WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Veteran of the Northern Front ◈
Chapter 6: First Duty, and an Engagement (2)
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We couldn't just stand by while military merits came rolling in.
“Ren. Get the signal horn.”
“Y-yes!”
On the Northern Front, horns made from animal horns were used to send signals in emergencies.
Once we sounded it, reinforcements from the 9th Guard Post would start making their way here.
‘It’s not like we need help right away, but you never know.’
When Ren, the youngest member, brought out the signal horn, I gathered the squad.
First, the more experienced soldiers.
“Max, Martin, Walter, Raul.”
“Yes!”
“You four will block the road with your shields like a wall. When I give the signal, spread apart from the person beside you and make a small gap. Understood?”
“Yes!”
Good. Now for the newer soldiers in our ten-person squad.
“Kram, Jackson, Marco, Ren!”
“Y-yes!”
“When the shield bearers make an opening, thrust your spears through the gaps at the enemy.”
There was only one road leading to the 8th Guard Post.
It was wide enough for four grown men to walk abreast, with a cliff on one side and a sheer rock wall on the other.
‘If we block that narrow pass and keep them from reaching the guard post, they’ll have no choice but to fight us two or three at a time.’
Dividing into a first and second rank, then driving back the enemy one after another.
That was the most efficient method in this situation.
In the past, they would have been thrown into confusion by such sudden orders.
“Hey, move it!”
“We’ll hold them back with our shields in the first rank. You stab them through the gaps. Got it?”
“Yes!”
The squad calmly formed up according to the orders.
A week spent exclusively on formation drills was finally paying off.
“Ubel.”
“Yeah, sound it.”
Ren, who had been waiting beside me, blew the horn.
Bwoooooom!
As the horn echoed across the mountain, the barbarians quickened their pace.
“Second rank, keep your wits about you and thrust properly. If any of you hit an ally in the first rank, you’ll be in for it.”
“Yes!”
Mixing a joke with a genuine threat seemed to ease the expressions of the soldiers in the second rank.
Meanwhile, the enemy continued their fierce climb, steadily closing the distance.
‘They must be planning to raid the guard post and flee before reinforcements arrive.’
Did they really think it would go their way?
We blocked the narrow road and waited.
When the distance had narrowed to twenty paces, the barbarians hesitated for a moment.
“First rank, shields up!”
Whoosh!
The instant the order left my mouth, crude hand axes flew toward us.
‘Not a chance, you bastards.’
Even in the game, barbarians often began battle by throwing hand axes to injure their opponents. I had no intention of falling for it when I knew it was coming.
Bang! Bang!
Thanks to the soldiers at the front raising their shields in time, the hand axe tactic had little effect.
‘The supplied shields are trash, so they’ll break quickly if those bastards get close and start hacking at them in earnest, but...’
Having shields at all was better than nothing.
Without them, our heads would have been split open before we even had a chance to fight.
Once they saw their hand axes had failed, the barbarians let out strange war cries and charged like bulls.
“Ark Haracha!!”
I had played so many games in my previous life that I understood the barbarian language to some extent.
‘Calling us cowardly just for using shields? That’s harsh.’
I would have preferred they call it strategy.
“Don’t panic. Stay calm and hold the formation.”
“Yes!”
I reassured the squad as I measured the distance.
Ten paces, five paces...
The barbarians drew close, and when they were right before us,
“Now. Thrust!”
At the signal, gaps opened between the shields, and sharp spearheads shot through them to pierce the barbarians.
Penal soldiers on the Northern Front mainly used spears.
The reason was simple.
They cost less to make than other weapons.
‘They probably decided there was no reason to give weapons that required lots of iron, like swords or maces, to penal soldiers they intended to use as meat shields anyway.’
Did that mean we should be grateful just to receive weapons?
Of course not.
While regular soldiers learned proper spear techniques,
penal soldiers learned only one thing: thrusting.
And even that was taught merely so they could use the spears they had been given.
But that also meant...
‘When it comes to thrusting, we’re no worse than regular soldiers.’
Even incompetent penal soldiers could pierce targets trapped behind shields in a narrow pass.
Thrust! Thrust!
Together with the newer soldiers in the second rank, I drove my spear into the stomachs of the charging barbarians.
Fresh blood sprayed everywhere.
The sticky feel of blood on my face made me stiffen without realizing it.
I had fired guns before, but this was the first time I had killed someone directly with a bladed weapon.
For less than a tenth of a second, the morality and guilt I had learned in my previous life flashed through my mind.
“Pull your spears back immediately!”
Without showing any of it, I gave the next order.
‘If I don’t kill them, they’ll kill me.’
It was also the mindset I needed to live in this world from now on.
Guilt? Morality?
‘What good is any of that if you die?’
Had I treated this situation too lightly because I was thinking about earning military merits?
Yes, I admitted that.
But my thoughts had not changed.
Considering the chaotic age ahead, I would have to face things like this countless times.
‘I need to grow stronger.’
The reason I sought military merits,
the reason I was fighting for my life here,
was all for that.
‘To survive the coming age of chaos...’
The only way was to reach a position where no one could touch me.
Thud!
I kicked away the barbarian impaled through the stomach and pulled out my spear.
“Close the shields again!”
“Close the shields!”
The squad repeated the order and moved swiftly, restoring the formation in an instant.
Their initial momentum was gone. The barbarians hesitated and took a step back.
