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Chapter 170 - Chapter 171 - Bringer of Light (6)

Chapter 171 - Bringer of Light (6)

"What's going on! What happened!"

The 1st Battalion, waiting in front of Avril Castle, was startled by the sudden explosion inside the fortress. No one had any clear idea of what was happening.

"Prepare for battle!"

"Prepare for battle!"

Yet, despite the chaos, once the order to prepare for battle was given, everyone snapped into readiness at once.

This swift response was partly thanks to Soren's judgment; unlike before, when he had allowed his subordinates to relax, this time he kept them under tight control, denying them any real rest.

The 1st and 2nd Companies of the 1st Battalion stayed huddled near their transport vehicles without unloading their packs or disarming, merely taking a brief rest in this state.

Soren planned to let the soldiers rest like this and, once it got late, have them sleep inside the vehicles.

Even though it was night, the heat of summer lingered—normally, the soldiers would be grumbling and cross with complaints. But because Soren had been lenient until now, not a single word of protest was heard about these uncomfortable conditions.

After all, Soren hadn't been indifferent… no, he had treated them well, and in a situation where the 13th Regiment could end up in danger due to the enemy guerrilla unit, anyone who dared to openly whine about this deserved a serious beating.

"2nd Company ready!"

Ernest, having completed his preparations in an instant, immediately reported to Soren.

Instead of running over, he shouted out loudly from in front of his own command vehicle.

"1st Company ready, too!"

Moments later, Ferdinand's booming voice echoed as well. He, too, shouted from in front of his own vehicle.

Soren was commanding his unit efficiently.

There was no reason for the company commanders to run over just to report in—simply calling out from where they stood would do, and delaying the operation by insisting on formalities was the last thing Soren wanted.

"We move according to the plan! Move out!"

"Yes, sir!"

Without wasting any unnecessary words, Soren climbed straight into his vehicle and gave the command.

The battalion staff officers also boarded their vehicles, and the 1st Battalion immediately began racing toward the collapsed east wall of Avril Castle, now burning red with the Fiery Calamity.

As a capable commander, Soren had already gathered his staff officers and company commanders before anything happened to thoroughly review and plan the operation.

They discussed various scenarios, coming up with different tactics for likely developments, and carefully reviewed every detail.

If Heinz Hartmann, the 2nd Corps Chief of Staff, had seen this scene, he would have exclaimed, "I was right about him this time! What a truly outstanding commander! He must be promoted as soon as possible and put in the right position for his talents!"

And then, full of admiration, he would have worked poor busy-bee Soren to the bone with rapid promotions and even more responsibilities.

Vroooom!

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

As the transport vehicles sped toward Avril Castle, cavalrymen rode alongside to provide escort. The cavalry that had been dispersed to scout for unforeseen threats responded swiftly according to the plan.

"Stop!"

"Stop! Stop!"

Screeech!

The 1st Battalion halted at a safe distance from the castle wall. Approaching too close to the wall while still inside the vehicles could make it difficult to respond to a sudden enemy attack.

"Get out quickly!"

"Move, move!"

"Run! Run!"

Immediately after stopping, both the 1st and 2nd Companies began to dismount and form up on their own, even without explicit orders from Soren.

Thunk! Thunk!

"We're all out!"

"Yeah!"

Vroooom!

Once all the soldiers had disembarked, the platoon leaders knocked on the driver's seat doors of the transport vehicles to signal they were clear, and the drivers responded energetically, then drove the vehicles forward, turning them to form a long, orderly line.

"Stop!"

"Stop!"

The drivers stuck their hands out of the driver's side windows to indicate they had stopped, then got out of the vehicles.

The infantry quickly ran over to take cover behind the large, sturdy transport vehicles, forming a defensive line.

Meanwhile, the cavalry rode up close to the fortress to conduct reconnaissance.

"Damn it…!"

Soon, they witnessed the catastrophe that had unfolded at Avril Castle.

"Fire! There's a fire!"

"Run away!"

"We have to put it out! Bring water from the river!"

"That won't be nearly enough! We need to escape!"

"Dad! Dad!"

The castle was in utter chaos after an explosion had erupted in the Inner District at the northeast of Avril Castle.

With the citizens thrown into panic and confusion, the turmoil reached its peak.

Avril Castle was no rural village—it was the seat of the Lord—so of course a Fire Brigade was stationed there.

The Guard Corps responsible for maintaining order also received proper training to control the crowd and restore order in emergencies.

However, at this moment, all the castle's troops had been disarmed by the 13th Regiment and were locked inside the barracks.

The key figures who might have tried to restore order were also imprisoned in the Lord's Hall, and when the Lord's Hall collapsed from the gunpowder explosion, they were all buried alive.

