Chapter 12
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: First Battlefield (4)
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"Shit."
The damn insomnia was still acting up even in the field. I should have gotten a prescription for sleeping pills before coming.
After tossing and turning for a while, I got up and went outside.
It was a good thing all the squad members were women, so they were sleeping in a separate tent. If we had been together, neither of them nor I would have been able to get a proper night's sleep.
If the squad leader is exhausted, the squad members should at least be in good shape.
As I went outside, flames flickered on the torch stands set up to secure visibility.
It was a night with unusually little moonlight, so the stars were more visible.
I rummaged through my pocket, took out a cigarette, and lit it. Come to think of it, isn't tobacco a kind of tranquilizer?
Wouldn't it have some effect on helping me sleep?
"Sss... Haa."
As I took a deep breath and exhaled, a stale smoke spewed out.
The taste of the cigarettes supplied by the Ukran Duchy's army was so terrible it couldn't even be compared to modern ones.
But the feeling of my mind calming down with every puff was the same.
'Maybe I should develop flavored cigarettes later. Looks like it could be quite profitable.'
In Hearts of General, what you can do isn't just war. In reality, a general doesn't just command troops and fight wars, right?
You might enter a ceasefire for a few years, or after the war ends, you have to stabilize the military's internal affairs and get involved in civilian businesses to fill the nation's treasury in advance.
With that money, you develop better weapons and expand the industrial complexes for producing them.
Then you expand your armaments, gather troops, and start another war.
That was the proper method for achieving victory in Hearts of General.
'Well, that's a matter for later.'
In the game, months would fly by, but since I've been possessed in this world, I couldn't even guess how many years it might take.
'I'm lucky I have no family left. Even if I can't go back, there won't be any lingering regrets...'
I thought about reality for a moment.
A one-room apartment of 230 square feet. A gym membership card key and a shopping basket. A desktop PC built to the highest specs.
And an army officer's dress uniform hanging on a clothes hanger.
It was a life of just playing games after being discharged. It wasn't for nothing that I was able to achieve 10,000 hours.
It was unintentional, but it was like I had re-enlisted... Still, there were many times I had missed this familiar air.
'Since it's come to this, maybe forgetting about clearing the game and holing up here for life wouldn't be so bad.'
It was then, as I was burning away my idle thoughts while puffing on my cigarette.
"All hands, rise! All personnel, rise!!"
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-!!
A commotion broke out in the barracks that had been shrouded in silence. A sharp bell rang out repeatedly from the 18th Infantry Regiment's building.
"Rise! Get up!!! It's an emergency!"
I immediately threw my cigarette on the ground and grabbed a soldier passing between the tents.
"What's going on?"
He must have been on watch, as he trembled while clutching his duty roster.
"Belgorod Fortress has fallen!!"
***
Belgorod Fortress has fallen.
As soon as Lieutenant Colonel Rockheart Cromwell, commander of the 3rd Magic Battalion, heard the news, he shot up from his seat as if having a seizure.
"What!?"
Just a moment ago, hadn't he received a report from the reconnaissance unit that the fortress was intact?
For the fortress to fall to a band of thieves in just a few hours was an incomprehensible situation by any common sense.
He wasn't the only one who couldn't hide his confusion.
Colonel Alvin Nova, commander of the 18th Infantry Regiment, and the regiment's senior officers had reactions that were no different.
"What did you say!"
"We've just received a report from the recon unit stationed closest to the fortress! The western wall has collapsed with an explosion, and the thieves have infiltrated the fortress!"
"Damn it! Prepare for immediate deployment! We can't let a single one of them escape alive!"
No sooner had the regiment commander's order been given than the messengers began ringing the alarm bell like mad.
Soldiers, officers, and non-commissioned officers alike came pouring out of their barracks.
It was utter chaos.
Fortunately, since the operation had already been relayed in advance, the personnel of the 18th Infantry Regiment quickly grasped the situation and began to form ranks.
The 3rd Battalion of Rockheart Cromwell, which was scheduled to deploy together, was no exception.
The Magic Battalion had relatively fewer personnel than a standard infantry battalion to begin with. With much simpler armaments, it was only natural that their unit organization was completed even faster.
"All personnel, ensure you perfectly execute the operation as previously announced!!"
In response to the battalion commander's voice echoing thunderously in the dead of night, the magic battalion members returned a crisp salute.
"Glory to the Fatherland!!"
Soon, the fully formed infantry regiment troops also marched in step and began to disperse.
The three company commanders who had been assembled in front of Rockheart also vanished, leading their respective units.
