9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 157 - The Crack (1)

The atmosphere in Le Chapen Core 1 was strangely heated.

“Advance!”

“Advance! Advance!”

“Liberate!”

“Liberate! Liberate!”

True to form for the loud Rubellia citizens, hundreds and thousands of people filled the square, shouting slogans.

The dangerous yet sweet notion that they must defeat the ‘axis of evil’ Schufaben and gift freedom to the continent.

Of course, the cries of the citizens couldn’t be heard from the parliament building near the main avenue. Thanks to noise-blocking magic.

Queen Marianne looked down at the middle-aged Prime Minister.

“You’ve worked hard, Silvia.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty.”

Silvia Bertrand bowed deeply at Marianne’s gentle voice.

Dark circles had formed under her eyes, and her gray hair had noticeably increased. However, her eyes sparkled with satisfaction.

Silvia was currently tormented by strange mixed feelings.

War could never be called a good thing. The continent was thrown into chaos, young people died every day, and the economy fluctuated wildly.

But like all things, war had two sides. At least for her, there were more gains than losses.

As Schufaben devoured the continent and crisis mounted, all of Rubellia’s citizens united, saying those demons must be crushed immediately.

The number of young people volunteering for the military increased dramatically.

Countless companies suffered losses due to the Queen and Prime Minister’s decision to economically blockade Schufaben, but no one complained.

If they’d spoken even a word aloud, they’d immediately be branded as traitors.

Silvia had proceeded with war preparations with a hardline, resolute attitude, and her approval ratings soared sky-high.

Until then, Silvia had been called a ‘plant Prime Minister.’ Her presence was minimal, swayed more by party influence than her own will.

But after the secret agreement with the Queen, Silvia was becoming the ‘Iron Lady’ as the Queen had promised.

She had expanded her influence within the party and raised her voice, so now all she needed to go down in history as a perfect Prime Minister was one thing.

Overwhelming victory.

Silvia wanted to utterly crush Schufaben’s army in a single battle.

‘Sorry, Silvia, but it won’t happen that way.’

Marianne looked at Silvia with sympathetic eyes.

Kruger was skilled in strategy and tactics. He wouldn’t easily fall for Silvia’s or the Rubellia generals’ plans.

But that didn’t mean he would win. Because Lucas Redan was there.

‘Luca. Are you truly all right?’

Marianne muttered with worry she couldn’t voice.

Lucas and Marianne were currently in a situation where they couldn’t contact each other or share their intentions.

However, Marianne knew Lucas’s purpose and Lucas knew Marianne’s ideals.

Therefore, they were of one mind.

They had to drag this war out as long as possible. Without crossing the line, collapsing at just the right moment.

Even if it meant the death of Lucas Redan.

“Your Majesty.”

Marianne opened her eyes and looked around.

The expressions of all the parliament members were filled with determination.

A queen is a queen.

To mobilize an army of this scale, her permission was needed, at least formally.

Without hesitation, Marianne picked up her seal. The swan emblem was stamped on the operation plan the Prime Minister had presented.

“I approve the deployment.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The Rubellia army, which had been holding its breath, began to move.

***

“It’s snowing like hell, seriously.”

It was a blizzard.

It was pouring down as if there were holes in the sky. Horse hooves sank deep into the snow, and the hands gripping the reins had already gone numb.

“Shall I bring you more blankets?”

Captain Alina Himmel, who had been following behind me, asked gruffly, so I shook my head vigorously.

“No, it’s fine. I’m touched that you remembered I’m weak to cold, but don’t treat me as frail.”

“Understood.”

“Hey, don’t you know how to joke around?”

“Shall I bring you blankets?”

“No.”

“……”

I giggled and turned my head toward the pure white snowfield. The white snow was reflecting sunlight so brightly that I felt like I’d go blind without sunglasses.

I was currently leading the 1st Field Army on a march toward the eastern front in Rubellia territory.

It was truly a march.

Thanks to Rubellia blowing up all the railways in the border region, we were stuck moving hundreds of kilometers—no, hundreds of thousands of setins in this world’s units—with nothing but horses and wagons.

It wasn’t my first time riding a horse, but sitting in the saddle for ten hours at a time was killing my ass.

My only interaction with horses before falling into this damned world was a horse riding experience during a school trip to Jeju Island!

‘How many battlefields is this now? Even slaves wouldn’t be worked this hard.’

