The Conscript Wants to Be Discharged!

A loud explosion rang out from the north, and soon after, a pillar of fire rose high into the sky, signaling the start of the scout unit’s attack.

“All troops, advance! Open the gates!”
-Creeeak!

-Squeeeak!

At Franz’s order, the soldiers guarding the gate turned the pulleys. The iron bars protecting the inside of the gate rose, and in that gap, soldiers approached the gate and flung it open.

“Hiyah!”

“Urah!”

“Run! Run!”

With Franz at the lead, the knights stationed at the fortress and their retainers rode out on horseback. Following behind them, the troops stationed at Sordan Fortress quickly formed their units and followed those who had gone ahead.

As Franz rode his horse, raising dust clouds, his mind was spinning rapidly.

‘Considering the distance and arrival time calculated while scouting the location where the enemy would be stationed, the time gap between the knights charging into the rebel camp and the rest of the troops arriving is at least 15 minutes. Until then, we need to help the scout unit retreat and escape by circling around the left side of the rebel camp.’

If the operation succeeded properly, from their perspective, the soldiers stationed on the left flank would have their formation collapsed due to magic bombardment. They would then charge into the rebel formation through that gap, strike the center of the enemy weakened by Eliza’s magic, sweep through the interior, and escape through the right outskirts.

The operation, based on Franz’s prediction that the force aiming for a siege would lack cavalry strength, was designed to use the knights’ heavy charge to exploit the enemy’s lack of mobility, stirring up their interior and delaying their retreat. The following troops would then mop up the enemies who couldn’t escape. This was the core of this operation.

‘This… what’s going on?’

The scene that unfolded before Franz’s eyes upon arriving at the battlefield was very different from what he had expected.

There were no siege weapons to be seen, not even ladders, let alone trebuchets or siege towers. Despite the fact that they hadn’t attacked yet, he could see the enemies in the center retreating.

“Damn! Increase speed!!”

Clop clop clop!

Neigh!

As the thought that something had gone wrong flashed through his mind, Franz kicked his warhorse’s sides hard, urging it on. Responding to their masters’ violent demands, the warhorses snorted roughly and increased their speed even more.

On the battlefield, cavalry that he never thought would exist were chasing the retreating scout unit. Although the mages’ magic was stopping the cavalry’s pursuit, Franz saw the frontline infantry turning to join in. He increased his speed even more, aiming for the infantry’s rear, and raised his lance.

“Charge! Ram them!!”

Tucking the lance under his armpit and leaning his body forward, he aimed the lance tip at the enemy and charged. The mass of man and horse, combined with weight and speed, had truly tremendous destructive power.

-Crunch!

-Aaaaargh! bodies were crushed under horse hooves, torsos were pierced by lance tips, and heads were torn off. In an instant, this horrific scene passed by, and some of the infantry chasing the scout unit became minced meat scattered on the ground. After confirming that the allies had safely entered the forest, Franz discarded his broken lance, turned his horse’s head, and once again urged his warhorse on, aiming for the center of the fleeing rebel army.
“Hiyah! Hiyah!! Draw your javelins! Spread the formation!”

At Franz’s order, the allied cavalry changed their formation as if spreading wings and drew the javelins stuck in their saddles. They held the javelins tightly in one hand, brought them back over their shoulders, aimed at their targets, and then threw them forward. As over a hundred javelins left their hands and cut through the air.

-Whoosh!
With a heavy wind sound loud enough to be heard even on galloping horses, a huge two-handed sword was swung, deflecting dozens of javelins.

“?!”

“Impossible!”

The javelins, shattered and deflected by the sword strike, spun in the air before losing their force and falling to the ground.

The remaining javelins hit the fleeing enemies, causing minor damage, but Franz and the knights couldn’t dare to chase after the enemies wounded by their javelins.

“…An Aura Knight.”

“Damn it, why is such a monster blocking our way.”

Faced with the menacing aura of the Aura Knight wearing armor that was scorched and melted in various places, even the well-trained warhorses became frightened and stopped in their tracks. The knights, too, couldn’t dare to urge their horses on.

As the Aura Knight tore off his distorted and melted visor with his left hand, revealing fierce green eyes, and raised a massive weapon with his right hand, even the knights who had lived their entire lives wielding swords froze like stones, unable to move. At this moment, Franz drew his own sword and wounded his warhorse’s rump.

-Neigh!
“Defense Captain?!”

“Lord Beringer!”

Startled by its master’s sudden attack, the warhorse reared up on its hind legs and began to buck. Franz forcibly drove the horse towards the Aura Knight, raising his sword high.

“…..”

