Chapter 130: Fifteenth Episode: Chapter 3 (1/2)
Chapter 130: Fifteenth Episode: Chapter 3
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
”In the late night of the 20th day of 11th month in the year 797 of the Church's Calendar, or maybe the dawn of the 21st.” Oscar put down his quill and blew at his hands. The night of the start of winter at Deiss had turned the tent into an icehouse. The heat given off by the charcoal was so negligible compared to the freezing weather.
”I met them after I passed through a forest that was burned by the sunlight. They did not like noises, so they did not live beside the faraway fortress that was filled with sounds of killing. They settled down in an uncultivated land, relying on a stream that only the horses knew about.”
”When they met me, they were already exhausted. The oldest, who had the largest contribution, stood in front, while those little guys had not even grown their mustache yet stood at the back. Most of them were with injuries, yet they were in high spirits. They cheered again and again as if they did not know what exhaustion was. During the dinner at the camp, I only knew that they had just participated in a great war. They had successfully crumbled the enemy's resistance.”
”Murat explained the situation at war to me briefly. He was truly brief with his words. He only used six and a half sentences to summarize the whole thing.”
”They fought from the mountain and cut off the Teutonic Knights' units at the front battlefield. Then, they kept fighting until they reached the location of the enemy's eagle flag. After that, they fought intensively until the Deiss ran away at the sound of the horses' hooves. At this time, Marshal Alan had already announced the end of the war. Murat… seemed to have said this. However, I could not imagine what they had done. According to notifications, two Infantry Corps and two Cavalry Corps of the Deiss were defeated by them.”
”After this... Murat did not say anything further. He and I stood quietly on the plains. We looked at the flowing clouds, unmoving. After seven to eight months, we had experienced a lot of changes. Only this part was mutual. We have learned to be silent.”
”Your Highness!” Outside of the tent came the voice of the Second Lieutenant Kirk Douglas.
Oscar looked at his diary. He should call it a day for now.
”Come in!”
Little Kirk opened the curtain and walked into the tent. He brought a gust of cold wind in. This guy, who was good with swords, had become much more mature than before. Each of his movements gave him the aura of a veteran. However, to be honest, he believed any warrior who successfully survived the Saijo Mountain Battle would also become like him – calm, capable and having a cold expression.
Giving an impeccable salute, Second Lieutenant Douglas spoke, ”Your Highness! As your adjutant, I must remind you that it is already dawn…”
”Kirk! Wait!” Oscar waved his hands, ”Even though you have only been my adjutant for five hours, but I know you are a responsible one. So I think we can change our way of communication.”
The Second Lieutenant did not speak. He stood there without moving. This guy still had his huge sword on his back. The long hilt's length even exceeded that of his forehead.
”Come here and take a seat!” The Prince pointed to a seat beside him.
Little Kirk looked at the Prince's expression, ”Yes! Your Highness!” The second Lieutenant sat down without hesitation. This side of him was most likable by others.
”You lot... What are you guys on about lately?”
”At first, we were busy tending to our injuries, then we prepared the Honor Ceremony and settled the units. Finally, we came here!”
Oscar sighed without helping. ”Everyone does not like to talk anymore. Is that right?”
Kirk slowly lowered his head. ”Most probably, yes! Everyone is trying their best to avoid that... That unpleasant memory.”
”Do you hate me?” Oscar looked into the Second Lieutenant's eyes. ”I led you guys into that suicidal…”
”No, Your Highness!” Second Lieutenant Kirk Douglas stood up abruptly. He even turned the chair over. ”Everyone is grateful towards you. We are grateful that you gave us a great victory and undefeatable pride! It's just that… Just that when everyone thinks of those sacrifices… Urgh… I don't know how I should describe this, but please believe me. Your Red Tiger loves you just like before. We see you as the Heaven and the Earth!”
”You… Only 87 of you survived?”
Kirk wanted to say something more, but his mouth quivered. At last, he could not say anything.
Oscar smiled lightly. What was the point of him mentioning this?”
”Yeah right! Where did Kamille go? I saw him when you guys made the formation! However, he was gone when everyone was building the tent!”
”Major General Kamille and his division should be chasing off the remaining soldiers of Deiss. In yesterday's battle in the afternoon, we did not cause a huge damage to the enemy. We only forced them to retreat.”
