WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ How the Child of Prophecy Survives ◈
Chapter 17: A Fierce Squirrel Crouching in the Grass
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“Wilfried.”
Wilfried and the cadets under his command had been keeping a careful watch on their surroundings. They truly hadn’t let their guard down for a moment. So it was only natural that they all jumped when Ernst approached without a sound and called Wilfried’s name.
“Ferdinand’s coming to attack with one squad. Nine in total.”
“...Ernst.”
Clutching his chest, Wilfried confirmed that it was Ernst and let out a slightly relieved sigh.
“The other nine are circling around to attack. I’ll have Robert’s platoon stop them.”
“Then we should follow the plan?”
“Right. I set up a few things on the way to slow them down. They’re only meant to slow their steps, quite literally, so don’t expect much.”
“Got it. ...But Ernst.”
Wilfried sounded a little uneasy as he called after Ernst, who was about to run back into the forest.
“Where did you leave your crossbow and armor?”
Ernst paused at that perfectly reasonable question.
“Oh, right.”
Wilfried and the other cadets’ faces twisted into strange expressions. But what Ernst said next left them even more confused.
“Take your armor off too. I meant to tell you, but I forgot.”
“What? Take off our armor?”
“Yeah. It’s useless anyway. Even in a real battle, a hit from a Valt gun will usually go straight through it. It just makes noise and gets in the way.”
“...A reasonable decision.”
Wilfried thought over Ernst’s words, nodded, and took the lead in removing his armor. Without the tight breastplate, he could move more freely. Taking off his helmet cooled his head and opened up his view.
“Put the armor out in front to lure the enemy in and confuse them.”
Ernst went a step further and decided to use the armor as bait for a trap. To be honest, some of the cadets were unhappy with this. They considered it “dishonorable.”
“Understood. I’ll take care of things here, so don’t worry.”
Wilfried, however, was deeply impressed by Ernst’s practical orders. The duke’s son had truly never once considered doing anything so “dishonorable.” But he was smart enough to learn what he needed from these traps and deceptive tactics.
Trusting Wilfried to handle things, Ernst started running again. As he did, he came to a realization of his own.
‘This isn’t what a commander should be doing.’
Ernst had appointed himself company commander. Whatever the circumstances, a company commander was supposed to command the company. But running around to give orders personally like this was both incredibly foolish and dangerous.
Ernst was beginning to understand the importance of a system for reports and orders, as well as the people needed to make it work.
“Robert. Half the enemy is circling around to our left.”
“...And you want me to stop them?”
“Yeah. Who else would? Wilfried has to hold the front.”
“Hmm, fine. I’ll give it a shot. But why is our esteemed Company Commander Ernst running all over the place himself? Without any armor, too.”
“There’s no one else to scout and carry orders. And all of you should take off your armor too. It’s useless.”
“Good grief, you idiot. You should’ve thought of that when you assigned everyone.”
“Who was I supposed to put in charge of scouting?”
“What a profound question. Far too profound for me to dare answer here and now.”
Chuckling, Robert followed Ernst’s orders and quickly removed his armor.
“I don’t know exactly where they’ll come from. I’ll go ahead, check things out, and set up some warning traps. After that, I won’t have time to help you. Robert, you’ll have to locate the enemy, make your own decisions, and position your troops.”
“Oh, can you take responsibility for telling me to make my own decisions?”
Make your own decisions. The two boys, who had once used those words to tear the Cadet Corps apart, exchanged little grins.
“It means you can do whatever you like. As long as you have a good reason.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
Robert sounded cheerful, but in truth, he was so tense that his legs were trembling as he set off boldly through the forest.
“...What is with that guy?”
The cadets muttered as they watched Ernst dart away like a squirrel.
“Our real battles against the Allied Forces will be fought in forests and mountains. Won’t we have to be at least that good if we want to fight them and survive?”