Delano had planned to destroy the Lord's Hall with gunpowder and die together with the 13th Regiment, but he hadn't anticipated that the fire would spread like this. His goal had simply been to bring down the Lord's Hall, so he had detonated the gunpowder underground, not expecting a massive blaze.

But Levin was different.

He didn't care at all whether the citizens of Avril lived or died. All that mattered was that the 13th Regiment escaped the crisis safely.

To achieve this, they had to plunge the enemy guerrilla units—the Belliang Liberation Army hiding in Avril—into such utter chaos that they would be unable to carry out their operations properly.

That was why they set Avril on fire.

When people realized the fire was spreading out of control at a terrifying speed, they rushed frantically toward the nearest castle gate to escape Avril Castle.

However, with the castle's troops locked away and incapacitated, and the 13th Regiment focusing solely on making their own safe escape, all the castle gates remained tightly shut and wouldn't budge.

Naturally, people began to swarm toward the only remaining exit—the collapsed eastern section of the castle wall.

"Help us!"

"Stop! Don't come any closer!"

Seeing the Imperial Army cavalry standing before the broken wall, people waved their arms desperately, pleading for help. But as hundreds pressed toward them, the cavalry, feeling threatened, shouted warnings.

"Please, help! Please!"

"Run!"

"Don't stop!"

"Push! Push!"

But with the fiery calamity closing in, the terrified townspeople couldn't stop.

In their panic, they couldn't even understand what the soldiers were shouting.

It wasn't just the language barrier—amid the overwhelming noise, all the shouting blended together into a single, indistinguishable roar.

The cavalry gritted their teeth and aimed their muzzles at the flood of people bursting out.

The order to fire didn't come easily.

After all, even in this chaos, it was almost unthinkable for the vanguard of the 2nd Corps—the honorable cavalry of the 5th Division—to open fire on unarmed civilians desperately fleeing for their lives.

Piing!

"Gah!"

Taang!

In that instant, as one of the cavalrymen hesitated with his gun raised, a sharp sound sliced through the air right beside his ear. Immediately afterward, a gunshot rang out. The cavalry clearly saw a flash of light amid the crowd pouring out, but they couldn't tell who had fired.

That single gunshot marked the beginning of the horror to come.

"Fire!"

Inside the burning fortress, shadowy figures darted through the smoke.

Against that backdrop, tiny, beautiful blue sparks flashed and flickered like fireflies.

There was a ceaseless, staccato rhythm to the gunfire, almost like music.

People screamed.

Civilians scattered left and right, trying to escape the cavalry's bullets. The pounding of hooves echoed as the cavalry split up as well, chasing after those fleeing in every direction.

People began fleeing back into the burning fortress.

"Fire."

With the blazing Avril Castle as their backdrop, Lieutenant Colonel Soren Kaufmann, 1st Battalion Commander, gave the order to fire at the dark figures dancing in the flames, his tone utterly plain.

....

But the 1st Battalion remained silent.

Soren slowly turned his head to look around. Many were staring at him.

"1st Company Commander, 2nd Company Commander. Step forward."

Soren called 1st Company Commander Ferdinand and 2nd Company Commander Ernest.

Even after hearing Soren's order to fire, the two men had stayed silent, but now they wordlessly approached him.

Soren, hands clasped behind his back, calmly regarded the two company commanders.

He neither showed anger at their insubordination nor any sign of disappointment.

"Are you refusing my order?"

Soren asked in a level voice.

"Yes," Ernest replied, his tone flat and emotionless.

....

Ferdinand didn't answer.

For someone as thick-headed as Ferdinand, whose blood circulation to his brain was always in doubt, this was the strongest protest he could muster.

Soren nodded.

"You two already did the same thing earlier today. Are you aware of that?"

"Yes, I am."

Ernest answered Soren's question calmly as well.

The moment they were given the order to attack a crowd in the village where enemies and civilians were mixed together, it was already over. This situation is no different.

The only distinction is the scale.

Soren pointed out that this was hypocrisy, and Ernest acknowledged it but replied that, regardless, he could not go through with this now.

"1st Company Commander, do you feel the same?"

Soren addressed Ferdinand, who remained silent. Ferdinand stared past Soren, his eyes fixed on the dark shapes writhing in front of the burning fortress.

Ferdinand understood.

Their refusal here was meaningless.

If the 1st Battalion Commander, Soren, dismissed the company commanders, he would simply give the order to fire himself.

And those escaping from the burning fortress—whether enemy or civilian, no one would be left alive by the 13th Regiment.

They'd shoot everyone, crush them with vehicles.

Even if they left it alone, all those people would be slaughtered on Levin's orders anyway.

Ernest knowingly chose to disobey, fully aware that his resistance was meaningless and pointless.

He appeared detached, but that composure came from having no regrets about his decision.

However, Ferdinand was not able to be that way.

He was only seventeen, but he had spent his whole life preparing to become a soldier.