Their comrades who had charged first had been turned into skewers. Unless they had no brains at all, they had to realize it.
If they rushed in carelessly, they would end up the same way.
Swipe.
Wiping the blood from my face, I stared at them coldly.
‘Looking at them, I doubt they’ll charge blindly again.’
If we wanted to win without suffering heavy losses, they had to move.
‘And if they won’t move...’
Then I would make them.
“Everyone, keep formation and advance one step at a time!”
“Yes!”
Having figured out my strategy to some extent, the squad answered in strong voices.
The barbarians could only watch the wall of shields slowly approaching them.
Then I gave them a mocking smile and shouted in their language.
“Bi da, Ark Haracha?”
“!!!”
Shock spread across the enemy’s faces.
First, because I spoke their language.
Second...
“Kukoran de!!!”
I had thrown their own insult right back at them.
‘So, who’s the coward now?’
When I openly mocked them, their faces reddened as they hurled hand axes at us.
Naturally, the axes struck the shields and never reached me.
I had been the sort of person who made opponents rage quit through chat while playing games in my previous life.
‘Provoking a bunch of ignorant barbarians is easy.’
I kept needling them in their own language.
“What’s wrong? Can’t you put any strength into it? Are you like that in bed too?”
“Shut up, cowardly Imperial!”
“Is that something you inherited from your father? Then again, that’s probably why your mother...”
I did not need to finish.
Barbarians were people too, so it was not hard for them to understand.
“I’ll kill you, Imperial!”
They had little combat experience, so a few verbal jabs were enough to make them roar in fury and charge.
“Thrust.”
Thrust!
The barbarians fell the same way as before.
The only difference was that this time, they struck the shields with their axes.
‘Damn...’
Though two of them had been pierced by spears, they kept swinging their axes, destroying two shields.
‘Tch. It can’t be helped.’
Two had died earlier, and three just now.
Only three barbarians remained.
With this difference in numbers, we could defeat them head-on now.
“Discard the shields and lure the enemy into the open area in front of the guard post.”
“Yes!”
When we threw aside our shields and retreated, the remaining barbarians chased after us like mad.
Their kin had already died, and they had been humiliated by Imperials.
If they returned to their tribe like this, they would obviously be treated like idiots. They must have decided to at least take our heads with them.
‘What is it with that damned pride?’
I knew barbarians valued a warrior’s honor, but as I had said before, once you died, that was the end.
‘Besides, even if they’re prepared to die...’
The outcome had already been decided.
The moment we reached the open ground, the squad surrounded the enemy as though they had been waiting for it.
“Die, you barbarian bastard!”
“Grrrk!”
“Gehu... urk!”
A barbarian named Gehu had their throat pierced by Max’s spear and collapsed. Their companion, who cried out at the sight, was also killed by Martin and Walter.
“Kahol!”
The last barbarian did not give up despite being covered in wounds and blood.
Perhaps they sensed that the end had come.
Drawing on their last reserves of strength, they broke through the encirclement and charged at me.
“I will kill you at least!”
“Ubel!”
The squad panicked at the sudden move, but surprisingly, I remained calm.
Because instinct told me something.
That barbarian posed no danger to me.
Whoosh.
The slender spearhead met the barbarian’s axe.
Normally, it was difficult to block a blunt weapon like an axe with a spear.
But...
Clang!
“This is impossible!”
I not only received their blow with ease, but forced it back down.
“Ghk! What kind of strength...?”
Inhuman strength, with no technique or trickery behind it, created a miracle through pure muscle alone. The spearhead pushed the axe away.
I shoved the barbarian back, rammed them with my shoulder to throw off their stance, then swung my spear.
Whoosh!
With the illusion of the spear shaft bending came a ringing sound as it cut through the air.
Crunch!
The spearhead tore through flesh and organs before burying itself in the spine.
It looked as though they had been struck by a greatsword or a blunt weapon rather than a spear. Even this was only because the spear shaft could not withstand the force and snapped midway.
If I had been using another weapon instead of a spear, it would have cleaved through the spine and split the body completely in two.
“Ggh... urk!”
The barbarian who had charged at me with their last breath cursed me in a miserable state.
“One day... you too... will die horribly... like me.”
“Yeah, maybe I will.”
But...
“Not today.”
Thrust!
I pierced their throat and ended their suffering.
For some reason, I felt bitter.
‘Don’t let it shake me.’
If I wanted to survive, I had to get used to this.
I shook my head, cast off the stray thoughts, and looked over the squad.
“Is everyone all right?”
“Yes!”
When soldiers encountered barbarians while guarding a post, six out of ten usually died.
Unable to believe we had dealt with a group of barbarians without a single death or serious injury, the squad let out cries of amazement.
“It’s all thanks to you, Commander!”
“I was so surprised! When did you learn the barbarian language?”
“Um... it just sort of happened.”
I could not exactly say that I had learned it through games.
“Hehe. This is probably the first time our unit has wiped out barbarians without any casualties.”
Max gave me a thumbs-up and praised me.
Max had spent the longest as a penal soldier in our ten-person squad, so I could trust that.
It was my first battle and victory since coming into this body.
The deep relief and accomplishment I felt in one corner of my heart made me realize that I had begun to blend into this world, that I had become Ubel.
But there was no need to fear that.
I was the only one who knew what would happen next,
the secrets unknown to others,
and even the heroes who would rise to prominence in the future.
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