chapter_0201

200 – You Want Me to Believe That?

200 – You Want Me to Believe That?

Hearing Dolbap’s declaration of surrender, Daniel initially denied it.

He argued that it could be a deceptive tactic by the enemy’s defense forces and that it should not be taken at face value.

Daniel insisted that they must remain suspicious of Dolbap until the end and ordered the reconnaissance company to secure the main entry points of the city while establishing security.

The reconnaissance company carried out the orders and informed Daniel that there were no traps within the city.

Indeed.

It was not a deceptive tactic; Dolbap had genuinely raised the white flag to Daniel Steiner’s brigade.

Confirming that Dolbap’s surrender was sincere, Daniel led the brigade into the city, heading towards the enemy command while receiving the cold stares of the citizens.

As the brigade vehicles provided escort in front and behind, the armored vehicle Daniel was in came to a stop in front of the command center.

After adjusting his attire upon exiting the armored vehicle, Daniel led a squad composed of Lucy and elite soldiers into the command building.

Inside the building, there were officers of the defense forces dressed in the uniforms of the Allied Nations, but none of them dared to stop Daniel Steiner; they merely bowed their heads.

Glimpsing the defeated expressions on their faces, Daniel walked straight to the command control room.

“Open the door.”

At his command, the soldiers kicked the door open with their military boots.

Bang!

Beyond the wide-open door, the staff members bowed their heads, and Dolbap was seen biting his lip.

Before Daniel could issue any further commands, the soldiers moved orderly into the command control room and aimed their guns at the staff members.

This was to threaten them so they wouldn’t attempt any other tricks.

As Daniel lightly scanned the control room, he slowly advanced.

Clack—

With each sound of his boots, the shoulders of the defense force staff flinched.

Among the staff members who were too afraid to lift their heads, only Dolbap stared at Daniel with a stern expression.

Standing in front of the desk, Daniel opened his mouth, receiving Dolbap’s gaze.

“Colonel Dolbap.”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“How unexpected. I thought you would insist on fighting to the end.”

He wanted to ask why Dolbap had surrendered, but he was trying to phrase it as delicately as possible, aware of the surrounding gazes.

Of course, from Dolbap’s perspective, it felt like a kind of mockery.

“You speak as if I had a choice. The moment you insisted on fighting to the end, you would have turned this city into a sea of flames, wouldn’t you? You wicked devil…!”

Daniel fell silent.

He didn’t know how to respond.

It was a clear misunderstanding, but he couldn’t speak the truth.

After all, there were soldiers of the Empire with their ears wide open in this place.

Moreover, even if he spoke the truth, Dolbap wouldn’t believe him.

As the silence lingered, Dolbap began to sweat.

He felt a kind of intimidation emanating from Daniel’s cold gaze.

Reading Daniel’s intentions from that gaze, Dolbap felt a certain fear and opened his mouth.

“…You seem displeased that we have surrendered. Did you truly intend to turn the city into a sea of flames, Daniel Steiner? Are you really a human like me?”

It was absurd that he was misinterpreting and twisting things in such a way.

Thinking that he couldn’t just leave Dolbap’s mouth unchecked, Daniel looked at him with disdain.

“Is that the end of a loser’s excuses?”

Dolbap’s eyes widened in shock.

Filled with rage, he struggled to suppress the impulse to eliminate the demon before him.

He realized that the one in the dominant position here was none other than Daniel Steiner.

Confirming that Dolbap had quieted down, Daniel turned to Lucy.

“Adjutant. Inform them to immediately seal off the city and secure the infrastructure, as we have captured the enemy commander. Also, there may be organizations within the city that do not recognize the commander’s surrender and resist independently, so conduct a thorough search and deal with them.”

Lucy nodded.

“Understood. Do you have any thoughts regarding the treatment of the commander and staff members here?”

“First, we need to document the terms and scope of the surrender, so I plan to detain them here for now.”

“Then I will convey that.”

Lucy answered respectfully and exited the control room.

As the soldiers continued to aim their guns, Daniel looked at Dolbap.

“Colonel Dolbap. We will soon bring the surrender documents from our side, so it would be wise to cooperate willingly.”

With that, Daniel turned and left the control room.

As the sound of his footsteps began to fade, one of the individuals in the control room quietly spoke up.

“How pitiful.”

It was Dolbap.

“…Daniel Steiner. I genuinely feel pity for you. I know beings like you. Those who find their purpose in life and feel joy only through war.”

Dolbap’s murmurs, now devoid of anger, echoed quietly in the room.

“I want to ask you. Why have you come to hate peace? What on earth have you experienced in the past that makes you act like such a war-crazed person?”

If Daniel had heard this, he would have been indignant enough to burst with anger, but everyone present resonated with Dolbap’s words.

‘The brigade commander does have a penchant for war.’

‘Just look at the total war speech he gave….’

