A Rat in a Jar—No, an Orc

'Soon, their main force will come crashing in.'

They'll no longer wander around; they'll surround us. I bit my lip. The battle to occupy the forest? Holding the front? It had all become bullshit. We were already rats in a jar.

But a crisis was also an opportunity. The gears in my head spun rapidly. How could I use this information to my greatest advantage? Simply running away would be the inferior move. But sitting around stupidly and letting ourselves be slaughtered would be suicide.

'Turn it against them.'

I reached a conclusion and immediately looked up.

"Sergeant Hanna!"

"Yes, yes! Lieutenant!"

At the edge in my voice, Hanna came running over in surprise. I held out the bone-fragment necklace Gunther had given me.

"Can you sense any mana reaction from this?"

Hanna took the necklace and closed her eyes. A moment later, her eyes flew open.

"…I can sense it. It's very faint, but there's an unpleasant, sticky mana connected to somewhere deep in the southern part of the forest like a thin thread. It feels as though someone is spying on us from this direction."

"That confirms it."

My [Status Analysis] and Hanna's [Mana Detection] agreed. I immediately ordered Gunther.

"Gunther! Collect every last one of these necklaces from the corpses! Don't leave a single one behind! And stay on guard!"

"Ah, understood!"

Gunther hurried away. I clenched the necklace in my fist and sprinted straight to the company command tent.

"Captain! Emergency report!"

"…Come in."

A voice that sounded flustered came from inside. I entered the tent without hesitation. Seraphina, who had just been buttoning her tunic, glared at me.

"Lieutenant Jaeger, what on earth is the matter…."

"The enemy is coming."

I skipped the preamble and tossed the bone-fragment necklace onto the desk.

"These belonged to the orcs we just killed. According to Sergeant Hanna's detection, these items are connected by mana to the main force in the southern part of the forest. The moment the wearer dies, the signal cuts out and the wearer's location is pinpointed."

Seraphina's eyes flickered. A commander of her caliber could grasp the meaning of my words at once.

"…Then their night raid was bait to confirm our location?"

"Exactly. They used their own lives as homing missiles."

I added coldly,

"Even now, their main force must be racing here at full speed. They may already be tightening the encirclement."

Seraphina's face hardened. The languor from moments earlier vanished without a trace, replaced by the steely gaze of a cool-headed commander.

"…Is this information reliable?"

"I stake my life on it."

Seraphina picked up the necklace and glared at it for a moment before slamming her hand down on the desk.

"Damn it! We've been had. We need to report to the colonel immediately. Follow me!"

*

The atmosphere inside the regimental commander's tent had become as chaotic as a stirred-up beehive, making the calm of dawn a distant memory. The report of the night raid on 2nd Company, along with the information I'd brought, had caused it.

"…So you're saying we walked right into their trap?"

The regimental commander toyed with the bone-fragment necklace and growled. Deep furrows creased his brow.

"That's right. They're familiar with the terrain of the Ashen Forest. While we were building our camp and letting down our guard, they must have been tightening the encirclement."

Seraphina reported.

"Damn it!"

The regimental commander couldn't hide his agitation. Major Helga, standing beside him, offered cautious advice.

"Even now, we must withdraw all our troops, Colonel. Visibility is poor inside the forest, and the moment we're encircled, we'll be annihilated. We need to retreat to the advantageous ridge lines and rebuild our defensive line."

It was a perfectly textbook assessment. But the regimental commander's expression was grim.

'Status Analysis.'

[Name: Karl von Dietrich]

[Emotion: Fear of the operation's failure, concern over the reprimand he would receive if he retreated, and conflict between his desire to earn merit and reality]

The old fox didn't want to retreat. Only yesterday, he must have already told his superiors that this was 'a great victory that would change the balance of power on the Western Front.' He couldn't now tell them, 'We fell into the enemy's trap and ran away with our tails between our legs,' after barely one night.

His pride and ambition would not allow it.

And that was precisely the opening I could exploit.

"Colonel, may I have permission to speak?"

When I stepped forward, every gaze in the command tent turned toward me. It might have been presumptuous for an ordinary lieutenant to intrude on the regimental commander's dilemma. But now I was the hero of 'that' 2nd Company and a promising officer the regimental commander had been watching.

