BXBX NOVEL Chapter 50 – At Linus’s House (4)
The 8th Imperial Army Corps, which Linus belonged to, had recently landed at the southern tip of the small Kingdom of Avoca.
Avoca is a peninsular nation, extending out like a boot.
It is a close ally of the Empire, separated from the Empire’s capital Calvasar by a narrow sea, with frequent exchanges since ancient times.
The Demon King’s army invaded this kingdom, and Avoca’s forces struggled, continuously retreating southward until there was no more land to give—only the sea remained.
To rescue the vassal state, the Empire decided to move the entire 8th Corps to the rear of Avoca’s army.
If Avoca fell, the Demon King’s army could quickly sail straight to Calvasar. Therefore, the Empire had to prevent Avoca’s collapse at all costs.
After landing, the 8th Corps joined forces with Avoca’s army and advanced northward. However, at the one-third mark of the peninsula, near the Camel Ridge, they encountered fierce resistance from the Demon King’s forces.
Both sides hurled magic and various projectile weapons, leading to a tedious stalemate with trenches dug along the front lines.
The Corps command was racking their brains to determine how many divisions of the Demon King’s army they were facing. Knowing their enemy was crucial for estimating their strength and formulating a strategy.
But for now, they had no way of knowing how many troops lay behind those cursed trench lines.
Moreover, if the troops were indeed the elite 9th Corps of the Demon King’s army, which had disappeared from the border area of Avoca, pressing further could be suicidal.
In this deadlock, Linus and Dian met in the frontline trenches.
—
“I’m Linus.”
Linus grasped Dian’s outstretched hand.
“You enlisted a month ago, right? I joined around the same time. Let’s stick together as comrades.”
In fact, Dian was a rookie who had enlisted just a week ago when the 8th Corps began forming their landing units, making him technically Linus’s junior.
But in a war where soldiers didn’t survive half a day in combat, differentiating between seniors and juniors of the same rank was meaningless.
“By the way, dude, where are you from?”
Dian asked, sitting beside Linus and eating a potato.
“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know. Just think of it as a small estate in a corner of the Empire.”
“An estate? So you’re a noble?”
“I was born to a serf.”
“Then shouldn’t you be in the noble’s army? Why are you in the Imperial Army?”
“Our lord is a kind person but otherwise incompetent. I didn’t want to follow him into a meaningless death, so I enlisted in the Imperial Army instead.”
Dian tilted his head in confusion.
“That’s strange. If you wanted to avoid death, why not just run away? It’s not much different from the noble’s army here.”
“I can’t do that. I can’t stand by and watch the continent fall into chaos because of the Demon King’s Army.”
“Indeed, you are Linus. I found the right person,”
Dian murmured mysteriously, prompting a suspicious look from Linus.
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing. Alright, I’ll help you then.”
“Help me with what?”
Just then, a strange sound was heard.
Whoosh—
“Magic attack!”
Linus and Dian immediately threw themselves to the trench floor as a deafening explosion rocked the trench, showering them with dirt.
Whoosh—Boom! Whoosh—Kaboom!
“Damn those horned bastards.”
Dian cursed, glancing at the spilled salt that had become difficult to retrieve. Linus’s potato had also rolled away and gotten dirty.
After the sporadic magical bombardment ceased, Linus and Dian brushed themselves off and stood up.
“It’s chaos.”
Dian muttered, looking at the scattered remains of soldiers hit by the magic.
“Hey, Linus. You said you didn’t want to die in vain, right? Wouldn’t you rather survive and end this unjust war?”
“Yea… Yeah…”
Linus stammered, his mind reeling from the gruesome scene.
“Great. Stick with me. Let’s get out of this damn trench and head to the Demon King’s Castle. Follow me.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
—
“You insolent brats! Do you know where you are?”
The battalion adjutant barked at the two soldiers who had barged into the command post behind the trench lines.
“We have a proposal for the battalion commander.”
“Are all your squad leaders and company commanders dead?”
“We told them, but they ignored us, so we came here.”
Despite the sharp reprimand from the adjutant, Dian stood confidently while Linus, behind him, looked somewhat tense.
“What’s going on out there?”
At that moment, the battalion commander’s voice came from within the command post.
“Apologies, Commander. Two soldiers suddenly came with a proposal. It’s probably something trivial, like a request for rear transport due to injuries….”
“Commander! We’ll capture an enemy prisoner!”
“Shut up, you bastard!”
“Let them in.”
The adjutant, who had been shouting, reluctantly allowed them inside upon the commander’s order.