Robert walked along, chattering easily to the proud cadets of the noble faction, the stiff, stone-faced cadets of the military faction, and the downhearted nonhereditary nobles. In truth, he had been nervous that they might resist his orders. Fortunately, no one complained about taking instructions from this remarkably sociable boy.
“Where do you think would be good?”
“Hmm... I think we should go a little farther. They seem to be making a pretty wide turn. It’s probably Hartmann’s plan, so they’ll be bold about it.”
“Good. Let’s keep going.”
Robert readily accepted the other cadets’ opinions. He knew only the basics of tactics. In terrain this complicated, telling friend from foe was about the limit of his judgment.
“Zimmermann, this might sound strange, but you’re the platoon leader. Do you really need to keep asking us what we think?”
A military-faction cadet questioned Robert, who was focusing on bringing their opinions together instead of using his new position as platoon leader to take command.
“Well, that’s because I don’t have the ability to command. Until just a few days ago, all I knew was how to charge and retreat.”
Robert readily admitted his limits. He said it so casually that everyone was taken aback.
“There are people here who are better at this than me. If I start throwing my weight around, I’ll only make a mess of things. My job is just to give us a little direction, a very little, so none of us make mistakes.”
“...You’re pretty good, aren’t you? I see you differently now.”
“I don’t much like that tone. I’ve been like this from the start.”
Raised by a merchant father and gifted with excellent social skills, Robert led the platoon well in his own way. After gathering the other cadets’ opinions and placing his troops in suitable positions, he waited tensely for Ernst’s “warning trap” to go off.
“But what kind of warning does a warning trap give?”
“He made one before that dropped stones to make noise.”
“Will that be enough to tell us where the enemy is?”
“Who knows...?”
Robert thought over the words of the cadet who had previously waited under Ernst’s orders and shot one enemy dead. There was no need to worry, though. The moment the “warning trap” went off, the enemy’s position became perfectly clear.
“Aaaargh!”
“...”
“...”
A boy’s harsh, cracking scream rang out loud and clear through the quiet forest.
“Wh-what did he do...?”
“That lunatic’s finally crippled one of our classmates!”
“He’s going to get us all killed!”
The cadets muttered in fear, not of the enemy, but of their own company commander.
“Ernst wouldn’t do that. Well, you know, it’s a mock battle, and they’re not real enemies. Probably.”
Robert tried to defend Ernst, but the more he spoke, the less certain he felt himself.
“L-let’s move.”
Whatever had happened, they knew the enemy’s position now. It was time to move. Robert led the pale-faced cadets into new positions.
* * *
Ferdinand’s squad advanced cautiously. They were so tense that it was hard to tell how much time had passed.
Rattle.
The cadets flinched at the small sound, and the one at the front looked down. They had touched another damned vine and set off another trap.
“Don’t look at the ground. Watch your surroundings.”
Ferdinand whispered carefully.
“We’re getting used to the noise. That’s what Krieger wants.”
They had already triggered more than five traps. At first, they had looked around in alarm, but now, whenever they heard a noise, they assumed they had set off another trap and looked down first. What would happen if they walked into a real ambush like that?
“Sorry.”
“Just don’t make the same mistake again.”
In truth, Ferdinand didn’t believe his classmates would never make the same mistake again. But he knew that showing faith in them would improve the situation, so he kept voicing that faith.
His efforts finally paid off. The cadet at the front quietly raised their left hand, and everyone stopped in silence.
“...”
The lead cadet pointed toward a helmet barely sticking out from some bushes in the distance. The others spotted it too.
“Wait.”
Just as the cadets aimed their crossbows, Ferdinand whispered under cover of the rustling bushes. A cool spring breeze swept through the forest and faded into the distance. Ferdinand narrowed his eyes.
“It’s a trap. Pull back.”
Ferdinand had reached his conclusion with startling speed because it had come from instinct. Only after giving the order did he understand his own judgment.
‘They hid the helmet so we’d see it through the bushes. There’s no room for a person there.’
