Chapter 64
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The 8th Assault Mage Infantry Battalion (3)
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After finishing my meeting with the slightly(?) special squad leaders, I was able to meet the soldiers under the battalion's command. I had wondered if they had only picked out strange people for the soldiers as well, but... thankfully, that wasn't the case.
Most of them were soldiers who had served on the front lines of the north or south, and not a single one had any problems, whether physically or mentally.
If the battalion commander is the head of the battalion, and the squad leaders are the spine and nerves that assist that head, then the soldiers are the hands and feet that will actually act on the battlefield.
In that kind of situation, if there were problems with these men as well, it would be more appropriate to immediately take down the sign for the Assault Mage Infantry Battalion and call it Soni Chepelin's Heart-Thumping Mental Reformation Unit instead.
As the name 'Assault Mage Infantry' suggests, this unit was established with the idea of combined operations between mage infantry and regular infantry.
With the word 'Assault' attached, they should be using the mobility of the mage infantry to quickly deploy the infantry to the battlefield and completely devastate the rear with overwhelming fire support. That would be impossible if both the commander and the soldiers weren't in their right minds.
'Well, no matter what their actual role will be, the unit Soni Chepelin has conceived is already a tactic that's ahead of its time.'
The concept of an airborne unit is only possible after airships were developed.
Yet, this is an era where even the Reinhardt Empire, famous for its ultra-high-speed airship tech tree, has only developed airships to the prototype stage.
It's surprising that a soldier from the weak Ukran Duchy came up with such an idea.
It's no wonder she's a Grand Archmage. I'm still not entirely sure if she's a person I can trust, follow, and respect, though.
"Phew—!"
I set my empty beer glass down on the table and raised my hand to call the server.
"Another beer here and a platter of mixed sausages, please!"
"Yes~!"
There were some good points about my new life in the 8th Assault Mage Battalion compared to my old one in the 3rd Mage Battalion.
One of them was that the unit was located extremely close to a civilian village.
The quiet rural village of 'Stout'.
It couldn't compare to Chernoh Sin or the capital Kyiv, but for a rural village, it had everything it needed.
There were even two taverns, and general stores and herb shops, as well as laundries and tailor shops for mending clothes.
Of course, there was a backstory to why the unit was located so close to the village.
"I thought you said it was a secret unit, so why is it so close to the village?"
"Huh? Of course! We don't get any supplies."
"Excuse me?"
"How would supplies and logistics get to a unit that isn't even officially formed yet? It was already incredibly difficult to secretly assemble the troops. You want logistics to do the same? Absolutely not."
"Th-then you're saying we should get our supplies from the village? Like food and gear? And pay for it ourselves?"
"I'll use my own money to buy the basic gear, but for meals, that's how it is for now."
"You're... truly amazing."
Since it was a secret unit, they couldn't officially request supplies from the Army High Command, so they deliberately made it close to a village to get supplies from the civilian sector. It was basically a degraded version of North Korean military tactics. Even if the circumstances were a bit different, it was essentially telling them to be self-sufficient.
But it wasn't an entirely incomprehensible reason.
First, since both Soni and the King had established this unit because they couldn't trust the existing military, they had no choice but to pay special attention to security. Moreover, Stout was Soni Chepelin's hometown.
If she, who was the pride of this small village, strongly advocated for secrecy, then they could completely set aside any worries about rumors of the unit being stationed here spreading.
'If anything, the problem would be less about a security leak and more about a local entanglement...'
I shook my head as I thought that.
"Here you are! One more beer and a mixed sausage platter."
"Thank you."
In the meantime, the server quickly brought a beer and the food. I handed him three silver coins and looked at Sergeant Claude Raine, who was sitting across from me.
"Let's eat, Sergeant."
"Alright."
The sergeant popped a nicely grilled sausage into his mouth in one go. He chewed it a few times, then swallowed it down his throat like a bear swallowing a salmon whole.
"I've always wanted to drink with you at least once. And now the opportunity has come."
I raised my glass as I spoke, and Claude silently clinked his glass against mine. Clang-. The crisp sound of glasses clinking echoed.
"You drink pretty well, I see."
"In my past life, I was the one they called the liquor monster."
"Past life?"
"Ah, no... I meant before I enlisted."
"Hmm, you didn't look like that at all at first."
As I hurriedly covered up my slip of the tongue, the corners of Claude Raine's eyes narrowed.
"...That doesn't matter anyway. Why did you call me?"
"Is it wrong for a battalion commander to drink a bit with his subordinate squad leaders to build some camaraderie?"
"That's not it, but..."
"There's no particular reason. I just wanted to have a drink together and say, 'I'm counting on you from now on'—something like that."
I chugged my new beer. Was it because we were close to the Reinhardt Empire? The taste of the beer was superb for a neighborhood tavern.
To be honest, when I was in my previous unit, I rarely went to the tavern inside the base because I didn't like the taste of the alcohol they sold.
I had a feeling I'd be visiting this place quite often.
And a battalion commander is supposed to be soaked in alcohol anyway.
Being in a position sandwiched between the squad leaders and the battalion commander, the number of people he had to look after had increased tremendously compared to when he was a squad leader.
"How's your body?"
"I'm fine now. Exercising with you, Sergeant, really paid off."
"That's good to hear."
He was still blunt and stiff, but the hostility I saw when we first met had faded a lot.
Still, he must have some affection for me after all we've been through.
"By the way, Sergeant, there's something I'm curious about."
"What is it?"
"Didn't you mention Azov before? Regarding the Quornen War."
I approached the topic cautiously.
