Galven walked beside Halbert, whispering into his ears: "Isn't that kid one of those special awakeners? Wouldn't it be possible to win with her help?"
"Impossible."
Galven's question was met with Halbert's firm answer.
With the appearance of the portal, the magical particle called mana made its way to Earth too. Bringing along a trace of hope for humanity.
Many people were able to awaken talent or the ability to use mana. Halbert was one of them.
Unfortunately, Halbert couldn't use mana, but he had an innate talent to understand and analyze any information. It was very helpful while leading troops, allowing him to make countermeasures way ahead of time.
Puff~
"I don't have the authority to order her and neither is winning possible with just her." Halbert coldly stared at the soldier unloading the boxes with arms and rations.
Nevelli, who was silently hearing their conversation, interfered.
"You should be at least able to hold on for a few days with all these supplies." Nevelli thought optimistically.
But Halbert didn't have an intention of going along with her mood.
"We will be annihilated in a single day most likely. We are fighting against the main army of the empire, even a magically enhanced bullet won't make a dent in their armor. Only the new model guns which are made up of rare monster bodies and enhanced with special abilities can kill them..."
Galven's eyes lost their color, leaving only a pair of dead eyes but his lips perked up, forming into a fanatic smile.
"So....will you create a miracle this time too?" Galven's voice spread across the snow-covered road, gathering every soldier's attention.
All of their eyes locked on Halbert, to which he responded with his usual cold attitude.
"You will all die in the hands of the enemy in three days, this fact won't change." Halbert's words were extremely frosty, piercing into others' ears.
Even in this gloomy atmosphere, many of their eyes held a strange sentiment in it. They trusted Halbert, because-
Halbert smirked with a cold light flickering in his eyes.
"But...Even if you die, you will be remembered by the enemy. I will make sure that you will become a trauma that will haunt them till their death bed. Your death will never be meaningless."
Everyone clenched their teeth, some with excitement, while some with despair. However...
"Glory to the central!" All of them pledged their hearts to the nation.
"Disperse. Gather here again at night, we will be beginning our preparation then." Halbert dispersed them all.
While everyone moved to take out the rations, Halbert took out the maps he had requested along with other objects.
'Let's see...'
"Why at night though, sir?" Feinet, one of Halbert's old comrades, asked curiously.
"The scouts of the enemy will reach the city within two days, before the main army. We have to move quickly so that we can give them a surprise 'gift' after all." Halbert's eyes didn't leave the map spread across the table.
...
After three days.
At night, when the atmosphere grew even colder, soldiers gathered in the same place.
"So, Miss Nevelli is my position to your liking?" Halbert sarcastically stared at Nevelli.
"Yes...We will retreat the moment enemies break through the second formation." Nevelli spoke freely, seeing Halbert already seen past her objective.
The executives alive didn't want Halbert to die in this battle. His worth was acknowledged by them all, he could lead any army to victory as long as he had enough information and preparation.
"No need. We will retreat an hour after the empire starts its advance." Strangely, Halbert's expression gave out grave chills, causing Nevelli's never changing expression to twitch.
Nevelli was not aware of the total scope of Halbert's plan, which just made her feel more and more uneasy.
His notoriety just went to make Nevelli even more uncomfortable.
Not bothering to register Nevelli's expression, Halbert sighed, remembering the conversation he had Priorly with his comrade.
....
Yesterday.
Galven: "Sir, I will go with the newbies. No need for you to say anything, I know what that means. I have been following you for years like it or not."
Halbert looked at Galven's shameless face with a slight frown.
The newbies were placed at the foremost of the formation. Giving them a special task, Halbert had already let anyone unwilling to desert their positions.
In the end, only the soldiers with vengeful spirits stayed, willing to trade their lives in exchange for taking even the smallest jab at the enemy.
Halbert could feel the resolution in Galven's eyes, which caused his face to darken.
"What about your sister? Weren't you fighting to treat her disease caused by a plague?" Halbert tried one last time to change Galven's decision.
The plague was caused by the empire, they had not sighed away from using despicable moves. This caused millions of deaths in the end.
At once the atmosphere froze and Galven looked down with a dark shadow covering his face.
There was no need for words, Halbert patted Galven's shoulder and spoke in a heavy voice: "Give them hell."
He handed over a walkie-talkie to Galven along with a switch.
"This is...ha." Galven knew the meaning of Halbert's action, making him smirk.
"Truthfully, I wanted to be the one to do it. Going out with a bang didn't seem bad after all, but it's not possible anymore." Halbert looked at the tent where Nevelli stayed.
.....
"The empire has arrived at the outer circle of the city." Having better sight compared to normal people, Nevelli looked at the lights carried by the enemies past the snow.
Halbert activated his walkie-talkie: "chsuuhh, squak. Team R1, report your situation."
"Squak~ all members position at k19 block road. Reporting the enemy scouts have already spotted all of our positions. An enemy squadron advancing to intercept."
Halbert's eyes narrowed towards the temporary base of the empire with a cold gaze.
"Replying to team R1, follow the original order, begin operation trap to death when in an appropriate range." Halbert cut the line and smiled slightly
"A whole squadron...They are not holding back at all. Well, that will lead to their downfall though."
Nevelli flinched hearing Halbert's words. Normally any commander would have been in despair at this point, but Halbert was the opposite. He couldn't help but be happy that the enemy decided to make such big moves.
"Let's get down from here then," Halbert said looking around the terrace he was standing on.
Standing in such an open area, they were easy targets for the enemy mages to snipe from afar.
'It has been recorded that a mage's magic cannot snipe from more than 400 meters, but I should still be cautious.' Halbert thought. The enemy he was facing was part of the main force, they could surely surpass their past performance.