Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Ostrica Invasion (2)
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Three weeks later, in the forward alert zone within the Ostrica army camp.
Hans Sergeant and Lloyd Sergeant were staring blankly ahead while engaging in idle chatter that would have gotten them reprimanded if any officers overheard.
"Ha, fuck. I should've fucked that girl when I had the chance. What the hell was I thinking, trying to save money back then?"
"You dumb bastard, I told you, didn't I? When there's a really pretty girl, she ends up in the nobles' exclusive brothel in no time."
"Fuck, if I could go back just one year, I'd sell my house if I had to and fuck her."
"Yeah, yeah."
They were deep in this kind of vulgar talk, but unlike the inattentive privates who lost focus during guard duty, these two were properly vigilant.
Soon, they spotted a man riding toward them urgently from the distance.
"Hans, grab your spear and keep watch! I'll ring the bell."
"Quit talking and ring the damn bell yourself, you bastard!"
The shrill clang of the bell—clang, clang, clang—echoed loudly, and soldiers poured out of the Ostrica army camp.
Major Max von Venner quickly reined in his horse, raised both hands to signal surrender, and spoke.
"My name is Major Max von Venner. I've come here not to fight, but because I have critical information to relay to His Highness the Grand Duke of Ostrica."
At those words, the two sergeants on guard duty followed protocol: one grabbed each of the major's arms.
"We'll escort you, sir."
**
Ostrica Grand Duchy army command tent.
The Grand Duke of Ostrica and numerous generals of the Grand Duchy army eyed Major Max with wary glares.
Max von Venner trembled nervously under the intense scrutiny.
After a few minutes like this, Major Matthias—who had betrayed the Empire—entered, embraced Max warmly, and said,
"My friend, why are you here so soon? According to His Highness the Grand Duke's original plan, weren't you supposed to stay embedded in the Imperial army longer to gather more intel? Did you sense danger and bail?"
"I had no choice but to rush here with urgent news for His Highness the Grand Duke. And on the way, I was pursued by the Northern Palace Cavalry for a full fortnight."
"......You must have had it rough."
After this brief exchange, Matthias bowed to the Grand Duke and said,
"Your Highness, this is indeed Major Max von Venner. Why not hear him out?"
"If Captain Griffin vouches for him, that's good enough. Very well, Max. What drastic change prompted you to defy my orders and come here so early?"
Hearing those words, Major Max felt a chill of fear.
At that moment, Venner Major recalled what his brother-in-law had said.
'Brother-in-law, you're not incompetent at all. You've just not awakened your talents yet. For now, if there's someone more capable than you, accept everything they say at face value and act accordingly. Then reflect on the results and improve from there.'
Though his brother-in-law—five years younger in his mid-thirties—had said it, the man was one of Europa's greatest generals without question.
Ignoring such advice would be the act of a monumental idiot, so he decided to follow Lieutenant Colonel Jaeger's instructions.
"You've been had by that bastard Jaeger Lieutenant Colonel. The Reich Empire's idiot crown prince has deceived Your Highness the Grand Duke of Ostrica. The Reich Empire army of 110,000 is invading through the west!"
The Grand Duke and surrounding generals were stunned.
"What? Then what the hell is that supply base we set up near the Checobia border?"
"Fuck! That goddamn Jaeger bastard! I wouldn't even be satisfied pulling out his guts to make sausages! He laid all those smokescreens pretending to hit southern Checobia and slipped into Ostrica's west!!!"
"What kind of sorcery is this? How could this happen?!"
As the other generals reeled in shock, the Grand Duke experienced his head going completely white from the overwhelming blow.
His mind blanked out entirely, but the education and knowledge drilled into him since childhood as the Grand Duchy's heir anchored his spirit.
Through logical deduction, he realized that Max Major's bombshell claim fit the circumstances perfectly.
'Fuck, fuck, fuck... If the Reich Empire had hit Ostrica's north or southern Checobia, we'd have reports by now. Especially if Checobia was attacked as we expected, their envoys would be here by now demanding reinforcements.'
While the Ostrica Grand Duchy army's leadership was in disarray, Max Major pulled from his bosom a document stamped with the crown prince's seal and Lieutenant Colonel Jaeger's seal.
"If you bring in someone from the Grand Duchy's heraldry office to verify the authenticity of the seals and letter, you'll see—this is genuine. It states: 'The Imperial army of 110,000 will seize Ostrica's west and advance on Linz.' This content wasn't disclosed even to officers below colonel until the eve of war."
To the Grand Duke, Max Major seemed suspicious in countless ways, but one thing was certain: the intelligence he brought was all true.
Because it perfectly explained the Grand Duke's current predicament.
In short, the Grand Duke had made a colossal blunder, handing the Empire army all of Ostrica's west on a platter.
Even if he won this war, it would cast doubt on his abilities, potentially forcing him to "retire for health reasons."
The shock was so great that he blurted an irrational question at Max Major.
"How are we supposed to trust you? If what you say is true, they've been trampling our territory for a month already! Why deliver this so late?!"
"Jaeger Lieutenant Colonel's surveillance was extremely tight. Fearing failure if I tried to escape too soon, I waited until they seized Innsbruck and threw that festival, loosening their guard. Then those damn palace cavalry pursued me, and it took time to locate your army camp..."
"What proof do I have to believe that?!"
Sighing at those words, Max stood, removed his cloak, tossed it to the ground, and pounded his chest.
Revealing an armor riddled with arrow marks, the generals remarked,
"Your Highness, at the very least, this man isn't lying. Consider: even as an insider spy, we never told him our camp's location to prevent leaks."
"Circumstantially, the Imperial army has already devoured much of the west. We must head there immediately."
"Your Highness!!!"
The Grand Duke snapped back to his senses at his generals' words.
"Goddamn it! I swear by Deus, if I capture Peter Jaeger Lieutenant Colonel, I'll rip out his guts, chop off his limbs, and hang him! Yes, Major Max. You've earned our trust over years, so I'll gladly believe you."
Max nodded inwardly.
'With this, my mission is complete. Now I just need to slip away at the right moment—jackpot! Time for a big payday!'
"Thank you, Your Highness. I will serve you with my life. However, according to another secret I obtained, Jaeger Lieutenant Colonel requested from the Empire's central army that 50,000 troops under Field Marshal Venner will strike Ostrica's north in the future. You must prepare for that."
Hearing this, the Grand Duke hurled his wooden cup to the ground and declared,
"Smashing the crown prince and Peter Jaeger means nothing if we don't prepare—but breaking through the current siege leaves no path but to take those two heads! Officers, fight with your lives! Take their heads!"
With that, the Grand Duke handed Max a plain sword from the command tent and said,
"As promised, I knight you in the Ostrica Grand Duchy. We'll hold the formal ceremony later."
"Thank you."
"Gather as many troops as possible from southern Ostrica! We will judge the Reich Empire army at Linz."
Meanwhile, Major Venner kept his head bowed, refusing to look up.
Instead, an irrepressible smile crept across his lips as he thought,
'With my brother-in-law around, I'll win this war for sure. Ah, if only he gets promoted to general soon. Then maybe I could snag a colonelcy myself.'
Of course, betrayal was never an option for him.