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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Hearts of General was a grand strategy war game, but nations didn’t start fighting each other from the outset.
Typically, open warfare began four to five years after the game started. This was a constraint for players, who always started as second lieutenants, and a core part of Hearts of General’s level design.
So how did players improve their stats and build up their forces in the meantime?
The standard methods were suppressing bandits, participating in border skirmishes to gain combat experience, and subjugating neutral monsters—magical beasts and their nests—scattered throughout the land.
My initial plan was to lead a field unit, repelling bandit raids like the Belgorod Fortress incident, and slowly improving the unit’s capabilities by eliminating magical beasts in the northern hemisphere. I’d planned to eventually deal with Yetis, one of the representative magical beasts of the region, but… I never imagined encountering one here, during Hell Week.
“Raaaaar!!!!”
“Kyaaa!!!”
Crash!
The Yeti’s fist, propelled by a force several times greater than a bear’s, narrowly missed Platoon Leader Hilton. Even with magical protection, she’d be lucky to escape with moderate injuries. It was a one-hit kill otherwise.
“What are you doing!! Stop gawking! Get the Platoon Leader out of there!!”
“Yes, sir!!!”
As I yelled, a nearby soldier rushed forward and dragged Hilton away. Just as the Yeti was about to give chase, two gunshots from behind diverted its attention.
“Over here, you overgrown ape!! Are you starving in these mountains? This is much tastier!!”
The soldiers started taunting the Yeti. It worked; the massive beast turned towards them.
“Raaaaar!!”
“H-Holy shit! It’s fucking huge!!”
The soldiers scattered behind trees, cursing. They had good reason to be scared. Yetis were magical beasts, and magical beasts were often man-eaters. Predators born to hunt humans. Ordinary people were easily overwhelmed by bears or tigers, let alone a monster that preyed on those predators.
“Platoon Leader Hilton Calia! Are you alright?”
“Y-Yes…”
“Get a grip! This is real combat!!”
Real combat. Hilton’s trembling eyes hardened at those words. She jumped to her feet, and a magic circle appeared in mid-air.
Crackle—Boom!!
Thunder echoed through the mountains. Violet mana erupted, piercing the Yeti in an instant. Intermediate Violet Magic, Lightning Spear. True to its nature as a lightning spell with exceptional penetrating power, it pierced through the Yeti’s thick fur and hide.
“Kyaaa!!!”
But that wasn’t enough to kill it. The Yeti, its body convulsing from the electric shock, roared at Hilton.
“Damn it!”
I couldn’t just stand by and watch. I activated my mana core and prepared a spell. Yetis were creatures of the snowy mountains, and such creatures were typically vulnerable to heat.
“Blaze Ballista!”
The words I spoke materialized into a massive fire arrow. Red mana coalesced and flew towards the Yeti in seconds. With my improved physical condition and mana control, I could now cast intermediate magic without any problems.
But Hilton, who should have retreated, was nowhere to be seen.
“…?!”
I turned and saw Hilton charging towards the Yeti, even as the Blaze Ballista was in mid-flight. Her movements seemed to unfold in slow motion.
“Shit!”
I knew we were screwed, but the spell had already left my hand.
BOOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted, engulfing Hilton and the Yeti in flames.
“Platoon Leader—!!”
Blaze Ballista was a destructive spell. While its penetration power was enhanced, it was still powerful enough to kill an ordinary person instantly. Praying she’d survived, I rushed into the smoke.
“Platoon Leader Hilton! What do you think you’re doing, charging in without orders—!!”
I’d intended to take her to Bell Meyer for healing, but the sight that greeted me was different.
Crackle, sizzle!
Violet lightning crackled violently around the Yeti, which lay sprawled on the ground. The pungent smell of burnt fur filled the air. And standing before it, her boot pressed against the Yeti’s head, was Platoon Leader Hilton, a chilling smile on her face.
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“Did you see that?”
“Yes, I saw it clearly.”
Sony Zeppelin and Josef Lewandowski, the training planners and evaluators, stood atop the highest mountain peak. It was the ideal location to observe the scattered companies using vision-enhancing magic and track their positions based on the signals emitted by the devices attached to each commander before the training began.
