Chapter 313: What happened to the captain?

"Sorry for surprising you. We were ordered to help with the evacuation. Is there anything we can do to help you?" Haru asked the man, Known as the grim reaper, as he batted mortar shells up into the air while using Qi to contain the explosion within a bubble until it hit the ground next to the enemy soldiers.

"Japanese mages? I always wondered what you guys were like. Magic is outlawed here, so I have never seen it in action. If you think you can take out the enemy force, then be my guest, but I have been stuck here defending from these bombs for a couple of hours now, and I haven't gotten anywhere." The man said as he still continued to focus on hitting the mortars.

Haru turned back to Captain Liegan, who was at the front of the line as the soldiers all waited in anticipation for Haru to tell them what they were talking about.

"He said if we can take out the forces, then go ahead. He is going to continue to defend the civilians for as long as he can. What are your orders, ma'am?" Haru asked as he looked at Captain Liegan.

"Hm, If he is going to protect the civilians, then we can fight all out without worrying. But will this barrier still remain standing if we start using long-range magic?" Captain Liegan asked herself for a moment as she tried to decide what to do.

"I think it will. From what I know about cultivators is that they have special scriptures that they write on the ground to create barriers like this. I also went on the school trip when I was younger." Jake said as he chimed in with information about cultivation to take the focus away from Haru.

"Is that so? Then I guess we could try to go all out and take them down as quickly as possible," Captain Liegan said as she put a vote of confidence in with the advice from both Haru and Jake. She believed that they wouldn't do anything to cause harm to the civilians or their unit, so she went ahead with her orders for the rest of the unit.

"Okay then! Listen up! We're going to charge for a frontal attack! I want those of you that specialise in defensive magic at the front to dampen the force that we are met with. And then those of you that specialises in long-range magic directly behind the defensive line.

As for those of you that are good at shooting, you will stay down over here and take shots at whichever stupid soldier decided to peak his head up. Your job is to take them out before they can even attack us.

And as for Haru and me, We will try to lead an attack on their flank with swords, so once you push through their defence, hold back a little and wait for my next order. I will leave Sergeant Ainsworth in charge of this one, and we will get into positions." Captain Liegan explained as Jake looked back at her dumbfounded.

He had never even seen a battlefield before, let alone led a unit of soldiers into battle. He felt a little overwhelmed, but he knew that he could trust her judgment even if he was nervous, and the best way to inspire the soldiers he was now in charge of was to hold back his fear and not show any weakness.

"Yes, ma'am! Then we will charge on my mark!" Jake commanded back in response as he led the soldiers past the cultivator that was defending the civilians.

Haru and Captain Liegan got into position a few metres away as they tried to be as inconspicuous as possible so the enemy wouldn't see them approach. But as they walked, Captain Liegan was looking at Haru as though she had something to say.

"Hey, what's the real reason you put up your hood? You have never once complained about the cold. And it's quite humid here. Did you recognise someone? I saw you looking at the civilians in the barrier earlier. It looked as though you recalled something." Captain Liegan said as she knew Haru too well and knew that he wouldn't complain about being cold, yet he did so today.

"I guess you saw through me…." Haru said with a smile as he felt a little embarrassed that she had caught him in a lie, but he wasn't going to tell her the whole truth either way.

"As I said earlier, I used to live here until a couple of years ago. My uncle was inside that barrier with a few family friends, that's all. I didn't want them to see me or know that I was about to fight since they would be worried." Haru said as he looked down at the ground.

'The real reason is that I can't face them no matter what. I don't have the right to after failing her….' Haru thought before looking back up, and here Jake yell from a few metres away.

"Charge!" Jake shouted as loud as he could as he ran towards a large building that the enemy forces were hiding behind.

Gunshots began to echo out as the enemy opened fire on Jake and the unit he was leading until the shooters that were left behind targeted the enemy and shot them dead as soon as they peeked over the rubble they were hiding behind.

"I see. Well, let's head out then. Follow me." Captian Liegan said in a rush as she ran as fast as she could towards the side of a fallen skyscraper with Haru following slightly behind.

There was quite a commotion coming from the enemy as they screamed out commands and went on the defensive as they knew that they couldn't hold off a strategic attack from mages.

"Sir, what do we do!? It's the reinforcements from Japan! Weren't we told that they wouldn't reach us until nightfall? How did they get here so fast?" A soldier called out as a man with blond hair who was wearing a long red cape stepped out from a tent.

"Is that so? The mage unit has arrived. This will be fun." The man said as he stepped out of the tent.

Haru hadn't studied the English language at all, but for some reason, as he looked at the soldiers that were talking, he understood exactly what they were saying.

"So that's their commander? Let's see how he makes orders when he's dead!" Captain Liegan said as she pulled a sword out from her lux. But before she could move, Haru grabbed her hand.

"Don't! Just stay here and watch for a moment. They were just talking about how they got information that we would arrive later tonight. We have arrived earlier than they expected, but I think they might have set something up to deal with us when we do come.

And that guy in the cape seems familiar to me. I'm not sure where I have seen him before, but this is definitely not the first time I have seen him." Haru said as he tried to place where he recognised the blond man from, but no matter how hard he tried to, it wouldn't come to his mind.

"Wait, now that you mention it, I seem to know him from somewhere too. I think I have seen him on TV before." Captain Liegan said as she furrowed her brows while trying to remember where she had seen him. But that was enough to cause the image of this man on a TV screen to rush into Haru's mind.

"He's one of the S rank mages from the US! I remember seeing him on TV too." Haru said as he was now certain of the man's identity.

"An S rank mage!? Are you serious? If that's the case, then we have to call for backup." Captain Liegan said with a worried expression on her face. She didn't know what to do as this was the first time she had seen an S ranked mage in real life before. Haru, on the other hand, wasn't scared for his own safety but for the safety of the soldiers that they had just sent towards him.

But as soon as Captain Liegan began to panic, Haru reached out and poked her in the forehead with his index finger. Suddenly Captain Liegan collapsed as the Qi from Haru's finger knocked her unconscious.

"I'm sorry about this. I just can't take the risk of anyone finding out what I'm about to do. Not even you." Haru said as he then reached out with one hand and began to channel Qi into his palm as he looked at the S rank mage.

"And I apologise to you for using something so brutal. I can't let you kill any of our soldiers." Haru muttered under his breath as he released a humongous beam of fire towards the man.

As soon as the fire made contact with the man's body, he disintegrated and scoured the earth around him as the heat expanded with an explosion. All the nearby soldiers were blown away, and Haru took the time to rush forward and stab them all with his sword to make it look like he and Captain Liegan had taken them all down.

By the time the rest of the unit managed to catch up. Haru had put Captain Liegan over his shoulders and began to carry her away from the scene until he heard Jake call out to him.

"Haru!? What happened to the captain?" Jake asked as he saw Haru standing with her over his shoulders.