Chapter 170 - Bringer of Light (5)
"Man, just sitting here brings back all those terrible memories I tried so hard to bury," Robert said in a strangely cheerful voice.
"Oh, please, I'm begging you—don't even mention it, Jimman," Billim pleaded with Robert.
And with good reason: Right now, the 2nd Company was lined up in front of the forest connected to the Bertebras Mountains, bracing themselves for an enemy attack—a situation that felt disturbingly familiar.
Still, compared to last time, things were much better now.
"We will not move even a single step forward from here. If we move at all, it'll only be to retreat."
The highest field commander here was Bailey Hoffman, the Lieutenant Colonel—well, no, he had been demoted, so Major. Anyway, their commander now wasn't Bailey, but the 13th Regiment's 1st Battalion, 2nd Company Commander, Captain Fox—Captain Ernest Krieger.
Ernest planned to maintain a safe distance from the forest, refusing to advance even a little.
The only movement the 2nd Company was authorized to make was to retreat—nothing else!
"Ah, it's so warm," sighed one soldier.
"Warm? I'm boiling here," another grumbled.
"Nah, see, this is what I'm talking about with you modern soldiers… Back in my day! We used to stand ramrod straight for hours under the blazing sun, not a spot of shade in sight!"
Beyond that, Ernest went a step further and ordered a canopy to be made with tent fabric so the soldiers could wait in the shade, knowing how tough the sweltering heat was on them.
For those soldiers who remembered following Bailey's orders in front of Lanosel—standing at attention in formation beneath the merciless sun—this simple bit of shade felt like heaven.
"We'll take turns standing guard. The 1st Platoon will set the example and take the first watch. 2nd Platoon, sit down and rest. 3rd Platoon, you can go to the river and wash up. But stay alert so you're ready to fight at any moment!"
"Yes, sir!"
But Ernest didn't stop there—he even gave the men a real break. The 1st Platoon, who were expected to take the lead and stand guard first, grumbled a little but stood beneath the shade, eyes locked on the forest as they kept thorough watch.
The 2nd Platoon lounged in the shade, clutching their rifles as they laughed, chattered, or even dozed off.
Meanwhile, the 3rd Platoon, eager to cool off, raced straight to the river, stripping off their clothes as they went.
Because they formed up right by the riverside, even if the enemy attacked, the 3rd Platoon could rearm and rejoin in an instant.
If they'd been posted farther from the river, Ernest would never have allowed it.
"Don't go too deep, and absolutely no foolishness! If there's any trouble, I won't let you have this kind of break ever again!"
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing the 3rd Platoon tear off toward the river, Ernest shouted after them nervously.
The reply came back just as loud.
Ernest let out a quiet sigh With Simon, the 3rd Platoon Leader, keeping an eye on things, Ernest figured it should be fine—but he also knew there was no way a group of men would just play nicely in the water.
Even back at the Imperial Military Academy, the cadets had been the same...
Memories from the past came rushing back.
After field training with the 2nd Corps, he'd been ambushed by his friends and hurled into the river.
The sons of noble houses had laughed and joked like little boys—faces he would never see again.
Those memories carried a sting, the pain lodged deep, and couldn't be cherished as simple, happy recollections.
"When we played in the river, there was a tradition—Ernest always had to be thrown in first."
Apparently lost in the same memories, Robert spoke up with a laugh.
But there was a trace of bitterness in his smile too.
"If you really want a tradition, it should be that no one does something as stupid as throwing a friend into a swollen river. And maybe, for the sake of remembering what happened, the guy who started it has to come clean and ask for forgiveness—that's the tradition we ought to have."
"…Yeah, I messed up all right…"
"Glad to see you realize it was your fault."
"What are you all talking about?"
As Ernest and Robert chatted, Billim sidled over and asked. Robert just shrugged as if he didn't want to explain, but Ernest, a laugh in his voice, recounted the story.
"So it was Jimman's fault then."
"Right, it was Robert's fault."
"Sounds like it was Second Lieutenant Jitman's doing."
"That's right! It was my fault! Just throw stones at me!"
"Telling us to throw stones at you? That's pretty brave of you. Still, for the sake of our friendship, I'll make sure to aim away from your head. Don't move. If you do, you might get hit in the head."
"I was just saying!"
Everyone was enjoying teasing Robert, which was perfect for lightening the mood. Other than one person, everyone had smiles blossoming across their faces.
"But how were you rescued? Falling into a river swollen from spring rain and surviving—most people wouldn't believe it."
