Ivan's footsteps echoed against the walls of the underground waterway.
He casually surveyed the now-familiar underground terrain and asked, "Can we handle this during the vacation period?"
"What?"
"I asked if this is a mission we can complete within a month and a half."
Ivan sighed as he looked at Enrique, who tilted her head in confusion. Despite joining through connections from the Hero Party, Enrique was still a regular professor in the Knight Department.
Yet she had disappeared during the semester for mission operations and remained missing until vacation. If she hadn't been from the Hero Party, she would certainly have been dismissed.
It showed a complete lack of professional dedication. Ivan was the university's gardener, so he had an obligation to work during the semester. The university gardener didn't even receive a salary.
"If you're asking about distance, it's no problem. If you're asking about the mission itself, that depends on us now."
"Distance is more important. To the Sky Mountains... it would take at least a month on foot to reach Andgrund."
"That would be true if we went on foot, but I think three or four days should be enough?"
The Andgrund, a dwarven mountain range at the end of the northern front, in just three or four days?
Did that mean she had chartered an airship? Ivan frowned as he looked at Enrique. She laughed mischievously.
Ivan, being a sensible person, didn't play along with the flirtations of a nearly 200-year-old woman.
"You're no fun. It's strange, my disciple. I always teach to never forget leisure and jokes, yet how did my best student end up with such a personality?"
"I learned well."
"Well played. Fine."
She grumbled as she turned a corner in the waterway. Suddenly, Ivan frowned. He sensed people.
About five in number? He could also hear machinery running. And smells that shouldn't be in the underground waterway.
The smell of oil and gunpowder. Distinctive of the military.
"Now, revealing the answer!"
Enrique spread her hands with a bright smile. Beyond the corner, soldiers in full gear were guarding some kind of "door."
A heavy iron door stood incongruously in the underground passage. If he hadn't come with Enrique, he might have thought a dungeon had opened.
"A door."
"This is where those dwarf fellows invaded last time. It was just a crack then, but we couldn't leave it like that. Who knows what else might come through? So we did some renovations."
Enrique waved to the soldiers who were saluting her.
"May we enter?"
Instead of answering, the soldiers silently opened the door. Judging by their training, they seemed to be from the Northern Military. Ivan frowned as he stepped through the open door.
And immediately stopped in his tracks.
-Click, whoosh...
-Clank, clank, clank.
"Ta-da! A dwarven armored cart!"
"Are you serious? You connected a dwarven railway from Pritzenkaya to Andgrund?"
"Come on, why make such a fuss about this? If things go well, this will be our trade route, and if things don't go well, this will be our military advance route."
Enrique laughed with gleaming eyes. Just then, a low grumbling voice came from atop the cart.
"You should consider the dwarf ears that are listening."
"Ah, I should introduce him too. That's Tirvil Eilbari! Say hello."
"Is that the 'reinforcement'? The Shadow Sword made quite a fuss about bringing necessary reinforcements for this mission."
A dwarf peeked his head out from the cart window, narrowing his small eyes as he looked down at Ivan.
After examining Ivan's face for a while, the dwarf tilted his head and asked, "You seem to have come alone?"
"That's sufficient."
"...Your confidence is admirable, but do you realize our national fate is at stake? If not for the Shadow Sword's reputation, this would have been taken as an insult."
"An insult."
Ivan chuckled as he climbed onto the cart. It was a simple structure characteristic of dwarven mechanical equipment. These fellows had a good understanding of steel aesthetics, and Ivan himself was quite fond of dwarven equipment.
He sat inside the cart and turned to face the dwarf.
The dwarf made a dismissive snort and began operating the control panel. Soon, with a rumble, the vehicle started moving, shaking the entire tunnel.
Ivan watched the rapidly passing tunnel scenery and pondered.
An insult.
At least the dwarves need feel no further insult from me. I already filled those pages to capacity back in those days.
In retrospect, the allied kingdom's forces that most frequently and intensely confronted the dwarf commando units were always the Annihilation Squad.
And among the Annihilation Squad, the strike team that always recorded the most outstanding battle records was the 7th Team led by Ivan.
So, the dwarves should actually be proud.
In this era, at this point after the war has ended, the most effective means against dwarves was heading to support their civil war.