It’s not like I’m the only general in Schufaben, but Kruger has sent me to every major battlefield.

Ah, of course, it’s not just me and the 1st Corps fighting right now.

The Second Corps, which had been stationed on the Rubellia border in advance, had already engaged in small skirmishes, and the navy was busy sailing around imposing naval blockades on small island nations like the Kashan Principality.

There were also forces maintaining security in occupied territories and crushing guerrillas that popped up periodically.

‘But still, damn it, no matter how you look at it.’

Sending me from the western to the eastern front was a bit much. Without even giving me leave.

‘Well, I’m grateful though.’

It was better to be on the side where I could control the battlefield situation even a little. I decided to think positively.

Originally, the border region between Schufaben and Rubellia consisted only of mountains, fields, and hills.

You couldn’t even pretend they got along well—200 years ago, Schufaben’s mad king had committed the insane act of invading Rubellia first. After that, an implicit no-man’s-land was created between the two countries.

Ah, to be precise, it wasn’t ‘no-man’s’—there were outposts scattered here and there to monitor each other. Though they hadn’t appeared yet—.

Bang—.

During the quiet march, a gunshot broke through the frozen air.

I reflexively pulled on the reins to stop my horse.

“What? A misfire?”

I looked in the direction the sound had come from.

Up ahead was the unit led by Deputy Commander Rudolf Eisler. Actually, rather than leading it, the Deputy Commander was just there for various excuses.

Eisler seemed to have been subtly avoiding me since the fall of Pontinell.

Bang—.

While I was standing still assessing the situation, another gunshot rang out. I picked up my radio and tuned the frequency.

“Ah, ah. This is the Commander. Deputy Commander, can you hear me? Over.”

No response came.

“I’ll go check the situation.”

Captain Himmel galloped toward the front. The formation became restless and noisy, but it quickly fell silent when I gave orders.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Gunshots rang out every few seconds or dozens of seconds. I could see the formation falling apart despite my efforts to calm them.

I gripped the radio tightly and waited. Suddenly, crackling sounds came from the device.

“…mmander here. Jamming magic… frequency… bullets coming from somewhere…”

The words were completely incomprehensible. The sound was severely distorted and cut out intermittently, sometimes amplifying randomly and sometimes fading.

After several more gunshots rang out, Captain Himmel returned when the soldiers’ confusion had become uncontrollable.

“Commander, bullets are flying from an invisible location, killing soldiers and officers. Also, a large-scale magic field has been deployed around this area, making communication difficult.”

“…From an invisible location, what?”

“Bullets are flying.”

The first thought that came to me after hearing the report wasn’t anything else.

‘Doesn’t this world have the concept of snipers?’

There were definitely words for ‘snipe’ and ‘sniper’ in Schufaben.

‘A matter of nuance, I guess.’

‘Sniping’ wasn’t a military term. In other words, it was a concept only used when hunting beasts.

If a human sniped another human, it was either an extremely exceptional situation or a cowardly act that even allies would condemn.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t see such positions when I read the organizational chart. I didn’t see sniper rifles in the military equipment list either.’

Having quickly reached a conclusion, I moved forward with Captain Himmel leading the way.

***

Bang—.

“Everyone halt!”

When the first gunshot rang out, Deputy Commander Eisler shouted loudly and reflexively whipped his head around.

It was hard to identify the source in the empty wasteland where sound carried, but it definitely wasn’t from friendly forces. The gently rising hill in front of them was suspicious.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

A terrible scream echoed from not far away. The orderly marching formation swayed and shook.

“Stay still! Situation report!”

The firm command spread through the battalion and company commanders, and quiet returned.

However.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Heuk!”

“Ahhhhhhh!”

“Run away!”

With repeated gunshots, the formation completely fell apart.

Soldiers stumbled backward, tripping over each other and stepping on each other’s feet. Fear instantly blanketed the field.

“Report! Report…”

From the radio came the voices of subordinate division commanders mixed with serious static.

Finally, when Captain Himmel arrived, a proper report came in.

“Long live our Great Supreme Leader!”

Even in the chaos, the messenger saluted first.

“Report! Casualties in the 11th Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the 17th Infantry Brigade of the 5th Infantry Division of the First Corps! Currently 5 dead, 1 severely wounded!”

Bang—.

The gunshot now sounded faint amid all the chaos. Eisler ran toward the 3rd Infantry Regiment.

