Chapter 731

Chapter 731

As soon as they reached the Zavala Forces’ camp...

“Shall we begin preparing the bodies for transportation back to the kingdom, sir?” a junior officer asked Ninetail, who was still disguised as Colonel Legent.

“No, not yet,” Ninetail shook her head. Then, she looked at the office and said, “There’s another battle tomorrow morning. The men need to rest. Besides, it’s not summer, so the bodies won’t rot overnight. Let them be for now.”

“But... we cannot just leave our fallen comrades stacked in those carts—”

“And do we have enough coffins for all of them? How do you propose we handle that many bodies? Our soldiers are already stretched thin—think about their exhaustion before you suggest more work! What? Did you leave your brain behind at home before coming to the battlefield?”

“A-Apologies, sir!” the junior officer stood straight as a rod after being scolded.

“Yes, I agree taking care of our fallen comrades is important. But let’s cater to our living soldiers first, shall we?”

“Yes, sir!”

“We’ll give them the treatment they deserve tomorrow afternoon. Until then, leave everything as it is and let the men rest.”

“Yes, sir!”

As night fell over the encampment, the carts filled with corpses were hauled to the edge of the Zavala camp. The soldiers covered the carts with covers, and, by Ninetail’s command, they left the carts unattended.

A few hours later...

Silence descended upon the camp under the shroud of night, but there were soft rustling noises coming from one of the carts. Just then, the corpses stirred, and figures crept out from them.

Anyone passing by would think that these corpses dressed as Zavala soldiers were members of the undead or perhaps some of the soldiers presumed dead were still alive.

However, there was nobody present to witness this bizarre occurrence and neither were these undead monsters. They were none other than the special forces of the Proatine Alliance, and among them was none other than Siegfried himself.

“Ah, finally, some fresh air. I thought I was going to suffocate to death in there,” Siegfried said after taking a deep breath. He had been buried under the corpses for several hours now.

“Kyu! You almost killed me too, owner punk!” Hamchi squeaked, wiggling out from Siegfried’s coat. Then, he complained, “Hamchi’s fur is soaked in blood! Kyuuu!”

“Hey, pipe down, will you?”

“Kyu?”

“We’re right in the middle of enemy territory.”

“Got it! Kyu!” Hamchi nodded and zipped his mouth with an imaginary zipper.

“You’re such a loudmouth,” Siegfried grumbled, rolling his eyes.

“I apologize for making you endure that. It must have been difficult,” Ninetail said, still disguised as Legent.

“This is nothing. I can handle it,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“Without a doubt, sire,” Ninetail said with a smile.

“What about our outfit? Is there a fresh set we can change into?” Siegfried asked, pointing at his bloodied Zavala military uniform.

“Here,” Ninetail replied, pulling out a fresh stack of Zavala uniforms and boots from her Inventory[1].

She had secretly gathered the uniforms from the laundry lines around the camp, infuriating some of the soldiers after discovering that their uniforms and boots had gone missing.

However, there was no investigation into the matter, as stolen uniforms were a common occurrence in the chaos of war.

“Great job,” Siegfried praised, genuinely grateful. He and the special forces quickly donned the enemy uniforms. Once ready, they retrieved a chest loaded with high-powered bombs hidden beneath the carts.

[C4 High-Power Miniature Explosive]

[A compact yet devastatingly powerful bomb created by Quandt.]

[It contains a densely concentrated mana stone, so its lethality is unmatched.]

[This bomb has a built-in timer function.]

[As perfect as this bomb might seem, it has one severe drawback, which is its extremely high production cost.]

[Type: Explosive]

[Rating: Unique]

[Note: Highly unstable. It can explode from strong impact or frequency interference in inventories.]

[Warning: Handle with utmost caution.]

The bombs couldn't be stored in their inventories, as they could detonate prematurely due to the frequency interference. Thus, they had to take the risk and transport them hidden under the carts.

Siegfried gathered the special forces and said in a low, firm tone, “Alright, listen up. Place the explosives as far as possible from each other. Make sure to target the densely populated areas of the camp, such as the sleeping quarters.

"A densely populated area means high casualties; remember, the objective here is not to assassinate the high-ranking officials. It’s to kill as many of the enemy as possible. Understood?”

[Effect: 150% Bonus damage to sleeping targets.]

“Oh? This is just what I need right now,” Siegfried muttered with a smile after reading the new title’s effect.

With this, he could kill the Zavala soldiers faster while using far less mana.

“Time to pick up the pace then,” Siegfried whispered under his breath.

Then, he kicked things up a notch and continued executing Operation Troy.

***

Just as the horizon was slowly getting painted by the light of daybreak, Siegfried regrouped with Ninetail and the special forces agents at a nearby forest outside the Zavala camp.

“Is everyone here and accounted for?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Everyone is here,” the agents replied, their voices low but resolute.

“Good job, everyone,” Siegfried said with a smile.

He couldn't help but feel grateful to each and every one of these agents who had risked their lives not only once but twice for the kingdom.

“Your Majesty,” Ninetail approached him. Then, she handed a dossier and added, “I got this from the enemy’s command center.”

“Huh? You infiltrated their command center, too?”

“Yes.”

“Whoa, that’s really amazing. But what is this–?”

“Intel on enemy reinforcements and logistics of their oncoming war supplies.”

“...!”

“It also contains the transportation route of their reinforcements and supply lines.”

“That means we can...?”

“Precisely. We can intercept and cut off their supply lines. We can also annihilate their reinforcements before they reach the main army.”

“That’s brilliant! Fantastic work! Excellent! Well done!” Siegfried exclaimed, grabbing her hands out of excitement.

“H-Huh?” Ninetail stammered, slightly taken aback.

Their situation was extremely dire, so obtaining information that would allow them to disrupt the enemy’s reinforcements and supplies was like hitting the jackpot. This piece of information alone could completely change the outcome of the war itself.

“We need to get this to our people right away!”

“I will see to it that the information here gets to our men.”

“Good,” Siegfried said with a smile. Then, he noticed a hint of regret in her eyes, so he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Well... I know the Zavala Kingdom is a great power, but I could not get close to the tents of their high-ranking officers. I got as far as the command center, but their generals and senior officers were heavily guarded,” Ninetail replied with a heavy voice.

Siegfried waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry about it. I tried to find a way in, but it was too risky. I would have gotten caught if I had pushed it. In other words, I would have endangered everyone. Besides, our objective tonight wasn’t to assassinate their high-ranking officers.”

“Yes, that is true,” she replied with a nod.

Siegfried smiled and concluded, “This operation was a huge success, so let’s be satisfied with that and head back to the fortress.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ninetail replied with a bow. Then, she motioned to her agents, “All units, we’re heading back.”

Siegfried led the team away from the Zavala camp and back to the O’Toul Fortress after successfully completing Operation Troy.

“Oh, right,” Siegfried muttered, remembering that there was still one last part of the operation remaining. He glanced down at the detonator in his hand. Then, with a smirk, he pressed the button and tossed it aside casually.

Wooong...

A faint hum rang as the detonator pulsed with mana.

Three... two... one...

BOOM!

The Zavala camp behind him erupted into flames as the bombs tore it apart, incinerating the tents in a wave of fire, but that was just the beginning. Explosions reverberated across the camp; each C4 explosive detonated one after the other in quick succession.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Kaboom!

Siegfried walked toward the O’Toul Fortress without even looking back at the fiery destruction behind him.

"Heh." A satisfied smile tugged at Siegfried's lips.

1. Author suddenly gave her an inventory. We presume it's because of her legendary class, but that is TBC ☜