You Again?
You Again?
Three hours had passed since the battle began.
The field command post of the Allied 12th Armored Division.
"What is the infantry brigade doing?! Why hasn't there been any word of an attack!"
The division commander shouted irritably, but no one could give a clear answer.
The staff officers merely exchanged uncertain glances in front of the central table where the operational map was spread out.
Their eyes were heavy with distrust and despair.
Because though no one spoke it aloud, everyone sensed that the situation was spiraling strangely.
And that was only natural: if the operation had been executed successfully, word should have reached them by now that the infantry brigade had struck the enemy command post.
But no word had come, and the Imperial Army was methodically repelling the Allied onslaught.
The distant roar of artillery became a gloomy background track, lashing the staff inside the command post.
While everyone watched the division commander for his reaction, the intelligence staff officer reluctantly spoke.
"Your Excellency, the division commander. Three hours have passed, and there is no sign of the enemy command structure collapsing. It appears something may have gone wrong with the strike operation using the Ethelium...."
The intelligence officer could not finish his sentence.
Because the division commander's gaze, fixed on him, boiled with rage on the verge of eruption.
Reading the mood, the intelligence officer lowered his head, and the division commander clenched his jaw.
"......Striking the enemy command post with Ethelium was an operation we ourselves were attempting for the very first time. Do you hear me? I said it was an operation we ourselves were attempting for the first time!"
The division commander slammed his fist down on the central table.
The staff officers flinched, but all of them stared straight ahead without letting it show.
"Then who the hell are you saying predicted our operation in advance and prepared countermeasures! What kind of man could possibly do such a thing!"
As the division commander began to rail, the intelligence officer's breathing grew unsteady.
He wanted to ride out this moment in silence, but the division commander would not permit it.
Feeling the relentless stare upon him, the intelligence officer spoke with a trembling breath.
"......As Your Excellency is aware, Colonel Daniel Steiner has recently taken up the post of Chief of Staff in the Imperial Army's 7th Division. He has a history of being exposed to an Etherium Shift Grenade attack in the past, so it is judged that he would have been habitually on guard against the Allied Nations' spatial movement technology."
In other words, if there was anyone who had discerned the Allied infantry brigade's large-scale spatial movement in advance, the likelihood was high that it was Colonel Daniel Steiner.
As the staff officers silently concurred, the division commander clenched his fist tightly.
"Are you trying to tell me right now that we are being toyed with by one man, Daniel Steiner?"
His unwillingness to accept reality inevitably manifested as fury.
Just as the division commander was about to lash out, the communications officer who had been standing by outside with the radio entered.
Bowing his head in lieu of a salute, the communications officer spoke.
"Your Excellency, the division commander. I have an urgent report to deliver."
"A report?"
"The battle situation is unfavorable. The 4th Armored Battalion has been completely annihilated near the enemy trenches. It appears they were exposed to concentrated saturation fire from the enemy defense line. Because of that, the left flank is on the verge of collapse."
The division commander gripped his command baton tightly as the communications officer continued his report.
"The 3rd Armored Battalion is also reversing course after sustaining heavy losses. The troops under its command are also retreating blindly, their chain of command broken. The situation is no longer under control."
The brooding silence inside the command post grew heavier, but the communications officer did not stop his report.
"It is judged that under the present circumstances, the battle line cannot possibly be maintained. Furthermore, the Imperial armored battalion has launched a counterattack, targeting our collapsed left flank. Your Excellency! If this continues, there is no chance of victory!"
Hearing the report, the division commander gripped the central table and let out a low breath.
It was only natural, really.
Though he did not wish to admit it, the Empire's tanks were superior to the Allied tanks in both mobility and firepower.
They also had thicker armor, so a head-on clash meant certain defeat.
On top of that, Imperial infantry always carried anti-tank weapons, so breaching the defense line through conventional means was nearly impossible.
'Which is precisely why we staked all our hopes on the infantry brigade....'
The infantry brigade, which was supposed to move behind enemy lines using Ethelium and then strike the command post, had sent back no word at all.
As if they had been attacked and captured by the enemy the very moment they shifted.
'Were we really toyed with by a character named Daniel Steiner.'
Dizziness rushed in, and his vision flickered.
Excessive stress was exacting a toll on the division commander's mind.
"Your Excellency! You must make a decision!"
"If this continues, we will not be able to bear the troop losses!"
"Your Excellency! It is still not too late!"
