32 – The only way to survive
The imperial army returned to the camp that was no different from ruins.
Read at noblemtl.com
Most food and ammunition and other munitions have been reduced to ashes, and barracks are few and far between.
General Bagoin and his generals began discussing the future seriously.
“There is no other way. I think it’s best to retreat to the Maple area in the north for now and plan for the future.”
“Retreat! It can’t be! I’d rather die if I die, how can I run away from my enemies as a glorious imperial general!”
William immediately protests against Richel’s words.
However, in response to this, Richel replied in a voice full of resoluteness.
“Even so, we cannot force our soldiers to make meaningless sacrifices! This means that you must not give up your precious life for the sake of honor!”
“no… What could be more important than honor to a soldier of the Empire? Can you still say that you are a warrior of the glorious Empire?”
“It’s not honor to fight more here, it’s just recklessness, General William!”
“What a pity! How can you belittle fighting an honorable battle like that!”
“Stop both. Opinions are good, but quarrels are forbidden.”
“Kuh… ”
“Um… ”
The two of them kept their mouths shut at General Bagoin’s words.
At that time when the atmosphere was slightly ventilated,
Richard, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke in a calm voice.
“First of all, I think it will be necessary to calmly judge the situation here.”
“It’s a situation… That means, let’s retreat too, is this?”
“For now, yes. However, what you should know before that is that it is really not easy to fight, let alone retreat, to put our current situation in a straight line.”
“Um… ”
“ah… No, not only fighting, but also retreating is not easy. What do you mean by that?”
William begins to express deep bewilderment at Richard’s words.
To this, Richard answered in a serious voice to him and everyone present.
“Now we have two days worth of food left at most. Do you think the general can return to the Maple region in the north with only this amount of food?”
“that’s… ”
It took five days to get from here to Maple, an imperial colony to the north.
Even that was excluding variables such as enemy raids or the weather, so the march would inevitably be further delayed depending on the situation.
Like that, in this situation that has not been easy for me either.
General Bagoin asked Richard in front of his eyes with a serious voice.
“… If so, what would you like us to do now?”
“It won’t be easy, but for now, there is only one way left.”
“that is… Something?”
“It is a negotiation.”
-bang!
“Richard! Saying that now… ”
“William! You shut up!”
After coldly restraining William, who immediately protested,
General Bagoin looked at Richard and asked in a serious voice.
“If you are negotiating… As it is, we must bend our tails and bow our heads to the rebels. Does that mean?”
“There is no other way. The enemy’s troops are more than twice ours, their morale is high, and they have plenty of supplies. On the other hand, we have already lost the last battle and lost morale, and we have lost most of our munitions as well. In this situation, if you are attacked by them while retreating, in the worst case, there is a risk of being massacred.”
“Kuh… ”
“Exterminate… to say… ”
Richard’s words about the worst that could happen based on sober analysis.
As a result, the generals, including William, could no longer refute her words, and could only feel clear despair about this situation, which had deteriorated in an instant.
And,
among such longevity. General Bagoin spoke to Richard in a quiet voice.
“… All right. Thank you for your accurate analysis.”
“I’m sorry I can only say this. General Bagoin… ”
“No, rather, at times like this, it is rather helpful to tell the truth without filtering…”
The head of the Imperial Army, who was caught in such a calm atmosphere, began to fall into a heavy silence for a while.
What broke the silence was
It was General Bagoin, a person who had virtually all decision-making power.
“… We will negotiate.”
“! ruler… General!”
“Don’t make a fuss about it too much, it’s not about surrendering to the enemy outright, it’s simply about giving in what you’re willing to give in and taking what you’re supposed to be getting.”
“Mmm…”
“Sigh… ”
General Bagoin, who is trying hard to tell the story with the meaning of consolation.
However, regardless of what the words were saying, everyone present at this moment knew.
Under adverse circumstances, such as the present one,
It also means that negotiations in a situation where the other side is fully aware of the circumstances of the other side are virtually no different from surrender.
Nevertheless, at this moment, General Bagoin had no choice but to endure this humiliation.
To save the lives of his subordinates and minimize damage.
Even if it means sacrificing yourself in the process.
*
“You want to negotiate?”
“… That’s right. Here is a letter from General Bagoin.”
A negotiation proposal brought by Richel, General of the Imperial Army.
In response, General Gates gave Beneletta a chin with an arrogant expression.
