NOVEL NEXT chapter 36
36 – Summer Offensive
“Thank God. Leah. You are safe.”
Erwin, covered in dust and blood, lets out a sigh of relief.
It’s not a stupid thing to say. It seems that I encountered another enemy on the way back.
It’s a bit odd that someone like that looks at me and says I’m fine.
“What is the situation?”
“It’s a mess. The enemies are frantically pulling up the frontlines, so I can’t even tell who is friend and foe right now. It seems that there are some remaining troops that have fallen behind or have not been able to recover yet….”
“First, drink some water. Ruler.”
Erwin, who was about to drink water by grabbing the canteen I held out, suddenly stops with a pop.
I don’t think you’re worrying about poisoning. Why are you doing that?
“Drinking water… Shouldn’t it be saved?”
“Don’t worry about that. I have prepared something for you since you came.”
Every time I made a camp after going out, I gathered as many supplies as possible.
And I gathered those materials where they could be used at any time and hid them appropriately.
Is it like a kind of base camp? It was fortunate that there were soldiers who knew geography well.
As I explained the process, Erwin seemed a bit relieved.
Because they were swinging around, they probably couldn’t properly pack their supplies.
“Thanks to that, even Lihi and I have been carrying this much luggage since we set off.”
Arr grumbles and glares at me as if rebuking me.
The person himself said, ‘I have to bring even a little more!’ And even cut down on my clothes!
Thanks to that, the top Ar is wearing is mine. Big hum.
“There are two supply camps set up around here. As long as the enemies don’t aim for this place, there won’t be any big problems. Of course, it shouldn’t be here for a thousand years.”
“Yes. If you do this, you might end up on a boat in the open sea.”
Erwin, who drank all the water they gave him, gritted his teeth.
“I didn’t know that Köni would come in without a second thought.”
Ar and Enter nodded their heads in agreement with Erwin’s words.
The reason why his father, his older brother, and the imperial army had to be pushed away so easily.
This big offensive is beyond the realm of understanding. If you’re sane, you can’t do this.
An all-out assault across all fronts? Stabilize the rear by pushing the front line overwhelmingly?
It’s fortunate if it works. If it goes literally. I’ll probably be able to pull off a breakneck.
But what if you get stuck? All of Königssen’s capabilities are literally being ground away.
Why did the Empire and Königsen fight so tediously? This is because there is no decisive room for each other.
It was because of the thought that if the counter hits properly while doing that, the country will be ruined.
Thus, recently, even if we fight on a large scale, each other’s troops have never exceeded 100,000.
But this time it’s different. As far as I know, they pour hundreds of thousands into this offensive.
An all-out assault across all fronts. It was Königssen’s final offensive, literally risking life and death.
“Are they crazy? After pouring it all out, what are you going to do next?”
“Something must have happened inside. I can’t procrastinate anymore, or something.”
Those bastards didn’t look back anymore. They poured out everything they had.
From the outside world, it would be an arrangement for Erwin, the ‘main character’.
And looking inside… As expected, Königssen must have strongly insisted on such an offensive.
“No, Lihi. No matter how much you do, you can’t even guarantee victory, so does it make sense that this kind of opinion comes out from within? There must have been objections.”
“That, are. The world moves more madly than reason.”
It’s so funny to be human. When faced with a crisis, think in a direction that is comfortable for you.
Should we call it a happy circuit? Or self-justification? Or is it an escape from reality?
Anyway, I only think of things that will work out unconditionally as a result of that.
On the other hand, the possibility of something going wrong… Erase it from your mind in the first place.
From my point of view, I could see that the Königssen guys are in just such a situation.
It’s a wave. After a few hits, a fleeting wave that will sink into my pool.
But when you think about getting swept up in it, you can’t just look at it easily.
No matter how many times you hit it, you will drown once you get swept away by the waves.
“For now, this area is safe. The enemies are also concentrating on raising the front line as much as possible. The patrol is also running nearby, so it will be time to rest for a while.”
“But….”
“Of course I can’t stay here all the time. What I’m waiting for is to gather even a little more of our scattered soldiers. If you’re lucky, you might meet someone who hasn’t retreated yet.”
At my words, Erwin nodded his head saying that was correct.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever had anything like this.”
After leaving the meeting, Erwin puts a cigarette in his mouth and mumbles.
“I’ve been through a few battles, big and small, but I’ve never lost as badly as this.”
