The Difference Is Like Between a Dog and a Cow

14 – Malice in the Shadows (1)

Tartulk dropped his great ax to the ground. The thick fresh blood dripped down the blade.

“Keuhehehe, if only the walls collapsed, it would be so easy.”

The road he passed was littered with corpses.

The heavily armed defenders of Belgordo Fortress. Even after the fortress wall was breached, they fought to the death, but they were helpless in front of Tartulk’s overwhelming force.

The leader of the west.

The leader of the largest, strongest, and most ferocious band of bandits in the west of the Empire.

I didn’t touch the imperial army because I was crazy, but I laughed at the private army organization of the local lord.

I wiped out all the big mercenaries that appeared after the bounty on his neck.

Moreover, what about the ragtag Principality of Ukraine army that has not been properly supplied?

It was only natural that I wouldn’t be the opponent.

“Brother, George says he has found a shipment that he presumes is what they are looking for.”

“Really? Bring it now!”

Soon, a skinny young man came with a shiny round jewel.

The amount of mana contained was so great that even Tartulk, who had no knowledge of magic at all, could feel it.

“Is this the ‘Pearl of Omens’?”

It was indeed very similar to the picture inspector Yegor Ivanov showed us.

As he added that it was not just a jewel, but an artifact with special powers, this mystical power was unmistakable.

“Looks like a good fit. Call the wizards of the General Information Bureau.”

“Yes, brother.”

With his men gone, Tartulk tapped his Pearl of Omen.

Every time he touched it with his rough hands, a strange energy flowed through his senses.

An artifact that, according to legend, simply possessing it will give you knowledge of the heavenly sea.

Even a person who has no knowledge of magic can become a skilled person comparable to a first-class magician, and a person with inherent talent can reach a level that others cannot approach.

The moment he realized that fact, a faint greed welled up in Tartulk’s heart.

He soon made up his mind.

‘It’s easy to get sick if you eat the wrong thing.’

Especially, I didn’t want to provoke the imperial inspector who identified himself as Yegor Ivanov.

When you reach a certain level, you will be able to objectively recognize the strength of others.

Even he, who had his own flair, was but a moth in front of Yegor.

A blow.

Without even having to exchange a few sums, he got to his knees with a single strike.

– Since he is the leader of the bandits, it would be perfect to cut off his head and hang it in the square in the Imperial Capital.

– Do, comrade! I’m so sorry! I will do anything to save your life!!

– Anything?

My life was about to run away, but I didn’t have time to think ahead.

He accepted an offer to lead his band of bandits to secure a ‘special artifact’ at Belgordo Fortress on the Ukrnian border.

To attack the fortress across the border with just over 200 bandits.

In a way, it was close to suicide, but Yegor even supported the mages under his command.

‘Still, thanks to you, your life was saved.’

Tartulk let out a sigh of relief.

He still had goosebumps when he recalled the time when Yegor invaded the hideout.

He promised not to interfere in Tartulk’s activities by handing over the artifact safely.

The reward was excessive even considering the raid on the outskirts fortress.

That must mean that the Empire regards this artifact as very important.

“Brother, I have brought you.”

“Welcome, comrades. Your comrades have been a great source of strength for this fort attack!”

“…… The pearl of omen is right.”

Those wearing black robes did not show much reaction to Tartulk’s flattering remarks.

I just looked at the Pearl of Omen that he handed over, and carefully stored it in a previously prepared storage box.

“Goal achieved, we return.”

“Okay, Captain.”

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“The news of the capture must have reached the Ukrnian army. The army will soon arrive, so it must not be revealed that the Imperial Army was involved in this incident.”

“What…… !? That means…….”

“If your life is worth it, you guys should get up early too.”

In the first place, the reason why the General Intelligence Agency kept the thieves alive was not special.

They are kind of consumables.

Whether they cross the border and invade a fortress or plunder cargo, they are a tribe that will never give up.

Even if a few people surrendered and played the truth, how many people would believe that fact?

The role of Tartulk and the thieves came to an end when the artifacts stored in the fortress were secured.

Just.

‘Wouldn’t it be bad to confuse the bug-like Ukrnians until the end?’

Boris, the foreman of the magicians of the General Directorate of Information, threw the map of the fortress he was holding in his arms to Tartulk and said.

“The Ukrnians will form a siege right away. However, since it is nighttime when visibility is limited, if you carefully move to the left, where the terrain is relatively low, you should be able to break through the encirclement.”

“Do, comrades-!! Are you really going like this!?”

“Then, do your best.”

That was all. The mages’ bodies were wrapped in mana for an instant, and then disappeared before Tartulk’s eyes.

Advanced wind attribute magic.

Teleportation.

It was a magic that moved the entire space to the coordinates specified in advance, following the flow of air. Even if he can’t move as far as using a scroll, it’s never a level that he can catch up with as a mere thief.

“This…… These f*cking bastards!!”

It was only then that Tartulk realized Inspector Yegor’s intentions.

From the beginning, the General Intelligence Bureau had no intention of saving them.

They were nothing more than hounds that were used as much as they pleased, and then abandoned like devoted companions when the season was over.

“Damn it!!!”

Tartulk stomped his legs, unable to control his rage.

“Tongue, brother!! It is said that a great number of lights can be seen not far away!”

It was an unfortunate incident.

Did you go out as soon as you heard the news that the fortress had fallen?

Tartulk sighed and held his spirit.

“Gather the children.”

“Brother!?”

