chapter_0150

149 – The War Genius Daniel Steiner (Not)

149 – The War Genius Daniel Steiner (Not)

Frien’s interrogation skills were outstanding.

It was almost as if she was born for it, as she managed to extract confessions from the entire enemy platoon in less than a day.

While it was natural for the soldiers to talk once the platoon leader confessed, the speed at which it happened was undeniably incredible.

For reference, Pelf, the intelligence staff officer who directly witnessed the soldiers’ torture, once described Frien as a “devil with the face of a saint.”

It was an open secret that the soldiers guarding the entrance to the temporary interrogation facility also agreed with Pelf’s assessment.

Although the public’s evaluation might seem a bit harsh, no one could deny the remarkable achievements Frien had made.

Thanks to her, the next day, the division commander burst into hearty laughter and praised her greatly when Frien reported that she had “discovered the enemy’s operational frequencies as well as their Morse code encryption, and completed cross-verification.”

The next person he praised was Daniel Steiner, who had taken Frien under his wing early on and made her his subordinate.

The division commander, whose negative feelings towards Daniel seemed to have completely disappeared, announced that he would entrust the chief of staff with the task of devising and executing an operation using the information.

So, currently.

Daniel was in his private quarters, discussing which operation would be most effective.

“I believe the most suitable location would be the canyon near the division. If we drive them into the canyon, which has only one exit, we can easily annihilate them,” Pelf, the intelligence staff officer, suggested first, amidst several visiting staff members.

The other staff officers seemed to agree, as they didn’t raise any objections.

However, only Frien, who had been recognized for her merits and allowed to attend the strategy meeting, was tilting her head in puzzlement.

It was as if her face was saying, “Isn’t there an easier way?” so Daniel couldn’t avoid asking.

“Lieutenant Frien, do you have a better idea?”

Frien seemed surprised by Daniel’s call.

Her eyes seemed to be asking if she was even allowed to voice her opinion, so Daniel nodded once.

Having received permission, Frien looked around at the staff officers and opened her mouth casually.

“The enemy infantry brigade is going to use Etherium ore to teleport to the location we transmitted, right? So, wouldn’t it be a good idea to plant mines there in advance?”

If they lured the enemy to teleport to a location pre-planted with mines, the enemy would step on the mines as soon as they teleported, causing a chain reaction of explosions.

She was questioning why they needed to bother driving the enemies into a canyon and ambushing them when they could easily achieve victory that way.

It wasn’t a humane method, but it was the easiest way to annihilate the enemy.

The staff officers knew this as well, but there was a reason why they hadn’t voiced it.

Massacring the enemy without even asking for their surrender in a favorable situation was close to being an inhumane act.

However, Frien was saying with innocent eyes, “Isn’t it okay to just kill them all?”

When it came to the enemy, it was safe to say that Frien lacked humanity.

Witnessing Frien’s lack of humanity, the staff officers naturally turned to look at Daniel, the chief of staff.

According to rumors, Daniel Steiner was the one who had trained Frien that way.

‘Just how did he brainwash that frail woman like that…?’

‘The chief of staff is an excellent soldier, but he might not be a person of character…’

‘If I think of it as being for the sake of the empire, it’s not that I don’t understand…’

The staff officers, convinced that Daniel Steiner had influenced Frien’s mindset, which was different from that of ordinary people, were silently voicing their negative sentiments.

‘I didn’t make her like that! She’s just like that from the start!’

Feeling burdened and wronged by their gazes, Daniel cleared his throat and turned to Lucy.

“Officer? Do you think Lieutenant Frien’s statement is reasonable?”

Daniel was hoping that Lucy, his adjutant, would criticize Frien’s words as an “inhumane act.”

If his adjutant, who had been by his side the longest, denied Frien’s words, the staff officers would realize that “Daniel Steiner isn’t a cold-blooded person, Frien is just strange.”

“It’s reasonable, but inefficient.”

The problem was that Lucy was also a test subject, so she also lacked humanity to some extent.

If Frien had voluntarily abandoned her humanity, Lucy had been forcibly deprived of it, but to someone who didn’t know the details, they wouldn’t be able to recognize the difference between the two.

“It’s more beneficial from a macro perspective to keep the enemy alive and make them prisoners rather than massacring them. We can gain advantages through prisoner exchanges in the future, and we can also mobilize them in operations in case of emergency. Therefore, it’s right to plant mines on the enemy’s escape route.”

Lucy’s red eyes blinked slowly.

“If they realize that the escape route is a minefield while trapped in the canyon, they will all lose morale and surrender. It would also be a good idea to make an example by having the Allied Nations advance towards the escape route and wait until they step on the mines. That’s all.”

The staff officers nodded one by one at Lucy’s concise explanation.

They all knew that doing as Lucy said was the most efficient way.

However, thanks to Lucy’s mechanical response, the staff officers’ misunderstanding of Daniel deepened a little more.

Confirming that the staff officers were subtly watching him, Daniel quietly closed his eyes and thought.

‘Unlike Lucy…’

He shouldn’t ask for Frien’s opinion in public.

*

5 days later.

Allied Nations Infantry Brigade.

“Soldiers!”

Brigadier General Rapahol, standing on a makeshift platform, shouted loudly.

In front of Rapahol, in the desolate field, as many as three thousand soldiers were gathered.

“Today, we are participating in a historic operation! As a result of our country’s scientists’ continuous research and development of Etherium ore, we have become able to freely manipulate the teleportation of magical disasters! This is a progressive development and a stepping stone to leading the army to victory!”

The sound of artillery fire began to be heard from the front.