“Hmm.”
Inside, the commander scrutinized Dian and Linus’s faces and asked.
“You say you’ll capture a prisoner? Why?”
“Isn’t the reason we can’t advance or retreat because we don’t know who we’re up against?”
“That’s correct.”
“If we capture and interrogate a prisoner, we can find out.”
“Also correct. But how?”
“First, give us permission. Then I’ll explain.”
The adjutants were shocked by the audacity of a mere soldier making such a statement to the commander. Linus felt the same.
However, the commander remained calm and asked.
“Before that, one question. In the current situation, going out to capture a prisoner is tantamount to suicide. Why are you willing to take on such a dangerous task?”
“Staying here means death just the same. We’ll die from a catapult or magic if we’re unlucky, and retreat is not an option. If we fall back further, the sea route to Calvasar will be wide open.”
At Dian’s words, the commander’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“What about getting support from other corps?”
“That won’t happen.”
“Explain.”
“Currently, the Empire does not have a reserve corps to deploy here. If there were, they wouldn’t have sent just one corps. They’re more likely focused on defending other key points connected by land. So, ultimately, our corps has to resolve this situation.”
The battalion adjutants looked at each other in amazement, thinking, ‘Is a mere soldier seeing this far ahead?’
“I don’t want to sit in this trench waiting to die. If we can capture a prisoner and figure out which corps we’re facing, we might break out of this dire situation.”
The commander, after a moment of silence, spoke.
“You, Dian, right? A mere soldier?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very well. Approved.”
“Commander! But the risk is too great!”
An adjutant protested, the commander shook his head.
“This soldier is right. Our corps must either advance north or be drowned in the sea. We must use every method to ensure the better outcome. Approved. Dian and Linus, capture a prisoner.”
“Thank you. We won’t disappoint you.”
Dian replied confidently.
“And how will you do it?”
“Oh, it’s quite simple.”
As Dian explained, the commander’s previously steady gaze wavered slightly.
“That’s insane….”
“You can’t win a war without going insane.”
Dian grinned.
# # # # # #
“Are you sure this is okay?”
At dawn, from a second-floor window of an abandoned farmhouse behind the trenches, Linus asked worriedly.
“Yes, it’s fine.”
Dian chuckled, peering through a net camouflaging the window.
“Two enemies. Moving from east to north. Normal pace.”
Linus, half skeptical, noted down Dian’s observations in a notebook already filled with a week’s worth of records on enemy movements.
After the commander’s approval, Dian had spent all day observing the enemy, noting everything in his notebook.
He mapped out the optimal infiltration route and was now doing a final check for any changes in the enemy’s patrol routine.
“Alright, Linus. Nothing’s different from before. Today is perfect.”
“I’m still worried about whether this will work.”
“Worrying will change nothing. This is exactly what you wanted, right? To contribute to the peace of the continent.”
Dian patted Linus on the shoulder.
“Trust me, and we’ll both make it through this war in one piece.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I trust you.”
“Me? What do you mean?”
“Let’s go. We don’t want to waste another day.”
Dian and Linus descended from the farmhouse and moved through the trenches to the front line.
They stopped at the starting point of Dian’s chosen infiltration route. Soon, the awaited sound came.
Whoosh—
Several blue magical streaks arced from their rear and exploded just ahead of the trench.
As the dust from the magic attack billowed up, Dian shouted.
“Run!”
Dian and Linus climbed out of the trench and sprinted forward.
Whoosh—
As they entered the first cloud of smoke, a second magic attack landed ahead.
Using the cover of successive blasts, they pressed forward, getting closer to their target.
“This is madness… pure madness….”
Linus muttered as they navigated through the deafening explosions and tremors, aware that mistiming could result in death from friendly fire.
But this was the only way to traverse the barren no man’s land between trenches.
“There! Linus, over there!”
Breaking through the fifth cloud, they threw themselves into a narrow thicket near the enemy trench.
Whoosh—Boom! Whoosh—Kaboom!
The friendly magic attack swept past them, striking the enemy trench, then ceased.
Dian and Linus lay flat in the underbrush, waiting.
After a brief commotion, the enemy trench gradually quieted down, as uncoordinated bombardments had become routine.
Peeking at the sun through the foliage, Dian signaled Linus to move forward.
After a week of meticulous observation, this was the weakest point in the enemy’s patrol.
With knives in their mouths, Dian and Linus crawled slowly through the bushes.
It had to be finished quickly before the patrol looped back.