Chapter 38 – The Gate of Hell

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“…What did you say is in front of our camp?”

As Lucas questioned back with an expression as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, the two cadets who had gone on reconnaissance began to scramble and ramble.

“We were about to go on reconnaissance, and there was something in front of our camp?”

“We thought it was a small snowpile at first, but……”

“It was wriggling!!”

“Looking closely, a child tied up in ropes was struggling.”

“I seriously doubted my own eyes.”

“So, you’re saying that looks like Lord Haydam?”

As Lucas asked, raising his hand to stop the two who were talking excitedly, the two nodded their heads rapidly in agreement.

“There’s only one child in the training ground right now, and that’s Lord Haydam.”

“No… why is Lord Haydam in front of our camp in such a state?”

“In my opinion… it seems he was abandoned……”

“Abandoned?”

While Lucas frowned, another cadet spoke.

“Shouldn’t we go check?”

“Hmm……”

Although it smelled heavily of a trap, having heard that Haydam was abandoned in front of their camp while bound, they couldn’t not check.

If it was a trap, the A Team fellows would also be ambushed nearby, so attacking the ambush from behind to wipe them out all at once was also an option.

…And he also wanted to see that sight with his own eyes.

Honestly, Lucas thought the scouting unit fellows had seen wrong.

Until he confirmed it with his own two eyes.

“…It’s real, though?”

The B Team cadets were startled upon seeing a truly small child collapsed on the snowfield while bound.

“What is that?”

“Did they really abandon him like that and leave?”

“How could they do that……”

“Even if it’s a trap, this is a bit too much.”

Lucas also fell into shock for a moment like the other cadets, but soon regained his senses and issued instructions.

“There could be an ambush nearby, so you guys search the surroundings. The rest, cover me.”

“Yes!”

Having entrusted his cover to the team members, Lucas hurriedly approached Haydam.

Seen up close, Haydam was covered with cloth not only over his body but also over his eyes and mouth.

‘What on earth is this……!’

Although he had told the other cadets just now that it could be a trap, Lucas wore a disgusted expression.

‘Is there really a need to go this far?’

This was merely a training simulation.

Even if Haydam, who had already proven his ability in the training simulation with those fellows, won this training, the most he could obtain was merely restoring the honor of his other team members.

Was there any reason for the sole successor of the commander to sacrifice his own body to this extent for the honor of other cadets who had lost to him?

Furthermore,

‘If even one of Lord Haydam’s team members dies, the training ends.’

If B Team, having discovered the defenseless Haydam, resolved to shoot him, the game would end.

‘This is no trap.’

Sensing so, Lucas hurriedly helped Haydam up and removed his blindfold and the gag in his mouth.

“Lord Haydam! Are you alright?”

At Lucas’s question, Haydam replied in a small voice, unable to even open his eyes.

“I-I’m cold……”

“Oh dear.”

Lucas picked up Haydam in his arms and stood up.

The cadets who had gone to search the surroundings returned before long and gathered beside Lucas.

“There’s nothing nearby. It doesn’t seem like a trap.”

“Then what on earth is this? Don’t tell me the A Team fellows……”

“He seems cold. Let’s take him to our camp first.”

“What do you mean?”

A team member opposed to bringing him to the camp stepped forward.

“No, Lord Haydam is A Team regardless, so does it make sense to bring him to our camp?”

“Isn’t it fine if we bring him as a prisoner? Just in case, I haven’t untied the ropes yet.”

“What?”

Since everyone had only looked at Haydam cradled in Lucas’s arms, they seemed to realize belatedly that the ropes were not fully undone yet.

“No… is this really alright?”

“Are we not going to untie him?”

“Well, untying him would be strange too, right?”

Even while such conversation was exchanged, Haydam was shivering violently.

Lucas let out a soft sigh and spoke.

“Let’s bring him back first.”

* * *

The story Haydam managed to tell after returning to the camp and regaining some warmth with blankets and a campfire was enough to plunge the B Team cadets into shock.

“They bound you… as soon as the training started, Lord Haydam?”

“Yes… although it is shameful……”

Haydam spoke in a crawling voice, unable to even lift his head.

“They said they never agreed to the rule where they lose if one person dies… and that if they were going to lose anyway, they would offer me as a sacrifice, so they told me to go die……. They said B Team wouldn’t be able to boast proudly either about winning by killing a child first……”

The B Team cadets gasped in shock.

“Wow… what kind of bastards are they……”

“No wonder. I wondered how those cowards showed up at the training ground at all.”

“Since they thought they couldn’t win anyway, they came to take out their grudge on Lord Haydam.”

“But how long are we going to keep him tied up? Let’s untie him now.”

When a cadet who felt pity for him after hearing Haydam’s story spoke so, the other cadets’ expressions turned subtle.

“My heart is softening a bit too, but even so, untying him is……”

“He is pitiful, but this is training. We can’t release an enemy in the middle of our camp.”

“What? Did you not hear what Lord Haydam said? I bet Lord Haydam doesn’t want those guys to win either. No, are you guys seriously doubting Lord Haydam? Do you still think this is a trap?”

As one somewhat emotional cadet heated up, Lucas calmed him down and spoke.

