Crossroad. Temple.
"Bring more bandages!"
"We're running low on potions! Hurry!"
"Lady Saintess! You're needed over here, too! It's urgent!"
I stood in the temple's chaotic corridor, silently watching as heroes were rushed by on gurneys.
Today's battle had rendered a total of three parties combat-incapable.
The Leprosy Extermination Squad.
They had sustained the most severe injuries, having borne the brunt of the goblins' onslaught; they all returned beaten black and blue.
They would need several weeks of treatment at the least.
The Holy Grail Seekers.
While their injuries weren't as severe, the issue was that this party was heavy on damage dealers.
For them, not as sturdy as a tank party, such injuries meant a lengthy recovery.
And then, the Shadow Squad.
Two warriors. Two injured. One missing...
And along with them, Lilly, who had gone in for their rescue, was also missing.
"..."
It was only the first day.
On the first battle, three hero parties were already out of commission.
The damage didn't end there. The parties that had gone out as bait had also been spent and injured.
Especially critical was the burnout of Junior's mage party and Damien's sniper party, who had been overextended in the fight. They needed rest.
"My lord."
Lucas approached me. When I turned around, Lucas gestured towards a room.
"The emergency treatment for Bodybag and Burnout is finished... Would you like to visit?"
"...Yes, let's."
Upon entering the infirmary, Bodybag and Burnout, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, immediately stood and saluted.
I waved them off to rest and sat down in front of their beds.
"Report exactly what happened."
Since Burnout was unable to speak, Bodybag took on the responsibility of reporting.
Due to the use of Dusk Bringar's Dragon Roar, a hunter's hound that had been temporarily integrated into the Shadow Squad had bolted, and just then, the wall where the hound had been retrieved came under attack...
The entire Shadow Squad was left behind trying to rescue a hunter trapped under a collapsed wall.
In the attempt to save the fallen Shadow Squad, two parties were rendered combat-incapable, and two core firepower teams were drained.
And still, the goblin legions remain intact.
I wrapped my forehead with my hand as I listened to the report. Bodybag concluded her account.
"...We returned through the gate. We waited for Godhand and Lady Lilly's return, but before that, the gate closed..."
"..."
"Really... I'm sorry, Your Majesty. Because of us, the front lines have suffered greatly..."
"It's not your fault."
I repeated myself.
"It's not your fault. Don't blame yourselves."
There was no malice in anyone's actions.
Only good intentions.
People were trying to save people. Trying to rescue a party member trapped under a wall, trying to save a fallen comrade, trying to save the life of a lover whose fate was unknown...
Everyone had risked their lives.
Who could blame whom in this situation?
Yet people die, the damage accumulates, and the battle becomes ever more difficult.
All these good intentions had gathered, but the result was tragic.
"I was the one who ordered the use of the Dragon Roar, and I was the one who sent the rescue teams. All the responsibility is mine."
I patted the shoulders of the two members of the Shadow Squad who were bowing their heads in self-reproach.
"So, for today, rest without another thought."
"But..."
Bodybag began to choke up.
"But, but... the two newcomers, Godhand, Lady Lilly..."
"..."
Without a word, I patted Bodybag's shoulder once more and stepped out of the infirmary.
Burnout was comforting Bodybag, who was now sobbing with her face buried in her bandaged hands.
As Lucas and I walked out of the temple corridor, Evangeline, who had just finished emergency treatment, was waiting at the entrance.
The three of us returned to the lord's mansion in silence, riding together in the carriage.
Inside the returning carriage, I struggled to speak.
"Was giving up the right choice?"
"..."
"..."
Both of them just looked at me, not saying a word. I muttered, rubbing my tired eyes.
"If we had just given up on the Shadow Squad, one incapacitated party could have ended it. But we intervened to rescue them, and now, we have three incapacitated parties... The two firepower parties won't be able to deploy for a while either."
This defensive battle is a war of attrition.
It's supposed to last at least three days, and it could go longer. The size of the enemy forces, as well as our strategy to draw out time and gradually wear them down, makes it so.
But we've started on the wrong foot on the very first day.
And I have no idea how big of an impact this snowball will end up having. Starting tomorrow, we'll have to completely overhaul all guerrilla tactics.
"Did I make a mistake...?"
A sigh came naturally.
Caught up in a sense of righteousness that shouldn't have constrained me, have I endangered the entire frontline?
To win, to conquer, one must be bold and ruthless enough to cut losses when necessary.
During the 742 attempts, throwing lives away like bullets... I regretted becoming a monster that only aimed for victory.
Maybe trying to protect those within my reach was, in fact, a mistake.
"Senior."
Evangeline spoke calmly.
"Senior, you came alone to rescue me when I was surrounded by the golem legion."
"...That was because I was certain. Certain that I could safely save you..."
"Stop bragging again, just stop!"
Suddenly, Evangeline reached out and grabbed my left arm tightly. Ouch?!
"What are you doing! That hurts!"
"You think I don't know that you've been having trouble using this left arm since that day?"
"..."
Back when I went to save Evangeline.
I suffered a terrible injury that shattered all the bones in my left arm.
It moves somewhat normally now, thanks to the temple's advanced healing, but it's not as free as it used to be.
