WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Veteran of the Northern Front ◈
Chapter 15: Operation Frostfire (2)
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How many times had this been already?
Thirteen... no, fifteen?
I had lost count of how often those barbarians had attacked.
“You should be getting tired too. So how about you stop dying already?”
Crack!
I smashed the head of a charging barbarian and sighed.
‘At this rate, I’m going to get attached to these bastards.’
I had once felt at least a faint resistance to killing, but battles now broke out nearly once every two days. Even seeing their brains spill out no longer bothered me.
If anything, real combat seemed to be making my physical strength even greater.
‘My dantian has felt strangely itchy for the last few days. Maybe I could...?’
I knew the symptoms of awakening mana well.
They varied from person to person, but everyone said their body felt itchy and their blood seemed to boil hot. Probably.
I was not quite there yet, but at this rate, it felt like I might awaken mana soon.
After dealing with the barbarians who had come looking for graves as usual, I went to report to Berun.
“...That concludes my report. Eight barbarians attacked, and all were dealt with.”
“Good work.”
I felt like I had heard those words dozens of times already.
“In the past month alone, your ten-person squad has dealt with over two hundred barbarians.”
That many?
Those barbarians really were something else.
“You train tirelessly every day. You and your soldiers can hardly be called penal soldiers anymore.”
“You flatter us.”
“At this point, there’s no need to worry about...”
“Yes?”
“No, it’s nothing. Go back and get some proper rest today. You may be assigned an important mission soon.”
An important mission.
Something about it made me uneasy, but I did not show it.
“Understood. Then I will take my leave.”
“Yes, get some rest.”
I saluted and headed for the barracks.
My shift had only recently ended, and I could have rested, but instead I pushed our training harder than usual.
“All right, fifty laps today. Move it.”
“What? We usually do thirty...”
“The last one in gets ten extra laps. Stop slacking and run.”
The moment I threatened to work the last-place finisher even harder, my squad’s eyes lit up.
“Argh! Out of my way!”
“I’ll get there first!”
They gritted their teeth and began running.
It was truly a heartwarming sight to see them train with such passion.
After the fierce competition, Marcus and Max, who had come in first, approached me.
“Is something wrong?”
“Hm? Why?”
“You seem to have increased the intensity of the training.”
“...Nothing in particular. Berun told me we might be sent on an important mission soon, so I just want us prepared for anything.”
The uneasy feeling in my gut also played a part.
“What kind of important mission...?”
“I don’t know. He said we’d find out tomorrow, but I don’t know the details either.”
“Could they be launching a subjugation operation?”
Max spoke with an unusually calm expression.
“The barbarians have been causing such trouble lately. Maybe headquarters plans to carry out a large-scale campaign...”
“Haha, no way.”
I forced myself to deny Max’s guess.
No, I wanted to deny it.
It was true that the barbarians had been running rampant lately.
It was also true, judging by their condition, that they were suffering from food shortages.
But a subjugation operation, or rather, that incident, should still have been a long way off.
Of course, my interference might have caused it to happen sooner.
There was already evidence of that in my mind.
‘That’s why I’ve been pushing these guys so hard, but...’
Personally, I desperately hoped that my prediction would be wrong this time.
However, despite my prayers, Berun summoned every ten-person squad commander in the unit the next day.
“It seems everyone is here. I will now deliver the war dispatch sent down from headquarters.”
A war dispatch was an official notice sent to each unit before a war began.
The squad commanders gathered in the barracks could not hide their shock at the mention of a war dispatch. Inside, I cried out in alarm.
‘A war dispatch all of a sudden... Don’t tell me?’
Gulp.
Sweat gathered in my palms.
Then Berun spoke, and my fears became reality.
“As barbarian attacks have become increasingly frequent, headquarters has decided to send one thousand-man unit each from the Right Army and Left Army to subjugate the barbarians.”
“Are we the unit being sent from the Left Army?”
At the question from a regular-soldier squad commander, Berun nodded.
“Correct.”
I had desperately prayed that my prediction would be wrong, but at this point, I had no choice but to accept it.
“The general staff has decided to name this subjugation operation Frostfire.”
Just as I had feared, the Frostfire Incident had been brought forward.
‘Ha... Fuck. Is this seriously happening?’
I had an idea why the subjugation operation had been moved up.
‘So this is how the purge’s butterfly effect comes back to bite me...’
I could not complain, since I was the cause.
In the game, the Frostfire Operation was an event that took place after the purge of the Corrupt Faction.
If the purge, which should have happened much later, had been moved forward, and the Corrupt Faction members who should have opposed the operation had all been swept away in the process, then it was not impossible for the future subjugation operation to be moved up as well.
‘Hoo. Fine. I can understand an event happening sooner.’
The problem was that I had to take part in that subjugation operation.
[Frostfire Incident]
A battle that left a major mark on the Northern Front.
In the original story, it occurred roughly two months before the Great Invasion.
The barbarians were causing trouble, so the plan was to reduce their numbers as a preventive measure.
‘It failed spectacularly.’
No, it went beyond failure. It was a complete disaster.
The forces drafted for the subjugation operation were wiped out to the last soldier.
And it did not end there. The Northern Army suffered a counterattack from the enraged barbarians.
