Welcome to Hell
The wind felt colder than usual.
Having finished his work hours earlier than normal, Velkain stepped out of the command tent and gazed north.
“You were out here, sir?”
“What’s the status?”
At Velkain’s question, Claw consulted the documents in his hand.
“All reinforcement troops have completed their movement toward the First Defense Line.”
“And the situation there?”
“……Not good.”
Hadn’t the Kar Tribe’s mobile warriors already inflicted a heavy blow once they were committed? Who would have imagined they had secured so many northern horses? Even Velkain had not foreseen that.
“Still, of more than fifty mobile warriors, we managed to kill thirteen. Their combat strength has been reduced considerably.”
Even so, Claw’s expression remained grim. The reason was simple: nearly a hundred of their own soldiers had died to take down those thirteen mounted enemies.
And now……
“Without proper reinforcements, we cannot hold the First Defense Line.”
“Reinforcements are coming.”
“……Sir?”
Claw asked in open surprise. Only recently he had been told there would be no support at all. Velkain answered with the same hard look as before.
“A thousand-strong relief force has already set out. They will reach the First Defense Line before long.”
“When are they expected to arrive?”
“In three weeks.”
“……What?”
Claw’s eyes wavered. It was only natural. With the forces currently available, even lasting ten days was impossible.
“That’s far too late. Even with the latest reinforcements, we have fewer than three hundred men.”
They were outnumbered more than two to one. Even with the defensive walls in their favor, they could not stop the Kar Tribe’s assaults.
Yet……
“Tell them to hold. The First Defense Line must be held at all costs.”
“……Understood.”
Another wave of terrible sacrifices was coming. Perhaps……
We may lose every one of the newly arrived troops as well.
Claw’s face darkened. From the position of one who gave the orders, he could already see their future clearly enough. This operation was driving soldiers straight into the jaws of death.
Is this…… truly the right thing?
Yet they could not simply refuse to fight. If the First Defense Line fell, the villages below would be reached in a single day. More than two thousand imperial civilians would be in mortal danger.
Claw squeezed his eyes shut.
For now…… all we can do is pray.
Pray that some miracle would descend upon this barren northern land where dozens died every day. Claw simply stood in silence beside Velkain, both of them staring north toward the First Defense Line.
“Move it, move it!”
“Pitch the tents over here! Once it gets dark it’ll be a pain, so hurry up!”
It was noisy. Or rather, it felt frantically busy. Having just arrived at the First Defense Line, Arteon glanced around. This was no battlefield, yet the moment he set foot there the smell of blood filled the air. Screams rose from every direction, and soldiers carrying the wounded were a common sight.
“S-Squad Leader.”
Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Graphil edged closer to Arteon. Arteon turned and looked over his squad. Every face wore a similar expression—stiff, tense. Even Bert, who normally had no shortage of guts, was no exception.
“Everyone, get the tents up quickly. The wind here is stronger than down below, so drive the support stakes at least two finger-joints deeper.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
“Understood!”
At Arteon’s order the squad members hurried to pitch the tents they had brought. Meanwhile Arteon made a light circuit of the First Defense Line’s encampment. Lifeless faces. Whether from combat fatigue or something deeper, despair filled every expression.
Just then—
“Hey, you there! What are you doing?!”
“……?”
Arteon turned his head. A man with a wounded soldier draped over each shoulder was shouting at him.
“Go fetch a medic, now! These two are badly hurt!”
But before the man’s cry had even finished—
“Lay them down here, quickly!”
Arteon strode over and eased one of the soldiers from the man’s shoulder onto the ground. The wound in the man’s side looked serious.
“……The cut’s deep.”
Without hesitation Arteon pulled a slim wooden tube from the pouch at the small of his back. Inside was something dark and sticky. He scooped it out and smeared it over the wound.
“This ointment disinfects and helps stop the bleeding.”
Next he tore a strip from his own sleeve and bound the injury tightly.
“Set the other one down too.”
“Ah—r-right.”
The big soldier hurriedly lowered the comrade from his left shoulder. Fortunately this one’s wounds were not as deep. Arteon simply retied the loose bandage more firmly.
“Get them to the aid station at once. As soon as you arrive, tell them to cauterize the right-hand man’s wound first. The ointment will have disinfected it, but if they don’t seal it properly it can still fester.”
“……Got it.”
What the hell is with this kid? He looked like a teenager barely into his mid-teens, yet he spoke like a soldier who had been rolling around battlefields for ten years. The burly soldier hoisted both comrades back onto his shoulders. Just as he was about to run for the aid station he paused and looked back at Arteon.
“Hey. Name’s Jiak. What’s yours?”
“Arteon.”
“Arteon? Never seen your face before.”
“I just joined. But you don’t have time to stand around chatting with me, do you?”
“Ah—Arteon. I’ll remember it. See you later.”