Losing Georg in the forest had filled him with regret, and yet even now he couldn't help but hesitate.

If refusing to obey Soren's order here could actually change the outcome, Ferdinand would have declared his disobedience without hesitation. He would have stood his ground decisively, having learned from the pain of his past.

But if nothing would change—whether he complied or rebelled—then what was the point of any of this?

Ferdinand remained silent, his body rigid like stone as he glared at the burning Avril Castle and the people screaming below. It was as if, in Ferdinand's silence, Lieutenant Colonel Soren Kaufmann, 1st Battalion Commander of the 13th Regiment, had received all the answer he needed.

"This is insubordination."

He stated it firmly, then raised his voice with authority.

"As of this very moment, I am stripping the 1st and 2nd Company Commanders, and all company platoon leaders, of their command authority! I will personally take direct command of the 1st Battalion!"

Soren's voice rang out powerfully, cutting through both the gunfire and the cries.

"1st Battalion! Open fire on the enemy!"

Bang! Bang bang!

Having stripped the 1st and 2nd Company officers of their authority, Soren himself gave the order for the 1st Battalion to fire.

The soldiers, though hesitant at first, began shooting at the 'enemy.'

The first time is always the hardest, but once it started, it was nothing.

As soon as one person fired, the rest followed suit.

Their guilt over shooting at the 'enemy'—who appeared only as dark shapes in the backlight, far in the distance—vanished with the initial volley.

Even without a 3rd Company, the firepower unleashed by the 1st Battalion across the wide-open plain was overwhelming beyond imagination.

Even the least trained new recruits, as long as they were holding a Balt Gun, could fire a shot every three seconds. With those brutal guns, two infantry companies—two hundred soldiers—were firing in perfect unison.

"Cease fire!"

"Cease fire! Cease fire!"

Barely ten seconds had passed since the firing began.

Soren gave the order to stop, and the 1st Battalion, who had been shooting in a straight line formation, slowly eased up on their barrage.

Once the ceasefire command reached the very end of the line and all shooting had halted, a silence as surreal as a lie settled over them.

All that remained upon the collapsed castle wall were shadows moving.

Not living shadows, but dead ones cast by the flames devouring Avril Castle as they licked hungrily at the air.

"..."

Not only Ernest and Ferdinand—who had defied Soren's order—but also the platoon leaders stripped of command, and the soldiers who had frantically obeyed the shooting order, all stared in stunned horror at the aftermath of the indiscriminate massacre.

In less than ten seconds, hundreds of people had been wiped out without a chance to resist.

Yet the 1st Battalion, blinded by the dark night sky and the burning backlight of Avril Castle, couldn't tell how many they had killed, or even if they had been the enemy at all.

They had simply fired at shadows, and now those moving shadows had stopped.

"Friendly troops may come out. Lower your weapons and stand by."

Soren issued a firm, unwavering order.

It was to prevent any friendly fire incidents.

A moment later, in line with cautious instructions from Levin, the 13th Regiment's vanguard, stationed earlier at Avril Castle, began to emerge between the collapsed castle walls, firing at any buildings on either side as they moved out.

They flinched at the sight of hundreds of corpses sprawled before the walls, but having already survived the hell that was now Avril Castle, they didn't hesitate—they stepped right over the bodies as they made their way out.

Next, the main force of the 13th Regiment began to exit Avril Castle.

Crunch! Crack!

Large, heavy vehicles rolled out, carelessly crushing the scattered corpses beneath their wheels.

Once the main force of the 13th Regiment had safely made it out of Avril Castle, cavalrymen who had chased down and killed anyone fleeing along either side of the collapsed castle wall returned to escort them.

The 13th Regiment approached the 1st Battalion, which had been waiting in formation ahead, and joined up with them. With that, every situation was resolved.

"1st Battalion Commander. Excellent work. I expect you to continue just as you have."

Levin offered high praise to Lieutenant Colonel Soren Kaufmann, the 1st Battalion Commander, for completing his mission with results beyond expectations.

Although the Cavalry Battalion had provided some support, the 1st Battalion alone had seized every village in the territory except Avril Castle, blocked the enemy main force at the forest's edge, and even supported the 13th Regiment as they escaped from Avril Castle.

Even then, the only casualty the 1st Battalion suffered was a single 3rd Company soldier who twisted his ankle when he fell during the initial occupation of a village. It had been a flawless execution of the plan, leaving nothing to criticize.

"Yes."

Soren responded calmly to Levin's commendation.

Yet Soren, who had never intended to distinguish himself, was inwardly screaming in frustration.

If he attracted the attention of the higher-ups and was suddenly promoted, his grand ambition of living a life of luxury while leeching off the empire's tax money would be shattered.

Of course, Soren's dream had already been crushed long ago.

Everyone knew it—except Soren himself.

