บท 94: Chapter 94: Moving Out
At 0500 sharp, I sprang awake when my alarm went off. Throwing my fingers out, I slapped the holographic picture out of the air and deactivated the shrill noise. Sighing in relief as my room returned to blissful silence, I was about to fall back asleep again when…
"Okay, men! Get up!"
"…"
As Marko's voice barked in the room next door, rousing my men from their bunks, I had no choice but to drag myself out of bed. As the commanding officer, I had no choice but to set a good example. I couldn't tell my men to get up early, but then sleep in, end up late and getting into all sort of trouble. I would lose their respect, and they wouldn't take my orders seriously in future.
After washing up and having breakfast, I swiftly returned to my room to get dressed in the number 4 military uniform (had been in admin attire beforehand), laced my boots and equipped myself with the appropriate weapons. Once I was done, I proceeded to the plaza to meet my battalion. Already, the officers were there, getting ready for the mission.
The drivers had started up their tanks and armored personnel carriers, warming up the engines and getting the hatches and ready for passengers to embark. Already, the plaza was filling up with soldiers lugging heavy equipment and weaponry. The quartermaster was barking to the men, handing out ammunition.
The primary objective was to defend the tomb from the human armies led by Evelyn's Chosen, and the secondary objective was the investigation of the tomb to salvage anything we thought was useful or advantageous in our war against the Kingdoms of humanity.
I had no idea how much time we would spend guarding the place, but apparently we were scheduled to return in five days to refuel and restock our ammunition, water, food and other supplies, and then immediately head out to Moria.
While we were running around and getting ready, Lilith herself graced the battalion with her presence. I was the first one to notice her approach, and I immediately stiffened.
"Your highness!"
"Men, her royal highness on deck!"
Marko bellowed so loudly that his voice drowned out even the engine roars of the tanks and APCs. Immediately, the whole battalion stopped whatever they were doing and spun around to salute. I followed suit, or rather, I was one of the first to salute.
"At ease."
Lilith didn't seem comfortable with the formalities, and she flippantly waved for us to relax. Looking around, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Please carry on."
We all nodded, and I turned to address my men.
"As you all know, her highness, Queen Scarlet, will be participating in this mission. She has strongly requested that she join us in defending her ancestor's tomb. She also requests that we do not give her special treatment…"
"Just treat me how you'll treat any other soldier," Lilith cut in with a wave of her hand. She smiled brightly. "I don't want to be in the way of your operations."
"No, your highness!"
"You won't be!"
"We're honored to serve alongside you!"
As I expected, she was popular with the vampire soldiers. They were all bubbling excitedly, unable to contain their awe. Elia, Gio and Daniel sent me troubled expressions, but I shook my head. I had already informed them beforehand.
The soldiers also knew what I had asked of them – to protect Lilith as best as they could, but also to preserve their own safety as much as possible and minimize casualties. I didn't want to lose too many men before we even got to Moria.
"Please take care of me, everyone."
Lilith wasn't paying any attention to the exchange of glances between me and my non-vampire officers. She bowed politely, but didn't offer an explanation as to why she was tagging along. None of my men knew either. I wasn't supposed to know, but thanks to PROTAGONIST POWERS I had somehow overheard the conversation between Kishimoto Hikaru and Bradley Kreuger.
Her blood was the key to opening the tomb.
Wait, then wouldn't the problem be solved if we don't bring her along in the first place? Then our enemies will never be able to open the tomb!
Unfortunately, there was one huge problem with that measure.
If we don't bring her along, how are we going to proceed with the secondary objective of exploring the tomb and unconvering its ancient weapons and technology?
Did the risk of the tomb falling into the wrong hands outweight the rewards of successfully defending it and recovering the ancient weapons?
Even if I decided that the risk wasn't worth it, would Lilith listen to me? She was the queen, after all. I was just a low-ranking Major. I didn't have the power to overrule her.
Shaking my head, I shifted my focus back to the task at hand, only for another person to approach my battalion.
Lilith made a sour expression as she stared at the newcomer, and then turned toward me apologetically.
"Well, there's also a last minute change of plans…"
"…huh?"
"We will also have another person following us…"
"Ah, I'm sorry, your highness. I will personally introduce myself. I cannot afford to cause you any more trouble than this."
I was all too familiar with the haughty tone, theatrically exaggerated behavior and condescending expression.
"Who is that?"
Elia looked confused, Gio frowned and Daniel maintained a neutral expression. In contrast, Benjamin and Marko's faces darkened.
"This guy…"
"How audacious…"
"My name is Bradley Kreuger. I am the deputy lord of the Ruanoros region. I graduated as the top student from a vampire knight military academy two decades ago. As instructed by the council of elders, I am to offer my services and lead this operation to defend the tomb of King Alucard from Evelyn's Chosen and the human armies as well as investigate the tomb shortly after that."