“I’m going to kill those bastards and return to the Empire with confidence!”

He was servile for a while, but even then, he was the one who terrorized the citizens under the name of the head of the west.

Being captured and executed by the Ukrnian army was not the end he had envisioned.

“Okay, Ukraine! Let’s kill them all!!!”

I’ll show off the siege and return to his hometown. If he could do that, he would no longer be involved even in the General Intelligence Agency.

I’ll survive and show off my power even more.

Tartulk raised his axe, his blazing eyes flashing with fighting spirit.

***

Bell’s ‘water bomb’ broke the camp of the enemies charging forward.

A mid-level water attribute magic that compresses water vapor in the air and explodes it.

It is a fairly effective technique for soldiers who have low resistance to pressure and do not wear separate armor like now.

Nice shot, Bell Meyer!

“All right, Platoon Leader Enoch. I will continue to ask for magic support as now!”

Squadron commander Ivan said that and ran towards the front line. From the point where it was no longer just a simple sweeping up of remnants, he couldn’t just watch from the rear.

Look at it even now.

Even though Bell used magic, there were still a lot of bandits left.

How much did you drag? Haven’t you left anyone in the fort?

When I first heard that the fortress had been captured, I thought they would stage a 100 percent siege.

Why did you cross the border if you’re just going to eat the munitions from the fortress and get lost?

Even in the game, fortresses that were neglected or poorly defended were frequently attacked by bandits or bandits.

There were many cases where bandits who defeated the army settled there and used it as a kind of military camp.

‘That’s a real headache.’

And even if you don’t have to sit down, wouldn’t you rather choose to delay while being protected by a strong castle wall?

As soon as the Ukrnian army heard the news that the fortress had been captured, they quickly aligned themselves and went out.

Because they were thieves who probably weren’t focused on plundering the fort’s supplies.

Isn’t it a common decision to realize that you are already under siege and choose to stay inside the fortress?

But these guys aren’t fighting a siege, they’re pushing ahead with breaking through the siege.

‘No matter what, it’s important to defeat it first.’

Bang! Bang bang!!

A gunshot rang out. I took the pistol out of my pocket, approached Bell Meyer, and shouted.

“Sergeant Bell!! We need to aim for the back row, not the vaguely mixed up front!”

“Okay…… !!”

Vell’s mana fluctuated once again. Her blue light sparkles and her elongated water stream spins around her.

“Blue Dragon Song!!”

Like a water dragon rushing towards its prey, the gathered water streams gathered all at once and soared into the sky.

Kwaaang!!!

Shoot aaa!

It slams down on the ground and pours out thick raindrops.

A high-level magic that is difficult to handle even with the water attribute.

At the attack that accurately hit the back row of the camp, the thieves began to be greatly shaken. However, it was still not enough to prevent entry into the barrier line.

Even Lieutenant Ivan would not have known that the enemy would go into an all-out war like this.

In order to avoid accidental death by allies during the night battle, the wide and thin fire nets were not able to exert a great deal of stopping power against the hordes of people.

In the end, the bandits became entangled with the soldiers who were in charge of the first line of deterrence.

That led to the hesitation of the rear-row troops.

In a state where allies and enemies were mixed, there was a risk of shooting and killing a comrade with my own hands if I used a gun.

No one in the 4th Company would want such a tragedy.

“All troops!! Mount your sword and charge!!!”

Perhaps it was judged that it was dangerous to use a gun in a field where people were already involved, Lieutenant Ivan boldly chose hand-to-hand combat.

“Catch up!!!”

“Rush forward!!!”

“Waaa-!!!”

The shouts of the soldiers overlapped with gunfire, and the battle situation was sinking deeper and deeper into chaos.

Not good.

It was never wise to engage the enemy head-on on a night front, even with regular troops better equipped and well-trained than hordes of bandits.

Now that this has happened right away, Bell’s magic cannot be used hastily.

In an instant, she became like a dog chasing chickens. She looked at me, not knowing what to do.

“Platoon commander…… What now?”

At that time.

A man wielding a giant ax was caught in my field of vision. With the nasty tattoos covering his entire arm, the 190 figure is a mighty thief.

“Forward!! Go ahead!!! If we escape, all kinds of honor and wealth await us!!”

He slashed the throat of the hapless soldier who stood in his way, and with a roar he raised the morale of the thieves.

‘That bastard is a barrel.’

I wanted to see how such a collective movement could be done with the thief theme, but the boss was directly leading it.

Of course, he was diligently breaking through the encirclement with his men, but he retreated slightly in the face of strong resistance from the company members.

With no entangled allies nearby.

There was no better situation than this to snipe him with magic.

‘The water attribute has a wide-area character. I’d rather use a fire attribute that makes it easier to focus a single firepower in this case!’

“Sergeant Rumia!!”

I quickly found Lumia.

Captain Arendt told her to exclude her as much as possible from her battle, but in this situation, she needed the power of the ‘Red Mage’.

For a successful operation, you have to risk knowing the risks.

“Sergeant Lumia?! Why don’t you answer…….”

However.

Rumia had just disappeared. Wasn’t she definitely behind me just a little while ago?

At that time, Rumia Bluet’s penalty written on her status window passed her head.

[Avoid fighting]

[Leave when there is a sign of a battle.]

‘No way.’

I turned my shaking head and looked at the forest behind me.

The rear is cast in a shadow as dark as the fading light of the flare. There was only a frighteningly still silence.

Rumia Bluet deserted.