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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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I didn’t think it was impossible. International relations aren’t always so black and white. There are various reasons for wars. While it may be unfair from the perspective of smaller nations caught in between, major powers all have their justifications.
Even Hitler, up until his first attempt at annexation by force, wasn’t seen as a symbol of pure evil like he is now. He had a justification for restoring the nation shattered by the Treaty of Versailles and occupying Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland to solidify the restoration of the ‘German Empire.’
At least to the German people and some imperialists, he was far from ‘evil’ and was even hailed as a national hero. Of course, his image was completely shattered once the horrific atrocities of the Holocaust became public knowledge.
It was similar in Hearts of Iron. Although there’s an initial division into two factions, the further the game progresses, the weaker the faction system becomes, and it inevitably turns into a power struggle between nations.
The condition for a ‘perfect’ victory was the occupation of all five other nations. And surprisingly, achieving a perfect victory was often easier than achieving a ‘faction victory.’
Therefore, the idea of Ferdinand Ludwig developing the first airship with Ukraine’s help wasn’t entirely far-fetched. Besides, only six months had passed since the start of the game; how could a player know the backstory of a series of deals between Ukraine and Count Ferdinand?
‘Even considering that, it’s still incredibly absurd…’
I looked at Sonya Zeppelin, who was enthusiastically agreeing with the count beside him. Wait. Come to think of it, was all of this connected to the artifact stolen from Belgorod Fortress?
I recalled my first encounter with the Lieutenant Colonel. At the time, she had said that the artifact in question played a crucial role in her plan.
‘Was it called the Pearl of Premonition?’
It was an artifact I had heard of. It wasn’t something that could single-handedly change the tide of war functionally, and it wasn’t a guaranteed drop but an artifact acquired randomly. Artifacts weren’t considered that important in HOI in the first place.
While there were some good artifacts that strengthened specific individuals or provided beneficial buffs to an entire unit, most of them were just nice to have, but not essential.
In that sense, the Pearl of Premonition, an artifact that simply drastically increased the user’s magical power, wasn’t something Sonya Zeppelin would be so desperate to recover.
But what if the Pearl of Premonition was essential for the development of this airship? That would be a valid reason for Sonya Zeppelin to devise an operation to infiltrate enemy territory and steal it.
‘Is that really the case?’
It was just speculation, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the only possible answer. And finally, my speculation was confirmed by the Count’s words.
“We’re currently using this crude magic crystal as a substitute, but to achieve its true output, we need a special artifact.”
He exchanged glances with Joseph and Sonya Zeppelin, then took out a rolled-up map from his pocket and unfolded it.
“What you see outside is the smallest of the airships I’ve developed. In the Reinhardt Empire’s armory, something five times that size is waiting to be deployed.”
“F-Five times!?”
Incredulous voices erupted from all around. I had thought it was small for something developed by the Count. So, he had left the true airship, the one that appeared in the game, back in his home country.
“That’s why we need you all.”
While Count Ferdinand Ludwig and Sonya Zeppelin went on and on about the airship, Chief of Staff Joseph, who had remained silent, finally spoke.
“Our 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion will recover the artifact stolen by the Soviet Empire for the completion of the next-generation aerial weapon being developed by Count Ferdinand and Lieutenant Colonel Sonya Zeppelin.”
Bingo. I knew it.
From the moment the name ‘Assault’ was attached, I had a vague feeling that this kind of operation was in mind. Although I hadn’t dreamed that it would involve airships. Sonya Zeppelin intended to use the current battalion to recover the artifact, one way or another.
“…Does everyone understand?”
Of course, since I was the only one who knew this, the battalion’s non-commissioned and commissioned officers all looked dumbfounded, as if asking what was going on.
The 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion… we had a long way to go.
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“You were expecting this to some extent, Captain!?”
“Roughly. But even I didn’t know that it would involve airships.”
“Why, why didn’t you tell me…?!”
Belle Meyer stamped her foot and said. I didn’t need to ask why. It was because the announced operation plan probably felt like a suicide mission to her.
Ride a giant, strange balloon deep into Soviet territory and steal an artifact?
With tactics like ‘airborne operations’ or ‘assault’ not yet established, it was reasonable for her to think it was crazy. Military organizations inherently prefer ‘conservative’ approaches, from the commander-in-chief down to the lowest-ranking soldiers.
