The Imperial Hunter Chapter 51 - El Maestre (6)

Smoke rose from the infirmary, the lingering scent of gunpowder. I slung the large-caliber sniper rifle, now empty of rounds, behind my back.

In the recent firefight, I, a sniper, had taken down three times the enemy for the ammunition expended. This was not a fanciful story of piercing three enemies with each shot. Even bullets that missed were enough to suppress the enemy’s movements, allowing the Knight Commander, who had entered during this time, to finish off the exposed British soldiers one by one. War was not a solitary battle.

The black knight who received my help stopped and looked in my direction at the place filled with grim deaths. Who could be helping me? The anxious confusion could be felt in the search. However, without clairvoyance, they couldn’t possibly discover me. There were too many obstacles blocking their line of sight between them and me.

Unlike the leader, whose post-combat aftereffects were merely shallow breathing, the subordinates who leaned on their own swords, shields, and guns were panting heavily. They moved again and plundered the weapons, ammunition, food, and water from the dead British soldiers. While the British soldiers’ rations were no more than cereal bars and tea bags at best, it was a source of calories that the heavily taxed cartel knights were desperate for. The leader poured drink powder into the water bottle that his subordinates handed him, shook it roughly, and poured it down his throat without taking a sip. It was a remarkable talent to pour it into the esophagus without a single gulp. He gobbled down three cereal bars without a break. Then, he poured a whole bottle of water again. It was amazing that he didn’t suffer from esophageal spasms. (+) ^[1] TLN: Esophageal: Your esophagus — or the food pipe — is the part of the digestive system that helps food travel from your mouth to your stomach.

The number of survivors from the Knight was greater than what I had seen in the video. However, originally, there would have been many more than this. That is, the current nine, excluding the leader, could be considered the last elite of the Knights Templar Cartel.

The leader tied the heaviest firearm given by his subordinates inside the shield and then inserted the magazines into the chest rig on the armor. Surprisingly, the bulletproof vests, with magazines densely attached, matched the chest rigs of the medieval-looking armor, a fact that was unexpected.

‘The fact that it happened to be a British chest rig is quite amusing.’

As befitting wealthy cartel members, the weapons carried by these knights were all made of titanium alloy. Half of their overwhelming close combat capabilities seemed to stem from the hardness and lightness of the weapons they wielded as knights. Thick and sloping armor alone would provide enough defense to chew up most infantry firepower on a short-range battlefield. What if you added a shield to that? In close-range battles, it became the surrogate of death for the infantry, brandishing a sword.

The Cartel Knight Commander drew a cross in my direction and urged his subordinates to resume their escape.

Meanwhile, the Holy Name.

I couldn’t stand it even after enduring the British chest rig. When I let out a chuckle, Kyung-tae looked at me with a worried expression.

“Hyungnim, are you alright?”

He was concerned about the side effects of the awakening/stimulant agent. It wasn’t objectively a time to laugh, and I had taken more than the recommended dose considering the accumulated fatigue, and the side effects included rapid and unstable emotional fluctuations. But who cares about side effects? I felt good right now, and I wanted to use this feeling to kill more British soldiers. Anyway, it was better than endlessly sinking into depression.

Then, the British reinforcements were approaching.

“Let’s let them pass this time.”

Following my command to resist the impulse, my subordinates adjusted their positions to strengthen their concealment.

Not moving didn’t mean being inactive. With a sharpened consciousness that had become sharper after enduring a tumultuous awakening, I stimulated all the animals within the magical field with ignition and telekinesis techniques. I had been doing this even during our movement.

In such a dense forest, infrared surveillance from high altitudes could not easily distinguish between the heat of animals and humans. Moreover, the ground itself was high, and the clouds hung low. Therefore, by just harassing the wild animals, I could disrupt the heat tracking of us and slow down the speed of the British troops chasing the Knights. Sometimes, it was also good to use ignition spells or deploy a thin water barrier.

As the distance with the British troops narrowed, I had to shrink my magical field, so it was impossible to save time, but still, this should give the Knight Commander, who had regained his strength due to me, an advantage over the weakened British forces.

Step, step.

The heavy footsteps on the grass grew closer. The patriotic volunteers who advanced in pairs with nervousness, removed the identification tags of their fallen comrades and closed their eyes, passing by our ambush site just 20 meters away. Kyung-tae, who had maintained his aim until the end, relaxed with a sigh.

