A War Hero With No Regrets – Chapter 39

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
Luthers instinctively grasped that hand.

Even though he should have clearly brushed it off, it was a natural action that flowed like water.

“Here’s a revolver. I got it from the police earlier. You, with just one revolver, it’s enough, isn’t it?”

Instead of answering, Luthers nodded and checked the chamber of the revolver.

It was fully loaded with six live rounds.

“I picked up one of those bullets by rummaging through my pocket.”

“What about His Excellency the President?”

“He has safely evacuated. The same goes for your subordinates.”

Luthers let out a short sigh at the sight of Drake grinning.

He was feeling relieved.

“But the job isn’t done yet. These bastards must have pulled some tricks on the way out too.”

Drake looked at the people scattering in all directions.

Even after a few minutes had passed since the first terror attack, the gunshots continued without stopping.

It was a deliberate act.

The concept itself was completely different from what the Revolutionary Front had done at the Eastern Army Command in Branberg last time.

The terrorists were all frenzied.

They were so angry that even their reason was paralyzed.

Luthers also knew that emotion.

The massacre in the capital.

Anger towards the superiors who were only concerned about lining their own pockets even as the front lines were being pushed back.

Luthers Edan was no exception in harboring that terrible emotion that he didn’t even want to think about.

The only way to stop them was to kill all those towards whom their anger was directed.

Or to face death themselves.

“I don’t know how many will rush in. Even the local police have come to this point, so the routes must have already been figured out.”

“I agree.”

“So… I need your help. Luthers Edan.”

Drake pleaded in a more serious voice than ever before.

Originally, he shouldn’t have accepted it.

How had he pushed away the members of the Graveyard?

Among them, Drake Brown was one of the key figures.

In the memory recovery through Akasha, he was ranked second after Arwen Orka.

Including their company grade officer days, he was actually the comrade who had been with Luthers for the longest time.

If he got further involved with him like this here, he would lose the resolve he had made every time.

“…”

“Did you want to be forgotten by us?”

The moment Luthers hesitated without hastily answering, Drake opened his mouth.

“You, who had seized victory while being criticized by everyone. I think I can understand a little now. Perhaps you… had found your own path. A path that no one else could understand, but it can’t be said that it was wrong.”

Of course, there were still countless parts that were incomprehensible.

The sloppy orders.

The injuries of the subordinates that resulted from them.

But one thing was certain.

If it was the Luthers Edan that Drake Brown remembered… he wouldn’t have done it with only bad intentions.

In fact, Luthers might have colluded with the pigs who were greedily eating their own share in the rear.

However, the fact that the supply situation of the Graveyard had greatly improved due to those actions didn’t change either.

No matter what happens, a person can never fully understand another person.

They just prejudge the other person’s appearance according to their own standards.

Perhaps he himself had been prejudging his old friend in that way.

Right and wrong were not objective.

They were thoroughly subjective values.

But Drake remembered the cups of alcohol he had shared with Luthers Edan.

In that place, the two of them were clearly enjoying themselves.

This time, it was Drake’s turn to let go of his own values.

He had already paid the price of dogmatism sufficiently in the Graveyard.

“I will respect your path. If you tell me not to find you, I won’t find you, and if you say let’s meet sometimes and have a drink like before, I’ll do that.”

Luthers blankly looked at that face at the completely unexpected answer.

The eyes that were always upright did not waver this time either.

“So I need your help, Major General Luthers Edan. To get out of here, and to fulfill the duty entrusted to me.”

Drake was that kind of man.

Hot-blooded, acting before thinking, sometimes stubbornly narrow-minded.

But sincere, considerate of others, and a man who knew how to respect others.

At those words, Luthers had no choice but to finally open his mouth that he had been tightly closed.

It was the moment when one layer of the loneliness that had been weighing on Luthers Edan’s shoulders for the fortieth time was peeled off.

“Lead the way, Colonel.”

Yeah.
If a comrade asked that much, he had to grant it.

Not as Luthers Edan, the former commander of the Graveyard Fortress, but as Werner Grimm, the director of the National Security Strategy Agency.

***

Immediately after a loud explosion was heard at the memorial park, all schedules were temporarily canceled.

What schedule could they carry out when the President of the Republic of Bostania had been shot in the head right before their eyes?