For someone to hide there while wearing that helmet, they would have to be about as tall as Ferdinand’s waist, or dig a hole and bury their body.
‘Krieger wouldn’t make a mistake like this. He’s not here. Someone else did this.’
At that thought, Ferdinand frowned. He suddenly realized that Ernst must have discovered Brandt’s squad long ago, despite their plan to circle wide to the right and attack the enemy’s flank.
“Fire!”
At that moment, a strong shout came from deeper in the forest. It was Wilfried’s voice.
“Get down!”
Ratatat!
The Imperial Army cadets reacted quickly to Ferdinand’s shout and dropped to the ground. The Allied Forces cadets’ volley killed only one of them. Now it was the Imperial Army cadets’ turn.
“Shoot!”
Ratatatat!
At Ferdinand’s command, the Imperial Army cadets rose and opened fire. Each shot took five seconds at most. At the shortest, two seconds was enough. Their range was far greater, and their accuracy was beyond comparison.
In that brief time, the eight surviving Imperial Army cadets fired well over twenty wooden rounds, killing seven Allied Forces cadets.
Even then, they had plenty of time. The Allied Forces cadets were still winding their pulleys to reload.
“Now! Fire!”
Ratatat!
“What!”
At that moment, Wilfried shouted again. Wooden rounds rained down on the Imperial Army cadets, who had been calmly keeping track of time as they poured fire into the enemy.
Because of the attackers’ limited range and accuracy, only three died. But the squad had started with just nine cadets. With four already dead, their numbers had been cut roughly in half.
Ferdinand frowned at Wilfried’s face, visible between the trees. Wilfried had divided his troops into firing groups. After the first volley, the Imperial Army cadets had relaxed and exposed themselves to return fire. Wilfried had used that moment to launch a quick second volley with the cadets he had kept hidden.
It was a basic tactic. But with their weapons giving them such an overwhelming advantage, the Imperial Army cadets had briefly forgotten even the basics.
Even in this crisis, Ferdinand remained calm.
“Pull back.”
At his calm order, the five remaining cadets safely withdrew beyond the enemy’s range.
From there, Ferdinand and the Imperial Army cadets began firing steadily at the enemy.
“Retreat!”
Wilfried retreated only after losing another six cadets. Now he had just five left, including himself. The same number as the Imperial Army cadets. In this situation, all Wilfried could do was hide, wait for an opening, fire once, and die a glorious death.
“Pursue them.”
After carefully checking their surroundings, Ferdinand ordered the pursuit. If they let Wilfried escape, he would hide and ambush them again.
Thwack!
“Damn it.”
The Allied Forces cadets ran as hard as they could, but they couldn’t shake off the physically fit military-faction cadets. Their pursuers stuck close and chased them relentlessly. In the end, Wilfried was shot dead too, and his platoon was wiped out.
“That pays you back, Rabid.”
Ferdinand grinned at the dead Wilfried. Wilfried grinned back.
“It’s not over yet. And call me Wilfried, Hartmann. Oh, would you mind if I called you by your first name too?”
“Of course. Go ahead. ...Wait, too?”
The two boys acknowledged each other’s abilities and began to form a friendship. During their exchange, however, Ferdinand noticed something odd in Wilfried’s words.
“Ernst calls you by your first name. Didn’t you give him permission?”
“...Ah, well. I suppose I must have.”
Ferdinand searched his memory, but he couldn’t work out when Ernst had started calling him by his first name. It never occurred to him that Ernst might do so without permission. Instead, Ferdinand twisted his own memories and convinced himself that he had given permission during their first conversation, or at the shooting range that evening.
In other words, Ferdinand had never actually given Ernst permission to call him by his first name.
“Then next time, we should be on the same team and take Ernst down.”
“I suppose so. See you later.”
“Right. Good luck.”
