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*Disclaimer: Please don’t post this chapter in novelupdates since I don’t want to mislead other translators.

Chapter 22

—

Our concept of war changed on that day.

In modern wars you wait in the trenches in fear of magic attacks that might come raining at any time, seeing which side endures the most.

The enemy commander, Sylph Nova, said something like that was mere child’s play.

Looking back at it, the Sylph Offensive was without doubt the ‘correct answer to winning the war’ of the West Front.

You could say there was no other strategy to break through the warfront.

Firearms were just developed at that time. Both countries were still in the stage of fumbling around to find the most efficient way to manage those way too vicious weapons.

It is exactly because both sides understood the power of guns and feared them that they couldn’t take a step into bold strategies.

That’s why her strategy stabbed deep.

The plan of this young genius of the Federation to break through from several points at the same time was a revolutionary strategy that greatly overturned the common sense of trench battles until now.

This idea that is completely opposite to the mainstream strategy of that time had shown a surprise factor beyond the norms.

The result was that the warfront that had both armies in a stalemate for 10 years had been broken through in 1 day.

This strategy that accelerated the stage for good or for bad would be modified in a variety of ways, and would become an established tactic in the postwar and the trench wars.

That’s how revolutionary that strategy was at that time.

And so, us from the Gaback Platoon had fallen into a precarious situation never seen before.

“Captain, enemies are behind—!!”

“…”

A few hours after the battle began, the friendly troops from both sides had already been wiped out, and we had been completely isolated.

I have somehow survived with the superhuman battle power of the captain, but wounded and casualties have begun to show up within the platoon.

In this situation where there’s enemies from all directions swarming at them, they are destined to be wiped out no matter how outstanding the unit is.

Even Captain Gaback might have been prepared for death.

“Kill, ravish, trample them. Vent your grudges.”

The enemy soldiers at that time were showing fearsome spirit as they blitzed their way.

They trampled onto the land of Austin with outstanding momentum, and they were destroying our bases like starving beasts.

They have had their comrades killed just like how our comrade in arms were killed by Sabat soldiers.

They were persistently giving chase with the hatred of having their friends and comrades in arms killed.

“Why are headquarters not giving any orders?!”

“Just how long do we have to fight?!”

Even though we were in such an emergency, the headquarters of Austin were not moving as if they were statues.

They were overwhelmed by the invasion speed of Sabat that far outmatched what they anticipated. Information was growing complicated and functions of the headquarters had been paralyzed.

In that case, saying ‘There’s nothing strange on all lines. The reports about all frontlines having been broken through urging for retreat is fake information’ to spread false info to the enemy sounds more realistic.

The command center that is set at the back couldn’t see through the fake information of the enemy.

“Are they telling us to die like this?!”

On this day, the soldiers at the frontlines didn’t get any orders for more than 24 hours.

The result is that many soldiers of Austin ended up either being killed or taken prisoner without being able to retreat or move.

We of the Gaback Platoon were given the order to retreat within this confusion after 5 hours of the battle beginning.

Major Renvel, who is the commander of our front, gave the order to retreat without the approval of headquarters.

This was evaluated highly afterwards, but at that time, it would only look cowardly and would be judged by martial law.

I managed to survive thanks to this decisive judgment.

That said, it took 5 hours to give the order to retreat.

You could tell that this decision came from long deliberation from Major Renvel.

And then, in those 5 hours, the enemy was already invading the borders of the country to block our escape route.

In the time we were stuck in the trenches of the frontlines, the neighboring settlements were already being assailed.

 

The only method left for the Gaback Platoon to survive in this predicament was to run single-mindedly.

“If we get through the invasion line of the enemy, it will be safe. We are running without a care. Everyone who can’t keep up will be left behind.”

The captain said this, stood at the front, drew his sword, and began to rush onwards like he usually does.

There’s a plain with pitch black ground surrounding the trench.

There’s no obstacles around. Just a few storehouses here and there.

“We will run towards the forest limits first. We would eventually die if we were to run around the plains after all.”

The plains that have become the battlefield of the West Front stretch out for more than 10 km behind the trenches.

In other words, we would need to run for 10 km while being rained by bullets.

“Don’t fight the enemies yourselves. If you have the time to stop and shoot your gun, run.” (Gaback)

“Understood.”

“Give up if you are shot. We will abandon you and run.” (Gaback)

Gaback gave his orders briefly.

I feel like the captain glared at me and Rodley-kun for an instant.

Those words must have been directed at us who have the bad habit of reflexively helping our comrades.

