Chapter 56: El Maestre (11)

Chapter 56: El Maestre (11)

In a firefight where both sides were armed with firearms, exposing one’s flank or rear was extremely deadly. Due to the nature of firearms, a single person flanking the front lines could potentially collapse the entire group. Additionally, the superior physical abilities of awakened individuals in primitive magic allowed for high-speed maneuverability regardless of terrain and obstacles. In future small-scale group battles, the key would be how to leverage the unique mobility of each awakened individual along with their abilities.

Therefore, during training, I emphasized granting my subordinates broad autonomy while focusing on my own on-site command abilities. Even if the command center claimed to have an advanced command system that comprehensively observed the perspectives of each combat personnel and surveyed the battlefield from the sky, they couldn’t surpass an on-site commander who saw everything visually. Especially in such a chaotic and obstacle-filled battlefield.

As I collected the results, not discriminating between Double A and the British soldiers, I stood at the boundary between midnight and dawn, looking down at the freshly slaughtered corpses.

The British soldiers were different from the others in terms of smell, predominant skin color, attire, and equipment. These were Indian soldiers, the “+1” in the FPDA+1 coalition, who had traveled 330 kilometers as per the host country’s request. (+)[1]TLN: The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) are a series of bilateral defence relationships established by a series of multi-lateral agreements between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, all of which are Commonwealth members that once belonged to the British Empire. I’m guessing the +1 here means that India joins with those five countries. As far as I know from searching on the internet. There’s no India in the real FPDA. So this is perhaps only in this novel.

The soldiers, whose hearts had stopped, stared blankly at the acrid sky obscured by the moon and stars. Those who easily exterminated the cartel armed forces came out as if they were swept away by a disaster and died at the hands of their subordinates.

Is this where it ends?

The deaths of those who had no reason to die chilled my head, which had been heated with the fervor of battle. The fatigue I had forgotten returned, making my whole body feel heavy. It was a sensation like liquid gravity spreading along my veins.

At that moment, Kyung-tae made the same judgment.

“Hyungnim, shouldn’t we start withdrawing soon? The enemy has become too numerous, and if we continue to set the city on fire, our remaining deal will be in jeopardy. It’s better to throw a decoy here and finish it...”

“That’s right. Everyone, remove your armor.”

There were many corpses scattered around with armor to spare. Double A’s sicarios, even those who couldn’t be considered sicarios, were merely alley rats. However, there was no fake corpse among them to stage the death of the Knight Commander. The whereabouts of the infamous “El Maestre” would remain a mystery to everyone. All that would remain here would be the corpses of Knight Commander and his bodyguards.

The first thing I did after arranging the corpses was to forge the cause of death.

“Fire.”

Boom! One of my subordinates fired an RPG-7, stolen from a sicario. At the far end of the trajectory, there was an Indian military truck loaded with a large quantity of explosives, including recoilless rifle shells, at the combat scene.

Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!

The truck erupted in a fierce chain explosion. Shockwaves spread twice, knocking over nearby buildings. Parked cars rolled around like they were flipped by a typhoon, and a motorcycle hit by the blast wave spewed flames onto the asphalt, skidding for half a block.

So, what would happen to the bodies in the blast zone? They would be torn apart and scattered. The conclusion to be drawn from analyzing the aftermath would be clear: the fake Holy Knights had slaughtered the Indian army but met an unfortunate end due to a rocket attack from the cartel.

Amidst the faint screams coming from some of the remaining houses, a muffled and squelching noise filled the air.

Part of a horse, tied to the truck, was missing. The horse’s lower half had been peeled away, and its skin lay half-discarded on the asphalt. It felt like looking at a Picasso painting brought to life. The wounds and burns created an aberrant coloration.

Looking at one side of this bloody artwork, Kyung-tae expressed his somber regret.

“Poor thing. It was a gentle creature.”

Impressive evidence and eyewitness accounts were left all over the city. The suffering of death had been a brief moment, or so I thought. At least it must have been quicker than a typical slaughter.

