Chapter 58

Promise (1)

White signal flares brilliantly decorated the distant sky.

Meursault was the first to react.

“Your Excellency…!”

His face went deathly pale as he instinctively started running in that direction, only to stop and look back at me.

I was the one currently in command of this team.

Without my permission, no member of the team was allowed to break formation.

Barely managing to maintain his composure, Meursault asked,

“Lord Haydam, what should we do?”

He looked ready to run off and check on the Commander’s safety even if I refused him permission.

Before answering, I raised my head and counted the white flares rising into the sky.

‘One, two… There seem to be more than six.’

A white signal flare was fired whenever one large-class monster was discovered.

More than six flares meant that they had found at least six monsters.

However, something about it was strange if the flares had simply been fired as the monsters were discovered during the search.

For one thing, several white flares had been launched almost simultaneously.

If they were fired all at once like that, their bursts would overlap, making it difficult to count them accurately. Under normal circumstances, they would have launched them one by one with a short interval between each.

Yet the signals before us were overlapping chaotically.

‘There’s no way these were fired under normal circumstances.’

Judging by how scattered they were, it was highly likely that the team members had suddenly encountered large-class monsters and hurriedly fired whatever white flares they each had on hand.

Even so, if they had panicked that badly, they probably hadn’t encountered only one or two monsters. Even if there weren’t six, I had to assume that at least three had appeared in the central area.

Our team was the farthest from the center.

The other teams that had seen the signal were probably already moving. Even if we left immediately, there was a high chance that we would be the last to arrive.

However, considering my position and Meursault’s circumstances, I couldn’t simply ignore the signals.

‘And…’

If six monsters really had appeared simultaneously, even the Commander’s life could be in danger.

Although they had learned how to identify the location of a large-class monster’s gem with the naked eye, putting that knowledge into practice during actual combat was not easy.

Especially when there were several monsters to deal with.

Large-class monsters did not normally travel in groups to begin with, so the fact that several had appeared at once was strange in itself.

After thinking for a moment, I asked Meursault,

“How many bikes do we have right now?”

“Two.”

The snow bikes had broad boards attached to their fronts instead of wheels, allowing them to race freely across the snowfield.

They had been brought along to transport heavy supplies such as tents.

Because of their large size, they normally weren’t used in subjugation operations. However, they had been introduced this time because the number of personnel participating in the operation had been reduced.

I swept my gaze over the newly commissioned officers and said,

“Lucas, Bones. You two will follow Meursault and me to the central area. Everyone else will remain here.”

“Yes, sir!”

It would have been possible for everyone to travel together using the carts attached to the bikes, but I decided to take only part of my team while checking on the Commander’s safety.

We had already confirmed that there were no monsters in this area, so the newly commissioned officers should be safe even by themselves.

Besides, there was no telling how useful they would be if I brought them to a place where several monsters were likely present.

Meursault seemed to share my thoughts and immediately ordered the officers to unload the supplies from the bikes.

Once the attached carts were removed and only the firearms and ammunition remained, the bikes looked considerably lighter.

“Will you be driving?”

Holding the bike key, Meursault asked Bones.

Bones answered with a stiff expression.

“I don’t know how to drive one.”

Huh.

Judging by how he normally behaved, I would have expected him to ride one while standing.

“I know how.”

Surprisingly, Lucas knew how to drive a bike, so the key was handed over to him.

Naturally, I left the driving of my bike to Meursault.

I knew how to handle a bike myself, but my current body was hardly suited for driving one.

“Meursault and I will go ahead. You two follow at a distance.”

“Yes, sir.”

After giving them their instructions, I approached the bike I would be riding.

Meursault was already seated, his face tense.

‘Honestly, I should leave him behind as well…’

Our original plan had been to spend the first day searching, then systematically subjugate the large-class monsters we had located starting from the second day.

We had accounted for several unexpected situations, but we had never imagined that multiple monsters would appear precisely where the Commander had gone to search.

In other words, under normal circumstances, Meursault should have been sitting inside the operations room.

I didn’t know whether he would be much help in combat, but he was originally the Commander’s adjutant.

He should have been assisting the Commander, but he was here because of the unusual circumstance known as “me.”

Now that something might have happened to the Commander, Meursault was undoubtedly the most anxious person here.

“Meursault.”

“Yes, Lord Haydam.”

“I’m telling you this just in case, but don’t drive directly toward the place where the flares were fired. We’ll stop at a distance, get off the bike, and proceed on foot.”

“…Understood.”

Judging by his expression, he might have charged straight in on the bike if I hadn’t warned him.

I climbed onto the seat behind Meursault and wrapped my arms around his waist, then pulled down the goggles that had been resting on my forehead.

“Let’s go see exactly what’s happening over there.”

***

While racing across the snowfield, we discovered several bikes that appeared to have arrived before us.