While the commoner soldiers picked up pebbles and playfully tossed them at Robert, the noble officer, laughing and joking, Gustav turned to Ernest, sounding genuinely curious.
Because the Empire's spring rains came down so fiercely, even after the rain stopped, the swollen river would rage on, sweeping away anything and everything in its path.
Anyone who let their guard down and entered the deep, rushing currents after the rain would, nine times out of ten, be swept away and drown.
"I was just lucky. Lucky not to have crashed into a rock or tree, lucky that the river widened and the current slowed, and lucky that I reached a bend where the water grew shallow enough for me to climb out onto the bank."
Ernest replied calmly. While he had handled the situation with composure, the truth was, it really had been nothing short of a miracle that luck had been on his side.
After that fortunate escape onto dry land, Ernest had met Erika for the second time right there.
That, too, was nothing less than a miracle. Thinking back to the third time they'd met recently, Ernest felt it made more sense to believe that Erika had been secretly following him before approaching.
'There's no way we'll run into each other again now.'
Ernest truly thought that last time would be the final encounter. If, by some chance, he did meet Erika again, he'd have to assume she was tailing him and have her arrested.
"It almost sounds like the gods themselves were watching over you."
After hearing Ernest's story, Gustav grinned and said this.
Ernest certainly had remarkable abilities, but talent alone wasn't always enough to get someone out of a crisis.
In the end, it was the lucky ones who survived. Ernest seemed to have both skill and luck on his side.
"If that were true, I wouldn't have been dragged to the battlefield in the first place."
"Ha, if that's the case, maybe the gods are watching out for all of us. After all, they sent us Captain Fox."
"Then God must be a real bastard. At least to me."
"That's one way to look at it. Maybe if you behaved better, you wouldn't be punished. Acting like a fox gets you a fox's fate."
"Sergeant Gustav, that's insubordination."
"It was a compliment."
"Saying it's punishment makes it an insult."
"Oh dear, that was a mistake. Please pretend you didn't hear that."
Having endured what felt like more than a hundred offhand insults to his rank, Ernest found himself wondering if perhaps he'd grown too informal with his subordinates.
Of course, since they all trusted and respected him, there was no real danger of insubordination.
One by one, each platoon had their turn at swimming. Now, even when told they could go play in the water, everyone just sat in the shade, dozing off and whiling away the time.
It seemed even the summer sun had grown bored, slipping beneath the horizon as if eager to rest itself. Evening would fall soon. Unless Soren gave them new orders, they would head to the nearest village, set up a watch, and spend the night there.
"Hard to believe we finally got assigned such an easy task."
Robert murmured this with deep emotion as he gazed at the glowing sunset. Ever since taking over as Platoon Leader, he felt he'd only shouldered tough, grueling missions. At last, they had a simple and easy operation, just like any other ordinary company.
"So other units have been fighting this comfortably all along…"
"Well, if you think about it, just being assigned to the 5th Division is already a blessing."
Ernest responded to Robert's lament.
"The 6th and 7th Divisions went through much tougher battles than the 5th."
"Yeah, you're right about that."
Just as Ernest said, the moment they avoided assignments with the 6th or 7th Divisions, their lot had become much easier. Even just reading Marie's letters made it clear—the 6th and 7th had gone through a hell much worse than anything the 5th Division encountered.
The 2nd Company waited a little longer, then withdrew to the village before nightfall.
This wasn't the village that the 2nd Company had attacked.
It was the one the 3rd Company had assaulted and occupied.
The villagers were utterly terrified by the Imperial Army's presence. This was because Andersen had treated them far more harshly than Ernest ever had.
Ernest had tried to minimize civilian casualties—even going so far as to spare Joel, a young boy who had sided with the enemy.
But Andersen didn't care in the slightest about civilian losses.
His orders were clear: shoot anything still standing on two legs without question, and after the fighting ended, if someone's status as enemy or civilian was unclear, just treat them all as enemies and round them up.
In fact, the way Andersen did things was technically the correct method.
Maybe not everywhere, but on the battlefield, that approach was right.
Ernest was simply too soft—a fool who struggled with unnecessary worries and suffered over them.
Still, Ernest believed doing it his way was right, so that's what he did. He didn't regret the decision—not at least for now.
In any case, thanks to Andersen's harsh crackdown, the few remaining villagers huddled together in a ruined building at the edge of town, hoping to make it through the night.
Unfortunately, Ernest couldn't allow them to gather unsupervised, so he was forced to send soldiers to keep watch over them.
With the original inhabitants chased out, the 2nd Company started settling into the less-damaged buildings.
"Sorry about this, 2nd Company Commander."
"..."