Get into a giant balloon and drop down from the sky to attack an enemy fortress? Even I, if I hadn’t experienced military life in the modern world, would have thought it was insane.
“Belle, are you scared?”
“Aren’t you scared, Captain?”
“Well… I do this all the time.”
“What on earth do they teach at the officer academy?”
I wasn’t the one who actually did it here, but as someone with a genuine airborne badge, I had performed parachute jumps at regular intervals.
Moreover, it was a stationary airship at high altitude. It would be less dangerous than a transport plane gliding at high speed.
“Well, we do things like that too.”
I said dismissively. Bell Meyer’s life had never been easy. The reason she suffered from mental illness was probably due to a traumatic past she experienced as a child. However, having a traumatic past and being complacent in a peaceful world were different matters.
Ukraine was peaceful. Excessively so, for a long time.
The Quornen War itself was more of a local conflict than a full-scale war. It was called a ‘war’ because the forces of the Azov Islands had landed on the Duchy’s territory and occupied parts of the south.
Its impact and scale were too insignificant to be considered a full-scale war. In other words, except for some people in the south and those living near the border, most people had lived in peace for over a hundred years.
Peace is something that must be protected, but it also clouds people’s judgment. The entire country was like this, so I couldn’t say Bell Meyer was particularly strange.
If you were to tell someone in South Korea that a war was about to break out and they had to go fight, how many people do you think would readily agree?
I guarantee you, in the early stages of the war, it would be less than half.
But now was not the time for that. War was inevitable, and I had to prepare for that future in the remaining time.
“It’ll be different once you jump. The sensation of flying in the sky is quite amazing.”
“I-Is that so…?”
Unlike Belle Meyer, who still had a look of disbelief, the other platoon leaders were surprisingly calm.
“Assault. That’s quite an interesting method for the Ukrainian army.”
“Oh!! As expected of Platoon Leader Claude!!”
Platoon Leader Erwin Luce was diligently imitating Claude, who was carefully checking his equipment. Platoon Leader Hilton Calia was also quietly putting on his equipment without complaint.
Roxanna and Lumia, who were part of the company headquarters, were the same. Roxanna was even quite excited.
“Flying in the sky!! I never thought it would be possible in my lifetime!”
“An assault unit… that means we’re an elite unit, right? We must work even harder to live up to those expectations!!”
“Ugh…”
Seeing her colleagues so enthusiastic, Belle Meyer couldn’t just hide.
“If you’re scared, I’ll jump with you. From now on, it will be purely parachute training.”
It wasn’t for nothing that Sonya Zeppelin had treated the soldiers to a delicious and luxurious meal. From the very next day, today, full-scale parachute training began.
After returning from the grueling 72-hour survival training, they were ordered to board a strange device, ascend into the sky, and jump. The dumbfounded soldiers looked as if they were about to die, no less than Bell Meyer.
“Th-Then… I’ll be in your care.”
“Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy.”
If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. Besides, with the ridiculously overpowered cheat called ‘magic,’ the parachute training planned by the Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Staff wasn’t even comparable to the difficulty of real parachute training.
It was just falling and activating the intermediate wind magic ‘Featherfoot’ at the right time. There was no 11-meter mock tower training, which is said to be the most terrifying experience for humans.
There was no need to learn the complicated parachute operation procedures. There was no need to worry about shattering your legs if you landed incorrectly, even after diligently learning how to operate a parachute.
‘This is a piece of cake. If they give me an airborne badge for this, that’s a fake badge.’
That was how I thought the first parachute training would be easy, but…
“Jump!!!”
“Jump jump jump!!!”
“Now, Platoon Leader Belle, just look straight at me and jump, alright?”
“Yes…! Yeeeeaaaah─!!!”
No sooner had she jumped from the airship than she let out an ear-splitting scream.
“W-Wait!! Calm down!!! Belle!!!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaak!!!!! Mommy!!!!!”
“Cough…! Ugh!!”
Belle Meyer buried my face in her chest. I could feel the soft and supple sensation… However, I didn’t have time to worry about such things. We were in the process of falling.
“Sergeant Belle, Sergeant Belle! I can’t breathe…!! Let go of me!! I can’t see anything, so I can’t use magic properly… Ugh!!”
“Aaaaaah!!! Captaaaain─!!!”
“Sh-Shit, we’re screwed…!”
It was as if the universe was mocking me for how well things had gone so far. It was a complete disaster.
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🤣🤣