“Further withdrawals noted between both sides in the Gallian–Asturian border have been noted, with units moving out from their defensive positions. The Gallian Junta has issued a statement that national defense will now be focused in the east, where the ‘real threat’ of CFN invasion is, by consensus, the greatest. The Asturian Republic on the other hand issued stern warnings for attempts of naval invasion, with the redeployments possibly a move to strengthen the nation’s coastal security from MN incursions. Regardless of the reasons, it appears that fighting has now mostly died down in the border, with only minor skirmishes and intermittent artillery bombardments being recorded in the past few days.”

  - Geopol Press

  +++

  North Hebei

  Near Ginzhu

  7th Anti-Magic Unit

  March 3, 2026

  Lieutenant Song Jun took a deep breath.

  One of the greatest questions every fighting man had to ask themselves from the start was a simple one. How would one fight a powerful mage? Of course, all women were mages. Likely, every rifleman and soldier in existence would struggle to actually defeat them one-on-one.

  Usually, casualty ratios in the battlefield when facing these people were two-to-one or three-to-one. The only true way to keep large formations of women soldiers at bay was heavy artillery, airstrikes, and armored formations. That largely kept the tide of battle somewhat balanced, in a limited way… ninety percent of the time.

  Now, the ten percent that was a problem. Whenever formations of soldiers or small units actually converge in CQC or medium-ranged combat. Major problems always develop in such unfortunate scenarios, and casualties would be ugly. But, that was to be expected.

  Tactics needn't change much in such cases. It would always be the same—fight them with your rifles, throw a few more bodies at them, and business would go on.

  No, the real question was, how would one fight the one percent? No, not the one percent, the zero point one percent. Battlemages. Not simple combat mages or women with arcano rifles, or perhaps your run-of-the-mill young mage that could release a lot of flashy magic here and there.

  No…battlemages. The few thousand women who walked the world as if they owned it. To Song Jun, they were akin to mini-goddesses. Fighting them was a death sentence, for almost all men, and even most women. These people were either young geniuses, prodigies who studied in the finest magical schools out there, with great talent that would make them shine like a star from the crowd, or old, wise, and decades-long trained wizards with the most eccentric ways of living.

  These kinds of women were prideful. Arrogant. Many were emotionless. They see themselves above the masses. Song Jun had never seen any of them that seemed ‘human’. They could kill everyone else around them as if they were ants. Their minds and bodies were beyond that of normal, and there was no reason for them to regard those ‘normal’ as worthy of their attention.

  As luck would have it, most of these women also rarely participated in wars. Even now, with the MN regimes in full crisis mode, churning out even their precious daughters to the meat grinder, these women were largely absent on the battlefield. Of course, they would be. To coerce them would just invite ridiculous trouble for no reason, and there was no reasonable way to control these people on the battlefield anyway.

  But luck wouldn’t always be on Song Jun’s side. This time, there were already eighteen to twenty of these ‘Class S’ Battlemages, the top threats recognized by the Republican Army. By the military’s estimates, these mini-goddesses have already vanquished at least three to four thousand troops on their own.

  To destroy them was the 7th Anti-Magic Unit’s job. It was a mere battalion-sized unit, filled with the best minds out there when it came to this mission. Even then, their single objective was so deadly, that casualty rates were usually at fifty to sixty percent each mission.

  This would be no different.

  He took a deep breath, as he relayed his commands to his men. The dark, deserted city block they were operating in was dead silent, save for the almost imperceptible buzz of three flying quadcopter drones above them. Down below, teams of six men under Song Jun moved with great precision, clearing house-to-house as they did.

  “Lieutenant, this is O-1. I got visual. She’s alone,” one of the drone operators spoke to his headset. “As we expected.”

  Even under his gas mask, a smile grew on Song Jun’s face. These prideful creatures…so predictable.

  “Copy, O-1. Keep watch over Team A. Send the loitering drones to their pre-emptive positions.”

  “On it.”

  As they moved closer to their target, their first line of defense was stealth. Each man moved like a ghost, and none of them advanced without the cover or support of their comrade. Truth be told, they were special forces in many ways, and this was their specialization.

