Chapter 50

〈 Episode 50 〉Quest 8 : Call of Duty

‘Ah, so boring.’

As with most marches, Asha was habitually walking blankly. Armor and tents were being carried on the Supply unit’s carts following behind, so she didn’t have any particular load, but that only made her more bored. Asha turned her head to look at the soldiers struggling along, each carrying their own burdens.

‘Being a Ground pounder is tough, after all…’

Fortunately, the weather was approaching early winter, so it wasn’t too hot, but cool weather didn’t make marching easy. In fact, in the actual military, most of the operation time was spent marching, and the time spent in actual combat was much less. Asha felt the soldiers’ suffering as if it were her own.

‘If we walk a little over 30km a day, we’ll walk at least 100km in 2 nights and 3 days. Ugh… They should at least treat me well.’

Having experienced marching extensively in the army, she didn’t bother the soldiers who were struggling to walk.

Mealtime came again, but since they were still marching, the soldiers began preparing meals without setting up tents. Some soldiers were warming their hands, blowing on them. A soldier Asha had never seen before ran up to her as she was drinking water from her leather pouch.

“Platoon Leader! The Battalion Commander is calling for you!”

Asha’s face soured at the sudden news that the Battalion Commander was calling for her.

“What? What does the Battalion Commander want?”

‘Come to think of it, a platoon leader is a total newbie! Ugh… Are they calling me because they want to use me?’

“I’m not sure about that…”

Asha was furious at the soldier’s abrupt summons.

“Hey… You’re calling me without even knowing what the business is!”

The soldier immediately lowered his head at Asha’s anger.

“I’m sorry!”

“Ha… Forget it. Where do I have to go?”

“You can come to the tent in the center!”

“Okay. Go on.”

Asha reluctantly walked away, racking her brains.

‘Did they only call me? What if they ask me something I don’t know…’

Soon, Asha found people heading towards the barracks like her. Not knowing who was a superior or subordinate, Asha quickly entered the tent to avoid having to salute.

“Loyalty!”

“Hmm? Ah, the platoon leader is here. Take a seat.”

Asha, saluting the middle-aged soldier who looked like the Battalion Commander, sat in the farthest seat in terms of rank. After she was seated, the officers who came in after her took their seats in turn.

‘Fortunately, there are quite a few people. Hehe, they might not ask me anything.’

While Asha was roughly arranging the officers in her head according to rank, the Battalion Commander began the meeting once all the subordinate officers had gathered.

“Now, reports from each unit.”

“1st Company, 1st Platoon, no issues.”

“1st Company, 2nd Platoon, no issues.”

“1st Company, 3rd Platoon, no issues.”

“1st Company, no issues!”

A total of 3 companies reported in this way.

“2nd Company, 2nd Platoon, no issues!”

Asha, who knew she was in the 2nd Company, 2nd Platoon from what she had heard from the soldiers in advance, was able to report properly in time. The Battalion Commander, after hearing the reports from each platoon leader, confirmed further.

“Were there any non-combat losses during the march?”

“No!”

“The reason I have gathered you all is to conduct a night march tonight. It doesn’t seem like there are any major problems, but what do you think?”

‘There are no problems now, but wouldn’t problems arise if we march through the night?’

Asha couldn’t bring herself to say what she was thinking and remained silent. Fortunately, the other company commanders had a little more common sense, and one person raised their hand.

“Jean? Speak.”

“Of course, arriving at the Citadel as soon as possible is important, but I’m worried that some may drop out during the march. Injuries are especially likely to occur during night marches. Wouldn’t it be better to proceed as planned? If a sudden battle breaks out immediately after arriving, it will be difficult for the soldiers to exert their full combat power.”

‘That’s right! Well said.’

Asha’s face brightened at the 2nd Company Commander’s reasonable rebuttal. Of course, she wanted to go back as soon as possible, but she didn’t think that the quest would be solved just by going quickly. The Battalion Commander listened to his words and put his hand on his chin.

“That makes sense. But it would be better to push ahead. I won’t accept any objections.”

‘What the hell…’

Realizing that the Battalion Commander, who seemed fine on the outside, was an Anti-tank mine, Asha barely managed to maintain a blank expression. Since the 2nd Company Commander was rejected, no other officers raised objections, and they all left the Battalion Commander’s tent. Someone approached Asha, who couldn’t help but frown.

“Company Commander?”

“You don’t look too happy, Platoon Leader. Are you uneasy?”

The person who spoke to her was Jean, the Company Commander who had spoken to the Battalion Commander earlier, and her direct superior. Asha, who already had complaints lingering on her lips, opened her mouth after confirming that the Battalion Commander was not nearby.

“To do a night march when we don’t even know what’s going to happen… I don’t think there’s any urgent reason, but I don’t know why the Battalion Commander is doing this.”

“There must be a reason we don’t know… Don’t worry too much. Are the platoon members okay?”

“I’m not sure. Anyway, thank you, Company Commander!”

Jean nodded without saying much and sent her back to the unit.

‘At least that guy is a little reasonable.’

Asha went straight back to the platoon and summoned the soldiers. The soldiers had expected that there would be something to convey since the platoon leader had been called, so they gathered immediately.

“Okay, listen up! We will not be taking the scheduled sleep today and will continue marching. We will probably arrive by tomorrow afternoon. We are scheduled to depart after an additional 30-minute break, so be aware of that!”

As soon as Asha finished speaking, they couldn’t show it, but they looked like they had eaten shit. She sighed and continued.

“I know it’s unreasonable no matter how I think about it, but it’s the Battalion Commander’s order.”

The soldiers suppressed their complaints when they heard that it was an order from a high-ranking superior.