Leaving this gruesome scene behind, I retreated to the Pitillal River. From the moment I decided to withdraw until I joined the guys stationed by the riverbank, we didn’t need to engage in any additional combat, and we didn’t need to take a detour. The streets I had been sweeping through until now were left as literal no-man’s land.

However...

“There’s one more prey left?”

Through communication connected to the command post, Suyeon informed me of the presence of another prey. We didn’t necessarily need to capture it, but it was a valuable beast worth hunting down.

[I’m sorry. We didn’t want to attack with just our forces since they had armored vehicles and armed awakened individuals. There was a possibility of casualties.]

“No, you did the right thing.”

I was the one who said that we wouldn’t lose a single person.

“Do you have a plan?”

[When they load their assets onto the yacht, we’ll wait for that moment and then eliminate them. Afterward, we’ll hide the yacht in the shadow of a nearby archipelago. Then, when our cargo ship arrives in two days, we can transfer what we need.]

“An archipelago? Is it a safe place?”

[These are islands where public access is prohibited due to natural damage. We’ve confirmed that they have numerous blind spots from external observation. Since they lack infrastructure, there’s no reason for escape ships to dock there.]

“That should be enough. We’ll join you soon.”

[Yes.]

After ending the communication, we continued on the path Suyeon had prepared. It took about four minutes to traverse the thoroughly prepared 5 kilometers. From this point on, the coastal road near the navy base was adjacent to a natural reserve swamp, so all we had to do was drive along the road at maximum speed.

Therefore, it wasn’t very surprising that we reached the pier before the cartel convoy transporting the cargo.

Krrrrng—

The distinct rough engine sound of an armored vehicle approached. Leading the cartel vehicle convoy was an 8-wheeled armored personnel carrier that had been produced for military use. I knew it was not part of the regular Mexican military as soon as I saw the armored vehicle as a weapons merchant.

‘Scott?’

Scott (OT-64 SKOT). A relic of the Cold War era, which had been run by Czechoslovakia and Poland in the past. It used to be a military armored vehicle, but now it was considered an antique, often appearing in the second-hand car market. While the weapons were removed and sold separately, these privately sold armored vehicles occasionally became the cause of marital disputes.

If this was such a common item, even weapons merchants like me wouldn’t be interested. There was no reason to search for something in the black market when you could easily get it in the regular market as long as you had a license. Unless it was a special order from customers who couldn’t access the regular market due to safety concerns.

Even so, this was a weapon system that would be appreciated here in Mexico. Despite being a relic of the Cold War, it was still in active use in the Third World, where everything remained in the 20th century.

In the past, there were many guys who used to drive around in narco tanks (combat vehicles modified from commercial vehicles by drug cartels). They’d certainly come a long way. It couldn’t had been easy to transport.

Krkkk—

An armored vehicle with a battering ram for obstacle destruction was pushing aside the cars blocking the road. It was a civilian car that had been involved in a collision at an intersection during the emergency evacuation. The column of vehicles with their headlights on squeezed through the gap created by that collision and entered the pier one by one.

In the middle of the incoming column, there were two turret trucks. One was loaded only with drugs, but the smaller one was packed to the brim with banknotes and precious metals.

The latter exceeded my expectations by quite a bit.

1. TLN: The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) are a series of bilateral defence relationships established by a series of multi-lateral agreements between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, all of which are Commonwealth members that once belonged to the British Empire. I’m guessing the +1 here means that India joins with those five countries. As far as I know from searching on the internet. There’s no India in the real FPDA. So this is perhaps only in this novel. Author's Thoughts

Disclaimer:

This novel is a work of fiction! While it may incorporate elements inspired by our "real" historical world, including historical events, settings, and cultures, it is important to note that the story and characters are entirely products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deceased, or actual events is purely coincidental. This work should be enjoyed and interpreted as a work of fiction and not as a representation of historical facts or reality.

Also, if you find some error in translation please do let me know by tagging me (@_dawn24) in our Discord server. Since this series is kinda hard to translate. But I'll try my best to make it at least readable :)

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