Wilfried set off to leave the forest with the Allied Forces cadets who had fought hard and run through the woods alongside him. Ferdinand rubbed his chin as he watched them go. Ferdinand Hartmann had developed faster than other boys his age, and faint whiskers were already growing on his chin.
“Rabid... Wilfried’s a pretty decent guy too. I thought he was all pride and no ability, like the other noble-faction cadets.”
“I know. He must have had an excellent education, being a duke’s son.”
The other military-faction cadets agreed with Ferdinand’s admiring remark.
“We don’t have time to stand around. Let’s move.”
Ferdinand led the four Imperial Army cadets onward through the forest. He had kept careful count of the cadets they had defeated. He knew that they had taken down eighteen in this battle, exactly half the enemy force, excluding Ernst.
“As I thought, Krieger must have spotted Brandt’s squad. He sent half his troops here and the other half toward Brandt. There’s no doubt about it.”
After calmly explaining the situation, Ferdinand smiled confidently.
“Krieger underestimated us. He thought he could stop us with just half his troops.”
Ferdinand had seen right through Ernst’s tactics and his thinking. Ernst must have believed that an ambush with twice their numbers would be enough to stop them. Unfortunately, the other cadets weren’t Ernst Krieger. They couldn’t overwhelm the enemy and slip away unharmed as skillfully as he could.
In short, this had clearly been Ernst’s mistake. He had failed to judge the other cadets’ abilities accurately.
“Then this will be a complete victory for us. Brandt’s squad will break through and reach the goal too.”
“Yes. We’ll meet again at the flag. Unless Krieger’s traps wipe us out before then, of course.”
“...Damn it. Right.”
Drunk on their small victory, the Imperial Army cadets tensed up again at Ferdinand’s warning. They couldn’t let their guard down. No one in this forest was more dangerous than Ernst Krieger. They had no idea when, where, or how he might attack.
* * *
“This is insane!”
The “warning” Robert’s platoon had heard came from a cadet who had tripped when a vine caught their ankle. Swearing, they struggled desperately to free themselves. But the vine was far tougher than they had expected. Its surface was also rough, allowing it to cling to things as it climbed, so it wouldn’t come loose easily.
“Stop. Stay still. And keep your mouth shut.”
After speaking calmly to the struggling, panicked cadet, Brandt examined the vine tightening around the cadet’s ankle and frowned.
It wouldn’t come loose. That damned Ernst Krieger knew perfectly well that the rough growths on the vine’s surface pointed in only one direction. He had made a snare that, once tightened, would be difficult to loosen without cutting it.
“Anyone have a knife?”
“Hold on.”
Fortunately, one cadet had that accursed nail-trimming knife in their kit. Brandt used it to cut the vine, helped the fallen cadet up, and spoke calmly.
“They probably know where we are now.”
“Then what do we do?”
“...”
The cadet who had screamed glanced around nervously. Brandt swallowed, wondering how to overcome this unexpected situation.
They wanted to simply charge. But one hasty decision had already ruined Ferdinand’s tactics once. They couldn’t do that again.
“Let’s go back.”
“What?”
“We’ll pull back a little and move in closer to the front.”
Instead of going deeper, Brandt decided to withdraw toward the edge of the forest and attack from there. With Robert’s platoon already in formation and waiting, Brandt’s decision was exactly right.
“They’re pulling back. I think they’re planning to attack again from closer to the front.”
Unfortunately, Ernst was secretly following them and watching their every move. Brandt’s excellent tactical judgment couldn’t do them any good.
“Great. Let’s move again.”
“Again?”
“What’s the problem? While we move from here to there, they’ll have to drag themselves all the way from waaay over there to waaay over there, panting with their tongues hanging down to their chins.”
The constant changes of position had drawn complaints, but Robert’s playful words quickly quieted them.
Ernst watched closely and realized that Robert was extremely good at handling troops. He also realized that this was something he himself sorely lacked.
“Professor Robert, the day has finally come when I learn something from you.”
