'It’s the western ridgeline that 2nd Platoon is responsible for....'
The troops of 2nd Platoon led by Erika alone wouldn’t be enough to hold back that many stragglers. If things went wrong, the encirclement could be broken through, leading to heavy casualties.
I looked down at the radio for a moment, then shook my head. Communications were impossible right now. Ever since we entered the Ash-gray Forest, it had been dead due to the mana the Orcs had spread out.
"Lieutenant, is something wrong?"
Just as I was agonizing over it, Hanna, who had noticed the change in my expression first, asked with a worried look. The smiles vanished from the faces of the platoon members, who had been drunk with victory just moments before.
I whispered so that only Hanna could hear.
"Corporal Hanna, try sensing how many Orc hordes are moving toward the western ridgeline."
I decided to rely on Hanna’s [Mana Detection], which had a longer range than my minimap. Of course, at this distance, the amount of information she could detect would decrease significantly, but it was better than nothing.
Having received my order, Hanna closed her eyes for a moment, then soon snapped them wide open in surprise.
"This is...! I sense an enormous number of Orcs. And... a battle, a battle seems to be taking place...."
I pondered for a moment. My mind raced. 2nd Platoon’s crisis. I had two choices here.
Option 1: Ignore it. It was the most rational and safest choice. Our mission was already over. And it had been a perfect success with zero casualties.
Taking additional action here would be practically nosy. Whether 2nd Platoon was wiped out or not was Erika and Seraphina’s responsibility. All we had to do was wait for the main force at the rendezvous point as planned.
'...But that’s the kind of thought only someone who doesn’t know the rules of this world would have.'
If this world were nothing more than an ordinary game, I would have chosen option 1. However, I shook my head. I erased option 1 from my mind.
This world was not a simple battlefield. It was a stage where the adult cheat mode known as the [Harem Overlord Integration Pack] applied. The key was not just survival, but maximizing rewards.
I recalled all my level-ups so far. Every time I achieved military merit, my level rose along with a great deal of experience points. The greater the merit, the more experience I gained. Thinking about it this way, 2nd Platoon’s crisis was nothing less than a sudden quest worth running the numbers on.
The more military merits I achieved, the more experience I gained. More experience meant a higher level, and a higher level meant more skills. In the end, it all helped me.
'It wouldn’t hurt to make someone owe me a debt.'
Erika’s reputation also played a part. The noble daughter of the Stahlberg family, one of the most prominent in the Empire. Having her owe me a debt held value beyond simple experience points.
Finally, I recalled the memory of instantly jumping up 3 levels through my first experience with Hanna. The core rule of this mode was clear: you could gain experience by conquering women.
Of course, I wasn’t a womanizer, and I didn’t target just any woman, but... if it was someone like Erika, honestly, my head nodded on its own. Of course, it was still hard to imagine that overbearing woman pinned beneath me, moaning, but someday, who knows. These debts would pile up one by one until they became impossible to ignore.
Of course, there were risks. The members of 3rd Platoon were exhausted too, and there could be casualties during battle.
'But there’s no gain without risk.'
I recalled the scale of the enemy I had seen through the minimap earlier. If we struck their flank through a surprise attack, the odds were more than sufficient. The calculation was that we could yield maximum gain with minimal damage.
Having finished my thoughts, I slowly rose from my seat. The eyes of the platoon members who had been resting focused on me.
"Break's over. Everyone, gear up!"
At my shout, the platoon members flinched and rose from their seats.
"Ah...."
"Damn... I thought it was all over...."
"What more are we supposed to do...?"
The platoon members who had thought the mission was over let out groans of disappointment. Of course, I understood that feeling well. As a Korean, I had served until my honorable discharge as a sergeant, so it wasn’t like I lacked soldiering experience. You’re resting after finishing work, then you get called to do more shovel work—curses just come out naturally. But this was a situation where we had to move.
I looked around at the grumbling platoon members. Dragging them along forcefully would only hurt morale, so I thought I needed to properly motivate them.
'Enchanting Oratory.'
"Listen up, 3rd Platoon!"
Ding—
[Skill 'Enchanting Oratory (Lv.3)' activated.]
[Affects multiple targets (3rd Platoon members) simultaneously.]
[Powerful charisma and persuasion are granted to your voice.]
The soldiers who had been complaining flinched at my shout. Everyone’s gaze turned toward me.
"From now on, we’re going to support 2nd Platoon!"
Murmurs spread among the soldiers.
"2nd Platoon...?"
"Aren’t they holding the western ridgeline...?"
"Why would we..."
I continued without hesitation.
"Why are we going to help 2nd Platoon? Good question. Then let me ask you this. How did we win today? What was the reason we could destroy that massive encampment without a single casualty!"
I met the eyes of each and every platoon member.