"..."
The 1,087th Magna Battalion stirred when they heard the news. None of them had anticipated it. I didn't either – this was the first time I was informed of it. Or so I would say, but thanks to my protagonist powers…
"I will be taking command of this expedition."
This time, the noise was more audible, with my soldiers being outraged at the sudden revelation. However, Marko came forward.
"Quiet, the lot of you!" he snapped. Instantly, the battalion fell into silence.
"If I may…"
Everyone turned to Lilith as she stepped forward. She held the smiling Bradley's gaze with stern eyes, and then glanced at us.
"There is one condition for allowing you to tag along, Lord Kreuger."
"…oh?"
Bradley looked amused, but Lilith continued.
"You will have overall command of the expedition, yes, but you are to grant the Magna 1,087th Battalion full autonomy and independence with their operation."
Bradley chuckled when he heard that, and he shook his head wryly.
"As expected of your highness…but don't worry. I have no intention of interrupting or interfering with the 1,087th Magna Battalion's mission. I am solely here to help. In fact, shouldn't you be happy about that? After all, I, the third-ranked vampire knight of Haemorage, am personally volunteering to assist your rookie battalion in this mission."
There was some emphasis on the word "rookie", as if Bradley was trying to drive home the point that we were still green and inexperienced. His words were clearly dripping with contempt and his gaze filled with scorn. Marko bristled, but his years as a vampire veteran kept his temper in check. The soldiers were also furious, but none of them said anything because of Bradley's status as a noble. They were too disciplined for that.
"Oh, we're so grateful," I responded sarcastically. "I'm sure your third rank will make a huge difference in the mission. I can picture the humans and Evelyn's Chosen falling to their knees in fear when they learn that you're ranked third in the vampire kingdom! They might even ask you for your autograph!"
Laughter rippled across my men, even as they struggled to hold it in. Bradley's face was murderous, but he didn't rise to the bait. I frowned as I studied his darkened expression, feeling a sense of premonition.
Despite my first-person protagonist's privilege, I had no idea what his true plans were. The guy was clearly plotting something, but what?
"Yes, please do that," Lilith told Bradley. "The 1,087th Battalion has been training and formulating plans of their own, so to add a last-minute participation would throw those strategies into confusion. I am also concerned about the participation of a major demon noble such as yourself. If you were to be injured, the military will not be able to take responsibility."
Lilith remained calm as she coolly informed Bradley of his recklessness. However, Bradley merely nodded and calmly offered a reply.
"Please do not worry, your highness. I am still part of the military, after all, and have led my own forces. We will act independently and catch the human armies in a pincer movement. Even if something were to happen to me, the 1,087th Battalion will not be held responsible."
"Even so, why take the risk? Our Battalion should be more than enough to defend the tomb. Even if we aren't, wouldn't another vampire regiment be more appropriate…?"
Elia wasn't able to stay silent anymore and she blurted that question out. Bradley slowly settled his eyes on her and smiled.
"If you're asking for a reason, there is one. The girl who will become my future wife will be there. In case anything should happen in this dangerous mission…"
The Battalion exchanged wary glances as they listened to Bradley bragging. I wanted to confer upon him the nickname Try Again Bradley. While several of the vampires glanced at Queen Lilith, she refused to react.
It seems she's disgusted, but she doesn't want to give Kreuger the pleasure of seeing her rise to the bait.
I pushed my glasses up and stepped forward with a fake smile. Offering my hand, I grinned and proposed a compromise.
"Well, we look forward to cooperating with you, Lord Kreuger. I will be counting on you and your men for support. I suspect you won't be involved in the investigation since you'll be hunting down the human armies when they retreat, correct?"
Bradley held my gaze, and I detected him scoffing inwardly, as if he couldn't believe I had the audacity to order him about. But with Lilith watching, he couldn't overrule my suggestion. He merely maintained an impassive façade and nodded.
"It is true that my regiment will be more suited for a pursue-and-destroy mission. We are a lot more experienced, stronger and mobile, after all."
I grinned. "That's true. So we'll entrust you with all the difficult work while we dig in and secure the tomb."
Bradley gritted his teeth when he realized he had just cornered himself, but he didn't flare up. Keeping his irritation in check, he nodded, but didn't take my hand.
"I look forward to working with you too, Major."
A warning, to remind me of my low rank and not to overstep my boundaries. I ignored him and turned to my men.
"All right, guys! Let's get ready and load up! On the double!"
While we loaded up on the APCs and tanks, which got ready to depart, I found an opportunity to approach Lilith and question her.
"Um, Lilith-san, are you sure about this? Taking part in this mission…"
She was the queen of Haemorage. Even if she was the overall commander of the Haemorage military, there would be outrage and protests from the high-ranking generals and officers that made up the command structure and command staff. Allowing the queen or sovereign of the kingdom to participate in such a dangerous mission…there was no way the top commanders would ever agree to that, even if Lilith outranked them.
