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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Ashblinka was quickly neutralized, it was natural, if anything.
This was the reconnaissance battalion of the Graveyard, who had crossed the line of death dozens of times.
The forces guarding the detention center were mere humans.
They didn’t possess the sense to accurately identify targets in darkness like the Titans, nor did they regenerate quickly and charge back if not struck in vital points.
They weren’t connected by a neural network where nearby units would immediately come to support them if one died.
Regular troops.
No, not even regular infantry, but personnel who had just finished boot camp when even specially trained special forces would have been inadequate.
For the wolves, it was no different than hunting rabbits brazenly hopping before their eyes.
The time from infiltration to taking control of the entire facility was just 20 minutes.
“Spare me, spare me…! I didn’t do anything…!”
“Disgusting bastards. The people over there probably said the same things as you.”
Bang! Bang!
They thoroughly executed all the guards and sentries who had been on duty.
There were no prisoners.
Rehabilitation, interrogation, detention.
What use was there in keeping alive the staff of a detention center created solely for vicious torture and sadism, without any other value?
The armory of Ashblinka, piled high in preparation for internal riots, was handed over intact to the freed inmates.
“Wounded over here!”
“I was a doctor working at the Imperial Hospital before being dragged here…! Is there anything I can help with?”
Those who had been confined in prison until just moments ago briefly savored the freedom that came after a terrible time.
Without exception, everyone began to help each other.
While it was humans who committed terrible acts, it was also humans who steadfastly performed good deeds.
Major General Dietrich Halder also busily moved his scab-covered hands and feet to take care of people.
Luthers, who had just arrived at the detention center, bit his lip hard as he watched Dietrich.
“Major General Dietrich.”
“…Brigadier General Luthers!”
“I should have made a decision earlier. Then you wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.”
It was sincere regret.
A considerable amount of time had passed since their first meeting at the Eagle’s Nest.
During that time, the President had laid the groundwork for a great purge, revived Ashblinka, and skillfully sorted out the real and fake among his people.
So what had he been doing?
He had been groaning after being shot by Charlotte, and throwing hysterics at the comrades who had trusted and followed him.
How shameful it was.
Luthers Edan berated himself as truly beyond help.
“It’s alright. What can we do about what’s already happened? I didn’t expect it to get this bad…”
Dietrich muttered, turning his head to look at the countless wounded.
No, everyone detained in Ashblinka was wounded.
Not a single person had escaped torture.
There were those whose bodies had become virtually disabled, and many whose spirits were broken and couldn’t be helped by simple treatment alone.
“From now on is the crucial part.”
“By the way, have you seen Brigadier General Arwen Orka?”
“Arwen…, yes, Brigadier General Arwen was here too. We were in the same transport vehicle while being brought here.”
“…Then, if I may ask, when were you brought here, Major General?”
“I’ve lost my sense of time so I can’t answer precisely… but it seems to have been about a week or so.”
At those words, Luthers’ expression hardened.
The date when Arwen Orka and Dietrich Halder’s downfall was announced was only 3 days ago.
Of course, he had thought they would have been transferred to Ashblinka.
He had already grasped such circumstances.
But he hadn’t anticipated at all the gap between when he heard the news of Arwen Orka’s arrest and the actual date Dietrich Halder was transferred.
Could it be.
If so.
Luthers’ eyes moved to the people in miserable condition.
At the same time, Luthers ran towards the detention block.
According to Durand, most female inmates showed signs of sexual torture.
What guarantee was there that those scum hadn’t touched Arwen?
It would have been safer to entrust a cat with fish.
“Huff, huff…! Hah…!!!”
He carefully checked every room in the detention block while breathing heavily.
Explicit traces of torture were left everywhere, but there was no trace of Arwen anywhere in Ashblinka.
‘Please, not that…!!’
The worst-case scenario flashed through Luthers’ mind.
If Arwen had died after being violated in the midst of terrible torture and harassment, Luthers intended to pull the trigger without hesitation right there.
There would be no reason to go on till the end if that happened, but fortunately, if one could call it that.
The list of detainees and the list of rescued people matched exactly.
Except for one person.
Arwen Orka.
“What on earth happened, Arwen…”
Luthers Edan stared blankly at the list of detainees with an expression of incomprehension.
