Lord of Training - Chapter 15



Only Krnovel

15. I will sacrifice my whole body for my country.

15. I will sacrifice my whole body for my country.

The street fighting was over in two days.

Thanks to the great efforts of me and my platoon, we ended the urban battle without much damage, and our airborne brigade completely occupied the city of Ferring.

Of course, the greatest contributor was Fabian, but he was not interested in anything other than canned food.

‘Taking a bath in a warm bath······.’

The body melts.

Plus, there was a fluffy bed.

I’ve been wading through a smelly cesspool for the past two days, but it’s all good because it ended up this good.

I even left my military uniform laundry at the hotel.

Currently, all payment methods in this city are canned.

Our platoon was flexing in a clean inn because Captain Gus had brought us five large boxes of canned food as a reward for street fighting.

Knock knock!

“Who is it?”

“Phelps, here comes Fabian.”

“Okay. Go down.”

After finishing my bath, I went down to the restaurant on the first floor.

As for restaurant food, it was just a little bit of vegetables mixed in with the canned food we had brought, but somehow the owner’s food was pretty edible.

“Huh? Sergeant Phelps, where did everyone go?”

“I went to the bar on the corner.”

“bar?”

He shook his head.

Just before we entered the inn, I saw some women waving at us from the second floor of the bar.

They said that the women of the Kingdom of Lutes were beautiful, and it was true.

“Tell them to take it easy. We’re on vacation, but the other units will be fighting starting tomorrow morning.”

“Yes. I warned Sergeant Herman in advance.”

Sergeant Herman? I saw the girls earlier and you liked them the most······.

“Hey! Captain Alain!”

Fabian, who was sitting in the corner, raised his hand toward me.

I came closer.

“Are you here?”

“I brought the friend I mentioned earlier this afternoon. It’s this friend.”

The man sitting next to Fabian stood up and held out his hand.

“Grills.”

“This is Lieutenant Alain Bombard.”

When we held hands, it felt like we were holding a rock.

This is the hand of a miner!

Grills had broad shoulders and a bushy beard, so you couldn’t tell his age right away.

He said he was Fabian’s friend, so he must be in his sixties, but he looked quite young.

“So what are you curious about?”

As soon as he sat down, he got to the point.

“Have you ever been inside the gate in the Tuileries Canyon?”

Grills chuckled.

“I worked there until a few days ago and then I left. And it’s also where I’ve been working for the past 20 years.”

“That’s great. Then I have a lot to ask you.”

Grills cut me off, spreading his palms.

“Can I check the can first?”

I looked at Phelps.

“How many should I bring?”

“10 big ones.”

Grills’ eyes sparkled.

Phelps came down from the second floor with a can of food.

He placed cans twice as large as the personal supply cans on his desk.

I brought five of them in front of the grill.

“I’ll give you five first. I’ll give you the rest after I finish telling you the story.”

“Okay, I see.”

Grills put five cans into the bag he brought.

Then Fabian reached out to Grills.

It seemed like he was asking for a referral fee since he was the one who connected me.

Grills made a bitter expression, took out a can of canned food and handed it to Fabian.

Fabian stood up from his seat.

“Captain Alain, if you need anyone else, let me know. I’ll be happy to help.”

“all right.”

He left the inn.

Perhaps it will go to the young granddaughters.

Grills poked his head out.

“Okay! What do you want to know?”

“I want to know everything about what’s inside the gate.”

I asked for detailed information about the inside of the Tulis Dimension Gate, such as the geography inside the gate, the location of the accommodations, the method of processing and storing magic stones, and the location of the magic stone mine.

Grills was the mine operator and knew the inside of the gate like the back of his hand, so he was able to obtain accurate and diverse information.

“Do you have a detailed map showing the inside of the gate?”

“There is, but······.”

Grills looked at the can and smacked his lips.

“Okay. Hand me the map and I’ll give you five more.”

“I brought it because I thought you might be curious about the gate.”

Grills pulled about twenty pieces of paper out of his bag.

“Are these all maps?”

“Of course. I told you how wide the inside of this gate is. Besides, the northern forest of monsters is still a place where monsters appear, so there is no detailed map. It is very dangerous, so it would be better not to go there.”

