Chapter 56: To the Front Lines

“Head, you mean the counterattack plan that the spiritualist talked about? That’s the one that’s been circulating as a rumor, right?”

“That’s probably it. It’s the one where they launch a simultaneous attack on all of the enemy forts. It’s unlikely to succeed though.”

As I sat inside the cage, I eavesdropped on the conversation between Tigar and Gora. Tigar was a rough-looking leader called “head,” and was the father of the young furu male who spoke to me before.

The other person, Gora, was a bald, muscular man with a fierce scar on his forehead. Among the demons here….. He was the tallest member of the former Lugall squad atonement soldiers, even taller than Alexander.

They were discussing the counterattack plan that the Imperial Army was preparing. As atonement soldiers, they held a special position that didn’t afford them much access to information. However, they occasionally heard rumors from soldiers who talked too much.

Among these rumors, the counterattack plan must have been frequently mentioned. And to my surprise, Tigar and Gora seemed to have more information than I expected.

The general outline of the plan was for the imperial forces to launch an attack on all the forts on the front line against the invading army at once. Personally, I thought it would be better to use their forces to systematically take down each fortress instead of spreading themselves thin. But apparently, there was a reason why that wouldn’t work.

“Why is that? Even if we have to fight in harsh conditions, would it be possible to win if they receive reinforcements from their rear while we are spread out?”

The reason behind the inability to capture the fortress was due to the invading army’s superior supply capacity. According to reports, they had a unique mechanism to swiftly transport personnel and supplies from their rear. This was the reason why, even if we attempted to attack any fortress, reinforcements would arrive before we could seize control of it. Although Tigar and the others were unaware of how the invaders were capable of achieving this feat, the information still seemed to be widely known.

From my past experience of attacking that fortress in the central front, I had an inkling of how the invading army managed to pull it off. It was all thanks to that metal carriage with wheels, which didn’t require horses and sped away from the gate. It was incredibly quick and could transport a variety of items. I still couldn’t fathom how it managed to infiltrate the fortress, but there must be a way…

“Do you even know how many fortresses there are? There are five of them. The imperial army may have a large number of soldiers, but it takes a lot of effort to capture just one fortress. How do they plan to divide their forces and attack five fortresses without any reinforcements?”

“Isn’t it rumored that the Empire is sending all of their rear troops?”

“Well, for anyone who didn’t participate in this war, he’s just a common soldier. If they can’t even prevent that baaaam-like object from blasting their soldiers to pieces, then they’re nothing but cannon fodder. No matter how many soldiers they bring, they won’t even be able to form a human meat shield.” 

Tigar chuckled at Gora’s comment. He was right; if they couldn’t even defend against the metal fragments, they wouldn’t stand a chance in a battle against the invading army.

Without some secret strategy that Tigar was unaware of, the likelihood of the Empire failing in this large-scale counterattack was high. 

We arrived at the front lines when the summer had ended and the weather had cooled down, listening to worrisome stories even before the battle began. The battlefield we arrived at, pulled by an ox and a horse, was filled with the strong scent of blood.

The smell of blood was so thick that even those without heightened senses, like myself and the demons, could smell it outside of the camp. I, who was good at maintaining a poker face, remained unfazed, but the demon members of the Lugall squad all had twisted expressions on their faces. Even the battle-hardened soldiers of them, who were accustomed to the smell of blood, had unpleasant expressions.

Our carriage came to a stop for a moment. The guards outside quickly completed the necessary procedures to enter the camp and then resumed movement towards the interior of the camp. The smell of blood grew stronger, and the moans of agony became audible. There was no mistake about it. There were many wounded in this camp.

Since there were only small iron bars on the back of the carriage, it was difficult to see the condition inside the camp. However, the imperial soldiers, who were usually full of confidence, were talking in a hushed voice, clearly uneasy. They seemed like poor-quality soldiers who shrank at the first sign of danger.

The captain of the escort soldiers and Orvo, who were in another carriage, were urged to go to the central tent in the camp. Concentrating intently, I strained to listen to their conversation, eventually gaining insights into the current situation within the camp.

It appeared that during their patrol, the imperial troops encountered a unit of invading forces, resulting in a sudden battle. The invading army was numerous, and the imperial soldiers immediately withdrew. The invaders pursued them, but the arrival of reinforcements from the imperial army’s side enabled them to repel the invaders.

Everything seemed to be going well until the general in command of the camp saw it as an opportunity. He was eager to strike the retreating invaders, despite the objections of those around him. He led the elite unit to pursue them….only to suffer a devastating defeat in return.

The deceased general was a member of the imperial family and was said to have no real combat experience, only serving as a figurehead. However, he was uncharacteristically enthusiastic on the battlefield and had the bad habit of wanting to take command himself, despite being a novice. If he had not been so arrogant, he might have survived.

Due to the fact that the opponent was a member of the imperial family, the elite unit could not resist his commands. Half of the elite soldiers were killed in action, and the remaining half were all injured, with not a single one remaining unscathed. It was a tragic scene, with only the skilled soldiers managing to avoid total annihilation, although even they suffered life-threatening injuries. It seemed like they would be unable to participate in the counterattack operation.