There was a helicopter flying in the distant sky, but I couldn’t dare to enter the combat airspace. Sending a helicopter into the forest, where awakened individuals were armed with all sorts of anti-aircraft weapons, was nothing less than a request to kill the passengers. 

I said,

“The night is still young. Let’s replenish our calories now.”

The two half-days we waited at the hotel were times to eat whenever there was an opportunity, but the nearly two hours of maximum efficiency displayed by the strengthened body rapidly consumed stored energy. It was better to replenish calories ahead of time before the consumption got worse.

Our emergency food was simple. A powder mixture of salt, vitamins, and glucose. I put the powder in my mouth, dissolved it with water, and swallowed it. It was an advantage that it was quick to eat and quick to absorb.

After a short rest of about 1 minute and 30 seconds, we started moving again. Even during this short rest, we could hear several instances of gunfire exchanges in the direction the Knights had gone ahead.

And on the path we were pursuing, there were several traces of clashes between the Knights and the British troops. I pushed the cartel’s Holy Knight, who was already dead and lying in front of me, with my foot, and lifted the sword he was still holding with telekinesis. The sword, which had lost its original luster due to traces of dried blood, defied gravity and floated.

We were almost there.

The lights of Las Palmas de Arriba, a satellite residence near Puerto Vallarta, were shimmering below. Las Palmas de Arriba was close to Puerto Vallarta, and for someone who had to lead a few against many, a city was a better battlefield than a forest. There were many obstacles, plenty of places to hide, and, most importantly, civilians everywhere. Even if well-fed citizens refused to be human shields, the cartel could use them as shields at will.

That’s right. The Knights would pass through there to get to the harbor. It was the widest, most advantageous, and most familiar battlefield in the vicinity. In a densely populated city with plenty of hiding places and people everywhere, the cartel’s Holy Knights could only see it as the only open gate. Since the village would be too narrow to hold out for half a day, they had to reach the harbor before this night was over.

If the situation deteriorated to that extent, there was even a possibility that the British troops would immediately give up their pursuit. It would be a transformation from a short-term battle to a long-term mission. It might have been a mess from the beginning in Guadalajara, but if civilians died and got hurt a bit more, they wouldn’t have attracted any more attention. But Puerto Vallarta, hadn’t it been a peaceful harbor until now? If the political pressure received from the Round Table surpassed this situation, the leaders would naturally make political decisions.

After securing the ammunition for the large sniper rifle by searching the bodies, I decided to take four of the British soldiers’ corpses, along with their swords.

“Phew!”

Kyung-tae let out a small gasp. The trigger of his rifle was pulled almost to the point of firing in an instant. Not only Kyung-tae but also three of my nearby subordinates were in the same state. They recognized that the target was a corpse in a moment and didn’t pull the trigger. Kyung-tae lowered the muzzle and sighed.

“Phew, that scared me. I almost shot, sir.”

“Sorry. I should have told you in advance.”

“No, it’s okay. But what are you planning to do with these?”

“I’m going to burn them for a more certain fire.”

“Oh, those Sinaloa guys?”

“That’s right.”

The four bodies, which stood up like dolls on strings, set the military uniforms down with strange movements. It was to reduce the burden on my telekinesis power. However, they still had their weapons on their shoulders because I needed the bodies to explode.

Among the ancient wisdom possessed by “The Round Table of Light and Truth,” there was magic for controlling corpses or, more precisely, magic for controlling organic entities with their life functions stopped. However, my master had no interest in that field. He just knew the fact that such a technique existed. It was a regrettable thing for me now, but from my master’s perspective, there was no reason to be obsessed with a technique that couldn’t be used due to a lack of magic power.

We changed direction to the south, found a watercourse leading to the sea, and headed towards the harbor, relying on the dense tree shadows. We wouldn’t overlap with the Knights or the British troops chasing them, even if we took a big detour. It was also good for magically blocking heat tracking in this water-rich environment. However, I had to pause for a moment when I saw a bridge over the river in the distance.

“Stop!”

I stopped our movement through hand signals and radio communication, the terrain offering better visibility than the forest.

