WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
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◈ Veteran of the Northern Front ◈
Chapter 17: Operation Frostfire (4)
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After burning the first village, the subjugation force continued onward without rest.
Before sunset, we found and attacked another village.
I had worried the soldiers would be exhausted after one battle, but the subjugation force easily routed the enemy with its numerical advantage.
Then, the next day, trouble began when we found the third village.
Perhaps they had sensed something.
Unlike the first two, they responded swiftly.
After a night’s rest, the madness that had ruled their minds had faded, and the fatigue of battle came rushing in. With the fighting devolving into a melee, it was only natural their momentum had fallen compared to yesterday.
“Die, Imperial!”
A barbarian man swung a mace down at my head.
I easily knocked aside the attack and crushed his chest with Black Axe.
Crunch!
“Urgh!”
“Whew.”
I caught my breath and looked around.
“Ren! One’s heading your way.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Marco, you bald bastard! Stop breaking formation!”
“Raul! Finish that one and get over here.”
“Understood, Martin.”
Under the encouragement of Max and Martin, the two most senior members, the squad members fought back-to-back against the enemy.
Even amid fighting that was practically a brawl, they held their formation firmly. They seemed good enough to be called elite soldiers now.
‘In contrast...’
Soldiers rushed at the enemy while relying on a faint lingering madness, while commanders had no proper command or strategy beyond numerical superiority.
Could this really be called war?
It would be more fitting to call it violence committed by the many against the few.
‘It’s obvious what will happen once the battle ends and the soldiers regain their senses.’
As I inwardly sighed over the disaster that would soon befall us...
“Haha! These vermin are pests gnawing away at the Empire! Leave none alive, kill them all!”
In the distance, Gilbert laughed heartily as he cut the throats of a barbarian woman and child.
‘That idiot is pouring oil on a house that’s about to catch fire.’
But I could not step forward and say anything to him.
A penal soldier who spoke out would only lose their head.
‘If there is anyone who can speak to him...’
I looked meaningfully at Berun.
Berun had been unable to hide a troubled expression since yesterday. Perhaps Berun had finally made up his mind, because he approached Gilbert with a resolute expression.
“Lord Gilbert.”
“Centurion Berun, what is it?”
“Executing even women and children who cannot fight is excessive. It would be better to take them prisoner and use them to prove our military merit...”
Gilbert gave a disbelieving laugh.
“Hah! I never imagined you would say something so foolish. Barbarians, young and old, male and female, are all enemies. They are pests that threaten the Empire whenever they please!”
His sword pointed toward the dead barbarian child.
“It may be nothing now, but what if it grows into a beast that threatens the Empire someday? What would you do then?”
“But...!”
“Silence! What are the soldiers doing? Cut off their ears at once and gather them. Put the remaining corpses on poles so they can be seen from the surrounding area.”
At his command, the soldiers wore grim expressions as they cut off ears and impaled corpses on poles.
Apparently still dissatisfied, Gilbert frowned and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. If I had my way, I would take their heads rather than their ears, but we do not have enough hands. I will include this in the report, so each centurion is to count the severed ears and report the number. Once the work is done, we will immediately move on in search of the next village.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hehe, leave it to us.”
“Hmph!”
Gilbert snorted once, glared at Berun, then left with several commanders who fawned over him.
Berun bit his lip and lowered his head.
It seemed Berun was not the only one with complicated feelings.
Though we had clearly won an overwhelming victory, the mood was completely deflated.
Even the faint madness that remained had vanished, and the soldiers had regained their senses.
‘It feels like a funeral here.’
What army lost morale after winning a battle?
Gilbert’s orders were not entirely wrong, but he had never considered the soldiers’ state of mind.
‘It was one thing while they had fallen for his incitement and were drunk on madness...’
The cold weather.
A war suddenly launched by order from above.
‘They were all mentally unstable, and he pulled that nonsense while relying only on their temporary morale.’
How could they possibly be mentally sound?
Until yesterday, it had been bearable.
The soldiers had a cause in their hearts. They believed the barbarians were dishonorable people, and that they had endured hardship and come here for justice.
But not anymore.
The continued slaughter had begun to crack the justification for this war.
Perhaps sensing that the subjugation force’s situation was far from good, the squad members began to grumble with troubled expressions.
