“Did you really succeed?”
At the supervisor’s words, Rachel gave a somewhat surprised expression.
She came with the news that the 3rd Battalion, led by Jang, had succeeded in cutting off the enemy’s supply route.
It was said that they slaughtered the entire supply team and even brought back the supply goods.
“Did the commander really know everything?”
The supervisor, as if seeing something marvelous, furrowed his brow and asked me.
Though I used game information, a kind of cheat device, there was no reason not to use what I knew.
Otherwise, I’d be dead, wouldn’t I?!
“As I thought.”
I spoke sternly at first.
The supervisor, perhaps feeling a shiver down his spine, muttered in awe and suddenly took a salute posture.
There was no longer any trace of doubt in his eyes.
I smiled and returned the salute, and the supervisor hurriedly moved off to do his job.
“Alright, shall we start now?”
As I got up from my seat, Rachel just blinked and stared at me.
She still looked like she couldn’t believe it.
“Deputy Commander, tell the 1st Battalion to lure the enemy to follow by using just a white soldier, and tell the 3rd Battalion to follow the enemy they’ve lured to the place I specify.”
“Where exactly are we going?”
Heh, this guy.
Did he forget what he had personally arranged?
“Why do you think I built that stone wall, Deputy Commander Lockhart?”
Rachel’s eyes widened.
Haiman looked back.
The faces of the soldiers marching were filled with despair.
The determined expressions they had shown before departure had long disappeared.
Though it seemed like he was analyzing objectively, Haiman’s own spirit was more crushed than anyone else’s.
The army of Stral Rent was famous for being lazy and lacking competent strategists.
And he thought this tendency was proven during the last battle.
‘But how could this happen…!’
Furthermore, the most dreadful thing was that the supply team, which should have arrived a long time ago, had still not shown up.
Haiman himself had no particular interest in eating, so he had some leftover food, but the other soldiers did not.
Thud.
As he recalled this fact, he heard the sound of someone collapsing in line.
It was a signal of despair.
“Commander, it seems we need to retreat for a moment.”
The acting commander of the legion spoke to Haiman.
The condition of the soldiers was at its worst.
None of them had a proper look in their eyes, and the only strength they had was from the food Haiman and some officers had left behind.
“Commander!”
The outcome of this war was also important.
If they lost this battle, the military image of Phillips that had been built up so far would likely be destroyed.
However, that didn’t mean that innocent lives had to be sacrificed.
At that point, the supervisor strongly expressed his opinion to Haiman.
“Don’t be ridiculous, we’ve come this far and now you want to retreat? Do you know what you’ll hear when you go back?!”
Upon hearing those words, the supervisor felt a lump in his throat.
Until now, Haiman had seemed to move the army for honor.
But now it was clear.
Haiman, too, had been acting for his own greed and power.
That meant the rumor circulating inside Phillips about Haiman’s abuse of soldiers also had some plausibility.
The supervisor swallowed the rising bile with difficulty.
Swoosh.
Suddenly, the sound of bushes rustling nearby was heard.
At that sound, the march halted in unison.
The tension was palpable.
Could it be an enemy attack at such a desperate moment?
Haiman and the supervisor lowered their stances and turned their heads toward the direction of the sound.
Fear of death had arrived on Haiman’s face.
Swoosh!
Finally, the enemy appeared.
The moment Haiman saw them, he felt a sense of absurdity.
The remaining forces in his legion were about 1,000 soldiers.
Even this number was far from enough to fight against the enemy’s legion.
But the number of enemies that had appeared now was…
It seemed to be less than 100.
“What, what is this?! Why are there still so many of them left?!”
“Damn, the plan’s gone awry! We need to retreat immediately!”
They shouted these decisive words and with expressions of despair, they fled without even looking back.
The supervisor was about to tell Haiman not to be fooled, but…
“Ha, haha! Those bugs! They tried to eat us but ended up dying instead! Men! Charge immediately!”
Haiman had already shouted those words and gave orders to his subordinates.
He too was already in a state of mental exhaustion due to prolonged hunger.
“Ahhhhh!”
Now that they thought they could return, the soldiers of the legion all chased after the enemy.
When Phillips’ soldiers arrived, Stral Rent’s soldiers screamed and fled.
Some were even crying.
“Right, Stral Rent could never be this intelligent! I’ll kill them all right now.”
Haiman felt a sense of release as the lump inside him disappeared and thought of thoroughly taking revenge on the Stral Rent bastards who had caused him so much trouble.
He would never let them go easily.
Just then.
“As the commander said! Surround them immediately!”
A voice rang out behind Haiman, sounding as though it could pierce the sky.
Haiman sensed an uneasy feeling and turned around. He saw a group dressed in the same uniform as the 100 or so enemies he was chasing.
The narrow path made it impossible to count their numbers.
But one thing was certain: it was not a small number.
That’s right.
They were surrounded.