The rough and rugged engine sounds characteristic of military vehicles were audible only to my ears at this stage. The British convoy that had blocked the southern mountain road was now lined up with their headlights on and stopped in front of the bridge. A drone flew above. Even if they had already disembarked their troops, their vehicles’ defensive capabilities, mounted weaponry, and additional tracking abilities alone made them formidable. In the middle of the formation, I noticed a mobile command vehicle that was a moving command post.

However, we were not the only ones secretly observing this. Several amateurish armed groups were scattered around the outskirts of the village, sending some out as civilians to awkwardly spy on the movements of the British troops.

About 250 meters beyond the bridge, an old two-lane road was blocked by old cars, delaying the British troops’ progress. This was also the handiwork of those groups.

Sinaloa Cartel.

It was not widely known, but the UK really disliked Mexican drug cartels, especially the Sinaloa Cartel. Sinaloa had subordinate organizations in various parts of the UK, including London and Liverpool. The cartel smuggled vast quantities of drugs into the UK mainland and Europe, even though it was entirely separate from the smuggling done by submarines.

There was even an incident where it was revealed that British Airways employees had been bribed, causing an uproar in the UK mainland.

So when the British troops approached like this, it was a natural reaction for the Sinaloa Cartel’s forces to go on high alert, not just our immediate targets. Even if President Obaldor had personally contacted them to reassure them of the secret agreement, they couldn’t afford to be complacent.

In the end, it was like a thief getting caught in the act.

Anyway, since I had gone to the trouble of bringing the bodies, I decided to use them earlier than expected. It was a welcome development from the perspective of reducing the load on the mana circuits, which were accumulating a burden.

“Hyungnim, Suyeon is asking how we can secure the escape route in this direction.”

In the current communication restrictions, Kyung-tae’s communications specialist had permission to directly connect to the field headquarters at the harbor. It was difficult enough to communicate from our side.

“I’ll inform them of the meeting point and time.”

“Okay.”

“What about the other direction?”

“They are already falling back. They said they will replenish their reserves.”

“Good, they’re acting quickly. Show me the map.”

At my gesture, Kyung-tae instructed his subordinates to unfold the map. I gathered the officers to explain the operation, distributing appropriate roles and routes to each team. My subordinates listened to the briefing with night vision goggles on, relying on faint infrared tactical lights.

“No objections?”

“Yes.”

Short, simultaneous nods. All the middle-ranking officers agreed to the operation. However, I decided to confirm one more time.

“Kyung-tae, what do you think?”

“I see no issues. After all, when it comes to fighting, nothing beats watching a good fire from the other side of the river.”

It was a verification in case my judgment had dulled. This guy was one of the few subordinates who wouldn’t be overwhelmed by my authority and would objectively review things.

“Alright. Inform headquarters of the decisions we just made. We’ll maintain the current level of wireless restrictions until we get into Puerto Vallarta. Change your night vision goggle batteries in advance. It might sound like nagging, but when the escape route team arrives, be alert to our allies on the other side of the river. Set individual arrival times to be ten minutes from now. Are you ready? Three, two, one…”

Click. The high-pressure button of a reliable military waterproof watch made a small sound. Almost simultaneously, almost coincidentally, a sudden fire erupted from the outskirts of the impoverished village on the other side of the road, starting to consume the darkness. It was likely the work of the cartel’s awakened knights, bringing disaster with them.

A fire in the harsh terrain of a dark forest was difficult to control and even harder to escape. It could easily trap those who lit it first, blocking their path to death. If you were engaged in combat, it was even more so.

Moreover, the distribution of large Awakening Trees in the area was also a formidable variable. The magical phenomena that those rooted in one place would desperately trigger made any predictions meaningless.

However, human dwellings with clear paths and divided compartments were a different story. Even if the fire got out of control, as long as there was no one blocking the way out, anyone could escape. With distance from the British troops, there was even room for actions other than fleeing. How to use this short opportunity effectively?

Arson was one of the most effective means to obstruct aerial observation.

If this wasn’t something done impulsively but rather the actions of someone capable of making the best judgments based on changing circumstances, even when their body and mind were pushed to their limits…

He would have been a truly remarkable talent, if not for being a drug dealer obsessed with Jesus.

If he hadn’t been that, I would have considered ways to recruit him.

• 1. TLN: Esophageal: Your esophagus — or the food pipe — is the part of the digestive system that helps food travel from your mouth to your stomach.