The Status Window Disappeared

Experienced Newbies (2)

It was Chris who obtained the position of noncommissioned officer thanks to his past as a mercenary, but that did not mean he could go straight to the battlefield.

Even if they were veteran mercenaries, once they became regular soldiers of the Empire, they had to receive new education about the rank system and organization within the military.

I don’t know if Chris is just a soldier.

If you want to work as a non-commissioned officer, of course you have to do that.

However, the Breton Imperial Army, who informed Chris of his assignment, gave an answer that was beyond his expectations.

“Did you say the Blue Lions? Then, please go to the place of assignment with that wagon. Members of the Blue Lions are exempt from training.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good idea.”

When Chris grumbled and headed in the direction the soldier had instructed, the other party smiled bitterly.

As far as he knew, there were two major cases in which new noncommissioned officers were exempted from training.

The first is when your body is assigned to a rear unit that goes to build a career.

And the second… … .

‘It seems that the situation on the front line is quite bad.’

This is the case when replenishment of the unit is so urgent that normal procedures are ignored.

Of course, Chris wasn’t too upset about that.

Didn’t he ask for assignment to the front line in the first place?

It was an opportunity for a hero to be born.

Chris was confident in his skills, so he wanted to use this as his opportunity.

He started his journey to the front line with terrified soldiers.

Although the Breton Empire is an island nation, it is large enough to call itself an empire.

Therefore, all the soldiers in this position were not conscripts forcibly recruited from here and there, but professional soldiers who participated in the war voluntarily.

However, in Chris’ eyes, they were very unreliable.

‘The clothes are a mess, and the weapons are not properly maintained. Did these guys skip the training course like me?’

Krisya was a mercenary, so she was confident enough to pay for her meal, but they are different.

The soldiers riding in the wagons now were people who had plowed the fields and sold goods not long ago.

Chris had no intention of relying on them on a bloody battlefield.

And that thought was the same for the soldiers.

They looked at Chris disgruntled, dressed like a veteran on a fine horse.

At night, when Chris pretended to be asleep, he would talk behind his back from a distance.

“Did you see that kid’s face? That’s a guy from off the island. We are going to fight the enemies under the orders of an outsider!”

“Accepting foreigners into the army. We went until our country too.”

“These guys. Even our current prime minister is from another world. But what reason could there be for not following an outsider? Let’s see how good he is.”

The soldier, who seemed to be a little older, calmed the others down, but the antipathy towards the outsiders did not fade easily.

Regional feelings in this world… Among them, the people of the island nation are no joke.

It was this part that Chris was wary of.

I don’t really want to be respected by Breton people, but it’s not like I have to be warned like this from the beginning.

If he made a contribution on the battlefield and was recognized as a proper soldier, the people of the empire would also accept him.

Soldiers are one of the most respected professions in the Breton Empire.

Fortunately, the uncomfortable trip was over soon.

Chris could see the encampment of the Blue Lions on a small hill.

These were units in charge of defending the strategic points leading to the coast, roughly the size of a battalion in modern Earth.

Cavalry and infantry, archers and wizards, etc. are well-balanced in terms of composition of troops, but the number of heads is a little small compared to the size of the garrison.

It was probably because of the number of battles the number of troops had decreased.

Chris quickly made his way down the hill to his new home.

The guards guarding the wooden fence of the garrison looked bright when they saw the carriage, then frowned when they realized that only about 10 people had arrived.

“It turned. Two days ago, more people died than that, so why aren’t they replenishing it properly?”

“I heard that other units are on the verge of annihilation. At least we met the commander well and are still alive.”

After getting through the crowd and arriving at the command center, Chris realized something unexpected.

Although the entire garrison was heavily defeated, the minimum level of military discipline was still maintained.

There is no noticeable punishment for desertion or surrender.

‘Is it because they’re recruits, not conscripts?’

Inside the command tent, sweaty and grime-stained officers and noncommissioned officers were having a fairly diligent strategy meeting.

The man at the head of the table saw Chris and walked out of the meeting to welcome him.

Chris swallowed his saliva at the sight of his youthful appearance.

“Are you the newly assigned noncommissioned officer? Welcome, sergeant.”

The Breton Empire was copying and using the modern Earth’s class system appropriately according to the Prime Minister’s orders.

The man standing in front of Chris was at most the age of a newcomer to society, but he had a lieutenant colonel’s epaulettes on his chest.

‘A lieutenant colonel in his early twenties? Are you from a prestigious family?’

Chris thought to himself as he took his hand and shook it.

Even if the class system of the modern Earth was copied, not all classes corresponded one-to-one.

This world has its own characteristics, so we have to take that into consideration.

However, a lieutenant colonel is the commander of a battalion-level unit, which means that this man is holding the lifelines of about 700 people in the garrison.

Chris wondered if he had misunderstood something, but the man introduced himself as the commander.

At this point, Chris began to question the personality of the recruiting officer who sent him here.

I’m sure I wished I had a proper boss, but a kid like this is the commander.

The blue lion’s owner didn’t notice Chris’ displeasure and asked him a question.

“I don’t think I was trained properly because I came here in a hurry. I want to know your abilities.”

Contrary to his youthful appearance, the young commander’s work was quite smooth.

Since he had not received any training or education, there was no way he would have been organized into a military unit.

Chris stopped talking when he saw a soldier rushing in from outside while trying to explain his skill in detail.

The soldier, who seemed to be a messenger, hurriedly spoke without even saluting properly.

“Commander, it’s a big problem. The blue shield unit next to us came under heavy attack… … .”

“Have you received a request for assistance? If the blue shield is pierced, we are next. Power out! All but the wounded and guards are out.”