Everyone said they hadn’t seen anyone die.
If someone had died, surely there would have been talk among the guards, but it had never come up.
It was then.
Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Durand Sterling, who had wrapped up the situation, approached the dumbfounded Luthers.
“Commander, please give us your next orders now. Everyone is waiting.”
“…”
Luthers Edan gritted his teeth.
Then he slowly raised his head.
Yes.
If she was safe, that was enough.
It was still unknown whether Arwen Orka had regained her memories or not.
If she had regained her memories, she wouldn’t have met a futile death in a place like this.
And even if she hadn’t regained her memories, the Arwen Orka he knew was someone who could definitely take care of herself in situations like this.
There was a reason she had been able to assist by his side for years, even while grumbling.
“…Now that we’ve completed the recapture of Ashblinka, we’ll proceed with Phase 2 of the plan.”
After activating the operation for the Eagle’s Nest, the 103rd Infantry Division led by Major General Gunther Braun and the 33rd Mechanized Brigade under Brigadier General Erwin Staufen, who were members of the Nest, would be advancing towards the capital.
Luthers couldn’t stay in Ashblinka either.
“We’ll entrust the detention center to Brigadier General Mia Bierhoff’s 3rd Combat Support Brigade, which was relatively nearby, and move out immediately.”
Luthers took a moment to catch his breath, then turned to his subordinates with a calm expression as if nothing had happened.
Whatever the reason, he couldn’t show signs of wavering.
‘Arwen… wait for me. I’ll definitely come to save you.’
He could only gather his thoughts and reaffirm his resolve.
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Around the time Luthers Edan and the former reconnaissance battalion members – the Wolves – had engulfed the entire detention center,
The forces of the Strategic Security Agency, led by Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel John Hobbes, began full-scale sabotage.
Although it was a newly formed intelligence organization that had been established just over a year ago, the extralegal authority given under the pretext of being directly under the President’s control made the Security Agency no less formidable than other agencies when dealing with them.
The original purpose of its establishment was for President Mikhail to directly create it to openly keep existing military intelligence agencies in check.
And the first task undertaken by Major Dante Bay, the head of the Information Management Department and the brain and center of all strategies for the Strategic Security Agency, was naturally the seizure of the communication network.
“We’ve completed the occupation of the base station.”
“Confirmed.”
The place attacked by the small guerrilla unit led by Karin Maven, which had departed separately from the main force, was none other than one of the communication nodes managing the military’s communication network.
It was a communication node unit closer to an isolated ‘outpost’ in a remote area, so it could be easily captured with a force of barely 10 people.
Of course, capturing just one node unit couldn’t allow them to seize all networks of the military’s central communications.
How vast was the size of the capital Hoenbaren, and how many units controlled its surroundings?
Especially for units considered key points of the Imperial Army, such as the Capital Defense Command or the Supreme Command, a solid and extensive communication network was an essential element that had to be secured.
“But Information Chief, is it really okay to just stay like this?”
Karin Maven, who had occupied the communication control room, asked in an uncertain voice.
They had been ordered to occupy, so they did, but the subsequent directive was strict radio silence.
“Let’s just follow the operation plan. Once the situation unfolds to some extent, I’ll give the next orders immediately.”
However, this was part of the Information Chief’s bigger picture.
President Mikhail Bismarck was no fool.
He surely didn’t think that non-mainstream military personnel, including the Director of the Security Agency, wouldn’t harbor discontent.
At this point, reports of ‘disloyal movements’ had probably already reached the President.
In the end, if they confronted him head-on, the revolutionary forces would be crushed miserably.
Therefore, they had to divert the enemy’s attention and induce misjudgment, even if only a little.
This was the most effective sabotage that the ‘Strategic Security Agency’, an intelligence agency inferior in size even to a single combat battalion, could choose.
“Karin and her platoon have occupied the northern communication node.”
“What about the east?”
“The east has been occupied as well. We’ll now proceed with radio hijacking and active interference.”
It was a diversionary tactic.
After occupying two communication nodes, the aim was to make the Capital Defense Forces mistakenly believe that the revolutionaries’ main attack was coming from the north.
From now on, it was all about playing mind games.
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[This arc is fire]
