Chapter 7: Road to the Capital (1)

A little while back in time.

A few hours before the former Northern Army, now the Revolutionary Army, clashed with the Kingdom's Army 19th Division.

Major Heinburg, the commander of the 19th Division, had made thorough preparations, in his own way.

"Dig trenches and build barricades! If it's difficult to build earth walls, then at least build and erect wooden fences! Somehow, conceal yourselves and construct obstacles to hinder the enemy!"

"Major General, the soldiers are complaining of fatigue. They've been working for hours without rest, if you keep pushing them...."

"Then are you saying we should just sit and rest while the rebels come?! No matter how hard it is, we must prepare to increase our chances of winning!"

He reinforced several defensive structures based on the existing garrison.

With only a few days to spare, proper construction was impossible, but they did their best within their capabilities.

They built earth walls, dug pits for concealment, and set up emplacements for cannons.

With a manpower of 10,000, it wasn't that difficult. They managed to build a fairly decent Instant Fortress for something temporarily made in the field.

"With this, we can withstand even several times our number for a week. All we need to do is wait for reinforcements to arrive!"

"Are you sure our allies will arrive on time?"

"Of course they will! How could they refuse support when we're holding back the rebels?"

He had already requested support from nearby stationed units, so all that was left was a battle against time.

If they held out for five or six days at most, the situation would reverse. The traitors would soon be outnumbered and collapse helplessly.

This was his strategic concept.

Well, it wasn't a completely wrong idea.

Major Heinburg wasn't a particularly incompetent officer militarily, and the 19th Division's combat power was quite good.

If they were fighting a typical rebel group or foreign invaders, his calculations would have been accurate.

Unfortunately, however.

The Revolutionary Army descending from the Northern Region was far from a typical rebel group.

"Rebel approach from 3 o'clock!!"

"What's so fast? They're maintaining formation while running?"

"A, All batteries, prepare to fire! Everyone to battle positions! We must somehow stop their momentum!"

The image of the enemy's combat power that Major Heinburg, a fervent Royal Loyalist, had in mind was at best similar to their own, or slightly below.

Until now, the rebels in The Kingdom had been nothing more than a mob of risen serfs, or disobedient soldiers.

He carelessly assumed it would be the same this time.

Even with the Deputy Commander joining the officer corps, their discipline might be a bit better, but they're still just unruly rabble opposing the Royal Family, aren't they? They can't possibly have proper combat power.

That's how he belittled his opponent based on prejudice stemming from loyalty.

"We can't stop them! They're closing the distance too quickly, we don't even have time for suppressive fire!"

"Then shoot your rifles! Do I have to give every single order myself?!"

But think about it.

The Northern Army is an army that has been entrenched and fighting for over 10 years on the Front Line, and in the most arduous and fierce of all Front Lines.

Medieval-style, there are no job changes or shift work, so it's a unit that's been stuck in the Snowfield except for holidays.

Would soldiers who spent their youth fighting in blizzards be ordinary? Rather, you should consider every single soldier to be an Elite Soldier in an elite unit.

Compared to this, the 19th Division was a reserve unit that had been stationed in the rear since the outbreak of the war.

They trained diligently, but they had never experienced actual combat.

Occasionally, when troops were short at the front, they were drafted, but even that was meaningless as they were transferred as a whole unit, not just lending subordinate units.

In other words, this battle can be defined as a veteran Corps overflowing with combat experience VS a rear-area bum Division.

Moreover, they were starting the fight already demoralized by Lieutenant General Carolus's propaganda, so.... victory or defeat was already practically decided.

"The rebels are now right in front of us! Equip Bayonets and prepare for close combat-!!"

"F, Fuck it! I can't take it anymore!"

"Surrender, I surrender! I don't want to die here!"

The Revolutionary Army rushed in without giving the 19th Division a chance to react.

With experience-born wisdom, they found the weak points in the formation and immediately broke through, inducing a chaotic melee.

With this, the 19th Division, unable to utilize their firepower and defensive structures, which were their advantages as defenders, completely lost their Military Discipline, leading to desertion in the face of the enemy.

Soldiers, whose trust in their superiors had already disappeared, were now throwing away their weapons and running away even with officers right in front of them.

"Are you all out of your minds?! The enemy is right in front of you, what are you doing!!"

"Fuck off and get lost! Why should we risk our lives fighting each other?!"

"You can be loyal to the damn Royalty! We'll take care of ourselves!"

Their faith and trust in the ruling class had long been abandoned.

On top of that, they were exhausted from the forced construction work, and now they're being told to face several times their number in close combat.

What kind of soldier would willingly fight in such a situation? Curses would be more likely.

With desertions and fragging occurring frequently, there's no way they could hold the fortress.

