My Platoon is F**king Hopeless

A sharp lance of ice flew towards Lumina. If I had not felt the murderous intent and dodged it instantly, I would have been impaled by the ice spear.

The moment the misplaced lance was buried in the ground, the movements of the assailants momentarily halted.

“It seems to faintly feel mana; perhaps she’s a mage.”

“What should we do about this lone straggler?”

Could they be remnants of the thieves who escaped from the fortress?

‘A mage among the thieves? No, that can’t be.’

Why would a mage join a band of thieves? It made no sense logically.

Moreover, the last scene she saw before the battle was the thieves desperately breaking through the defensive line.

Their attire and demeanor were too different from ordinary thieves.

‘What should I do? This is too suspicious.’

The thought of fleeing seized her mind. These people immediately attacked with magic despite her military uniform. Lumina’s intuition was already warning her to leave this place quickly.

However, her feet did not move hastily. The vision was exposed by a flare spell rising from behind. It wouldn’t be easy to escape from several mages.

In the worst-case scenario, she might be shot down while trying to flee. The unidentified mages boldly used intermediate-level spells even though she wore a military uniform.

She also thought that this might be related to the fall of Belgorod Fortress. In fact, according to Enok Revendale’s report, the wall of the fortress collapsed along with an explosion.

Seeing this, Lumina suppressed her trembling breath and conjured a fireball in front of her eyes.

“Phew…!”

Her vision trembled. How long had it been since she actually performed an offensive spell?

Since that day, Lumina Blue lost the most important value as a combat mage. No matter if it was a mistake, the horrible incident started from her hands.

But now, the situation was completely different from just a little while ago.

Alone in the forest, she faced the assailants. There was no place left where she could hide or be protected.

‘Such a foolish person…!’

Shamefully, she only thought of using magic when there was no way to escape.

Gulp.

Lumina clenched her teeth and looked at the assailants. Otherwise, her teeth would keep chattering due to the overwhelming fear.

‘I need to alert people of my location first.’

The spell she cast was Fireball.

The most basic and stable spell.

Even if she was at her weakest, she might still be able to control it somewhat. Moreover, its explosive nature could serve as a signal for the allied forces waiting in the rear.

“You… Who are you?!”

Lumina spoke with a tense voice. They remained silent. Were they sizing up the situation? She couldn’t guess their intentions at all.

“If you don’t respond, I’ll shoot!”

Counting three seconds in her mind, Lumina closed her eyes and fired the Fireball.

The blazing fireball flew towards the suspicious figures. With a loud bang, flames erupted. In the flickering flames, the face of an old comrade flashed before her eyes.

“Guh…!!”

It was an illusion. How could someone who doesn’t exist come back to life?

Despite her efforts to regain her senses, the rising nausea forced her to cover her mouth desperately.

However, it didn’t take long for her to realize that her desperate attack had no meaning.

A thin, barely perceptible layer of mana.

It was a defensive spell.

“What should we do, Comrade Leader? If she’s a mage, she could be a valuable resource…”

“Capture her. If necessary, cut off her limbs and bring her.”

“Yes, Comrade.”

Cut off her limbs?

Lumina doubted her ears.

It was dangerous. Moreover, it was disgusting, and her mind was not in a sound state.

‘First, I have to wait for allies to arrive after using the Fireball…! And, no more magic…!!’

After using it once, she felt she might panic or faint if she tried again. Finally, Lumina took out a pistol from her pocket. Although she wasn’t proficient in shooting, she could at least buy time until her allies arrived.

However.

Bang!!

A sudden gunshot rang out. Not from Lumina. Before she could understand what happened, excruciating pain struck her. Blood gushed from Lumina’s right shoulder.

“Guh…!!”

An involuntary groan escaped her lips.

She was hit. Hit by a bullet. Lumina fell as she grabbed her shoulder with her other hand.

“Guh, huuu…—”

“Your gun isn’t the only one here, Mage Comrade.”