"Even now, when it rains, you complain about your left arm aching. Look now. It's starting to snow, and you've been sore since earlier, haven't you?"
"...It's not like I'm an old man, it doesn't hurt that bad..."
"Enough with the bravado!"
"Ow, ow, ow!"
I eventually admitted the truth because, in fact, it was throbbing, and Evangeline finally let go of my arm and nodded.
"If you really had been considering efficiency that day, you shouldn't have come to rescue me with such a risk."
"..."
"But you did save me. Even risking your own life..."
Evangeline's emerald eyes were steady.
"That's why I empathized and followed. The banner you raised. To kill monsters and save people, the justice of this frontline."
"..."
"Like you said, if we had abandoned the Shadow Squad from the start, we could have maintained more strength for the remaining defense battles. But then... would the banner of this frontline have remained untarnished?"
Whether to abandon or save our fallen comrades.
Strategy or humanity.
It's the same dilemma I've faced before.
Until now, it was possible to uphold both. To keep the strategy and save people.
But someday, if we have to choose one over the other...
Then I...
"We don't fight risking our lives just to maintain the empire's territory. It's about the pride of protecting everyone on the frontline, and... the cause you've championed, Senior."
Evangeline nodded with a grin.
"For that cause, I'm willing to die."
The voice of the female knight carried a weight that belied its light tone.
Thus, I missed the moment to chastise her, to say 'Do not speak so carelessly of such matters.'
Lucas, who had been silent all this while, opened his mouth.
"The cause you champion may one day strangle you. Maybe that day is today."
Right after, Lucas shrugged his shoulders.
"But, what of it?"
"What?"
"Just as Evangeline said, isn't it a front to kill monsters and save people? So... do not regret your decision, my lord."
"..."
"Walk proudly on the path you've chosen, even if it torments you. We will follow you silently."
Lucas had opposed sending a rescue squad, but after I made the decision, he was there to support me.
Evangeline patted my knee as I sat silently lost in thought.
"That's right! Before the operation started, you were all cool, saying you wouldn't regret it. So, really, don't have any regrets! You're just setting yourself up for regret!"
"Ha ha..."
I laughed bitterly.
Suddenly, the Emperor's rebuke in the Imperial Capital came to mind.
- No matter how white and clean the flag you bear, the moment you pass through the battlefield, that flag will be stained with blood and ash. My young son, do you truly not understand?
"..."
The banner I held, and the heart that held it,
were tormented, wavering, and slowly wearing down.
At the end of this road, will I still be able to stand holding that flag?
Will I be able to proudly show my followers the flag I have protected?
Or...
"Phew!"
I slapped my own cheeks with both hands.
Now is not the time for such thoughts. As the two knights said, I can't afford to waste time on regrets.
I've already chosen my path, and the strategy is in motion.
I search for an opening. I play my clever moves. That is my duty as a commander.
"We'll modify the tactics."
I pulled the operation plan from my breast pocket.
I unfolded the original plan for day two, read through the densely written content, and then crumpled it up carelessly.
"Tomorrow's guerrilla tactics will be..."
I looked back and forth between the two knights in front of me and smiled slyly.
"It looks like you two are in for some hard work."
Lucas and Evangeline, like mischievous children, returned the smile.
I hadn't expected Lucas to show such a rascal's grin, but Evangeline, that's another story...
What does it matter? When it comes to killing monsters, one doesn't need a kind and righteous nature.
A bit of a bad child is just about right.
Cracking my knuckles, I revealed my fangs.
"Let's begin the hunt for monsters."
***
Night.
A forward base in the snow.
"This is troubling."
Inside his makeshift tent, Kali-Alexander groaned.
Helmet and armor off, he was tending to his bloodied left arm by himself.
There was no doctor among the goblin legions. No one who had learned healing magic.
Kali-Alexander himself was the only one with medical knowledge.
Sitting in front of a mirror, he laid out a knife, hot water, a heated branding iron, and began to operate on his injury by himself.
An elf's thrown spear had pierced his left shoulder.
The spearhead had shattered inside his shoulder, scattering fragments of broken metal throughout his left arm.
He had extracted the large fragments by making an incision, but the smaller pieces could not be removed.
As he looked down at his left arm, which refused to move properly, Kali-Alexander clicked his tongue.
"I took a proper hit from that elf..."
The goblin aides attending him let out low groans.
Kali-Alexander wiped the cold sweat from his brow and looked back at the remaining goblin Amirs.
"My injuries are secondary... How many Amirs are left now?"
"Kirik, just the three of us..."
"So many have perished."
It was quite the anticlimax for the highest officer under the God-King, the sheer number who had died.
The Goblin Janissaries had fared no better. The casualties for the day had been tremendous, the losses staggering.
The damage suffered by the Monster Front was as significant as that endured by the Goblin Legion.
"Sort through the Janissaries and call the seven with the highest merits."
Covering his injured left arm with a cloak, the Goblin King rose from his seat as if his injury was of no consequence.
"Also, sift through the regular goblin soldiers and gather the five hundred with the highest merits by tomorrow morning."
The war was far from over.
The necessity to hide his injury, the gap in his officers, was apparent.
Finally, pressing the helmet that combined a mask and a crown onto his head, he returned to his unwavering demeanor and declared,
"'Promotions' are in order."