. If what you say is true, then there must be something intentionally concealed by someone. If I delve too deeply into this, it could literally put my life in danger.”

“…”

“However, my curiosity is telling me to go ahead and ask! It’s saying, “If you’re curious, go ahead and ask’!”

…..Is this male actually an idiot? To stick his neck out, knowing it’s dangerous, out of curiosity, is behavior I couldn’t understand.

Despite knowing the potential danger, he still had the same innocent curiosity in his eyes as Lappy and the others had shown the day before. He seemed genuinely eager to know.

“So, what’s the answer?” he asked.

“I can’t answer that. My master has forbidden me from revealing any information,”

Mika replied with a cheerful smile and a polite tone. It made sense—if Mika revealed too much, it could lead to trouble, so there were likely one or two restrictions set in place.

So would I reveal what I know? I would never do that; telling him held no merit, and most importantly, I wouldn’t want to cause any trouble for myself.

After that, the conversation naturally died down, and a schedule was established for tending to the fire before retiring for the night. As the first to take watch over the flames, I found solace in the mesmerizing crackling of the fire as I consistently added more wood to keep it ablaze.

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