Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: A Baby Bird Who Left the Nest (1)
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My thoughts were brief.
From now on, I had to move quickly.
“Trainee.”
“Yes? Yes! Over-ten.”
Trainee Bella, who had been fidgeting with an anxious look on her face, turned to me with a start.
“Summon the third-rank infantrymen under my command.”
The trainee's eyes widened.
She looked like she had many questions.
But instead of answering her unspoken questions, I simply ordered the third-rank infantrymen to be summoned once more.
“Yes.”
At my firm tone, the trainee left the barracks.
Until a few days ago, the third-rank infantrymen hadn't shown me any courtesy beyond a silent nod.
They had drawn a line with me.
A greenhorn who had never even seen a battlefield.
It was a silent declaration that they would offer the minimum courtesy due to a superior, but I shouldn't expect anything more.
I had respected the line they had unilaterally drawn as much as possible.
But no longer.
“How will they react?”
Would they respond to this sudden summons?
Or would they maintain the line they'd drawn?
I would soon find out.
“Over-ten.”
The trainee returned.
Behind her, fully armed third-rank infantrymen followed in a line.
“Senior Soldier Quentin of the third-rank infantry and nine others! We have come at the Over-ten's summons!”
As soon as they entered the barracks, the third-rank infantrymen lined up, snapped their heels together, and gave an Imperial-style salute.
It was the proper treatment for a superior officer.
At the sudden change, Trainee Bella's eyes widened.
“It seems you've managed to make up your minds.”
But it was only sudden in the trainee's mind; for me and the third-rank infantrymen, it wasn't at all.
“Don't you hold a justification we cannot refuse?”
I smiled in satisfaction at the senior soldier's reply.
“Justification?”
The trainee, still failing to grasp the situation, questioned the warm atmosphere.
Senior Soldier Quentin, who had been gauging my reaction, only spoke after I nodded.
“That day, in front of all the soldiers in the garrison, the Over-ten proved the legitimacy of his command with his skill. Every soldier present that day is a witness.”
It was just as Senior Soldier Quentin said.
If I had demanded they treat me as a superior from the start, I would have been met with ridicule nine times out of ten.
I'm sure they would have scoffed, thinking some wet-behind-the-ears greenhorn was trying to order around battle-hardened soldiers with a flick of his chin.
But now, it was different.
Countless people had watched as I proved the legitimacy of the command authority granted to me by Centurion Bravos.
They hadn't just watched; they had cheered enthusiastically, and later, they even volunteered to be witnesses, claiming a new legend (?) of the 13th Legion had been born.
For them to now defend the third-rank infantrymen for disobeying an order would be far too contradictory.
“So that's the justification.”
“On top of that, the Over-ten has also earned the people's favor.”
“The people's favor?”
“On one side, you have the nuisances who laze around in the rear, enjoying all sorts of conveniences. On the other, a hero who, upon his appointment, made those bastards from the 21st Centuria we hate to see serve us our meals day in and day out.”
No one would take our side now.
I shrugged at Senior Soldier Quentin's words.
The meal service wasn't something I had intended either.
It turned out the Centurions had made a bet that the loser would handle the meal service for the other's centuria.
Thanks to that, my standing among the soldiers unintentionally rose, but somehow, it didn't feel like a coincidence.
Bravos, a master of social maneuvering, couldn't possibly have failed to predict such a situation.
“Justification and popular favor.”
The trainee looked at me.
“You created it all yourself, Over-ten.”
Her gaze, dripping with respect, was quite burdensome.
I discreetly turned my head to look at the third-rank infantrymen.
Their posture, maintaining just the right amount of tension—neither too stiff nor too relaxed—was indeed worthy of veterans who had seen it all.
The problem was their age.
The youngest soldier was in his mid-thirties, and the rest were around forty, so they were bound to have physical limitations.
It wasn't for nothing that they were placed in the very last rank.
