At my introduction as a mage, the soldiers stared at me with bewildered expressions.
Had I been in their place, I probably would have worn the same expression.
But I had no intention of hiding it anymore.
Their expressions would soon change anyway, so it didn’t matter.
Amid the bewildered soldiers, a sturdy Black man stepped forward.
I couldn’t see his rank, but I immediately sensed that he was the commander of this unit.
He held out his hand with a stern expression.
“Mr. Hyeon, correct? We’re with JSOC. I heard yesterday that you would be participating in this operation.”
His voice was calm, but there were thorns hidden throughout his words.
Since I had expected as much, I shook his hand and asked casually,
“Nice to meet you. If you’re with JSOC, are you Delta Force?”
The man’s eyebrows twitched at my question.
“……You know about our circumstances?”
“I’ve worked with Delta Force during the war.”
At my words, the soldiers behind him looked surprised.
The Black man who had shaken my hand was just as surprised.
“I thought you were an ordinary civilian, but I was wrong.”
It was an understandable mistake.
During the war, I had possessed a solid build, but after becoming an energy user, I had grown leaner instead.
The dark energy had changed my body.
And it hadn’t happened only to me.
Magretta, Hanna, and Catherine had all grown more beautiful despite Trappist’s harsh environment. The other energy users had changed as well, though to varying degrees, and everyone had noticed the differences.
Sergeant Kim complained that he didn’t like his slimmer body, but if he had still possessed his old physique, he would never have been able to date Kim Heewon.
“That’s good to hear. Then I’ll be honest with you. We’re only taking you along because of powerful orders from above. Even if you possess some extraordinary abilities, do not interfere with the operation.”
His words were as sharp as a knife.
As if he would not tolerate even the slightest objection, he continued speaking rapidly.
“This operation involves the dangerous task of removing a nuclear weapon. The mere presence of an outsider who appeared out of nowhere is bound to increase the variables. Do nothing and simply follow behind us.
“Also, bear in mind that we cannot provide you with separate protection. If you’re injured or find yourself in danger, we will not be able to help you.”
His words made sense.
If an unfamiliar outsider had joined the operation right before it began, I probably would have said the same thing in his place.
Of course, I had no intention of listening to him.
I hadn’t said I would come along just to follow them around.
Without waiting for my answer, he checked his watch and boarded the helicopter with his men.
I followed them aboard as well.
I had no weapons—with the exception of my spear, which no one could see—and was carrying nothing but a single backpack. Yet no one said anything, nor did anyone try to give me a weapon.
They really seemed to regard me as an observer.
I had noticed it from the outside, but the helicopter we boarded this time was a model I had never seen before.
This transport helicopter had an elegant, curved shape unlike conventional helicopters.
Its tail rotor was nowhere to be seen, and its main rotor looked too thick to fly.
As I looked around in wonder, the soldier sitting beside me gave a small laugh and said,
“You said you’d worked with Delta Force, but I guess this is your first time seeing one? This helicopter is designed for stealth special operations. It’s the best choice for missions like this.”
As he spoke, the helicopter’s rotors began to turn.
Whrrrrrr.
It was fascinating. The rotors were clearly spinning, yet the distinctive noise of a helicopter could not be heard.
So it really was a stealth helicopter. There was a reason for its strange appearance.
Unlike him, the unit member sitting in front became visibly tense as the helicopter began to move and swore.
“What do you mean, the best? It’s a coffin that flies.”
His completely different reaction left me bewildered, so the soldier beside me explained the situation.
“One of the teams lost a guy along with their helicopter after it crashed. He turned into a complainer after that.”
There didn’t seem to be any female soldiers in this unit, but his lover didn’t necessarily have to be a woman.
I silently nodded.
The two helicopters carrying the unit’s members rose soundlessly into the night sky.
They departed from Pyongyang Airport and flew north.
Their destination was a nuclear base hidden in the inland mountainous region of Liaoning Province, China.
Once the helicopters had departed, the unit commander aboard my helicopter began the briefing.
It seemed strange to conduct an operational briefing while aboard a helicopter, but its quietness made it possible.
“I’ll go over the operation plan one last time.”
As if he intended to relay the briefing to the other helicopter as well, the commander placed a hand over the earpiece hanging from his ear and continued.
“The current time is 10:32 p.m. Our estimated arrival time is 12:30 a.m. We will land in a secure area near the destination and approach the target site. Near the target, we will make contact with an inside collaborator and infiltrate the facility with his assistance. After that……”
Though the operation had clearly been prepared in haste, not long after the civil war had begun, the plan was extremely well organized.
They had thoroughly prepared everything, from the inside collaborator who would guide them to EMP bombs to disable the facility and explosives to collapse the exit during their retreat.
Furthermore, they had even prepared for failure.
“……If the operation is confirmed to have failed, or if we make no progress by sunrise, the facility will be subjected to a massive bombardment. That should be enough to bury the entire nuclear facility, but remember that this is a last resort, as the fallout from the civil war could spread in an entirely unexpected direction.”
Telling the men about bombardment as an alternative did not mean they should remain unconcerned even if the operation failed. It meant they had to escape the base before the bombardment began.
The soldiers understood his meaning as well.