It was just as they were preparing to rest that the 3rd Company entered the village.
Andersen, rubbing his smooth bald head with an awkward look, spoke up.
"The Battalion Commander said that since the 2nd Company got plenty of rest while waiting, we should swap with the 3rd Company, who worked hard today, right? If you follow the river toward Avril Castle, you'll find the 1st Company. Go join up with them."
The 3rd Company had attacked the Southwestern Village near Avril Castle, then headed toward the Northeastern Village for additional skirmishes.
The fighting hadn't been particularly difficult, and casualties were light. But Soren, an able commander, knew that combat itself created extreme stress, so he decided to station the 3rd Company—who had worked the hardest today—in the Southwestern Village.
"Is there going to be a battle at Avril Castle?"
In other words, Soren judged that waiting near Avril Castle, occupied by the 13th Regiment, was a tougher assignment than garrisoning one of the villages near the forest where the enemy main force was hiding.
"It might happen, or it might not. But if a battle does break out, it'll be much harsher than anything here."
"So we still don't know what the Regimental Commander plans to do?"
"For now, he said the top priority is to avoid a battle breaking out."
"…Robert, this is all your fault."
Ernest grabbed Robert first.
"What? How is this my fault?"
Robert, flustered, waved his hands around, at a loss for words. But deep down, he knew exactly why he was to blame.
"You kept saying it was an easy assignment—that's why we're in this mess."
"Th-that...! That's just fitting the facts to suit the outcome after everything happened! You can't really say it's my fault!"
"That may be true. But if you hadn't said things like that, maybe none of this would've happened. Don't you think so too?"
"...."
Robert could only roll his eyes without saying a word. Deep down, he had to admit he was thinking the same thing—even if he knew it was irrational.
His mouth always got him in trouble.
"Get ready. We need to link up before sunset."
Ernest spoke in a voice tinged with a sigh.
All he could do now was hope that there wouldn't be a battle at Avril Castle.
Battle itself was frightening enough.
But this time, the battlefield was the enemy's city, with civilians caught in the middle.
It was a situation nobody wanted.
By the time Levin's orders reached the 1st Battalion, Levin was already methodically deploying the 13th Regiment's troops inside Avril Castle
"2nd Battalion has completed their deployment."
"No word from the 3rd Battalion?"
"There's been no contact yet."
"Tell them again not to rush and to move carefully. The enemy must not realize that we've caught on."
"Yes, Regimental Commander."
"We've received a message from the Artillery Battalion. They're ready to move at any moment, just waiting for your command."
"Good. Tell them to stay alert and remain on standby."
"Yes, sir."
"What about the Lord of Avril?"
"There's been no change in his demeanor so far. The others are the same."
"And Avril's troops?"
"The same. They haven't made a move. After we disarmed them, they've been temporarily confined to the barracks, so there's not much they can do anyway."
"..."
Levin sat ramrod-straight, like a wooden doll, lost in thought. Guerrilla units had spread throughout various villages in Avril, lying in wait for the Imperial Army to arrive.
Given their mistaken belief that the Imperial Army wouldn't attack civilians, it's understandable why they made that choice. They must have thought that if they hid among the people and managed to kill just Baltracher and a few officers, they'd have a real shot.
Just from that, it was clear their side was full of naïve fools.
To think they could fight the Imperial Army with such childish ideas.
But Lord Delano of Avril isn't such an inexperienced man.
Levin recalled meeting Delano after taking the fortress.
The moment Levin met Delano's gaze, he found it hard to believe this man had tried to mount a defense against the 13th Regiment without even a single cannon.
Delano was a tall, slender man with a pale, delicate face and a gentle, almost fragile demeanor.
He was still quite young and didn't sport a beard, making him look more like a greenhorn.
If Levin hadn't known better, he would've taken Delano for a poet or an artist, not a lord.
But he was the sort of man who, if he had to, would carve his own bones to make a sword to wield.
And yet, behind Delano's gentle features, his fierce, burning eyes smoldered like fire.
Levin guessed that the fire burning inside Delano was what compelled him to attempt such a reckless fight against the 13th Regiment.
But what if that wasn't all there was to him?
"Regimental Commander, the 3rd Battalion reports they're ready as well."
"..."
Lost in thought, Levin slowly rose from his seat at those words. Evening had fallen, and the sky outside was set ablaze with the colors of sunset.
"I need to meet with the Lord of Avril"
Levin decided to meet Delano in person and have a conversation. He felt that was the only way to truly understand his counterpart's intentions.
Delano was confined to his bedroom.
