They're here?
On this terrain, they won't be able to run anywhere.
The loot'll be ours if we drive them into a corner.
Our tires-
Now!
Fire away!
Now, come out nice and easy.
Shit!
Is the cargo a goner, too?
Here.
Our destination is Essan.
Our time limit is 48 hours.
Your mission this time is to safely bring this case to the town without fail.
Yes, sir.
Essan's a northern town that will require the crossings of several snow-covered mountains, right?
Essan, Essan, the white land~
In this town that has forgotten about summer~
Winter comes and winter comes again~
What are you doing?
Just saying what kind of a place Essan is.
It's a place that transporters have a tough time getting to, indeed.
But heck, isn't this a simple delivery job?
Why do we have to go?
In the mountain path to Essan,
we've received news there have been mountain bandits lurking around lately.
Mountain bandits?
That road is the town's only lifeline.
We have received pleas to do something about it.
And that's where we come in to deliver the cargo and also investigate the situation.
Understood.
And what's this cargo?
To have the army involved in this must mean that it's a rather important item inside.
Yes.
It's...
LT...
Wait...
Please wait...
I can't take it anymore...
Dying here...
Cargo's too heavy...
Then stop saying useless things.
The more you speak, the more stamina you lose.
Sorry...
If only I could've driven past those bandits more efficiently...
I got injured, too...
Stop.
Don't blame yourself so much.
That's right.
No one's saying it was your fault.
But...
No buts, dammit.
It's our superiors' fault for giving intelligence that underestimated them.
It's coming from where we fell.
They plan on coming after us.
Let's go.
We need to get this to the town of Essan by tomorrow morning.
Damn it!
Hey!
Cut it out already.
There's nothing here that's worth tons of money!
Piece of shit...
That was a total waste of our time and energy.
Now, don't say that, Mueller.
The hunting ain't over yet.
These things ain't enough to fill our appetite at all.
All these canned foods are supposed to be essential to these soldiers crossing the mountains,
but what does it tell you if they left these behind?
Then...
That's right.
That means they only took the real treasure away with them.
This one might be a big jackpot.
Bastards!
Which way did they go?
Up there.
But why?
Amateurs would leave their stuff behind and desperately climb down the mountains,
but these guys are the proud and honorable soldiers of the Empire.
They only descend the mountain after they finish their mission.
Or you mean, after they become corpses.
Soldiers' thinking patterns are so simple;
they're so easy to figure out.
They gave us a lot of shit during the war,
but those times are long gone.
It's our turn this time.
Does it hurt?
I'm fine.
Really.
You don't look it.
The wounds aren't deep;
it should be okay after I rest a little.
Forgive me.
It would help if we lit a fire,
but we can't let the bandits know we're here.
Sorry.
I'm burdening the entire unit.
Don't worry about it.
Just think about resting up now.
The distance between here and Essan is about 16 or 17 kilometers.
We're off our course by a lot.
It's only an easy hour if we had our car.
In this snow, suppose we walk four kilometers per hour...
...we'd need at least four hours.
But this snowstorm should end by tomorrow.
If we depart at dawn,
we should barely make it by my calculations.
Yeah.
So, the main problem is those bandits.
I'm sure they're not crazy enough to attack us in this blizzard.
But even if we leave at sunrise, what shall we do if they come after us then?
Sorry, it's all my fault.
We're stuck in these mountains with no car nor any winter combat equipment.
We do have two rifles and ammunition.
But, we can't do anything-
Now, now...
Machs!
Yes, sir!
Stop dwelling on things that happened already!
LT...
Listen!
If you consider yourself a soldier, then think about it.
Think about what we need to do to complete our mission...
...and what we need to accomplish.
Yes, sir...
Everyone understand?
No hiding anything here.
Yes, sir.
Fair and square.
One, two...
Hey, hey, hey...
Is this really all we have?
Cat food?!
What the hell?
Sorry...
Well, better than nothing.
Then, let's split these up equally into four parts.
Wait just a minute!
Aren't these items military surplus?
Where did you steal these from?
Ahh, well, from... you know...
Emergency provisions!
All soldiers should be prepared and stocked for any type of situation.
Don't preach about the way soldiers should be when you bring alcohol on missions!
Big guy, help me!
Y-Yes, sir.
Get your hands off, Corporal!
I need to bring down the hammer of justice on this traitor!
Blockheads like you-
Corporal, what are you-
Now, you're part of the traitors, too, 2nd Lieutenant.
If all of us were to fall here,
what will happen to the people that are waiting for us?
The corporal's right.
Never mind how they were brought onto this mission,
these rations will help us accomplish our military mission, no?
Let's eat.
Eat and recharge ourselves.
All right, then.
Oreld.
S-Sir!
Divide our remaining rations into four.
Four equivalent parts.
Yes, sir!
This is for finishing our mission.
All men, eat up everything.
But...
...Oreld only gets cat food.
I am friggin' freezing...
This lousy coat is just heavy;
it doesn't keep us warm at all...
The temperature at night around here reaches -50° Celsius apparently.
Lieutenant, the sergeant major is...