“Haah, how long are we going to keep doing this?”
“Exactly.”
“Everyone looks like they stopped halfway through wiping their asses. I don’t know if something terrible is about to happen.”
At Kram’s words, Martin cautiously spoke after checking the people around us.
“We were dragged here under the name of war, only to repeat indiscriminate slaughter. It’s no surprise.”
Max nodded in agreement.
“On top of that, we’ve kept fighting like animals without proper rest or proper preparation. Wouldn’t it be stranger if everyone were fine?”
I inwardly exclaimed at their observations.
‘They’ve been through a lot. It seems they’ve developed a decent eye for handling troops.’
If they improved just a little more, I could entrust soldiers to them separately someday.
‘Still...’
Even the squad members, whom I considered the finest among the penal soldiers gathered here, were having doubts. How much worse must the other soldiers feel?
I clicked my tongue as I looked at Gilbert and several centurions, who had failed to notice their own mistakes and were celebrating their military achievements.
‘Tsk. An idiot like that is a commander...’
If he had simply taken prisoners and reassured the soldiers, he could have maintained at least a minimum level of morale.
‘Whew. Things already look bleak.’
It was truly a thorny road ahead.
‘Still, there is hope.’
The promise I had made with Berun beforehand.
I intended to use it to remove the risk posed by the commander.
‘Berun stepped in at just the right time. If I use this well...’
People like Gilbert, who had middling ability but great pride, hated criticism.
Just look. Even now, he was glaring sidelong at Berun and the other centurions.
I was sorry to say this to our dear Gilbert, but...
‘You are only an obstacle to my plan.’
The second step to surviving was separating Berun from Gilbert.
＊＊＊＊＊
On the third day since the Frostfire Operation began, the subjugation force had burned a total of five villages and defeated roughly seven hundred barbarians, earning considerable military merit.
It could have been considered an excellent result.
But the soldiers were in no state that could be called good.
Their morale kept dropping.
Orders were repeated mechanically.
Heavy fatigue already showed on everyone’s face.
Yet rather than recommend rest, Gilbert urged the soldiers onward.
“Prepare to move, all of you! How long do you intend to dawdle when we do not know when the enemy might appear?”
Wondering what had him looking so anxious, I asked Pellon, whom I knew fairly well.
“What is going on? We’re moving without even properly preparing.”
“...I don’t know the details, but I heard a messenger from the Right Army came yesterday evening.”
“A messenger?”
“Yes. There’s a rumor that the Right Army burned seven villages the day before and took the heads of nearly a thousand barbarians.”
“...”
So that was it.
He was throwing a fit because he had fallen behind the Right Army in military merit?
‘What a ridiculous situation.’
It was absurd, but I was relieved instead.
‘It’s about time to begin.’
I approached Berun and whispered quietly.
“You haven’t forgotten our promise, have you?”
Berun flinched slightly before nodding.
“Of course not.”
“Then if Lord Gilbert orders another forced march tomorrow, ask him to let the soldiers rest.”
“Rest?”
“Yes. He’ll probably make us continue the forced march from dawn tomorrow in search of enemies. When that happens, recommend that the soldiers rest through the morning because of their fatigue.”
“...I don’t know why you’re asking this of me, but very well.”
After receiving Berun’s agreement, I waited for the right moment.
Driven by Gilbert’s hunger for glory, we rose at dawn and continued our forced march, but found no barbarians and gained nothing.
“Damn it! Does it make any sense that we can’t find even one village all day?! Search more! Search harder!”
We continued searching even after the sun set.
But we could not find so much as a barbarian’s shadow.
Once evening came and darkness fell, the subjugation force had no choice but to stop searching and establish camp.
The tents were set up haphazardly.
As soldiers gathered in twos and threes to light campfires and pitch tents...
‘Now is the chance.’
I rose from my place and headed for Gilbert.
His tent was enormous, even compared to those of the centurions.
As I approached it, the guards at the entrance stopped me.
“Halt! This is the tent where Commander of a Thousand Gilbert is staying. State your name and unit.”
“My apologies. I am Ubel, squad commander of the penal soldier unit. I have something I must tell Lord Gilbert concerning Berun.”
“What? A penal soldier like you thinks you can...”