“Professor Ernst, have you been drinking, by any chance?”
Robert asked cautiously at Ernst’s admiring tone.
Robert would have believed it if Ernst had found some liquor secretly brewed by nature in this thick forest and been sipping away at it.
In any case, even with Company Commander Ernst present, the Allied Forces cadets followed Platoon Leader Robert’s instructions and moved into new positions.
“Is this okay?”
“No.”
“Damn it. Hey, then you should’ve told me from the start.”
Robert had respectfully asked the company commander about his troop placement, and Ernst had kindly answered his platoon leader.
“Would that help?”
Looking over what seemed to him a terrible arrangement, Ernst asked Robert in a calm voice. Robert hesitated, then sighed deeply.
“It’s good to experience failure. Yes, I know. But I really don’t know anything about tactics, so a failure would just be a failure. You need to help me.”
“Right, Krieger. You’re here now, and you’re the company commander. Who’s going to complain about you giving orders?”
The other cadets agreed with Robert. Through this exchange, Ernst realized that they recognized his abilities. It was a small thing, really, but to Ernst, who had just become aware of his own shortcomings and lack of experience, it meant more than he had expected.
“All right. Let’s change our positions.”
For the first time in his life, Ernst properly took “command.” The cadets moved in perfect order under his instructions. Afterward, he called them out one at a time and had them walk along the enemy’s expected approach.
“Good heavens. This is terrifying.”
Even as Robert walked between the cadets Ernst had repositioned, even knowing they were there, he couldn’t detect the slightest sign of an ambush.
The other cadets felt the same. They came to understand just how dangerous a skilled ranger could be in forests and mountains, and shuddered at the thought of facing real Allied Forces rangers.
“Shh.”
By directing the other cadets and helping them understand his tactics, Ernst had reached the point where he could control them all with a small gesture or a whisper.
At his quiet sound, every cadet fell silent. Leaves rustled in the wind. Birds called in the distance. Between those sounds, they could faintly hear several people breathing a little heavily.
‘Oh, a little off target.’
Ernst smacked his lips in disappointment. Brandt’s squad was approaching closer to the center and nearer the forest’s edge than their ambush position. Normally, Ernst should have kept moving and gathering information, but he had been too busy commanding to do so.
The cadets noticed too, exchanging uneasy looks. Ernst quietly approached those on the outer edge and whispered.
“When the fighting starts, run around and attack their rear.”
“Will that work?”
“Fire first, then attack with your bayonets. Reloading will only waste time.”
Only then did the cadets remember the terribly awkward bayonets attached to their crossbows. They nodded solemnly.
Robert watched the enemy approach cautiously. Ernst’s troop placement was truly astonishing. They could see the enemy, but the enemy hadn’t spotted them at all.
“Zimmermann.”
The cadet beside Robert called to him softly. That single word made Robert realize that the moment they had been waiting for had arrived.
“Fire!”
Robert shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice shot up from sheer nerves, but that hardly mattered.
Ratatat!
“Aaagh!”
“Return fire!”
That single volley killed two Imperial Army cadets. Brandt immediately ordered a counterattack. Seven cadets drew their crossbow strings all the way back and poured fire into the enemy, killing five Allied Forces cadets in an instant.
Five might have sounded like a lot. But the Imperial Army cadets had fired over thirty shots at this close range and killed only five. In truth, the losses were very light. Ernst had hidden the cadets so well that the enemy couldn’t even work out exactly where they were.
“Waaaaah!”
Meanwhile, the cadets on the outer edge ran hard through the forest under Ernst’s orders and attacked the Imperial Army cadets from behind.
“Damn it! Take cover!”
The Imperial Army cadets quickly took cover at Brandt’s command. The shots from the Allied Forces cadets attacking their rear missed uselessly.
“Fire...!”
Brandt poked their head out again and ordered the squad to fire at the enemy. A moment later, they were startled to see the enemy charging with leveled bayonets.
