Turncoat Pawn.
The moment it appeared before the recon team; The members swiftly moved into position and aimed their weapons.
"...Enemy attack!"
No one knew why the Turncoat Pawn had appeared at such a time and place.
But there was no need to understand.
Turncoats were monsters whose goals and thoughts were always completely inscrutable.
With Hildegard's shout, the recon team instantly surrounded the Turncoat Pawn.
All the while, it simply stood there, watching them as if entertained by some amusing little performance.
'...It dares to act composed?'
Hildegard saw the scene with her own eyes.
And that only fueled her fury.
Even if Carl Marcus was away, for a mere beast to look down on Ark soldiers?
"We're dealing with a Turncoat. This isn't the time to conserve ammunition, you all know that, right?"
"Yes."
"Understood."
"Hmph."
Following Hildegard's command, the recon team adjusted their Ark-15 adaptive rifles into automatic and shotgun modes and aimed at the Turncoat Pawn.
That seemed to be the signal.
"It's coming!"
The Turncoat Pawn finally made its move.
"Fire!"
As acting team leader, Hildegard gave the order.
Gunfire tore through the night air, bullets flying toward the Turncoat Pawn.
Clang!—
Clank! Clank!
The shots hadn't missed.
They had hit—but failed to inflict any real damage.
'What is that bone made of...?'
Hildegard and the others had faced Turncoats before and were prepared for resistance—but this level of defense far surpassed expectations.
It seemed even more durable than the Turncoat Knight they'd encountered previously.
"Damn it...!"
A moment of hesitation.
But hesitation always came with a price.
A bone spear, extending in an instant, slammed into Dmitri's stomach.
"Urgh!"
The Turncoat Pawn didn't stop.
Flowing like water, it swung the spear at Kurilta, who stood nearby.
"Hmph!"
Kurilta slung his Ark-15 over his back and drew two hand axes from his belt.
They were specially crafted weapons, forged at the Smel Workshop specifically for him.
Claaang!—
A tremendous clang echoed—a sound no one would believe came from bone striking alloy.
Logically, the bone spear should've broken in the clash, but instead, Kurilta's axes were being overpowered.
Crack—
Craackk—
Cracks began forming along the axes.
Sensing he couldn't hold out any longer, Kurilta instinctively withdrew and launched a kick.
"Hup!"
But his kick was blocked—no, nearly pierced—by a bone tendril that shot from the Turncoat Pawn's abdomen.
"Gah!"
The tendril nearly stabbed clean through his boot, but Kurilta twisted his body just in time to avoid it.
As soon as distance formed between Kurilta and the Turncoat Pawn, the other team members opened fire.
"Kill it!"
Dmitri roared as he pulled the trigger.
But unfortunately, the firepower of their Ark-15s was insufficient to damage the Turncoat Pawn meaningfully.
"Dmitri! Fall back!"
Klutz shouted as he raised his rifle.
Even the Turncoat Pawn, with its tough outer shell, had openings—between the bone tendrils.
"Hmph."
Holding his breath, Klutz fired a precise shot.
Banggg!
A stream of bullets shot straight between the tendrils.
But the sound that followed was the same metallic clang as before.
Clang!
Clank!
There was a secondary layer of armor between the tendrils.
Under normal circumstances, they would've launched a follow-up strike with that intel—but Klutz wasn't given the time.
The Turncoat Pawn accelerated.
Like a flash of lightning, it swept through the team's formation, its spear ruthlessly slamming into them.
Thwack!
"Guh!"
Smack!
"Kyaah!"
Crack!
"Urgh!"
With just a single move, the Turncoat Pawn sent every member of the recon team flying.
It was a small miracle they still held onto their weapons.
"Hack!"
"Cough! Cough!"
Luckily, no one had sustained fatal injuries during the swift takedown.
Under normal circumstances, that would've raised questions, but no one had the luxury of pondering such things now.
As the Turncoat Pawn turned slowly to face the fallen soldiers, they began to groan and rise.
"Ghhh..."
"...You damn bastard."
Dmitri cursed and pulled something from his coat.
A R-1 Plasma Sword.
Zzzzzzzt...!
The sword hummed as a harsh white light surged from it.
This should be able to slice through the Turncoat Pawn's unnaturally hard armor.
"Haaah..."
The others didn't sit idly either.
The first to move—was Iris.
[Heehee...]
[Did... you call me...?]
[Kikiki...]
Violent ether swirled around her.
It had clearly grown stronger since before.
"...Everyone."
Hildegard slowly opened her mouth.
Her eyes shimmered with radiant gold.
"Tactical Formation A-11."
Insight Eye.
The power within Hildegard's eyes began to fully activate.
"To positions."
The moment Acting Recon Team Leader Hildegard gave the order, the team members moved with sharp precision.
If there are no teeth, use your gums.
