Daniel Steiner Is a Natural Disaster
Daniel Steiner Is a Natural Disaster
After straightening his uniform, Daniel headed directly to the command and control room.
The staff officers, who had been engaged in heated debate until that moment, all fell silent at once as the door to the command room opened.
It was because Daniel, whom they had believed to be in a coma, had opened the door and walked in perfectly fine, which disconcerted them.
Their expressions were truly comical, but there was no time to savor the staff officers' reactions right now.
As Daniel stepped into the command room, the chief of staff hastily rose to his feet and saluted.
"Division commander! Congratulations on your return!"
The chief of staff's voice trembled slightly with tension.
Daniel would clearly have heard the staff officers' heated debate from outside the door, so the chief of staff felt as though he had been caught failing to properly manage them.
But Daniel paid it no mind whatsoever.
"Begin the battlefield situation report."
Hearing Daniel's order, the chief of staff gathered up the situation reports in front of the operations table and handed them over to Daniel.
Once Daniel received the reports, the chief of staff began his briefing.
"The enemy is currently advancing toward the mid-slope of the high ground. We are maintaining a solid defensive line, but if the enemy launches an all-out offensive, there is a possibility it will develop into a war of attrition."
"What about the reserve forces?"
"Opinions among the staff are divided, so two battalions are standing by near the mid-slope of the high ground. In case the defensive line is breached, leaving them as mobile forces would be..."
Daniel, who had been looking down at the operations map laid out on the table, shook his head.
"Issue orders to the reserve forces right now. Tell them to wait under concealment in the forests on both sides of the path the enemy is taking toward the mid-slope of the high ground."
"...You mean to carve them out from both sides?"
"Yes. The enemy division commander will be thinking right now that I am in a coma and that Frien is detained. He'll consider this a golden opportunity, so he'll push his forces recklessly to shatter our defensive line."
Judging by the fact that they were launching an all-out offensive without proper reconnaissance, the probability was high that they had judged this to be their moment.
"So we will keep the bastard complacent until the very end. We'll deliberately disperse our firepower to create the illusion that confusion has arisen in our command structure. That way, the bastard won't notice that our reserves are preparing an ambush."
They would even dispel any small doubts and plant certainty in the enemy division commander's heart.
"The poor bastard will think victory is right before his eyes. The moment that war-blinded fool desperately drives his forces forward to break through our defensive line..."
A faint smile played at the corner of Daniel's lips.
"A hell unlike anything he'll ever experience again will unfold."
*
Division Commander Palome advanced with his troops to just below the mid-slope of the high ground.
When he raised his binoculars to check, he could see Imperial troops holding their trenches with machine gun positions established far off in the distance.
Tanks were also arrayed, making them look far from easy to break through, but Palome was unconcerned.
'The defensive line has no consistency. Some sections look isolated, as if the distribution of forces has been left to the discretion of individual commanders. They're in no state to cooperate organically.'
From the perspective of Palome, who had no idea that Daniel had deliberately arranged the deployment that way to deceive the enemy, it was almost enough to make him snort.
'It seems the rumor that Daniel Steiner has fallen into a coma really is true. Just look at this sloppy deployment.'
On top of that, Captain Frien, called the Saintess of the Empire and known for healing wounded soldiers in an instant, was also in confinement, so there was no need to hesitate any longer.
Palome stretched his hand high into the sky.
"All forces, deploy! Commence advance!"
Palome's order spread in an instant, reaching from one end of the troops to the other.
The soldiers who heard the command let out a battle cry in unison and began sprinting toward the mid-slope of the high ground.
Behind them, the sight of tanks following in their wake stretched out majestically.
As soon as the Republican division began its advance, the Imperial forces also responded with fire.
Kwaang! Kwaaang!
The artillery shells aimed at the Republican division were exploding across the snow-covered ground, one after another.
However, there was no discernible pattern to the shelling.
Most of it struck the advancing Republican soldiers directly, but some was hitting empty ground.
Seeing this, Palome clenched his fist tightly, inwardly anticipating victory.
'Looks like their observation isn't working properly and there's confusion in the coordinate relay radio communications. I can see they're panicking, as if they didn't expect us to launch a surprise all-out offensive.'
It was, so to speak, a perfectly set table.
'I had no idea Daniel Steiner's absence would yield such enormous gains...'
Letting out a low laugh, Palome turned to look at the operations staff officer standing by at his side.
"Operations officer. Deploy the reserves. We will finish them off decisively."
"...Division commander? It may be unsolicited input, but would it not be better to leave the reserves in the rear to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances?"
"It is unsolicited input. Can't you see that right now? The troop deployment is in total disarray, and the artillery impact points are a complete mess. That means the bastards who have lost Daniel Steiner are nothing more than a disorderly mob right now. So we have to push hard and fast so they can't resist."
At those words, which seemed to hold some logic, the operations staff officer nodded.
"Understood. I will relay the order to deploy the reserves."
Once the operations staff officer had withdrawn, Palome raised his binoculars and surveyed the battlefield once more.