Lilith smiled and kept her voice low as she replied, scanning her surroundings carefully.
"I will tell you the reasons in detail later. But it's only natural that I personally protect my ancestor's tomb, right?"
"Uh, right."
But somehow I felt that she had a greater reason than that. It wasn't just because Alucard was her ancestor. I had a feeling that Lilith wanted to dig her ancestor's tomb in search of something. In other words, the investigation of the tomb, and not the defense of it, was her primary objective. It might also have something to do with Kreuger's sudden participation.
Just when that thought crossed my mind, Lilith scowled.
"No, it has nothing to do with that person. When I originally planned my participation in investigating the tomb, I never thought he would come along. He probably heard it from my uncle and decided to selfishly come along."
"Those are really cold words, eh? My future wife."
As he overheard our conversation, Bradley abruptly appeared behind me. Then he smiled slyly at Lilith.
"Hey, can you stop with the future something? I remember telling you that we are mere strangers." Lilith's reply was cold.
Fortunately, Claire McAlterize wasn't here, or the woman butler would have flown into a rage after seeing the engagement that she arranged being sysmetically ripped apart by her mistress. It would serve her right.
"Ah, sorry about that. But well…I thought the result of tomorrow's duel has already been decided."
"Wait, what? The duel will be held tomorrow night?"
I cocked my head, confused.
"What happens if we're still outfield, on the mission? You want to have a duel while the human armies are assaulting the tomb we're supposed to be guarding? Dude, prioritize your duties! The fate of Morten is in our hands!"
Bradley remained calm despite my insolent tone. He looked like he was gleefully anticipating the duel that would decide whether his engagement with Lilith would be confirmed or cancelled. Regarding the duel where Lilith was the "prize", he had already considered his victory a matter of fact even before we exchanged blows.
I was so going to kick this fucker's ass…
"Still…it's unexpected."
Then, as Bradley turned toward me, he displayed a frivolous smile.
"To think that a man who can do nothing other than hide behind his men is participating in a mission. Geez, there is nothing more ridiculous than this."
His tone was clearly filled with contempt. The guy was trying to provoke me.
However, I burst out laughing.
"Did you mistake me for some other commander, Lord Kreuger?"
The demon noble narrowed his eyes when he saw how I was amused rather than enraged. There was a tic in his jaw.
Lilith piled on the misery with her laughter.
"A man who can do nothing other than hide behind his men? Are you referring to yourself, Lord Kreuger?"
"No, I'm…"
"I mean, who else can it be? We have Tomoyuki-kun here, who is known as the legendary Hero-Slayer for killing five of Evelyn's Chosen, and is famous for leading from the front. And then we have you, who did not bother to show up to defend your own kingdom when the human armies invaded. Instead, Tomoyuki-kun defended Haemorage in your place."
Lilith shook her head as her body trembled with laughter.
"Big words from someone who claims to be from the military house of Kreuger. But all your boasts becomes useless if you can't back them up with actions. Unlike you, Tomoyuki-kun has already proven himself in combat."
"I will prove myself in this mission," Bradley growled through gritted teeth. Lilith smiled with all the fake sweetness of a fox.
"I'm sure you will, Lord Kreuger. I'm sure you will. In fact, I'm looking forward to it."
Bradley's eyes glinted dangerously. It was clear that he was going to do whatever it took to make sure Lilith regretted mocking him.
"Yeah! The Major has proven himself in combat! He never sends us to a place where he wouldn't go himself! He leads from the front!"
"I might sound like a downer, but the Major's tendency to lead by example gets me worried all the time."
This time, it was Elia and Gio who had joined in. Realizing that Elia was the daughter of Marquis Kratz, Bradley saw that he wouldn't be able to argue his way out of this.
"Sorry for my rudeness, Captain…your highness."
Replying politely, the heir to House Kreuger bowed and quietly withdrew.
"Let's go, Major. Everyone's embarked on the APCs and tanks. We're awaiting your orders to depart."
"Yeah." I turned to Lilith. "After you, your highness."
We already had a seat in the command APC reserved for Lilith. Elia and Gio boarded different APCs, obviously because the command staff couldn't share the same APC. If the enemy took out the APC, the entire command structure of the battalion would be wiped out in a single stroke, and the men would be left leaderless.
As for me, I boarded a tank.
"Man, I really like the Malthas tanks, but I want a Baneblade…"
"Sir?"
The driver, Jason Jurgen, stared at me, confused by my mumbling. I shook my head to clear it of unnecessary thoughts.
"All right, men!" I hollered into the vox, my voice dispersed across all fifteen Malthas Executioner tanks and sixty Cerberus Armored Personnel Carriers. "Let's move out!"
With my order, the mission finally commenced.
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