The current enemy was nothing more than a band of thieves.
Regardless of how they caused an explosion to make the fortress fall, once the relief force was dispatched, their lives were already as good as gone.
The difference with or without the support of magicians was as vast as the heavens and the earth.
"We should hear news of victory around dawn."
Rockheart muttered quietly.
***
"Enok Squad Leader, your squad is temporarily attached to the 4th Company. The commander is Lieutenant Ivan."
While moving toward the fortress, I received a scroll with a small operation map drawn on it from Company Commander Arendt.
The large letters reading "Operation Plan" immediately caught my eye.
'Is it really okay to hand over something this important right after being deployed to the front lines...?'
It was absurd, something you couldn't even imagine in modern times. But considering that this was a world with no decent communication methods, where you had to rely on carrier pigeons or people running on foot, it was understandable.
After all, this was practically an emergency deployment.
"Since we're on the flank, you probably won't have to engage the enemy directly."
"Still, just in case, if we have to provide magical support, what kind of magic should we focus on using?"
"Try to avoid red magic as much as possible. Apparently, the trees scattered throughout the forest are the type that catches fire easily."
"Understood."
'Well then... I'll have to tell Lumia to just stay put.'
She was already anxious, and since her specialty was red magic, she was in a position where she would be completely excluded from this battle.
Of course, this was only in the unlikely event that combat occurred. If the enemy didn't attack, there would naturally be no need for Lumia to use magic.
"By the way, Company Commander, I have one more question."
"What is it?"
"I heard the fortress was breached, but what exactly happened?"
Belgorod Fortress was one of the regions I vaguely remembered.
It was a frontline fortress that bordered the Sovye Empire and was always the first to be attacked when playing as the Sovye Empire.
Due to the steep terrain, its scale was small, and it had the worst defensive conditions, with only a single, proper supply line.
The fact that the Ukran Duchy didn't even expand or fortify the fortress and instead used it as a kind of forward monitoring base was proof enough that they didn't think much of it.
But that was only when facing a regular army.
'It's not the kind of place that would just be overrun by a band of thieves.'
No matter how shoddy the fortress, the walls surrounding its site were real.
Unless they used ladders to climb the walls, used a battering ram to break the main gate, or mobilized magic troops or artillery to bombard the place, there was no way a mere band of thieves could take the fortress by conventional means.
Just looking at the overall layout of Belgorod on the map, it was absolutely not the kind of size that would be looted by thieves armed with cold weapons or old-fashioned guns.
"I didn't receive the details either, but according to the recon unit, an explosion was observed. The thieves must have had some kind of portable bomb."
"The thieves' armaments are excessively lavish."
"You can say that again. Anyway, I'm counting on you for the flank. Let's have a drink together after you complete your mission splendidly."
"I will fulfill my duty as entrusted."
Arendt gave me a wide grin, then immediately moved on to deliver the operation plan to another squad leader.
Watching him struggle to run...
I realized once again... just how advanced modern technology was.
The setting was that they hadn't even developed electricity, let alone electronic communications.
For me, who had enjoyed 21st-century civilization without any cost, it was one of the most difficult things to adapt to in this world.
I could have communicated with the company commander in real-time if they had just assigned a single signalman next to me.
Still, the sight of dozens of soldiers advancing with torches in hand was quite a spectacle.
A spectacle, even when facing a battle to the death against a band of thieves.
It felt strangely unrealistic, but what could I do, it was the truth. It wasn't a day or two that my sense of reality had been dulled on the battlefield.
Well, since I'm a squad leader, I should pass on the information.
I slipped to the back and approached Lumia and Bell, who were walking in the rear.
"Sergeant Lumia Blue."
"Yes, Squad Leader."
It was still the dead of night, with quite a bit of time left until dawn, but Sergeant Lumia's brilliant silver hair was still very noticeable.
"Sergeant, you are prohibited from using magic in today's battle. Even if you encounter the enemy, you are to use only your portable pistol."
"Yes, I underst... Yes!? Could you please say that again?"
"Sergeant Lumia, you are forbidden from using magic."
"Wh-why is that?"
She asked, startled.
Was she really asking because she didn't know?
When I met her gaze firmly instead of answering, she seemed to grasp the meaning and quickly averted her eyes.
You know why, right?
Without me even asking, Lumia nodded to herself and answered.
"Yes, I understand."
Even if she couldn't save face, she absolutely refused to get dragged in front of the battalion commander again due to an "unfortunate accident."
It couldn't be helped even if Lumia felt hurt. She would surely understand well too.
...Probably?