‘I heard he’s an orphan. Could it be that he lost his parents to the Allied Nations?’

Even the soldiers were thinking this.

–

At the same time, in the staff headquarters.

Operation meeting room presided over by Chief of Staff Arman.

“…As you mentioned, the Republic’s advance is fierce, but it is not insurmountable. The 12th Infantry Division has executed a strategic retreat from the first defensive line, moving south by 6 kilometers, but after reorganizing, they launched an assault and regained the first defensive line as of 9 AM today.”

Arman, having heard the report, fell into thought for a moment.

Looking over the documents on the desk, Arman turned to the intelligence officer.

“I heard the Republic is using new artillery. Has the firepower been confirmed?”

“Yes. The new artillery used by the Republic has been identified as medium-caliber towed artillery, but it is not significantly dangerous. Its performance is inferior compared to our standard artillery. However, the Republic is focusing on quantity and repeatedly concentrating fire, so we need to be cautious.”

Having heard the report, Arman felt a sense of relief and nodded.

‘Although the situation is somewhat unfavorable, we are withstanding the enemy’s attack without significant damage. Considering that they usually concentrate firepower at the beginning of a war, we should be able to endure the Republic’s invasion somehow.’

Thanks to knowing in advance about the Republic’s intervention and reallocating personnel on the front lines, they had managed to hold the line.

‘Now the problem is the Federal Nations.’

Currently, the Federal Nations were sitting on their hands, but if they changed their minds and expressed their intent to intervene, the Empire would be in a precarious position.

‘So, as Daniel Steiner said….’

They had to let the world know that the Empire was still standing to prevent the war from spreading.

‘The moment other countries realize that the Empire is in a difficult situation, they will inevitably pounce on it.’

The best course of action now was to showcase the Empire’s strength in any way possible.

‘If Daniel Steiner succeeds in capturing Penbarch….’

It would undoubtedly serve as a catalyst to prevent the war from spreading.

Arman felt a twinge of guilt for placing such a heavy burden on the young officer, but given the urgency of the situation, there was no other choice.

A capable officer was most efficiently utilized on the front lines.

Knock—

As Arman was deep in thought about Penbarch, a knock sounded.

“Chief of Staff! This is the liaison officer from the intelligence office! I have urgent news to share!”

Is it an urgent report? Arman cast his gaze toward the door.

“Come in.”

Upon receiving permission, the door opened, and the liaison officer entered.

The liaison officer stiffened for a moment under the gaze of the Chief of Staff and senior officers but soon regained composure and saluted.

As Arman returned the salute, the liaison officer spoke in a trembling voice.

“I apologize for interrupting the meeting! I came to inform you about Major General Daniel Steiner.”

There was no need for apologies.

It was Arman himself who had prioritized reporting on the occupation of Penbarch.

“If it’s about Major General Daniel, is it a request for support?”

If the enemy was conducting a delaying action targeting reinforcements, even Daniel Steiner would have to endure hardships.

However, the liaison officer delivered an unexpected response.

“No! According to the latest news, Major General Daniel Steiner has captured Penbarch! I came to inform you of this fact!”

Arman was momentarily speechless in shock.

‘He captured Penbarch…?’

The staff members in the meeting room were also looking at the liaison officer with disbelief.

They had thought it would take at least a month to capture Penbarch, yet Daniel Steiner was delivering the news in less than two weeks, so it was only natural to feel bewildered.

After a brief silence, Arman spoke up.

“That’s wonderful news. How many casualties occurred during the engagement?”

“According to the data sent from the brigade, the enemy defense forces suffered near-total casualties in two battalions. On the other hand, our estimated casualties are….”

The liaison officer continued, as if unable to believe it.

“Only 4 killed and 9 wounded.”

The staff members erupted in a commotion.

“That’s an absurd figure. Is this an exaggeration of achievements?”

“Even Major General Daniel Steiner couldn’t….”

“We faced an enemy of regimental size, and we were attacking, not defending. How could this be…?”

The staff members were denying reality, as if they had heard something ridiculous.

Normally, Arman would have scolded the staff and praised Daniel Steiner’s achievements, but this time, he couldn’t help but share the same sentiment as the staff.

“Liaison officer. Just to be sure….”

Arman wore a rare expression of confusion.

“Are you joking with me right now?”

Such was the impact of Daniel Steiner’s achievement.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you to Haedaljoa for the 10 coin support! I will do my best to continue to produce good works! Thank you so much for your support!

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Thank you to Substr for the 10 coin support! Thank you for the congratulations on the 200th chapter! I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying it! As you mentioned, I will diligently carry this through to completion, so please keep watching! Thank you so much for your support!

And thank you to all the readers who are reading this work!

In the rush, we have reached the 200th chapter, and I believe it is thanks to the overwhelming love from the readers that we have come this far.

I will continue to do my best to write an interesting story! See you again tomorrow! Thank you so very much!