”Kamille is promoted?” Oscar raised his head in delight.
”Yes, Your Highness. We, the survivors, are all promoted. And this!” Kirk said as he twitched his mouth to point at the Empire Warrior Medal on his chest.
”Where are Arcan and Shaw Shorenstein? Didn't they make it out of Saijo Mountain?”
”Yes! Chief Commander Arcan and Regimental Commander Shaw Shorenstein both made it out, but their injury… To put it simply, their injuries are serious. Even though they received top-notch treatment, they are nevertheless no longer fitted to be in the army!”
”Disabled?” Oscar spoke this word in difficulty. He knew what 'not fit to be in the army' meant. For a soldier, this was probably more upsetting to him than killing him.
Kirk looked at the depressed Prince. He quickly changed the topic and had a cheerful look on him.
”Oh right! Your Highness! Your friend, Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi! On his right hand, four of his fingers were broken, but he is luckier! His Majesty the Emperor promoted him to be the first Cannon Brigadier General in the history of the Guards as an exception, but General Tove Van Sukhoi only has a poor cannon and four gunners under his command! You did not see that scene. During the Honor Ceremony, Viscount Sukhoi's expression is incredible!”
Oscar held his head. He did not want to hear anything suddenly. Nor did he want to know about!
Kirk was blank for a moment. He was a little hesitant, but at last, he still put his hands on the Prince's shoulder.
”Your Highness, don't blame yourself! The Red Tiger still lives! Everyone is here. Right at this place! Kirk said as he covered his chest with his hand. ”Your Highness! Not only are we not defeated by the enemy, the Red Tiger is stronger than ever before! We already have the scale of a formidable army! According to the number given by the home base, our code is Ranger Division 17, Battle Division 16 and Heavy-armored Cavalry Brigade 8. These units are all true elites!”
Looking at the cheerful little Kirk, Oscar smiled without him knowing. ”Urgh… I am not good at remembering the names of unfamiliar faces…”
”Oh! Is that so? Colonel Loran Julier of home base is the division commander of Ranger Division 17. Major General Barbara Schubernate of Neruda front is the brigade commander of Heavy-armored Cavalry Brigade 8. Meanwhile, Major General Kamille Rayen still leads our Battle Knights.”
Other than Kamille, who else is out? The campsite looks empty!” Oscar tried hard to keep his eyes open. He was already sleepy.
”Only Colonel Loran's rangers are here! I also don't know where Division Commander Kamille went. As for General Barbara's Heavy-armored Cavalry Brigade… I think they will encounter a hard battle because Marshal Alan had already arranged them into the units that will attack Alborto Fortress. Even Corps Commander Murat will watch over the battle on the battlefield!”
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”Attacking a fortress! Why do you need my Calvary Brigade?” Major General Barbara Schubernate stared at the battle documents in doubt under the carriage light. This tall, middle-aged guy with his face and chest red had a subliminal habit. It was that he liked to blow on his mustache when he spoke. He looked just like an angry frog.
Murat simply smiled a little, yet he did not speak whatsoever. After a while of spending time together, he knew well what sort of value the battle arts that were shown by the Marshal of the Guards held. Murat was forcing himself not to doubt the arrangement of the Silverfox. He saw the whole process of that deciding battle that afternoon on the 20th. The commands of Alan were impeccable. He cared nothing about death. This led people into doubting his intentions.
”Corps Commander! That is Alborto Fortress. The Calvary unit is of no use! The Silverfox can't be sending us to our death right?”
”Do you think he dares to do so? I will slap him a few times before throwing the silverfish fur down the shithole!” Murat said coldly while showing a fierce expression.
Major general Barbara Schubernate's beard flew, ”Corp Commander, I am more at ease when I hear you saying that!”
The lonely wildfire scattered in the plain. The red light poured onto the faces of Titan warriors. The crows flew towards the battlefield together. The indistinguishable night could not stop their urge to fly straight towards the sky.
There were many bodies on the battlefield. Around that red line that surrounded the center battlefield were stacks of bodies. Broken weapons were all on the floor, some were just stabbed into the bodies of the warriors. The fire showed a hell-like scenery. The dead were just like when they were alive. Their faces were so hideous! It seemed as though they were screaming! They were still fighting! The north wind let out a light howl just like the groans of the dead, like the attack order that manifested from the bodies.
