237 – End of Everything (3)
South of Stalinina, 1st Armored Division headquarters.
I accepted the steaming teacup. It felt like my body, which had been cold and hardened as I descended, was released.
“The Great Mage…… Do you mean warm?”
“Yes.”
Erwin Ruth asked with a confused expression. Certainly, the presence of a great mage seemed to act as a burden.
‘The burden is also a burden, but it seems to have definitely changed since the last time I saw it.’
While I didn’t see it, the young, bloody soldier who always talked about his grit had become a mature man covered with prudence.
I heard that during the last Polania defense battle, instead of penetrating the defense line, they accurately identified weak points and waged efficient maneuvers.
Like Rumia, Erwin seemed to have grown a lot.
“Honestly, I think that if you are a corps commander, you would be in the ranks of the Great Mage… ….”
Lieutenant Colonel Erwin Ruth took a sip of his tea and continued his talk.
“Do you have any other strategy besides direct confrontation?”
Looks full of anticipation.
As always, the gaze came from the conviction that there would be a strategy this time.
Unfortunately, not this time.
As I shook my head, Erwin Ruth’s face turned to embarrassment.
“Sincerely, sincerely…… Are you saying you’re going to fight the Great Mage of the Empire?”
“There is no other way. If we don’t break our backs this time, it’s us Uk ranians who fall down.”
“You won’t be able to come back alive!!”
“Cough, Cough!!”
Kung, said Erwin, jumping up from his seat. Director Olena, who was sitting in the middle, was startled and coughed repeatedly, as if she had drunk the wrong tea.
“Lieutenant Colonel! What kind of habit is that to the lieutenant general!”
“But, Commander, this is not the case! Lieutenant General Enoch Levandell is not someone to be sacrificed against the Great Mage!!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Erwin Ruth shouting.
You may have grown, but you haven’t changed.
It was like that when we worked together in the past. Erwin Ruth was extremely reluctant to sacrifice anyone.
I would rather sacrifice myself than sacrifice someone else. Erwin Ruth’s unstoppable charging instinct was originally born from such a mind.
A ‘blind commander’ type commander who leads the soldiers at the forefront when he’s slow.
What can I do with that being his personality and subjectivity?
“It is better to take a step back now and plan for the future… ….”
Erwin spoke passionately, but he kept his mouth shut as if he had realized something himself.
A moment of silence. Erwin Ruth closed his eyes tightly and bent his waist at 90 degrees to apologize.
“Sorry, Commander!! Stop because I got too excited……. He forgot his most important values!!”
Yes, this is our Lieutenant Colonel Erwin.
“Resigning here is the only way to put off the war. We are currently fighting a war in the territory of the Soviet Empire, but if we do not seize this opportunity, we will be fighting a great war in Uk ran next time.”
In the first place, the option to step down did not exist.
If I withdraw from here, what will happen to the isolated Special Operations Command in the north, and a serious problem will arise in the salvation of the 6th Armored Division and the 8th Infantry Brigade, which were detouring in the direction of the Southwest Group Army.
Isn’t it possible to abandon precious Uk ranian soldiers at a time when it is unknown whether the empire will treat them as prisoners of war due to the consumption of their own people in mutant experiments?
“And…… That’s enough. If, through my sacrifice, Uk ran can achieve complete salvation, I am ready to accept it with a humble heart.”
After I finished my tea, I set the cup down on the table.
“So, as I said earlier, the 1st Armored Division has a mission to take on.”
“Just say the word, we are ready.”
Director Olena Deriugina answered in a determined voice. Because she was as hot-blooded as Erwin Ruth.
“Hit and run. Let the enemy think we are launching a massive offensive, then leave the scene with your infantry troops.”
“Exit…… Are you talking?”
“The moment a large-scale movement of armored units is identified, they will immediately deploy the Archmage. Without the 1st Armored Division, one-sided frontline pressure would be possible without using the Great Mage.”
In terms of nuclear weapons, they are tactical nuclear weapons.
If the Great Mage starts rampaging with all his heart, it won’t end with just one city, but even from the Empire’s point of view, Stalina is a high-value target that must be secured, so complete destruction is unlikely.
If you sip the appetizing rice cake called the ‘Armored Division’, which is one of the few in Uk ran, you will definitely get a bite.
“If the Great Mage gets caught like that… ….”
I picked up the map that was on the table with my finger.
“I and the members of the Assault Magic Battalion will come in and beat him up.”
