Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: What Are You Doing? Hurry Up and Run!
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"What are you doing? Hurry up and run!"
“Richi! We can’t hold out any longer! If this keeps up, we’re really in deep shit!”
I wish that was just Enter being his usual overdramatic self. But sadly, it’s not.
Quite the opposite—it’s him trying to stay as calm as possible. With thousands of Koenihesen bastards right on our doorstep and he’s still that composed? Yeah, that counts as calm. Damn it all.
We’ve smacked them upside the head so many times now that even the Koenihesen troops have lost their minds.
Since pulling from the rear didn’t work, these lunatics ended up stripping the front lines.
They figure they can wipe out our ragtag remnants of defeated soldiers in one fell swoop.
This is exactly what I wanted. This is the picture we fought a whole month of hell for.
Reassigning troops, redistributing supplies, squeezing in training whenever we could.
Erwin shining in this massive offensive? It’s all because he pulled off this feat.
But the problem is, fuck. It’s insanely tough and dangerous.
We’ve been gleefully pounding that scary bastard’s rear, so of course we’re paying the price now.
Right now, even if we scrape together every last soldier we’ve got, we’re barely a regiment. They’ve got two full divisions.
No matter how much we’ve reformed our units, resupplied weapons and gear, and kept morale up, we’re far from a perfect army. There are still tons of gaps.
In contrast, the enemy’s elite veterans who were pushing back our Imperial forces have come charging straight at us.
They’ve got a grudge from all the beatings Erwin gave them, plus tasty bait like me and Ar—they’re coming in like they want to devour us whole.
This can’t go on. No matter how badass Erwin is, he can’t solo forever.
“Fall back to the final defense line! Retreat!—”
All this time, we’ve been busting our asses to avoid getting surrounded by the Koenihesen scum.
We pulled every trick in the book to secure the supplies we’d hidden and scattered everywhere.
But that’s no longer feasible. We can’t overcome the sheer numbers and quality gap.
So we ended up surrendering all the territory we’d barely held onto and holing up in the mountains.
Now we’re surrounded on all sides, with no way to scrounge more supplies. We’re set to slowly starve.
Just a little while ago, we were happily raiding Koenihesen nests left and right, but no more.
This feels familiar. Right, it’s just like when I was disciplining the kids back at the academy.
“Ar. How’re the supplies holding up?”
“We stockpiled as much as we could for emergencies, but even rationing it to the bone, a week’s our limit. We can’t last a day longer.”
“...This is bad.”
“Real bad.”
Honestly, even that one week’s worth is damn near a miracle. It’s what our company scraped together through gritted teeth, plus everything the routed units left behind that we swept up clean.
We’ve burned through plenty already, so yeah, miracle’s the word.
“Erwin. Any chance we can punch through?”
I went to Erwin—our mobile warfare wizard—just in case.
Maybe he’d have a way out of this mess.
But some things in life just won’t budge, no matter what.
“I’ve been scouting hard, but these guys aren’t pushovers. Looking at their formation, wherever we try to break out, they’ll pincers us in seconds and melt us down. If we lose more troops here, we won’t even hold this position, Richi.”
Yep, the ‘real’ ones have arrived. They got pissed seeing their reinforcements shitting themselves and came charging!
That’s right. This is going according to plan. Good thing... but seeing it up close? Not so good.
“Richi. The Koenihesen sent an envoy offering surrender terms.”
At that, I grabbed Erwin and Ar and headed straight for the command tent.
There stood a man in a Koenihesen officer’s uniform, ramrod straight.
“Who’s the commander here?”
Erwin suddenly glances at me at the guy’s question. What’s this, Captain? You’re saying I’m the commander? I’m just the bait who pulls all-nighters in the back!
Catching my drift, Erwin steps forward casually.
“I’m the commander here.”
“Is that so? Here’s a letter from my division commander. He says that if you lay down your arms and surrender immediately, Koenihesen guarantees the safety of everyone here and promises courteous treatment as prisoners.”
“...”
“But if you refuse, know that we won’t accept your surrender later.”
Look at this prick, yelling it loud enough for all our troops to hear.
Did your commanders whisper to play psychological warfare too? Like, ‘Your leaders are blowing your chance at surrender over petty pride’? You bastards.
