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199 – There Is No Way to Escape

199 – There Is No Way to Escape

The outpost commander reported to the battalion commander guarding the warehouse area as soon as he discovered the brigade’s advance.

However, Daniel Steiner’s brigade did not give the battalion commander of the defense forces any time to respond.

Boom─!

The sound of the tank’s cannon echoed through the heavens and the earth.

At the same time, the warehouses and makeshift trenches were destroyed one after another, scattering debris everywhere.

The soldiers of the defense forces, crushed under the rubble, lost their will to fight before their lives.

“How are we supposed to win this…?”

The massive tank emerging through the fog resembled a beast made of iron.

It was spewing fire from its machine gun position, but the bullets could not penetrate the armor of the imperial tank.

Like it was itching, the tank absorbed the bullets and turned its muzzle toward the machine gun position.

The soldier gripping the machine gun let out a sound that was neither a shout nor a scream as he pulled the trigger, but it was futile.

Boom!

The shell struck the machine gun position directly, turning everything to ashes.

Sand exploded from the artillery position, and dark red smoke billowed like flames.

In that horrific scene, soldiers of the empire in black uniforms began to reveal themselves one by one.

They aimed their guns at the defense forces from the spot where the tank had just passed through.

This included the soldiers lying crushed under the debris.

“Ah…”

The soldier looked at the imperial soldier aiming his gun at him and chuckled bitterly.

‘There was never a chance from the start. How could we, like this, defeat the empire’s demons…?’

There was no way to defeat the army led by Daniel Steiner.

–

The battalion commander of the defense forces raised a white flag less than ten minutes after the imperial brigade began its attack.

After all, it was obvious that fighting would only lead to a pointless death, so he raised the white flag to preserve his life.

Accepting the battalion commander’s intention, Daniel ordered his troops to cease fire and occupied the warehouse area.

It was an easy victory.

─ We won again! The Allied Nations are no match for us!

─ Long live the brigade commander! The brigade commander has led us to victory!

─ Hahaha! Look at those Allied bastards wetting their pants! Cowardly little shits!

As the soldiers of the brigade reveled in their victory, Pelf, the intelligence officer, approached Daniel, who was surveying the warehouse area.

“Brigade commander. As expected, the battle was successful.”

Daniel nodded upon spotting Pelf.

“What are the casualties on our side?”

“None at all. The enemy battalion commander surrendered before a proper battle even occurred. Moreover, I observed several times from the side, but your strategies and tactics are astonishing.”

Me? Not knowing what he was talking about, Daniel remained silent, prompting Pelf to continue.

“You waited for the fog to roll in before advancing, didn’t you? I thought the reason you slowed the pace of the advance was to conserve the soldiers’ stamina, but that was just a narrow-minded view.”

Excitement gleamed on Pelf’s face.

“You realized the recent weather was humid and delayed the advance to utilize the fog! Thanks to the fog, the enemy outpost was delayed in spotting our troops, which gave us a significant advantage! Truly, brigade commander, I don’t know how many steps ahead you are thinking!”

That wasn’t it.

Daniel had given the attack order without any thought; it was merely a stroke of luck that the fog had rolled in.

‘Even if I deny it here…’

He figured they would misunderstand, thinking he was being humble, so he decided to let it go.

“Intelligence officer. If your report is finished, go back and have the enemy battalion commander find out the communication frequency of the Penbarch defense command. I need to speak with the defense commander.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Pelf replied energetically and turned to leave.

Daniel exhaled softly as he watched Pelf’s retreating figure.

‘Having broken through the enemy’s defensive line, I must now advance into the city…’

The moment he occupied Penbarch, he would gain excessive trust from the chief of staff.

He was already worried about what orders he would give next.

As Daniel pondered whether there was another way, he rested his chin on his hand.

‘Perhaps…’

There might still be one opportunity left.

‘If I provoke the Penbarch defense commander through communication…’

The defense commander might insist on a last-ditch effort and engage in urban warfare.

If the citizens of Penbarch joined in, it would be possible to order a retreat under the pretext of “it’s hard to break through the resistance.”

Just as Daniel was seriously considering this issue.

“I don’t know. Why…?”

His low muttering broke his train of thought.

Looking up, Daniel saw Lucy standing not far away.

Lucy was gazing at the location of Penbarch with a somewhat strained expression.

The distance had now closed enough to be visually identifiable.

After a moment of silence, Daniel walked over to Lucy.

“Lieutenant.”

Startled, Lucy turned around as Daniel approached.

“…Brigade commander.”

As Lucy bowed her head, an unfamiliar fear emanated from her, unlike her usual demeanor.

‘It can’t be fear of me…’

It was reasonable to assume that it was an emotion related to the city of Penbarch.

Not knowing what to say, Daniel carefully chose his words and spoke.

“Have you ever been here? Or do you know anything about that city?”

Daniel tried to gauge her thoughts, but Lucy shook her head.