While tactical nuclear weapons are being hammered into enemy territory, there is no crazy commander to station the main forces nearby. Probably only the Grand Mage and a small army to assist him will be put in.
A rare 1:1 match opportunity.
It overcomes its numerical inferiority and at the same time eats the great mage of calamity.
Because even the people of the Soviet Empire wouldn’t know that I still possess the magic power of a great mage.
“After that, please complete the maintenance immediately and launch a real offensive with the 27th Division. Perhaps, if the operation proceeds as planned, the isolated 6th Armored Division will be able to break through the encirclement and reach the northern part of the Caucasus, where the Special Operations Command is located.”
“… ….”
Even after I finished speaking, Erwin Ruth and Olena couldn’t bear to open their mouths. I had a vague idea of what they were thinking.
An operation based on the sacrifice of the corps commander.
Director Olena bit her lip. She knows it too. Other than this, she said, there was no way the Empire could be completely overthrown.
And Erwin Ruth.
He removed the commander’s badge from his chest and put it on the table.
“Lieutenant Colonel…… !?”
“Commander, I’m sorry. It has been a sincere honor to have been with such a great person ever since the Armored Division was established.”
I was also taken aback by Erwin’s unexpected behavior. He turned his head to look at me, then continued his speech, making direct eye contact with his eyes.
“No matter how corps commander you are, you won’t be able to easily break through their resistance with infantry alone. If all the armored units withdraw, the Grand Mage might think it’s a bluff and run away. But… ….”
I realized what the colonel was trying to say.
“If I had even one tank, I think it would be much easier.”
“Lieutenant Colonel Erwin Ruth!!”
“Please let me go, Commander. If possible, I would like to go back with the 8th Assault Magical Infantry Battalion on the last road.”
Erwin Ruth’s voice was low. He felt strange when he heard a quiet, heavy, and resolute voice instead of the high-pitched voice that shouted toughness and courage every time.
Somehow, Rumia, who had met Erwin before, said that Erwin’s mood had changed a lot.
“… ….”
Unlike Erwin Ruth, who was sparkling and full of life, Director Olena’s expression was decaying in real time.
I think it would have been the case even if it was me.
Isn’t it tantamount to an unofficial resignation from the battalion commander of a tank battalion who is not a lieutenant level at an important time?
I can’t get out unless my head is tingling.
But this time, on the contrary, it was my turn to make my head tingle.
“We will immediately receive applicants within the division. Formed a task force under the authority of the division commander. I will organize at least one tank company-level troops, so that Lieutenant Colonel Ervin takes over as commander.”
“Wait…… What is that, division commander?”
“Yes!?”
Me and Erwin reacted almost simultaneously.
“Isn’t that a very wrong statement? With just one tank, this cannot be called a deception operation.”
Besides, Grand Joint, Lieutenant Colonel How are you planning to pull the tank alone? Are you planning to use the driver, gunner, and ammunitioner who will go in there?
At Director Olena’s additional explanation, Erwin slapped me on the knee.
“You don’t have to go that far! In an operation that is tantamount to a suicide mission…… !”
“You said that the 8th Assault Magical Infantry Battalion was made up of volunteers from all over the world. There are quite a few people in our division who have a burning heart for their country. I can say with confidence that if they had not been here in Stalina, they would have applied without hesitation, risking my life.”
Yes.
She had forgotten, but in fact she was also a talkative person in many ways.
Even during the Civil War, wasn’t he the one who single-handedly chewed the upper orders and secured his own line of defense with his subordinate cavalry regiment, delaying the additional reinforcements of the rebels?
“That…… I’m not going to go with you either.”
“No.”
I sternly cut off Director Olena’s words while paying attention.
No matter how confident I was, the pressure I felt at the fact that I was on my way to death immediately disappeared like snow melting.
So, on the order of Major General Olena Deriugina, commander of the 1st Armored Division, the recruitment of ‘TF’ units to be put into the offensive began.
A total of 53 people remained after I personally appeared to the first-round candidates and told them the truth.
Two tank companies consisting of 4 Sherry Tanks and 8 Dnur Tanks were urgently assigned to the 8th Assault Magical Infantry Battalion.
And finally, three days after a massive air supply operation.
From Noble mtl dot com
“All troops, charge!!!”
“Request preparation fire, target red roof concrete building coordinates, microphone X-ray 280 or higher!”
“Wipe it all out!!!”
Stalina shook again.
