Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Hammer and Anvil (9)
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“Since the deputy commander’s dead, dying here is nothing but a dog’s death!”
“Forget breaking through the center—everyone scatter! Get as many of us back alive as you can!”
“Even if you have to crawl across the dirt, we’ve got to survive and make it back!”
Despite the deputy commander having been killed just seconds ago—which had to be utterly shocking—they weren’t flying into a desperate rage, screaming things like “fight to the death” or “avenge the deputy commander.” Instead, they were doing everything they could to save the men here...
These guys were probably among the more capable young officers back in Chekobia, with a high likelihood.
Otherwise, there’d be no reason for them to stick with the deputy commander—the number two guy in the escape pecking order when a unit gets wiped out.
And even if they weren’t, we had nothing to lose in this situation?
Of course we’d capture every last one alive and drag them back—either for a fat ransom or to cash them in for the personnel evaluation points needed for promotion.
They were a real treasure trove.
“Fat chance, no way in hell! You bastards are just frogs in a well however much you hop! Pursuit team, take them alive if you can! They’re money bags!”
The pursuit team guys, hearing my words about them being money bags, swapped their swords for clubs or one-handed flails and shouted back.
“Grab ‘em and thrash ‘em! They say these guys are gold nuggets!”
“Long live the battalion commander! Let’s charge in!”
“Stop nice and quiet over there and we won’t beat you—come here, you cute little shit!”
With that, our pursuit team caught hold of them—without killing, of course—but bashed them with bludgeons designed to inflict pain shy of death.
“Fuck, fuck! I’ll surrender!”
“Goddamn it, argh!”
A few of the lowest-ranking Chekobians managed to slip away in the chaos, but no need to chase them down.
Because they’d scamper back to their castle and spread the word to the Chekobia folk about the terror of the Reich Empire army and our battalion—just like poor little elementary kids running to Mom after getting shaken down by the school bully.
That meant our reputation would skyrocket without us spending a single coin on PR. Weren’t they some grateful little bastards?
Of course, those fuckers wouldn’t wish that on themselves one bit, but life’s all about the results.
And so, the soldiers under my command rounded up the knights who’d been trailing after the deputy commander like ducklings and herded them into one spot.
The highest-ranking-looking prisoner among the captives yanked off his helmet and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
“You goddamn Reich Empire sausage bastards! Don’t you know a thing about honor? Kill us! Kill us now!”
In movies or novels, you might see a scene like that—some bigwig throwing away his life to uphold honor, portrayed as loyal service to nation and liege—and it looks cool as hell.
But the reality’s a bit different.
Because sure, loyalty to the nation counts for something, but in this world that feels like a mashup of medieval and early modern times, if a colonel or higher gets ransomed free, they get slapped with the stigma of dodging responsibility. Their social life’s over.
In noble society, where everything’s tangled up between individuals, families, and houses, that doesn’t just tank them—it drags their kids and relatives down to ruin too.
The exception? Getting released without a single coin in ransom. And get this—it actually works, because the logic goes: “The enemy respected your loyalty enough to let you go for free, so you didn’t help them at all. Case closed.”
But if you get defeated, take responsibility, and die? No social backlash whatsoever.
Your family even gets a bonus as the kin of an honorable warrior slain in battle, which smooths the path for their future promotions.
So that’s probably why this guy’s screaming for death—but I couldn’t grant it right now.
As battalion commander, killing a high-rank I could’ve captured alive would tank my personnel evals.
I pointed toward the dead deputy commander’s corpse—making sure the mouthy noble could see it—and asked.
“What’s the name and rank of the guy who died over there, and who are you? Once I hear it, I’ll treat you according to your station, per battlefield custom.”
“Urgh... That’s Lieutenant General Nicholas Domitri Makarov. I’m Brigadier General Mikhail Nikolai Parnoff, and the men with me are officers and staff from his personal guard detail.”
Judging by how thoroughly they’d bolted, I’d figured the bigwigs had gotten away—but I hadn’t expected the deputy commander to have all these staffers trailing after him too.
This wasn’t like stumbling on a first-prize lottery ticket on the street.
No. Capturing a single starred general and offering him up got you a fief that’d count as a whole building in modern terms—not to mention officer status for any regular grunt.
And if you factored in how staff officers—tomorrow’s generals—got valued at about 1.5 times normal for ransom or merit...
This was a jackpot beyond any lottery.
Plus, given the circumstances, the enemy commander-in-chief had probably been killed or captured by now too.
“Understood. Per custom, we’ll bind you and escort you to His Highness the Crown Prince. Surrender all your weapons. We’re heading back to main base.”
With that, Laura shot me a dissatisfied look and asked.
“Major, the Jaeger Battalion infantry may have hit their limit after that brutal fight. But the pursuit team still has steam left—so shouldn’t we press our advantage and capture or kill even more enemies?”
Normally, I’d have pushed hard for more merits, just like Laura said.
But right now, our unit had gotten way too conspicuous on this front. We weren’t just envied anymore—we were hated.
That’s why, when the separate team returned, no high-ranking brass had stepped up in the ops meeting over a mere major.
“This war’s already a done deal. Racking up more merits on small fry’s a cinch. But Lieutenant, our separate team took zero losses while gutting enemy combat strength and supply lines. Right?”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“On top of that, my battalion was the first into the enemy commander’s HQ—we secured their commander’s flag, killed the deputy commander, and bagged a slew of staff officers. That’s above and beyond for one battalion.”
And if we’d fully succeeded in killing the commander-in-chief too—which we probably had—we’d snag indirect credit there as well.
“Meanwhile, other units are scraping by with mediocre merits—or none at all—and gnashing their teeth as they join the pursuit. If we steal even their last shot at glory, we’ll make needless enemies inside the Reich Empire.”
Hearing me out like that, it seemed not just Laura—who’d been itching for more feats—but all the officers and men nodded in understanding.
I turned to them, shrugged, and said cockily.
“Be honest—from the lowliest pursuit grunt to the knights and officers, hasn’t everyone snagged at least one staff officer? You’ll get a minimum of several gold in bounty pay. Why be so greedy? Live a little easy.”
One gold covered a year’s living expenses for a family of four to six—so every soldier and officer here was set to pocket a tidy sum.
Pointing out that reality made the officers and men realize their spots on the financial therapy list, and their faces lit up.
“The commander’s right. We’re all fellow imperials—gotta share the wealth and get by.”
“Heard a sermon once where Deus said sharing what’s yours is love. Just popped into my head.”
“After discharge, I’ll buy some land to settle down with Marie, heh...”
Whether in Korea or another world, money really did solve most problems and soothe most emotions—I felt that afresh.
Of course, it helped that trust in their battalion commander was factoring in, since the cash wasn’t in their hands yet.
Then I clapped the shoulder of Lieutenant Laura—who was always eager for my approval—and whispered.
“You captured Brigadier General Mikhail yourself, right? Not to mention your separate team exploits and riding in with support right when we needed it most. I’m grateful. Your commander remembers it all.”
She started to thank me, but I signaled her to keep it quiet—afraid she’d blurt it too loud.
Which made sense. Special treatment for just Lieutenant Laura would make the other soldiers and officers jealous.
I knew how to read people’s hearts—no way I’d make that mistake.
“Count Venner will be bursting with pride when he hears of this. Your feats impressed this battalion commander most. Frankly, no other company commander or officer could’ve matched your performance on their first deployment. I’m truly grateful you’re my adjutant.”
With that, we gave up any further pursuit and turned back toward His Highness the Crown Prince’s forces.