17 – Elves, Kampfs, and the Returning Student
The only cowardice in war is abandoning allies and fleeing.
Everything else is not cowardice but tactics and strategy. The one who falls victim is the fool.
Moreover, aiming for the groin is hardly considered cowardly.
‘Rather, it’s merciful. How nice to be sent off in one blow.’
Kampfs, those Rosen guys, were extremely ruthless.
Stripping the scalps of Imperial soldiers captured as prisoners was routine for them.
Compared to such actions, I can be considered an angel and mercy personified.
“Crack! Cough!”
A guy, constantly spewing blood from his armpit, uttering the sound of his last breath.
Collapsed, clutching his lively blood-soaked crotch with froth at his mouth.
They won’t last much longer. Or maybe they already died from shock.
Whatever it was, they weren’t tortured for hours like the kampfs.
A cleaner demise than my comrades. A merciful treatment for terrorists, not soldiers.
“Haha, Captain!”
At the shout of Captain Megi, I immediately dropped down, not bothering to finish the fight with the kampf.
It doesn’t matter if he loses face. It’s better than a friendly bullet in the back of the head.
“Ah!”
Hmm, a three-pointer this time. Straight to the chest at the first shot, must be a lucky hit.
Still, grabbing one of his arms made it much easier from my perspective.
Originally, due to the room’s structure, they could only engage in one-on-one combat.
If this were an open field, they would have been crushed by the sheer numerical violence.
No matter how skilled a fighter is, there’s no match for a gang in a brawl.
In that regard, the cramped space of the train turned out to be lucky for me.
“Uwaaa!”
A kampf throwing a tantrum. But judging by his movements, he looks like an amateur.
In this narrow space, such large movements are more of a disadvantage for him.
Why on earth were these guys sent here?
“Udek!―”
“Ah, ahh! Ahhh!”
After twisting his arm first, I twisted his neck, a signal that he can stop feeling pain now.
Euthanasia. A much cleaner sight than the deaths I remember from the war.
I considered showing these damn kampfs an even more agonizing end.
But I refrained. It might worsen the PTSD, after all.
Besides, there’s something Captain Megi and I need to do right away.
“Captain Megi.”
“Cough, huff.”
“Captain Megi, snap out of it. It’s not over yet.”
“Yes, yes. Sir.”
It seems that it was the first time he had ever fired a gun towards a living being, judging by the paleness that washed over his face.
He mentioned he had just become a lieutenant, so his military service couldn’t have been more than a year and a half. Most junior officers had participated in the Luzens War, but he seemed to have been an exception. That’s probably why he looked like he had lost his soul after firing just one shot.
“Take a deep breath.”
“Hoo, hoo. Hoo.”
“Good. See those Kamps over there? Take care of them as efficiently as possible.”
“Uh, okay?”
“Reloading after one shot takes a while, doesn’t it? It’s better to have multiple guns, shoot one, discard it, shoot another, and change. After all, those aren’t even supplies from our Imperial Army, so there’s no need to write a report. Hurry up.”
Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Mege promptly picked up the elf pistols, saying, “Yes!” It seemed like he was fully committed to it.
I thought he might faint at the sight of the corpses, but surprisingly, he remained composed. Maybe he hadn’t fully grasped the current situation yet.
“By now, they might have realized that something’s amiss. If they end up taking hostages and entering a standoff, just aim your barrels and threaten. Keep their attention focused as much as possible towards you, Lieutenant.”
“Understood. Oh, sir. This.”
Lieutenant Mege handed me one of the pistols the elves were holding.
“Don’t you need at least one for yourself?”
“….”
Damn it. I couldn’t confess to being a shooting novice at this point. In the end, I reluctantly took it and shoved it into my waistband.
Shortly afterward, Lieutenant Mege and I opened the door to the cabin and entered.
“Hey! What happened to securing the engine room?”
“What are you doing, Lieutenant! They’re Kamps! No hostages! Just shoot them!”
“Yes, yes!”
Bang! — Another accurate shot. It even hit right between the eyebrows this time.
Whether Lieutenant Mege was lucky or if, unbeknownst to me, he was a shooting prodigy, it didn’t matter. Either way, it was a good thing for me. A reliable protector was indeed a true guardian angel.
“Damn, I can’t tell if you’re a friend or foe, Karl. You son of a bitch.”
“After all the trouble of protecting you, you’re going to say that?!”
“Someone claimed they were protecting me, but did a bullet just lodge itself next to me?”
From Noble mtl dot com
I forcefully pushed aside memories of a past incident where friendly fire nearly hit during protective gunfire.
“Well, well! Who the hell are you guys!”
What else could it be? A military officer and a returning student by chance, both on the train. Kemp, that is.
“Click!”
If he were a skilled soldier, he would have quickly hidden behind the seat.
In the battlefield, taking cover wasn’t just about saving my own life; it was a crucial act to draw out the enemy’s futile attacks and find the thread of a counterattack.
But he didn’t do that. Like a fool, he turned the muzzle toward me.
Unable to aim properly, with a sloppy posture, and using only one hand.
It had been a long time since the greatsword left my hand.
“Aargh!”
As the greatsword pierced his chest, the terrorist Kemp screamed and floundered.
He didn’t even know what pain was, and he had no idea how to counterattack. In a word, an idiot.
Swiftly kicking him down, I toppled him and cut off his breath with the greatsword.
“Hehe, heehee!”
“Everyone, relax! I am a Megi lieutenant in the Imperial Army! Please stay still! It’s more dangerous if you move!”