The freezing temperatures and fierce winds, strong enough to push even boulders, were no threat to Archmage Sony Zeppelin, nor to Josef Lewandowski, the top graduate of the Pry Free Democratic Republic’s elite Mountain Assault Division.
“She dodged it purely with physical ability?”
“Yes. And she followed up with a lightning strike at the point of impact. Even a Yeti wouldn’t be able to withstand that.”
Major Josef, who usually seemed frail and sickly, now had a sharp, serious expression. He’d transformed into a seasoned chief of staff.
“She’s something else. Where did you find her, Chief of Staff Josef?”
“I found her disciplinary records. A few months ago, she crippled a civilian suspected of being from Azov.”
“Wow… That’s intense.”
Sony Zeppelin clicked her tongue and shook her head. Even for her, a soon-to-be Brigadier General and an Archmage, controlling someone like that would be difficult.
“It will be interesting to see how well Company Commander Enoch Levandal can manage her.”
“Indeed. Well, he managed to tame the infamous Claude Rain, so it might be possible.”
“I’m cautiously optimistic.”
The Chief of Staff slowly nodded at the Colonel’s words.
“Well… she’s certainly suited for this new Assault Magic Infantry role. Not as a commander, but definitely as a field officer on the front lines. We need vanguard leaders like her.”
“Are you considering a field commission system?”
“Of course. We can’t keep them as NCO’s forever. To attract more talent, we need to bridge the rank gap.”
“The incoming personnel officer will have their work cut out for them.” The two shared a laugh, standing atop the snow-covered peak, despite the early summer weather.
“Now that we’ve assessed the situation, shall we commence the bombardment?”
“Leave them a way to retreat.”
“Naturally.”
Sony Zeppelin snapped her fingers. A massive magic circle appeared in the sky above the 1st Company.
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“Platoon Leader Hilton Calia?”
I cautiously reached out to the platoon leader, who seemed frozen in time. She was clearly within the Blaze Ballista’s blast radius moments before impact, yet she was unharmed, aside from minor burns from the flames.
As my hand touched her, she collapsed.
“She fainted…?!”
Perhaps Hilton was similar to me or Bell Meyer. Did she lose control and faint after a mana surge?
‘Another reject!!’
I couldn’t help but resent the battalion commander and chief of staff for assigning her as a platoon leader. That made three people in my company at risk of mana runaway. But now wasn’t the time for complaints. They’d fired multiple blanks and used a powerful, easily detectable offensive spell against the Yeti.
‘Sony Zeppelin definitely knows our location. We need to retreat.’
I knew what was coming: an unrelenting magical bombardment. Staying here was suicide. With the help of a nearby soldier, I carried Hilton on my back and yelled at the scattered platoon members,
“4th Platoon and all company personnel, retreat 500 meters! Move!”
“Yes, sir!”
“You two! Inform the 2nd and 1st Platoons to the east! 500 meters!”
“Yes, sir!!”
The two designated messengers sprinted eastward. Bell Meyer and Claude should be able to defend against the bombardment and retreat safely. The problem was us. I wasn’t sure if we could escape with an unconscious Hilton and the rest of the platoon under heavy fire.
Whir—
Just then, I heard the sound of a magic circle deploying in the air. Our position had been compromised. It was safer to curl up on the ground than to run.
“Everyone, down!!! Brace for bombardment!!”
I desperately deployed a magic barrier just before the spells rained down. It should hold as long as Sony Zeppelin wasn’t serious. I cast the barrier with a sliver of hope, watching the multicolored spells descend. Then, eight streaks of light shot upwards.
Crash! Boom!!
Precisely aimed Magic Missiles intercepted Sony Zeppelin’s magic before it could reach our barrier. Only one person in the company could cast such a spell.
“Deploying anti-magic defense formation!”
“Regular infantry, fall back!”
The familiar voices of two women, followed by the cheerful 3rd Platoon Leader, reached me.
“Company Commander! We’re here to help!!”
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