Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Battle of Lichten Hill (1)
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The six divisions of the Reich Empire were now stationed atop Lichten Hill, and the soldiers gazed down below with expressions of utter despair.
At the foot of the hill sprawled what looked to be at least 100,000 Switchland infantrymen, even at a rough count.
Witnessing this horrific sight, not only the rank-and-file soldiers of the Reich Empire but even the officers began to see their morale plummet to rock bottom.
Sergeant Paulo from the Checker Company muttered under his breath, his words laced with a sense of grim devastation.
"Fuck, we're done for. We're all gonna die here."
Paulo's barely audible whisper spoke for the hearts of every soldier present.
Even if these were illiterate grunts from the training camps, armed only with the bare minimum knowledge needed to survive army life.
They weren't born stupid.
So facing and holding off over 100,000 enemy troops here was already a nightmare, but even if they somehow managed to survive.
On the road back to the Empire, they could never predict when Switchland civilians or soldiers might ambush them.
They knew they'd be pursued, forced into one disadvantageous battle after another.
Yet amid the despair clouding their futures, there was one rumor giving the soldiers a glimmer of hope deep down: the young genius general of the Empire, hailed far and wide, had sworn on his honor to lead from the vanguard.
"Private Dennis, you believe that rumor? About the division commander fighting on the front lines with us?"
The private glanced around cautiously before whispering back.
"Maybe if it was a battalion commander, but this guy's a major general at 26, right? No way a noble like that stands at the front for scum like us commoners."
"Right? But that Sergeant Randel from the next unit was bawling his eyes out, saying he heard it straight from Major General Jaeger himself."
"I heard that too. He said all of us soldiers are like his own kids. So I hope the rumor's true."
The private's voice cracked with emotion as he continued.
"That man's the one who cut down that bastard Khan from Tishino Canton, isn't he? And they're already calling him the next field marshal in the Empire. If someone like that risks his life leading from the front... I think we might actually make it back alive."
To the private's words of hope, the sergeant replied with a self-mocking tone.
"I hope so. Really..."
As the soldiers muttered and stared at the Switchland troops swarming below like cockroaches, a trumpet blast rang out.
Not the deep, heavy tone signaling a march to battle or the start of combat, but the light, brisk fanfare played for a general's procession.
Hearing it, the soldiers turned toward the source with skeptical eyes, and there stood the one man they'd all been waiting for.
"... Major General Jaeger?"
"The actual division commander is really taking the vanguard?"
"So that dumbass Randel's story was true?"
A spark of hope ignited among the soldiers: if he was really here, maybe they could survive this too.
Unless the man was insane, no high-ranking officer would risk his precious life like this...
The fact that a hero whose feats even the bards' exaggerated songs couldn't fully capture was fighting alongside them in the vanguard.
It had to mean he had a plan to turn this desperate situation around.
Every soldier and officer here, watching Major General Peter Jaeger refuse to abandon them and vow to fight to the end, felt a burning surge of emotion in their chests, tears welling in their eyes.
Facing them, Major General Jaeger spoke with steely resolve.
"I declare here and now: I will share life and death with all of you. And I am a man who fights to survive. So if I want to live through this dangerous place, doesn't that mean I have to keep you alive too?"
Generals steeped in noble notions of class and honor might invoke duty and loyalty here.
But gauging the mood, Jaeger saw that most of these soldiers were serfs or commoners who cared nothing for honor.
So he ditched any talk of glory to appeal straight to their hearts.
"Honorable battles, honorable deaths—none of that matters to us. I will fight alongside all of you here, and by any means necessary, we will all survive and return. We are not fighting to die here. We are fighting to live."
Officers, NCOs, and soldiers alike might want different things from this war, but the one desire they all shared was to survive.
Victory, merits, rewards—they only mattered if you lived to claim them.
By tapping into the most primal urge on any battlefield—the will to survive.
My words, urging them to fight desperately for life, stirred every soul present.
"But if you run out of fear or hesitate in terror, you will surely die. So do not falter before the enemy's spears and arrows. Do you want to live? Then be prepared to die. Fight with the resolve to die. And you will live to return."
With that, Peter Jaeger took his place at the very front of the formation, just as he had promised the soldiers.
And soon after, a heavy trumpet blast echoed from the Switchland lines.
The battle had truly begun.
The tactic chosen by me and the other division commanders for this battle was exceedingly simple.
Fortify the hilltop and hold off the Switchland legions as long as possible, then gradually withdraw units when opportunities arose.
One might worry this would let the enemy fully encircle us on all sides.
But our position featured sheer cliffs on both flanks, with only about 300 meters of flat ground including the road.
Even 50,000 troops—no, a single division—could hold this natural fortress atop the 300-meter hill.
Everything would come down to how long we could endure and whether we could pin their feet with unexpected heavy blows.
"Those damned bastards dare hunker down like vermin on our land! Kill them all!"
"Capture the Crown Prince! Kill Peter Jaeger, the butcher of Tishino Canton's brave soldiers!!"
"We must avenge our comrades—no matter what!"
The Switchland lunatics were utterly desperate for revenge over the 2,000 comrades captured by the 7th Division and mercilessly beheaded.
They also seemed thrilled at the prospect of capturing His Highness the Crown Prince and demanding vast ransoms and territories from the Empire.
Even if the entire war went their way, they'd only get half their wish.
The Imperial banners, armor, and symbols gleaming in our camp all symbolized the Crown Prince.
But the real Crown Prince was already crossing into Tishino Canton somewhere with over 2,000 knights.
Of course, my plan was to bring back as many soldiers as possible alive from here anyway, so their dreams were doomed to shatter regardless.
"Well, they've come all this way, so we should give them a proper welcome with some logs, eh? Roll the logs!"
After issuing the order, I joined the soldiers in heaving the hundreds of pre-prepared logs—each several kilos—into position with grunts of effort.
Dozens of massive logs soon tumbled from our hilltop down onto the Switchland troops below, crushing their neatly arrayed ranks.
"You bastards should've tucked tail and surrendered quietly!"
"Fuck, my leg! Clear these logs now!"
"Cowardly Empire scum, pulling such filthy tricks!"
The soldiers immediately unleashed a barrage of magic and arrows down the hill in the prearranged sequence.
This alone sapped the initial momentum from the Switchland advance.
But their greed to capture the Crown Prince and carve up Imperial lands kept them charging relentlessly.
I personally grabbed a crossbow and fired at the enemy.
"Major General Jaeger himself is shooting from the front! Put your backs into it, you lot!"
"The Khan Slayer who diced up that northern barbarian Khan scum fights with us! No one here's scared of mere Switchland bandits, right?!"
"Kill them all, not a single one spared! Kill one more than the next guy!"
The impact of me leading by example was immense; a fierce battle fervor spread like wildfire through every defender, steadily blazing brighter.
Naturally, morale—which had bottomed out before the fight—began to climb.
"The Switchland bastards will soon close on our fortress! But fear not! I, Peter Jaeger, vow to claim at least ten heads here today! So each of you kill at least two enemies! We will return to the Empire alive!"