Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Genius Divine Archer Who Became a One-Man Legion (4)
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‘Surely, this person...’
Lian’s position amid the officers’ meeting was merely that of a freshly enlisted recruit.
And yet, despite that, Lian spoke to Raymond.
“In the midst of fetching supplies, a battle has broken out, so they’ll know they’ve been discovered. And a discovered ambush is worse than none at all.”
Then Lian stepped forward to look at the map on the table.
It was the natural emergence of his experience from when he had been a squad leader in the past.
Along with him, Raymond’s gaze also turned to the map.
“Those guys will be in a frenzy right now. Their ambush was exposed at an unexpected time.”
Lian pointed to the gorge with his finger.
“If we give them time, they might even seize the gorge, which is geographically advantageous for them. If that happens, we’d have to fight in unfavorable terrain or go all the way around the entire gorge... but that would consume far too much time.”
The place Eagle Company was heading was Temporn, the kingdom’s northern frontlines.
It was to transport supplies for the war against the barbarians in Temporn.
The geographical feature of Phelon Gorge was that the path cutting straight through was short, but going around it covered a considerable distance.
Having to detour with all these supplies would be troublesome enough, but above all, they wouldn’t be able to deliver the provisions on time. That would cause problems for the frontline units.
“But that’s not the only issue.”
There was another problem if they went around the gorge.
“If we detour, it would be no different from opening the path to the kingdom for them.”
For now, it was the right call to move quickly and strike them first.
But the moment Lian finished speaking, he glanced at Raymond.
Gulp.
Lian knew exactly what he had just done.
An utterly absurd situation.
But there was only one reason he could make this gamble.
His past experience gave him a strong feeling that Raymond was a ‘real soldier.’
But no sooner had Lian finished speaking than,
“You crazy bastard!”
“How dare a mere recruit flap your mouth like that! What do you even know?!”
“Hahaha, looks like I’ll be sticking around this life a bit longer.”
Some flew into a rage at Lian, while others laughed in disbelief.
Most were rebuking Lian’s behavior, and Derek, the 3rd Platoon Leader Lian belonged to, couldn’t hide his flustered expression.
“S-Sorry! Company Commander!”
“...So you’re saying we need to strike first before they seize the gorge?”
“That’s... what I think.”
Lian nodded at Raymond’s question. Raymond stroked his chin and stared fixedly at the map.
At this moment, Raymond probably saw allied and barbarian forces waging war on the map in his mind’s eye.
After staring at the map silently for about 30 seconds, Raymond turned his gaze to Lian.
“Lian, was it?”
“Yes!”
“Just one question. Why did you scout all the way out there?”
They had sent him to scout the gorge, but the place Lian had confirmed was the plains beyond it.
At Raymond’s question, the platoon leaders’ eyes turned to Lian.
Lian replied.
“That was... because Tauran, the squad leader in charge of the scouting party, ordered us to search up to the end. And I happened to spot them while going there.”
“I see.”
Raymond nodded. Then he looked at the platoon leaders and said.
“Move the company. We enter the gorge right now. Platoon leaders, relay the orders quickly and return here.”
“Pardon?”
“Company Commander, are you saying you’re changing the plan based on what this recruit said?”
“Wouldn’t it be better to send out scouts again to confirm...”
“Enough!”
The company commander cut off the platoon leaders sharply.
Seeing the company commander’s expression, the platoon leaders froze stiff.
Raymond looked at the platoon leaders and said.
“Everyone, return to your positions.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
“Yes!”
Raymond was known for his fairness, but the platoon leaders knew he was unmanageable when angry.
At his words, not only the platoon leaders but even Lian glanced around nervously as they left the tent. At that moment,
“3rd Platoon Leader Derek.”
“Yes, Company Commander.”
Raymond called back Derek, the 3rd Platoon Leader Lian belonged to.
With the other platoon leaders gone, only Raymond and Derek remained in the tent.
Raymond said to Derek.
“Keep a close eye on that soldier.”
“...Isn’t that overestimating him?”
Derek asked cautiously.
Of course, discovering the enemy in a hard-to-scout location was a great achievement.
Derek had planned to recommend a reward for that.
But Raymond shook his head.
“He praised his superior without orders and shared the credit. How many soldiers do you think could do that?”
“...Pardon?”
“You don’t actually believe that the squad leader who went scouting with him sent a recruit all the way to the end of the gorge, do you? As far as I know, that scouting party leader was Tauran. Isn’t that right?”
Raymond tapped the end point of the gorge on the map as he spoke.
He had already grasped even the squad leader level soldiers.
As far as he knew, there was no soldier in his company capable of such behavior.
Derek fell silent at Raymond’s words.
Even he thought Tauran didn’t have that kind of capability.
“Keep an eye on him, grant any requests he makes, and watch closely. And give Tauran a reward alongside him.”
“...Yes, sir.”
For a moment, Derek looked into Raymond’s eyes.
It was that look of profound interest and fascination.
* * *
Suddenly, the atmosphere in Eagle Company grew tense and urgent.
“Squad leaders, gather your squads and prepare to move quickly! And Tauran!”
The moment 3rd Platoon Leader Derek returned to his platoon, he issued orders to the squad leaders.
They now had to pass through the gorge quickly while simultaneously preparing for battle.
Tauran approached at Derek’s words.
“I heard from Lian. Your contribution was huge.”