“Yes!”
“Don’t worry!”
They answered in low voices and pressed their arms against one another.
No one extended an arm toward me, but the sight, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, brought a faint smile to my face.
Once the final briefing ended, the helicopter grew quiet.
It was so quiet that I could hear the breathing of the man beside me as it flew rapidly toward the nuclear facility.
***
The two helicopters crossed the Yalu River and arrived at a branch of the Qianshan Mountains approximately two hours later.
Despite their nickname of “flying coffins,” both helicopters landed at their destination without incident.
They touched down silently in a forest a short distance from a cliff of bare rock, and the soldiers emerged from the helicopters carrying their equipment.
Some carried heavy weapons and backpacks, while others hauled large crates that required two men.
They looked extremely heavy, but, following the commander’s order to do nothing, I quietly walked behind them.
The weather was pleasant. It wasn’t winterlike, but perhaps because it was a forest in the middle of the night, it didn’t feel particularly hot.
Naturally, there were no stars visible in the sky, and the forest was quiet as well.
The changes in the environment made it feel as if all the animals living in the forest had fled.
We continued through the silent forest, heading toward the cliff visible beyond the trees.
According to the briefing, the nuclear facility should be located inside that cliff.
After running for quite some time, we reached the edge of the forest.
Once we left the forest, we were supposed to meet the inside collaborator.
The special forces’ plan was to follow him into the nuclear facility after he showed them a safe route.
“I knew there was no way the operation would go according to plan……”
I clicked my tongue softly as I followed the soldiers.
“I intended to follow the commander’s orders as much as possible, but…… that might be difficult.”
[Don’t make trouble for no reason. If you’re going to help, then help quickly.]
Soph was right.
I sent a message to everyone.
[Stop! It’s a trap!]
At the sudden loud voice, all the soldiers stopped where they were and turned around.
The expressions of the soldiers looking back were not pleasant.
The commander leading the unit glared at me with a fierce expression, thinking that I had shouted aloud.
But I hadn’t spoken out loud.
When I pointed to my ear, the commander and the soldiers quickly understood the situation.
They realized both that the surroundings were still silent despite my words and what I meant by them.
Everyone quickly lowered their stance, and the commander came running toward me in a crouch.
“What do you mean, a trap?”
[There’s a company-sized force equipped with heavy weapons waiting outside the forest.]
“How do you know that?”
[Magic.]
As I spoke, I pointed to my ear.
The commander’s expression changed several times at my words.
“……I’ve seen the evidence, so I suppose I have to believe you. But even if it’s a trap, we can’t retreat like this.”
I had expected it to take more time, but the commander was more clearheaded than I’d anticipated.
With a soldier like him, things would be easier.
As the commander prepared to order the men into battle, I said,
[There’s no need to engage them. I know where the enemy is. I’ll guide you from here.]
If we had been heading for an ordinary enemy base, I would have put the other soldiers to sleep and infiltrated it alone. But this time, I couldn’t do that.
I had no idea what security devices the nuclear facility might possess.
The special forces members were experts who had even brought EMP bombs, so I needed their help for now.
The commander hesitated briefly at my offer to guide them, then ordered one of his men to check outside the forest with a micro-drone.
As expected, the enemy was waiting outside the forest exactly where I had said.
Once he confirmed that the enemy was hiding in the location I had indicated, the commander asked me,
“Please guide us.”
At his words, I greatly expanded my senses.
I sensed everything—from the soldiers nearby, to the enemy forces hiding outside the forest, to every living thing within the forest.
The animals living in the forest had not all fled.
They had been holding their breath because of the enemy soldiers who had laid the trap.
As I expanded my senses, I could feel what lay beyond the forest as well.
The entrance to the base built into the cliff, the deployment of the forces between there and the base, and finally, a person being beaten inside a military vehicle near the base.
After confirming the person’s presence, I said to the commander,
“Should we avoid the forces and head for the base entrance? Or should we go to the inside collaborator? It seems he’s being tortured at the moment.”
At my words, the commander wore a strange expression.
He looked as if he didn’t know whether to believe me or not.
In the end, reason won out once again.
“We need the collaborator’s help to enter the facility. If he wasn’t the one who set this trap, we have to meet him.”
Upon the commander’s decision, I began guiding the soldiers.
Rather than leave the forest, I led them in a wide detour to the side.
As we headed toward the collaborator, the commander turned around with a troubled expression.
“We don’t have much time. The enemy won’t wait there forever……”
He seemed worried about the enemy forces waiting outside the forest.
“It’s all right. We’ll have enough time.”
But there was no need for him to worry.
I was not carrying the spear I always kept with me.
That spear was currently hovering above the enemy forces outside the forest.
A company-sized force was aiming their rifles inward from outside the forest.
Above them, the invisible spear floated in the air, forming a magic circle.
[Everyone, sleep. Sleep.]
Once the incantation ended, the magic was cast.
Thud. Rrrrgh.
The entire company-sized force waiting outside the forest fell asleep.
Hoo, hoo. Ribbit, ribbit.
Once everyone had fallen asleep, the sounds of animals began to emerge from the forest that had been so quiet.
Nuclear Base (1)