As soon as the young commander made a decision, 700 people immediately began to move.

Chris was amazed to see how he behaved in perfect order.

‘As expected, recruiters are a bit different.’

“You, please move with me. The cavalry follows me and goes to support first. Infantry, don’t be too late!”

The relatively swift cavalry began running ahead to provide urgent assistance.

Chris kept pace with them and reflected on the background of this war.

Despite having strong national power, the Breton Empire, which had been confined to the island, had been aiming to advance into the continent for a long time.

The place where Chris is now is the bridgehead for the Breton Empire’s advance into the continent.

It is an important base that the Empire took away with a lot of blood not long ago, and therefore wants to protect it somehow.

Like many countries, the Breton Empire was also severely damaged by the missing status window.

The countries that had previously lost their territories to the empire decided not to miss this opportunity.

The kingdom of Basilonia, a traditional knight power, is currently fighting against the Blue Lions.

Since they did not use many players in the first place, they were able to maintain their combat power despite the disappearance of the status window.

As Chris finished the review in his head, the chaotic battlefield began to come into view at a glance.

The entire force of the Blue Shield unit was tied up in a plain far away from the garrison, as if they were ambushed while on the move.

Although the infantry are barely holding their lines… … .

The archers and magicians in the rear were swept away, and most of the cavalry were also killed.

It was because the slow-footed infantry could not properly check the Knights, the pride of Basilonia.

“this… Blue Shield is already wrong. We cover the infantry and support the retreat.”

The young commander began to operate the relief force, making quick and cool judgments.

Chris liked his command very much.

Even if we go out with boiling blood here, this side will only suffer great damage.

He guessed the cause of the defeat by looking at the composition of the Imperial Army.

‘what? There’s not a single heavy cavalry on the Blue Shield side, right? Come to think of it, our unit is only light cavalry? If this is the case, if the heavy cavalry over there charges, I’ll have to be helpless?’

The Breton Empire attempted drastic reforms to escape from the evils of the traditional feudal system and switched to a centralized system.

As a result, the nobility and knights, who were vested in the feudal system, fell in an instant.

The problem is that most of the heavy cavalry in each country’s armies were of the knight class.

Although heavy cavalry were very powerful, they were an expensive class, and it took a lot of time and money to systematically train them in the country.

Therefore, the leadership of the Breton Empire came up with an innovative solution in its own way.

‘Can’t we just use the money to summon more players instead of just making heavy cavalry?’

‘Players have better mobility than heavy cavalry, and they don’t have much attack power, but the maintenance cost is much cheaper.’

‘I’ve reformed to a centralized system, but I can’t go back to the original to raise some heavy cavalry. Let’s do it.’

Since the number of heavy cavalry was not so large in the first place, it could be sufficiently replaced with a small number of players.

However, due to the disappearance of the status window, this ambitious move has become the worst self-killer.

Chris expressed concern when he saw his light cavalry approaching the heavy cavalry ravaging the battlefield.

If they collided head-on with the heavy cavalry, they would crumble like tofu in an instant.

Fortunately, the young commander was not an idiot.

He used flag signals to command his allies in the charge.

“Open the crossbow shot! The infantry of the blue shields are still in line. Use the line of spearmen as a shield, keep your distance and harass them.”

The light cavalry’s crossbow shot was powerful against the heavy cavalry, but it was difficult to expect a great effect due to the long loading time and low accuracy.

When one of the staff members was concerned about it, the commander nodded expectantly.

“Know. The remaining cavalry was now immediately diverted to the flanks. Avoid their heavy cavalry and hit the infantry in the back.”

Of course, the other side didn’t just lead heavy cavalry into battle.

In the rear of the Basilonia Kingdom army, there was an infantry unit for arranging the battlefield and forming an encirclement.

Chris read the commander’s intentions and saw him again.

Traditionally, the pain of being beaten is much stronger than the pleasure of being hit.

The young commander intended to attack the enemy’s infantry with diverted light cavalry and defeat the heavy cavalry.

Indeed, when the enemy’s rear was attacked, the cavalry advancing to the front began to waver.

Soon, the horns used to command the heavy cavalry began to sound in the opposing camp.

The staff of the Imperial Army thought the operation had worked well and started cheering up the commander, but Chris recognized the sound of the horn and immediately became contemplative.

“this! Those guys are going to leave their main unit behind and attack this side! Everyone, prepare for battle!”

“What, what?”

“How did you know that? Stop talking nonsense and leave command to the officers!”

“I’m a mercenary, so of course you understand!”

It was a bit rude to talk to the boss, but I didn’t want to treat stupid fools who couldn’t make sense of it.

Chris began setting up caltrops specially designed for anti-cavalry use, without properly observing their reaction.

‘I never thought I’d be able to use the rest of the items like this after holding the leader of the knights.’

The officers, who had been cursing Chris almost through evil, were shocked to see the heavy cavalry rushing towards them.

But Chris didn’t blame them too badly.

Originally, the enemy’s heavy cavalry had to retreat from the front to protect the main force.

However, as they fight, blood sometimes rises to their heads, making it impossible to judge properly.

A commander on the frontline does not always make cool and correct judgments.

This was a fact that you might not know unless you have experienced various battlefields like Chris.

Although he has only been active as a mercenary for about 2 years, 2 years as a mercenary is better than 10 years in the regular army.

Even so, regular soldiers waste their time if their country does not go to war, but mercenaries go out to fight.

Having installed all the caltrops, Chris immediately ordered the archers around him to form a net.

Fortunately, the young commander accepted it immediately.

The Imperial forces, including Chris and the commander, grit their teeth and control their wicks, facing a storm of steel and dust.