The Difference Is Like Between a Dog and a Cow

64 – 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion (3)

After a slightly (?) Special interview with the platoon commanders, I was able to meet the soldiers under the company. I wonder if even the soldiers picked out strange people and brought them back…… Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Most of them are soldiers who served on the frontlines in the north or south, and not a single one has any physical or mental problems.

If the company commander is the head of the company, and the platoon commanders are the backbone and nerves that support the head, the soldiers who will actually be the hands and feet on the battlefield.

If even they had a problem in such a situation, it would be more appropriate to immediately remove the signboard of Assault Magical Infantry Battalion and call it Sonny Zeppelin’s Thrilling Mind Remodeling Unit.

As the name suggests, Assault Magical Infantry, this unit must have been created with a mixed operation between magicians and infantry in mind.

As long as the ‘assault’ is attached, it should play the role of using the mobility of the sorcerer to quickly put the infantry into the battlefield and completely slash the rear with powerful fire support. If both the commander and the soldiers were not in perfect condition, that would not be possible.

‘Well, whatever role it’s actually going to play, the unit Sonny Zeppelin envisioned right now is a tactic ahead of its time.’

The concept of an airborne unit can only be applied after airships have been developed.

But now, even in the Reinhardt Empire, which is famous for its high-speed airship tech tree, only prototypes of airships had yet to be developed.

However, it is surprising that a soldier from a small country, the Principality of Ukraine, came up with this idea.

I’m not a great mage for nothing. I was still wondering if I was a person I could trust, follow, and respect.

“Puha—!”

I set my empty beer glass down on the table, raised my hand and called for the clerk.

“Just give me one more beer and one more plate of sausages!”

“Yes!”

The 8th Assault Magic Battalion, which was newly relocated, had no advantages over the previous 3 Magic Battalion.

One of them was that the unit and the civilian village were very, very close.

The quiet rural town of Stout.

It wasn’t comparable to Cherno City or the capital city of Kayev, but it had everything that would be possible for a rural town.

There were two taverns, general living facilities such as general stores and herbal shops, as well as laundry and mending shops necessary for mending clothes.

Of course, there was a different story behind why the unit was so close to the village.

-If you are a secret unit, why are you so close to the village?

– Huh? Of course! We don’t have supply.

-Yes?

-How do supplies and logistics come to a unit that has not yet been formally organized? It was extremely difficult to secretly organize troops, but to do that for the military side as well? Never can

-So, are you saying that the village should supply food or equipment? Do you pay your own mercy?

-I would buy the basic equipment with my own money, but the meals are okay, right?

-Really…… You are amazing.

Since it is a secret unit, it is not possible to formally request supply from the army headquarters, so to make it close to the village on purpose and supply it from the private sector.

Isn’t it a degraded version of modern North Korean military tactics? Although the circumstances are slightly different, in reality supply is the same as asking for self-sufficiency.

But again, it wasn’t for very incomprehensible reasons.

First of all, since both Sonny and the King did not trust the existing military, they had to pay special attention to security, and Stout is the hometown of Sonny Zeppelin.

If she, who is the pride of this small town, strongly insisted on her silence, then she could put aside her worries about rumors spreading about her troop stationed here.

‘If it becomes a problem, it would rather be in the form of regional adhesion rather than security leakage… ….’

I shook my head and thought.

“Come on! Here’s another beer and an assortment of sausages.”

“Thank you.”

From noble mtl dot com

In the meantime, the clerk quickly brought out a glass of beer and food. I handed him three silver coins and looked at Sergeant Claude sitting in front.

“Eat, boss.”

“I do.”

A boss who puts a well-grilled sausage in one bite. After munching a few times, the bear gulps it down the back of its throat like a salmon swallowing it.

“I wanted to have a drink with you one day. This is an opportunity.”

I said as I raised my beer glass, and Claude silently bumped into the beer glass. Crack-. The light sound of glass colliding echoes.

“You drink better than you think?”

“Even in my previous life, I was the drunkard.”

“Past life?”

“Oh, no…… That was before he enlisted.”

“Hmm, it didn’t look like that at first.”

As he hurriedly corrected his mistake, Claude Lane’s eyes narrowed.

“…… That’s kinda good Why did you call me?”

“Is it wrong for a company commander to have a few drinks with a platoon commander and relax?”

“It’s not like that… ….”

“There is no particular reason. Just having a drink together, asking you to take good care of me in the future—it feels like that.”

I gulped down my new beer. Is it because it is close to the Reinhardt Empire? For a local hole-in-the-wall shop, the beer tastes excellent.

Honestly, when I was in the base, I didn’t like the taste of alcohol sold at bars in the base, so I didn’t use it often.

I thought I would visit this place quite often.

And the original company commander has to live with alcohol.

Whether he was a platoon commander or battalion commander, he was in a position caught in the middle, so the number of people to take care of was bound to increase enormously compared to when he was a platoon commander.

“Are you okay?”

“Now it’s easy. Exercising with Sergeant Claude worked.”

“Then I’m glad.”

Claude was still blunt and stiff, but the hostility he had when they first met had faded.

Still, I wonder if there’s a bond I’ve seen so far.

“By the way, boss, I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“Didn’t Sergeant Claude say Azov before? Regarding the Quernen War.”

I approached cautiously.

Sergeant Claude seems to be accepting the past calmly, but sometimes reacts over-sensitively.

Just a few months ago, Bell Mayer and Sergeant Claude had a fight with their voices raised in an accidental story about the Quernen War. I had to try to talk in a way that didn’t irritate him as much as possible.