Jiak hurried off toward the aid station with his comrades. Watching him go, Arteon murmured the name under his breath.
“Jiak, is it.”
Then he turned and walked away.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Bert drove the last stake deep with the hammer he held and let out a long breath. Pitching a tent was not hard, but breaking the frozen northern ground to seat the stakes properly was another matter entirely.
“Finished?”
“Squad Leader, you’re back. We just finished.”
“Good. Everyone gather. Before we eat we’re going to run through the coordinated drills again.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
By now no one so much as grumbled, even for form’s sake. During the several days of travel they had been unable to train the joint techniques except for physical conditioning. There were still too many rough edges; missing even a single day could break their rhythm. Arteon led the Fourth Squad to an open patch of ground he had spotted during his earlier circuit. It was not large, but few other soldiers passed through, making it ideal for practice.
When they arrived, however—
“……Oh?”
Someone was already there.
It was a brutal battlefield. Especially—
“That bastard of a platoon leader……”
What in the world had the man been thinking, proposing such a reckless plan in the middle of this hopeless fight? Jiak would have liked to crack open that skull and take a look. Not that I can anymore.
Idiot. He had never even realized how insane his own operation was, and in the end he had died on that field. Honor, money—what did any of it mean once you were dead? Greed had killed him. Thanks to the path Jiak himself had forced open, a few comrades had survived, but even they were so badly wounded they would not be moving for a long while.
Still……
……That kid.
The one who had suddenly appeared and given emergency treatment. Arteon, he had said his name was. Because of him, one more man had lived. A little later and it would have been too late to do anything.
Next time I see him I should at least say thanks.
How old was that bastard, anyway?
Whoosh!
Jiak swung the spear in his hands in a sharp arc. Dragged into battle almost every day, he had no other time to train his body except moments like this.
Still……
Maybe the newly arrived reinforcements would stretch this place’s lifespan a little longer.
Whoosh!
Jiak focused harder on the spear. Nothing cleared a tangled mind better than moving the body.
Just then—
“……Oh?”
A voice came suddenly from the side. Jiak stopped and turned his head.
“Wait—you’re……?”
Seeing Arteon, Jiak’s face showed open surprise. New arrivals were usually so overwhelmed by the atmosphere that they did nothing at all. At best they pitched their tents and huddled inside, trembling at the thought of when they would be dragged to the front. And yet—
“What brings you here?”
“I needed a place to train. You practicing too?”
Arteon asked, looking at the way Jiak had been swinging the spear. Jiak gave a short snort of laughter.
“Just loosening up. Nothing fancy.”
Even so, the spear moved with obvious familiarity. Arteon studied him. Unlike their first meeting, the scars carved into the man’s body stood out clearly now.
This one……
He had been rolling around battlefields for a long time. And if he had been holding out on the First Defense Line, his level was bound to be different from ordinary soldiers.
“Regular infantry?”
“More or less. Looking at you, I’d say you’re a squad leader?”
“Arteon, Fourth Squad Leader of the Fourth Platoon, Third Company. Proper introductions.”
“Jiak, Second Platoon of the First Company. Welcome to hell.”
Jiak grinned and held out his hand. Arteon shook it lightly and said,
“Looks like you were in the middle of training. We’ll find somewhere else.”
“Ah, no need. I was about to head in anyway—use the place. Hardly anyone bothers you here; it’s good for practice.”
Arteon inclined his head at the easy offer of the space.
“Thanks. I’ll repay the debt on the battlefield.”
“Debt, my ass. I’m the one who got help first. One of my guys lived because of you. They said a little later and he’d have been gone.”
Throughout the exchange the Fourth Squad members simply stood silent as mutes with honey in their mouths. Once Jiak had left, Zalbarog asked as if he had been waiting.
“Who was that?”
“Someone I ran into while looking around the camp earlier.”
“……Looks like he knows a thing or two.”
“Seems that way.”
But there was no time to dwell on it. Before long the platoon leader would summon them, and when that happened—
We’ll be thrown straight into the fighting.
In a situation where they could be ordered out at any moment, they had to raise their skill even by a single second. Arteon looked over his squad.
“Everyone focus. Training starts now.”
“Yes!”
Two days after their arrival at the First Defense Line—
Bwooooooooo!
A shrill trumpet blast rang through the entire camp.
“They’re coming! The enemy is attacking!”
“All hands, prepare for battle!”
The shadow of death began to spread across the whole of the First Defense Line. And—
“……Hoo.”
Arteon let out a quiet breath. It was a dangerous battlefield, that much was certain. Yet—
If we can properly repel this attack……
Dozens died here every day. If they could mount a defense that stood out clearly, the achievement would be recognized.
His grip tightened around the spear. Arteon looked at his squad members and spoke.
“We will stop them. And every one of us is going home alive.”
“Yes!”
With their answering shout, Arteon turned toward the front.