"…Go ahead, Lieutenant Jaeger."

"A retreat is exactly what the enemy wants most."

I pointed to the map and continued,

"They must be waiting for us to panic and run. There is no easier prey than a retreating army attacked from behind. Given the terrain of a forest, no matter how quickly we move, we can't outmaneuver them."

"Then what do you suggest? Are you saying we should just sit here and let them surround us?"

Major Helga cut in sharply.

"No. If they know we're here, we have to use that against them."

I took a deep breath and played the card I had prepared.

'Captivating Speech.'

Ding-

[The skill 'Captivating Speech (Lv.3)' is activated.]

"They must be certain they've seized the initiative. Trusting their ability to locate us and their numerical superiority, they'll be swarming toward us with their guard down. That is precisely their weakness."

I placed a finger on the map at 2nd Company's campsite.

"They're convinced that the place where this necklace's signal stopped—in other words, 2nd Company's campsite—is where our main force is stationed."

I continued without pausing,

"We'll turn this signal against them. Move our troops and vital supplies swiftly to the high ground around the perimeter, and in the center of this camp… leave only these necklaces."

The regimental commander's eyes flashed. He seemed to realize what I was proposing.

"You intend to make them attack an empty nest."

"Exactly. The moment they rush into the center of the empty camp, following the signal, we'll focus the artillery's fire on the pre-registered coordinates. Once they're thrown into confusion, our forces lying in ambush on the high ground will close the encirclement and annihilate them."

I drove home the final point.

"This operation will be a perfect encirclement-and-annihilation battle, capable of destroying their main force in a single engagement."

I had hit the regimental commander's [Hidden Desire] precisely. 'Hero of the Western Front.' 'Entry into central politics.' These were titles he could never gain through a simple retreat or defensive battle. Only an overwhelming victory could make him a general.

Ding-

[The skill 'Captivating Speech (Lv.3)' affects 'Karl von Dietrich'.]

[It strongly stimulates the target's desire! The target accepts your proposal.]

'Status Analysis.'

[Name: Karl von Dietrich]

[Status: Excitement, ambition inflamed]

[Emotion: Fear of failure has vanished, replaced by greedy anticipation of a great victory]

The regimental commander clenched his fist. An uncontrollable smile spread across his lips.

"…Good. Very good! What an excellent operation!"

He immediately ordered Major Helga,

"Transmit this to all units immediately! Have all troops move covertly to the high ground around the perimeter! Leave the tents and campfires in the camp exactly as they are! Make it look as though we're sleeping!"

"Have the artillery set the center of 2nd Company's camp as the target! Prepare to open fire the moment the signal is given!"

The regimental commander began issuing orders without pause. Headquarters instantly came back to life, and the troops moved ceaselessly.

The new operation I'd proposed to crush the orc bastards was taking shape.

*

The operation proceeded swiftly and covertly.

The soldiers moved in silence. Crucial ammunition and food supplies were quickly moved to the rear, while empty tents were filled with straw and scraps of uniforms to make them look as though people were sleeping inside. Wet firewood was added to the campfires so smoke would rise, creating the impression of human presence.

The most important bait of all—the dozens of bone-fragment necklaces collected by 2nd Company—was placed in the exact center of the camp, inside the largest command tent.

One hour later.

The entire 7th Regiment had completed its ambush on the ridges surrounding the camp in a 'ㄷ'-shaped formation. Thousands of gun muzzles, concealed by the forest's darkness and terrain, were aimed at the empty camp.

I hid in a trench halfway up the ridge with the men of 3rd Platoon. Hanna, Klaus, and Sergeant Gunther lay pressed flat beside me.

"…They're coming. There are so many of them."

Hanna whispered with her eyes closed. But even without her report, I could tell. The edge of the [Minimap] I'd kept open in one corner of my vision had already begun turning bright red.

"Everyone, stand by. Do not fire until I give the signal."

Silence. A suffocating stillness descended. The soldiers swallowed dryly, their fingers resting on the triggers.

At last, the ground began to tremble.