episode_0015

What Alexander realized while fighting on the battlefield for 10 years was that war does not start and end with giant soldiers.

When I was still immature, I thought that all wars were driven by titanic soldiers.

As expected, the Giant God Soldiers operated by outstanding knights were destructive and influential enough to change the course of the war. In fact, the fact that he was able to overcome numerous battles using the Giant God Soldier was proof of that.

However, moving the giant soldier cost a huge amount of money, and the limited movement time was a major weakness. Alexander, a young man who danced around with his sword without knowing anything, faced the limits of his mobility in the middle of enemy lines and was in desperate danger. Fortunately, he was able to save his life with the help of Marquis Lucas and Count William, who went on the expedition together.

The fact that I now have a long cut across my face was a lesson I learned that day and a foolish mistake I made when I was young.

After the day when he almost lost his life, Alexander did not blindly trust the Giant God Soldier. A weapon is just a weapon, and the person holding and shaking it was a human.

And since humans are not perfect, we should not blindly trust the giant gods.

＂The Colossus is a weapon that is said to be the culmination of magical engineering on the current continent. This is because what would have been possible with hundreds or even thousands of knights gathered together can be accomplished by a single, state-of-the-art giant god soldier. Therefore, the appearance of the Giant God Soldier changed the landscape of the continental war. In any war taking place on the continent, there is no case in which the Giant God Soldiers are not deployed. Just as there is no country that feels burdened by the deployment of giant soldiers.”

A lot of money goes into operating a giant weapon. And all countries that could not cover that amount disappeared into the back of history, either going down the path of collapse or becoming part of another country’s principality.

＂The nature of territory warfare has also changed from the past when private soldiers were led into clashes. There was no need to see the blood of soldiers unnecessarily, unnecessary expenditures such as hiring mercenaries were prevented, and unnecessary destruction of territory was also prevented. This too has become an era in which the solution can be seen through a decisive battle with the Giant God Soldier.”

Unlike the past territorial battles that were fought with private soldiers and mercenaries, the current territorial battles have been transformed into decisive battles using giant soldiers. No matter how much capital was required to operate the giant army, it was a matter of winning the territory war.

Winner takes all.

War was always about getting the most out of something.

“Then, Cadet Gilbert. “I have something to ask you.”

“yes.”

Alexander wanted to find out more about the count’s bastard heir, who had similar eyes to his comrades. It was out of personal curiosity as to what kind of person he was that had eyes like this.

＂So far, everything the professor has said about the Colossus has been positive. I was talking about the strategic value that the Giant God Soldier could have and its necessity. However, at the beginning of the lecture, Professor Bon made a negative statement as the first rule of engagement, saying that the Giant God Soldier is not all-powerful. Why do you think that is so?”

What Professor Alexander said was not fundamentally correct. If you find a negative reason and create it, it can become a reason.

Nevertheless, there was one reason why Alexander mentioned this rule of engagement in his first lecture. This was to prevent incorrect judgment of the situation by blindly trusting the product of advanced magical engineering. When carelessness and unfounded confidence that one can somehow solve a gigantic disease come together, it can lead to fatal injuries in places where one could never die.

When Gilbert heard Alexander’s words, a memory from a long time ago came to mind. When he was Kang Do-jun, the instructor who taught him always said something.

Don’t fall into missile omnipotence.

At one time, it was thought that an air battle could be fought only with guided missiles in the early stages of development, and there was an incident that resulted in the worst engagement ratio in history. Performance was lacking due to lack of proper verification of the weapon, and unrealistic rules of engagement caused predictions of the missile hit rate to be incorrect.

Of course, as time passed, air-to-air missiles made remarkable technological progress. Just looking at the cases of missiles being shot down in air-to-air combat, the status of missiles in air-to-air combat was clearly different from before.

See first, shoot first.

It was a dazzling technological development that changed the paradigm of air combat.

However, the gun never lost its position. The biggest reason was the number of missiles mounted. Even if loaded at the maximum, 14 rounds was the limit, and for actual mission performance, that number would be reduced further. Moreover, as missiles developed, so did the performance of fighter jets, so there was no such thing as an unconditional hit.