It meant that the Allied Nations’ armored division had begun to advance towards the enemy trenches.

“As you know, we will infiltrate the enemy’s rear and strike the headquarters of those moronic imperial soldiers! The imperial army, having lost its headquarters, will surely collapse like dominoes and become a disorganized rabble! Be careful! You might be disgusted by the piss they’re shitting themselves with!”

Small laughter spread among the soldiers at the brigadier general’s joke.

Rapahol, watching those soldiers, suddenly changed his expression and shouted.

“Today! We will show the morons of the empire the power of the Allied Nations! So, all soldiers, fight with conviction! It’s our turn to let the empire’s cowards know that we are achieving a progressive victory! Isn’t that right!”

Sounds of agreement were heard from here and there.

Rapahol, feeling that the soldiers’ morale was at its peak, raised his hand.

“Then let’s show them the terror of the Allied Nations! Begin moving!”

No sooner had Rapahol finished speaking than orders were repeated and officers and soldiers took out refined Etherium ore from their pockets.

They were fragments linked to the Etherium ore of the platoon that had crossed the front line.

As they broke the ore one by one, light flashed here and there.

Rapahol, confirming that the soldiers were disappearing one by one, leaving outlines, also took out ore from his pocket.

Rapahol, infusing magic power into his hand, broke the ore, and a light that seemed to blind the eyes occupied all directions.

*

The place where Rapahol arrived after the light disappeared was a wide canyon.

Moreover, it was located deep in the canyon, so it was a space with limited exits.

As soon as he saw that scenery, Rapahol felt a sense of unease.

‘…What’s going on? I clearly heard that the coordinates were in a place where the enemy headquarters could be visually identified.’

None of this matched the information he had received.

The soldiers who had moved with Rapahol were also equally embarrassed.

“Where’s the enemy headquarters?”

“Where the hell is this?”

“It’s different from what I heard?”

They were just looking around, unaware that they had been deceived.

Even in the midst of that, soldiers continued to enter as the light flashed, so the canyon began to narrow.

Rapahol, watching the agitated soldiers, gave orders as calmly as possible.

“…12th Battalion. First, get out of the canyon and secure a view.”

“Understood!”

It was the moment when the battalion commander, who had received the order, was leading the soldiers and trying to escape using the only exit.

Kwaaaang—

Flames and piles of dirt soared in all directions along with the explosion.

At the same time as the shockwave tore through the air, the soldiers near the explosion point were thrown away.

Dirt and blood swirled in the air and fell, and then the soldiers’ screams soared a beat late.

Amid the ringing in his ears, the 12th Battalion commander, who was in charge of the command, screamed.

“Mines! It’s a minefield! Stop moving! Stop moving!”

Rapahol, who had been crouching with the soldiers, finally came to his senses.

Slowly getting up, Rapahol discovered the 12th Battalion returning in the thick smoke.

Everyone was dumbfounded, and then the sound of a megaphone was heard from somewhere.

─ Ahem. Can you hear me?

The voice amplified from the megaphone pierced through the ringing in his ears.

─ You are currently surrounded. I’ll say it again. You are currently surrounded.

Rapahol, raising his head towards the direction of the voice, was able to discover a man wearing an officer’s uniform standing on the cliff of the canyon.

On both sides of the man, those who appeared to be Grenadiers revealed themselves with rifles aimed.

Even by rough estimate, the number seemed to be at least several hundred.

─ Currently, you will be exposed to shelling with just one word from me. You shouldn’t try to escape. I won’t explain the reason separately. You just experienced it.

As his breathing began to calm down, the smoke that had been spreading through the canyon subsided.

─ So, drop your weapons and surrender. This is the first and last mercy I’m giving you.

Only then was Rapahol able to see.

The Golden Cross Medal on the uniform of the person who was currently holding the megaphone and urging surrender.

‘Daniel Steiner…!’

He was furious at the thought that he had fallen into the trap that the bastard had set.

Rapahol gritted his teeth, but if he didn’t accept that offer now, it would just be a dog’s death.

Rapahol, clenching his fist in resentment, took a deep breath and took out his pistol and threw it on the ground.

He realized that no matter how many possibilities he considered, he couldn’t escape this canyon without Daniel Steiner’s permission.

“…Everyone, surrender.”

“But…”

“Didn’t I tell you to surrender!”

As the brigadier general ordered surrender, the sound of weapons being dropped on the ground was heard from here and there.

It was a feat achieved by Daniel Steiner, the chief of staff of the 7th Division, in one hour after the start of the battle.

Rapahol, soaked in a sense of defeat, looked up at Daniel Steiner and felt extreme helplessness.

‘The Allied Nations is at the forefront of teleportation technology. They have developed a technology that even the empire has not been able to put into practical use. But that man is using the Allied Nations’ technology in reverse, as if he’s mocking us.’

The shouts of the imperial soldiers on the cliff, telling them to drop their weapons and kneel, were heard.

The Allied Nations soldiers, who had been burning with fighting spirit, began to kneel one by one, filled with fear.

Daniel Steiner was looking down indifferently, as if those Allied Nations soldiers were in his grasp.

‘…He’s not happy even though he’s achieved a huge victory.’

As if victory was a matter of course for him.

Seeing that, Rapahol could be sure.

‘Unless Daniel Steiner is killed…’

The Allied Nations will never be able to win.

Author’s words (Author’s afterword)

Thank you for the 30 coin sponsorship, Blue27! I am grateful that you are reading my work! I don’t know what to do with myself because you even sponsored me! I will write hard! Thank you!

I am always grateful to all the readers who read my work!

Then I’ll see you again tomorrow!

Have a happy day today!