The Aura Knight, seeing the raised sword coming towards him, adjusted his stance and swung his sword intending to cut his approaching opponent in half. However, he doubted his own eyes at his opponent’s subsequent action.

Seeing the Aura Knight’s fierce sword strike coming, Franz let go of the reins and entrusted his body to the stirrups. He lay back as if pressing his back against the horse’s rump to avoid the attack, then demonstrated a technique close to equestrian art by swinging his sword to attack the opponent.

-Clang!
Franz’s attack barely missed, grazing the Aura Knight’s helmet, but the Aura Knight was startled by this unbelievable feat of dodging an attack that could cut armored men in half in one swing while swinging a weapon—a feat that required not only consummate skill but also a near-madman’s tenacity. The knights watching Franz’s performance drove their horses forcibly with eyes full of firm determination, charging at the visibly confused Aura Knight.

“Tch, is the east full of nothing but madmen, from soldiers to mages to knights?”

Even for a knight wielding aura, it was burdensome to face dozens of mounted knights with a severely burned body. The Aura Knight raised his arm dripping with pus and swung his aura-imbued sword horizontally, creating a huge dust storm to block the charging knights’ vision. As he turned to flee, he muttered quietly.

“You filthy bastards, it was disgusting meeting you. Next time we meet, I’ll slaughter you all.”

For some reason, recalling the words of the soldier who had fled from him earlier, the Aura Knight uttered words similar to what that soldier had said as he left the battlefield, following his retreating allies.

“……”

Franz felt something oddly familiar about the Aura Knight’s malicious farewell, but he soon turned his horse’s head and swept through the battlefield with the knights to mop up the remaining stragglers.

Together with the infantry who had set out with them and finally arrived at the battlefield, they eliminated the stragglers, rescued the scout unit, and returned to the fortress after ending the short but difficult battle.

“Hmm… this is strange indeed.”

The day after repelling the northern forces of the rebel Baudouin who had moved south to surround Sordan Fortress.

Sitting in his office, Franz Beringer was analyzing the battle situation based on reports from commanders who had led troops on the field. His concern deepened as he faced questions he couldn’t clearly resolve.

“Archers and a few mages at the front, several infantry units lined up behind them, cavalry units complementing the formation on the flanks, and a command unit in the center controlling the army.”

No matter how he looked at it, this was neither a troop composition nor a formation for a siege. It was a formation built for engaging in a frontal battle.

“Sigh….”

Franz leaned back in his chair, looked up at the ceiling, let out a deep sigh, and covered his eyes with his right hand.

The enemy formation he had seen with his own eyes on the battlefield lacked even decent siege weapons. According to the testimony of a captured prisoner who had held a relatively important position, the rebel forces at the time numbered around 2,000—far too few for a siege. Excluding the cavalry and troops guarding the rear, most of the soldiers were recently conscripted recruits.

Although Eliza’s magic had dealt quite a blow, the retreating command unit was unscathed, and they had been gradually retreating even before allied support arrived. From any perspective, it seemed the enemy had no intention of engaging in a proper battle and was merely trying to block their movement. With countless questions filling his mind, Franz pinched the bridge of his nose, stiff from fatigue, and carefully read through the field commanders’ reports once again.

“I suppose I’ll need to look into the situation on other fronts as well, not just Sordan Fortress.”

Given the suspicious circumstances, he felt the need to understand the enemy’s actions from a broader perspective.

-Rustle.
As Franz was checking the reports tallying the casualties, the supplies used and equipment lost in this battle, and the situation reports from commanders who had directly led soldiers on the battlefield, he pulled out one report with a familiar handwriting and held it in his hand.

“This is….”

A report written in a neat and tidy, if not elegant, handwriting. To summarize the lengthy content of the report:

-The scout unit was divided into two groups to carry out the operation.

-The group dubbed “1st Unit,” consisting of Eliza Roterschuden, five mages, and the 1st Hundred-man Unit, ambushed the rebel rear.

-Judging it best to approach using the backlighting at sunrise to obstruct enemy vision, they planned and executed the operation.

-With the 2nd Unit’s initial attack, the cavalry on the flank collapsed, and when the enemy’s attention was drawn to the flank, they charged over the hill to suddenly attack the enemy rear. (Eliza Roterschuden and the mages performed exceptionally well at this time.)

-Mage Rodel’s magic broke the enemy formation, allowing them to penetrate and cross the enemy lines to infiltrate the center. (Mage Rodel’s performance was outstanding.)

-Eliza Roterschuden’s large-scale magic annihilated the enemy center along with the elite troops in the rear. (Eliza Roterschuden’s individual performance was exceptional.)

-Successfully completed the mission of striking the enemy’s central command unit, then retreated to join the 2nd Unit. During this, rescued the fallen Eliza Roterschuden. (Mage Dmitri’s performance was outstanding.)

