A War Hero With No Regrets – Chapter 14

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The masquerade ball.

It was a long-standing noble tradition that had been passed down since the old imperial era.

As was often the case with traditions, it was actually a gathering for the higher-ups to strengthen their friendships.

In the first place, there was no room to hold a masquerade ball during a war that had lasted for more than a decade.

However, in the Eastern Military District, where the ratio of former nobles was high, it was said to have been held occasionally even during the war.

With the additional purpose of commemorating the victory, it was scheduled as the second-day event and the finale of this banquet.

Such a finale was about to be stained with the blood of countless people.

Although Werner disliked such events, there was no reason to stand by and watch someone’s death.

“I’ve confirmed signs of a terrorist attack.”

“Undoubtedly.”

“Damn it…”

The hoarse voice of Supreme Commander Arthur Philias flowed through the communicator.

He had sent him to monitor the suspicious movements of the self-proclaimed nobles of the Eastern Military District, but he had gotten involved in a terrorist incident.

It was a headache for the Supreme Commander as well.

“Is there a possibility that the voice extraction was wrong? No… Yes, you wouldn’t have any reason to lie about this, and you wouldn’t handle the matter carelessly.”

“I’ve also completed the cross-validation of the audio files. What should I do now?”

He was no longer Luthers Edan, the war hero and fortress commander.

Not only was the available manpower ridiculously small, but the only decent weapon he had was the pistol he had brought from the Graveyard.

Moreover.

What was the purpose of the terrorists?
Why did they target the Eastern Army Commander?
Who was behind it?

Nothing had been revealed yet.

Lacking authority, weapons, and justification.

“…We have to cancel the party.”

“What reason can we give to do that? Are you saying that the Supreme Commander and His Excellency the President directly ordered it?”

“It’s not impossible.”

In fact, there was no need to prepare a scenario.

It was absolute for soldiers to obey orders.

Even for those in the Eastern Military District who boasted of being nobles, it was normal to carry out an order from above to cancel a party.

Unless it was a terrible war crime like a civilian massacre.

But Werner also knew very well how stubborn the generals of the Eastern Military District and the commanding officer, Lieutenant General Heinrich Rendal, were.

They would cancel the party.

Formally.

In the first place, the masquerade ball was closer to a social party format.

In other words, if they held a personal charity event instead of a military event, there would be no justification to stop it.

At most, personnel dispatched from the Supreme Command or other military districts would be urgently recalled.

Rendal and his commanders, the main targets of the terrorists, would still be exposed to danger.

“What if they don’t listen?”

“…We have to expose it.”

“The safety of the local collaborator we went to great lengths to contact will be at risk. The prestige of the SSA will also be greatly diminished.”

It was a situation between a rock and a hard place.

If they played the wiretapped content, the terror would be thwarted, and the masterminds could be easily caught.

The problem was the source of the evidence.

Why they wiretapped and who ordered it were answers that couldn’t be hastily revealed.

If it was just a warning measure, it wouldn’t matter if it was revealed or discovered.

If that were the case, Werner would have rather mixed words with the general-level officers and openly shown signs of restraint.

But the President intended to completely overturn the Eastern Military District, so revealing that would be like showing a decisive hand from the start.

The newly established organization called the National Security Strategy Agency already had a bad feeling about it.

Rather, with this incident, the private organizations of the Eastern Military District would hide deeply, and there was a high possibility of properly confronting the President.

The end of that would be… probably.

War.

And not against the Titans, but a civil war between fellow countrymen and comrades from yesterday.

Werner closed his eyes tightly as he continued to communicate with Arthur Philias.

This was not the victory of humanity that he had obtained by dying forty times.

It was a matter that neither Arthur nor Werner could easily decide.

Moreover, they couldn’t just rely on the President.

He was a thoroughly political person, so in the worst case, he might give an order to just ignore the terrorist attack in the Eastern Military District.

If the people who were a thorn in his side were going to fall out on their own, what reason would the President have to refuse?

Werner Grimm fell into serious contemplation.

Was there really no answer other than the choice between the tragedy of the Eastern Military District and the exposure of the National Security Strategy Agency?

‘No.’

At that moment, an idea flashed through Werner’s mind.

The best scenario to prevent both the President’s unnecessary intervention and terrorism.

“Supreme Commander, please send a message to the Eastern Army Command right now.”

“A message? What kind of message?”

“We need to modify the security order for the Eastern Army Command.”

Werner recalled the contents of the audio.

The underground armory after the banquet, stealing guns and ammunition?

He could come up with a hypothesis.

The thought he had as soon as he overheard the suspicious conversation was why they didn’t launch the terror attack right away.

Why did they have to set the day of the uprising to the day after the masquerade ball?

