chapter_0035

34 – Daniel Steiner? Isn’t He Just a Rookie Assistant?

34 – Daniel Steiner? Isn’t He Just a Rookie Assistant?

After the enemy commander Heinrich declared surrender, the battlefield was quickly organized.

The soldiers of the kingdom, caught off guard by the unexpected surprise attack, knelt down, losing their will to fight, and the officers, seemingly resigned to their fate, willingly offered themselves as prisoners.

“Move quickly! You damn rats!”

“Normally, you’d all be dead! Be grateful to the generous company commander!”

As is customary for victorious soldiers, they shouted at the prisoners.

‘Why create such a hostile atmosphere…’

Just as Daniel was about to say something with a frown, Lieutenant Mckell approached.

“Commander! We’ve completed the headcount!”

“Good. What about our casualties?”

“Out of a total of 207 personnel, there were 16 casualties. Among them, 4 were killed, and the remaining 12 sustained minor injuries.”

To have only 4 fatalities after subduing a battalion-sized force was an astonishing exchange rate, even considering the operation’s success.

It was enough to elicit an involuntary chuckle from him.

“This is troublesome…”

Having gained merit during the operational support, it was indeed a tricky situation.

If this continued, the staff headquarters would likely appoint Daniel as commander every time they organized operational support.

That was one of the situations Daniel least desired.

He was smiling wryly, but Lieutenant Mckell interpreted it differently.

‘Is he not satisfied even after achieving such a remarkable feat…!’

Mckell found it hard to comprehend the mindset that was so far above his own.

It was clear that the title of ace of the staff headquarters and hero of the Imperial City was not given lightly.

While Mckell gazed at him with admiration, Daniel let out a low sigh.

“Let’s prepare to head to the forward base. Inform all troops that we will depart after a short rest.”

If it were up to him, he would have liked to circle around the area for a few more days before joining, but now that they had captured prisoners, they could no longer afford to delay.

It would be a disaster if one of the prisoners managed to break free and escape during their procrastination.

In the worst-case scenario, the kingdom might send a mobile unit to rescue their supply battalion, so it was better to join the forward base as quickly as possible to ensure their safety.

“Yes! I will convey the commander’s orders!”

With a spirited shout, Lieutenant Mckell headed toward where the soldiers were gathered.

Thanks to that, Daniel, left alone, turned his gaze and spotted Frien, who was leading the kingdom’s soldiers.

Frien was speaking softly with a smiling face, while the kingdom’s soldiers were gasping for breath, terrified.

‘What kind of verbal abuse is he dishing out to the prisoners…’

He worried that they might violate international law during wartime.

Even when they were planning the ambush operation yesterday, he had dismissed Frien’s suggestion that approaching dressed like a civilian would make it easier to deceive them.

For reference, attacking the enemy while disguised as a civilian was a clear war crime.

When he explained this, Frien had genuinely asked with a curious expression, “Why is it considered a crime when we are no longer human since we allied with the Allied Nations?” which sent chills down his spine.

‘At least they’re on our side.’

If there were such nationalistic lunatics among the enemy, it would be incredibly difficult to deal with them.

Turning his gaze from Frien, Daniel looked at Lucy this time.

Lucy was leading the prisoners in a businesslike manner, just like at the staff headquarters.

He wondered what would happen if she held a grudge against attacking the kingdom, but to his surprise, Lucy wore a calm expression.

In fact, just moments ago, when one of the prisoners rebelled and charged at her, she knocked him out with the butt of her rifle.

He couldn’t tell if she was acting nonchalantly or if she genuinely didn’t care about the kingdom’s downfall, but for now, he felt relieved.

‘For the time being, I don’t have to worry about getting shot by Lucy.’

The kingdom was likely seen as a discarded pawn by the Allied Nations, so they wouldn’t go out of their way to offer help.

Feeling a sense of relief, Daniel raised his head, sensing the world becoming brighter.

He could see the sun slowly lifting its head from the ridge of the mountains beyond.

It was the dawn’s early light.

–

Forward base in the coastal city of Nordia.

Temporary operations headquarters of the division.

“It’s strange. The aerial reconnaissance shows no signs of a decrease in their supplies.”

“Indeed. By now, their supplies should be running low…”

In the operations command center set up at headquarters, three regimental commanders, one brigade commander, and several battalion commanders and staff officers were present.