“…… The Quernen War. Is it because of what the 4th Platoon Commander said today?”

“Yes.”

Fortunately, the boss did not show any reaction. If it really bothered him, he would have been able to growl like a beast with his yellow eyes wide open.

“You probably know that there is an archipelago called ‘Azov’ that touches the southern part of Ukraine.”

“Are you talking about the enemy?”

“Yes.”

Red Sea.

Ukraine is not a landlocked country. It is not to the extent of the ocean that separates continents, but it is in contact with the ‘Red Sea’, an inland sea.

The name was given according to the red coral topography that spreads widely along the coastline. The Azov Islands were a regional name for the eight islands that rose up in the middle.

“There was a war there only 10 years ago. The natives living in the islands and the southern part facing the Red Sea, especially in the Quarnen Territory.”

The past of the Ukrnian principalities I do not remember. This happened far behind the background of Hearts of General.

“I was 20 at the time and participated in the war there as a soldier. It was a brutal battlefield. The Azovites never left prisoners unharmed.”

“…… Is it a war crime?”

“No, it wasn’t even at the level of a war crime. These were barbaric acts that only took place during ancient wars that fought with spears and knives. They insulted the dead by sticking corpses on skewers, and captured Ukrnian women were better off dead.”

I squinted my eyes. I didn’t experience it myself, but just hearing the story gave me a physiological disgust.

Truly a savage.

“The war was won, but its repercussions lingered in the South. Do you think you can forget about seeing your sister raped and your parents murdered right in front of your eyes?”

Absolutely not.

Humans naturally retain bad memories longer than good ones. I don’t know what it’s for, but that’s what trauma is anyway.

That was the case with Bell Meyer and Rumia Bluet right now. If the two of you are terrible, then you’ve been through terrible things…….

It’s not something I can bear with my sober mind when my family and friends are horribly murdered and humiliated right in front of my eyes.

“In the south of Ukraine, most people still grind their teeth at the bastards of the Azov Islands. Sergeant Hilton Kalia must be one of those people.”

Saying that, Claude gulped down his beer. On the surface of the glass, bubbles of beer that had not yet been drunk rose up.

“Me too.”

“You asked something stupid. Sorry. I was 15 at the time, so I didn’t know how the world was going.”

“I understand. There should be one or two of them.”

Claude’s head was turned towards me, but his focus was on the farther side.

“Vengeance is the most powerful driving force in human life. Even harsh training won’t break her will.”

The eyes of the seasoned elite soldier flashed.

“If nurtured well, it will become your sharpest sword, Captain Enoch.”

***

It has already been two weeks since the 8th Assault Magical Infantry Battalion was fully formed.

In the meantime, the battalion headquarters and staff, including Sonny Zeppelin, have been stocking up on supplies according to their planned training plan.

Personnel of the combat company like me conducted personal training together, or went out to the village, and also strengthened personal friendship between small and company members.

Although it is unknown how many troops will be able to join together in a formal formation here, it is necessary for internal solidarity.

“Roxanna, are you okay?”

“Yes, company commander. I am fully prepared!”

The rank is also a sergeant. Because it is Roxanna Elim, who is suffering from a fatal disease called heart disease.

She, like Rumia Bluet, was assigned to the company headquarters under my direct control. Although her position is only a facade…… First of all, he is a senior administrative assistant.

For both ‘administration’ and ‘supply’, there was nothing to do as a large unit.

And the 3rd Platoon Leader, Sergeant Ervin Ruth, and the 4th Platoon Leader, Sergeant Hilton Calia, whose first meeting was a mess, surprisingly maintained a close relationship with the members of their platoons.

The fact that Platoon Leader Erwin’s unique and refreshing personality and Platoon Leader Hilton’s normally shy and warm-hearted personality seemed to have had a positive effect on the soldiers to some extent.

Bell Meyer has similar reasons, Claude…… Perhaps because of the uniqueness of being a war hero, the morale and loyalty of the platoon members under his command skyrocket even though he did not say anything special.

‘It’s not because it has the ‘charisma’ attribute attached to it.’

Among the many characteristics of Hearts of General, troop management and wartime control are talents that are treated as fraudulent.

Since he took command, it was understandable that the atmosphere in the platoon was like that.

“Now…… Did everyone get together then? It seemed like you played hard for two weeks and also trained personally?”

Sonny Zeppelin stepped onto the podium and looked at the soldiers who had been reviewing the ranks. Her eyes met hers for a moment, then she shifted her gaze to the other side.

“You’ve been playing comfortably for two weeks, now it’s time to go to hell for a while for two weeks.”

It was a playful voice as always, but somehow I felt a different weight than usual.

“Even when I thought, in this training, you guys will get hurt, or even die. However, if you return safely, I promise you that I will definitely raise you into the most elite Ukrnian unit on the honor of being an archmage.”

The colonel paused for a moment.

He immediately changed his attitude 180 degrees and shouted.

“…… Survive!!! Somehow!!! Then you will be the heroes of the era who will bring glory to the Ukrnians—!!!”

As if struck by lightning, a tingling sensation came up. The reviewing soldiers trembled in unison.

“Glory to the motherland!! Glory to the 8th Assault Magical Infantry Battalion!!”

To Sonny Zeppelin’s spearhead, all of her troops responded with booming voices.

“Glory!!!”

The cries of the young soldiers ascending high into the sky.

It was a signal of change that Ukraine would face in the waves of war that would soon hit the world.