บท 32: Before The Attack

The next morning, Del awoke with his head not aching anymore. He didn't drink any alcohol after all. It was dawn. The sun hadn't risen yet. He woke up so early so he could contact Pidma for ammunition resupply. So far, he had spent three drums worth of ammunition. It might be better to just buy 250-round-belt ammunition without the drum.

"Pidma, are you there?" Del walked away from the encampment.

[I'm here, what do you need, Del?]

"I want to buy 7.92x57mm Mauser bullets, can you give me the list?" Del asked.

[Sure]

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[Showing Available 7.92x57mm Ammunition]

[Ammunition Level: 1] [Tech Level: 3] [Total Balance: 5055$]

[7.92x57 FMJ] [10x] [25$]

[7.92x57 HP] [10x] [50$]

[7.92x57 AP] [10x] [80$]

[7.92x57 API] [10x] [100$]

[7.92x57 APS] [10x] [120$]

[7.92x57 HE] [10x] [150$]

[7.92x57 HEAP] [10x] [200$]

[7.92x57 IHEAP] [10x] [300$]

[7.92x57 AM-AP] [10x] [350$]

[7.92x57 AM-HEAP] [10x] [400$]

[7.92x57 AM-IHEAP] [10x] [420$]

[7.92x57 AM-APDS] [10x] [450$]

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"AM ammunition?" Del asked.

[AM stands for Anti-Materiel. For certain types of ammunition, the option for high-end ammunition will provide an Anti-Materiel option. This ammunition had enhanced destructibility and armor-piercing capability. For example, AM-HEAP ammunition will have a bigger explosion than HE ammunition]

"Oh, I see," Del nodded.

[So, Del, what do you want to buy]

"I want to buy of mixed bullets. I want half of the belt to be AP and half of the belt to be FMJ in alternating orders. Basically, after I shot an AP ammo, I want to shoot an FMJ bullet afterward," Del said.

[Calculating…]

[Total Purchase: 1312.5$]

"I accept the purchase," Del said.

Del's backpack glowed slightly. Del approached his backpack and there was a belt of ammunition. The belt of ammunition was very long. Del felt like he was holding a very long snake while holding that belt.

The tip of each bullet was different too. There were some tips of the bullets that didn't have any color and there were also some tips that were colored in blue. Del thought that was the armor-piercing ammunition.

Suddenly, when Del was checking on the belt, Wolfie caressed his feet, "Master, what are you doing?"

"Hahaha, nothing," Del patted Wolfie with one hand and put the ammunition belt back into his backpack with another.

"Was that the thing that you use to defeat me, master?" Wolfie asked.

"Yup, boy, you sure are fluffy," Del rubbed Wolfie's fur even harder.

"C'mon, stop it, hahaha, that tickles," Wolfie rolled down on the ground.

Del sat down on the grass and Wolfie sat right next to him. Del grabbed his MG-42 and he inspected the weapon. He wanted to make sure that there was no big object such as rocks or dust buildup on his gun. He didn't want his gun to jam.

Wolfie observed Del like a good wolf he was. He didn't disturb Del nor ask any questions while he was cleaning his gun. Del loaded the last drum magazine into his MG-42 and he put his machine gun right beside him.

"Wolfie, what do you know about Injia Forest?" Del asked, wondering whether Wolfie knew about it or not.

Suddenly, Cole approached him with a glass of water in his hand, "Talking with your wolf again I see. I am not surprised, to be honest. Mystical wolf had an intelligence level of human, more or less. It's just that they can't ignore their animal instinct," he sipped his glass of water.

"Oh, is that so?" Del asked.

"Yup, as intelligence as Wolfie is, if you throw a bone in his direction, he would catch that bone instead of doing whatever he is supposed to be doing," Cole said.

"I see, anyway, Wolfie, back to the question, can you answer me?" Del ignored Cole and Cole went away.