The Annihilation Squad was going.
Ivan Petrovich, from then until now, was by himself an entire Annihilation "Squad."
What's good about a vampire and an Annihilation Squad member traveling together?
That they don't need time to eat meals. (No, that's not it.)
Ivan could substitute meals with nutrition bars, and Enrique with blood packs, and even without blood packs, Ivan could help with blood replenishment if there were enough nutrition bars.
"What about Lucia?"
"Hostage."
Enrique answered in a nonchalant tone. Ivan simply nodded. Makes sense, they would need a hostage.
An agent from the Hero Party, especially from Krasilov which fought the most intense battles in the war, has left to call for reinforcements from their home country.
They would need to consider the possibility that the returning reinforcements might immediately become an occupying force, so from the dwarves' perspective, taking a hostage made sense.
Ivan thought pragmatically. A hostage in the middle of enemy territory—a good position for gathering information. As expected of Enrique's disciple. It would be good training.
"It's training as well as everything else."
Enrique smiled and affirmed, understanding Ivan's gaze. Before being colleagues, they had a teacher-student relationship, and before the Hero Party, they were partners performing operations in the same field.
Moreover, Enrique was a vampire who had been active as a spy among humans for over 200 years. Whenever she showed the wisdom characteristic of an elderly person, Ivan would suddenly realize:
Why don't elves mature as they age? Ivan thought of Beolgreen and Edel, then shook his head.
Clank, clank.
The cart was racing along the tracks at an incredible speed, one that would put human railways to shame. Due to the open-top structure, wind was whipping through the interior, but the two people here could regard this level of wind as a spring breeze.
As the conversation lapsed again, Ivan gazed at the tracks and fell into thought.
The magic lamps embedded at intervals along the tracks.
By reverse calculating the distance between the lamps, the length of the vehicle passing them, and the time it took to pass, he could determine the speed.
And the time traveled at that speed. Like any trained agent, Ivan always counted time in seconds, so he could estimate the time zone based on Pritzenkaya.
Every time the cart's tracks changed angle, he unfolded a map of the northern front in his mind and traced the route.
The location of the Northern Military's garrison and the supply line if this track were used as an advance route, the human resources needed to attack the underground of Andgrund.
Passing time with such unnecessary thoughts.
On the third day after departing from Pritzenkaya.
Finally, the vehicle reached the terminus of the Andgrund underground railway.
"The Shadow Sword has arrived?"
"Yes, comrade! Comrade Tirvil just docked at the main junction!"
"Let's go see immediately, just how impressive are these reinforcements that in such a critical time..."
Nabelun Volfrondil, the Organizational Secretary of the Andgrund State Council Secretariat, grumbled as he strode forward.
Many dwarves gathered around him. Members of the State Council's Political Bureau, Secretariat, and Policy Bureau. Among them, almost all who were not currently deployed in the war zone were present.
That's how significant the matter was. The weight of utilizing "The Shadow Sword" Enrique as a mercenary was that substantial.
The thief of the Hero Party. Assassin, one of the six who slew the Demon King. Since the most important reason for the demon race's defeat in the war was the death of the Demon King, they were essentially responsible for ending the last war.
After that point, in this situation where they were barely surviving on the frontier while being wary of the Allied Kingdoms, if the issue of inviting the Hero Party to end the civil war were to become known to demon society, the dwarves would be finished.
If other demon warlords invaded the mountains devastated by civil war? Could there be any future?
The issue had been fiercely debated within the State Council.
"But we have no choice but to drink this poison."
Nabelun muttered, grinding his teeth.
In a situation where the Secretary General's son had been kidnapped, and even the apostles of the Seven Dragon Generals were directly involved behind the civil war.
If they were to lose the civil war, there would be no future. It was obvious that the dwarves would become puppets of the necromancers, those corpse cleaners, and be deployed to hopeless battlefields forever.
If death was inevitable either way, shouldn't they at least make a choice that would benefit their race somewhat? Better to live as a vassal state of humans than to die as appendages of necromancers.
Krasilov could never conquer the entire domain of the Dwarven Underground Republic. Their national power wouldn't be sufficient for that. Therefore, even if they established diplomatic relations from a somewhat disadvantageous position, this option had a higher survival rate.