“Alright, get ready. Is there anyone who is not in good condition?”

“Johnny said his ankle hasn’t been feeling well since this morning.”

“Hey! You’re saying unnecessary things again…”

“Ankle? What to do… It would be better to put the military equipment on the cart for now. Johnny, are you okay?”

“Yes, yes! I’m fine.”

Asha, looking at the soldier who was trying to say he was okay with an uneasy face, said in a playful voice.

“You… If you sprain your leg while marching, I’ll fold it up and throw you in the cart, got it?”

“If you get carried on the cart, it’s a disgrace to the unit, Johnny!”

“Ugh! No! How can I live with the shame of dropping out without even swinging my sword once!”

‘Phew, at least the atmosphere is a little better.’

The platoon members became noisy again as someone to publicly pick on was born. Relieved that they seemed to feel a little better, Asha began to prepare for the march again.

As befitting winter weather, the sun set quickly. The unit, which had rested briefly for dinner, continued to march with torches lit by each platoon even in the dark night. Asha, who was lighter than the soldiers, was at the head of the platoon, holding a torch.

“2nd Platoon! Any problems?”

“No, none!”

“Don’t fall asleep!”

“Yes, I understand!”

Asha was marching according to vague memories, but Asha herself was getting sleepier and sleepier. The heat from the torch reached her face, but the hand on the opposite side that wasn’t holding the torch was freezing.

‘Why this sudden hardship… Is there no such thing as teleportation?’

Asha felt wronged, as if she had graduated and was staying in the military for good after serving her full two years. However, Asha’s complaints disappeared at the sight of the soldiers’ vacant expressions following behind.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

Asha’s face contorted at the sight of faces that looked like they were neither alive nor dead.

‘Ugh, they’re about to die. Rest in peace.’

Even though officers and soldiers were holding torches in various places, the brightness of the fire was too weak. During the march, some soldiers stumbled and fell due to the dark visibility. Among them was Johnny, who had said his ankle wasn’t feeling well earlier, and he ended up taking the glory of being the first dropout in the platoon.

“Aigoo wahaha, the first dropout in the company, not even the platoon!”

“Johnny, this glory will be passed down through our unit for generations.”

“Stop it, you bastards!”

The 2nd Platoon, which had something to tease, was noisy for a while, making fun of the unlucky soldier, but soon fell silent. Asha tilted her head at their appearance, which looked like they were struggling to breathe.

‘Come to think of it, it’s only been two days for me, but how many days have these guys been walking like this?’

Asha approached Zack, the squad leader who looked the most normal. When she came to him, Zack greeted her with a face full of military discipline.

“Zack.”

“Yes, Platoon Leader!”

“It’s nothing much, so don’t be too nervous. But how many days have we been walking?”

“Today is the 9th day! We will be entering the 10th day soon!”

Asha’s complexion turned pale at the news that they had been doing this for ten days.

“Ah, okay. Thank you.”

‘The 10th day with a night march, it’s suicide…’

Asha, newly disgusted by the Battalion Commander’s recklessness in ordering a night march on the 10th day of marching, hoped that the soldiers would not die while moving.

Asha’s unit, which had marched all night, finally arrived at the Citadel before lunch. Despite the fact that all the unit members were regular soldiers, dropouts were rampant in each company. Out of more than 1000 regimental members, 16 came with the follow-up unit or were carried on carts.

Asha guessed that the soldiers were gritting their teeth and speeding up because they had nothing left but disgust and spite. She was grateful to the quest for the first time.

‘If I had been summoned on the first day of the march, I would have died a long time ago…’

“Ugh, ugh!”

Whatever the process, the platoon members, who had finally arrived at the Citadel looking like beggars, collapsed as soon as they entered the accommodation, still fully armed. Asha checked the soldiers who were resting or sleeping and came outside.

‘There are originally only a few people here. Is this a Citadel that is not usually used?’

Even to Asha’s untrained eyes, the Citadel seemed to be properly built. The deeply dug Moat, the Watchtower and Catapult installed in various places on the ramparts, and the Citadel built inside the ramparts for defense, looked like it would be impossible to penetrate with a clumsy force.

‘The problem is who the enemy is… If we’re defending, it would be better if it were Orcs.’

There were no archers in her unit. Even when Asha checked while resting, she couldn’t find anyone carrying a bow, so she could easily grasp that archers were rare. If Justitia warned her so much, it was reasonable to assume that it would be impossible to fight against the Elves at long range. Asha thought of the stubborn Battalion Commander.

“Ha… If all the higher-ups are like that bastard, it’s going to be a real disaster. Lucy, please pray that your mom does well.”

She hoped that at least the other Battalion Commanders or Regimental Commanders would be normal.

Asha’s unit was the first to arrive at the Citadel, except for some management personnel. Following her unit, the 2nd Battalion, the 3rd Battalion and the 1st Battalion all arrived on the third day a few hours later. Once all the soldiers who were supposed to come here had gathered, the officers gathered for a meeting late in the evening.

Asha, who arrived at the conference hall, saw that many commanders besides herself had gathered. Among them was Asha’s superior, the 2nd Battalion Commander. The 2nd Battalion Commander, whom she had seen the day before, was full of smiles. He patted the shoulder of the man next to him and said.

“Haha, my friend. Why are you so late?”

“I think you came early rather than me being late. How did you come so early? There was no reason to come early.”

“There’s a way. Anyway, our battalion was the first to arrive!”

Asha felt like she knew why the Battalion Commander had ordered the night march, seeing him acting cocky to the other Battalion Commander.

‘A terrible bastard who marched all night just to brag to his classmate…’

She suddenly felt uneasy about this quest.