Officially, it was said that Delano was simply resting there, but in reality, he was under house arrest.
"..."
He sat in a chair by a small table at the window, quietly gazing at the scene dyed red by the setting sun.
The empty chair across from him was gradually sinking into the lonely glow of dusk.
Delano's pale face, too, appeared to burn red, as if caught in a blaze.
"Why are you in such a hurry every day…?"
Delano murmured this under his breath, eyes fixed on the sun as it silently set and set the sky ablaze.
It seemed to rush away in the same way every day—he thought it wouldn't hurt if it hesitated, just once, and felt a bit bored.
Suddenly, the door to the Lord of Avril's chambers swung open without even a knock, and Levin strode in.
Accompanying him were an officer to serve as interpreter and two non-commissioned officers, there to protect Levin in case anything happened.
Despite this rude intrusion, Delano showed no signs of displeasure.
He slowly turned his head to look at Levin and even managed a slight smile.
"Colonel Ort, you've come sooner than I expected. I'd offer you a seat out of courtesy, but I'm afraid there isn't one available for you."
Delano spoke in the Imperial Language with a noticeable accent, yet quite fluently.
Mihahil Empire citizens, as the mightiest nation on the continent, rarely bothered to learn other languages, but the intellectuals of the Allied Nations—especially the nobles—typically studied the Imperial Language with diligence.
Levin wrinkled his nose slightly at the smell in Delano's bedroom and glanced over at the bed. There was something large lying under the blankets.
Levin turned his gaze back to Delano.
"I know that Lord Avril fought the battle and staged a false surrender in order to deceive us. I'm aware that guerrilla units are hiding in the villages throughout your territory, and that your main force is concealed in the forest before the mountain range. And I'm certain there are some hidden here inside Avril Castle as well."
Levin spoke while staring only at Delano's eyes—eyes burning more destructively than the scarlet evening sky itself.
"..."
Delano responded with a gentle, almost frail-looking smile. The corners of his eyes drooped kindly.
With how his eyes blazed in the glow of sunset, it was impossible to make out their original color.
Even though his trap had been uncovered, he showed no tension or surprise.
In fact, hadn't he already mentioned when Levin first arrived that Levin was earlier than expected?
That meant he had anticipated being found out from the start.
"What are you planning?"
Levin asked Delano, Avril Castle was already taken.
Even if enemies hiding among the civilians rose up and attacked, they would be subdued in no time.
Levin had no intention of risking unnecessary casualties out of any fear of killing civilians.
If an attack begins, I will control the situation by killing every Belliangian in sight if I must.
"Every evening, I would sit across from Nua and watch the sunset's afterglow grow cold,"
Delano began, his words seeming almost out of place as he looked at the empty chair opposite him.
"Beloved Nua, she was far too good for me."
He whispered this with deep affection.
"She used to point to the twilight-painted sky and say to me, over and over, 'Delano, do you see? Even when it seems the light has faded, there's still so much light within the night.' I must have heard her say that more than a hundred times."
Delano's name means "Night," and Nua's name means "Light."
When the sun that set the sky ablaze disappeared and night arrived, Nua would whisper her love to the husband she cherished, a love shining as countless lights within him.
However, Levin, who barely understood any Belliang language, could not have known the meanings of Delano's and his wife Nua's names, nor could he have fully understood this conversation.
"Nua always said I looked too lonely. Too dark. That's why she insisted no one suited me as well as she did. And then she went and named our son Luca."
Luca means "Bringer of Light"—the one who delivered Nua's love to the lonely, dark night that was Delano.
"Ah, Luca. Our beloved son. He grew up to be a truly brilliant young man, shining just like Nua."
At some point, Delano began speaking in Belliang, smiling toward the empty chair. The interpreter glanced at Levin, then provided a translation.
"…Tell them to begin."
"Yes, Regimental Commander."
Listening to the interpretation, Levin gave the order.
There was nothing to gain by wasting time listening to Delano's laments.
The non-commissioned officer quickly hurried off, and only then did Delano turn his gaze back to Levin.
"Colonel Ort, do you have any children?"
Delano asked Levin. Narrowing his eyes, Levin stared at Delano and replied, his lips barely moving.
"I do. One daughter."
"Ha ha… She must be truly precious."
Delano said this with a smile, then looked up at the sky tinged with twilight.
He murmured in Imperial Language,
"If there is no one who can bring the light, how can there be any light?"
"..."
"How can the night shine when there is no light?"
Delano smiled as he gazed at the night sky, where the stars had begun to twinkle as even the twilight faded.
"Colonel Ort, for me now, there is neither day nor night."
