Thirty Will Be Enough
“What is the Kar tribe’s current movement?”
“They’ve come south from the lake and are closing in on our lines. By distance, roughly two kilometers from our formation — a little farther still.”
“Close enough that if you tripped, your nose would hit the ground.”
If the enemy established a proper formation beyond the lake, reclaiming it afterward would become far harder. From the standpoint of those who still held even a portion of the southern shore, that was a disaster waiting to happen.
“We have to move our forces before they dig in completely.”
“But excluding the newly arrived reinforcements, the number of men still fit for combat is… less than two hundred. Half of them are still wounded.”
“And even among the rest, weapons and armor haven’t been fully resupplied. If we force an attack under these conditions… we could create a situation we can never recover from.”
It was a meeting of the battalion commander and the company-grade officers. Major Leorn Valtroon, who held overall command of the 4th Defense Line, let out a deep sigh and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
“I know the situation is difficult. But if we lose the forward positions of the 4th Line, retaking Elbarphiel Lake becomes nearly impossible.”
They had already wasted months failing to reclaim it. Still, the other officers had a point. If they moved rashly and lost the remaining troops, they could lose the 4th Defense Line itself. The worst scenario imaginable.
Leorn pressed hard at his throbbing temples.
“We’ll decide at tomorrow’s meeting. If anyone has a better idea by then… I’ll hear it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Understood.”
The fruitless meeting ended. Outside the tent, Hadel exhaled a quiet sigh. Jerak, the support company commander who had brought the reinforcements, spoke up.
“Doesn’t look easy.”
“The previous division commander pulled a lot of idiotic stunts. He issued impossible orders without looking at the situation, and the damage has just kept piling up.”
The men had never been given proper rest. Wounds that should have healed were never given time to close. And yet, even under those conditions, the present moment was the worst of all. If they truly committed to battle now, the result could be irreversible.
Hadel returned to his own tent with a worried face. Another meeting was scheduled for tomorrow, but what miracle solution could appear in a single day? Meaningless hours would simply pass.
Then came a voice.
“Company Commander, it’s Bolgren.”
“Come in.”
Hadel looked up at the sudden visitor.
“Did the meeting go well?” Bolgren asked.
“Not at all. The situation’s bad and we couldn’t even reach a decision. He says we’ll meet again tomorrow — as if some brilliant plan is going to fall out of the sky overnight.”
Hadel knew full well that the battalion commander alone could not be blamed. They had to stop the Kar from seizing the forward positions of the 4th Line, yet under present conditions there was no good method. The reinforcements at least gave them something to fight with, but—
“The risk is simply too high,” Bolgren said.
“Exactly.”
If those reinforcements were lost, the enemy would not hesitate to strike straight at the camp itself. Even a fortified position could not hold without men to man it.
Then Bolgren continued.
“Which is why I came.”
“……?”
“The newly appointed 3rd Platoon Leader, Sergeant Arteon, asked me to deliver this to you.”
“Sergeant Arteon?”
Hadel’s brow furrowed slightly. What letter could that kid possibly have for him? His head already ached with complicated problems. If this was some worthless request, he was ready to discipline the boy on the spot.
But then—
“……?”
“What do you think, sir?”
“Arteon sent this?”
“Yes. He gave me the letter and explained the contents… it seemed promising enough that I ran straight here.”
“Bring Sergeant Arteon to me. Right now!”
After reading the letter, Hadel’s eyes narrowed. If an operation could truly be structured this way…
He sat and waited for Arteon. The distance was only a few hundred meters, yet today it felt interminably long.
Gray mist clung beyond Elbarphiel Lake. It flowed across the water like a crawling serpent, and even the cold wind that blew across it passed in silence.
“Have all the warriors assembled?”
Ulgraak ran a hand over the heavy iron pauldron on his shoulder as he asked. His gaze was fixed beyond the mist — cold and heavy as frozen steel.
A man approached from behind him. A face marked by a wild beard and scars carved by war.
“Four hundred thirty warriors stand ready. On your order we can advance at once.”
At Moldur’s report, Ulgraak gave a single nod. The thin mist prevented him from seeing far, yet—
“At last we will cross this lake… and take Imperial land as our own.”
They had spilled far too much blood. Of course they had taken far more Imperial heads in return, but—
“We need land where we can settle.”
For that, the fertile soil of the Empire had to be seized. They would not be content with this damp lake alone.
Ulgraak lifted the axe he had planted in the ground. An axe the size of a man’s torso rose without resistance and settled onto his shoulder.
