WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Veteran of the Northern Front ◈
Chapter 43: Jeg Hallios
──────
Jeg Hallios.
He was a warlord of the age of chaos who commanded his subordinates with his unique charisma and cool-headedness, building up his power.
Though he lacked exceptional martial talent and never awakened mana, he subdued countless heroes through brilliant strategy, tactics, and schemes. In time, he would rise to become the foremost of the Empire's three monarchs.
I still remembered what he said when he ascended to the throne.
‘I reached this position because I was wholly myself.’
A hero with confidence in himself and the ability to back it up. That was the Jeg Hallios I knew.
‘I thought we'd meet someday, but...’
I swallowed hard as I looked at Jeg, who had come into the tent.
‘...I never expected it to happen so suddenly.’
As I hesitated for a moment, he greeted me with an impassive expression.
“I am Jeg Hallios, commander of the Subjugation Army's cavalry.”
He stood a little over 170 centimeters tall.
His sharp features carried a world-weary air.
He looked exactly as he had in the game.
“I am Ubel Graum, the one in charge of Camilla Fortress.”
“I have heard much of your reputation.”
“My reputation? What do you mean...?”
A deep friendliness filled his eyes.
“The Northern Army commanders I encountered on the way here told me. They said there was someone who had not only wiped out countless barbarians with a water attack, but was also working to gather the troops despite the torrential rain. Truly impressive.”
It seemed the commanders he had met on the way here had spoken of me.
“I merely did what needed to be done.”
“There are plenty of people who cannot even do that properly. You need not be so modest.”
There was a strange irritation and anger in his voice.
‘Has some problem arisen within the Subjugation Army? More importantly...’
Was Jeg always this open about his emotions?
The Jeg I knew was famous for his poker face and for hiding his feelings well. What was going on...?
‘Ah!’
A realization suddenly flashed through my mind.
‘That's right.’
The Jeg I knew was a man who had survived the age of chaos.
In other words, he was the future Jeg, one who did not yet exist in this world.
The man before me was still a young man in his twenties.
Naturally, there had to be differences.
‘I've been making a major mistake all this time.’
From now on, I could not casually judge people based solely on my existing knowledge.
With time as a variable, the information I knew could be wrong.
Once I recognized the mistake I had overlooked, my mind felt clearer.
‘Right. There's no need to feel intimidated.’
The man before me was not the cold-blooded figure I knew, but a young, hot-blooded man untouched by the age of chaos. Once that thought occurred to me, my tension melted away like snow.
I let out a short breath, regained my composure, and asked what I wanted to know.
“Has something happened to the Subjugation Army? Is that why Lord Hallios came here with only the advance force?”
“Whew, yes. It is a long story...”
Furrowing his brow, Jeg told me what had happened in the Subjugation Army.
＊＊＊＊＊
On the outskirts of the Duchy of Konrad, the gateway to the central region and the heart of the north.
Jeg, who had taken command of the Barbarian Subjugation Army's cavalry, clenched his teeth as he looked at the enemy and allied corpses submerged in rainwater.
‘Damn it. Nothing is going right.’
Squelch, squelch!
As he walked toward the tent where the commanders had gathered, his steps felt especially heavy today.
‘Does the goddess truly not pity the Empire?’
With such torrential rain pouring down as soon as they set out, he could not help but think so.
‘Ha. Then again...’
Even a goddess would want to withdraw her mercy if she saw the state of the Subjugation Army now.
Inside the command tent,
“Marquis Rokselon, when do you intend to subjugate the barbarians if you move this sluggishly?”
“Moving such a large army in torrential rain like this is unreasonable. If we make one wrong move, soldiers will start dying before we even fight the enemy...”
“Are you saying you will defy the imperial command over a few soldiers?!”
The middle-aged person openly criticizing the Commander-in-Chief before all the gathered commanders, that old wretch worse than a dog, was, incredibly, an inspector sent from the capital.