“Shoot!”
Unfortunately, that brave charge couldn’t achieve much. In battle, the strongest person was the one holding a loaded gun.
Unable to build up speed over the uneven forest floor, the Allied Forces cadets were met by a shower of wooden rounds. Their charge accomplished nothing more than beating one enemy to death with a bayonet.
“Fire!”
But during the time they had bought, Robert’s cadets had safely finished reloading and could fire at the enemy again. This time, the enemy had turned to guard their rear, leaving their backs wide open for easy shots. Three died at once, leaving only three survivors, including Brandt.
Unfortunately, only four Allied Forces cadets remained as well. Unable to overcome the overwhelming difference in their weapons, they all lost their lives in vain.
“Hah! Hah! Hah!”
The ones panting and frantically watching their surroundings were the Imperial Army cadets, who had won the battle without much difficulty. They couldn’t bring themselves to advance, convinced that surviving enemies were still hiding and aiming at them. Unlike Ferdinand, they hadn’t calmly counted their kills.
“Oh, we lost. What did we do wrong?”
“Nothing. We just couldn’t overcome the difference in weapons.”
“So this is what happens in a real war...”
“Not really. In a real battle, the Allied Forces would cover the whole forest in traps and shoot bows that barely make a sound and can fire almost as fast as Valt guns.”
“...Good heavens. Really?”
“I can use a bow too. Once you get used to it, you can shoot very quickly, though not quite as fast as a Valt gun. I’ve heard some people can shoot even faster. It’s incredibly hard to master, though.”
“...W-wait! Krieger! Were you taking part in the battle?”
Brandt shouted in shock at Ernst, who was strolling out of the forest and chatting casually with Robert and the other Allied Forces cadets.
“No. The instructor told me not to take part.”
“...Then you’re still alive?”
“Probably?”
“...Shoot!”
“Whoa!”
Startled, Ernst took off through the forest.
“That damned bastard!”
In the end, Ernst escaped safely and remained alive. The Imperial Army cadets, who had suffered so much because of him, huffed angrily until they calmed down, then started deeper into the forest again.
“Hey! Ernst!”
“What!”
“They’re gone!”
“Okay!”
“Don’t you need to check on Wilfried!”
“Won’t Wilfried be fine!”
“What about me!”
“You’re a little less reliable!”
“You bastard! Why do you only say things that are true!”
Listening to Ernst and Robert yell back and forth, Brandt and the Imperial Army cadets marched on, shaking with anger.
And just as Ferdinand had expected, they met again in front of the Allied Forces’ red flag.
“Brandt, it looked like Krieger went your way.”
“Damn it. He did. We had a rough time.”
“Well done. You did an excellent job.”
Ferdinand patted Brandt’s shoulder, praising the successful execution of the plan. Ernst hadn’t been fighting in earnest, but winning a battle with him present and making it this far was still worthy of praise.
“Good. That concludes the second battle. Leave the training grounds again.”
A training assistant approached the cadets and gave the order. Everyone followed it and left the forest. The cadets who had grown closer through the mock battle chatted warmly among themselves.
“After a rest, we’ll hold the final mock battle.”
Thomas was already outside the training grounds, watching the cadets gather one by one. Once everyone was there, Thomas spoke in a grave voice.
“Next, Rabid will command the Allied Forces. Hartmann, you’ll serve in the Allied Forces and follow his orders. Krieger will command the Imperial Army.”
The cadets couldn’t help tensing at those words.
Even if Ernst couldn’t take part in the fighting, he would have learned the terrain through the two battles in the forest. More importantly, he was a hunter who could see things they couldn’t.
“I can’t even begin to guess what he’ll do.”
“I completely agree.”
Wilfried nodded at Ferdinand’s complaint.
As everyone watched him, Ernst’s restless black eyes darted about. Then he gave a small nod, as though he had decided something.
It was a gesture that made everyone watching him uneasy.
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