Chapter 39 – Night Raid

“I’m… exhausted!”

Saying that, I collapsed onto the simple bed in the quarters.
Just a blanket and sheet laid over wooden planks on a basic wooden frame, but to me right now, it’s more heavenly than the fluffy bed at home.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You must be tired too, Shizu. Go get some rest.”

“I appreciate your thoughtfulness. If you need anything, please call me right away.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Good night!”

“Yes, good night.”

After our usual exchange, I let go of my consciousness.
A six-year-old’s stamina has its limits—and it comes fast. 

In this respect, I really wish I could grow up already.
At least to a junior high student.

I visited the  Liaohe Oil Field (planned site), and that night, I stayed overnight at the base’s quarters.

Looking at the map, it doesn’t seem far, but the oil field area along the Liaohe River was vast—no, it was spread out over a wide region.
It stretched up to around 50 kilometers. 

That’s about the distance from central Tokyo to the Shonan coast.

On top of that, the terrain was mostly plain or wasteland, technically farmland in some parts, but with barely any decent roads.
Traveling by car would leave your backside aching like crazy.

I rode on Shizu’s lap, but I also took turns sitting on Yagami’s lap.

We brought a lot of cushions, just in case, but they probably didn’t help much.

But as expected, or maybe I should say unsurprisingly, Yagami didn’t seem fazed at all.

Even when I forced myself onto his lap, he just said, “What a bold princess,” and accepted it without issue.

I can’t imagine him flinching on a battlefield, and if even this kind of “attack” doesn’t affect him, I start to wonder if there’s anything that could shake him.

To me, he’s an “old guy,” but the age difference between us is probably around twenty years.
He mentioned Siberia a bit, so he’s probably about the age to have been deployed in the Siberian Intervention. 

I could call him “big brother,” but his scary face makes him more of an “old guy” to me.

Still, he’s full of interesting stories, so the scary part balances out.

Incidentally, I couldn’t finish designating the drilling sites in the vast Ryoga Oil Field in a single day.
So I had no choice but to spend the night at the local base.

It’s about 50 kilometers to the South Manchurian Railway at the shortest, but to reach a proper town with decent lodging from there, we’d have to travel dozens more kilometers by train.

If we had a 21st-century Land Cruiser, it might be manageable, but asking a car from this era to handle that distance as a day trip is a bit much.

Even on rough roads, I was a bit surprised the car couldn’t even hit 50 kilometers per hour.
Because of that, we had to spend the night on-site, and my stay at the Yamato Hotel in Dairen had to be postponed until the next day.

(I just wanted to enjoy a little sightseeing…)

…
…
…

“How is it, Wan?”

“They’re coming. I can feel it buzzing in my soul.”

“Hmph, a soul connection. And?”

“Northeast direction. A group on horseback. About twenty riders. Either lightly equipped or on small horses.”

“Think they’re bandits?”

“Hard to say. Also, another group on foot approaching from the southwest. They’re spreading out as they close in. About forty or fifty. Not much metal presence—must be disguised as civilians.”

“Two directions, huh…”

In the pitch-black night with only faint starlight, a towering mass of muscle has his ear pressed flat to the ground as a well-proportioned tall man questions him.

The one asking is Yagami, who’s been tasked with guarding Ootori Reiko this time.
Whether it’s his real name or not is unclear, but he goes by Yagami Genbu.

Both he and the muscle-bound man with his ear to the ground are dressed in outfits based in black.
In the 21st century, you might call them night camouflage, but these are special “work clothes” custom-ordered from Ootori Trading for their mercenary duties.

During the day, they wore reddish-brown camouflage uniforms suited for Manchuria, but at night they changed clothes, showing both their thorough preparation and caution—as well as suggesting they anticipated this ambush.

“But why tonight?”

“Because a bigwig from Japan showed up. At least, that’s how they see it.”

As the massive man still clings to the ground, Yagami answers with a nihilistic grin.
In response, the giant shifts only his eyes toward Yagami.

“You let that slip?”

“Someone else did. Not that he’s around anymore.”

“Still the same as ever, huh.”

“I’ve got permission from above. Anyway, enough chit-chat—it’s work time.”

“Seems like it.”

With those words, the man called Wan rises to his feet.
A mass of muscle nearly two meters tall, his powerful physique asserts itself even through his clothing.

It’s the kind of body that makes the rumor of him taking down a bear barehanded feel not so far-fetched.

His slicked-back forehead is wide, and his hair is tied shortly in the back, giving it a somewhat topknot-like appearance.
His face is marked by narrow eyes, behind which gleam eyes full of arrogant, unwavering confidence—a gaze that leaves a strong impression.

Just as Yagami is about to respond to the man, a shadow on horseback rushes up.
The horse stops in front of the two, and the rider dismounts.

“Messenger. The cavalry commander reports that preparations are complete.”

“Good work. Tell them to begin. Our guests will be arriving shortly.”

“We’ve received the same report from the scouts. Then, I’ll be off!”

With that, the messenger turns back the way he came.
Watching the exchange, Wan raises an eyebrow toward Yagami to silently ask a question.

“I expected they’d come on horseback. They’ve been moving around a lot lately. As for our cavalry, besides the traps, they’ll handle any potential counterattacks, pursuit, or surveillance.”

“Traps?”

“With the beacons on the roads and facilities, we’ll show the guests the direction they should go. That way, we can serve up a dinner using their own bodies and horses as the ingredients.”