Lost in his delusions, he was only half in his right mind.

Afterward, the post-battle clean-up began.

Of course, the burning Avril Castle was of no concern to them. All that mattered was assessing the casualties and supply status of the 13th Regiment.

The 13th Regiment sustained only minimal losses.

Around thirty casualties occurred during the escape from Avril Castle, and among them, fewer than ten had died.

Though he often seemed cold and ruthless, Levin still cared for his men.

He dispatched First-Class Baltracher to treat all the wounded.

"That's just like the Regimental Commander! There's no better superior anywhere!"

Had things gone even slightly wrong, the entire 13th Regiment could have suffered catastrophic losses.

But thanks to Levin's almost pathological caution, bold execution, and genuine care for his subordinates, they ultimately kept the death toll to under ten.

All the troops remaining inside the fortress moved swiftly and discreetly under Levin's command, executing the plan flawlessly.

The 1st Battalion and Cavalry Battalion, who waited outside the castle, performed above Levin's expectations, cutting off every possible variable and supporting the allied forces as planned.

With every unit of the 13th Regiment working together like precision clockwork, they were able to safely escape a burning fortress filled with enemy ambushes, suffering an almost unbelievably minor toll. It was the kind of exemplary withdrawal that could have gone straight into a tactical manual.

During all this, the thousands of civilian casualties went not only unconsidered, but would likely never even be properly recorded. The higher-ups wouldn't criticize any of it; instead, they would lavish praise on crushing the 'Belliang Liberation Army'—whose existence had now surfaced—with such minor losses.

Besides, who could say those that died in Avril Castle were truly civilians?

How could anyone know if they had joined the Belliang Liberation Army, or were simply being used?

Avril's own lord, Delano, had even allied himself with the Belliang Liberation Army!

Levin remarked, "Now all that's left is to wipe out the remnants hiding in the forest."

"Haha, no need for a mop-up operation. Sooner or later, they'll crawl out on their own. Now that the area's sealed off, their food supplies will run out quickly, and since we've already mopped up those inside the territory, what more could they possibly hope to accomplish by holding out?"

The officers of the 13th Regiment watched Avril Castle burn, relishing in this flawless victory.

Levin's obsessive caution had felt frustrating before, but this time, it allowed them to break through the enemy's trap without any major losses. 

And now they could neatly take care of the so-called Belliang Liberation Army—a group that bore an impressive name but, in reality, was just an untrained rabble.

This was truly an incredible achievement!

"Hmm… Still, if word of this gets out, there may be some backlash."

"Backlash? What do you mean, backlash?"

"After all, a lot of civilians died, didn't they?"

"Hahahaha! This is nothing to get worked up about!"

The older, more seasoned officers burst into laughter at the worried face of the younger officer, who was clearly thinking about the Empire's colonial governance policies.

"Avril and the Belliang Liberation Army banded together to attack us, and all we did was defend ourselves and escape.They weren't civilians—they were insurgents or rioters who took up arms against the Empire. Don't fret over it."

A perfect victory, remarkable results, and an admirable justification. It was such a spectacular battle, it almost seemed absurd. One should be grateful for the opportunity to gain experience and distinguish oneself in such battles.

"I understand why you disobeyed the orders."

After everything ended, Soren called Ernest and Ferdinand to him once more and spoke calmly.

"I know it was a difficult order to follow. But as soldiers, we are bound to obey commands, and if this happens again, I will have no choice but to administer formal disciplinary action."

Soren did not want to punish Ferdinand, the eldest grandson of the 2nd Corps Chief of Staff and the eldest son of the 2nd Corps Section Chief—or Captain Fox, Ernest, who had their protection—for insubordination.

What if Heinz took offense and crushed his comfortable future just because of some stubborn adherence to procedure? But if they disobeyed orders again, there would be nothing Soren could do.

In that case, punishment would be unavoidable.

"Resume command of your company as before."

"…Yes."

With those words, Soren restored their command authority, sweeping the issue of insubordination under the rug without so much as a reprimand.

Ernest and Ferdinand answered in low, somber voices.

He understood that these young officers, still barely grown, were incapable of giving orders for civilian massacres, and after stripping them of their authority, he had taken responsibility by giving the orders himself.

Soren had done everything he could for them within his power.

However, nothing could comfort the hearts of these young officers as they faced the corpses scattered before the crumbled castle walls, bodies mangled and crushed beyond recognition by vehicles—so many deaths blurred in the darkness, indistinguishable from mere shadows.

The 13th Regiment committed a massacre of civilians at Avril Castle.

However, this would be recorded not as the "Avril Castle Massacre," but as the "Battle of Avril Castle," and all those killed by the 13th Regiment would be documented not as "civilians," but as "enemies"

This was the true face of war, hidden until now beneath the Empire's proud discipline.

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