“Pardon?”
Tauran’s eyes widened as he looked at his platoon leader patting his shoulder.
He had been so anxious when Lian had gone alone into the officers’ meeting tent.
The scouting in the gorge had been Lian’s achievement alone.
That’s why he thought Lian wouldn’t keep the promise he made to him in the gorge.
“For a recruit to trust Lian and achieve this... It was wise to send you on the scouting party. But the situation is urgent now, so I’ll handle the rewards after the battle.”
“Yes, yes-!”
Tauran saluted loudly. Then he immediately went to Lian and thumped his chest.
“Cool guy.”
Watching Tauran walk away, Lian just smirked inwardly.
He understood what the guy meant.
‘The real problem starts now.’
What kind of tactics were they planning by moving the company this quickly?
‘For now... I guess I have no choice but to trust him?’
Honestly, he couldn’t guarantee the outcome.
The best he could do in the current situation was to escape the worst-case scenario.
Now...
‘I have no choice but to trust Company Commander Raymond.’
* * *
“You’re targeting their rear...?”
“Pull out a hundred men. Split into two platoons, one each, to loop around both sides and hit them from behind.”
“...Will it work?”
“It has to. Otherwise, there’s no point in fighting now.”
Eagle Company had several issues to resolve in this battle.
First, they didn’t have the luxury of a prolonged fight, and they needed to minimize friendly casualties as much as possible.
If they got bogged down here or lost numbers, the purpose of their deployment to aid allies would be undermined.
They had to finish it as quickly as possible and completely annihilate the enemy.
“To do that, the best is to lure them into the gorge and hit their rear while attacking from the front.”
“They’re just barbarians. What do those savages know about tactics? They only ever charge with numbers.”
“Exactly. We should preserve our forces, secure the gorge, and fight them there.”
Raymond let out a smirk at the platoon leaders’ opinions.
He knew well how the kingdom’s people viewed the barbarians.
An uncivilized, ignorant race.
Beasts that lived only by instinct.
“If we hadn’t spotted their ambush, we would’ve been massacred by those ‘uncivilized’ ones.”
“That’s...”
“...”
Silence suddenly fell over the tent.
Because it was an undeniable fact.
“Have confidence, but don’t underestimate the enemy. War isn’t chess. Lose, and it doesn’t end with bruised pride.”
Much blood would be shed, and many would grieve.
The platoon leaders nodded at Raymond’s words.
“That kind of fast maneuver is perfect for 5th Platoon. Leave it to us.”
“Too few numbers. Need another platoon’s worth.”
He seemed to think for a moment, then looked at 3rd Platoon Leader Derek.
“Will 3rd Platoon take it?”
It was 3rd Platoon that had spotted the ambush in the first place. Moreover, the platoon Derek led was well-trained in stamina drills.
They’d have the endurance to loop around quickly.
Raymond, who meticulously grasped the company’s usual tactics, made the decision on the spot.
Derek nodded at Raymond’s question.
“If you entrust it to us, we’ll get it done.”
“Good. Then operational command for 3rd and 5th Platoons goes to their platoon leaders. The remaining three platoons secure the gorge and lure in the barbarians. Once 3rd and 5th have their rear, send the signal.”
Raymond’s eyes gleamed.
“Then we annihilate them all at once.”
“Yes, sir!”
A resounding response echoed, and a murderous tension spread throughout the company.
* * *
“Damn, battle out of nowhere...”
“Our platoon’s looping around the rear, right?”
“That gorge... we’re screwed.”
They were to cross the gorge’s hills and strike the enemy’s rear.
And faster than the main force breaking through the gorge’s center.
The soldiers were already filled with complaints at the daunting prospect. However,
‘As expected... did I judge him right?’
In truth, the card Raymond played in this situation was the closest to the optimal move.
If it went according to plan, they could minimize friendly losses while annihilating the enemy.
‘But...’
Glance.
Lian looked at the other soldiers.
For this operation, speed was paramount—truly a lightning-fast strike.
‘I have no memories of Eagle Company... so there’s nothing I can do.’
Lian’s only memory of Eagle Company was their惨 defeat in Phelon Gorge.
After that, he’d gone to another company and heard nothing.
‘Can they pull it off?’
Even he felt scared.
No matter that his experience was over 20 years as a veteran; right now, it was in the body of a green rookie.
At that moment,
“Who’s chattering there!”
A shout that snapped them to attention made 4th Squad’s soldiers jump and turn their heads.
4th Squad Leader Bark approached the soldiers and said.
“Get your heads in the game! This isn’t training—it’s real combat! Slack off, and you might just die!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Got it!”
“Yes!”
The soldiers who had been complaining moments ago answered with tense expressions.
Bark’s face was fiercer than expected.
“You too—stay sharp!”
“Yes, sir!”
Lian shouted loudly back at Bark, who was looking at him.
Lian’s expression was markedly different from the others. Even his eyes.
It gave off a strangely composed vibe, almost leisurely?
‘What the hell is this guy?’
Bark hadn’t been in the army that long himself.
Just hitting his third year.
In those three years, he’d fought in five battles and survived countless close calls.
He’d lost squadmates in every war and taken in new recruits.
But a guy like this? First time.
Unable to pin him down, Bark just nodded.
And then,
“Squad Leader, by any chance... can I get a bow from supplies?”
Bark’s eyes flickered at the unexpected words.