  Unfortunately, considering how many of them would die on this duty, it was questionable if any of them had enough value to be called ‘special forces’. As far as Song Jun saw it, they were just above the more disposable fodder that fought the rest of the war.

  He rushed upwards through one of the apartments’ staircases. Behind him was his XO, both of them armed with high-powered assault rifles, each loaded with powerful armor-piercing rounds. When they reached the rooftop, they quickly ducked, their night-vision goggles spotting the distant figure below.

  She traveled alone. She was young—more like twenty-two of age. Must be another arrogant young miss from a noble house, who volunteered in the Imperial Army to ‘prove’ her magical prowess. She held nothing at the moment, but of course, none of them would be so easily convinced by that.

  Most likely, she was on another high-risk scouting mission, something that normal soldiers and mages wouldn’t be able to do. This woman however was clearly a rank-climber, volunteering herself to deadly crap like this.

  Overconfidence and arrogance. It’s gonna be your funeral.

  As each soldier from the three teams prepared themselves in their positions, above them, more loitering drones rose. From here, Song Jun could count sixteen drones buzzing high above them. There were twenty-eight of them, in actuality. He just couldn’t see the rest.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  He looked at the young woman’s face. How terribly pretty she was. Her skin was perfect, fair, and somewhat glowing from its good health. Her brown hair was clean and silky, tied neatly by an almost childish blue ribbon on the side. Even her dress didn’t belong here. Its bright colors and frilly designs were an affront to the theme of war.

  Yet, she walked there, confident, untouched, and untainted. It was almost as if she was mocking them. All of them were hiding. Many of them were dirtied and muddied. And there were so many of them, just to kill one. Yet here she was, walking so courageously.

  Even Song Jun felt as if he was a mere mortal staring at a pure, innocent, and divine entity.

  But…

  This is war.

  He readied his assault rifle.

  His XO’s hold on his radio tightened.

  Above them, the drones finished readying themselves.

  You should respect it, just as we do to you, young miss.

  “All units. Commence attack. Let’s bag this little missy.”

  “Clear copy, Lieutenant.”

  A smile quickly grew on her face, as her golden halo shone brightly on the battlefield. Three grenades that glowed blue dropped near her, their explosions leaving electric-like currents that froze and disrupted mana.

  “I knew it,” her voice reverberated, her emotionless yet childlike giggles filling the darkness. “You guys are out here again. It’s round two, isn’t it?”

  She flew up high, as gunfire traced her body. A long, spear-like staff was summoned on her hands, and her eyes glowed brightly. Bluish runic circles appeared around her, and beams of light began smiting those down below.

  However, the response from Song Jun’s platoon was measured and calculated. Gunshots began raining on her shields with deadly precision and volume, slowly placing strain on her. She was forced to move and dodge, as loitering drones chased her, each of them exploding mid-air with their proximity fuses.

  Teams broke up into groups of two, some of them acting as bait and exposing themselves, while others kept up their gunfire. Three missiles from hand-held MANPADs streaked through the night sky, striking her shield and causing violent explosions.

  Momentarily losing control of her magic, she almost fell, but then, she rose again, chased by more loitering drones. Her spells made short work on men who exposed themselves as bait, three of them dying to the beams of light in an instant.

  Heh, she’s a feisty girl, huh?

  Song Jun and his XO jumped to another rooftop after he slapped a magazine on his emptied gun, before rappelling downwards using his rope. They rushed through the streets rapidly, and each team did the same.

  Above them, the gunfire and drones speeding and exploding at her caused a near-consistent fireworks show, until she descended near one of the buildings, raised her staff, and sent a barrage of blue light at the swarm.

  Blanketed by explosions in the sky, the movement of men below was masked. Two more MANPAD missiles at her floating form, causing an explosion that dropped her straight to the ground.

  “We got her pinned,” Song Jun shouted on his comms as he and his XO turned a lane. Seeing her on the main road, already standing up, their guns lit up. “Kill her now!”

  Around her, fire teams of soldiers appeared from all directions. Grenades, bullets, and even disposable recoilless AT shots pummeled her shields. She flew high again, sending a barrage of magic that froze people in a second. Two men quickly perished, before the rest could disappear and reposition.