With everyone fleeing far from the hill where bullets were coming from, the wide snowfield that served as the advance route was completely empty.

***

Benjamin was an ordinary, very ordinary young man.

He had volunteered for military service with his heart pounding at our great Supreme Leader’s cause, cursed his past self for volunteering when his soles were completely torn from marching, yet still harbored excitement wondering if he might become a hero and famous.

But now he had forgotten about our great Supreme Leader, heroic psychology, and everything else.

Only one cry dominated his mind.

‘Save me!’

It had been during the hellish but gradually becoming familiar march, no different from usual.

Bang— and.

With a sharp sound that spread long and wide, the comrade in the row next to him collapsed with a thud.

A few seconds that felt like eternity passed, and a shrill scream burst from Benjamin’s mouth.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

He saw it. He saw his comrade’s head, crushed under the military boots of soldiers who continued walking without understanding the situation.

Those at the front of the formation couldn’t stop just because they wanted to. Because of the human wave pushing from behind.

Bang—.

The gunshot rang out once more, and this time the private right in front of him fell. Benjamin began flailing his arms and legs wildly as he ran.

“Ahh! Ahhhh!”

Fear spread among the soldiers who had been staring blankly for a moment.

While everyone was in chaos, the gunshots continued and people around Benjamin dropped like straw dolls.

Thud!

Benjamin’s foot caught on something heavy and he fell to the snow-covered ground with a powerful impact.

The next moment he realized. It was the corpse of the comrade who had died earlier. Benjamin trembled and groaned like he’d lost his mind while lying prone.

“Uh, uhhhhhhh…..”

Bang!

The damnable gunshot sounded like it was right next to him. Along with that thought, pain spread through Benjamin’s leg. He felt hot blood gushing out.

“Heok, heok…..”

Gasping in pain, he lifted his head to see an empty landscape. Everyone had abandoned him and fled.

“Benjamin!”

Only a corporal from the same squad looked back, conflicted.

‘Don’t come.’

He tried to say that, but what came from his mouth was the opposite sob.

“Help…!”

Bang!

The corporal’s body collapsed. Benjamin’s eyes filled with despair.

I want to live, I want to live, I want to live, I want to live!

“Please save me… Please…!”

Trembling, he squeezed out all his strength and cried out.

And at that moment.

“Stay right there!”

That person, who was he?

Ah, Deputy Commander Eisler. That person he’d seen only once. He was running over with blazing eyes.

***

The sniper had already harmed eight lives.

The first victim was a private. Then a corporal, a second lieutenant, a sergeant.

He killed indiscriminately regardless of rank, causing the formation to completely collapse.

And now.

“Deputy Commander! Stop that foolish behavior!”

I shouted loudly.

The private with a pierced leg was writhing and screaming in the white snowfield. And Eisler was running to save him.

What happened next was as expected.

“Heuk, ah, ahhhhhh!”

The private desperately reached out to him. At that moment, his hand disappeared. Literally—it exploded in a spray of blood and flesh from the bullet.

“Medic, medic…!”

Eisler threw himself toward the private and called for a medic while trying to support him.

“Deputy Commander! Get away from there right now!!”

Despite my shouting commands from afar.

“Heup!”

Somehow trying to drag the private out, he naturally became the sniper’s target and took a bullet to the shoulder. Both men collapsed back into the snowfield.

“You stupid bastard…..”

I closed my eyes in frustration at the rising dismay. However, my damned rational mind whispered gleefully.

‘Good. This is actually better.’

Curses escaped me in my irritation.

“Whew…..”

I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and looked at the pure white hill where the sniper was presumably hiding.

My right cheek began itching again. The mask I’d pulled up tight to block the cold felt stifling.

“Save me…..”

The private had managed not to faint from the pain. Instead, he was dying from blood loss. Just like the corpses scattered around.

“Commander, a medic…!”

And Eisler was tearing cloth to bind the private’s wounds and trying to stop the bleeding with his hands.

At his desperate cry, I shook my head.

There was no way to save him without sacrificing someone else.

I quickly looked around at the staff and officers standing restlessly nearby and snapped.

“What are you doing! Quickly calm the soldiers! And move the artillery battalion. Have them pour firepower at that hill! We’ll retreat bit by bit!”

The bombardment began shortly after, and the gunshots stopped.

But I heard it.

“Mom…..”

The dying private’s murmur.