Right after that, Benelita slowly began to unravel the letter.
In the process, General Gates made a face as if he had no interest in this matter.
But,
Contrary to the seemingly rigid attitude,
At this moment, General Gates was in a very excited mood.
‘Whoa, this is such a great feeling, I can’t believe the day will come when the Bagoin general will bow his head and ask me for negotiations!’
At this point, negotiations are virtually tantamount to surrender, meaning that the war will be put to an end.
As such, General Gates began to read the contents of Benelita’s letter slowly, anticipating what it would contain.
“… .So. If you allow the imperial army to retreat smoothly, I will hand over all the weapons I have, is this?”
“Yes, it is. Immediately after leaving the Saratoga area, we will withdraw to the Maple Region with our weapons laid down at the promised location. And with that guarantee… ”
With those words, General Richell carefully pulled out a sword from his chest.
The moment he saw it, General Gates momentarily looked slightly surprised.
“!…. That… that is?”
“This is Levatein, General Bagoin’s favorite sword. He said that this would be a guarantee that we would keep our promise.”
“Hoo… I will entrust you with one of the strongest swords that the Empire boasts. Is this? Surely, if that is the case, I have no choice but to believe it.”
“That word… Do you mean that you will accept our offer?”
General Richell asks a question in a cautious voice at General Gates’ words.
However, to this, Gates replied with a smile on his lips.
“what… From my point of view, I don’t think that’s too bad. To be honest, regardless of this or that, weren’t we all once subjects of the same empire? There is no need to sacrifice precious lives. But no matter how important it is, wouldn’t it be the right thing to make a decision after listening to the opinions of the subordinates?”
“that’s… It certainly is.”
“Thank you for noticing. If so, let’s rest in the annex for a while, and we’ll make a decision and give you an answer sometime today.”
“Yes, then.”
General Richell, who bowed slightly at General Gates’ words, went outside.
Right after that, Director Benelita looked cautiously at General Gates, who was sitting in his seat, and said:
“General. Are you really willing to accept that deal? Certainly, if we lead the weapon, we will be able to ease our worries about their aggression for a while, but letting go of them like this will definitely bring us back later in some way.”
“Isn’t that a natural thing? It would be foolish to let the authors go here.”
“Yes?”
General Gates responds in a cold voice to Benelita’s words.
Benelita showed a surprised expression at the completely different attitude from when she was talking just before.
To her, General Gates said with a sly smile.
“As you said, it would be foolish to let them go here, so if we break down the negotiations here, they will surely fight us until the very end. If that’s the case, isn’t it the answer here to deceive them?”
“!… ruler… General, you can’t say that… ”
“Pretending to accept the deal, I will stab them in the back. No matter how much it is, shouldn’t you go out to the battlefield and swing your sword once, even if you are the commander in chief?”
General Gates confidently talks about breaking promises.
Regarding this, Benelita spoke to her superior in a voice full of cold emotion.
“… That word… Are you breaking the promise we made with each other?”
“What’s so important about that? After all, this is a battlefield of deceit and deceit. Regardless of the method or method, the one who kills the most enemies wins.”
“But General… No matter how much the enemy is, if you break your promise like that, it can adversely affect the trust of our rebels… ”
“Noisy, anyway, you talk too much unnecessarily. If the young man is going to keep talking back to his superiors like that, take off your clothes right away! If you’re very proud that you’ve made a worthy achievement this time… ”
“… ”
“Go and see what you do. And since we have to hold a meeting, even formally, the generals are called.”
“… Yes. Okay. General.”
General Gates gives orders with a feeling of annoyance.
In response, Benelita Arnold left the command room as it were, gnashing her teeth.
*
General Gates’ summons issued suddenly.
So, feeling a bit suspicious, I headed straight to the command room.
Shortly thereafter, General Gates began loudly telling us of his ‘Operation’.
Order to get ready as we will roughly slash the backs of our enemies and wipe them out.
Since this is a story that is no different from a one-sided notification, rather than seeking an opinion from this side,
I listened quietly until his story was completely over.
By the way…
“yes?”
The next moment, an information window began to appear in front of my eyes.
So, thinking that the timing was a little subtle, I opened it for now.
And.
＜A significant divergence in the quest line has occurred.＞
“!…”
Bro that man is so stupid. How near sighted can someone of his position be?!? Literally the drag of the rebels.