From Krasilov's perspective, they couldn't internationally announce their communication with dwarves either. There was no reason to share the numerous interests that dwarves could offer with other countries.
Therefore, the State Council had made the most rational choice at this point.
In exchange for receiving reinforcements from The Shadow Sword Enrique and Krasilov's elite forces, they would establish diplomatic relations under unfavorable conditions.
Rescuing the Secretary's son and ending the civil war.
Nabelun decided to focus solely on that. Everything was for the party and the people. If they perished as they were, the lofty ideology of egalitarianism would be crushed between the withered fingers of the corpse cleaners.
"Long live the Secretary General! Reporting my return!"
"Yes, good work. Where is the Shadow Sword?"
"She's disembarking over there."
Nabelun frowned as he watched Enrique waving from the terminus of the main junction. He strode over and looked around.
No matter how he looked, there were no elite soldiers from Krasilov to be seen.
Only two humans here. After all, humans couldn't hide among dwarves.
"Why are there no reinforcements? Does Krasilov take this situation lightly? Are they so dull that they don't realize if we fall, Aviditas's minions will immediately follow this railway and burn their country?"
"Whoa, calm down, dwarf."
"How dare you! Address me in such a manner!"
"Calm down and listen. Look around, do I look like I came alone?"
"You brought one attendant! Yes, perhaps you needed a concubine to assist with your night activities, vampire?!"
Nabelun pointed at the man beside her, his beard trembling.
He had fierce eyes and a decent beard, seeming to be one of the more stylish humans, but what use was that in war?
Enrique burst into laughter at Nabelun's words.
"A concubine, he says, Ivan. Not a spy... a concubine! Kik, kuk...!"
"These people are serious."
"I know! That's why I'm saying this...! They were so desperate when they brought me, but when I bring you, all they say is 'concubine'... Kuk kuk, kik!"
Enrique spread her hands wide to the red-faced Nabelun and said:
"Let me introduce you. This is Ivan Petrovich. Do you know him? Think carefully. The Woodsman, the Executioner, 'Little' Ivan. What else was there? Disciple, what were your other nicknames?"
"If it's names dwarves would know..."
Ivan pondered briefly. Rather than introducing himself with human titles, it might be better to use the derogatory ones.
Fortunately, he didn't need to make an effort to recall. Nabelun dropped his staff and stepped back.
A moment of silence fell. A strange quiet continued among the dwarves who had been indignantly rushing forward just moments ago.
The sound of gulping, slightly diminished breathing, and faces turning pale.
Among them, Nabelun whispered as if lamenting:
"The Poison Spider... Ivan?"
Like all intelligence organizations, the Annihilation Squad is not well-known publicly. Their missions and operations were not shared with regular military units or civilians.
Whatever struggles occurred within, whatever hardships and tragedies flooded, "humans" couldn't easily know. They just classified them as an unbelievable, suspicious branch.
However, as with all intelligence organizations.
The Annihilation Squad was more famous among enemies than allies.
Especially to dwarves.
Especially if it was Major Ivan Petrovich.
"We heard... you were... dead."
The relief that dwarves felt when news of Ivan's death and the purge of the Annihilation Squad spread through dwarf society was not easily expressible.
There was even a song used to scare young dwarves that went, "If you're left alone at the end of a deep tunnel, the Poison Spider will come for you."
Therefore, in that vague fear, Nabelun quietly muttered:
"Was that saying true...? That the Poison Spider can assassinate even death...?"
"What on earth..."
Ivan frowned. (Enrique laughed until she was out of breath.)
The news that the one who had "assassinated" Aviditas was now on their side spread widely throughout Andgrund.
The citizens felt a strange sense of blasphemy.
The expectation of revenge against the dwarf rebels and necromancers, those despicable creatures.
And simultaneously feeling a sense of guilt, as if they had summoned a demon king with their own hands.
Ivan succeeded in entering Andgrund without anyone's suspicion or hindrance.
"Our disciple is more popular than me! Is it because your beards are similar?"
"Enrique. You could die."
"So scary!! As expected of the Poison Spider! Don't stay alone at the end of a tunnel~ The Poison Spider will come for you~"
Enrique giggled as she sang a strange children's song and patted Ivan's back.