The voices uttered by the terror-stricken staff officers made his head ache.
Sweating coldly, the division commander spoke with a countenance thick with defeat.
"If we commit the reserves...... the reserves in the rear......."
Not a single staff officer signaled agreement with the division commander's murmur.
Because they all knew that committing the reserves would not change the situation on the battlefield.
"Damn it."
Finally acknowledging defeat, the division commander shouted with a dejected face.
"Issue the order for a full retreat! Right now!"
*
Meanwhile, at the great manor of Count Kaledra.
"P-please, spare me. I simply acquired a few comfort items that were not on the official inventory list. I never had the slightest intention of harming the military. I swear it!"
In the manor's front courtyard, a bruised and battered man knelt, begging for his life.
The man's name was Grion.
He was a colonel who had served as deputy commander of his regiment's logistics unit. He commanded widespread personal loyalty and maintained close relationships with figures in the political and financial worlds.
Since Grion's associates included high-ranking military officials, his smooth path to the top had been all but guaranteed.
That is, until the point he was caught with his hand in the military supply jar.
Standing amid his bodyguards and leaning on his cane, Count Kaledra looked down at Grion and spoke.
"Even if they were comfort items not on the official list, once classified as military supplies, they belong to the state. And you embezzled them, yet claim you had no intention of harming the military?"
"Your Excellency. I......."
"I detest lies. What I detest even more are wretches who lie while begging for their lives."
Grion's face went deathly pale.
Just as Grion, judging he would not escape alive, was frozen by terror, Kaledra added a remark.
"However, in consideration that the damage you inflicted upon the military is not so great, I will let you keep your life. In exchange, you will pay a fine hundreds of times the amount you embezzled. You have no objection, I trust?"
Upon hearing Kaledra's words, Grion threw himself flat on the ground.
"Yes! Of course! If my sins may be forgiven, I shall cooperate to any extent required!"
It was just as Kaledra nodded, intending to release Grion.
"Count Kaledra."
Deputy Director Bek of the Central Intelligence Department approached.
Wearing a deeply serious expression, Bek whispered into Kaledra's ear.
"The 12th Armored Division on the western front has been defeated and forced to withdraw, I've been informed. It is not yet certain, but it appears the Imperial Army discovered the Allied Nations' development of Ethelium technology and dealt with it in advance."
One of Kaledra's eyebrows twitched.
Under Kaledra's gaze, which seemed to be questioning the veracity of the report, Bek broke out in a cold sweat and spoke.
"It is confirmed. After the infantry brigade deployed via spatial movement using Ethelium, their communications cut out as if by magic. They are presumed captured or killed by the enemy."
Having heard the full account, Kaledra's pupils trembled slightly.
In a fit of rage, Kaledra drew a pistol from his bosom and strode toward Grion.
Hearing the footsteps, Grion raised his head and saw Kaledra brandishing the pistol at him.
"K-keuh!"
With a dull thud, Grion collapsed to the floor.
Panicked, Grion rolled his eyes to look up at Kaledra.
Seeing the muzzle aimed at him, Grion gasped and hurriedly spoke.
"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Not just me, but the other logistics officers as well—"
Kaledra pulled the trigger.
Tang─
A gunshot rang out, and a bullet buried itself in Grion's head.
Having confirmed that Grion was dead, Kaledra did not stop pulling the trigger.
Taang! Tang! Taang─
As gunshots rang out in succession, the bodyguards, unable to endure the gruesome scene, closed their eyes.
Even as blood and flecks of flesh spattered through the air, Kaledra kept pulling the trigger, and only stopped when no bullets remained.
Kaledra irritably hurled the pistol onto the corpse, breathing heavily.
In his mind, flushed with excitement, only one man's face surfaced.
'It must be you again. Daniel Steiner. You disgust me with how much you get in my way.'
He was hateful.
Yet Daniel Steiner was also the person Kaledra rated most highly.
Because Daniel's exploits always defied Kaledra's predictions.
Had he not met him as a foe, Daniel would have been a person he wished to keep closest at hand.
Kaledra raised a hand and swept back a stray lock of hair, then quietly spoke.
"Deputy Director."
At his words, Bek drew close and bowed his head.
"Tell Duke Belvar."
If they missed this chance, they would never be able to catch Daniel Steiner again.
Kaledra steadied his breathing and narrowed his eyes sharply.
"Tell him there is no other way now, and that he must hasten to seize control of the capital."