An Uninvited Guest
An Uninvited Guest
After entrusting Bental to Frien, Daniel ordered all troops to rest.
The intent was to preserve their stamina, since a forced march would begin the moment Bental divulged his information.
Though the very man who issued that order, Daniel himself, could get no comfortable rest.
─ Aaaaaargh! Tell me what you want! Just tell me what you want, damn it!
─ Hmm? Did I not say? What I want is for you, Lieutenant Colonel Bental, to repent.
─ There are limits even to madness. You crazy bitch...!
─ Seeing you use such vulgar language, it seems your repentance is still lacking. Hmm. Shall I switch equipment, then?
─ What? Why are you bringing out that... Fuck! Stay away! I said stay away! Aaaaaargh!
The greatest reason Daniel could not rest easy was Bental's screaming.
As it turned out, the place where Bental was being tortured stood directly adjacent to the field command tent where Daniel was stationed, so there was no avoiding it even if he wanted to.
Having spent the night listening to Bental's screams, Daniel sat in the chair before the command table, unable to hide his haggard complexion.
The other personnel in the command tent had likewise not slept properly, going about their morning duties with hollow faces.
As everyone carried out their roles in silence, Intelligence Staff Officer Pelf approached.
In his hand was a cup with steam gently curling upward.
"You've been working hard since early morning. Would you care for a cup of coffee?"
"Ah. Major Pelf. Coffee... that sounds good."
As Daniel answered feebly, Pelf let out a low chuckle and extended the cup.
"It's chicory coffee. The taste will differ from the high-grade varieties you'd drink in the capital, but this is the best we have at the moment, so please understand."
"I'm hardly the sort of fussy person who'd demand luxuries on the battlefield, am I."
Making small talk, Daniel accepted the cup and took a sip of the chicory coffee.
As the warm coffee traveled down his throat, he felt a faint revitalization course through his body.
Though it was a substitute, the taste was similar enough that it almost felt like drinking real coffee.
"That's much better. More importantly, how is the condition of the troops?"
"Yes, sir. Having made the rounds of the encampment, morale is at its peak. They've secured the bridge, identified the anti-tank mines laid along the road, and now one of our companies has defeated an enemy battalion in combat."
With every operation concluded successfully, the brigade's soldiers and officers supported Daniel Steiner at a level approaching blind faith.
From Daniel's perspective, it was nothing but an awkward situation, but there was no way Pelf could know that.
"Thanks to you deliberately slowing the march pace all this time, sir, everyone's stamina is without issue. As a result, we hold considerable advantages in engaging the enemy..."
Before Pelf could even finish speaking, a scream rang out from the adjacent tent.
Unlike when Frien had first begun the torture, the screams now lay low and somber.
Lieutenant Colonel Bental's demeanor had also shifted considerably.
─ Please! I beg you, please stop. If there's something you want, I'll tell you everything. So please!
─ Lieutenant Colonel? It's only been half a day, you know. If you're already whimpering like this, how will you endure the remaining time?
─ I'm begging you. I was wrong. So please, forgive me.
Hearing the voices from the adjacent tent, Pelf clicked his tongue.
"To continue the torture without rest—it's terrifying. The fact that Lieutenant Frien is an ally and not an enemy feels like a tremendous blessing."
"I agree. I don't even want to imagine facing her as an enemy."
Daniel, having finished the remaining coffee, set the cup down as he spoke.
"His will seems broken. Bring him here, now."
"Understood."
Having received the order, Pelf stepped out of the command tent.
After waiting a short while, Pelf re-entered through the tent's entrance.
Behind him, Lieutenant Colonel Bental, his hands bound, entered the command tent with listless steps.
Frien must have healed him before sending him here, for his outward appearance was intact—but inside, anyone could see he was utterly wrecked.
For in those two eyes fixed upon the ground, not a trace of life could be found.
"Lieutenant Colonel Bental."
At Daniel's words, Bental's shoulders flinched.
Spotting Daniel seated at the head of the command table, Bental dropped to his knees as though facing a wild beast.
"Enough! Enough, please! Just kill me instead! Surely you could do it, couldn't you? Give the order to kill me, I tell you!"
Bental's pleading demeanor was pitiful, but that was not an option.
"I will not kill you. Furthermore, if you answer my questions properly, there will be no more torture from this moment onward. I guarantee you the courtesies befitting a commanding officer. If you understand, nod your head."
With no other choice available, Bental nodded.
