"……History? Cultural heritage? In the end, aren't they just the rotten remnants of those damned bourgeois!"
Valerie's eyes blazed with madness.
"Cultural heritage, my ass! This building too is ultimately nothing but a filthy, detestable trash can made by exploiting the people! If this can serve as a scapegoat to contribute even a little to the revolution...!"
The revolutionary comrades were cowed by his fervor, merely watching his reaction warily.
"That is precisely the revolutionary spirit! Everyone, install all remaining explosives on the cathedral columns and sewer floodgates! Pour all remaining fuel drums onto the ground!"
His voice thundered through the underground chapel.
"Today... the Elansia Cathedral...! Shall be sublimated into the revolutionary spirit!"
*
A hellscape unfolded.
Kwaaaang-!!
Along with massive chain explosions that tore at the eardrums, the sky above Elansia's streets was dyed a deep reddish-orange in an instant.
"Colonel! L-look over there!"
Gunter, who had been surveying the outside after opening the armored vehicle hatch, shouted in a voice filled with shock.
The symbol of the Republic that had boasted a thousand-year history. The magnificent dome and stone columns of Elansia Cathedral could not withstand the inferno bursting from within and were collapsing.
Rumble- Boom!
Hundreds of tons of stone debris poured down like a waterfall, raising a massive cloud of dust. But that wasn't the end.
Swoooosh-!
Because of the floodgates that burst beneath the cathedral, black sewage and turbid currents bounced off manhole covers and began flooding the square and streets. Over the collapsed debris, fuel that the enemy had spread in advance met the flames, forming a massive wall of fire.
'Shit.'
I rubbed my eyes over and over again. I couldn't believe the scene before me.
[The skill 'Indomitable Mind' is now active.]
[Suppressing unnecessary emotional agitation and inducing the most efficient thought processes.]
'These crazy bastards.'
Even in the chaos of war where people die like dogs, there exists a 'line' that must not be crossed.
Even though those bastards are our enemies, don't they still call themselves the 'Revolutionary Army'? Though our ideologies differ, in the end, we are merely fighting to create a better world.
That was the case until now. But not anymore.
The once-flat square had transformed into a mountain of garbage. The route leading to the sewers was submerged in sewage and blocked off. A thousand-year cultural heritage was engulfed in flames, and that massive conflagration was now sweeping over the citizens' residential districts.
This isn't revolution, war, or anything of the sort. It's merely an act of destruction. This is something terrorists would do, not soldiers.
Bzzzt- Chzzt!
[T-This is the 1st Armored Battalion! Colonel! The debris has completely blocked the road! The tracks are slipping! Impossible to advance, I repeat. Tank maneuvering impossible!]
Frederica's urgent transmission came through.
[Colonel Jaeger! This is the Infantry Battalion! The fire spreading from the cathedral is spreading to the residential area at 2 o'clock! If this continues, all of Elansia will become a sea of fire!]
Seraphina's report overlapped as well. Fire, water, and piles of stone were sweeping through the surroundings.
I couldn't leave it like that. I immediately grabbed the radio.
"All combat personnel, listen up. As of this moment, search and sweep operations are suspended. From now on, our top priority is fire suppression and establishing a defensive line."
My voice transmitted across the radio network.
"Frederica. If the tanks cannot advance, use the cannons for a different purpose."
[...What do you mean by a different purpose?]
"Demolish the buildings in the direction the fire is spreading with tank cannons. Destroy the very medium the flames could spread to and establish a forced firebreak."
[...Order received.]
I immediately changed the frequency.
"Seraphina."
[Go ahead.]
"Reroute the infantry battalion to the north, against the wind. Evacuate the civilians to the rear even if by force, and maintain strict order."
[Understood.]
A short, concise answer.
Finally, I looked at Hanna and Gunter standing beside me. And the soldiers who had been with me since the Ash Forest.
"The headquarters company will accompany me to the front lines of Cathedral Square. Block the surging sewage with sandbags and establish a defensive line!"
*
Taaang-! Kwaaaang-!!
The night in Elansia was as bright as day.
On the outskirts, tank cannons under Frederica's command were demolishing buildings to cut off the spread of the fire, while on the opposite side, infantry led by Seraphina and Erika were controlling the civilians.
"Hurry! Bring more sandbags! Fill the gaps tightly!"
Sergeant Gunter urged the soldiers on. Elansia Cathedral Square was already a scene of utter chaos, ankle-deep in black sewage and turbid currents.
The disgusting stench piercing the nose and the acrid heat gushing from the cathedral mixed together, making even breathing painful, but for now, a temporary blockade had been achieved.
"Colonel Jaeger."
It was Corporal Hanna who approached from behind me.
"According to detection results, their main force seems to have... already fled."