“Damn it! Break through the front and get out of the encirclement!”
Haiman urgently gave orders and quickly moved forward.
But he couldn’t catch up to the troops that were fleeing ahead.
They were the 2nd White Battalion under Gerald, known for being the best at mountain climbing, a fact that Haiman’s legion didn’t know.
Just as the long chase continued…
“Everyone! Spread out!”
The units chasing them suddenly stopped in place, maintaining a certain distance without moving any further.
Not only that, but the 100 soldiers fleeing ahead had lost their frightened expressions and were now facing them with solemn looks.
“These damn bastards…!”
Heiman’s patience hit rock bottom, and just as he was about to give the order to crush them…
Boom.
A strange sound echoed from somewhere.
At first, he thought it was just the sound of rocks falling somewhere, as this was a mountainous area.
If that were the case, the noise should have stopped quickly, but instead, it only grew louder.
It was only then that Haiman sensed something was wrong, but with the enemy forces surrounding them from both the front and back, escape was impossible.
Haiman turned his gaze toward the direction of the sound.
A landslide.
That was the only way to describe the massive boulders and logs tumbling down.
“Ugh!”
Haiman instinctively threw himself aside to avoid being caught in it.
But his soldiers, exhausted from hunger, had no way of escaping the landslide’s reach.
“What… What is that?!”
“No, no! Aaaahhh!”
His soldiers were swallowed by the landslide in an instant.
All that remained in their place was the newly transformed landscape.
“H-Hiiik.”
The soldiers who had managed to avoid the landslide recoiled in terror.
Only around 200 of them were left.
Haiman thought to himself.
With just this many, there was nothing they could do anymore.
Bwooo—
A horn sounded in the distance.
‘Ah… Dear god…’
Haiman realized too late—
That those fewer than 100 men had only been a diversion to bait his weary troops.
And that Strallent’s forces weren’t just the ones pursuing them from behind—there were many more left.
Thud.
The sound of something leaping toward him reached his ears.
Haiman turned his head in that direction.
A red cape.
A breastplate shaped to mimic muscle.
And a young man with an utterly serious expression.
The moment Haiman realized that this was the commander of the enemy legion—
His head flew into the air.
The commander of Philips’ army wore a look of utter despair before his head was severed.
Leo Branzilte felt a slight pang of unease, but his body had long grown accustomed to such things.
In the end, beheading the enemy leader meant only one thing.
“We have won.”
Gerald, who had been leading the troops and finishing off the remaining Philips soldiers, approached with a satisfied smile and saluted.
“Great Commander, you have done well.”
“Haha… Great, you say…”
“The chances of victory in this war were close to zero. I am in no position to say this, but… The moment I saw you, Commander Leo, I realized it. Unlike the previous generations who indulged in luxury, you are a true commander.”
Gerald knelt once more and bowed his head.
“Thank you for leading us to victory. I will continue to serve you with loyalty.”
Hmm.
It was a nice sentiment, but I wasn’t sure if I deserved such praise while lying flat on the ground like this.
For now, I responded with a dry chuckle and sent Gerald away.
Now… What should I do next?
To be honest, I had volunteered to take down the enemy commander myself.
A leader who does nothing but issue orders would lose the trust of his men, after all.
But before I ended up in this body, the only thing I had ever shot was a gun a few times.
There was no way I could properly wield a sword.
So I had opted to use weight, not strength—attacking from above to bring him down.
‘…I think I pulled a muscle in my back.’
At least it didn’t seem broken.
Even when I tensed my back, the pain wasn’t unbearable.
Considering Leo Branzilte’s physique, my body must have simply been shocked by the sudden intense movement.
Since this was a world where magic existed, I could probably get it fixed quickly if I just made it to the medical unit.
“Urgh.”
…But I think I pulled a rib muscle too.
As I tried to stand, a jolt of pain shot through my entire back like an electric shock, making me groan.
I needed to get up quickly.
“Commander.”
At that moment, a sharp yet gentle female voice reached my ears.
I turned my head slightly and saw Rachel standing there.
“Oh, uh… Vice Commander. You did well.”
“…Why are you lying there like that?”
“No, no! This is, how should I put it—ah, right! I was just savoring the moment.
This is my first battle as commander, and I personally secured our victory.
Isn’t it natural to take a moment to bask in the glory?”
“…You injured your back, didn’t you?”
Thump.
Her words hit me like a brick.
My whole body flinched, but I stubbornly pretended otherwise.
“Haha, what are you talking about? I’m merely lying here, lost in the moment.”
“Then, why don’t you try standing up right now?”
Rachel’s piercing gaze locked onto mine.
A silent staring contest.
But I quickly realized—this was a fight I couldn’t win unless I stood up.
Feeling the heat rise in my face, I lowered my head.
“…Carry me.”
“Fufu.”
A strange chuckle escaped Rachel’s lips.
…Somehow, I felt like my dignity as a commander had crumbled just a little.