The instructor relayed these words to Kang Do-jun and said that pilots perform their missions using a weapon called a fighter plane, and that they should not be optimistic that something will solve everything. They even say that even a fighter jet is a tool for a pilot to carry out a mission and should not be everything.

He took to heart the words of his instructor and teacher, and for his final mission, he rammed the fighter plane and ran with his own body. Thanks to that, I ended up having to be discharged from the military, but thanks to those words, I was able to avoid dying.

I thought that maybe that was what Professor Alexander was talking about.

＂Even if the essence of magic engineering is infused into the Colossus, the person who moves it is ultimately a human. No matter how much assistance is received from the artificial spirit, ultimately it is the knight himself who makes the decisions and controls it directly. Nothing is perfect in this world. That’s why giant spirits also have problems. If you blindly trust the Giant God Soldier more than necessary, you will definitely become arrogant and let down your guard. And on the battlefield, that directly leads to death.”

“Then is there any need to use the Giant God Soldier? “It sounds like it could be dangerous.”

“But only a foolish person would spoil a great weapon. Technology is advancing, and we never know when more advanced giant soldiers will appear. Just a dramatic improvement in the limit of maneuver will change the landscape of war once again. However, the important facts do not change.”

There was one immutable truth that did not change for him who lived through World War III. Unmanned aerial vehicles that did not require pilots began to appear, and all kinds of weapons and reinforced suits that were only seen in science fiction were released. Nevertheless, there was always one thing at the center of ending the war.

person.

Because there are people, there is war, and because there are people, the war ends.

That was the reason why nuclear weapons were not mobilized in World War III. If you wage an all-out war where life and death are at stake, all that remains is mutual destruction. A total annihilation where everyone dies regardless of whether they are allies or enemies.

“It is always human to start a war, and it is always human to end a war. When engaging in combat, the important thing to consider is yourself and your allies, not the giant soldiers. The Giant God Soldier is just a means and should not be the center of blind faith.”

Alexander thought there was no right answer to this question, but paradoxically, he thought Gilbert’s words were the right answer. As he said, ending a war and planting a flag in the opponent’s territory was always done by ordinary private soldiers, not giant soldiers.

After answering, he found Gilbert with a stern expression on his face. That answer contained everything he wanted to say.

Alexander thought that he should say hello to the Count of Lithuania, who had been his superior for a long time. While doing so, it was a bonus to ask about my troublesome son.

＂Cadet Gilbert is right. Because that is exactly the point that Professor Bon wanted to tell the cadets. There is no doubt that the Giant God Soldier is a great weapon. The appearance of the Giant God Soldier marked a milestone in the long history of the continent. However, even if the Giant God Soldier is autonomously controlled by an artificial spirit, a knight is needed to achieve perfect performance. And knights are human beings like you. I’m not saying you shouldn’t believe in giant spirits. However, I would like to tell you not to blindly cling to the giant spirit disease. Because that will be a lifeline that can save the cadets from death in a battlefield where life and death are the difference.”

Based on these words, Alexander sincerely hoped that the cadets in front of him would return safely if they were to go to battle.

Unlike other fallen comrades.

***

The first lecture after entering Demiia Academy was a great shock to the cadets and served as an opportunity to change their thinking. It mercilessly shook their way of thinking, which had been obsessed with the stereotype that the Giant God Soldier was the best.

Among them, there were people who actively accepted the opinion, while there were also people who did not bend their opinions. It did not discriminate between high-ranking nobles, low-ranking nobles, or commoners. They were divided into categories solely based on their own judgment.

Among those who broke the stereotype were Angelina and Hans, who teamed up with Gilbert, and Lily, who couldn’t help but hate him. Lily shuddered at the fact that she shared the same opinion as Gilbert, but she wasn’t foolish enough to let her emotions ruin everything.

On the other hand, Ian, whom Gilbert calls the main character…

＂Tsk＂

I just clicked my tongue and glared at Gilbert as he left the classroom.