Advance.
On the first day, the force led by Noah, third son of House Willard, advanced eight miles.
Advance. The next day, it advanced another nine miles.
Advance. Advance. Advance. Advance again.
The Kingdom of Friez’s defensive line collapsed.
The Lunoa army began advancing across the entire front. Five, eight, eleven—twenty-five miles. The important Friez city of Yale fell.
Advance. Advance. Advance. Advance again.
But the war didn’t end.
Machine guns turned soldiers into minced meat, and shells turned people into fertilizer.
Advance. Advance. Advance. Advance again.
Stagnation.
Move. Move. Move. Keep moving.
The Lunoa army continued its offensive.
Soldiers, advance.
Soldiers of Lunoa, don’t look. Don’t look at the front, lest your minds be swallowed by madness.
Soldiers, advance.
Soldiers of Lunoa, look closely. Don’t turn your eyes from the front.
You’re there now.
“Ah… God.”
God, please end this war.
Soldiers, advance.
Move. Move across the land of Friez—oh God, please.
Advance. Advance. Advance. Keep advancing.
The Lunoa army crossed the Loom River near the capital.
But Friez counterattacks in other theaters halted the front. The units that had crossed were isolated and soon annihilated.
The war didn’t end.
■■■■■
The Kingdom of Lunoa’s war plan was a lightning campaign through a neutral country.
The Friez provinces bordering Lunoa were naturally heavily fortified, making an early surrender impossible. Lunoa therefore turned its attention to the small neutral country of Born.
Born bordered both northern Friez and Lunoa, making it the ideal route for a surprise attack.
Lunoa intended to destroy Born quickly, advance through the lightly defended north of Friez, seize the capital, and force the kingdom to surrender.
But the plan collapsed during the first week of the offensive.
Lunoa’s lightning operation succeeded only on the first day. During urban fighting in Born, mercenary troops used anti-magic barriers to put most of Lunoa’s nobles out of action.
Having lost its commanders, the Lunoa advance reached its first halt on the second day.
Even so, Lunoa filled the gaps with mercenaries of its own and resumed the offensive using its industrial and technological strength. After two weeks, it succeeded in forcing Born to surrender.
But that was more than a week behind the original schedule.
By the time Lunoa entered Friez territory, Friez troops were already deploying in the north.
They were still few in number, and the Friez nobles—who had overestimated magic just as Lunoa’s had—were swept aside. Lunoa ended its first offensive successfully.
But Lunoa itself had reached its limit. It had lost many commanders and forced the attack forward in a state of disorder. On the third day after crossing the border, it could continue no longer.
The offensive was halted to reorganize the front and redeploy the troops.
The Kingdom of Friez seized that opportunity.
It counterattacked at the weakest point, collapsing the front and opening a great breach.
Just when it seemed the entire Lunoa army might disintegrate, a single reinforcement changed the situation again.
The Friez counteroffensive was repelled. After losing the troops committed to it, part of their now-thin trench line was breached.
Lunoa resumed its attack through that opening, destroyed the fragile Friez defensive line, and began advancing again.
……
…………
“Damn it! We took too long!”
I ground my teeth in Liber, a coastal city of the Kingdom of Friez that my forces had occupied.
“Even so, taking this city has great significance. We secured the port. Supplies can reach us by sea from home, while the enemy’s supply route can be disrupted.”
The occupation of Liber was valuable in itself.
But—
“I wanted to annihilate the Friez troops holding Liber! Instead, we let them retreat. Any further advance will be blocked by another formidable defensive line.”
Two weeks had already passed since I entered the battlefield.
In other words, a month had passed since the war began. Friez had finished shifting its forces north.
Worse, by our estimate only two weeks remained before the Austin Empire completed its troop deployment. If we were to force Friez to surrender before then—
“This isn’t enough! At this rate… Guh.”
The capital was close.
No, we didn’t even need to reach it. If we could advance a little farther—if we could inflict one more great blow—
“…Lord Noah. Please don’t move so violently. You’ve been pushing yourself without pause.”
“Hah… hah… I’m all right.”
I had remained at the very front. My magic was already beginning to lose its effectiveness.
I had taken still more bullets, and my body had gone numb.
“It isn’t over yet…”
The war wasn’t over. My mind was still caught in its exhilaration, allowing me to forget my body’s suffering.
“Excuse me!”
“……”
“What is it?”
As I looked down at the map spread across the room to plan the next offensive, a messenger burst inside.
“The Austin Empire has begun an offensive on the eastern front!”
“…What?”
The messenger’s words were difficult to believe.
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