259 – Afterparty
Reich Imperial Army, Command Barracks.
Outside the command barracks, soldiers and lower-ranking officers were chattering and drinking alcohol and meat sold by war merchants as if they were buying only for today.
As a result, the unique buzzing sounds mixed with the charms of prostitutes, the high-pitched but distorted shouting sounds of drunken soldiers, and the occasional cheers and applause were heard all the way into the barracks.
“Every time Sergeant Falcon swung the plane downwards, the Warsaw soldiers’ earthen pots broke one by one. “I crushed its head so many times, but it kept popping out like a cockroach. I kept crushing it until it died, and before I knew it, the war was over.”
“Well, that’s right. What about me? While cutting like crazy, huh? There was a nerd wearing scary, flashy armor, so he ran towards me with a sword. And when I quickly killed it, I saw horse dung stuck in its epaulet. There are also two…”
“Ah, brothers. “The night is still long, so you can’t do that from now on.”
However, none of the officers in the barracks have yet had a drop of alcohol in their mouths, let alone a bar.
Looking at me like this, someone might think that just as the saying goes that a position makes a man, I, like Captain Keitel, have come to show my officers a strict, solemn, and serious side.
Even after achieving a great victory that killed more than half of the enemy soldiers or prevented them from going to battle again, he had no intention of doing something so evil as to tell his officers to work instead of rest.
So, instead of talking too long like a high school principal, I plan to end my speech as short and concise as possible.
“Thanks to our victory in this war, we were able to completely punish the bastards who had secretly formed an alliance with the Kingdom of Stockholm and secretly provided support to us. Thanks to this, those who brought shame to our great Emperor of the Reich Empire were made to pay a proper price. “Isn’t that right?”
I said this, but when the Archduke of Warsaw hears my story, he will say this.
‘f*ck, is this an appropriate price? ‘I only hit you with my fist, but isn’t it crazy that you beat me up with a baseball bat?’
From noble mtl dot com
Even if I say this, the damage they suffered is so severe that even I, the commander of the Reich Empire, admit it.
40% Of the enemy troops were killed, and nearly 15% of the troops were seriously injured and turned into half-corpse.
Due to the enormous loss, the leadership of the Archduke within the Grand Duchy of Warsaw will naturally be questioned by all nobles.
In order to avoid this situation, His Highness will use the national traitor card that I secretly inserted into him, and there is a high probability that all responsibility will be placed on those who committed corruption.
Here, the high-ranking people who lost in this battle will be taken to a court-martial and face the full price of losing the battle and the corruption they did not commit.
If all responsibility is passed on to the defeated generals, they will be able to collect all of their family’s territory and property.
In return, even if the Grand Duchy of Warsaw suffered huge losses, the Grand Duke would be able to extort from his country’s nobles as much as he lost.
But the problem is that after doing something like that, the surviving nobles will be dissatisfied and the Grand Duke’s life will be in danger. It’s none of my business.
The officers responded to what I said with applause and cheers.
“Yes! “At this level, the Archduke of Warsaw will reflect on his foolish actions!”
“You will go down in history as the best true educator in the future.”
“I was impressed by the captain’s will and teachings to compensate for the injury of one Imperial soldier with 100 enemy soldiers.”
Receiving applause from everyone, I raised my glass and shouted, not intending to talk any longer.
“It was an honor to lead this war with you as commander of the Reich Empire. There may still be other battles, and procedures such as peace negotiations remain! You can eat and drink as much as you want today! I’ll pay for all the drinks and food for those here at the base, so don’t worry about being ripped off, eat your heart out and have fun! Cheers to the victory of the empire!”
After saying that, I tipped my glass, and all the officers tilted their glasses and drank.
Once alcohol was added, the atmosphere among the officers completely relaxed, and as befits the people of an empire where honor and achievements in battle are considered the most fashionable, stories of achievements in battle began to be exchanged.