They had to return right away no matter what.

“Director!! Where have you been! I thought you were definitely hit!”

As soon as the security battalion commander, whose face had turned pale, confirmed Drake Brown, who had broken through the crowd and come out, he jumped up.

“Ah, I’m sorry for disappearing without a word. I was bringing back our strongest ally.”

When Drake pointed behind him with his thumb, Karin and Edward, who had been looking around, ran out.

“Director Werner!”

“Are you hurt anywhere?!”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a family reunion that can’t be seen without tears. Well… for now, how is His Excellency the President?”

“He is surprisingly stable. He is currently taking shelter inside the bulletproof escort vehicle.”

“That’s a relief to hear. What about available vehicles?”

“Two. The rest are blocked right now. Even the escort personnel dispatched from other countries are in a mess.”

Drake clicked his tongue.

A terrorist attack at such a large-scale event.

It was a moment when the bottom line of the Republic of Bostania, which had become an empty shell, was clearly revealed.

Especially since they had turned the memorial park where the spirits of the nation’s heroes were resting into a hellish battlefield, how many years would it take for the Republic’s status to be restored to the same level as before?

However, being able to use only four vehicles in such chaos was fatal.

At that moment, ‘Werner Grimm’, who had been quietly observing the whole situation, opened his mouth.

“Vehicles won’t work.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that… No, what do you mean, Lieutenant Colonel?”

“We have no idea what the road conditions will be like. If we get stuck in traffic, we’ll be the perfect target for terrorism.”

“I checked on my way here, and the firepower of the terrorists is not as strong as expected. Most of their weapons are just handguns.”

First Lieutenant Edward Roman, the head of the Armaments Department, added.

“If we move with the chaotic crowd, we can sufficiently evacuate to a safe zone.”

“The lieutenant is right. Those guys were targeting the heads of state. They treat ordinary citizens as just unlucky victims who got caught up in it. In other words, they won’t attack first unless they have to.”

It was unknown whether the purpose was to overthrow the Republic of Bostania, or if it was a localized provocation unilaterally committed by extremists like the Revolutionary Front had done.

One should always assume the worst-case scenario.

It was also Drake’s habit, and a habit he had picked up from Luthers Edan.

“We’ll move on foot. I misjudged.”

Since it was the last schedule, there weren’t many accompanying members.

They could sufficiently blend into the crowd.

When Drake Brown, the local security chief, made that decision, President Mikhail also actively cooperated.

“I have a route I checked earlier. If we go this way, it will probably be safe.”

The place the President pointed to was about 1 km west of the memorial park.

It certainly seemed like it would stand out much less than the main road since it was a place with winding alleys.

Moreover, since there were few people, they could also get help from the personnel waiting near the accommodation.

“As expected of Your Excellency the President.”

“I learned everything over my shoulders. For now, let’s move first. The terrorists may be lurking around.”

“Yes!”

And at the very front were Werner Grimm and the personnel of the National Security Agency.

While proceeding forward without hesitation, they thoroughly watched anyone who looked suspicious without missing a single person.

Even though it was inevitable to attract attention when dozens of escort personnel were rushing together.

But since they were unrelated to terrorism and there were quite a few of them, the perceived threat was actually much less.

When homeless people popped out of alleys to see what was going on, Werner quickly aimed his gun and threatened them.

After repeating that a few times.

Before they knew it, the group was able to reach an area quite far from the memorial park where the terrorism had occurred.

As soon as they caught their breath, Drake immediately went up to the rooftop and called the remaining escort troops.

“Co-Commander! Are you safe! What about His Excellency the President!?”

“Fortunately, he is safe. Bring all the items and come to the area I’m telling you! We’re going straight to the airport! Tell them to prepare the private plane for departure!”

In the midst of an unprecedented incident of a bomb terror attack during the last schedule of the summit, the escort team immediately brought the vehicles and arrived.

Because the Empire’s entourage was able to quickly reach the airport.

They were able to access the news about this bomb terror attack in real-time at the airport.

[President of the Republic of Bostania passes away.]

[King of the Kingdom of Wales in critical condition, undergoing emergency surgery due to shrapnel wounds.]

[Secretary General of the Svarog Federation, died instantly at the scene.]

Of course, each piece of news was shocking.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