A Certain Madman
A Certain Madman
The train that had been running along the supply line, spewing black smoke, began to slow down as the simple station came into view.
The simple wooden station bustled with soldiers moving supplies and wounded waiting to return, all mingling together.
Kkiiiik—
Once the train had come to a complete stop, Daniel disembarked with his escort company.
As Daniel stepped off the train accompanied by his escort company, eyes naturally turned to him; it was only to be expected, for a young officer not only wore the National Medal and the Golden Cross Medal but also held the rank of Colonel.
The soldiers at the simple station stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at the young Colonel before hurriedly saluting.
They recognized him as Daniel Steiner, the man called a war hero.
"Colonel!"
"You've finally come here too!"
The soldiers were all looking at Daniel with envious gazes.
It was only natural, in a sense.
After all, Daniel was the primary contributor to the Nordia Invasion Operation and the very man who had brought the Kingdom of Eldreshia to its knees.
On top of that, he had united the people through his Total War Speech, and in the border region with the Kingdom of Belmore, he had achieved the brilliant feat of countering the enemy's attack and capturing the Crown Prince.
Recently, he had even arrested collaborators within the Imperial Capital who had cooperated with the Allied Nations, making him a living legend.
Of course, the soldiers' respectful gazes were nothing but a burden to Daniel.
Still, he couldn't ignore their salutes, so he was nodding along half-heartedly until an officer, leading a group of soldiers, approached him.
The officer wore the insignia of a Major.
"Colonel Daniel Steiner! It is an honor to meet you! I am Major Pelf, an intelligence staff officer from the 7th Mage Armored Division."
"I am equally honored. I am Colonel Daniel Steiner, assigned as Chief of Staff to the 7th Mage Armored Division by order of His Majesty the Emperor."
"You are as spirited as they say. Now, please follow me. I'll guide you to the command post."
Daniel nodded, followed Pelf, and boarded a military staff car parked near the simple station.
As Pelf sat down next to him, the driver smoothly accelerated onto the road.
Inside the moving vehicle, Pelf turned to Daniel and spoke.
"Chief of Staff, I must ask for your understanding that we are heading directly to the command post without giving you time to recover from the journey. The situation at the front lines is not exactly favorable...."
At Pelf's words, Daniel simply nodded once, as if he fully understood.
To Pelf, it seemed a truly noble and confident attitude, but Daniel was merely quaking inside.
'The front line situation is not favorable?'
The first principle of Daniel's life was to preserve his life.
The second principle was to adhere to the first principle.
For Daniel, whose will to survive was that overwhelming, the battlefield was one of the worst places imaginable.
Furthermore, a 'dangerous battlefield' was a place he wouldn't go even if he were paid billions.
But after his situation had been twisted every which way, General Staff Headquarters, clinging to the strange belief that 'whenever trouble arises, send Daniel Steiner,' had recommended him to the Emperor as Chief of Staff for the 7th Division.
'Damn it....'
He felt like screaming, but for now, all Daniel could do was let out a low groan with his eyes half-open.
Watching him from the side, Pelf grew convinced.
'He's already searching for a way to reverse the situation.'
He absolutely wasn't.
*
While receiving a detailed report on the battlefield situation from Pelf, Daniel arrived at the field command post after a half-day drive.
Immediately afterward, he answered the division commander's summons and entered the command tent, where the gazes of the staff officers converged on him.
His sharp, unreadable eyes and tall stature unconsciously intimidated the staff officers.
Furthermore, the achievements Daniel Steiner had accumulated so far weighed heavily on the atmosphere.
Daniel, who had been silent for a moment as he scanned the staff officers, walked further inside under their watchful eyes.
Stopping before the division commander, Mordon, Daniel rendered a crisp salute.
"Division Commander. I am Daniel Steiner, reporting for duty as of today by order of His Majesty the Emperor. As Chief of Staff, I will do my utmost to be of assistance to the Division Commander."
Mordon, who had been eyeing Daniel with displeasure, accepted the salute.
Originally, he had intended to find fault, but he was exercising maximum restraint because the 'Rampremp Hotel Massacre Incident' he had heard about from the intelligence staff officer yesterday was stuck in his mind.
"Welcome to the 7th Division. More importantly, you've heard about the war situation, I presume?"
"That's correct. The intelligence staff officer told me the situation is not good. An enemy armored division has been reinforced by an infantry brigade, so we are at a numerical disadvantage."
"You saw correctly. The homeland ordered us to hold the line, so we cannot retreat. Therefore, we must block them even if we have to endure losses. Do you have a good method?"
Daniel stared quietly at Mordon, lost in thought.
'...How can I hear that I'm unqualified as Chief of Staff?'
Handling this situation in an ordinary way was straightforward.
All he had to say was to reorganize the defensive line, check the enemy's flanks using small mobile units, strengthen supply route security to prepare against enemy disruption operations, and carry out tactical maneuvers.
But if he did that and by some misfortune had his abilities acknowledged, he would be continuously thrust onto the battlefield.