“No, didn’t you clash with the Warsaw guys at the very beginning and lose out in numbers? So, the company commanders and platoon commanders under me are asking me to call in the reserve unit…”
“If it weren’t for Brigadier General Anastasia this time, there would have been at least 1,000 more casualties in the rear reserve. It was nice to run out of the forest, but I was anxious because there was no cover. But as soon as you come out, a rain of arrows is pouring down towards the enemy, and this is really…”
“Ha, Colonel Laura, who fought under Major General Stellfeld, was also amazing. “Didn’t he charge with a woman’s body, wearing heavy armor, and kill four enemy knights in an instant?”
“No, when our troops completely surrounded the enemy’s front and sides. The enemy soldiers were just running away, but somehow there was a guy wearing a cloak and I threw a spear at him…”
As I listened to the story, the story kept coming back and forth as if it was half a lie and half the truth.
The well-spoken officers describe battle scenes almost as if they were the heroes of an epic poem recited by a bard while playing the lute.
Most of the people are in their early 40s, mid-50s, and 60s, and seeing these guys giving enthusiastic responses while having a conversation with a bit of middle school sensibility makes me feel a little dizzy.
As the banquet progressed, it got to the point where everyone’s stories were repeated infinitely.
Laura and Anya approached with glasses in one hand and slightly red faces.
“Captain Jaeger, did I do well? As the captain ordered, you led the knights and captured the Warsaw knights.”
“Laura fought well, but I also led the archery cavalry brigade into the rear of the enemy army and did a perfect job of scattering them. And, and… We also provided covering fire for our infantry sneaking in from the forest.”
“It took a lot of effort to hold down over 15,000 enemy knights with only about 10,000 knights.”
“That’s true, but charging a large enemy army with a small number of archers is not easy.”
The two didn’t hate each other, but they continued to tout each other’s achievements as if they were children who wanted to be praised.
It’s as if kittens are squealing for more snacks like churro.
Seeing them like that, if I had someone to pamper me like this, I would have asked them to praise me for doing such a good job, so I understood to some extent how they felt.
Although we argued, we didn’t exchange harsh words or show any outright dislike for the other person, so I decided to just watch.
The other officers were already drunk, so no one was paying attention.
“So, Captain, who do you think has contributed more? “Who was more helpful to you, Captain?”
“It’s not as good as when I caught Ishtaven last time, but it’s me, right?”
“No, it’s me this time. If I hadn’t been able to stop the knights, it would have been difficult for the archers to turn to the rear. So today I…”
However, even if it’s a struggle at first, from what I’ve observed so far, when anyone gets drunk, the problem often increases.
Ha, in times like this, it would be best to praise them both for doing a good job and comfort them.
Also, when the Chief of Personnel and I had a conversation, we heard that as far as this battle is concerned, the magnitude of Laura and Anya’s achievements were the same.
I’m not lying, so this might be the best solution.
Then I put my hands on their heads and stroked them and said,
“Since you both did equally well, when I return after this battle, I will buy you whatever gift you want. Or should I use up all my vacation time after the war and go to the lake?”
I thought this was the right answer, but it wasn’t the case for Anya and Laura.
“The captain is always insensitive.”
“…… I guess that’s why he was given that nickname in social circles because he was like this, right? “Thanks to that, there are fewer women I cling to, so she’s not necessarily that bad…”
Both of them looked at me while sighing.
Soon Laura was holding my left arm and Anya was holding my right arm, and we looked at each other, and electricity seemed to come out of our eyes.
When I saw this, I signaled to Charlotte with her eyes to help, but as if she had already expected this, she naturally pulled away from Anya and Laura and said,
“The captain said I could rest from today until the morning after tomorrow. And there is no benefit in arguing here. So, how about you two drink together at the captain’s barracks?”
…… I had a premonition that something would be squeezed from those words.
Laura and Anya seemed satisfied with what they said and headed to my barracks as Charlotte took them.
And the next day, I had no choice but to take a day of sick leave and rest due to back pain.
When I apologized to the deputy commander and the chief of operations staff who performed the work on my behalf the day after I returned from rest, they looked at me with very envious and smiling faces and said,
“Well, I think it’s good to enjoy it while you can.”
“In life, isn’t it true that there are times when you get sick? “You’ve been through a lot.”
And as soon as the period of unlimited rest for the soldiers passed, I immediately summoned all commanders again.