  “Good work team. O-1, trap is laid!”

  “Second wave is incoming.”

  As they took their breaths, reloading and readying their weapons, she dealt with another swarm of loitering drones headed her way. Explosions once again detonated one after another as she tried to dodge or destroy them. Song Jun laughed as he saw a flicker of annoyance appearing in the mage’s eyes.

  She flew high further, before sending massive beams of light that deleted massive chunks of the buildings and apartments around them. Her attacks became more erratic, as it seemed like she was targeting anything that could be targeted, possibly in the hopes of crushing the ‘annoying rats’ hiding beneath them.

  “Team C unresponsive. They are all flatlined!” the leader of Team B warned.

  Her ways are a bit less refined than normal, but it sure works.

  Song Jun slapped another magazine on his gun.

  “Keep moving if you don’t want to die!” he replied on the radio. “Let’s finish her!”

  Once again, another MANPAD missile flew high in the sky, striking her and sending her crashing into one of the apartments. The building caved in when she struck it—her body must have been reinforced by her magic, as was natural with these kinds of mages.

  Immediately, three brave soldiers from Team A lunged forward, throwing anti-magic grenades straight at the roof of the apartment, causing three explosions inside. Then, four loitering drones dropped from above, their explosions practically tearing the apartment to its foundations.

  Out from the smoke and rubble, the three soldiers from Team A charged in, their guns screaming as the powerful mage recovered. The first soldier found himself skewered on his throat by her spear-staff before his neck was sliced in half, his head flying high into the darkness.

  The second one dropped to one of his knees, emptying his entire magazine as she charged at him. He screamed as his chest was pierced by her spear-staff. But, he dove the spear deeper, hugging her while holding a grenade with a removed pin. Her eyes barely registered it when he exploded, her now ruined dress stained with blood and guts.

  “Damned commoners!” she cursed. “What is it with all of you and your dirty tactics?”

  She rose high again into the sky, a permanent grimace now clear on her face as she tried to flee. She was about to activate a spell that would make her fly fast, but a missile from her side struck her again, dropping her straight into a store.

  The final wave of drones rushed in, eight explosions rattling the building in quick succession, sending broken glass and rubble in all directions.

  One of the intact cars in front of the store began blaring its alarm sounds, as gunfire peppered the remaining glass panels. Song Jun and his XO rushed toward the right flank of the store, as he noticed her hiding behind the remaining shelves and walls, using her staff to fire magic at those that she could spot.

  Giving a gesture to his buddy, two flashbangs entered the store’s entrance. When it exploded, Song Jun stood up, rushed forward, and threw another anti-magic grenade at her. The explosion left her disoriented, allowing him to rush inside the store.

  “I have you now!” he shouted like a deranged maniac. Bullets peppered her flickering shield until it shattered at last. Her eyes widened, as she fell on her knees, while Song Jun’s last bullet struck her shoulder.

  When it was done, only a click came from Song Jun’s gun. The young woman on the other hand, shocked and without words, stared at the spurting blood on her shoulder.

  “All units,” he spoke to his radio. “Cease fire.”

  “W-what—?

  She almost looked like an adorable, hurt puppy as she struggled to breathe. Her face was flushed and trembling, her body most likely overheated by all that passive mana she had to activate and use.

  She backed off as she begged for mercy with her quivering pink eyes.

  “Sir, sir, please, I surrender. There’s no need to harm me anymore. I swear in my honor, I-I’ll cooperate!”

  It was quite an interesting ability of women in Song Jun’s mind. That they could do so many unspeakable horrors and still have such a disarming charm afterward. But there was no empathy coming from Song Jun as he approached her.

  They weren’t here to babysit prodigy mages and coddle them. No…they were the 7th Anti-Magic Unit. Their job was to hunt them. She would be lucky not to be dead after this.

  In the end, you all regain fear when it’s your turn to be in the shitter.

  “Sorry miss,” he replied. “But I can’t let you recover for even a second.”

  She gasped, her face turning red.

  “How dare you—!”

  A powerful punch knocked her lights off. He grinned. There would be another captured spoiled bastard that would rot in the Republic’s high-security POW camps.

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