War (6)
"...Beyond imagination."
"Tell me about it."
The Imperial forces pressed into the fortress interior. The scars left by the incendiary rounds were easy to spot. Kingdom soldiers caught in the blasts lay abandoned here and there, casualties scattered about. It was a gruesome sight that even made the Imperials grimace and avert their eyes.
"If the kingdom forces had weapons like these..."
One of the officers muttered as he surveyed the scene.
"Ugh. Damn."
"Horrific."
"In that sense, we're lucky. No chance of us ending up like that."
"Mm. First things first—let's handle the prisoners..."
Soon, the Imperials tidied up the fortress interior. Next up...
"We can accelerate the fortress assaults now."
"No harm in picking up the pace again."
"Attacking from even farther away means fewer casualties on our side."
"Alright, let's decide. Maintain the current speed, or push even faster?"
In the end, they reached a conclusion after the meeting.
"Speed up. Press the attack hard."
The Imperial forces resumed their rapid advance. The kingdom troops were going insane.
"Another fortress has fallen!"
"Damn it! Why are they crumbling so easily?"
"They've redeployed those new weapons. They strike directly inside the walls—we're defenseless!"
"This is maddening. We have to stop their advance at all costs!"
If the Imperials kept this pace, they might reach the capital in less than a month. They had to slow them down somehow, but no methods came to mind anymore.
Even in melee combat...
"Incoming shells!"
"Damn, hold the formation..."
Maintaining formation led to heavy losses. But dodging the incoming fire on sight was impossible.
"Hit the dirt! Brace for impact!"
"Shields up! Block the shrapnel!"
Some commanders sought ways to minimize casualties. But it meant little. When shells burst in the air, standing or prone made no difference. Shields could block distant shrapnel, at least.
But that was it. Shells didn't come singly. Even if you blocked far-off fragments by luck, the close ones got through.
Once formation broke, the Imperials' secondary assault began: magic barrages, knight charges, followed by rifle fire. The kingdom forces repeated defeat after defeat, barely able to fight back.
Fortresses couldn't halt the Imperial advance either, let alone melee.
The situation was hopeless. Finally, talk of surrender began circulating in the kingdom's military command.
"This war has no meaning anymore. It's just spilling the blood of our precious kingdom citizens."
"We're already too late. We should have surrendered long ago."
But.
"Never speak the word 'surrender' again!"
As time passed, the king began showing signs of madness.
"Hold them back somehow! Conscript the serfs too! Send every able body to the front!"
"Any unit that surrenders, their commanders will answer for it!"
"However, Your Majesty, so much kingdom blood has already been spilled. Please..."
"Wouldn't it be better to bide our time for the future? The kingdom has already suffered such losses..."
The ministers tried every tactic to sway the king.
"Time for an example. Drag him away. Hang him from the city walls!"
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
The king's resolve was firm.
"Mm. The wise ruler we knew is gone..."
"This is bad. The tide has turned, what now?"
The kingdom's people no longer wanted this meaningless war.
"Better to just..."
"Shh, if anyone hears that, we're done for."
The king ignored their discontent. Gradually, cracks began forming in the kingdom.
"Mm. Smooth sailing."
"Only regret is the slow supply lines. If we got powder and shells faster, we could push even harder."
"Agreed. Maybe conserve shells a bit..."
"I disagree there. Shells are minimizing our losses."
"Fair point."
"Speaking of, the kingdom troops aren't fighting to the death like before. A few barrages and they retreat or surrender."
"Morale's broken. I'd give up too."
"Hope it stays this way."
"Wouldn't mind betting on their surrender."
"I'll wager within a month."
"Hmm... I'll say two weeks then."
The Imperial mood was relaxed.
"Wish the war would end soon. Got a letter—my wife had the baby. Can't wait to get back and see them."
"That's rough."
"Sure it's yours? ...Sorry. Put the sword down, would ya?"
"Mm. My sword's thirsty for your blood."
"Duel?"
"I bet on the sword guy."
"Reverse bet's a bust...!"
"When this war ends and I get home, I'm confessing to her."
"Ugh, don't jinx it with that crap."
The soldiers gathered during maintenance breaks, chatting away. Their faces were bright, no trace of the early war tension.
"Tom, why're you maintaining so diligently?"
"Haha. Kinda fun."
"Don't bug the squad's ace sniper while he's busy."
"Tch. Wanna bet later?"
"Sure."
"Dinner after, head to Third Squad. Let's fleece those guys."
"Got it!"
Finishing with his senior, Tom resumed gun maintenance. Others skimped since it was a chore, but he enjoyed even that. And strangely, he hit his marks well.
Every trigger pull, his aimed targets dropped. Sometimes officers. Sometimes mages.
Not always, of course. Sniping distant foes needed luck. Sustained fire dropped accuracy. Battlefield chaos couldn't be ignored.
Still, he loved shooting. His aim improved steadily. Pulling the trigger calmed him oddly. Amid the frenzy, he focused solely on the target. Hits brought a small rush of accomplishment.
'Military life... maybe stick around a bit longer.'
After this war, early discharge was open to applicants. He could head home with solid pay, bake bread with family. Not a bad life.
But he wanted to shoot more. The cleaner the barrel, the deeper his dilemma grew.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why can't we stop the Imperial army?!"
"Forgive us, but..."
"Shut it! I don't want excuses! Do something!"
"...Yes, sire."
"Yes! Bring the magitech weapons!"
The ministers panicked at the king's order. Magitech weapons—relics from the war against the Demon Realm a century ago, gathering dust in the kingdom's deepest vaults. Powered by Magic Stones, immense firepower. But they guzzled stones too fast.
"With our current Magic Stone reserves, we can't use them many times."
"Deploying to the front is impossible. Better to wait for aid from other nations..."
"Figure it out! Dismissed!"
The ministers fled the chamber at the king's roar. Alone, he hurled whatever he grabbed.
"Arrrghhh!"
His rage didn't subside easily. Only after shattering a window did it ebb.
"Haa..."
The king sighed.
"My, things aren't going well, I see."
It had to be. Yet a voice came from behind him.
"Who goes there?"
The king whirled around.
"No one grand enough to name."
A woman shrouded in black priestly robes, only her pale lower face visible. Her red lips moved as she continued.
"Merely a priest serving a forgotten god."
Her lips curved slightly after speaking.
'Forgotten god, huh.'
The king grasped her identity instantly.
'The Demon God Cult.'
Vanished with the Demon Realm's fall, yet sightings persisted across the continent. Associating with them meant not just the Sun God Church, but the whole world as enemies. The king hesitated.
Why seek him? Their goal?
"What brings you here?"
"You seemed in need of aid."
"..."
"I hear you're helpless against the Empire's new weapons. But."
One shouldn't listen to the Demon God Cult.
"With a little help from us, you could overwhelm those weapons' power."
If the Demon Realm returned to the continent...
"Beating the Empire wouldn't be impossible."
The whole continent would turn to hell again.
"Interested?"
And the Demon God Cult's aim...
"...The price?"
Rebuilding the Demon Realm.
"Trifling compared to the kingdom's victory."
The king's deliberation stretched long.
"..."
The priestess's lips curved upward.
Tempting things carry poison. Yet the offer was too sweet to pass.