At that moment...
“Come in.”
Gilbert’s voice came from inside.
After briefly exchanging looks, the guards opened the entrance.
When I stepped inside, an extravagant tent greeted me.
A table stood to one side, piled with a lavish feast.
I had heard that commanders’ tents were luxurious, but this exceeded my expectations.
‘Did he come to war or on a picnic?’
I grumbled inwardly and saluted.
“Ubel, squad commander of the penal soldier unit, greets Gilbert, the hero of the North.”
“A hero of the North?”
“If a man who entered barbarian lands and displayed such valor is not a hero, then who is?”
“Hah! For a penal soldier, you have a smooth tongue.”
He said that, but his lips twitched. He seemed pleased.
“Fine. What is it that you have to tell me concerning Berun?”
“Well...”
When I pretended to hesitate and watch his reaction, he barked at me.
“Enough stalling. Speak at once.”
“Yes, sir. I only overheard it by chance, but Centurion Berun was speaking ill of you with the squad commanders under his command.”
“W-what?!”
“Berun said that you were forcing this war forward too recklessly, and that something terrible would happen at this rate...”
Of course, it was all a lie.
Even if it had been true, every word would have been correct, so it could hardly be called speaking ill of him.
“Hah! Those cowards who cannot even step forward to speak to my face sure do love to chatter behind my back.”
You talked behind other people’s backs too.
The words rose to my throat, but I barely held them back.
“And is that all?”
“Centurion Berun told the squad commanders not to worry, saying that if Berun earned military merit in this subjugation operation and became a Commander of a Thousand, that would be enough. Berun also said he would interfere to keep you from earning merit.”
“Interfere to keep me from earning merit...”
Grit.
“I see. So that is what that bastard said...”
A vicious smile formed around Gilbert’s mouth.
Considering his personality, he probably wanted to beat Berun immediately.
‘But punishing Berun over mere slander would be awkward, especially when the informant is a penal soldier.’
If Berun denied it and asked whether Gilbert truly believed the words of a penal soldier, Gilbert would have nothing to say.
‘In the end, all this bastard can do is...’
Unaware that I was smiling inwardly, Gilbert wore a sinister grin.
“Thank you for revealing the true faces of those cowards. If it were not for you, I would never have known that bastard Berun had such thoughts.”
“It is nothing. I merely did what I should have done.”
“Take it.”
Thud!
He tossed a small pouch at me.
“This is your reward for honestly reporting the matter. Do not refuse it.”
“Oh, thank you.”
After giving me the pouch as though he were giving alms, he waved me away.
“Then I will take my leave.”
I kept my head respectfully bowed until I left the tent, so as not to give myself away.
On the way back to where the squad members were staying...
‘That takes care of the second step, and I even made some extra money. Not that it’ll be very useful.’
I opened the pouch Gilbert had given me.
It had enough weight that I had expected something worthwhile.
‘That son of a bitch?’
Inside were only two silver coins and copper coins.
It was less than the tip one would give a prostitute at an expensive tavern.
Gilbert.
Despite his bold appearance, he was a miserly bastard.
＊＊＊＊＊
On the fourth day of the Frostfire Operation, just as I had expected, Gilbert forced us to move in search of villages as soon as dawn broke.
The soldiers, who had not been given proper rest either yesterday or today, could only look half-dead.
Watching them, Berun stepped forward with a resolute expression.
“Lord Gilbert.”
“...What is it, Centurion Berun?”
“The soldiers have not properly recovered from the fatigue that has accumulated so far. How about resting this morning and moving in the afternoon?”
“What?”
“If we continue moving without reorganizing our formation and are ambushed, we could suffer a serious loss. Please reconsider.”
“Hah!”
Ordinarily, Gilbert would have dismissed it as minor nagging.
‘This bastard is trying to interfere so I can’t earn merit.’
Having heard my false report, Gilbert believed Berun was trying to hinder him.
Gilbert stared coldly at Berun.
I watched his mouth with anticipation.
Then...
“Hah! Then we will divide the troops in two, so we can prepare for any possibility.”
Berun and the centurions were shocked at the mention of splitting the troops.
Unlike them, I was not surprised.
Because that was exactly what I had desperately wanted to hear.
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