Chapter 16: Ambush

The earth was my ally.

The moment I let my mana seep into the ground, everything that touched it became an extension of my senses. Events unfolding far beyond my sight reached me as faint yet unmistakable sensations—vibrations, pressure, movement—like ripples traveling through an unseen web.

“…It’s about time.”

A sharp whistle split the battlefield, cutting cleanly through the heavy air.

“Form ranks! Shoulder to shoulder—one line!”

At the shouted command, soldiers pressed tightly together, closing every gap between them.

They shoved and were shoved in turn, bodies colliding, individuality dissolving into formation.

Men clutching rifles stood so close their warmth mingled, their breaths overlapping, their presence merging into a single mass.

“One line! Tighten your spacing! Not even a step between you!”

The officer’s voice rang out, rigid and unwavering.

The orders were calm—and the soldiers obeyed just as calmly. No hesitation. No visible panic. Their movements were disciplined, almost mechanical.

There was even a hint of confidence in their steps.

“…Prepare to advance.”

But that fragile sense of ease vanished with the next command.

Spines straightened. Muscles tensed. The men were swallowed whole by the creeping fog of war.

“Keep in step.”

The officer did not see individuals.

What he saw was a “line.”

“Forward—march!”

With that order, the formation moved.

Slowly. Steadily.

Like a single, massive organism.

Like a great predator advancing upon its prey.

Boots struck the earth in unison, a rhythmic pounding that reverberated through the ground—through me.

“—!”

And at the end of that predator’s gaze…

Were our soldiers.

The Lunoa troops acting as a rearguard—our decoy, meant to conceal the ambush.

They were elite soldiers, handpicked by Colonel Kernel. And yet, even they could not fully suppress their fear as the Friez army approached in perfect, unbroken formation.

That fear… I could feel it through the earth.

“…Is it not time yet?”

Even without magic, the tension was palpable.

Beside me, Colonel Kernel leaned forward, unable to hide his urgency as he pressed for the order to attack.

“Not yet.”

The first strike was everything.

It had to be delivered at the moment of greatest impact.

“….”

“….”

“…I-Is it still not time? Their footsteps are already—!”

Still, I waited.

Until the precise moment arrived.

“…Now—!”

“Now!”

Just as the colonel reached the brink of losing his composure, the enemy vanguard stepped into the effective range of our rifles.

The instant I judged that distance—

I gave the order.

“…! Prepare to fire!”

The command he had been waiting for.

Colonel Kernel shouted at the top of his lungs, raising his rifle and firing a shot into the sky.

That single signal rippled across the trenches. Officers echoed the order, voices overlapping, spreading like wildfire—

And the Lunoa army moved as one.

“Wha—AAAAAAAH!?”

“E-Enemy soldiers!?”

In unison, soldiers rose just enough to expose their heads above the trenches.

Then—

They pulled the triggers.

Gunfire erupted.

A storm of bullets tore through the air, raining down upon those who had believed themselves the hunters.

The so-called predators—caught completely off guard—were ripped apart by the first volley.

Their formation shattered instantly.

From that point on… it was nothing more than a slaughter.

“Prepare the machine guns.”

“Machine guns—ready!”

Our position had been revealed.

There was no need to hold anything back anymore.

I activated my magic once more.

The earth shifted again, rising and shaping itself into defensive barriers—earthen walls, reinforced positions—

And one after another, I created fortified emplacements for machine guns.

“Fire.”

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Multiple machine guns roared to life at once.

Their relentless streams of bullets tore into the Friez forces, who had been advancing in neat formation, rifles in hand, with careless confidence.

“S-So many of them…!”

“In the end… they still haven’t learned.”

Both Lunoa and Friez had already learned, through rivers of blood, that magic no longer decided the battlefield.

But that alone wasn’t enough.

Their strategies—their very way of thinking—had yet to change.

“…Hah.”

This moment—

It was fleeting.

Opportunities like this, where my knowledge could be fully utilized, were rare.

Even if I understood what needed to be done, it meant nothing if those around me could not keep up.

Only in brief windows—like this one—could I truly make a difference.

…

……This was it.

Now or never.

I had to extract the greatest possible result here.

“…!”

I raised the rifle in my hands.

Then, slowly, I stood—lifting myself just enough to peer over the edge of the trench.

Ahead of me—

In my line of sight—

Were people.

Enemies, yes. Soldiers of another nation.

But still… human beings.

Men struck by the attack I had ordered were collapsing one after another, blood bursting from their bodies as they fell.

For a moment, my breath caught in my throat.

“…Hah.”

I steadied myself.

Forced my breathing to slow.

Placed my finger on the trigger.

I chose a target.

Recalled my training.

And pulled.

“—!”

A sharp recoil shot through my body.

And in the same instant—

The enemy soldier I had aimed at crumpled to the ground.

“…So this is…”

The sensation that washed over me—

The reality of taking a life for the first time—

Was nothing more… and nothing less…

Than the cold, physical jolt of the gun’s recoil coursing through my body.