Thanks to the division commander, who had called them together under the pretext of a tactical meeting, they were all gathered.

【Commander of the 6th Magical Armored Division / Major General Feldelaham】

Sitting at the head of the table with a solemn expression, Feldelaham listened to their discussions.

He pondered why they had not yet captured the coastal city of Nordia.

‘The advance of the Northern Army Group has been smooth. It took less than two weeks to occupy 30% of the kingdom’s territory.’

It was nothing short of rapid progress.

Believing they could push the kingdom back, the military leadership spared no support, allowing the imperial army to achieve consecutive victories.

However, the imperial army had now encountered a dilemma.

Due to the intensified resistance from the kingdom’s forces, they could no longer advance the front line.

As a result, the troubled imperial staff headquarters issued an order to capture the coastal city of Nordia.

If they could capture Nordia, a strategic stronghold, it would facilitate movement by sea, allowing them to attack the kingdom from both directions.

It was an excellent plan. There was no dissent, and Feldelaham successfully surrounded Nordia with his division.

Having succeeded in the encirclement, Feldelaham focused all his efforts on cutting off the supply routes of the kingdom’s forces heading to Nordia.

The reason was simple.

Once the supplies to a besieged city were cut off, it would suffer from rapid fear and fatigue.

This would not only lower the morale of both military and civilians but also lead to the collapse of social order, resulting in the outbreak of epidemics and diseases.

If things went well, they might even force the enemy commander to surrender.

It was truly a method to achieve maximum victory while minimizing friendly losses.

‘But…’

Things were not going as planned.

The kingdom’s armored division stationed in the coastal city of Nordia was receiving supplies without any issues.

This puzzled Feldelaham.

With the help of the imperial air force, which had successfully gained air superiority, they had already sunk several enemy supply ships.

The ground was thoroughly guarded by his armored division, not allowing even an ant to pass through.

Yet, the kingdom’s armored division was still receiving supplies on time.

Amidst this absurd situation, Feldelaham turned to Brigade Commander Heinrich.

“Hey, Heinrich. Do you have any idea what’s going on in this situation?”

Unfortunately, Heinrich shook his head.

“I have no idea how the supplies are being delivered. However, I heard that the headquarters is sending a staff officer to assist, so it might be best to wait a bit.”

“…A staff officer to assist? Ha. Are you talking about that Daniel Steiner?”

Feldelaham, who had spent years in the Northern Army Group, was also aware of Daniel Steiner’s existence.

Given the chaos that had erupted in the Imperial City, it would be strange not to know.

However, Feldelaham did not trust Daniel at all.

He found it hard to believe that someone could accumulate so many merits in just half a year.

‘It’s likely that they created a propaganda hero in the Imperial City.’

There was a high possibility that he was an artificially created hero to boost enlistment rates.

Of course, some incidents were indeed his doing, but it was hard to believe that all of Daniel’s actions were not manipulated.

While he understood the headquarters’ intention to secure more soldiers, it seemed excessive to shower him with so many accolades.

‘Moreover…’

What the headquarters needed right now was not a mere eloquent staff officer but a capable warrior who could deliver results.

‘To think they would send just a rookie staff officer as operational support.’

Feldelaham, feeling disappointed in many ways, was about to let out a sigh when—

“C-Commander?”

A soldier waiting by the radio spoke up.

Curious, he turned his head to see the soldier looking bewildered.

“Captain Daniel Steiner’s company has arrived here. However, there have been casualties. Out of 16 casualties, 4 are dead, and 12 are injured…”

Huh? They suffered 16 casualties during a mere march, with 4 dead?

Even if they had marched rapidly, it was hard to comprehend, especially since they had delayed their arrival by 6 days from the original schedule and still incurred 16 casualties?

‘What a terrible commander…!’

He was the type who should never be deployed to the battlefield.

Just as he was thinking of holding Daniel accountable and sending him back to the rear when he arrived—

“And…”

The radio operator swallowed hard, opening his mouth as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Captain Daniel Steiner’s company reportedly found and subdued an enemy supply battalion on their way to join the division headquarters. They killed 135 out of 327 personnel in the supply battalion and captured 192, including the enemy battalion commander…”

Silence fell over the operations headquarters, where various opinions had been exchanged.

‘…What?’

At the astonishingly outstanding achievements, Feldelaham, along with all the officers gathered in the operations headquarters, gaped in disbelief.