I nodded.

The interior of the large dimensional gate is so vast that monsters, humans, and other races often coexist.

In fact, in most cases, they were left alone because they were difficult for humans to subdue due to terrain or unique features.

I got a lot of information about the inside of the Tulis Dimension Gate from Grills.

And we also obtained information that there was a large amount of raw magic stone left over from work at the magic stone mine.

‘Is there any way for me to get that magic stone?’

The Allied Forces would ultimately win the battle, but I was thinking about how to secure the magic stone inside the dimensional gate.

Because it was now an ownerless object.

“I sent Grills two more cans. He’s got a big family.”

“Well done.”

Phelps was more affectionate than you might think.

Especially when he saw a child, he would readily give him his share of canned food and dry bread.

“But why are you gathering information inside the gate?”

“Just sit down like that.”

Sergeant Phelps sat across from me.

“Do you remember the conversation we had at the Labyrinth Gate before?”

“yes?”

“I want to become a permanent resident······.”

“Yes! Of course I remember. I will assist you. I am sure you will be a good lord.”

As expected, I can’t help but chuckle at his overly enthusiastic appearance.

“So, let’s get to the practical issue. What do I need most to become a lord?”

“Well······.”

Phelps was troubled.

“Fame? Success?”

I didn’t answer and waited for Phelps to give his answer.

“Ah! Or maybe you’re not a talented person like me?”

“You’re very close to being a talented person. But what you need most is money.”

“Money?”

Phelps tilted his head.

“It’s good to gain fame and rise through the ranks, but as you said, nothing is more important than talent. However, to recruit, feed, clothe, and accompany these talents to the end, you need gold.”

“My platoon and I don’t need gold coins.”

I chuckled.

“Right now. That’s how you feel. But will you still feel that way in a few years? Who would follow a poor lord who is struggling with money? Even I would leave.”

I am not an idealist.

The path to becoming a lord.

It’s going to be a long and tedious fight.

My uncle, Sten Bombard, had already achieved fame on numerous battlefields and was a general in the Kingdom of Atlan.

And there were many talented people around him.

“Then the magic stone ore in the mine?”

I nodded.

“Magic stones are worth a lot of money. And don’t you have a subspace warehouse?”

“Oh! As expected from someone who will become a lord, his thinking is on a different level.”

Phelps looked around.

I was worried that someone might hear.

“But can we enter the dimensional gate? If our army or the Arica Republic army takes control of the gate, we will first guard the magic stone mine.”

“I have to look for that now.”

***

Boom! Kukookung!

The windows kept shaking as if there was an earthquake.

The sound of cannons continued day and night for three days, making my bones hurt.

‘This isn’t resting even if I rest······.’

Yesterday, the 2nd Army Corps sent an additional 30,000 troops.

That means the trench warfare was that intense.

The cannons were so powerful that they could not advance without a trench, and the Empire was fully prepared to defend itself, so the battle was likely to turn into a tedious war of attrition.

‘It would be much easier if we had an airborne magic unit in this situation.’

I heard they are now waging an all-out war to take over the port of Pascaltes.

The outcome of this war virtually depended on who controlled Pascaltes.

The port of Pascaltes was home to many military factories and was only 30 km from the capital, the Loire.

If that place were taken away, the Empire would have to withdraw from the Kingdom of Lutes, and there would be a brief period of peace.

Conversely, if the Empire continued to hold the place, additional Imperial equipment and troops could enter the Kingdom of Lytes through the port of Pascaltes.

Then again, it was unclear how the war would unfold.

The immediate problem is that our company must now go to the front line where trench warfare is in full swing.

The command center was very considerate, as they gave us three days off.

‘It will probably be deployed today······.’

Additional troops must have arrived. It seemed as if they were preparing for an all-out war.

I woke up anyway.

I packed my bags early and went down to the restaurant on the first floor.

I was having a leisurely breakfast when it came.

“Lieutenant Alain, all officers above platoon leader are ordered to assemble at the operations headquarters.”

“Okay.”

I left my platoon in the care of Sergeant Phelps, met the company commander, and headed to the command center.

***

‘Everyone has been called together.’

It seems like all the officers are gathered in the command barracks.