It seemed that the general had been warned by the emperor not to move the army carelessly until the counterattack, but he had done something outrageous just before that. If he were alive, it would have been a fatal mistake that would have led to his execution, but since he was dead, there was no one to take responsibility.

Naturally, they requested replacement reinforcements, but it was not possible. The Imperial Army had already mobilized to its limit thanks to the counterattack operation, so there was no surplus force to send at this time.

In such a situation, even beings as strange and incomprehensible as ourselves were welcome. We were expected to fill the unexpected gap created by the loss of forces. Moreover, Orvo declared that his unit would take the place of the elite unit. Hey, aren’t you going to negotiate at all?

“Mom, it stinks in here.”

“Yes… but we have to endure it. You’re a boy, aren’t you?”

“Ugh, okay. I’ll endure it.”

While I was focused on the details of the counterattack operation that was being carried out from inside the tent, Leo, the son of Tigar and Sharl, spoke up with a pained expression. “The cause of this smell is outside, so there’s nothing we can do about it.” Leo nodded obediently after being advised by his mother.

Later on, Leo came over to my cage and began to observe me intently. Perhaps because I had been quiet during the journey, no one had anything to say about him just watching me. Though he had not opened up his heart to me, it was clear that he was not overly guarded either.

After a while, Orvo’s presence was detected from outside the carriage, signaling the end of his conversation with the camp leaders. All members of the Lugall squad who had noticed his arrival with their strong hearing and sense of smell sat at the edge of the back of the carriage and waited. A few seconds later, the door of the carriage opened forcefully.

“Everyone. The counterattack operation is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. The mission for the demon squad is to infiltrate the fortress from the side, creating chaos by engaging the enemy and causing confusion before opening the gate from within. This task will be challenging, so make sure to rest your bodies until then,” 

Orvo said casually, left the door of the carriage open, and headed for the other carriage in which the Kadaha squad was riding. Infiltrate the fortress from the side… just like I did during my previous battle in the central front.

However, this time, it was different. It wasn’t just a diversionary approach. The mission was to fight fiercely once we breached the fortress then open the gate from within to support the Imperial soldiers’ invasion. This was an incredibly demanding task for just thirty or so soldiers.

Considering that we amounted to about thirty individuals, Orvo’s orders were quite unreasonable, to say the least.

As expected, the members of the Lugall squad looked quite pale. However, they didn’t plan to rush into battle recklessly and throw their lives away. Tigar took the lead in devising a strategy.

“We’ve fought in sieges before, but invading the enemy’s fortress is a whole different story. We won’t have time to set up ladders, and the walls are too smooth to climb by hand,” he explained.

“We’ll need some long grappling hooks. How many do we have?” 

“We have three. I want you, Gora, and Turu to be the first to climb. It’s dangerous, but can I count on you?” Tigar asked.

“Yes, we’ll do our best,” 

“I’ll support you with my spiritual art. And Linaldo and the others will be right behind you to protect you,” Sharl added.

“We’ll handle it, sis,” 

“The archers will support you too!” 

“The way that damn spiritualist put it, then we would probably coordinate with the Kadaha squad. We need to be in sync with them. Also…” Tigar continued, outlining the rest of the plan.

The Lugall squad went about planning the operation in a swift manner. They anticipated what it would be like inside the fortress and came up with several strategies for what to do once they entered.

However, there was no mention of me whatsoever. Tigar and the others didn’t know my abilities and didn’t seem to consider me a reliable ally. Plus, since I couldn’t use telepathy and couldn’t speak any proper language, I might just end up disrupting their coordination.

“Hey, dad. What about this guy?” 

Leo, who had always expressed a keen interest in me, pointed in my direction. Tigar and the others looked conflicted before finally speaking up.

“That damn spiritualist said he’s strong, so he probably has some skills. But we can’t trust our backs to someone we don’t even know how to fight with or what kind of person he is.”

“Well then, why don’t we get to know him now?”

“That’s…”

Leo’s suggestion was reasonable, but Tigar and the others had always survived by not trusting strangers, making it difficult for them to accept me as a comrade. I understood their perspective and didn’t plan on saying anything.

Despite this, Leo attempted to persuade his parents, but they remained unresponsive. Even though they were no longer unnecessarily guarded, they still couldn’t bring themselves to trust me.

Late that night, when all the members of the Lugall squad had fallen asleep, I sensed someone approaching my cage quietly. I knew it was Leo, as he was the only one who would bother coming near me.

“Hey, you awake? Open your eyelids if you are,” Leo whispered in a low voice, careful not to wake his parents.

I wasn’t so cold as to ignore someone who wanted to interact with me, so I slowly opened my three eyelids.

When Leo saw the compound eyes underneath my eyelids, his eyes widened even further. I thought he might be scared, but he leaned in and stared directly into my eyes. With determination, he made up his mind: to help his comrades.

“The next battle will be tough, right? I really want to be there for everyone, but I’m not ready yet… That’s why I want you to help them in my place. Please! That’s my request!” 

Leo pleaded desperately in a low voice, his serious expression unwavering as he gazed into my eyes. I couldn’t ignore such a sincere request, and I nodded in agreement. Leo then flashed a brilliant smile and whispered his thanks to me.