To put it nicely, they were the last bastion; to put it bluntly, they were a disposable card, meant to buy time for their allies to retreat in the worst-case scenario.
Regardless of how you put it, as long as the Imperial Army controlled the front lines, their role was nothing more than to idle around without any particular duty.
They felt the same.
Though that would soon be a thing of the past.
When that happened, they would have to repay all the privileges and considerations they had enjoyed until now.
With hefty interest, compound at that.
*‘You know how the Imperial Army was so victorious? It’s because they operated their military with an absurd amount of common sense.’*
The words of Yanick, the Mercenary King, suddenly came to mind.
*‘The ones who fight well fight at the front, and the ones with ability take on the toughest missions. That’s the Imperial Army’s way of fighting. How sensible and efficient is that?’*
For a man who lived so full of himself, Yanick had a high opinion of the Imperial Army.
*‘But the funny thing is, that’s also the reason the Imperial Army collapsed so quickly.’*
When I first heard it, it sounded like contradictory nonsense.
*‘Even in normal times, the casualty rate for the Imperial Army’s front-line commanders was abnormally high. The attrition of veteran soldiers was also considerable.’*
He'd said the Imperial Army's culture, where the more capable one was, the tougher missions one took on, made it so.
*‘It’s fine when you’re on a winning streak. The Empire’s human resources could handle that level of attrition.’*
But it wasn't nonsense.
*‘The problem is when the Imperial Army is pushed back.’*
It was an insight born from natural talent and long experience.
*‘The good fighters, the experienced ones, they get ground down first. So what’s left? Yeah. Empty husks who just fill the numbers. Rookies who can’t tell their ass from their elbow.’*
Now, I too could understand what he meant.
In my past life, I had experienced time and again the horrific damage that resulted from the absence of commanders and veterans who could hold the center.
“Over-ten?”
Lost in thought, I was jolted back to reality by the trainee's voice.
“I'll get straight to the point and tell you why I've summoned you.”
Belatedly realizing the third-rank infantrymen were looking at me, I stated my business.
“From now on, you won't be standing at the rear of the centuria just watching.”
Their faces contorted into scowls.
They seemed to have jumped to the conclusion that a greenhorn, blinded by ambition, was trying to place them on the front lines.
Of course, I had no intention of putting them at the front for my own achievements.
What I wanted wasn't for them to stand in the front line, but to move as a separate unit altogether.
“From this moment on, you are not part of the centuria, but my direct subordinates.”
The third-rank infantrymen murmured amongst themselves.
But their expressions didn't improve much.
Even if they weren't on the front lines, they still seemed to think a greenhorn blinded by ambition was about to do something dangerous.
“For now, we will move with the centuria, but depending on the situation, we may break off and operate independently.”
Regardless, I continued saying what I had to say.
“Does the Centurion know about this?”
Senior Soldier Quentin asked cautiously.
The question was closer to concern than insubordination.
There was no reason I couldn't answer.
“The Centurion was the one who authorized it.”
“The Centurion did?”
“He granted me independent operational authority.”
Was independent operational authority all he promised?
He even provided twenty additional soldiers, setting the stage for me.
Most of them were reinforcements with no combat experience, so their fighting prowess couldn't compare to the third-rank infantrymen before me, but I was grateful nonetheless.
With thirty soldiers, we could at least pass for a combat unit.
“...Then there should be no problem.”
Senior Soldier Quentin, who had stepped forward, retreated with a reluctant expression.
No problem.
For now, at least.
But I had no intention of stirring up trouble by laying out things that hadn't even happened yet.
They were already showing signs of agitation.
Instead, I promised them.
That I would never, blinded by ambition, needlessly drive them to their deaths.
Of course, they wouldn't be reassured and leave with just a few words.
That kind of trust would only be forged after rolling through the battlefield together.
“The order to march will come soon, so return and check your gear.”
In a somewhat unsettled atmosphere, the third-rank infantrymen saluted and disappeared out of the barracks.