Some Titan soldiers roamed on the battlefield. They placed their brother's bodies at the front of the hill not far away from the forest. In front of the hill was a huge hole that seemed to have no ends. Many bodies of the Guards were in the hole, and the people kept adding new flesh and meat into it. Perhaps hell was just like this. It was like a swollen mouth full of blood, ready to devour everything.
Corp Commander Murat and Major General Barbara walked into the central base of Marshal Alan after being thoroughly checked. The old man with silver hair was more high-spirited. He welcomed the two officers of Narcissus Knights in front of a big tent.
After greeting the Marshal, they also briefly introduced the movements of Deiss runaways and the situation of Red Tiger. Major General Barbara was more straightforward. He began to complain about this. After all, he did not want to hide in a fortress, greeting the enemy.
Alan did not say anything. He brought the two officers into the tent. All the important strategists and the generals of the northern army group were here.
The officials at the scene all stood up. They stood up and passionately shook hands and hugged the two officers of the Red Tiger. The meeting table, which used to be flooded with people, now had a lot of empty seats after one war. These seats were now only meant for the First Commander Corps of the northern army, the Second Commander Corps, the Fourth, the Eighth and the Commander Corps of the Wolfriders. Other than that, the division commander, group commander and unit commander of the Front were all sacrificed themselves. As the Marshal, Alan could not even remember their faces.
”But there will always be people who remember everyone's sacrifices! The things you did are great and holy!” Alan sat on his seat and scanned every soldier in the room.
”The statistics are out!” A staff handed a document to the Marshal. ”Alborto war! Five infantry units of the Northern Field Army and Independent Cavalry Unit of Steinberger has a total death and injured count of 22997 people. Amongst this, almost thirteen thousands of them are sacrificed in the battle while near ten thousand of them are injured.”
”Okay!” Alan took the document. He did not even take a look at it and only nodded to this battle staff.
”Soldiers of the Empire!” The Marshal waved the war report in his hands. ”What does this say?”
”This indicates that our Northern Field Army has lost more than half of our elite force. What's left are a bunch of cowardly replacement soldiers!”
”Don Carlos!” A Count with a Lieutenant General title pinned on his shoulder finally could not hold it in, ”Even though you are the representative of the First Corps, but please take note of your attitude and identity.”
Major Don Carlos, who was born in a commoner family, let out a humph coldly. Under normal circumstances, he would truly need golden opportunity to receive a seat at the highest war meeting in the Field Army; but he was the only ranked officer left in the First Corps. Other than those who were sacrificed on the battlefield, Don Carlos still had to thank the war enforcement team for him to appear before Marshal Alan. It was the enforcement team that eliminated those guys who intended to run away from the frontline.
”Am I not correct?” Major Carlos glared at the Corps Commander of the Fifth Corps. ”Only the name of the First Corps remains now. The warriors that can still hold their sword are not even enough to make a unit of Division! The situation of the Fourth Corps is no different than the First Corps. Even though your Fifth Corps is doing slightly better, the Deiss will soon assemble a stronger army group near their capital. When the time comes, are we able to fight another Alborto War?”
The Corps Commander of the Fifth Corps stood up abruptly, ”You are a coward! We still have the Red Tiger! We still have the whole Sixth Corps, the Third Corps, the Seventh Corps and the Second Corps led by Major General Krasius and the Ninth Corps! With our current strength, we still can…”
”Save it!” Don Carlos impatiently interrupted the words of this Corps Commander. ”The Seventh Corps is defending the right wing of the battlefield. Major General Krasius's Ninth Corps and the Second Corps are defending the left wing of the battlefield. The Third Corps is maintaining the supply route! If they all move forward, we will be surrounded by the Deiss in this damned place, by their advantageous number!”
”I agree with the point of view of Major Don Carlos!” Colonel Leigh McCaren finally could not hold it in anymore, ”This report has already shown that we don't have the ability to fight another war with the Deiss! The Deiss still has two hundred Divisions in the three directions of their land. They only need to arrange for fifty Divisions to the south amongst their army forces. When the time comes, the one who will be in a bad position is going to be us.”