“It’s my first time here, and it’s a city I’ve never seen before.”

“Your expression doesn’t seem to reflect that.”

“I’m not lying to you, brigade commander. I really don’t know this place. However…”

Lucy lifted her head and turned her gaze back to the city.

“The closer I get to that city, the more I feel an inexplicable discomfort…”

As if she didn’t want to say more, Lucy clenched her fist tightly.

Watching her, Daniel followed her gaze toward the city.

“I won’t pry further into the reason. However, if you truly don’t want to enter that city, you can speak honestly. I have enough power to indulge your whims.”

He was subtly suggesting that he was reluctant to occupy the city because of the chief of staff, so perhaps they could cooperate.

However, Lucy took Daniel’s words as kind consideration and shook her head.

“I appreciate the kindness, but I must decline. I’m not sure why I feel this way, but…”

Looking back at Daniel, Lucy offered a faint smile.

“I think it will be okay as long as I’m with you, brigade commander.”

Though it was a smile that seemed ready to vanish at any moment, Lucy’s smile, which considered others, was truly beautiful.

As Daniel fell silent for a while, Lucy blinked her red eyes in confusion.

“…Brigade commander?”

Finally coming to his senses, Daniel cleared his throat and shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

Lucy nodded slightly at his words and turned her gaze back to the city.

A cool breeze blew in from somewhere, brushing against both of their faces.

In the stillness, Lucy became aware of Daniel’s presence.

Perhaps it was because there was someone beside her who wanted to understand her pain.

‘For some reason…’

Even though she was looking at the city now, she didn’t feel uncomfortable.

–

Meanwhile, at the command and control center of the Penbarch defense command.

“Sir! The enemy brigade has bypassed our troops and attacked the southeastern warehouse area! The defensive line has been breached!”

An officer in charge of communication burst through the door and delivered the urgent news during the operational meeting.

At the news of the breach, the operations officer in the command and control center, who had been frozen in shock, finally spoke.

“…They attacked the southeastern warehouse area? That’s not the expected route, is it?”

“It seems that the battalion sent to conduct an ambush was captured by the enemy. They must have obtained information from Colonel Venthal.”

“What? Even so, does that mean Colonel Venthal spilled all our defense secrets just one day after being captured?”

The hardened man could hardly believe the news, and the staff in the control room fell into chaos.

Among them, the most confused was naturally Dolbap, the defense commander.

‘How…’

How did Daniel Steiner manage to figure out all of our operations and respond accordingly?

Even after giving up the bridge and designing the defensive line, Daniel Steiner was continuing to pick us apart as if he could see everything.

As Dolbap, soaked in despair, pressed his forehead, the operations officer shouted.

“Sir! If Daniel Steiner has occupied the warehouse area, advancing into the city is only a matter of time! You must order the main forces on the defensive line to retreat…”

“What difference does ordering a retreat make? From the warehouse area to the city is flat ground! It’s said that Daniel Steiner will reach the city faster!”

“Are you saying we should just sit back and do nothing!?”

“If this report is true, the number of personnel captured or killed by the enemy exceeds 800! Can we even stop the enemy brigade with the remaining troops?”

“That’s not wrong! Moreover, the enemy will enter the city before we do!”

As the staff began to argue back and forth, the control room descended into chaos.

While everyone insisted their opinions were correct, Dolbap bit his lip in frustration.

Feeling a headache coming on, Dolbap slammed his thick fist down on the table.

Only then did the staff quiet down and turn to Dolbap.

“Everyone shut up. The report isn’t finished yet. Communications officer.”

The designated communications officer spoke up, tense.

“Yes! Defense commander!”

“When will the reinforcements from central command arrive?”

“…We’ve received orders to hold out for another week.”

A murmur spread among the staff.

A week was more than enough time for Daniel Steiner to ravage the city.

Dolbap took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“What does Daniel Steiner want from us?”

He was asking whether there had been any communication from Daniel Steiner.

After a brief hesitation, the communications officer spoke.

“Daniel Steiner said…”

Despair clouded the communications officer’s face.

“He stated that if we do not surrender, he will lead us to death one by one. He also added that he would recognize any citizens joining the defense forces as enemies and kill them, so if we intend to oppose the empire, we should brace ourselves. Furthermore, he said this is the first and last warning.”

A heavy silence descended upon the control room.

They all knew that the words of Daniel Steiner, the empire’s demon, were not mere threats.

“He’s saying he will attack even the citizens… our citizens.”

The foreboding of Daniel Steiner’s heinous actions weighed heavily on them.

It felt as if the screams of the citizens echoed in their ears.

“The defense forces must not use the citizens as shields. That cannot happen…”

Dolbap, who had quietly sobbed, bowed his head before the staff.

He could not raise his head to voice an opinion.

“Convey to Daniel Steiner that the defense commander acknowledges defeat and surrenders…”

Dolbap, biting his lip, spat out the words in frustration.

“Penbarch is now yours…!”