Amid the clamorous roar of artillery, he could see Republican soldiers, shrunken to the size of ants, reaching the Imperial defensive line.
The Imperial machine gun positions were spewing fire and pulverizing the Republican soldiers, but it was all right.
Because other soldiers were stepping over the corpses of their comrades and pushing forward.
That tragedy was regrettable, but Palome felt no guilt.
'It's a matter of occupying the high ground. A certain degree of troop losses simply has to be accepted.'
All of this was for the Republic.
The soldiers had also sworn to lay down their lives for the Republic, so it was something they ought to bear.
'But they're tenaciously holding out. Even as a disorderly mob, I suppose Imperial troops are still Imperial troops.'
The Imperial soldiers defending the line were fighting back desperately.
When a gunner firing a machine gun was shot and killed, the assistant gunner immediately took over and pulled the trigger; soldiers pulled grenades off the corpses of their comrades and hurled them at the Republican soldiers.
Moreover, even when hit by Republican anti-tank weapons, Imperial tanks sometimes did not stop moving, which grew increasingly maddening.
'Even so...'
It wasn't as if there were no results at all.
Because slowly but steadily, the Republican soldiers were approaching the Imperial defensive line.
Once they broke through the line and the Republican soldiers surged inside, it would be an easy occupation.
'Go and fight and die, officers and soldiers! Offer your bodies for the glorious Republic!'
Even as Palome was offering these words of encouragement, the Republican reserves were deployed.
Just as they had moved swiftly and joined the ranks to aid their comrades.
Waaaaaah─
Suddenly, a tremendous battle cry resounded from the forests on both sides of the path.
Palome, turning his binoculars to see what was happening, witnessed two Imperial battalions charging in from both flanks of the Republican column.
The Republican troops, who had been concentrating all their effort on occupying the mid-slope, were caught completely off guard by the attack coming from their sides.
The screams of his own soldiers collapsing under the Imperial attack seemed to reach his ears.
'...What is this?'
His eyes, refusing to comprehend, quivered faintly.
'Hadn't their command structure collapsed?'
He had not expected the Imperial forces to be preparing an ambush, so his bewilderment was doubled.
But it was still too early to be surprised.
Dark clouds began to form in the sky, and then a single drop of rain fell.
Lowering his binoculars, Palome stared vacantly up at the sky.
'Rain?'
At first Palome had wondered what this sudden rain was about, but as the rain grew heavier, he was struck dumb with shock.
'It's black rain...!'
He knew about it from the reports of the reconnaissance in force.
He knew from the reconnaissance-in-force reports that Imperial soldiers struck by that rain would, unless hit in the head, immediately recover from even serious wounds and rise to fight again.
But he had definitely heard that Captain Frien was in confinement. Why, then, was this black rain falling?
Taking a deep breath and raising his binoculars, Palome spotted Frien at the very front of the defensive line, singing with her hands clasped together.
He could see the black halo behind her head forming a colossal shape and stretching out in all directions.
Only then did Palome understand.
That Daniel Steiner had not been lying in a coma.
Everything had been nothing more than Daniel's deception and lies.
'...Does that mean he ordered his subordinate to shoot him in order to deceive the enemy?'
Even knowing it, he could not believe it, but no other possibility existed.
'Damn it...!'
As the situation rapidly deteriorated, his breathing grew ragged.
In the mind of Palome, who had raised a hand to clutch his forehead, the image of Daniel Steiner was drawn—somewhere out there.
Surely he would be regarding this battlefield as his personal playground and wearing an arrogant smile.
The sound of footsteps approached Palome, who was clenching his fist so hard his fingernails were digging into his flesh.
When he turned his head, the operations staff officer was breathing heavily.
"Division commander. The battle situation is critical. The vanguard 3rd Battalion has been annihilated by the Imperial ambush. All personnel are combat-ineffective, and only some soldiers are barely managing to retreat."
A shadow fell over Palome's complexion.
"The 1st Battalion is also requesting withdrawal due to heavy enemy resistance. The 2nd Battalion is currently isolated because of the ambush from the left forest. If this continues, the remaining forces will also..."
The operations staff officer, who had been gritting his teeth, shouted in despair.
"They could all die like dogs!"
At the operations staff officer's words, the strength drained from Palome's body and he staggered.
Letting out a groan, Palome looked out over the battlefield.
'The shelling...'
Unlike at the beginning, it was now precisely striking the rear of the Republican forces.
"Ahh..."
It was no different from thrusting his head into the jaws of a wolf.
Even in this moment, as he stood here in a daze, Republican soldiers were dying in real time.
This was no longer a glorious fight.
Just as the operations staff officer had said, it was a dog's death.
"Order a retreat..."
He did not know how many troops he could save by retreating now.
Even so, Palome had no other choice.
"Order a retreat."
Tears began to well up in the eyes of Palome, who had admitted defeat.
Regret and despair were swirling deep inside his heart.
The rumors that had been circulating among the public were true.
'Daniel Steiner...'
From the very beginning, he had never been an opponent they could defeat.