“If we are not going to confront them, should we throw away our guns and that stuff?” (Verdy)

“Idiot. Don’t drop your luggage. We won’t be able to resupply from here on.” (Gaback)

Captain Gaback scolded Corporal Verdy.

We only have enough ammunition to do one battle.

He probably isn’t giving permission to fight back to avoid pointless battles.

“Understand that the luggage on your back is our lifeline.” (Gaback)

Ammunition will be scarce from here on.

If we end up in a situation where we have to break through enemy lines, we would require bullets and grenades or we wouldn’t be able to do anything.

That’s why we need to save them.

“We advance in the direction where there’s less enemies. Aren, you take the lead.” (Gaback)

“Yes sir.” (Aren)

He might have also judged that if we were to confront them, we would stand out and it would be easier to shoot us.

We just have to pray not to get sniped by the enemies while running stealthily.

This is how the curtains of the Gaback Platoon’s hell marathon rose.

 

The Sylph Offensive happened around the beginning of autumn.

We were marching in this hellscape while fearing the flying bullets as a pleasant cool breeze blew past.

It is impossible for us to stop our feet in the plains where there’s good vision. We simply continued running the first day we retreated.

We tried to avoid the settlements nearby with the guidance of Aren-san, so we fortunately didn’t encounter many enemies.

Most of the enemy soldiers were heading over to the military bases and neighboring settlements to capture them.

In the end, what we encountered sporadically in our retreat were scout units that were patrolling.

“Don’t get too far from my back.” (Gaback)

“Roger!”

The [Shield] of Captain Gaback was truly useful in the middle of our escape.

The [Shield] of the captain was different from my flimsy one. It is a sturdy shield that can deflect bullets.

I trained for around half a year and have become somewhat better, but I still haven’t reached the level of sturdiness from the [Shield] of the captain.

“…Touri!”

But even if it is the captain, there’s a limit to what he can do.

Even if he has a sturdy shield, even the captain wouldn’t be able to block an explosive projectile.

And so, Aren-san who is normally a scout is doing countermeasures for the explosive projectiles, but…

“Understood. [Wind Cannon]!”

Aren-san is currently at the front, so I am now in charge of shooting down the explosive projectiles.

This Wind Cannon spell can actually be shot easily with mana and a magic tool called a wind gun.

A wind gun is starter equipment for a scout, and it is provided to a 1st class footsoldier that has mana as well.

A medic like me normally doesn’t get provided weapons, but…

— “Hmph, train as a scout too. There’s no harm in it.”

I would be power harassed by the captain in that fashion as usual, and was taught how to use a wind gun by Aren-senpai.

That’s how, thanks to my already wide field of vision and reaction speed, I managed to get a score that was just below that of Aren-san when it came to anti-projectiles training.

I have a lot of bad memories about grenades.

I might have become more sensitive to explosive projectiles thanks to those experiences.

These results were evaluated highly, and I was provided a wind gun under the request of the captain.

I also ended up being responsible for the grenades because of this to some degree.

To be honest here, I wanted actual bullets for times when I needed them though.

I unfortunately didn’t get permission to carry a gun.

The reason was because it went against the military discipline that a medic must not do combat.

As for why there’s such a rule, it goes all the way back to the era of cavalry battles.

Cavalry with guns would rarely be fatally injured because of their defense, and were called the strongest branch of the army.

A general was apparently planning to create an immortal army by only training the users of healing magic as armed cavalry.

But the result was terrible.

There were a lot of people who were non-aggressive within the healers, on top of them not being used to the battlefield, so they would get easily caught in traps and would get buried alive.

The result of that was that they lost all of the healers that were rare even at that time, and suffered an extreme defeat.

I heard that headquarters prohibited medics from fighting since then.

I am not allowed to carry a gun because of the influence of that era.

But the wind gun is just a magic tool that allows you to shoot out wind. Its main purpose is to intercept explosive projectiles. It is technically classified as armor.

It has the shape of a gun, but there have been precedents of being provided to medics in the defense force, so there’s apparently no issues with me having one.

I was given a wind gun due to this.

By the way, the wind gun has no killing power. It only blows a strong wind.

If shot at close range, it has enough power to at least break the posture of the enemy.

If you are going out of your way to shoot a wind gun at your enemy, it would be a hundred times stronger to just shoot actual bullets.

 

And so, we dealt with the explosive projectiles and bullets that flew at us every now and then, and headed to the forest that is located southeast of the West Front.

The result of running as if our lives depended on it was that the sun had sunk a long time ago by the time we entered the forest.

We can finally take a breather here.