“Don’t take it to heart. Winning and losing is a very natural thing in a fight.”
“I hope my dead comrades think that way too.”
Erwin’s hand shaking the cigarette. He can’t even light a fire.
If you just look at that and go over it, you’re out of your mind. Son of a b*tch, what’s up
“Something happened. What. What’s the matter.”
“….”
“You are our company commander, Erwin. If we don’t come to our senses, we will all die.”
Either you groan about it, or you just forget about it.
Even when I told him to choose between the two, Erwin only tinkered with his cigarette.
“The battalion commander is dead.”
“… I’m sorry.”
“He was the one who looked after me since I was a soldier. He was a really nice guy.”
Erwin, who broke the cigarette she was holding, held her face.
“The people who came with me a moment ago belong to another company. It’s all broken and scattered and scattered all over the place. How could this be? We are the Empire’s best spear, the 1st Cavalry Division.”
“Erwin.”
“I was too complacent. Now I thought it was a paper tiger. I had to keep my mind straight. Even if they were all veterans and child soldiers, I had to fight with my eyes wide open. Because I can’t… Knock off.”
A blow to the back plate causes Erwin to collapse.
Um, did I hit you too hard? His hands are all numb.
“Did you forget everything I said earlier? They said they risked their lives too. I bet all my stake and came up. Still, it’s strange if it’s easy. If they were really like that, the fact that the empire struggled in the past is an insult to the fallen warriors, an insult. Okay?”
I keep thinking about the victories of not too long ago and forget about them.
Those Königssen’s are places that almost destroyed our empire decades ago.
It’s not that we just collapsed helplessly because we were caught off guard by strange people.
If you can’t come to your senses, you have to go into the reason injector with tears in your eyes.
How? No big deal. You’ll just have to beat it until you come to your senses.
“… Okay. You’re right, Leah. You need to get your mind right. To give those Königssen a shot.”
Did you not want to get hit? Fortunately, Erwin quickly came to his senses.
I almost turned him into a future war hero panda bear before he could even fight.
“How many troops have you collected so far?”
“If you look at the numbers alone, they are almost above the company level, but everyone has different affiliations.”
“If that happens, there may be confusion….”
“So, even those who were still there were all ground up and reorganized. Seeing that, even though the companies are different, they know each other, so even if they were immediately put into operation, they would not get lost in each other.”
“Huh?”
“They didn’t rush to fill the vacant positions, but let them do what they were doing.”
“… That must have been quite a headache.”
Of course my head hurt. The situation was hectic, but it seemed like it would break apart when the organization was reorganized.
As expected, the hardest part of work is people-related work, so I think that’s right.
But I volunteered to come to this dangerous place just to do this for you.
Then you have to do it faster and better than anyone else. Jjambab from the Department of Public Administration is good at times like these.
“And now, more than half of the warhorses left here are injured children. Nearly half of them are barely surviving. If you send me into battle, I will definitely die.”
“Even relatively light warhorses are a problem. The wound won’t heal, it’ll only get worse….”
“Ah. I have some medicines I brought with me to use on the horses. Don’t worry, those who have just been cut and stabbed will be able to move quickly if they take a day or two off.”
At my words, Erwin suddenly looks at me with strange eyes. Why. Why do you look at me like that
“Wasn’t it just to learn the atmosphere of the site for about a month before going?”
“Isn’t it?”
“But looking at the preparation, no matter how you look at it….”
“I also have news. I prepared little by little because I thought it would feel a little strange.”
If the situation had been a little better, if this place had been in the rear, more support would have been possible.
Unfortunately, this is all I can do for Erwin right now.
To fill the troops as much as possible so that he can command.
Take care of injured horses and somehow prepare them for use in battle.
As a bonus, the problem of drinking water shortage and forage have been solved to some extent.
The only thing left now is for Erwin to follow the original flow and overcome this difficulty well.
No. Was she not on the level of getting through, just smashing it?
“Your turn, Erwin. After all, you’re not going to say, ‘Let’s find a way to live,’ right?”
Königsen is also busy. If you slow down the attack speed, the empire will immediately go into reorganization and counterattack soon.
Those who do not look at the long-term battle will surely become impatient and pay less attention to the rear.
“Sounds natural.”
Erwin grinned and began to explain her future plans for the operation.
It was the moment when Königssen’s most feared nightmare awakened.