“Moldur.”
“Yes, Taman!”
“Beyond this lake, Imperial earth will soon be ours.”
With eyes that had gone cold and still, Ulgraak looked forward.
“Advance the warriors.”
“Sergeant Arteon!”
The urgency on Bolgren’s face alone was enough. Arteon rose and faced him.
“Yes, Sergeant Bolgren.”
Though Bolgren outranked him in position as the company commander’s adjutant, Arteon still maintained the formal address.
“The Company Commander wants you. After reading that letter, he seems to have something urgent to say.”
“Let’s go.”
It was exactly what he had expected. The letter contained material of real weight.
Arteon stood with Bolgren before the company commander’s tent.
“Company Commander, I’ve brought Sergeant Arteon.”
“Enter.”
The reply came at once; from the sound of movement inside, the man had risen immediately from his seat.
“A heart of steel! Sergeant Arteon reporting to the Company Commander.”
“The contents of this letter. Is this real?”
Hadel went straight to the point. His expression was serious, edged with something close to anger — the look of a man ready to hand down severe punishment if he detected a lie.
“It is. It won’t be easy to execute, but if the operation goes as written, we can stop the Kar advancing on the 4th Line.”
“……How many men are you thinking?”
“Fifty… no. With skilled soldiers, thirty should be enough.”
“Thirty…”
That number could be provided without difficulty. But under the terms of this plan—
“The risk if it fails is considerable. Can it be done?”
“Even if it fails, we only lose about thirty men.”
“…….”
For a moment Hadel felt his words catch in his throat. As Arteon said, failure meant the loss of thirty soldiers. From the unit’s cold perspective, that was not an enormous risk. Yet—
Is there anyone who can speak so calmly about something that could get him killed?
And the words had come from the mouth of a brat he had dismissed as a greenhorn.
Hadel swallowed without realizing it.
“Do you intend not to take part in the operation yourself?”
“No. The most important condition for carrying this out is that you appoint me as the detachment commander.”
“Detachment commander?”
“Yes. Above all else, this operation requires intimate knowledge of Elbarphiel Lake’s terrain. A single misstep and all thirty die.”
“And you claim to know Elbarphiel Lake well? A greenhorn who transferred here only a few days ago?”
Perhaps the urgency had loosened his tongue. Without meaning to, Hadel spoke the private assessment he had been holding. Arteon, however, answered with an unbothered, steady expression.
“Even before I came to the northern front, I was northern-born. As a boy I sometimes went to the southern side of Elbarphiel to gather herbs. I know the ground.”
“……Is that so.”
It sounded absurd. Yet when set against the operation now under consideration, it was a reason that could be accepted.
Hadel’s face grew grave as he weighed the matter. If the operation succeeded—
We can stop the Kar without throwing the men into a meat grinder.
Something resolved itself in him. He nodded and spoke to Arteon.
“Come with me tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
Arteon’s eyes flashed with hard resolve. The place they would go was clearly the officers’ council. If the plan passed there—
I’ll seize another chance.
Great danger would follow, but he had already steeled himself for that. He had not the slightest intention of failing. And this was only the beginning.
Drive back the advancing Kar… then retake Elbarphiel Lake.
Only then could he enter the ancient temple hidden beneath its waters. That was why Arteon had risked everything to come to the northeastern 4th Defense Line.
When he turned to leave, a quiet gravity rode his steps.
Whoosh!
It was late. Alone outside his tent, Arteon watched the flames of a campfire without expression.
“Tomorrow.”
Tomorrow he would attend the officers’ meeting with Hadel. Honestly, it was a little unexpected. He had not thought Hadel, who clearly disliked him, would make such a decision.
Maybe his view of me has shifted a little…
But going to the council with Hadel meant he would once again have to endure those same skeptical looks. There would certainly be men who doubted the plan he had offered and found him untrustworthy.
It doesn’t matter.
Persuading even those men was part of the work he had to do. If he could not manage that much, commanding the soldiers who followed him would be impossible even if the operation were approved.
“It was easier at Helikel Canyon.”
Having a superior who recognized him and an environment that let him act freely had been a genuine joy. This time, though, he would have to be the one leading — in this body that was only fifteen years old.
I’ll just have to collide with it head-on.
What mattered now was buying time, by any means necessary.
Arteon turned and walked back toward his tent.
And the next day—
“Sergeant Arteon.”
“I’ve been waiting.”
Seeing Bolgren who had come to fetch him, Arteon rose from his seat.