The inspector was making only one demand.
“Go out and fight at once. Drive those lowly barbarian wretches out of the Empire's territory as quickly as possible!”
“...”
“If this continues, I will have no choice but to report to the capital that the marquis has other intentions.”
“...I will discuss it with the strategists, so leave for today.”
“Hmph!”
Watching the inspector's back as he left the tent, Jeg let out a sigh.
‘The noble faction's pressure is growing worse.’
Since the campaign began, the noble faction had used every trick possible to replace the commanders of the Subjugation Army, which was centered around the emperor faction.
That inspector coming to the command tent and making a scene was one of those tricks.
‘That vermin. Has the inspector already forgotten the innocent soldiers who died yesterday?’
Yesterday, at the inspector's urging, they had fought the barbarians and suffered fifteen thousand casualties.
They had somehow won and annihilated the enemy, but the barbarians had numbered only ten thousand while the Subjugation Army had fifty thousand. Calling it a poor showing would have been generous.
And now the inspector was demanding they repeat it.
“Whew. Even while the Empire is in turmoil from foreign enemies, the noble faction is obsessed with factional strife. It is truly frustrating.”
Garsion answered Marquis Rokselon's complaint.
“However, if we continue ignoring the inspector's demands, they will use it as an excuse to dismiss the commanders and send their own people. Therefore, our respected commander must make a decision.”
“Hmm. This is difficult. Cavalry Commander Jeg, what do you think?”
“We should meet their demands.”
The answer had already been decided.
“If we give them an excuse and let the position of Commander-in-Chief fall into the noble faction's hands, then everything truly will be over.”
“But if we do that, the soldiers...”
“We need not move the entire Subjugation Army. We can send a small force under the name of an advance party and buy time until the rain stops.”
“Oh?”
“If we send an advance force on the pretext of scouting and blunting the enemy's momentum, even those people in the capital will not be able to find further fault. Whatever the truth, it will appear that the Subjugation Army is fiercely fighting the enemy.”
Marquis Rokselon exclaimed in admiration and applauded.
“What an exquisite move. Then who should go as the advance force?”
“Ahem...”
The commanders avoided Rokselon's gaze. They did not want to move in such rain, and they believed they would have no chance to earn merit if they separated from the main force.
‘What pathetic people.’
At times like this, the emperor faction did not seem much different from the noble faction.
Clicking his tongue inwardly, Jeg boldly raised his hand.
“I will go.”
“Jeg, you?”
“Yes. Since it was my proposal, would it not be fitting for me to go?”
“Then I shall leave it to you.”
“I will do my utmost to repay your trust.”
After offering a brief salute, he immediately led two thousand cavalry north.
But then,
‘What is going on?’
Considering how the barbarians had been scattered about freely until now, he should have encountered them at least once. Yet there was not even a trace of them.
‘Did they all flee together?’
To resolve his question, he visited a nearby unit.
There, he learned astonishing news.
“...A man named Ubel Graum drove back sixteen thousand barbarians with fewer than three thousand troops? And that is truly the truth?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Ha...”
Only then did he understand why there were no barbarians in sight.
‘Of the thirty thousand who infiltrated the rear, as many as sixteen thousand were wiped out overnight. No wonder they are nowhere to be seen.’
It was an enormous opportunity.
Ten thousand barbarians defeated by the Subjugation Army.
Sixteen thousand defeated by a commander named Ubel Graum.
‘And though no reports have come in yet, if we assume the other rear units have achieved a certain amount of success...’
It would not be wrong to say that the barbarians who had infiltrated the rear had been almost completely destroyed.
As he gathered the information in his mind, one of his subordinate commanders urged him to return.
“Lord Jeg, we should return to the unit now. We have gone much farther than planned.”
“Yes, we should go. But not south. North.”
Everyone was taken aback by his declaration that they would advance farther rather than return.
“You mean to head even farther north from here?”
“There are no barbarians left in the rear now. Is there any need to return to the Subjugation Army in this situation?”
