A week later Mason found himself in the Russian town of Sovetsk few miles outside Lithuania .
Before coming to this place , he had made new weapons like the grenade, a bolt action sniper rifle with an effective range of 1300 yards and was chambered in a 12.7×99 mm rim fire cartridge. He also made a new assault rifle capable of switching between automatic fire and semi automatic fire.
During this period, he literally made thousands of bullets some of which had tungsten cores for better armor piercing capabilities.
On his way to Sovetskhe was shocked to learn that it was only he and the Austrian five that were being punished, Lambert and his goons were just let off with a stern warning.
Captain Helena Weber an officer in the imperial Prussian guard was tasked to be their handler for the duration of this mission.
" Good afternoon Òbergrubenfuher. " Mason greeted the captain as he and the party entered the building where they were to be working out of.
Captain Helena was not a graduate of any Magic academy as she was rejected for not having the required magic power even with her lightning element ability.
She then enrolled in the military where she was treated as canon fodder but with sheer strength and determination she rose through the ranks even possessing a high level magic sword that boosted her ability.
It was because of this that she harboured a little resentment against academy students and graduates.
She looked at Mason from head to toe and him carrying a large trunk didn't make him score any points with her .
" You do realize that you are not here for a vacation, so what's with the large trunk?" She asked .
"It contains my weapons ma'am." Mason replied.
She then sighed in frustration and motioned for him to move.
" You brats should prepare yourselves, we move in two days."
Five soldiers each had been sent from the different empires bringing their total number to thirty one, but with four of them being healers , the number of combatants was twenty seven.
Two days later their mission was to interrogate a Baron who resided in the Kursk region.
Helena spread a map on the table showing their route as she gave details about the mission.
" It has been confirmed that Baron Ivanovich is a key member of the slavery syndicate. Our mission is to arrest him , extract any bit of information that we can from him and if possible rescue the hostages."
They all set out for Kursk and for this mission Mason carried the basic gear, his rifle, five extra magazines, the 9 mm pistol with three extra magazines, a dagger and some grenades.
It took about an hour on horseback from the Kursk teleportation station to the manor. And from the looks of things, it seemed like he had been tipped off about their arrival.
Four guards stood in front of the manors front gate like statues refusing to let anyone pass.
" You should leave the Baron is a way on business." One of the guard said to Helena who was getting visibly frustrated. It was clear that this was her first experience with a criminal who was also a noble as she was conflicted between showing courtesy and doing her job.
Mason had seen enough he dismounted his horse and walked to the gate with his pistol pulled out of the holster, as if in command the Austrian five followed his move and walked with him to the gate .
" Hey kid , get back you....." Before she could continue she heard the sound BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The four guards immediately fell like deflated balloons and blood pooled on the concrete floor.
Mason then opened the gate and gestured for the captain to go inside.
When they walked into the manor, they saw the hallway filled with guards covered from head to toe with armour and armed with lances.
This possed a great deal of problems as the lance provided an extra reach for the guards while their armour provided extra protection which meant that double or triple the effort was needed to take them down.
" Put down your weapons immediately or face certain death ." Captain Helena said, her voice has regained its commanding tone.
He then drew her weapon causing lightning to flash through its blades but she and everyone knew that that the tight packed formation of the armoured guards would prove difficult and lives would be sacrificed to effectively break through.
As this standoff was going on Mason has switched to armour piercing rounds, he then walked behind the Helena and whispered something into her ears immediately her eyes widened and she gestured for the others to fall back.
Immediately Mason came out of the front door he pulled the pin off two grenades and threw them into the the hallway ducking for cover .
The guards looked curiously at the funny looking ball like thing that rolled through for a split second before exploding and sending shrapnel and shockwaves across a 15 meter radius, but it did not cause any deaths rather it caused concussions, internal injuries and few lacerations on the exposed parts of the guards. Even without any casualties, the grenade blast was enough to knock them down providing Mason with an opportunity enter firing armor piercing rounds into the hall with selective fire , turning the enemy armor into coffins.
Within a few seconds Mason had expended a full magazine. He then moved back outside allowing the rest of the team to now enter the building.
The guards remaining after seeing many of their comrades die in such manner couldn't help but drop their weapons.
What the team found inside those halls among the survivors were not the strong men who stood tall in their impenetrable armor but men who were in a split second reminded of their mortality.
The team saw the dead with gaping holes in their deformed armor and felt a sense of dread wash over them.
A Russian soldier asked John between whispers,
" What is that guys attribute ?"
" He is a rune mage. " John replied , but the soldier didn't believe him , it was impossible for Mason to be a rune mage.