I’d love to deck that smug mouth, but he’s an envoy—I hold back.
No matter how much I hate these Koenihesen scum, rules are rules. Touching an envoy stains our family’s honor.
“Surrender, you say? You want us to surrender?”
“Please stop this meaningless resistance. You have no reinforcements coming. Fighting here will just get you all killed. Koenihesen will treat you well as prisoners, so come down from the mountains without throwing away more lives. You’ve already fought bravely.”
“...”
“The Empire won’t have anything to say even if you surrender.”
Yeah. Our soldiers fought like true heroes, without sparing their lives.
And in the end, we achieved our goal. So their deaths weren’t in vain.
Surrendering now would make those sacrifices truly meaningless.
The Empire wouldn’t complain if we surrendered, sure.
But our fallen comrades who went first? They’d be pounding the dirt in rage and grief.
That’s why we won’t surrender—we can’t bear it.
“What’ll it be? What answer should I take back?”
Erwin suddenly turns to me at the envoy’s words.
I wondered why, but looking into his eyes, I got it quick.
He’s asking if it’s okay to say what he really wants to.
I gave a slight nod—your call. Erwin grins wickedly and turns back to the Koenihesen envoy.
“Tell your commanders who so honorably offered surrender...”
And then Erwin bellowed it loud enough for every one of our soldiers to hear.
“Shove it up your asses!!!”
*
Erwin’s words were pure catharsis. Our soldiers roared in cheers.
Only the lone Koenihesen envoy slunk away with a face like he’d eaten shit.
What happened next? Predictable—furious Koenihesen assaults.
“East flank’s about to collapse!”
“Hold it!”
“Commit all reserves!”
No place to run. No surrender. But the enemies were too many.
Attacks from every direction made even a single day of rest impossible.
And this very morning, the eastern defense line finally broke.
“...”
Tomorrow’s the end. Really, truly, there’s nothing more we can do.
Defense lines are meant to crumble, but encircled like this? It’s death.
Sudden regret crashes in. Was this a mistake? Did I screw everything up by coming here?
In the original timeline, Erwin held the enemy successfully until allied reinforcements arrived.
He came close to death a few times but never actually died.
But now... no. It’s because of me—the Supreme Commander’s son—that the Koenihesen went berserk and swarmed like a tidal wave.
Should’ve never proposed this plan. Should’ve just let Erwin handle it alone.
I knew meddling could bring both upsides and downsides, but I couldn’t hold back that impulse, and this is the result?
“Richi.”
I turned to see Ar approaching. Like everyone else, she looked utterly worn out, but even that couldn’t erase her beauty.
“Ar.”
“...Is today our last?”
I knew exactly what “last” meant. So I couldn’t answer.
It’s all my fault. Shouldn’t have stuck my neck out. Should’ve stayed quiet in the back and—
“It’s not your fault.”
“Huh?”
“I can see it on your face. You’re blaming yourself. Erwin said it: because you stepped up front, we inflicted way more damage. Without you drawing their fire, he couldn’t have racked up these kills.”
“...”
“So it’s not on you. It’s just war. Sometimes you push, sometimes you get pushed.”
Her words made me chuckle despite myself. Cliché as hell. But... comforting.
Especially coming from Ariete, of all people.
“I don’t wanna be a prisoner.”
Ar whispers softly as she sidles up beside me.
“I like you, Richi. As a woman to a man.”
“Ar.”
“I’m not asking for your answer or anything. Just... before we die, I wanna kiss the guy I like. Can you?”
A request I’d have hesitated on normally, but right now? Easy.
I turn, take her hand. It’s warm. I look at her. She smells nice.
It started with curiosity. Then kinship, then fondness.
I was drawn to this woman so like me, yet different.
She was amazing. Unlike me, always second-guessing, she was bold, truly cool.
From hand to shoulder, shoulder to her warm cheek. Holding her like that.
About to share what might be our first and last kiss.
Kaboom!―
A massive blaze erupted in the Koenihesen lines encircling us.
Stunned, I halt and whip my head around.
“Hey. You.”
Suddenly my face jerks, and something soft and warm presses against my lips.
*
A month into Koenihesen’s summer grand offensive.
The Allied Forces finally punched a hole in the enemy assault and created a salient.