-Fled into the forest to block pursuing cavalry, engaged in combat in the forest while waiting for allied forces to join. Samuel of the 2nd Hundred-man Unit performed exceptionally well, deemed to have achieved sufficient military merit for incorporation into the royal regular army. Therefore, petitioning for the incorporation of Samuel, Hundred-man Captain of the 2nd Hundred-man Unit, into the regular army.
Although not formal, there is an order to writing reports for field commanders.

They write about the situation they witnessed, their judgment of the situation and the rationale for their actions, and then record their own achievements and those of others. This is the widely spread, though not officially codified, method of writing reports in the royal army.

However, the report in his hand showed a clear intention to highlight others’ achievements while burying his own.

This wasn’t against the report writing format. It explained the situation at the time and the reasons for actions, so it could be seen as simply writing personal evaluations of colleagues. However, the name of the author who wrote this report stood out.

-Yujin, Hundred-man Captain of the 1st Hundred-man Unit.
“Hehehe, look at this Yujin fellow?”

One could simply assume that Yujin hadn’t performed well in this battle, but the Yujin that Franz knew wasn’t someone who would fail to perform on the battlefield. Moreover, the reports he had read earlier had much to say about him.

Eliza Roterschuden – Hundred-man Captain Yujin showed bravery by swinging his sword at the vanguard of our forces and leaping into enemy lines, quickly beheading several enemies, engaging in combat with an Aura Knight and surviving, rescuing soldiers who nearly fell behind during retreat as well as myself, demonstrating excellence in both individual skill and leadership abilities.

Rodel Abras – Hundred-man Captain Yujin faced an Aura Knight head-on with two subordinates, showed the miracle of blocking the Aura Knight’s attack with sheer physical strength alone, and even momentarily subdued the aura-wielding opponent, considering my assistance.

Dmitri Bisdel – Made a great contribution in rescuing Lady Eliza Roterschuden, who was left in enemy territory in an exhausted state due to mana depletion.

Samuel, Hundred-man Captain of the 2nd Hundred-man Unit – He took care of allies falling behind, showed excellent skills in combat despite internal injuries, and his quick subjugation of enemies after the battle is exemplary of a soldier. I believe Hundred-man Captain Yujin should remain in military service for life even after the civil war ends.

His exploits recorded in others’ reports were outstanding. He was simply trying to hide them himself. Few among those stationed at the fortress were unaware of this, and moreover, this time he had not only survived an encounter with an aura-wielder but also blocked a strike and momentarily subdued him, albeit with a mage’s help. No one could say his abilities were insignificant.

It was just that Yujin himself didn’t want to stand out.

He knows it too—that although he must fight to survive, the more he fights and survives for survival, the more his value increases, and as his value increases, his military service extends, creating a vicious cycle.

For others, the military might be an opportunity for success and advancement, but for Yujin, who always talked about discharge, this cycle was unwelcome. Unable to die to break this cycle, he was likely gritting his teeth and hiding his small military achievements, intending to distance himself from his superiors’ attention.

But he couldn’t escape Franz’s eyes.

He had always fought at the vanguard, always volunteered(?) to participate in Franz’s reckless and foolhardy operations, and always survived even the most dangerous situations to complete his missions and return.

Most of the operations where Yujin had achieved military merits were ones where Franz had forcibly pushed him in, but what makes an excellent superior? It’s the virtue of recognizing a subordinate’s excellence and employing them in the right place at the right time.

If someone has outstanding abilities but doesn’t want to use them, send them to a place where they can use all their abilities.

“You can’t escape, Yujin. It’s been like this until now, and it will continue.”

Yujin has a duty to serve the country using his abilities as a soldier. He just does.

Franz detailed the results of this battle, the situation at the time, the questions raised, and information about outstanding personnel in the report to be submitted to the royal family. He neatly folded it, placed it in an elegant envelope, sealed it with wax, and put it in a small bag attached to a trained carrier pigeon.

“Well, shall we create a bulletin to boost the soldiers’ morale?”

Watching the carrier pigeon fly away, he thought it would be good to provide appropriate rewards to the commanders and soldiers who had shown outstanding performance in this battle, and to post detailed accounts of their exploits on large posters inside the fortress to improve the morale of the personnel inside.

And it would be even better to emphasize Eliza and Yujin’s exploits in bold letters.

“Hehehe.”

Imagining the reaction of his dear subordinate—who had been by his side as a junior officer leading conscripted soldiers on the front lines, accompanying him in his rise to his current position and making great contributions in the process—when he sees his own exploits written on the large poster, Franz felt his mind clearing and all his previous worries dissipating.