Trainee Bella, who had been watching cautiously, followed them out, and I was alone again.
As I was organizing my thoughts alone, I suddenly remembered the party from the Cradle, whom I had forgotten.
“I wonder if the letter arrived safely.”
I couldn't know.
To be more precise, I was closer to not wanting to know.
***
Not long after dismissing the third-rank infantrymen, Centurion Bravos summoned the commanders of the centuria.
I, too, attended the meeting in my capacity as the new, albeit temporary, Decurion.
“The situation is so dire that it's safe to say our forces have effectively lost all influence over the plains.”
At Centurion Bravos' words, the faces of the Decurions attending the meeting hardened.
The problem was that this wasn't the end of it.
The successive annihilation of the centuriae deployed on the front lines.
The collapse of units that were returning to the garrison.
The unprecedented scale of the enemy.
The situation at Alias Fortress, which, despite narrowly repelling the enemy, remained under siege.
Faced with a string of bad news, the Decurions looked bewildered.
“Why are the demi-humans suddenly...?”
“Are they planning a large-scale battle, perhaps?”
They seemed particularly shocked by how different this was from the wars they had fought until now.
“After we reach full strength here, we will advance onto the plains with the other centuriae.”
But even so, no one showed any fear at the prospect of advancing onto the plains that had become enemy territory.
That was a relief, at least.
“More importantly, Over-ten Yan.”
From my perspective, this was all expected news, so I was just listening quietly to the back-and-forth when Centurion Bravos suddenly called my name.
“You should have companions at the fortress. Do you know anything about them?”
He was asking me about the personnel from the Cradle who had arrived at Alias Fortress—more specifically, about the combat strength of the professors among them.
“If it's an uncomfortable question, you don't have to answer.”
“It's not that uncomfortable...”
“For your information, the enemy force besieging the fortress is a legion-scale force, including an Elder-class demi-human.”
Hearing Centurion Bravos say that an Elder-class demi-human was equivalent in power to a 5-star or even a 6-star knight, I answered without a moment's hesitation.
“As long as the professors are there, Alias Fortress will not fall.”
Centurion Bravos nodded, his face showing relief.
His expression seemed to say it was a relief, as they could now focus solely on reclaiming their lost influence on the plains and pushing back the enemy, without worrying about the fortress.
I believed so as well.
Of course, it was too early to be complacent.
In my past life, when Alias Fortress fell, were there no knights present?
I couldn't rule out the possibility that students from the Cradle might have been at the fortress for one reason or another at that time as well.
Since I hadn't experienced it myself, I couldn't be sure.
But if there was one thing I was sure of...
“By any chance, is there a professor named Navian among those from the Cradle who visited the fortress?”
...it was that if Professor Navian was at the fortress, things would become much easier.
The Empire's strongest knight, hiding her identity, had that kind of power.
But things in this world rarely go so smoothly.
“No. The name Navian was not confirmed among the three professors who visited the fortress.”
It seemed Professor Navian had not participated in this front-line experience trip.
Then again, considering her temperament, it would have been stranger for her to come all this way and volunteer to babysit a bunch of kids.
It was a pity, but that was all.
For now, it was enough that there were professors at the fortress who could fend off an Elder-class demi-human.
This war was going to be decided somewhere other than the fortress, anyway.
And so, three days passed.
A large number of reinforcements from the rear arrived at the garrison, and a portion of the combat units from the 3rd Chiliarchy, a reserve force, reached the front.
“March out!”
Having reached its full complement, the 23rd Centuria left the garrison.
I, too, led my infantrymen and followed them onto the plains.
I kept feeling a gaze following me.
When I turned my head, I saw Trainee Bella looking at me with a stunned face.
*He's doing it again, he's smiling again.*
Her twitching lips seemed to be saying just that.
***
“He was there, but now he's gone?”
The black-haired professor who had been searching all over the Cradle said, dumbfounded.
His face was filled with a sense of loss, as if a part of his own body had been torn away, and he even trembled.