It seemed the other teams had also selected a few members and rushed here.

After getting off and taking a look, we found numerous footprints scattered across the snow, all beginning near the bikes.

Every one of those footprints headed in the same direction.

Judging by the shouting and gunfire coming from nearby, a considerable number of people had already joined the battle.

“Try the radio first.”

At my instruction, Meursault attempted to contact them, but there was no response.

Were they too busy fighting the monsters to answer?

This was not a good sign.

“I guess we have no choice but to go…”

I had been about to tell them to remain here while I went ahead to assess the situation, but as though he had read my thoughts, Meursault stepped forward.

“I’m coming as well.”

“Are you sure?”

“You’ll tell me where the gems are, Lord Haydam… And you know how much my shooting skills have improved.”

Perhaps he had been embarrassed that he had left everything to me during our first hunt, because Meursault’s marksmanship had now improved to the level of a competent hunter.

He wasn’t the type to bluff in a situation like this, so perhaps I could trust him.

We didn’t know how many people had already gone to support the others, so it would be better to bring as many capable fighters as possible.

As we parked the bikes and began checking our weapons, Lucas and Bones approached from where they had stopped their own bike nearby. Both were armed and visibly tense.

“Are we going straight in?”

I nodded and issued the plan as briefly as possible.

“I’ll take the lead. All of you follow at a distance. If you get too close, you might be hit by bullets fired from the other side.”

“Yes, sir.”

“When I locate a gem, I’ll fire first. Meursault, you follow my shot. Lucas, Bones, don’t approach beyond a certain distance. Aim for the monsters’ eyes and provide covering fire.”

“Understood.”

After checking Lucas and Bones’s equipment, I turned my head.

My gaze met Meursault’s, who was looking at me with a hint of fear.

“What?”

“…I was wondering whether I would be able to remain this calm if I were in your position, Lord Haydam.”

Perhaps because I had issued orders far too smoothly despite the unexpected situation, Meursault was staring at me as though I were a complete stranger.

Lucas and Bones did not seem much different.

Until a moment ago, I had assumed they were stiff with fear because of the sudden crisis. But when Meursault spoke, both of them faintly nodded in agreement.

Lucas murmured with a serious expression,

“I already knew you were an unbelievable person, but seeing you now, you truly make no sense at all.”

‘Hmm…’

It seemed these guys were frightened.

Because they were afraid, my complete lack of concern had suddenly begun to make me look impressive.

That was actually convenient.

It would be more helpful for them to trust me and follow than to panic and run away.

As I had repeatedly said, this was not a normal situation.

I was only unfazed because I was a veteran player of this game. Even experienced soldiers could easily become confused and make the wrong decision if they encountered something like this.

In fact, these three were probably able to remain this calm precisely because they had no previous experience with subjugation operations.

I decided it would be better to reassure them a little.

“It’ll be troublesome if you’re already reacting like this. I’m about to show you something even more unbelievable.”

Bones snorted.

“Good grief. If you become any more unbelievable than this, the team leader will be scarier than the monsters.”

“Bones! I told you not to speak to Lord Haydam like that anymore.”

Lucas immediately scolded him for his disrespectful tone, but thanks to Bones, the fearful atmosphere eased slightly.

This was why I had chosen these two officers to accompany me.

Even during the training simulation, both of them had been capable of making relatively calm judgments.

They were also the type to fulfill their responsibilities even when they believed a situation was dangerous.

Bones in particular was someone who never lost his wit, even when cornered. A person like that would probably find a way to survive even in the worst circumstances.

Personally, I believed Lucas possessed greater talent as a commander, but as a teammate, someone like Bones was preferable.

The two seemed to work well together, so I would have to keep watching them in the future.

In any case, now that the mood had loosened…

‘It’s time to move.’

When I looked at Meursault, he nodded to show that he was ready.

I adjusted my firearm and jerked my chin toward the area ahead.

“Don’t forget what I told you. Follow me.”

After seeing all three of them nod, I began racing across the snowfield as though gliding over its surface.

The snow grew deeper as we approached the central area, so shorter team members like me could easily step in the wrong place and sink into it.

However, to a veteran player like me, safe routes were clearly visible even when everything was buried beneath pure white snow.

Others had already run ahead of us, leaving tracks behind, so the three following me appeared to have little difficulty keeping up.

I didn’t know how long we had been following the footprints through the snow when something finally entered my field of vision.

The head of a monster resembling a dinosaur.

The shaggy, fur-covered dinosaur was one of the more commonly encountered large-class monsters.

However, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

There were already well over six large-class monsters visible from where I stood.

Without slowing down, I moved closer.

Then I saw one enormous reptile lying collapsed on the ground—

and human figures sprawled motionlessly across the snowfield in every direction.

‘This is insane.’

It wasn’t that they had fired six flares.

They had only managed to fire six.