Delano sank deep into his chair and let out a long sigh.
"The light—a light that could erase even this night."
He smiled as tears streamed down his face.
"Luca, our son. I will bring the light. Let's meet again there."
As Delano finished speaking, the sun disappeared completely and true night arrived—
Bang!
A brilliant flash erupted, followed by an ear-splitting roar as if lightning had struck.
"Fire! There's a fire!"
"Ahhh!"
Avril Castle was thrown into utter chaos in an instant. A massive explosion in the Inner District had caused numerous casualties, and the fire was spreading rapidly.
"..."
Delano blinked slowly, then suddenly sprang to his feet in shock. He glared at Levin.
"How could this happen!"
Delano shouted in shock, but Levin responded curtly as he strode away, moving quickly.
"I'm not foolish enough to seize the castle only to hand over the initiative. Lord Avril."
"…Ha, haha, hahahaha!"
After Levin and his subordinates left, Delano, left standing dumbfounded, suddenly burst into laughter.
"That's right, everyone's gone mad—completely insane, all of them."
Delano had surrendered after a brief skirmish with the 13th Regiment, letting them into the castle.
His plan was to wait until the 13th Regiment let their guard down, then detonate the gunpowder hidden beneath the Lord's Hall and kill them all at once.
It didn't matter that Levin knew there were enemies lying in ambush inside the castle.
In fact, it was even better—Levin would hole up in the safety of the Lord's Hall and try to hold out until morning, making it easier to wipe them all out at once.
There was just one thing: those born and raised in Avril could never bring themselves to blow up the Lord's Hall, where Avril's key figures and Lord Delano himself resided.
That's why Delano kept this plan hidden from his retainers and entrusted it to those so-called "Belliang Liberation Army" bastards who had shown up a few days earlier.
Deeply moved by Delano's words that he would die together with the enemy, they had eagerly promised to destroy the Lord's Hall.
But Colonel Levin Ort had beaten him to the punch.
The Artillery Battalion had detonated their own gunpowder in the Inner District, killing people and setting fires that threw everything into complete chaos.
Avril sits right next to a forest.
Most of its buildings are made of wood Once the fire starts, everything will go up in flames.
The Belliang Liberation Army?
Nonsense.
They're just idiot bastards obsessed with playing hero.
Now that the fire had begun to spread through the Inner District, there was no time for any talk about lighting the gunpowder stored beneath the Lord's Hall.
They must have started running away the moment the explosion went off. If they had been truly committed to their mission, Delano wouldn't have had the leisure to be thinking about any of this—the place would have blown up long ago.
"Burn it all."
Gazing at the spreading fire across Avril, Delano spoke, then walked as if in a dream to his bed, pulled aside the blanket, and lay down.
"The bastards from the Empire…and Belliang, who took our son."
Delano gently embraced the coffin of his wife, carefully placed on the bed, and pulled the blanket over them both.
"Nua, it's too lonely and empty here to be alone."
Delano whispered through tears to his wife, who, after collapsing from shock at the news of their son Luca's death, had never recovered, wasting away until she finally passed.
"Bring me the light, Luca."
And then, as the flames quickly spread to the Lord's Hall of Avril Castle, which the 13th Regiment had just vacated, the hidden gunpowder underground exploded.
The shock reached everyone before the sound did.
Everything shattered and collapsed. In the midst of it all, Delano finally saw the brilliant light he'd been yearning for.
Thud! Boom!
"We're getting out."
Leaving the burning, collapsing Lord's Hall behind, Levin, the 13th Regiment Commander, issued a firm command.
"Kill every enemy you see."
With the fire spreading, they had to escape Avril Castle immediately. And at this point, there was no way to distinguish between enemies and civilians in the fortress.
So, the only option was to treat every living person who wasn't Imperial Army as an enemy and kill them while escaping.
The troops of the 13th Regiment, already positioned according to Levin's cautious orders, began moving the moment the first explosion occurred. To secure a way out, they smashed and killed anything that got in their way, without hesitation.
Things like virtue or justice were the most worthless things on this battlefield.
That's why Levin didn't assign any value to the thousands of lives living in Avril Castle, nor did he spare a single thought for their deaths. There was only one thing on Levin's mind: getting the 13th Regiment out safely and without losses.
Levin was rational, logical, competent—and though he appeared cold-blooded, he was an excellent commander who cared for his subordinates.
He had no intention whatsoever of letting his men die just to save some small fortress and the people living in it.
Even if, as a result of his orders, thousands of innocent civilians perished, Levin didn't care.
That's what war was, after all.