After a while.

Our brigade commander and a man came in.

Two stars on the shoulder straps.

It was Major General Tolip Resim, the 2nd Corps Chief of Staff and Deputy Corps Commander.

“You all know why I have called you all together. We are running out of time.”

The expression on the face of the Tollip Curator was dark.

“The Arica Republic Army has now advanced to this point.”

Chief Tollip frowned as he pointed to the map.

The Republican forces had advanced 500 meters along the front line, taking three trenches in the past four days.

In contrast, we are only 200 meters away.

If things continued this way, there was a high possibility that the dimensional gate would be stolen by the Arica Republic Army.

That’s why it seemed like he was thinking of gathering the officers and taking special measures.

“It’s not that we are lacking in troops, so why is our advance so slow?”

Colonel Autumn raised his hand and said.

“But the Republic Army’s casualties are severe. There are many casualties.”

“Who doesn’t know that? We, like them, must accept some degree of damage. If they take the gate, we will have to return empty-handed. What could be more terrible than that?”

Everyone just looked at each other like dumb people who had eaten honey.

This wasn’t the only dimensional gate that the Kingdom of Lutes had promised to provide.

But even if all the other dimensional gates were combined, they were smaller than this Tuileries Canyon gate alone.

So, I had to take this place no matter what, so that I could make up for the losses that had occurred.

‘As expected, you’re only thinking about replacing the soldiers.’

They won’t go to the front anyway.

Because he is a high-ranking commander.

Only performance proved their abilities, so soldiers were nothing more than expendable items.

The problem was that our platoon was also getting torn apart by cannons and machine guns as they ran to take the trenches.

“We will launch an all-out offensive starting today. And we will push forward day and night! Only then can we catch up with the advance of the Republic Army.”

Then, looking at the map, a plan came to mind.

I raised my hand quietly.

Then Colonel Autumn frowned.

“Where is he now, a mere platoon leader raising his hand?”

Chief Tollip looked at me.

“No. Was it Lieutenant Alain?”

“That’s right.”

“What do you have to say?”

“There is a way to weaken the enemy’s defenses.”

“what?”

Director Tollip looked puzzled.

“Tell me. Anyone can express an opinion.”

“It’s to disrupt the enemy’s rear.”

“rear?”

For a moment, Captain Tollip and the commanders looked dumbfounded.

“Huh! You don’t know the geography of this place at all. There’s no rear here. There’s the Imperial Army in front of us, and the gate behind them. And to the east of the canyon are the Republic Army.”

“The rear I was talking about is that dimensional gate.”

“What? Gate?”

Everyone had a puzzled expression on their face.

“We’ll pretend to launch a full-scale attack late at night, pour down artillery fire, and at that time, we’ll load troops onto airships and sneak them into the gate from the other side of the canyon.”

“Huh? So?”

“If the airship can enter safely without being detected by them, we can take the opportunity to come out of the gate and surprise the artillery from the rear and destroy their firepower all at once. Without the cannons, their attacks will be weaker and they will not be able to stop our advance.”

Then the Colville battalion commander raised his hand.

“It’s a good idea. Even if the airstrike is discovered or the attack fails, the presence of our troops inside the gate will force them to be on guard at all times, and we will have to send a punitive force inside the gate, so it will also have the effect of dividing our forces.”

The toll collector stroked his chin and nodded slowly.

It seemed like he viewed the operation I mentioned positively.

I raised my hand again.

“To achieve the effect of surprise, you need to move with a small number of elite troops in a single small airship. That way, you are less likely to be detected by them.”

“A small number of elite······.”

“Please leave that mission to our 3rd Platoon of the Graph Company.”

“What? You? If you do something wrong, you’ll be isolated at the gate?”

“I will dedicate my life to His Majesty the Great King and my country. I am sure my men will feel the same way.”

“Wow! Your loyalty to your country is amazing.”

Then Lieutenant Colonel Colville intervened again.

“There are five Awakened in Lieutenant Alain’s platoon. They have strong firepower and have been excellent in this urban battle, driving back your troops. There is no one better suited to the job than them. Leave it to them.”

“That’s right.”

The toll-lip commanders and their commanders nodded.

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