Chapter 28
"Fellow soldiers."
At Viktor's low voice, the soldiers' cheers subsided.
After scanning the soldiers with powerful eyes, he,
"I am Viktor."
Briefly introduced himself and then fell silent.
"Waaaah!"
In the dead silence, someone shouted first.
"Waaaaaaah!"
"Viktor! Viktor!"
This instantly erupted into a massive cheer.
Although he had disappeared for a while, the soldiers' support for him was still strong.
Recently, he had also made a name for himself performing duties as the council chairman, so his authority was higher than even the king who would ascend tomorrow.
Remembering Viktor's figure who had raised morale with speeches in the past war, the soldiers held expectations just from him standing on the podium.
Viktor waited for the cheers to subside before continuing.
"First, I express my gratitude for your hard work."
Before getting into the main point, he began warming up by praising the soldiers.
"For the past two years in the Northern War, we have fought together. The Battle of Serkutsk, the Battle of Angelkorod, the Siege of Zabinsk... Thanks to your blood and sweat, we survived. Even when Vladimir raised a heinous rebellion, you rose up valiantly to defeat the traitors and moved to end the kingdom's chaos. With your strength, we were able to overcome the crisis. However."
Viktor paused to catch his breath.
"We are faced with a situation where we must make another difficult decision. Just yesterday, intelligence came in that the imperial army has started moving again."
"...The imperial army?"
"What...!"
At Viktor's sudden statement, soldiers who hadn't heard any news related to the imperial army began to murmur.
Even officers who hadn't had separate conversations were equally flustered, so confusion spread in an instant.
"Currently, the imperial troops stationed at the border are forces of nobles beyond the Empress' reach, so there's a high possibility they will invade independently, aiming for the Rus Kingdom's confusion."
"Such cowards!"
"Is it war?"
"But if we have the General!"
The soldiers tried to shake off their fear with faith in Viktor.
"During the Siege of Zabinsk. Following His Majesty the King's orders, as commander-in-chief of the Rus Kingdom, I stood here and gave a speech. I spoke of hope to you. With our strength, we could sufficiently defeat the empire and protect the Rus Kingdom. So, I claimed that I needed your help."
Knowing this, Viktor continued his speech, gradually taking strength out of his tone.
"At that time, I stood here without a shred of shame. Because I was prepared to go to the battlefield with you and risk my life together. Because I was determined to move forward with you. I encouraged you with just the resolve to do my best."
Soldiers nodded as they recalled his appearance on the podium and battlefield.
"But now, I don't have the qualification to dare push you into danger. That I could return to the Rus Kingdom was only due to the goodwill of the empire's Empress, Louise Zainburg. After the council dissolves, I must leave the kingdom. If negotiations completely break down because I don't return, even the Empress’ forces that weren't moving will attack the Rus Kingdom."
"What?"
"You're leaving? Didn't you come back?"
As the nobles had held meetings among themselves after receiving the empire's letter, and Viktor had only informed his closest aides that he would return in the near future.
Even greater murmurs arose than when news of the imperial army moving was delivered.
As when news of his departure was first delivered, anxiety spread among the soldiers.
"Because I cannot fight together with you, I cannot appeal to you to participate in the war. Because I cannot be with you until the end, I cannot say I will take responsibility for you. That's why I!"
Instead of explaining that content in more detail, Viktor raised his voice and drew the attention of those gathered.
"As the human Viktor, I want to speak from this position."
He bowed his head for a moment, then,
"Soldiers. The enemy, the empire, is strong. What you will face are not the weak ones exhausted from war and struggling with lack of supplies. In troops, supplies, and equipment. They are opponents difficult to overcome with the current royal army."
He continued his speech, changing his tone to a slightly trembling voice as if appealing.
At his emotional appearance shown for the first time in an official setting, the soldiers forgot even their conversations with each other and focused on the speech.
"I do not want meaningless sacrifices."
At this point, some officers who felt something was strange tried to move, but Anna and officers already co-opted by Viktor approached them first and controlled them.
"On the way back to the Rus Kingdom, there was an opportunity to see the situation of our lands that had passed to the empire."
The soldiers held their breath and waited for Viktor's next words.
"Contrary to the nobles' words that a hellscape had unfolded, that place was peaceful. Only the planted flags had changed, everyone was living their daily lives normally. Even soldiers who had been taken prisoner were living mixed among them without any discrimination, and I, who was handed over to the empire as a result of negotiations, was also respected."
Although it was a description completely different from the empire's image that nobles had incited during the war, no soldier doubted Viktor's words.