There’s no worry of being sniped in the forest, and even if we encounter enemies, Captain Gaback is invincible in close combat, so he will be able to do something about it.

“Captain Gaback, about the casualties report…”

“Only 2 people. We did well.” (Gaback)

But there were 2 from the Gaback Platoon that fell before we reached the forest.

1 of them poked their head out carelessly in the trenches and had their brain blown out.

The other one got way too far from the [Shield] of the captain, and got sniped.

Those 2 were our juniors. They were assigned to our platoon to replenish our numbers a few months ago.

There was no actual combat in these few months, so this retreat was technically their first campaign.

For new recruits that were dispatched just recently, it is said that the easiest time to lose their lives is in their first campaign.

Their first campaign being this rough can only be called unfortunate.

 

But you could also say that we managed to only have those 2 rookies as our casualties.

It is thanks to Aren-senpai skillfully leading our unit to places where there were few enemies.

“I don’t see the shadows of enemies anymore.”

The march continued for a while more after running into the forest, but we stopped encountering enemies in its entirety.

We were wary of enemies waiting to ambush us inside the forest, but it ended as an unnecessary worry.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s anyone chasing after us inside the forest.”

“It is a winning war. I doubt there’s anyone who wants to go out of their way to die.”

There’s little reason for the enemy to go out of their way to chase inside a forest.

A guerrilla battle in the forest still has a chance of winning with the few remaining forces of Austin.

They would get far more accomplishments from capturing a facility somewhere or destroying them instead of putting themselves in danger and finishing escaping soldiers.

That’s a good thing for us who are escaping.

“…What should we do from here on, Captain-dono?”

“We go straight through the forest and head towards Mashdale.” (Gaback)

The captain has designated Mashdale as the destination.

That town is the relay point of the supplies in the West Front, and it is also a fortress town, so it is perfect for a defense battle.

It is also a neighboring town of my hometown, Noel.

“Mashdale has an abundant amount of war supplies stored. I think it is most likely the number one place they would target.”

“Major Renvel ordered all hands to head to Mashdale. The major has most likely retreated there.”

The enemy soldiers are also fully aware that Mashdale is plentiful in supplies.

The Sabat soldiers will most definitely push their way to that place.

“What do we do if it is already a sea of fire by the time we arrive?”

“Mashdale won’t fall before we arrive. They have to resupply their ammunition just like how we have a limit to our bullets.”

“I see.”

“It is a fight against time. In other words, the major is ordering us to go to Mashdale before it falls and fight.”

There’s around 40-50 km from the West Front to Mashdale.

A soldier would be able to reach it in 2 days if they run. But if we are advancing through the forest while being wary of enemies, I feel like it would take time.

Even if so, the advance of the enemy should be slower than us.

The enemy has to secure a supply line as well, and they have to be wary of the surroundings as they capture the locations. It is completely different from us who just have to run away.

Even if they were to ignore the resupplying and march on, it would take at least 4-5 days. They would most likely take around 1 week normally.

We should be able to arrive first to Mashdale within 1 week even if it is inside a forest.

“The food and water in the middle of our retreat…”

“Procure it in the forest.”

“…Right.”

The problem is that humans can’t move without water.

I at least have table salt water for menstruation inside my rucksack though…

But we are not prepared to march for a few days.

“Don’t worry. Humans won’t die without eating and drinking for 2-3 days, Corporal.”

“No, lacking hydration is… There’s the risk of dying from a heatstroke.”

Corporal Verdy must have reassessed the situation after taking a breather in the forest, his face was pale white.

We only have a rucksack worth of the important stuff like ammunition, food, and water.

Thanks to the trench defense battle that took 5 hours, we only have little ammunition left.

We have to march through the forest that has animals and insects in that state.

“We have no choice but to pray we find a river or a well of water.”

“…”

“Ah, don’t throw away your pee. You can apparently drink it.”

“…”

The enemies in the battlefield are not only exclusive to soldiers with guns.

The weather, terrain, animals, insects, hunger, thirst; all kinds of things will direct their fangs at us.

From this day on when the Sylph Offensive has begun, we will have to fight these powerful enemies.

“Aren, I will leave the guiding to you.” (Gaback)

“Yes, Captain-dono.” (Aren)

The fact that we have been provided a compass as standard equipment in this chaos is the fortune within the misfortune.

We managed to head towards Mashdale without getting lost in this forest with bad vision thanks to this.

In the end, we will end up having to do a hellish march for 5 days.

And then, I would discover that the frontline trench I thought was hell was actually a wonderful environment where I was assured meals every day.

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