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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“I’m so sorry—!!!”
“Next time, let’s make it a rule to hold on from behind during jumps…”
If I hadn’t managed to pull my face free and activate Featherfoot right before hitting the ground, I would have been splattered all over. It was so close that even with Featherfoot slowing my fall,
Belle Meyer and I still tumbled several meters. I sprained my ankle badly.
That’s why Belle Meyer was currently kneeling, head bowed, massaging my ankle. She was also using a healing spell, so every time she kneaded my ankle, I felt the muscles loosening. The slight bruise was also fading, so it was definitely effective.
“Are you alright, Platoon Leader Belle?”
“I’m okay.”
Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be seriously injured. Sacrificing my ankle was worth it.
…Was it, though?
Anyway, aside from the company commander’s minor injury, the first jump was successfully executed by everyone in the 1st Company. The wind attribute was incredibly easy to handle, similar to the water attribute. If you rode the air currents properly, one mage could easily carry three adult men.
The platoon leaders and deputy platoon leaders of each squad, the company’s adjutant Lumia, and the company sergeant major Roxanna. A total of ten mages flawlessly executed the magic and succeeded in landing safely with thirty soldiers.
“Ouch…!”
“Oh, I’m sorry! Did that hurt?”
“I’m fine. It’s enough to be treated by someone as beautiful as Sergeant Belle.”
“Seriously, Captain, how many women have you sweet-talked? The vibe is just…”
“I’ve never done anything like that.”
I chuckled.
The first jump. A training exercise carried out without proper understanding of airborne or assault operations. Honestly, the other company members, who had jumped calmly, were excessively brave.
“So, do you think you can do it alone next time?”
“…I think I need a little more preparation.”
“Some people in other companies are also having difficulties with the jump. I’m thinking of suggesting to Chief of Staff Josef that we form a special training group.”
“I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble…”
“If our battalion was also in charge of ground assault, I could have assigned you to that, but unfortunately, another unit will be handling it.”
The overall operation outline I heard from Sonya Zeppelin and Josef Levandowski was as follows:
The target was an armory in the northwest of the Soviet Empire. A secret facility in a remote location that very few people in the Soviet army knew about.
In other words, it was the perfect place for the Soviets to plot something, and the optimal target for Ukraine, where things wouldn’t get too out of hand.
Therefore, there were two attack routes. The 3rd Rapid Response Battalion, under the Special Operations Brigade, would infiltrate by land through Valter, a third nation that maintained relatively friendly relations with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, our 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion would board Sonya Zeppelin’s ambitious invention, the prototype airship ‘Diabola,’ cross the Carpathian Mountains, join the Rapid Response Battalion, and attack the target facility.
This was the main operation.
“It’s my first time in actual combat…”
Belle Meyer trailed off anxiously. It couldn’t be helped. She wasn’t the only one lacking actual combat experience. I patted Belle’s shoulder as she diligently massaged my muscles and offered words of encouragement.
“You’ll do well, Platoon Leader Belle. I believe in you.”
“Captain…”
“And let’s worry about that after you learn how to jump properly.”
That’s the priority.
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“One, I can fly! Two, I can do it! One!”
“I can fly…!!”
“Two!”
“I can do it…!!”
“Is this the best you can do with your voices!? You’re supposed to be the elite unit, the first in the Ukrainian army to be deployed in an assault operation! Most of you volunteered for this, didn’t you!?”
“Yes, sir—!!”
“If you understand, shout louder! One!”
“I caaan flyyy!!!”
“Two!”
“I can do itttt!!!”
The soldiers were rolling. And next to them, the non-commissioned officers were rolling. And next to them, the officers were rolling.
Watching everyone, regardless of rank or position, rolling around the training ground, Sonya Zeppelin couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
“What kind of treatment did you receive at the officer academy to be able to devise such perfectly brutal hazing?”
“That’s not hazing, Lieutenant Colonel, it’s systematically designed training.”
“It just looks like rolling around to me. With that tone of voice and those gestures, he’s more suited to be a drill instructor than a commander!!”
The first parachute training of the 8th Magic Assault Battalion produced quite remarkable results. Out of a total of 160 personnel, only 15 minor and moderate injuries occurred among the 130 deployed in the actual combat operation.
However, even excluding the 15 with minor injuries, about twenty people couldn’t readily participate in the training.
I had predicted that it wouldn’t be easy for them to accept jumping from a giant airship, but it wasn’t a good sign that a significant number of the personnel I had carefully gathered had voluntarily refused the training.
While I was pondering what to do with the problematic personnel, Captain Enoch Levandal suggested establishing a special parachute training unit, and Sonya Zeppelin readily approved the proposal. And this was the result.
“Next! Everyone get up there quickly!”
Enoch Levandal, after rolling around with the personnel, had them climb a small wooden tower set up at one side of the training ground. It was about 10 meters high.
A crudely made tower. But it was a proper ‘structure’ built by former facilities manager Captain Debra Bennett. While its foundation was sturdy enough for Sonya Zeppelin to approve, the problem was that to those unfamiliar with magic, it looked like it was about to collapse.