He could infer it through the documents he had read on the helicopter coming to Branberg.

‘The masquerade ball allows attendance of uninvited outsiders, including aides.’

The number of terrorists – the advance team – who had infiltrated the banquet hall until today was very small.

As personnel flowed in from the outside, the scale of the party would naturally increase, so security holes were bound to open up.

Who would even think that a terrorist attack would occur at an event commemorating the end of the war with the Titans?

Moreover, what they were ultimately aiming for was the Empire itself.

The Eastern Military District was just an example.

“The masquerade ball starts at 18:00. Please have the shifts of the sentries in charge of guarding the armory and facilities changed between 17:00 and 19:00.”

To secure the weapons and invade the banquet hall, the cooperation of the personnel on guard duty was absolutely necessary.

Otherwise, the security forces who identified the suspicious armed personnel would not sit still.

“I see. I understand.”

Arthur Philias said in an affirmative tone over the communicator.

“The Eastern Army Command will also accept that without much suspicion.”

It was too much to be picky about.

After all, it was just a change in patrol time, so there was no reason for the inside to feel greatly dissatisfied or anything.

“Director Werner Grimm.”

“Yes, Supreme Commander.”

“You are directly under His Excellency the President, but at the same time, you are also my subordinate. So it means that my authority also applies.”

Arthur added more solemnly than ever.

“I entrust all decisions and judgments regarding what happens on the scene to you, the on-site commander. I will take all responsibility for that.”

“That alone is enough. Then I will contact you as soon as the matter is settled.”

Werner ended the communication with the Supreme Command.

Then he put on the clothes he had roughly brought.

Since Werner had no particular knowledge of fashion, most of his casual clothes were solid colors close to black and dark gray.

Coincidentally, it was the perfect outfit for infiltration.

He put on a tactical vest over the dark civilian clothes and checked the magazine of his pistol.

16 rounds with 3 magazines, a total of 48 rounds.

It would have been perfect if there was a silencer that could be attached.

Thinking that he must attach a silencer from the next mission, Werner completely covered the rest of his face with a black mask.

He didn’t forget the tactical knife tucked into the thigh sheath.

The only thing gleaming from the pitch-black figure was a pair of sharp eyes.

“…Let’s go.”

With that last muttered word to himself, Werner slipped out of the safe house.

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The Branberg Command, after the banquet ended, was frighteningly quiet.

In fact, the real banquet began after all the schedules were finished.

Some gathered in small groups with those they had newly met at the banquet and went to nearby pubs or hotels for a second round.

Some male and female officers who got along well booked separate accommodations.

Higher-ranking officials moved to even more luxurious and secretive places than the command to start their own banquets.

Moreover, it was a victory.

There was no reason to wake up suddenly to a Titan air raid alert, and no reason to be on edge about the situation on the front lines.

As a result, everyone from the commander to the lowest-ranking soldier naturally loosened up.

There were officers in charge of the night duty for formality, but they disappeared and did not return after completing the handover.

Soldiers patrolling the corridors were openly dozing off or chatting and laughing.

They weren’t even carrying firearms.

‘To think it would be such a mess.’

There was no need to even wear camouflage gear like this.

Perhaps wearing a general olive-green military uniform would have been a more definite disguise.

If there was no proper guard force and he walked around openly and confidently, no one would know.

Werner lamented the miserable reality and arrived at the armory located in the underground of the command.

And there.

Men in obviously sloppy military uniforms were taking out weapons from the armory.

“Move quickly. I don’t know where the night duty went either. Now’s the chance.”

“The bombs are set up, right?”

“Of course.”

The conversation he overheard while sticking to the wall was undoubtedly related to terrorism.

The last bastion had also fallen.

There was no need for further evidence from the moment Lieutenant General Rendal’s name was mentioned and the talk of assassination was exchanged.

Convinced that they were caught in the act, Werner immediately drew his knife.

There were four of them.

Two were armed.

Slightly revealing himself from the shadows, he naturally approached them.

As he approached with almost silent footsteps and minimized presence, he made direct eye contact with a sentry who was yawning at the right moment.

“…? Wait, when did you get here.”

The startled soldier immediately pointed his gun, but he neither pulled the trigger nor dared to finish his sentence.

Swoosh, as the knife brushed past his carotid artery, the sentry fell to the floor, splattering blood.

“What the!?”

“Daphrin! You, who the hell are you!!”

As their comrade turned into a corpse in an instant, the thugs screamed in confusion.

Werner judged that he could kill everyone except one person who seemed to have lost strength in his legs and was trembling on the floor.

Time was short.
In the underground filled with only the stale smell of mold, the blade glinted like moonlight.

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