"Injia Forest is a forest located in that direction," Wolfie pointed his paw at a forest, "It's not that dangerous for a creature like me, but humans always use it as a hideout. I rarely attack them unless I want some variation in my food."

"I see, it's basically an ordinary forest, right?" Del asked.

Wolfie barked, "Correct."

David and the others woke up and they started disassembling the campsite. They took off the tents, rolled up the sleeping bags, and put the equipment back into the carriage. Harold was cooking on the campfire.

Del eventually helped Harold by stirring the stew that he was cooking while Harold cut the vegetables. Eventually, Harold came to respect Del, not out of his own conscience, but out of fear of Del's power.

Somehow, the same Harold that called him a coward stuttered when he talked with him. Del wanted to laugh, but he wouldn't because of David. He might not like it if Del suddenly laughed at Harold, but Harold was quite an arse.

Still, if there was one thing that was good about Harold was that he was a good cook. His food was quite a delicacy. The stew was cooked perfectly and the vegetables weren't overcooked. Del grabbed another serving after he finished with his previous one.

After the quick breakfast, the party quickly left the encampment and headed for Injia Forest. Del rode with Cole again while Wolfie followed them all from behind. So far, everything had been so good.

==============

Injia Forest wasn't as dangerous as it sounded. So far, it just looked like an ordinary forest. The road was even paved properly. It made him wondered why would the forest sounded so dangerous although it wasn't.

"David, I thought Injia forest is dangerous," Del said.

"I didn't say it is dangerous, did I?" David responded.

David never mentioned that the forest was dangerous. It seemed that Del was just paranoid about his situation. He only entered a forest once in this world and he didn't want to enter it again. He was chased by a wild beast when he entered a forest for the first time in that world and he swore that he wouldn't enter a forest ever again.

"Yeah, you didn't say it," Del said.

"Anyway, the bandit headquarter shouldn't even be far. According to the information that I got from the passing merchants, the headquarter should be two hours walk to the south from this road," David said.

"I see. What the tactic will be?" Del asked.

"Lizbeth, Lynia, and Cole would be together. They will attack the headquarter with their spells, I hope you can condition your slave, Del. Harold and I will attract their attention so they don't attack the mages. Meanwhile, you can get a vantage point with that wolf of yours," David said.

Del understood that plan. Lizbeth and Lynia were practically useless in close-quarter combat so it would be wise to pair them with Cole who could both cast a magical spell and use his sword to defend himself.

Harold and David were good in close-quarter combat so both of them would be best to face the heaviest resistance by attracting the bandits' attention. However, Del wasn't sure about his role. After all, he was the only one who was paired with Wolfie and the only one who used firearms.

Still, Del bet that Wolfie had more use than either Harold or David. Those twin mages wouldn't serve too much purpose either since Cole was the only one who understood Del's combat style which was using firearms.

"Wait a minute, Cole doesn't even understand them, how could they work together as a team?" Del asked, even though he knew that Cole got those two twins without saying a word.

"Well, I only ask Cole to be a body shield to be entirely honest," David said.

"He's my slave, he does what I want, Cole is better to be paired with me, either that or I tag along with the mage team," Del said.

"Fine, fine, I think you have a point," David said.

"Great, I know that you are capable of making the best decision, David," Del said.

"You and Cole should be attacking from the highest point in the area. Harold and I would attack from the north direction alongside Lynia and Lizbeth. You two wait until most of the bandits' attention is directed toward us. After that, you two have to attack," David said.

"It sounds like a solid plan to me," Del said.

"It is a solid plan. Anyway, I don't have any doubt that your magical tool and your wolf will make sure our battle ends up victorious. I hope you don't disappoint, Del," David said.

"I won't, but you better do your job, David, I don't want every single bandit to come after me," Del said.

"Don't worry, Harold and I are a very capable knight," David said.

"I hope what you said is true," Del commented.

They parked their carriage and their horse on the side of the road. They continued their journey to the bandit headquarter on foot because neither the horse nor the carriage would fit on the small footwalk to the forest.