“Dinner, huh. What kind of trap did you set? A bomb? Or maybe crossfire?”

“If you used something like that, our princess would wake up from her happy dream too soon.”

Yagami raises an eyebrow and answers with amusement.
Wan, on the other hand, takes a moment to think, then deduces the answer from the given clues.

“If it’s not a bomb, then things like moats or pits would take too much time to dig. Did you stretch rope across the path?”

“Close, but no. It was wire rope or piano wire. By the way, the wire is the last line of defense.”

“Whoa! That’s vicious.”

“I’ve prepared several different heights. If they just get the legs of the horses, they’ll be lucky. We’ll be able to ask those who survive later.”

“What about the bad ones?”

“Their heads or bodies will likely be torn off with the horses. Especially the first trap; that one was designed to do just that.”

“Whoa! That’s scary. Well, I’ll go play around with the infantry in civilian clothes. It’s too terrifying for me to stick around here.”

At that, Wan starts walking toward the direction he pointed out.
Yagami follows right behind him.

“I’d like to say go ahead, but I’m coming with you.”

“That’s unusual.”

“I got my hands on an interesting gun. I’ll provide some suppressive fire.”

“Then leave the front to me. I’ll move ahead and take care of the little troublemakers from the side.”

“Just don’t get hit by our own bullets.”

“Don’t hit me either. So, what’s the gun?”

“I got my hands on a rifle that a Russian made about ten years ago. Even though it’s a rifle, it can do things like a light machine gun.”

Saying this, he picks up the rifle he had slung over his shoulder.
Even by the light of the stars, it seems these two can see just fine.

“That’s convenient. What about the ammo?”

“Would you believe it, it uses 7.62×54mmR rounds.”

“That’s cheap, huh. How many do you have?”

“We’ll be using three rifles. We’ll be spreading quite a lot of fire.”

“Got it.”

Up until now, they had been walking side by side, but at that point, Wan suddenly breaks into a run.
He realizes that if he doesn’t act fast, things won’t go as planned.

From far away, screams echo in the distance.
Hearing that, Yagami mutters to himself.

“Well, well, everyone, gather round. Let’s see what kind of story will unfold.”

After that, considering the number of participants, the battle became a quiet one.
At least, it must have been unexpected for those who had attacked.

–

The group on horseback had been lured into a field of mounted traps without realizing they were being guided there.
The confusion escalated when the leader or captain riding at the front was literally sliced in half along with his horse by a piano wire. 

At first, due to the darkness, the situation wasn’t clear, and three or four more riders fell victim to the wire.

Trying to escape in another direction, horses then began to tumble one after another.
There, wires or ropes had been strung between stakes, causing the horses to trip.

Once their charge was halted and the group had clumped together, a flare was launched, illuminating the area, and they were driven to near annihilation by crossfire.

The few who managed to survive and escape were immediately attacked by waiting cavalry and snipers positioned near the escape route.

In the end, the only survivor was a rider who had happened to survive after his horse fell halfway through the trap, only to find a gun pointed at him.

But even survival didn’t guarantee good fortune.
After all, those who intercepted and captured them weren’t government agents or regular soldiers.

Meanwhile, the scattered group attempting infiltration with mismatched clothes and gear started to lose members one by one as they approached a certain range.
And for quite some time, they didn’t even realize what was happening.

Without a sound, without a word, each of them was taken out in a manner akin to assassination.

The ones responsible were Wan and his elite subordinates.
Fewer than ten in number, each one possessed exceptional combat skills. 

They were hand-to-hand combat experts—professional killers.

Some enemies had their throats slit in an instant; others were suddenly grabbed from behind with their mouths covered, and in the next moment, stabbed through the heart with a large knife.
Some were taken out with a single arrow to the forehead.

There was even one fierce warrior skilled enough to decapitate a man by looping piano wire around his neck with both hands.

The most intense of them all was Wan.

With overwhelming physical ability, he moved swiftly and silently through the battlefield, snapping the necks of burly soldiers with a single powerful roundhouse kick that only he could execute.

Other times, he would stretch out his thick arm and crush the neck from the front using nothing but brute grip strength.
Or he would put an enemy in a chokehold from behind and break their neck. 

Some were even taken down with a single palm strike.

With his extraordinary strength, he executed his killings with such finesse it could almost be called a murderous art.

For the attackers, the plan to spread out and infiltrate during the cavalry’s charge to sow confusion in the dead of night ended up being their fatal mistake.
By the time the commander realized what was happening, nearly half of his men had already been taken down somewhere in the wasteland or in the rough, makeshift fields.

And just then, gunfire came from the front—the direction of the actual assault.
Precise, concentrated fire, and even some light machine guns were in use.

In mere moments, over a dozen men were gunned down.

At this point, realizing the attack had failed, the raiders’ commander gave the order to retreat.

However, with everyone scattered, he couldn’t relay the updated orders properly.
Only about ten men, whom he still had control over, began to withdraw.

The rest, misled by the still-quiet surroundings, assumed the operation was ongoing and continued acting according to the original plan.

And during that time, they were silently taken out one after another by Ou and his men.
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Note:
便衣 (ben’i) = irregular soldiers or guerrilla fighters. Specifically, it refers to military personnel wearing civilian clothes rather than uniforms. It may include militia, irregulars, or even terrorists.