Not wanting that, Daniel deliberately created a certain atmosphere and spoke.
"Have you never thought it strange?"
Because Daniel answered a question with a question, Mordon furrowed his brow.
"What exactly is strange?"
"From what the intelligence officer told me, the enemy is said to be advancing with an infantry brigade in support. Advancing right here, through minefields and artillery fire. Do you think they can win?"
Even if an enemy division was augmented by a brigade, it was a fact that the defending side had the advantage.
And yet, the fact that they intended to attack simply because they held a slight numerical superiority was what he found questionable.
"Why would the Allied Nations attempt such a war of attrition? After thinking it over carefully, I arrived at one speculation. What if they are counting not on attrition but on a certain victory?"
"...A certain victory?"
"Yes. If the infantry brigade attacks our rear rather than our front, if they succeed in creating a single envelopment, we will have no choice but to raise the white flag."
Mordon let out a hollow laugh.
"Have you lost your mind? You're spouting nonsense. For them to encircle us, they would have to ride in along our flanks without being detected. Do you think that's possible by any common sense?"
"It is naturally impossible at the brigade scale. But wouldn't it be quite possible at the platoon scale?"
The Eastern Front was wide.
With a front line spanning over 2,000 km, it was impossible to cover every inch.
Therefore, if the enemy decided to infiltrate across the front line at the platoon scale, there was no way to stop them.
Mordon knew that as well, but this time too it was simply absurd.
"So what if a platoon-scale force crosses over? Do you mean to say a platoon of thirty at most will strike our rear? Are you saying we, the boulder, should dodge because an egg might fly at us?"
As Mordon sneered, a soft wave of laughter rippled inside the command tent.
However, Daniel answered without letting it bother him.
"What will you do if that egg summons a hammer?"
"Look here. You've been talking nonsense from the start, and my patience—"
"It is possible if we use Ethelium."
Ethelium was one of the special minerals that, the moment it was destroyed, triggered a unique mana disaster reaction that instantaneously shifted the positions of people nearby.
What utilized this was the Ethelium Conversion Shell, something Daniel had personally been caught up in with Selvia at a past banquet hall.
"As you know, the Allied Nations are pouring astronomical sums of money into tactically utilizing Ethelium ore. Just a year ago, I was personally caught up in it."
"...But Ethelium cannot specifically pinpoint a target's location, can it?"
"Have the Allied Nations not been devoting vast amounts of money and manpower to research to solve that? By now, they would have had more than enough time to develop it."
One of the staff officers who had been listening nodded as if in agreement.
"The Chief of Staff's words are certainly correct. If Ethelium is used, it is possible for the Allied Nations to strike our command post from the rear. If an enemy platoon that crossed the front line only has to transmit the coordinates to headquarters...."
The laughter among the staff officers vanished.
Because if the enemy used that method, it was only a matter of time before they were caught in a single envelopment.
Of course, this was merely one of countless possibilities.
After all, Ethelium was expensive, and the idea that the Allied Nations had succeeded in technological improvement was still only speculation.
If this had been a situation where they had to place a bet, all of the staff officers would have bet against it.
However, Daniel decided to push forward.
Because he was a man who desired failure, not success.
"You must immediately pull troops out of the line and issue a large-scale search order for the forests and mountainous terrain where aerial reconnaissance is impossible. Since there is a high probability that the enemy's strike point is the command post, an enemy platoon will be lying in ambush somewhere nearby."
Mordon, who had been tapping the conference table and pondering for a moment, glared at Daniel.
"Chief of Staff. If this turns out to be nothing more than your delusion, you will have to take responsibility. Diverting troops that should be allocated to defense for a search is an extremely dangerous move."
Daniel, pleased by Mordon's words, drew a faint smile.
"That is what I desire."
After all, taking responsibility for the operation's failure and having his performance evaluation downgraded was the ending Daniel most desired.
*
Meanwhile, in a cave in the forest near the 7th Mage Armored Division.
"Less than a week left until our main force advances."
The Allied Nations platoon that had infiltrated across the front line to transmit coordinates to headquarters and activate the Ethelium took a brief rest.
In the cave where they hadn't even lit a campfire for fear of discovery, a dozen or so soldiers chuckled.
"Those Imperial Army bastards won't even dream we're doing this."
"Even if they knew, they wouldn't order a search. Unless it's certain, they wouldn't take the gamble of splitting their forces when they don't even know when the enemy might attack, after all."
"...Still, what if they do, just in case?"
At the soldier's words, the platoon commander snorted.
"Right. Let's say there's a guy who insists, with certainty, that a search operation must be conducted. Why the hell would he? The moment it fails, if things go wrong, that bastard's military career might plummet into the abyss. It's especially dangerous in times of war like this. He might even have to take off his uniform."
When the platoon commander reassured them, the soldiers laughed as if they agreed.
"Makes sense. What kind of lunatic would order a rear-area search operation when the enemy army is advancing?"