What a severe fever...
Hey, pull yourself together, Machs.
What should I do?
How can I-
LT.
Lieuteant, fire's...
Yes, that's like openly telling those bandits where we are located.
That may be,
but these bandits know the terrain better to begin with.
They obviously know that we're hiding here...
...And it'd be more natural for us to think that way.
What's scarier right now is this freezing weather.
If we spend the whole night without a fire,
not only Machs, but we're all going to freeze to death.
Okay, then.
Boss, it's them.
That little hut to the north.
Your thinking that they went upwards was right, boss.
But they've climbed too much.
We'll have to take a long detour to catch them.
Shall we go after them right now?
Don't be in such a hurry.
These are soldiers that were able to drag us around in this blizzard.
They need to make us enjoy this more.
We lit the fire, but it's not warming us up at all.
There's no wood to burn.
They're all frozen stiff even if there are any.
We'll be fine with this,
but Machs...
Yo, big guy.
Yes?
In this situation, there are two more methods to warm our bodies up.
One is to have everyone drink this and warm us up from the inside.
But, isn't that bad?
The lieutenant is a minor, too.
Be ashamed of yourself as a human!
That leaves us with the other method.
No, I can't.
Even though I'm your superior officer,
I can't let you do something so dangerous.
I'll do anything for the lieutenant.
Really?
Me and the lieutenant?!
Idiot!
All of us!
All of us, you pervert!
What the hell are you thinking at a time like this?
You're right...
But, I can't...
Didn't you just say you'd do anything?
Was that a lie?
Or a deception?
But, umm...
The LT's life is on the line here!
What are you two whispering to each other about?
Umm...
Go, big guy.
Go die!
L-Lieutenant!
What is it?
Umm...
What?
Go, go!
Lieutenant, you're cold, right?
Huh?
A blizzard night like this...
Umm...
Sheep! Sheep!
Ah, yeah.
Have you ever seen sheep cuddle up and sleep together?
Sheep?
No, I haven't.
N-Neither have I, but...
...t-to overcome this coldness at night, we...
What?
Say what you want to say already!
Sir!
Lieutenant, please cuddle up and sleep with me like sheep do!
Corporal...
S-Sir...
How does it look?
We're completely surrounded.
Can you tell how many there are?
About twenty.
Lieutenant...
I'll try to buy you as much time as I can here.
Wait.
The rest of it goes like "Lieutenant, you take these two with you" or something?
Fool.
On the battlefield, the duty of the commander is to accomplish the mission with the least amount of casualties.
It sounds cool to say that,
but how about we be a bit more realistic?
We still have some time before the sun rises.
Right?
Oreld.
You'll be sniped if you stand up like that.
Besides...
Even if we hole up in here,
they'll just wait for us until we run out of supplies here.
And how do you plan on using that wool?
I'm making preparations for the snow.
Oh, you're finally up, Machs?
Are you okay?
Yeah.
Somewhat.
What?!
Impossible!
What? A sled?
Did you see the look on their faces?
Yeah, I would've never thought of freezing a blanket using melted snow.
Hey, if you were poor as a kid,
you develop a habit of making anything into a toy.
What do you think?
We'll be able to just make it in time like this.
Yeah, you're right.
But I feel ashamed for being able to do nothing but show my back to the enemies...
We didn't lose.
We may not have won against the bandits,
but we haven't lost the mission yet.
You must deliver this.
There's someone waiting for this over there.
We haven't lost... eh?
Okay!
To accomplish our mission, we'll just keep on running and running and running until Essan!
Roger that!
He might've been an idiot,
but he didn't deserve to die.
Who cares about the treasure anymore!
We're not letting them get off this mountain alive!
They're coming after us faster than I'd expected.
Control this properly!
It's the enemies!
Hand over the rifles.
I'll take them on.
Then that makes running all the way here pointless!
He's right!
Then what do you suggest?!
I'll stay behind.
What?
Were you not listening to what I was saying this morning?
This is the LT's duty.
I'll... stay behind.
Wh-What are you doing?!
Yeah, yeah.
Hey, wait!
Finish this up, big guy.
Let me go!
We'll fire all at once!
Aim properly!
Taking me on with one pistol?
Don't be joking with me!
He did it?
What are you shooting all the way there for?
Tighten up your marksmanship a bit!
Patients at Essan...
...are waiting for the serum we're bringing...
Serum...
That was your treasure?
Such an honorable mission, soldier.
Corporal!
Make sure you deliver that serum properly!
Because we're all from that village!
Corporal...
He got swallowed by the avalanche...
"We haven't lost the mission" ?
If you die, then we lose the battle and the mission!
You... You... stupid corporal!
...stupid corporal!
...stupid corporal...
Umm...
Excuse me...
Corporal!
Big guy!
You're alive!
My hand can't hold on anymore!
Please lift me up already!
Look.
It's the town of Essan.
We made it somehow.
Mer-kun, I heard that Oreld got a girlfriend!
I still can't believe it, but...
Huh?! It's for real?!
Next time, "The Woman in the Morning Mist".
Come get us if you're not scared!