The Corps Commander of the Fifth Corps still wanted to say something, but Marshal Alan had already indicated that the conversation is over.
”Everyone has a point. Then, before I announce the war arrangement in the next stage, let me first give a few human relations order!” Silverfox Alan sat in his seat, relaxed. It could be seen that even if they had won a great war, but there seemed to be only him who felt good in the whole army unit.
”Colonel Leigh McCaren, Division Commander of Division Four Three.”
”Yes, Marshal!” Colonel Leigh, whose name was called out, immediately stood up and saluted.
”According to the Titan law, a military officer who commands excellently and with outstanding result must be promoted! And according to the norm of the Guards, a military officer who is promoted from a Division Commander to a Corps Commander cannot directly lead his original Corps. So… Major General Leigh McCaren, pick one from the First Corps and the Eighth Corps!”
Leigh McCaren knew that he would have a chance to be promoted, but he did not expect it to be this quick! Oh god! Major General and Corps Commander! He did not even have this sort of dream before. All these years, he had just been doing what he should do as a soldier.
”I… I choose the Eighth Corps!”
”Why?” Alan looked at this soldier with bright future expectantly.
”The arrangement of the Eighth Corps is considered complete! I want to continue fighting with the Deiss at the place that sacrificed countless of my battle mates! I will hold on all the way to the last war!”
”As I thought!” Marshal Alan sighed with a hint of commendation. ”Then so be it, Corps Commander of the Eighth Corps!”
”Major Don Carlos!” Marshal called another officer again. ”How do you feel now?”
”Report, Marshal! My feeling now is as nice as the feeling being tramped all over by a rhinoceros!”
”I can see that!” Alan nodded. He noted the injuries on Carlos' body up and down. It was almost as if there was not a spot on this officer's body that was not bleeding. However, those who held on in the front lines were all the same.
”Originally… Colonel Leigh's… Oh, apologies! Now it's General Leigh. Originally, I will need you to command General Leigh's Fourth Corps, but there has never been an example of promoting a Group Commander to Corps Commander. Even though your performance is sufficient for this promotion, I am not the sole voice of the Imperial Guards. Even if it's my order, the Staff Department still has the right to disobey!”
”So…” Alan looked at the Major who had a pair of bright eyes. He knew that he would not choose the wrong person, ”I order you to be the Chief of Equipment Officer of the Northern Field Army…”
Right after Marshal Alan said that his voice was completely drowned by the commotion in the room! The Chief of Equipment Officer of the Northern Field Army? Even though this job was truly not comparable to a Corps Commander by ranking, but this Chief of Equipment Officer controlled all field army's budgeting and matters regarding the warehouse, army base, and weapons. This was definitely a great job that counted money whole day long! However, the Marshal of Guards wanted a fighter from a commoner's background to take this role.
”This cannot be!” The Corps Commander of the Fifth Corps stood up first!
”Yes! Sir Marshal! You must be joking! He is a commoner!”
”Yes yes! This guy will sell all of our weapons. Then...”
”Maybe… Just by the Sixth Corps, we still can't accomplish the mission of taking down the Alborto Fortress!” Alan's voice was extremely soft. With satisfaction, he saw all generals of the north shut their mouth. These guys were still as they were before. When it was time that truly needed them, none of them were there.
”Since everyone is keeping their silence, then only the person in question is left! Colonel Don Carlos, how is this? Are you satisfied with this order?”
Don Carlos nodded determinedly, ”Yes! Sir Marshal! I am extremely satisfied! I will ensure that no camp worth of 3000 Golden Ti and weapons that break easily after a collision will ever appear in the northern Army District.”
”Hehe! A camp made from 3000 Golden Ti? 3000 Golden Ti is enough to buy a mansion on the outskirts of Dulin!” Alan laughed, ”I heard about this. It was the largest joke in the history of the Guards! Only you, the Northern Army, are able to do such things with your budget!”
”Sir Marshal! I already assured you that such things will never happen again in the northern Army!” Don Carlos who just got promoted to Colonel scanned the seated military officers coldly. ”If there is anyone who wants to stay in a camp worth of 3000 Golden Ti, I will let them build it themselves!”
”Report!” A loud yell came suddenly from the door.