The soldiers and commanders fought desperately and barely prevented the front from collapsing, but another three thousand casualties were incurred in the process.
In exchange for losing a total of five thousand soldiers and commanders, all the Northern Army gained were a few minor achievements from the early stages of the operation.
The Frostfire Operation left the Empire with nothing but a deep wound.
During the Great Invasion, it was counted among the reasons the Northern Front collapsed so quickly.
＊＊＊＊＊
Faced with news like a bolt from the blue, I could not hide my grim expression.
If possible, I wanted to avoid the operation somehow, but sadly, that wish could not come true.
“We leave in two days. Make sure to inform your soldiers. Understood?”
“Yes!”
“That concludes the briefing. You may all leave.”
At Berun’s dismissal, the squad commanders left the barracks one by one. I staggered out among them.
If I had to sum up how I felt in one sentence:
‘Hahaha. This shitty world just can’t stand seeing me smile, can it?’
Taking part in the Frostfire subjugation operation was no different from walking into certain death. It was practically a death sentence.
What?
Was I making too much of it?
Sorry, but not at all.
Take the First Goguryeo-Sui War, for example.
That war was practically a rage button for a certain country, and one of the most idiotic blunders in its history. Even then, around ten to twenty percent survived.
But the Frostfire Operation?
All Pay, No Gain.
Not a single survivor remained. They were wiped out completely.
It meant the operation was worse than even one of the worst defeats of my previous life.
‘Hoo. Calm down first.’
It was not as though I had no plan at all. Before going to bed last night, I had considered what to do if the Frostfire Incident occurred.
After racking my brain until it hurt, I found exactly one way.
And just to be clear, desertion was absolutely not it.
‘Desertion is the last resort of last resorts. It’s far too early to consider it.’
The way for me to survive was to minimize the subjugation force’s losses.
Returning safely after successfully completing the subjugation was impossible, no matter how I thought about it.
‘Going into enemy territory, no, into a death trap, and coming back unharmed is absurd to begin with.’
What I was aiming for was to accept some losses among the subjugation force while preventing the secondary losses caused by the enemy’s counterattack.
‘It will be difficult, but it isn’t impossible.’
After all, I knew how the Frostfire Operation unfolded and why it failed.
If I used that information well, it was possible.
The problem was this.
‘I’m only a ten-person squad commander, and a penal soldier at that. There is very little I can do.’
What good was a plan to break the situation if I had no authority?
Plans could wait.
First, I needed enough influence within the subjugation force to put one into action.
‘Realistically, gaining the authority to control the subjugation force within two days is a distant prospect.’
I sorted through my thoughts as I headed for the barracks where my squad was waiting.
I needed to tell them about the operation.
Their reactions to the news were mixed.
“We’re really taking part in a subjugation operation?”
“Yes.”
“Hah.”
“Considering how much trouble the barbarians have caused lately, it’s not surprising, but...”
At the word war, Martin frowned and let out a groan.
“Ugh. Being sent to war...”
“Have you never been to war either, Martin?”
“When I was a recruit, around two hundred barbarians invaded once, but I’ve never crossed the border to fight like this.”
“Will we be all right?”
When Marco asked in a somewhat discouraged voice, Max smacked him on the head.
“You idiot. How many have we taken down so far? Are you scared of something like this?”
“You’re not scared, Max?”
Judging by the slight stiffness in Max’s face, Max was just as uneasy.
“Scared, my ass. Do you think the Imperial Army is a joke? Besides, our commander is going with us. What is there to worry about?”
Max overcame that anxiety through all the effort he had put in so far and his trust in me.
‘...Max really is impressive when it counts.’
Perhaps it was because Max did not know how horrific the end of this operation would be, but I could not deny that Max had eased the squad’s anxiety.
“Everyone, listen.”
“...”
“Like Max said, there is no need to be afraid. Trust in the experience you have built and the time you have spent training. You have trained hard for situations like this.”
“...”
“Keep your heads in any situation, and do what you need to do. If you do that, I will take responsibility and make sure every one of you returns safely.”
This was my resolve as well.
It had only been a short time, but I had already grown deeply attached to them.
Clench.
‘Subjugation operation or not, I will never let my squad die.’
I strengthened my resolve and looked toward the barracks where Berun was staying.
＊＊＊＊＊
That night, when everyone in my squad should have been asleep, I quietly rose and slipped out of the barracks.
My destination was Berun’s quarters.
If Berun had been asleep, I planned to return tomorrow. But light leaked from the entrance, so fortunately Berun appeared to be awake.
Since it was late, I made my presence known carefully.
“This is Squad Commander Ubel. May I come in?”
“Hm? Come in.”
Berun greeted me with a puzzled expression.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“There is something I wish to say to you, so I came to see you.”
I knew a way to minimize the losses in the subjugation operation, but I lacked the power to carry it out.
So what should I do?
The answer was simple.
‘If I do not have power, I just need to get someone with that kind of power on my side.’
I took a breath and looked at Berun with determined eyes.
“I know this is presumptuous, but I will ask directly.”
“Go on.”
“What do you think of this subjugation operation?”
The moment I asked, a cold silence settled over the barracks.
Footnotes:
“All Pay, No Gain” recreates a Korean gamer-style phrase used to emphasize that the operation ended with total losses and no survivors.
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