"Good. Lieutenant Colonel Bental. Let us return to the beginning, and I shall ask you. Explain to me where the urban defense line has been established."
Bental hesitated.
He could not bring himself to commit the act of betraying his comrades.
Yet the moment he refused to answer, a hell of unending, repeated torment awaited him.
Not wanting to return to that horrific space, Bental opened his mouth through his sobs.
"Our defense line is established along the city's outer railway line. The high ground to the northeast from here is the main defensive position. It is no exaggeration to say that the majority of the Defense Force is concentrated there."
"Is that so. I believe I understand why you carried out an ambush with a battalion-sized force."
The outline of the enemy operation was simple.
The moment Daniel's brigade struck the anti-tank mines and fell into confusion, Bental's battalion would launch a surprise assault, inflict meaningful damage, and then flee.
If Daniel's brigade then pursued the fleeing Bental battalion, the operation would be a success.
For Daniel's brigade, chasing Bental's battalion, would come face to face with the enemy artillery and heavy infantry waiting on the high ground—and there, exposed to attack, they would suffer heavy losses.
But the moment Daniel noticed the anti-tank mines had been laid, everything had come to naught.
Daniel, who had been tapping the table, opened his mouth.
"Even if you wage a delaying action, to face a brigade with a regiment's worth of troops, you have no choice but to concentrate your forces. If you disperse your forces and suffer a breakthrough at a single point, your defense line will crumble in an instant. Of course, that is not the correct answer in every respect."
Daniel's hand, which had been tapping the table, stopped.
"Having concentrated your forces on the northeastern high ground, there must exist a relatively vulnerable point. Where is it?"
Bental gave no answer.
He was reluctant to sell off his last shred of conscience.
Daniel, who had been gazing steadily at Bental, opened his mouth.
"Lieutenant Colonel Bental. I do not like saying things twice."
The implication contained in Daniel's words drove Bental to the edge of a cliff.
Convinced that he must no longer defy Daniel, Bental, after a deep breath, lowered his head.
"...The southeastern warehouse district. A place with a railway yard and a few old warehouses. Naturally, the trenches haven't been properly dug, and there aren't many troops there either."
With limited regiment-level forces unable to defend the entire front, it was only natural to concentrate troops solely on the key axis.
In other words, anywhere beyond the key axis was effectively dead space.
Having heard all the information, Daniel rose from his seat.
"Operations Staff Officer."
The Operations Staff Officer, who had been listening to the exchange from the side, bowed his head toward Daniel.
"Yes, Brigade Commander, sir."
Daniel spoke without turning his gaze toward the Operations Staff Officer.
"Dispatch a small reconnaissance team to the southeastern warehouse district and verify whether Lieutenant Colonel Bental's words are true."
Daniel's gaze fixed upon the operational map on the command table.
He could not understand at all why things kept going so well, but Daniel, in his position as brigade commander, had no other choice.
"If Lieutenant Colonel Bental's words prove true..."
Daniel inwardly let out a bitter sigh, but outwardly he mimicked the ideal general and spoke with solemn gravity.
"We will smash through the enemy's defense line and occupy Penbark."
*
Several days later. Penbark Defense Line.
Southeastern warehouse district outskirts, temporary security outpost.
"The fog is thick—must be because it rained yesterday."
At the observation sentry's remark, the outpost commander, Sergeant Mellat, furrowed his brow.
"It is, isn't it. I hate foggy days, I tell you."
"Same here, sir. How many people actually like foggy days?"
"No. It's not a simple matter like that..."
Mellat tried to explain but fell silent.
Because somewhere in the fog, he felt as though something was flickering.
"What is that?"
At the edge of his vision, dim outlines were visible.
It seemed as though the faint noise of track wheels pressing down upon the earth was reaching his ears.
The observation sentry, too, sensed something amiss and broke into a cold sweat.
"No way. Those are..."
Before the sentry could finish speaking, Mellat raised the binoculars hanging around his neck and stared ahead.
At the same time, he could not help but draw a sharp breath.
Tanks, half-tracks, armored vehicles—they were advancing, wreathed in fog.
Seeing the eagle insignia engraved on their flanks, they were unmistakably Imperial bastards.
Behind them, the ranks of soldiers stretched on without end.
His breathing began to quicken as Mellat's lips went parched.
He lowered the binoculars and, with a stunned expression, his lips quivered.
"They're coming. To this place..."
Recalling the infamous name of Daniel Steiner, Mellat spoke on as if entranced.
"Hell is coming."