Enoch Levandal lined up the personnel on the tower and slowly circled them. The soldiers who had successfully passed the parachute training gathered in front of the tower, as if they had found something interesting to watch.
“You, what’s your name!!”
“Sergeant Tchaikovsky!”
“Sergeant Tchaikovsky, with a ring on your finger, I suppose you have a girlfriend?”
“She’s my fiancée!!!”
“Woo-hoo~! His fiancée~!!”
The soldiers cheered and whistled in response.
“Oh, really? Then, how do you think your fiancée would feel seeing her amazing fiancé unable to jump from this measly height?”
“She’d think I’m a coward!”
“Correct! With that kind of attitude, your beloved fiancée might be getting hit on by some tanned, blond country bumpkin! Are you still not going to do it!?”
“No, sir!!!”
“Then jump!! On the count of three, shout your fiancée’s name and jump! One, two, three!! Jump!!”
“Aaaaaah!!!! I love you, Lena!!!”
As the soldier squeezed his eyes shut and jumped towards the ground, Sergeant Roxanna Ellim, waiting below, cast the Featherfoot spell at the right time, allowing him to land safely.
The same thing happened with the others. Lieutenant Enoch Levandal’s loud voice boomed, and the person on the tower jumped.
Finally, after everyone, including Sergeant Belle Meyer at the very back, had jumped…
“Today’s parachute training will end here. Those who are still afraid to jump can gather here again tomorrow.”
Enoch Levandal ordered the troops to disperse. The soldiers trudged back to their respective units, completely exhausted. But their comrades, who had witnessed the whole training process, naturally approached them, bursting into laughter and teasing them.
“I love you, Lena? Look at this sweet guy! Your nickname is Sweetkovsky from now on.”
“Kkkk, now the whole battalion knows your fiancée’s name!”
“I saw you rolling on the ground. Looked pretty comfortable.”
“Fuck, are you crazy!? I’ll never do that again. Jumping is nothing!”
Sonya Zeppelin finally understood why Enoch Levandal had adopted this unusual ‘training method.’ By subtly provoking their pride and exposing them to the entire battalion, he instilled a powerful motivation to jump.
If the problematic personnel were officers or non-commissioned officers, they would be mocked by the soldiers for being cowards who couldn’t jump even though everyone else did.
In the case of soldiers, since the rank difference that protected them from being teased disappeared, they would be teased even more relentlessly and strangely.
Since no one liked being teased, it effectively stimulated them, boosted their individual will, and resulted in stronger unit cohesion.
“…How did you come up with this training method?”
“Hazing and pushing people around is the same as other training units, but by adding ‘shame’ to the target, he turned the reason into a voluntary factor. Excellent.”
“Makes me wonder if I made the right choice bringing him in as a commander… Should I just keep him permanently in the training unit?”
“This training method just needs to be systematized. Once this operation is over and the battalion members return safely, we can have them train their successors.”
Josef and Sonya envisioned the near future. The scene of the battalion members returning successfully from the operation, laughing and joking together. And the scene of those battalion members lined up, training new recruits.
“Yes, we should do that.”
Sonya Zeppelin slowly nodded. This unit was practically like her own children, handpicked by her. She had no intention of leaving a single member of the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion behind enemy lines, even if it meant staking her reputation as an Archmage and an army Lieutenant Colonel.
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Hell Week.
It wasn’t as tough as I had thought. Considering how training in the Ukrainian army had been conducted, it might be hell week for them, but at least for me, who had endured training twice as harsh, it was just a warm-up.
Two weeks passed by in a blur. The members of the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion, including my 1st Company, were lined up in front of the airship, fully equipped and determined. The sun had long since hidden behind the darkness.
All that could be seen were the twinkling stars. There, Lieutenant Colonel Sonya Zeppelin spoke, her purple eyes gleaming. It wasn’t her usual playful voice.
It was the voice of a Lieutenant Colonel in the Ukrainian army, the commander of the Special Operations Brigade, and the commander of the world’s first assault battalion.
“You’ve all done well in following me through the difficult training. And with the completion of this final training today, our 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion will be fully transformed into a formal unit.”
Sonya Zeppelin slowly took in the sight of the unit members. All 160 soldiers were looking straight at her.
“I once said, ‘Train like you fight, fight like you train.'”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Today is that day. The end of training is actual combat. As you’ve been informed, we will be deployed in actual combat today!”
Next, Major Josef, who was standing next to the Lieutenant Colonel, continued, “Think of it as a simple warm-up. The objective is the complete annihilation of the bandit group nesting in the north of Bialystok territory.”
The first deployment in actual combat before entering the Soviet Empire. Boarding an airship, flying to the target location, parachuting down, and wiping out the enemy. It was a real battle worthy of concluding the training.
“So, let’s all return safely! Don’t die to mere bandits.”
“Yes, ma’am!!”
“Everyone—board!!”
“Board!!!”
The resounding voices of the 8th Assault Magic Infantry Battalion echoed through the night sky.
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This is nice 👍