"It’s because 1st and 4th Platoons held them back from the front, and 2nd Platoon cut off their retreat while trusting in us! This isn’t a victory we achieved alone! 2nd Platoon is in combat right now. It’s not yet time to be resting like this!"
And I didn’t stop there—I threw out the most realistic bait.
"And don’t forget. What follows a great victory? Rewards, of course! A hefty reward and sweet leave granted personally by the Regimental Commander await you!"
[Skill 'Enchanting Oratory' has been successfully applied.]
[3rd Platoon submits to your orders and their complaints greatly decrease. Morale increases significantly.]
The effects appeared immediately. The eyes of the grumbling soldiers changed in an instant. Their overwhelming fatigue and complaints vanished, and a burning sense of honor, camaraderie, and desire for reward money began to blaze.
"...That’s right! While we were setting off bombs and coming back, the guys in the other platoons were fighting for their lives!"
"If we go help now, doesn’t our accomplishment grow even bigger? We might as well strike it big properly!"
"Reward money! Leave! Let's go, you bastards!"
The atmosphere reversed in an instant. Staff Sergeant Gunter shouted thunderously.
"All personnel, follow the Lieutenant! Anyone who lags behind will be running laps around the drill field after the battle!"
"Waaaah!"
I nodded in satisfaction.
"Good! From now on, we support 2nd Platoon. Move at maximum speed to the western ridgeline. Don’t fall behind!"
"Yes, understood!"
No platoon member questioned my orders any longer. We gripped our rifles once more and began to run.
Hanna and I took the lead and ran. Even as we cut straight through the forest path, we prepared for any unforeseen threats using my minimap and Hanna’s ability from time to time.
As the distance closed, my minimap began to pick up the situation on the western ridgeline. It was a dire state, to say the least. While the green dots were gradually being pushed back, the red dots were slowly but steadily approaching the defensive line. At this rate, 2nd Platoon’s defensive line would be breached or suffer serious casualties.
From that point on, I used the minimap to calculate the optimal route. Thanks to that, 3rd Platoon approached the western ridgeline much more smoothly. By this point, clear sounds of gunfire and screams reached our ears.
"It’s right up ahead! Pick up the pace!"
We climbed the last slope in one burst. And from atop the ridgeline, we took in the battle unfolding below at a glance.
As expected, 2nd Platoon was on the verge of collapse. The Orcs pushed forward with sturdy, thick shields at the fore, breaking through the hail of gunfire in a wave assault.
"Damn it, the bullets won’t penetrate! Do something about those shields!"
"Grenades! Don’t we have grenades?!"
"Shit...! We used them all earlier! There’s nothing left now!"
The soldiers hid behind trees and rocks, thrusting out their gun muzzles with desperate eyes. Here and there, wounded soldiers were groaning as they lay fallen.
"Medic! Take a look at Felix here! He took an axe to the shoulder!"
"My arm isn’t responding right now either! Someone stop the bleeding...!"
At the center of 2nd Platoon was Erika. Her red twintails were a mess with dust and sweat, and her uniform was torn in several places. She shouted with a pistol in her hand, her face twisted in fury.
"Don’t fall back! Hold the defensive line! They’re just stragglers! Kill even one more of them!"
But her cries did not reach the terror-stricken soldiers.
'It would have been a disaster if we had arrived even a few minutes later.'
I clicked my tongue inwardly. Erika’s eyes blazed with fighting spirit. In the current situation, it would have been better to retreat and preserve their strength. But perhaps pride had clouded her eyes—Erika was failing to make a rational judgment.
'Does she mean to kill all her subordinates?'
I furrowed my brow and cast [Status Analysis] on each of the Orcs approaching the defensive line.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Urdarim]
[Class: Warrior]
[Name: Turbak]
[Class: Axe Thrower]
[Name: Morlimdor]
[Class: Shieldbearer]
Information windows flashed endlessly before my eyes. Data on all sorts of Orcs entering the battle—axe soldiers, throwers, warriors, shieldbearers—popped up wildly. But most of them were useless. I moved my pupils left and right like a madman, repeating the process of opening and closing useless windows.
And finally, I found it.
[Name: Gortus]
[Class: Centurion]
[Status: Commanding the charge. Positioned behind the shield wall, believing himself to be safe]
'...That’s him!'
It was a success. In the end, I had identified the core. That Centurion bastard was the focal point of the attack.
"Klaus!"
"Yes, Lieutenant!"
"Eleven o'clock, the one with the horned helmet behind the shields! You see him? That’s the one! Blow his head off!"
"Understood!"
Klaus steadied his posture for a moment, then immediately fired.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out. The bullet embedded itself squarely between the eyes of the horned helmet Orc leading the horde from the front. As its massive frame collapsed, a crack instantly formed in the Orc unit’s solid shield wall. We didn’t miss that opening.
"Charge! Hit them in the flank!"
Following my order, the members of 3rd Platoon rushed out in unison, spraying their rifles.