The sergeant seemed to accept his past calmly, but he sometimes reacted sensitively.
Just a few months ago, a conversation about the Quornen War that came up by chance had led to Bell Mayer and Sergeant Claude raising their voices in an argument. I had to try to talk without刺激 him as much as possible.
"...The Quornen War. Is it because of what the 4th squad leader said today?"
"Yes."
Thankfully, the sergeant didn't show much of a reaction. If he had really been bothered, he would have glared with those yellow eyes and growled like a beast.
"You know about the Azov Strait, which connects the south of Ukran to the sea, right?"
"You mean the Red Sea?"
"That's right."
The Red Sea.
Ukran is not a landlocked country. It's not an ocean dividing continents, but it does border an inland sea, the 'Red Sea'.
The name comes from the wide coral formations along the coastline. The Azov Strait is a regional name for the eight islands that rise up in the middle of it.
"There was a war there just 10 years ago. Between the indigenous people living on the strait and the south bordering the Red Sea, specifically the Quornen territory."
A past of the Ukran Duchy that I don't remember. It was an event that happened long after the backdrop of Hearts of General.
"I was twenty at the time and participated in that war as a soldier. It was a horrific battlefield. The Azov bastards never left prisoners alive."
"...War crimes?"
"No, that wasn't even on the level of war crimes. It was barbarism that only happened in ancient wars fought with spears and swords. They would skewer corpses on poles to desecrate the dead, and the captured Ukran women had to endure things that made death a better option."
I frowned. I hadn't experienced it directly, but just hearing the story made me feel physically disgusted.
They were truly savages.
"We won the war, but the effects are still horrifically present in the south. Do you think you could forget the sight of your sister being raped and your parents being brutally murdered right in front of your eyes, just because ten years have passed?"
Never.
Humans naturally hold onto bad memories longer than good ones. I don't know what for, but that's what trauma is, anyway.
Just look at Bell Mayer and Lumia Blue. Both had also been through terrible things...
Seeing your family and friends brutally killed and violated right in front of you is not something you can endure with a sound mind.
"In the south of Ukran, most people still grind their teeth at the bastards from the Azov Strait. Sergeant Hilton Calia is definitely one of them."
As Claude said that, he downed his beer in one go. The beer foam that hadn't been drunk yet bubbled up on the surface of the glass.
"I'm the same."
"I asked a pointless question. I'm sorry. I was fifteen back then, so I didn't know much about the world."
"I understand. I wish there were only one or two of those bastards."
Claude's head was turned towards me, but his focus was on something far away.
"A thirst for revenge is the most powerful driving force in a person's life. Even harsh training won't break her will."
The eyes of a seasoned elite soldier flashed.
"If you nurture her well, she will become your sharpest sword, Enok Battalion Commander."
***
Two weeks had already passed since the 8th Assault Mage Infantry Battalion was fully formed.
In the meantime, the battalion headquarters and staff, including Soni Chepelin, had stockpiled supplies according to the training plan they had devised.
Members of the combat battalions, like myself, conducted personal training together or went out into the village, building personal friendships between the squad and battalion members.
It was a necessary task for internal cohesion, even though it was unknown how many of these troops would be able to stay for the official formation.
"Roxana, are you feeling okay?"
"Yes, Battalion Commander. I'm fully prepared!"
She was a private first class and suffered from the fatal disease of alcoholism, Roxana Elim.
Like Lumia Blue, she was assigned directly to my battalion headquarters. It was a nominal position, but... for now, she was the battalion's administrative and supply officer.
Neither 'administration' nor 'supply' had anything to do do at the battalion level, though.
And Sergeant Erwin Rus, the 3rd squad leader who had been a dizzying first meeting, and Sergeant Hilton Calia, the 4th squad leader, surprisingly maintained close relationships with the members of their squads.
Sergeant Erwin's uniquely cheerful and straightforward personality, and Sergeant Calia's normally shy and warm-hearted nature seemed to have a positive effect on the soldiers to some extent.
Bell Mayer was similar, and as for Claude... perhaps due to his unique status as a war hero, the morale and loyalty of his subordinates were sky-high, even without him saying much.
'It's no wonder he has the 'Charisma' trait attached.'
Among the many traits in Hearts of General, it's a talent that's treated as top-tier, especially for unit management and wartime control.
With him at the helm, it was easy to understand why the squad's atmosphere was like that.
"Alright... everyone's gathered, right? You've had fun playing and done some personal training over the last two weeks, it seems?"
Soni Chepelin, who had stepped onto the podium, looked over the assembled troops and said. Her eyes briefly met mine, then moved on.
"You've played comfortably for two weeks, so now it's time to visit hell for two weeks."
Her voice was as playful as always, but for some reason, it carried a different kind of weight.
"When I think about it, during this training, you will get hurt, and in severe cases, you might even face the risk of death. But if you return safely, I promise you on the honor of a Grand Archmage, I will turn you into Ukraine's absolute elite unit."
The colonel paused for a moment.
Then, she did a complete 180 and shouted.
...Survive!!! By any means necessary!!!
Then you will be the heroes of the era who bring glory to Ukraine!!!
It felt as if I had been struck by lightning, a tingling sensation rising up. The assembled troops all shuddered in unison.
"Glory to the Fatherland!! Glory to the 8th Assault Mage Infantry Battalion!!"
In response to Soni Chepelin's call, all the unit members answered with a thunderous voice.
"Glory!!!"
The shouts of the young soldiers, reaching for the sky.
That was soon the signal flare for the change Ukraine would face amidst the waves of war that were about to engulf the world.