Her head spun. As they said, being hit by a bullet really made one lose all thoughts.

A burning sensation spread from the wound like her skin was on fire. Her breathing became rapid, and everything turned white.

“They’re taking her to headquarters. They’ll extract her mana or find some use for her. Better than just killing her.”

“Yes, Comrade.”

No…

Lumina tried to resist, but her body wouldn’t cooperate. The assailants approached her and stretched their rough hands towards her.

In the overwhelming fear and fading vision, the last thing she saw was…

Boom!!!

A golden-haired man appeared amidst the explosion.

*

Bang! A clear gunshot echoed. Was Lumina fighting the thieves who broke free from the encirclement?

‘This way!’

Firing just to signal seemed ominous. I quickly pushed through the underbrush.

Finding her position was easy thanks to the intense light from the flare I had cast.

When I arrived, I found Lumina surrounded by figures in robes, her shoulder soaked in blood.

It was a gunshot wound. Based on the circumstances, these guys definitely shot her.

“These bastards…!!”

Prudent judgment? That word doesn’t apply in such situations. Without mana control or anything else, I couldn’t stand by and watch a squad member get killed.

I fired a Fireball. Since I had already used the spell once, executing it now was straightforward.

Boom!!

“Agh!!”

A massive explosion sent two people near Lumina flying.

“What?!”

Fortunately, one of them managed to avoid the Fireball’s range. As soon as he drew his gun,

Bang!!

I pulled the trigger without hesitation. The man hit in the thigh screamed and rolled on the ground.

“Kyaah!!!”

In an instant, three down. Two left. I swiftly reloaded my gun and took cover behind a tree.

“You are surrounded. Surrender your weapons!”

“Are you an officer of Okhraine? Looks like you’re this girl’s superior.”

All of them wore robes, making their identities unclear. However, they were definitely different from the thieves.

‘It wasn’t a coincidence. If they were lurking around here, they might be behind the real ambush.’

Explosion.

I easily recalled the briefing Major Arnet provided.

At first, I thought they might have brought explosives, but they used mages to collapse the fortress wall.

No—more accurately, these guys mobilized a group of thieves to assault the fortress. I aimed precisely at the leader-looking figure and said,

“You are the ones who captured Belgorod Fortress.”

“…”

He didn’t answer. He just glared with a sharp gaze. It could be seen as a confirmation.

“Comrade Leader…”

The wounded man staggered back, and the others who were pinned to trees by the Fireball began to rise one by one.

It seemed our firepower was insufficient to incapacitate them all at once.

I released more mana. Despite being outnumbered, Bella and Claude would support us soon. The main force was behind us too. Lumina’s gunshot wound worried me, but otherwise, we both would have died if we hadn’t acted.

The mountain was filled with all sorts of cover and concealment. With proper positioning and delaying tactics, five people could handle this.

“Let’s retreat.”

Before I could react to their simultaneous action of pulling out small pebbles from their pockets,

“Where?!”

I fired, but they vanished in an instant. I missed them right in front of me.

Teleportation.

Even though it’s a short-range spell, if they were determined to flee, I couldn’t catch up. Without a special pursuit team, it was impossible for me as a regular mage officer.

“Huu, huuu…”

But that wasn’t the problem now.

Lumina trembled and groaned. She seemed to have lost consciousness.

I quickly checked her wound.

“Lumina, Lumina?!”

Thankfully, the bullet avoided major arteries. It wasn’t severe enough to cause excessive bleeding and shock.

I wrapped her wound tightly with my coat. First, I needed to get her to an ally who could treat her properly.

“Kuuuuh…!!”

Despite the pain and shaky legs from the fight,

I couldn’t afford to fall here. If I couldn’t save an injured subordinate, how could I be responsible for anyone?

“Just a little more, please wait, Lumina!!”

I held her tightly and started moving through the dense forest.

“Captain…! Lumina!!”

Latecomers Bella and Claude found us. After handing over Lumina, I exhausted all my strength and fainted.

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