“We aren’t trying to doubt Lord Haydam either. In any case, training must be done like actual combat. It is right to be careful.”

“That may be so, but……”

When a few cadets showed they were quite uncomfortable, one cadet who had opposed bringing him to the camp from the start blurted out as if wondering why they were even agonizing over such a thing.

“If you really want to release him, why not just kill him here and end the training?”

However, all the other cadets pushed back against that opinion.

“Then it goes exactly as the A Team fellows wished!”

“Bones, would you be able to go around saying you won by killing Lord Haydam?”

“Why wouldn’t I be able to? Looking at your intelligence, it seems you guys are exactly at Lord Haydam’s level anyway.”

“Bones!!”

“Stop.”

Unable to watch any longer, Lucas stopped the cadets.

“Are you planning to cause internal strife over this? Just keep him tied. Lord Haydam must have prepared himself for at least that much.”

“Senior! Are you serious? We are proud cadets of the military academy. Are we, in such position, saying we should keep him tied because we are afraid of a child like Lord Haydam?”

“All those proud cadets have frozen to death. I suppose you would spare a child if they begged for their life on the battlefield too?”

“What?!”

Even though Lucas warned them not to cause internal strife over this, a debate raged on among the team members for quite a while over whether to untie Haydam or not.

Sensing signs of internal strife, the cadets who had not participated in the argument also felt a sense of crisis and clung to Lucas.

“Senior… the situation seems to be turning strange……”

“Lucas, do something about this.”

While Lucas scowled, the cadets who had been arguing also looked at Lucas.

“Right! Let’s just follow Senior Lucas’s decision!”

The cadet who claimed they should release Haydam spoke with earnest eyes.

“You’ll release him, right? Yes? Senior Lucas?”

“You must not release him. Either kill him instead!”

“Are you seriously a crazy sociopath?!”

Just when voices were about to raise once more, a youthful voice flew in between them.

“Kill me.”

Because the one who spat that out was Haydam, the B Team cadets stared at Haydam with startled eyes.

Haydam wore a face of self-despair.

“Kill me and end the training.”

“No, Lord Haydam. Are you serious?”

“I was too reckless. Since I acted up relying on just a single experience, I have no excuse even if I suffer like this. So… just kill me and end the training.”

The cadets looked at each other with slightly confused faces.

“But… we do not want such an dishonorable victory. To shoot a prisoner who isn’t resisting……”

“I will explain well to the other cadets what happened inside. I am so embarrassed that things turned out like this.”

“Lord Haydam……”

A situation where even the party involved, Haydam, was telling them to just kill him.

Even though he said he would even explain after the training ended, conversely, no cadet stepped forward readily to kill Haydam.

Since even the cadet who had been claiming they should kill him just now closed his mouth with a complicated expression.

“Lucas… what are you going to do?”

At someone’s question, Lucas let out a soft sigh, and drew the military sword he was wearing at his waist.

As Lucas drew the military sword, a few cadets gasped in surprise.

“Lucas!”

“Y-you aren’t really going to kill him and end the training, are you?”

Thinking that they would kill a child who was even bound to end the training no matter how much it was a simulation, even the cadets who opposed untying him had bad expressions.

Although they knew in their heads that they shouldn’t untie him, it wasn’t like they wanted to win in this manner either.

“…Lucas!”

In the end, the cadet who had been claiming they should kill him first spoke.

“I think I thought wrong. Let’s not kill him. We can release him and place guards on him. We need someone to guard the flag anyway.”

“R-right, Senior Lucas!”

“I will stay with Cohen.”

“Right, Harry and Cohen are trustworthy.”

While the opinions gathered toward releasing Haydam and guarding him.

Lucas stared quietly at Haydam with an expression that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“Lord Haydam.”

“Yes……?”

“Training is not a joke. I trust you know that well by now.”

As Lucas spoke and adjusted his grip on the military sword, the cadets shouted in panic for a moment.

“Lucas……!”

“Hey!”

The cadets, who were about to stop Lucas thinking he was stabbing Haydam, wore relieved expressions at the last moment when Lucas slipped the military sword back into its sheath and untied Haydam’s ropes.

Haydam looked at Lucas, who was untying his bonds, with a dazed expression.

“Why… instead of just killing me……”

“I am releasing the bonds, but I will place guards on you.”

“Will it be alright? I am the enemy team regardless……”

“It is not something for you, the enemy team’s Lord Haydam, to worry about.”

Answering Haydam flatly, Lucas spoke toward his team members.

“Harry, Cohen. You two stay behind. Fire a flare if anything happens. If Lord Haydam shows even the slightest suspicious behavior, do not hesitate to kill him.”

“Oh, of course.”

Haydam had a face showing he was ashamed.

“I really have no words to say. Because I caused unnecessary trouble, you all have to suffer like this……”

“No. Those kinds of guys need to suffer a major setback to know their place.”

“Please rest, Lord Haydam. We can just defeat underhanded fellows like the A Team guys with our skills.”

“Yes… thank you, everyone.”

The cadets who received Haydam’s thanks packed up their equipment, feeling a bit awkward.

“Only Harry and Cohen stay, and the rest head to the A Team camp. Let’s finish it quickly.”

And so…….

Hell’s gate opened for B Team.