Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Betrayed General Betrays
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About ten years after I fell into this world.
"General Victor."
"Mm."
I had become a general of the kingdom.
Not just any general, either—I'd climbed all the way to the position of acting supreme commander.
The Ruth Kingdom's army, on the verge of launching a war, was so short on officers that they were even recalling retired ones. That call reaching me was how it all began.
Thanks to the cheat-like abilities of the Minimap and Tactical Map, plus the well-trained soldiers who'd risen with me, I racked up some eye-catching achievements.
Of course, I never forgot the lessons from the Officer Academy, always keeping my conduct above reproach. The result? When the previous supreme commander stepped down due to injury, he recommended me as his successor.
Sure, this position was only temporary, granted amid wartime, but it came with real authority: command over all forces except the Royal Guard, and the full perks that entailed.
I could see the intent—if we lost, I'd be the sacrificial lamb. But all I had to do was win.
The nobles who'd thrown tantrums about how a mere commoner couldn't possibly be supreme commander had gone awfully quiet lately. No worries there; I could grind the empire's army to dust without interference.
...The problem was, my shoulders had grown too heavy to just bolt as originally planned.
"Time to put out the lamp, sir."
"Ah, right."
Anna, my adjutant, poked her face through the gap in the curtain covering the tent entrance.
Maybe because she handled everything that didn't come directly to me.
Her faintly smiling face was marred by deep dark circles.
She hadn't trusted me at all when she first became my adjutant, but now she shouldered the grueling workload for me—one of the people I was truly grateful for.
"You should rest first, Adjutant."
"Sir, you too..."
"Tch."
"...Thank you."
Anna bowed once and slowly exited the tent.
Right now, the Ruth Kingdom was in its second year of war with the Dragonia Empire.
When I played as the empire, I'd conquer the Ruth Kingdom in three months flat. Yet here we were, still locked in a siege at the kingdom's capital.
"Hm."
Looking back, I'd more or less achieved my initial goals.
In a Ruth Kingdom where incompetent generals lost their heads left and right, I'd risen to supreme commander. Everyone except the nobles obsessed with power favored me.
Even my adjutant Anna's attitude had shifted dramatically from our first meeting. Not bad, if I say so myself.
Of course, starting in the empire would've spared me this daily grind.
Lackluster technology, scarce resources, constant noble meddling...
I felt it in my bones why the game made the Ruth Kingdom such a tough pick.
Explaining every troop movement to capricious nobles was a hassle, and convincing them of our advantageous position wore me out.
Every summons to the palace felt like debating one against dozens—draining, every time.
"Haa..."
I sighed out my regrets and focused on the towering stack of documents.
I still wanted to defect to the empire, but my original plan to do so "naturally" hinged on a crucial issue: justification.
It didn't matter that we'd been at war with the empire.
They flew the empire's flag, but those troops belonged to the Noble Faction, opposed to the emperor.
For someone like me hoping for imperial favor, letting them live might not even be advantageous.
The key was ensuring my surrender wasn't seen as betrayal, but as an unavoidable choice to save my soldiers' lives.
History judges surrenders heavily on that process—and faking it convincingly wasn't easy.
I couldn't throw my men into the fire just for my own gain. I needed a scenario where I'd fought my best but still lost.
Such an ideal situation had never arisen.
Maybe because they were vassals without the emperor's oversight.
The empire's attacks were so simplistic and sloppy—even without the Minimap, I'd have seen them coming. Losing to them would trash my reputation.
The early war, with its massive troop disparities, was my last real chance to surrender credibly. But back then, I had no real power.
Was I doomed to stick it out in the Ruth Kingdom forever?
Instead, I'd carve empire territory from this war and use that power to conquer the world.
Tough, sure—but not impossible.
In the game, even weaker nations than the Ruth Kingdom could pull off world conquest.
It grated, but I was out of options.
"Hah, whatever."
For now, focus on the task at hand.
I wrestled with the papers by lamplight for a good while when—
"Hm?"
I instinctively grabbed the sword I'd set beside me.
Checking the Minimap, a cluster of red dots was barreling straight toward my position.
"Assassins?"
This was the heart of the army camp—odd, to say the least.
I'd encountered stealthy killers using magic or enchanted tools before, but they never marched right through the ranks like idiots.
-Sching.
The dots accelerated, so I rose from my chair and drew my sword.
Green dots signifying allies began popping up around the red cluster's center, but the reds didn't slow a bit.
For some reason, our troops were just getting pushed back.
The Minimap had never been wrong once, making this all the more baffling.
Enemies to me, but not to my own allies? A riddle of a situation.
A few possibilities came to mind, but...
"Out of the way! By order of His Majesty the King!"
"Ah."
A familiar shout from afar cleared it up, solving the mystery.
Not assassins or spies, at least—not someone up to that task.
I sheathed my sword and sat back down as the voice's owner flung open the tent flap.
"Good to see you like this, Victor."
"Captain Andrei of the Royal Guard. What brings you here?"
The uninvited guest was Andrei, captain of the Ruth Kingdom's Royal Guard.
One of those who'd always resented my rise, a man bundled up in highborn arrogance and the incompetence of a non-field officer.
With his golden hair and blue eyes, he had that noble princeling look—popular in high society, or so I'd heard.
Unlike his usual uniform, he wore gleaming new plate armor, a jewel-encrusted sword at his left hip.
Andrei approached my desk with a vile smirk.
The guy who'd ranted about killing me every time I retreated now grinned creepily—bad vibes all around.
"Come in!"
The Royal Guard troops filed in, eyeing me and Andrei warily. No signs of travel on their stiff leather armor; bundles of rope in hand instead of weapons.
Green as they seemed, tense as hell, their gear screamed master craftsmanship at a glance.
Wonder if even these clowns boasted heroic tales to women.
"Never been this glad to see you before. Know what this is?"
I swallowed rising disgust and eyed the scroll in his outstretched right hand.
Expensive paper, bound with gold thread symbolizing royal decree—nothing good inside, obviously.
"Curious? You must be."
He unfurled it right in my face.
The contents were anything but ordinary.
"...An arrest warrant?"
"That's right. His Majesty orders your arrest."
The scroll bore the king's concise command to arrest me, Acting Supreme Commander Victor.
No reason given—just the order to carry out the arrest.
His Majesty or not, a 14-year-old king ordering a friendly commander's arrest mid-war? Unlikely.
The nobles who'd been stonewalling me all this time, no doubt.
Power was precious, sure, but...
Snatching the commander leading your war effort? Beyond my comprehension.
"You get what this means?"
"Better than you, at least."
He set the scroll down and shoved his face uncomfortably close.
I wanted to smash that sneering mug, but with the king's order in play, I couldn't act rashly.
His Guard, watching intently, would pile on at his word.
"Might not, but this ain't just an arrest."
"...Then."
Savoring his mocking grin, he snatched a rope from a nearby guardsman and approached me, binding my arms and legs himself while I sat.
"It's secret, but you look so wronged—I'll tell you. You're to be a sacrifice for peace."
He whispered the bombshell in my ear as he tied me.
"Peace?"
A palace lapdog prattling about peace irked me, but I held back, probing for more info.
"We're trading you to the empire for a one-year truce. Peace arrives."
"A truce."
"Yep. Your life buys us a year—pretty sweet deal."
Andrei spoke of how the kingdom I'd served for years was discarding me—words that could've crushed a lesser man.
I bowed my head to hide my rising smirk.
This was my chance.
A chance to escape this dead-end.