The Commander Who Took Pleasure in Every Slice of His Blade
A sizable force of troops galloped across the open plains, their numbers swelling toward seven thousand battle-hardened soldiers. They thundered forward with urgent purpose, a wave of disciplined might that swallowed the horizon.
At the head of this column, mounted on a white charger that tossed its mane like a banner of war, rode a middle-aged man. His chest was heavy with gleaming medals, his uniform bright and flashy against the dust. As Fort Stanwix rose into view on the horizon, arrogance and a trace of bitter disappointment colored his voice when he turned to the woman riding beside him on a brown mare.
“Quite the fight. Honestly, I never imagined these rebels would hold out this long. Still, it’s good that the daughter of Franklin’s aura is involved, even if it turns out to be for nothing.”
“True enough. Either way, the important thing is victory. We must secure it at once.”
“Exactly. You’re right. The real prize here is controlling Saratoga Province. Once we hold that, nothing else matters. Saving some backwater fort is nothing compared to that.”
With those words, the middle-aged man spurred his horse into a sharper gallop. Watching his back, the female vice-commander let out a quiet sigh and followed without a word.
*
Seven thousand reinforcements arrived at the gates of Fort Stanwix. Franklin and her subordinates had gathered there to receive them.
“Welcome, General Gates. We have been waiting.”
Franklin bowed with perfect military respect to her superior.
The middle-aged general on the white horse immediately dismounted along with his staff officers.
His entire bearing was dry and gaunt, his expression sharp like that of an aging fox. He was Horatio Gates, the Grand General overseeing the eastern rebels.
He looked at Franklin and spoke in a clipped, cold tone.
“You seem tougher than expected. Good. With barely a hundred rats’ worth of men, you’ve held this small fort remarkably well.”
“Yes. We’ve been quite fortunate. The enemy cooperated with our plans, and most importantly—”
Franklin began explaining the rough situation in detail, but the moment she spoke—
“Enough already. I have no desire to waste more time on trivial stories.”
“Huh?”
Before the sentence was even finished, Gates cut her off with a harsh voice.
“Right now, what we must do is not play at children’s games with the petty victories of small battles. This is a real war. We are not idle enough to listen to every little thing.”
“… ”
“These young ones nowadays… bragging about winning a hundred-man skirmish. If only they’d compared it to what I went through against the Franz Kingdom bastards. All that would come out is laughter.”
The man standing directly in front of Franklin was openly scratching at the pride of those present. Franklin forced herself not to frown.
Even before, he had a habit of belittling others, but today his condescension felt sharper than ever. He wasn’t content with simple mockery. His attitude suggested he wanted to drag the results of past battles through the mud. Franklin’s mood darkened, yet she stayed silent.
*I’ll hold it in… He’s still our reinforcements. More importantly, he’s my superior. If I explode now, I’ll only give him more excuses.*
It was absurd to nitpick when a major battle loomed ahead. If she provoked him, the man would only make life more difficult later.
Just as she was swallowing her discomfort in front of her commander, Gates turned his gaze to the man standing directly behind Franklin.
“Hm? Who is this? Never seen his face before. New subordinate?”
Even in the middle of things, Gates showed an unnaturally sharp memory as he asked.
Franklin answered calmly.
“He’s not exactly the same, but close. He’s a general who recently defected from the Imperial army to our side. He’s serving under me now. His name is…”
“At your service, General. Edward Cromwell.”
“… Cromwell?”
“! S-Surely not… the undefeated legend…?”
Gates’ expression froze at the mention of a legend far greater than anything he had imagined.
But the person who stood out most was not Gates’ slightly irritated face.
It was his vice-commander, the female general, whose eyes widened with a clarity of shock far deeper than irritation.
“You… you are truly Cromwell? The Empire’s greatest general has defected? What in the world…?”
“Hm… hm…”
“! … Ah… excuse me.”
Her tone was a little too agitated. Gates cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable, and silenced her.
The vice-commander closed her mouth at once.
Gates continued, his voice now dripping with a thicker layer of irritation than before.
“Well, that’s enough of the small talk. Let’s move straight to the briefing. Follow me.”
“Understood, General.”
Even from Gates’ tone, it was clear he was trying to avoid anything that might highlight Cromwell’s prestige. Franklin sensed a faint relief in her chest and led everyone to the conference hall.
*
The reunion of the rebel Grand General Gates and Franklin began with a surprisingly warm atmosphere. Watching from nearby, I felt my stomach churn.
*I expected it, but this guy really is a disaster. Even in the game, the real version felt far more unlikable than his in-game self.*
The source of Franklin’s visible frustration was none other than Horatio Gates himself—the second-ranking commander of the rebel army, the man overseeing the eastern theater.
Looking at that wretched face, I could finally feel the deep regret I had carried since joining the rebels.
*How tragic… Even in the game, I couldn’t legally kill him and feel good about it.*
Gates was one of the in-game bosses, the second-ranking character. But even if he had to be defeated, the player community’s verdict on him had never been kind.
He wasn’t especially difficult to beat. The difficulty of the many rebel generals in *Blue Revolution* had been high; players needed proper gear and levels, plus pattern recognition and control, to bring them down.
Yet despite that, their overall reputation had never been poor. Some of them even rivaled the popularity of the faction’s own allies—beautiful faces and charisma like Franklin, or refined personalities and bittersweet backstories.
But unlike those rebel generals, the man standing before me was universally hated by most players.
He was originally from the British Empire mainland. His personality was pure arrogance, yet his combat skill and command ability were among the worst of the rebel bosses. On top of that, he stole glory shamelessly and never hesitated to belittle others when he did.
He possessed exactly the three traits that made people despise him most: cowardice, incompetence, and pointless greed.
And it was no coincidence that the moment I felt the highest peak of unlikability had been when I personally sliced him open during the final chapter.
*Besides, if he had fought bravely to the end and died with his head held high, it would have been better. But this guy was the only boss who begged for his life and still died while clinging to it…*
Because of his terrible leadership, he had his subordinates slaughtered and then begged to spare his own worthless hide, reaching the absolute nadir of player contempt before his end.
And right now—
I was forced to command this battle against that wretched man, and a headache was already beginning to form.
*Well… there’s no shortage of options… but this time luck probably won’t be on our side like before.*
As the thought crossed my mind and I began to frown slightly, a notification appeared.
**
“… ”
The moment the timing felt right, the quest window appeared.
I opened it, hoping it might contain useful information.
And there it was.
“… This… ”
*
In the Imperial army under General Neto—after successful looting that caused no internal troubles—the support forces from Burgoyne had just arrived with abundant supplies.
“Welcome, General Burgoyne. We have been waiting.”
A general mounted on a black horse.
Burgoyne, one of the Three Great Generals of the Britain Empire and Neto’s direct superior, nodded politely to him.
But…
“… This worthless piece of garbage…”
“Huh?”
“What are you doing! Arrest Neto at once!”
“!?”
Burgoyne’s voice thundered with rage. The soldiers around him moved instantly, as if they had been waiting for this command.
Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Neto was left stunned and speechless.
And while watching that scene, a quiet smile spread across Richard’s lips behind Neto.
*Just as planned…*