The Instant Fortress, which began to crumble from the outer perimeter, soon allowed the enemy to penetrate deep inside. Like adding dye to clear water, so smoothly and effortlessly.

It took only 30 minutes for the Revolutionary Army Cavalry to reach the location of the command post, where Major Heinburg and the other commanders were.

Revolutionary Army casualties: 92.

19th Division casualties: 1,288.

It was truly a one-sided victory.

* * * * *

"So, they surrender like this. If they were going to do that, they shouldn't have bothered putting up a fight."

"It's the foolishness of a guy who doesn't know his own capabilities. If he wanted to stop us with these weaklings, he should have prepared 10 Divisions."

The first Battle after raising the banner of Revolution ended anticlimactically. It got a little intense for a moment, but then they all surrendered.

It ended with the capture of Major Heinburg without even having time to spread out command tents and maps. It's good that our troops suffered fewer casualties, though.

"How many died?"

"About forty. And thirty are seriously injured."

It's a light price to pay for subduing a whole Division.

They are my precious soldiers whose blood cannot be replenished, but a certain amount of sacrifice must be accepted since we've resolved to start a Revolution.

Let's compensate their families generously later.

"Tell them to bury the bodies properly. Make tombstones, even if they have to be carved from wood."

"Yes, sir. Don't worry."

Now, it's time to have a serious conversation with my dear prisoners, and former colleagues.

"Let me go, you damn traitors! Where are you taking me!!"

"Shut your trap. You're a prisoner, why are you so noisy?"

Major Heinburg was still yelling and raging despite being tightly bound with ropes.

And on the other hand, his subordinates were brought before me in a gloomy atmosphere. Behind them, the disarmed 19th Division troops were gathered under guard.

I made them kneel on the dirt floor and sat down on a makeshift chair placed in front of them.

"Well, it's been a while. How have you all been?"

"Damn traitor! You lived under the grace of His Majesty the Monarch all your life, how could you betray The Kingdom!"

"I regret that such an unfortunate event has occurred. We also wanted to avoid bloodshed with our allies as much as possible, but in the end, we couldn't."

"The Goddess will not forgive you!! You and your whole family will pay for your Treason!! You will surely pay for the sin of defying the Royal Family--"

"Would someone please gag this guy? Oh, right, good job."

First, I gagged the idiot who still hadn't come to his senses.

I continued the conversation in a friendly tone with the soldiers who seemed to have grasped reality to some extent.

"Once again, I didn't want to fight you. We had to use force because one foolish person was acting up."

We don't consider you enemies. Even though we've killed each other, you are still our comrades.

I subtly conveyed that message, so that they might feel friendly towards us.

"Originally, I was thinking of just confiscating your weapons and supplies and letting you go.... but it seems that will be difficult."

And now for the main point.

"As we all know, the Royal Family and Nobility in the Central Region are incredibly greedy and evil. If I let you go like this, they'll undoubtedly try to punish you as defeated soldiers."

No matter how overwhelmingly outnumbered and hopeless the odds were, that doesn't count as a mitigating factor.

To the damn high and mighty, these men are nothing but incompetent trash. Vermin who couldn't even handle the single task of stopping the rebels.

Forget forgiveness, they wouldn't hesitate to chop off all your heads, accusing you of colluding with the rebels on purpose. No, it would be more strange if they didn't.

"So, I'm giving you a chance. Won't you join the Revolution?"

"....Yes?"

A field-grade officer unconsciously asked back. I subtly ignored him and continued.

"Change the direction of your guns. Instead of being executed for misplaced loyalty, wouldn't it be better to at least fire a shot at the incompetent Royal Family and high-ranking Nobility? I'm saying, let's fix this rotten Kingdom together."

"If you join, we will accept you as our comrades. I swear on my honor that you will be treated equally. Let's raise the banner of the Revolutionary Army and march forward together."

Join us in destroying The Kingdom. Even if you die, at least you'll die having vented the resentment you've accumulated.

After making that proposal, I stood up from the chair. I threw a few Bayonet knives on the ground and turned around.

"If you're interested, kill Major Heinburg with these knives. Prove your will by killing the King's dog. If you're not interested, quietly step back."

I purge the fervent Royal Loyalists who would never be persuaded, while simultaneously burdening them with the grave sin of killing their superior officer.

Just like when I killed the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army, this makes it so they have no choice but to share their fate with us, whether they like it or not.

"I'll be back in an hour. I'll be expecting your answer by then."

I quietly left, leaving only the guards.

And when I returned with my subordinates...

In the place where the 19th Division soldiers had been, lay a single corpse, horribly torn apart. Not a single person had retreated or left their place.

"Lieutenant General Roitel, does this prove our will?"

"....Yes. Welcome to the Revolutionary Army."

With this, the replenishment of troops and the increase of comrades, a great success.