The passengers entrusted themselves to the Megi lieutenant. He would be better than me in an army officer uniform.
Now, the next compartment. I try to open the door, but suddenly instinct grabs my hand.
The sense that saved me several times on the battlefield. It is urging me to think again.
“There’s no guarantee that luck will continue.”
The Kemps so far were inexperienced novices.
So, will all the remaining ones be the same? The answer is, of course, ‘I don’t know.’ And in our world, not knowing was just another word for ‘no.’
I lift the heavy Kemp corpse scattered on the floor. Damn, it’s disgustingly heavy.
After opening the compartment door and pushing his body out, gunshots immediately rang out.
Bang! Bang!—
Well, at least there are some who know what they’re doing from now on.
Of course, they seem to have forgotten that shooting like that takes a long time to reload.
“Yi, Yik!”
I slashed the chest of the guy who was about to reload first.
If God were wearing military boots right now, a few ribs might have been broken.
Unfortunately, it was just ordinary shoes, and all they did was momentarily take my breath away.
“Cough!”
As expected, a finishing blow with a greatsword. Then, instead of shooting with the pistol he held, he threw it.
Thunk!
By the way, throwing a gun is not an improvised move; it’s a tactic originally found in the Imperial Army manual.
Guns are quite hefty, so once you hit, you can temporarily block the opponent’s movements.
Look at that. He’s staggering just because he got hit by a pistol. I’ve never seen someone throw a gun before.
“You, you damn human!”
Shoot when they breathe, attack when they reload, dodge when they’re aggressive, and press when they cower.
These are the basic rules of the battlefield. No seasoned soldier or great general breaks them.
In that sense, he should have retreated. Not stubbornly reloading.
Whish!—
Blood, saliva, and a few corn kernels scattered everywhere.
Normally, I would have confirmed the kill, but not this time.
I turned his body and shoved him into the next compartment.
Thud! Thud!—
“Kuk!”
As expected. Those who commit wrongdoing have no clear distinction between friend and foe.
“Damn it! Kusu!”
When you realize you’ve shot an ally, your brain experiences a momentary shutdown.
I’ve been there a few times in the past, so I understand it a hundred times over.
Fortunately, I didn’t kill, but they did.
“Ugh!”
The clothes I was wearing were stained red with the blood of those damn punks.
Passengers screaming left it to Sergeant Megi and continued moving.
You can’t stop. If you give them time, they’ll figure out the situation too.
Fierce determination. The momentum must be pushed forward until the end. And it must be concluded.
They aimed to seize the control room. There was a significant shock just a moment ago.
If I interpret it correctly, these terrorists initiated their actions from the end of the train.
Now, the next compartment is the final one. If I tidy up here, the situation will be resolved.
Click―
Carefully, I move aside and open the door. No bullets come flying.
So, are they holding hostages? This is going to be quite exhausting.
“Hey there? We know you’re hiding. Come out, will you?”
A distinct female voice. Anyway, these damn camp people, regardless of gender, seem to be making a fuss.
I hide the gun as much as possible. Then, with both arms raised, I cautiously approach.
If there really is a hostage, I need to lull them into a false sense of security as much as possible. After that…
“…Huh?”
“Oh, my. What’s this? A human? Nice to meet you.”
What comes into view is a perverted elf, wearing something that may be clothes or not.
And behind him, there are two camp bodies lying there, already turned into cold corpses.
…Wait. It seems one of them might not be. Despite being half a corpse, seeing it wriggle indicates it’s still alive.
*
Luck was on my side. I quickly caught the tail.
Eloise, who had captured the terrorists of Lusence, began her mission.
No, she was about to.
“What’s this human doing alone in this situation?”
Judging by the look, it seems like he handled this situation on his own.
Blood-soaked clothes, a sharp greatsword, and an ominous aura.
“Let me explain first. Don’t misunderstand. I’m…”
“An elf from the Hysens side?”
“…Huh? What? Oh, yeah.”
Fortunately. There’s no need to explain with this.
“Imperial army, perhaps?”
“It was the Imperial army. Now, I’m a student back at the academy.”
“…A student? Do students these days carry around stuff like that?”
Elloise pointed to the greatsword, and the transfer student coughed loudly.
“It’s a gift from an acquaintance.”
“Quite an unusual acquaintance. Anyway, this will make the story brief. I’m part of the Extermination Division….”
Suddenly, the transfer student drew a handgun from their waist.
Even Elloise couldn’t react to such a sudden movement.
Was it a trick? Perhaps a prank by those rogues, the Ruzens?
Distracted by the attractive appearance, she felt like a fool…
Bang! Bang!—
“…Wait a moment. Two gunshot sounds?”
After throwing herself to the side, she could finally assess the situation.
The corpse she kept alive for information was aiming a gun at her, and just before firing the lead, the transfer student shot.
The bullet that should have been embedded in her body was now rolling on the room floor, crushed by another bullet in mid-air.
“What in the…?”
A marksmanship close to miraculous. Blocking bullets with bullets. She had never seen anything like it, never heard of such a thing.
Staring blankly at the self-proclaimed transfer student, Elloise thought,
“That man is undoubtedly a sharpshooter from the Imperial Army.”
There was no other explanation for this situation.
“Perhaps he’s the one who stole my lunch.”
Elloise licked her lips with a seductive smile.
Meanwhile,
“Well, this fits. How did I do that?”
Karl doubted his own marksmanship.
Lol Mc being suprised made me laugh