The trucks rolled down from the mountain path and merged into the main road. Not long after, they reached the outskirts of the town.
The Night Knights guarding the entrance spotted the unfamiliar vehicles and immediately moved to intercept them, surrounding the convoy from both front and rear.
"Relax. We're on the same side."
Otto pulled a gold emblem from his pocket—it was about the size of half a hand. The emblem had been awarded to him personally by Emperor Brüssow after he became a Night Knight. Nothing proved his identity more than this.
"And how do I know—"
Judging by the man's uniform and epaulettes, he was a platoon leader. He was about to argue that the emblem alone wasn't enough proof, but then Rogm and Nemilic showed their own. Even Edwin, without missing a beat, casually jabbed himself with half a vial of Type-3 serum right in front of him.
"...My apologies. Operating behind enemy lines requires us to stay on high alert at all times. I hope you understand."
The man backed down and signaled his squad to clear the way.
"Our operations commander is Dargan of the 3rd Company. If you're looking for him, try the central square."
The 3rd Company. Dargan.
Those names carried serious weight in the Night Knights.
After undergoing bodily modification with the Night Knights' serum, soldiers' lifespans were significantly extended. The oldest veterans—those who had joined during Dazilet's rise to power over a century ago—were assigned to the lower-numbered companies, such as the legendary 3rd.
In fact, the 1st through 4th Companies were all composed of long-serving veterans from the previous century. Night Knights inducted after the military reforms generally began with the 5th Company and beyond. Up until now, only the newer companies had been deployed to the warfront.
But for this operation in Sordessa, they'd dispatched the legendary 3rd Company—and Dargan himself.
"I had the same reaction when I first got the orders," the platoon leader said with a chuckle, patting Otto on the shoulder before heading off with his team.
...
"The 3rd Company, huh? Looks like things around here are even messier than we thought."
Rogm scratched at his thick beard. Everyone's thoughts seemed to drift toward the Judgment Cells.
"Maybe the ones we ran into earlier were just warm-ups..."
Trenchap muttered beside him.
The trucks rolled into the town and stopped in the central square, right where the magical device had been earlier. The squad jumped off and looked around.
Many of the buildings had taken damage, though compared to the ones they passed along the way—some of which had been completely flattened—those near the square had mostly just taken superficial hits.
From their windows, confused townsfolk peered out at the chaos below and the Night Knights on patrol. The attackers, after the battle had ended, had piled the robed bodies of the Judgment Cell members into the square, seemingly for counting. The townspeople themselves, however, were being left alone.
"...The fog's still here."
Sennia swept her gaze over the square, her expression complicated. She looked down at the thin mist still drifting past her boots.
Most of it had dissipated, but a faint white layer still clung to the ground. She gave it a gentle kick—it didn't stir.
"You ever seen anything like this?"
Inaya was the only one in the group who understood magic, so Sennia turned to her instinctively.
"Nope."
Right. Inaya wasn't a walking encyclopedia after all...
"But I think this mist has pretty good mana conductivity..."
As she spoke, tiny sparks danced across Inaya's fingers. Then she dipped them into the fog.
"Ah—!"
A sudden jolt shot through Sennia's foot, like a mild electric shock. She didn't even need to guess.
"You little—"
"Oops~ Guess my hand slipped~"
Inaya said with zero remorse, even throwing in a wink for good measure.
"What are you two doing over there?"
Otto's voice rang out from not far away. With a sigh, Sennia let it go for now and followed after him.
The four platoons quickly found Dargan on the other side of the square. He was surrounded by a dozen platoon leaders and secondary operations officers in an impromptu command circle. Hard to miss, really.
"Good afternoon."
Otto stepped forward and addressed Dargan directly.
The man looked about mid-thirties, with brown hair, deep-set eyes, and a sharply defined face. He wore the standard Night Knight uniform, but notably lacked a rifle or ammo gear—instead, a long cruciform sword hung across his back. Most of them had seen Dargan before. The First through Fourth Companies often served as ceremonial guards for the Emperor, appearing at official events.
"Hello."
Dargan gave Otto a curious glance—understandable, considering Otto was dressed like a civilian.
"We're from the Eleventh Company—Rogm, Nemilic, Trenchap, and I'm Otto."
Otto took the lead, introducing himself and his companions to make their identities clear.
"The Eleventh Company… Command mentioned you."
Dargan studied the four of them carefully, his gaze lingering for a moment before he nodded.
"Taking down thirty judgment cell members with just one company… That's quite the achievement."
"You flatter us," Otto replied modestly.
Dargan shifted topics without missing a beat. "You're here about the withdrawal, right?"
"That's correct. After the last engagement, our four platoons took heavy losses. We need to fall back for recovery and reorganization."
"Understood. Tomorrow, I'm sending a team to raid the airfield northwest of here. Join them. There'll be transport ready to take you back."
With the details settled, they exchanged farewells and made their way back to the trucks.
"So that was the Dargan..." Edwin said, still sounding half in disbelief.
Standing face-to-face with a living legend left him with a sense of unreality.
"I remember he was present when His Majesty decorated our batch of Night Knights," Nemilic added, picking up the thread.
"That guy really that big of a deal?" Inaya asked, nudging Sennia as the group walked. Everyone's reaction had piqued her curiosity.
"He's a veteran among Night Knights—been around for over a hundred years," Sennia answered.
She knew more about Dargan than anyone else here. In fact, as a child, she had even trained under him in swordsmanship. To avoid recognition, she'd deliberately stayed near the back during the meeting, pulling a hat low over her head to cover her distinct silver hair.
"He's... yeah, he's the real deal," Sennia continued. "Back on the hillside, I spotted him right away. And he can use magic, too."
"Yeah, I noticed that," Edwin chimed in. "Never heard of a Night Knight using magic before, though…"
Sennia nodded slightly, still mulling over that revelation. For all the years she'd known Dargan, he had never once mentioned magic—nor shown the slightest hint of it back when she trained with him.
"Well, that's not too surprising, is it?" Inaya shrugged. "Even I've heard the Church was at war with the southern nations once. Maybe they picked up some tricks back then."
"Fair point," Sennia said.
It did make sense. The veterans of the First through Fourth Companies had all fought during that era. The southern coalition forces had even pushed deep into Church territory at one point—who's to say what they might've brought back with them?