If the gums won't do, grit with sheer will.
They understood the fundamental tactics of Ark better than anyone.
"Iris, suppress the enemy's movements."
"Got it."
"Dmitri, wait for my signal and then strike. In this situation, your Plasma Sword is the only weapon capable of effective damage."
"Understood."
"Kurilta, Klutz. You'll move with me to distract the enemy."
"Let's do this."
"...Got it."
The strategy was set in an instant, and Hildegard and Kurilta moved first.
"Yrah!"
Claang!
Kurilta's axe slammed down.
He had determined that close combat was better than relying on ineffective firearms.
Klutz, meanwhile, took aim with the DR-404 revolver Dmitri had handed him.
It was loaded with armor-piercing rounds—ones far larger than the standard caliber used by the Ark-15 automatic conversion rifles.
BANG!─────
With a thunderous report, the bullet rocketed toward the Turncoat Pawn.
Even a Turncoat couldn't possibly react to a bullet fired at that speed.
Or so they believed...
Fssssss!──
The armor-piercing round from the DR-404 embedded itself in one of the Turncoat Pawn's bone tendrils.
It didn't bounce off like the earlier rounds—but it didn't pierce through, either.
"This is insane...!"
Klutz couldn't hide his shock.
Even if it was meant as a diversion, considering the DR-404's power, it should have done some damage.
But the scene before him was incomprehensible.
"Where are you looking?!"
In the meantime, Kurilta swung his axes.
Whoosh!
His blow was powerful enough to cleave a man's head in two—but unfortunately, his opponent wasn't just any beast.
It was a Turncoat, classified as a high-risk threat among monsters.
[Kikik, keekeeek...!]
A horrific screech echoed as dozens of bone tendrils shot toward Kurilta.
"Now!"
At his shout, Hildegard's eyes flared with golden light.
The signal had been given.
"Iris!"
"Yes."
The distraction had worked.
Now it was up to Iris and Dmitri.
[Catch it?]
[Catch it. Catch it. Catch it. Catch it. Catch it. Catch it. Catch it. Catch it. Catch it. Catch it. Catch it...]
[Bind. Bind...?]
Ether burst from Iris and wrapped around the Turncoat Pawn, momentarily restraining its movements.
Dmitri seized the opening without hesitation.
"It's over, you bastard!"
A vicious grin spread across his face as the R-1 Plasma Sword surged toward the Turncoat Pawn.
Zzzzziiing───!!
The blade slashed downward toward its head—
And what he saw next froze the breath in his throat.
"What the...!?"
Crackle, sizzle...!
The plasma particles halted against a bone tendril, unable to advance.
The armor was so absurdly tough that not even the R-1 Plasma Sword could break through.
[Kiiik!]
The Turncoat Pawn's screech, sounding like mockery, sent a chill down Dmitri's spine.
'...We're screwed.'
The Turncoat Pawn advanced.
And there was no way to counter.
THWACK!───
"Gaaah!"
The blunt tip of a bone spear drove into Dmitri's stomach.
The recon team's eyes widened in horror, fearing it had pierced through.
But thankfully, it didn't—it seemed the end was dull.
"Gghrk...!"
Still, it was a serious injury.
Dmitri collapsed, rendered completely combat ineffective.
The Turncoat Pawn did not stop.
Like a hyena circling its prey, it slowly turned to the rest of the recon team.
"...Hildegard, your command."
"If we act carelessly, it might use Dmitri as a hostage—or kill him. We need to fall back and assess the situation."
That was Hildegard's judgment.
The reason it hadn't killed Dmitri was likely because it planned to use him.
'...This isn't just a beast. It's intelligent. It knows how to take hostages.'
Because of that, she couldn't determine a winning strategy.
The armor that bullets couldn't even scratch was bad enough—but its movements were also beyond what any ordinary beast could manage.
It almost felt like it had taken the first volley of bullets just to show off.
"Kurilta, can you find a chance to retrieve Dmitri?"
"...It won't be easy, but I'll try."
"Good."
Even in this desperate moment, Hildegard kept thinking—how to get Dmitri back and retreat.
But that thought was shattered in the next instant—
As the Turncoat Pawn charged forward.
SWOOSH!───
The bone spear slashed.
There was no dodging it, no blocking it.
The result was already determined.
THUMP!
Hildegard was struck and flung away.
The Turncoat Pawn didn't stop.
Next came Iris, then Kurilta—each felled by a single sweep of its weapon.
Now, only Klutz remained standing before it.
"Grrr...!"
Klutz clenched his teeth.
They had always known Turncoats were strong.
But this—this was beyond reason.
'Can this even be beaten...?'
No—he already knew.
There was no chance of victory.
The Turncoat Pawn approached.
Death approached.
FWOOOSH!
The bone spear shot forth—
And then everything went dark.