Episode 6: Northern Front (5)
I successfully passed Wave Techniques to all members of the special task force.
As exceptional talents handpicked by Irena, they learned quickly.
Combining Aura Technique with Wave Techniques boosted our combat strength nearly fourfold.
But it still wasn’t enough. Wave Techniques needed to spread far beyond Aura Technique to avert the world’s destined destruction.
“I yield. I learned something today.”
“Likewise.”
I was sparring with the knight division’s regular knights again.
The difference now was that they addressed me with respect.
Seven years had passed since I arrived at the northern front.
As I endured, the knight division’s roster had changed.
After the Radiata subjugation, all knights senior to me, except Irena and her adjutant, were replaced.
Even Sir Dolfin, whom I was close to, lost a leg in the last great beast battle and retired.
The new knights were young, fresh Academy graduates brimming with vigor.
This marked my twenty-first consecutive victory.
Having grown through countless life-or-death battles, I could now guarantee a 100% win rate against regular knights.
“Sir Ian, may I ask a question?”
“Ask away.”
“In today’s sparring, did you use the secret technique your special task force is said to be training in?”
“Yes. It’s called Wave Techniques. It’s still being refined, so we’re only using it within the special task force.”
The young knight who lost to me asked with shining eyes,
“Could you teach it to me too?”
Starting with him, other knights who’d been listening swarmed in.
“Could I learn it too?”
“Please, I’d like to as well!”
“Me too!”
Word had spread among the soldiers that Wave Techniques were an exclusive skill taught only to special task force members.
The special task force’s feats, like slaying high-tier demonic beasts, had fueled its fame. Naturally, I had no intention of keeping Wave Techniques a secret.
“It’s tricky to teach widely right now. We need a more structured system to train larger numbers of soldiers.”
Passing on the Wave required Rie and me to spend over a day injecting it into someone, and even then, success wasn’t guaranteed—sometimes it took over a month.
That’s why we’d limited it to the special task force. To spread Wave Techniques across the northern front, we needed a better system and more people capable of sensing the Wave.
“Oh…”
“Don’t look so disappointed. I’ll make sure to teach you eventually.”
***
After defeating a high-tier demonic beast, Irena, sitting atop its corpse, spoke casually.
“Ian, I heard you’re teaching your special task force something called Wave Techniques. Is that the Wave you mentioned two years ago, developed further?”
“Through research, I found a way to pass it on.”
“But it’s not fully systematized yet?”
“Exactly. It takes Rie and me a full day to transfer it, and even then, it’s hit or miss.”
Irena pulled her frost spear from the corpse and stepped down.
“Good.”
Her silver hair fluttered as she turned to me, her blue eyes tracing a gentle arc.
With a playful smile, she continued,
“Ian, I’m handing over all authority of the special task force to you.”
“…What?”
“You’re going to gather promising talent.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Without answering, Irena grabbed my hand and pulled me up. Raising her frost spear beside me, her playful expression turned serious.
“In the name of Irena Krauze, Commander of the Empire’s First Knight Division, I hereby decree: As of this moment, Special task force Leader Ian is granted full authority over the special task force, including operational, personnel, and organizational rights.”
“Wait, hold on, what’s—”
“From now on, the special task force will move according to your will. I, Irena Krauze, will not object.”
I was thrown by her sudden decision. Wasn’t the special task force originally her handpicked combat unit?
Why was she giving it to me now?
Irena smiled softly and added,
“It means I trust you. I believe your Wave Techniques could be the key to turning the tide of this war.”
“…Are you serious?”
“Yes. Completely.”
I looked into her eyes. The resolute gaze of a commander looking to the future overlapped with the hesitant, determined eyes of a human pushing forward.
Instinctively, I knew no words could change her decision. Scratching my head, I faced her squarely.
“Understood.”
I knelt on one knee before her and bowed my head.
“Special task force Leader Ian, at your command.”
***
I actively utilized the authority Irena delegated to me.
First, I disbanded the six-member special task force and reorganized it into six seven-member special platoons. Hearing the news, Rie teased me.
“Captain, don’t tell me you got another promotion? That’s why you gotta charm the ladies.”
“I didn’t charm anyone. It’s pure, 100% friendship, not romance.”
“Sure, sure, I knew you’d say that. Anyway, since I’m already on your side, doesn’t this mean my path to glory’s wide open?”
“…No.”
Rie grinned, ignoring my words.
“Hah! That’s why you gotta pick the right side. One snap from you, captain, and it’s a ticket to success.”
“Don’t say that outside.”
“Obviously! I’d get chewed out behind my back for that.”
“Then why say it to my face?”
“I figured a guy charming enough to win over the duke’s daughter and the commander would have the grace to let a comment like that slide.”
“Stop with the nonsense.”
I scouted the front lines for recruits, examining both fresh soldiers and veterans with over two years’ experience.
Rolling through the front for so long gave me a kind of intuition: this one will survive, that one’s got three months at best. It wasn’t baseless.
I wasn’t reading faces. I looked for posture and gait—traits common among the talented. They instinctively adjusted to the most efficient stances, a quality that stood out starkly in the snowy northern fields.
I strolled through small-scale skirmishes like a walk in the park, slaying monsters and demonic beasts while scouting for talent.
“Hey, you! Join the special task force.”
The soldier I pointed to hurriedly wiped blood from his eyes with his sleeve.
“W-what did you say?”
“Come to the special task force’s barracks as soon as you return to base.”
Next, I pointed to a soldier struggling with a monster.
The monster’s head fell, and the soldier, collapsing atop it, looked bewildered.
“You too, join the special task force.”
“…The special task force? For real? The one that teaches secret techniques?”
“Uh, me?”
“Yes, this is my chance to see if the rumors about the elite who slaughtered a great demonic beast solo are true.”
“I’ve only been stationed here for two months—”
Within a month, the special task force was fully staffed.
Existing members became platoon leaders, teaching Wave Techniques to their squads using the methods they’d learned.
With a system in place and more Wave users, the process sped up.
I planned to expand and accelerate the spread of Wave Techniques.
***
Five months later, the location of the first demonic beast was finally pinpointed.
Northern Front Command, underground operations room.
The heavy iron door closed, signaling the start of the meeting.
In the center of the gray stone-walled room, a massive map was spread out, dotted with markers.
An intelligence officer stepped forward to brief.
“The origin of all demonic beasts, the presumed first entity, has revealed itself.”
“Where?”
The officer pointed to a red dot.
“Here. The northernmost mountain range, deep within the Hairem Fault Zone, near the old Belgas sulfur mine. We detected ancient demonic energy, followed by three identical amplitude signals.”
Acting Commander-in-Chief Brian Selve turned his head.
“Is this certain? That area’s been a dead zone for a century. No recon last year either.”
“That’s precisely why we’re confident.”
The officer continued,
“Amplitude cycles, density, and most crucially, visual distortion—all signals far beyond those of typical great demonic beasts.
This isn’t just a manifestation. It’s the primal source of all known domonic beasts.”
The true origin.
A being that warps the very laws of the battlefield.
Until now, every creature that had appeared was just a lesser imitation of it.
“How many units can deploy Wave Techniques in combat?”
“As of now, 43 have mastered it. Twenty-two are combat-ready. The rest need more time.”
“Ian, form a strike team centered on the special task force. This is a chance we haven’t had in 120 years. We can’t let it slip.”
Irena, staring at the red dot on the map, spoke.
“We will subjugate the first demonic beast, Erebeon.”