"As expected. It went according to their intentions."
If only they had been stupid enough to barricade themselves. Like the rats they are, they ran away the moment they diverted our attention.
"It couldn't be helped. If we hadn't stopped this, it would have literally been a disaster."
Tactically speaking, this operation was a failure. We had lost sight of the rioters right before our eyes.
"...They covered their tracks completely."
Hanna bit her lip in frustration.
"Damn it... We had the encirclement narrowed down so perfectly."
"Those cowardly rats!"
The soldiers stacking sandbags felt the same frustration.
But my thoughts were different. Because the Revolutionary Army bastards had dug their own graves.
Justification is the most powerful weapon in politics and war. Tonight, they broke that weapon with their own hands.
Would the citizens of Elansia, who witnessed this horrific catastrophe with their own eyes, sympathize with those rioters? When tomorrow morning dawns, the hearts of the Republic's people will pour fierce hatred toward the Revolutionary Army.
The international community's reaction is even more obvious. The United Kingdom and the United States of Columbia, who pathologically despise communists. Using this incident as a pretext, they will designate the remaining Revolutionary Army forces not as resistance fighters but as international terrorists.
As a result, the Empire, and the BC regime we established, have even gained the justification to actively 'manage' the entire Republic.
All to buy a few hours to escape through the sewers, they handed over the very initiative itself.
"Colonel, shall we pursue them? If we bring pumps and drain the sewage, we can enter the underground even if belatedly."
"No, it's already too late. Don't chase them."
The city is ours anyway. Now that public sentiment has turned away from them, their resistance won't last long either.
"The pursuit team will get chewed up. From now on, focus all efforts on relief for the evacuated civilians and maintaining the defensive line until the fire is completely suppressed. Those bastards are no different from hanging themselves anyway."
"Understood!"
I picked up the radio and issued orders to each battalion commander to hold their current positions and clean up. The flames that had seemed ready to engulf downtown Elansia were gradually dying down thanks to Frederica and Seraphina's swift responses.
I added before cutting the radio.
"All combat personnel, do not stand down. And engrave this clearly into your minds."
'Captivating Eloquence.'
[Skill 'Captivating Eloquence (Lv.3)' is activated.]
"It was those mad rioter bastards who burned the Republic's thousand-year history and turned the citizens' homes into ashes. And it was none other than our Imperial Army who protected the citizens from the flames."
We, the Imperial Army,
"Are not an army of invasion, but an army of salvation."
*
About two hours later.
Around the time smoke rising above the debris covered Elansia's dawn sky, two command vehicles stopped on the outskirts of Cathedral Square.
Stepping out of the vehicles were Major General Falkenheim, commander of the 1st Armored Division, and Henri de Dubois, Head of the BC Republic.
The two approached me with urgent steps.
"Colonel Jaeger."
"Division Commander. And Chairman Henri."
I roughly shook off my filth-covered gloves and saluted.
The state of both men was beyond words. Falkenheim's face was covered in soot, and Henri looked as if he had just been managing panic somewhere, his uniform badly wrinkled and his eyes visibly exhausted.
"Colonel Jaeger... what, what on earth is this catastrophe."
Henri spoke in a devastated voice.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Henri de Dubois]
[Status: Extreme fatigue, despair, revulsion toward his own people]
[Emotion: Devastation at the fact that people of his own nationality committed such horrific acts.]
How great must the shock be, seeing as those so-called Revolutionary Army people committed such atrocities.
"Valery has crossed the line. The Revolutionary Army he leads... is nothing but a cancerous growth in the Republic. They must all... be excised."
Henri spoke, clenching his fist tightly.
"The situation is dire, but your response was excellent, Colonel Jaeger."
Falkenheim then spoke.
"Thanks to you giving up the pursuit and immediately turning toward fire suppression and civilian relief, Elansia was saved. If we had forcibly pursued, the Imperial Army could not have avoided responsibility for Elansia turning to ashes."
"You overpraise me, Division Commander. It is thanks to the efforts of the Jaeger Combat Unit soldiers who silently held back the flames on the front lines."
As I shifted the credit to my subordinates, the shoulders of Gunter and Hanna standing beside me rose with pride.
"My word, showing humility even in this situation... You truly are...."
Falkenheim put on an expression as if moved for a moment. Then he raised his command baton past the collapsed cathedral debris. Toward the eastern sky where dawn was breaking.
"We've already pulled an all-nighter. Forcing further operations is too much. Your combat unit, exhausted from overwork, should enter rest immediately and be rotated in starting the day after tomorrow."
"I shall follow your orders."
"Yes, take your subordinates and let them rest as soon as possible."
I saluted and turned my back.
And the day after tomorrow, the Jaeger Combat Unit returned to the battlefield.