"The greedy nobles hid such aspects and sacrificed us to protect their property and the shell of the Rus Kingdom. I hoped the newly appointed nobles would be different, but they were the same. When news that the imperial army was moving was delivered, they immediately argued for resistance."
Viktor naturally separated himself from the nobles.
Nobles were a group that had not gotten along well with soldiers from before, and their perception had worsened as most were executed for treason.
When Viktor pointed to them as the root cause of the war, instead of doubting, the soldiers sympathized with his words and became indignant towards the nobles.
"If asked if I'm just running away because I'm afraid of war, I can proudly answer yes. It's not because I'm afraid of the imperial army, nor because I'm afraid of defeat. I'm afraid of the needless sacrifices we'll have to make in that process, the lives that will fade away meaninglessly. I'm afraid of having to send off in vain those who left so that we could survive."
When Viktor, who had always been confident, mentioned fear, the soldiers also began to ponder deeply.
As Viktor said he was leaving, they couldn't help but recall the Rus Kingdom's army before Viktor became commander-in-chief.
"We have no reason to fight them. The nobles who urged war, the nobles who forced desperate resistance, are now gone."
The soldiers quickly leaned towards surrender rather than resistance that would make it difficult to preserve their lives.
"Soldiers. I know it's a difficult decision. I think there may be those with high aspirations to protect the Rus Kingdom. That's why I want to make a request not as an order from the commander-in-chief, but as the human Viktor."
Pausing his words for a moment to gather everyone's attention, Viktor,
"I will strive to protect those who choose to surrender even if I have to sacrifice myself, so don't throw away your lives for the nobles, surrender. If you want to dedicate your lives, dedicate them to a more meaningful place. If you want to protect the families left behind, return to your families."
He advised surrender in a serious voice.
The soldiers swallowed the anguish they felt in his lowered voice.
"I will leave Zabinsk Castle at 9 AM tomorrow and return to the empire. If you agree with me, prepare white flags, lay down your weapons, and gather at the main gate. I will respect if your will is to remain in the kingdom, but I hope everyone can preserve their lives. Surrender is not a cowardly choice, but a courageous decision for a greater future."
Viktor finished speaking and was about to put down the magical tool, but,
"As commander-in-chief, I will give one last order. Soldiers, survive without fail."
After leaving one last order, he left the podium.
The soldiers, immersed in the afterglow of the speech for a while, were lost in their own thoughts before returning to their barracks following the officers' guidance.
---
If only the soldiers are persuaded, the intentions of the nobles filling the current court or the king-to-be are not important.
Since the council hasn't dissolved yet, nobles who are essentially without foundation or reputation cannot resist my influence as the real power.
Not to mention the king who hasn't even ascended yet.
Since there's no possibility that the nobles could overturn this decision anyway, I set the departure for the next day to give the soldiers time to calm down.
So, while thinking about the speech draft, two things I considered important were:
Justifying my declaration of surrender and stimulating the soldiers' emotions, including anxiety.
It wasn't difficult.
I heightened the soldiers' anxiety by mixing in some lies, and pulled down the current nobles to be similar to those who were executed.
Both the statement that the empire is moving and that the nobles argued for resistance are lies, but whether they're true or not is not important at all.
Because it's something that could actually happen, and it came from the mouth of Viktor, the most trusted person in the Rus Kingdom.
Once the soldiers believe it, explanation becomes nearly impossible.
To check the facts, they would need to cross-check with the empire, but how could that be possible?
In the end, by expressing that I was disappointed in them, I secured justification to prioritize the soldiers' well-being over protecting the country.
This much was necessary for 'Viktor', who had been working for the country even after being betrayed, to change his mind.
The soldiers would have recalled the desperate Northern War without me, so they probably won't refuse to surrender.
It was closer to me gritting my teeth and persuading them when they were originally going to surrender, but this time I mentioned surrender.
In a situation with only disadvantages, can they refuse the commander-in-chief's advice to surrender?
"We will also follow the General's will."
"...Thank you."
Of course not.
After the speech ended, I conversed with soldiers who came to my tent.
Most said they would follow my decision, and those who were pondering agreed to surrender after resolving their doubts through conversation.
The only ones likely to have lingering attachments are officers from noble backgrounds, but they had mostly cut ties with nobles themselves to survive when classifying traitors.
Probably, they won't have enough attachment to oppose a decision supported by the commander-in-chief and the majority of soldiers.
"General Viktor."
"Hmm."
After sending messengers to the imperial army's camp to explain the situation, I talked with soldiers all night long.
***
The next day at 9 AM.
Thankfully, the front of Zabinsk Castle's main gate was densely filled with green dots.