“...”
“We will not return. We will join Ubel Graum's unit and support the main force.”
The commanders looked troubled by the sudden decision.
“Lord Jeg, we formally belong to the Subjugation Army. Moving independently like this without the commander's permission goes against procedure...”
Before the commander could finish, Jeg drew the longsword at his waist and pointed it at their throat with a cold expression.
Clang!
“Gasp!”
“Procedure? Yes, procedure is good. But is that procedure more important than ending this national crisis?”
“Th-That is...”
“I will bear all responsibility. So all of you should focus only on driving the barbarians from this land as soon as possible.”
“U-Understood.”
It might prove to be a problematic decision.
“Tell the soldiers. We are going north.”
But he was willing to bear it if that was what it took to end this damned war.
＊＊＊＊＊
“...And that is how I came to be here.”
“I see.”
What could I say...
‘Should I say that is just like Jeg?’
His boldness in fearlessly following the path he believed was right had not changed.
“I have separately sent a messenger to the main force to explain the situation. Under other circumstances, moving independently like this would have been impossible. But now that the rear has been cleared thanks to you, is that not a different matter?”
“You are right. There are no enemies left in the rear, so let us rest for today and move out at once.”
“Where do you intend to go first? The Left Army? Or the Central Army?”
“I intend to rescue the Left Army first.”
Heading to the Central Army, where Kantulan was, before the Subjugation Army arrived would be burdensome in many ways. I intended to aid the Left Army first.
“Good. We will move with you as well.”
The two thousand cavalry Jeg had brought with him.
Knowing full well how much power cavalry possessed in war, I could not hide my bright smile.
‘It was not my intention, but I have gained a powerful ally.’
I thanked him and held out my hand.
“I look forward to working with you.”
“Haha, as do I.”
I did not know what changes this meeting would bring.
But that was a matter for the future.
For now, I decided to focus on the war unfolding before me.
The next day, the torrential rain that had tormented everyone finally stopped.
“Fine weather for setting out. What a relief.”
“Yes.”
The ground was still muddy, but that alone could not stop those of us who had continued marching even through torrential rain.
Five thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry.
A total force of seven thousand marched north in formation.
After traveling for about a day and a half,
“Commander, look over there.”
“We have finally arrived.”
The fortress of the Left Army, their destination, came into view.
There was a chance the enemy might spot us, so we crouched low atop a small hill and observed the situation.
“It does not look to be in good condition. It appears they have suffered while surrounded by the enemy.”
As Dihelm said, the fortress was not in good condition.
The commander’s standard atop the walls had been broken.
And the gates looked as though they might collapse at any moment.
“It would not be strange if it fell at any time.”
“Commander of Five Hundred Ubel, what do you intend to do?”
I calmly answered Jeg's question.
“The fortress may fall if we are careless, so I believe we must save our allies before that happens.”
“Do you have a plan? If we simply charge in, I believe our side will suffer no small number of casualties as well.”
He looked at me with an unreadable gaze.
‘Does he want to hear my thoughts?’
For now, I decided to play along.
“Yes, I have a plan in mind.”
The enemy was not in good shape either.
‘Unlike the ones we saw in the rear, they seem to have somehow maintained their camp.’
But judging by the tents that had collapsed here and there, they must also have suffered considerable damage from the torrential rain.
“The enemy will never imagine that we have arrived here yet. So...”
As I laid out my plan, Jeg's eyes widened and he burst into laughter.
“Haha, I never thought you would have an idea so similar to mine.”
Of course.
This was one of the strategies you liked to use.
I knew what sort of methods he favored and what he disliked.
Surprising him was a piece of cake.
“Then, the operation has been decided...”
“Now we only need to move.”
“This should be interesting.”
Jeg laughed softly, his fighting spirit showing.
As if responding to him, the soldiers' resolute gazes filled with determination.
The time had finally come to bring this war to its end.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
