"Soon, their main force will come crashing down on us."
They would no longer wander aimlessly. They would surround us. I bit my lip. A battle to capture the forest? Holding the front lines? It was all bullshit. We were already like rats in a trap.
But a crisis was also an opportunity. The calculator in my head spun rapidly. How could I use this information to my greatest advantage? Simply fleeing was a poor plan. But sitting stupidly and taking the beating was suicide.
"I'll use it against them."
I reached a conclusion and immediately raised my head.
"Sergeant Hanna!"
"Y-yes! Lieutenant!"
Startled by my sharp voice, Hanna ran over. I held out the bone fragment necklace I had received from Gunter.
"Can you feel a mana reaction from this?"
Hanna took the necklace and closed her eyes. A moment later, her eyes snapped open.
"...I feel it. Very faint, but an unpleasant, sticky mana... connected like a thin thread to the depths of the southern forest. It feels as if someone is spying on us from the other side."
"That's conclusive."
My [Status Analysis] and Hanna's [Mana Detection] matched. I immediately gave Gunter an order.
"Gunter! Collect every single one of these necklaces from the corpses! Leave none behind! And maintain alert status!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
Gunter ran off in a fluster. I clutched the necklace and dashed straight for the company command tent.
"Captain! Emergency report!"
"...Come in."
A flustered voice came from inside. Without a care, I entered the tent. There, Serafina, who had just been buttoning up her top, glared at me.
"First Lieutenant Jaeger, what in the world is going on..."
"The enemy is coming."
I skipped the preamble and tossed the bone fragment necklace onto the desk.
"This is from the orcs we just killed. According to Sergeant Hanna's detection, these items are connected by mana to the main force in the southern forest. It operates by the signal cutting off the moment the bearer dies, thereby identifying the location."
Serafina's pupils shook. A commander of her caliber would instantly grasp the meaning of my words.
"...Then, their night raid was bait to confirm our position?"
"Precisely. They used their own lives as coordinate-guided munitions."
I added coldly.
"Even now, their main force is likely racing here at full speed. Perhaps they've already tightened the encirclement."
Serafina's face hardened. The languor from moments ago vanished without a trace, and the cold, calculating eyes of a commander returned.
"...Is this confirmed intelligence?"
"I'll stake my life on it."
Serafina picked up the necklace and glared at it for a moment, then slammed her hand down on the desk.
"Damn it! We've been had. We have to report to the Regiment Commander immediately. Follow me!"
***
The Regiment Commander's tent had transformed into the chaos of a stirred hornet's nest, rendering the dawn's silence meaningless. The report of the 2nd Company's night raid, along with the intelligence I had brought, had been delivered.
"...So, you're saying we walked into their trap of our own accord?"
The Regiment Commander growled, fiddling with the bone fragment necklace. Deep wrinkles formed between his brows.
"That is correct. They are familiar with the terrain and features of the Ashgray Forest. They will be tightening the encirclement while we build our camp and let our guard down."
"Damn it all!"
The Regiment Commander spoke, unable to hide his agitation. Major Helga, standing beside him, cautiously offered advice.
"We must pull back the entire force even now, Colonel. Visibility is difficult inside the forest, and the moment we are surrounded, we are annihilated. We must retreat to favorable ridgeline terrain and re-establish the defensive line."
It was an extremely by-the-book assessment. But the Colonel's expression was grim.
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Karl von Dietrich]
[Emotions: Fear of operational failure, worry about reprimand upon retreat, conflict between the desire to achieve merit and reality]
This old fox didn't want to retreat right now. Just yesterday, he had finished reporting to the higher-ups about a "great victory that would change the landscape of the western front." He couldn't report a mere day later that "we fell into the enemy's trap and retreated in disgrace."
His pride and ambition for advancement would not allow it.
And that exact point was the opening I could exploit.
"Colonel, may I have the floor?"
When I stepped forward, every gaze in the command tent fixed on me. For a mere first lieutenant to dare insert himself into the Colonel's deliberations might have been overstepping. But I was currently the hero of 'that' 2nd Company, and a talent the Regiment Commander had his eye on.
"...Speak, First Lieutenant Jaeger."
"Retreat is exactly what the enemy wants most."
I spoke, pointing at the map.
"They will be waiting for us to panic and flee. There is no easier hunt than striking an army in retreat from behind. Given the terrain characteristics of the forest, no matter how fast we move, we cannot outpace their mobility."
"Then what do you propose? That we sit here and let them surround us?"
Major Helga sharply interjected.
"No. If they know we are here, we must turn that against them."
I took a deep breath and pulled out the card I had prepared.
'Captivating Eloquence.'
Ding—
[Skill 'Captivating Eloquence (Lv.3)' has been activated.]
"They are likely convinced they have already seized victory. Believing in their ability to track our position and their numerical superiority, they will be charging in carelessly. That exact point is their weakness."
I jabbed my finger at the 2nd Company's camp location on the map.
"They are convinced that where this necklace's signal stopped—that is, our 2nd Company's bivouac—is where the allied main force is stationed."
I continued without pause.
"We will turn this signal against them. We will move our troops and critical supplies quickly to the outer ridgelines, and in the center of this camp... we will leave only these necklaces."
The Colonel's eyes flashed. He seemed to realize what I was getting at.
"You mean to make them strike an empty nest."
"Precisely. The moment they charge into the center of the empty camp following the signal, we concentrate the artillery fire of the pre-sighted batteries on those coordinates. When they fall into chaos, our troops lying in ambush on the ridgelines will tighten the encirclement and annihilate them."
I hammered in the final wedge.
"This operation will be a perfect encirclement and annihilation battle, capable of wiping out their main force in a single engagement."
I had precisely struck at the Colonel's [Hidden Desire]. "Hero of the Western Front," "Advancement into Central Politics." These were titles unobtainable through mere retreat or defensive battles. Only overwhelming victory could make him a general.
Ding—
[Skill 'Captivating Eloquence (Lv.3)' is influencing 'Karl von Dietrich'.]
[Intensely stimulates the target's desire! The target accepts your proposal.]
'Status Analysis.'
[Name: Karl von Dietrich]
[Status: Excitement, Inflamed Ambition]
[Emotion: Fear of failure is gone, replaced by a greedy anticipation of a great victory]
The Colonel clenched his fist. An unstoppable smile spread across his lips.
"...Good. Very good! An excellent operation!"
He immediately ordered Major Helga.
"Relay this to all units immediately! All troops are to move stealthily to the outer ridgelines! Maintain the tents and campfires in the camp as they are! Make it look as though we are sleeping!"
"Artillery is to set the center of the 2nd Company's bivouac as the target point! Prepare to fire the instant the signal is given!"
The Colonel began giving orders without pause. The headquarters instantly regained its vigor, and troops moved without a moment's rest.
The new operation I had proposed—to smash those damn orcs—was being prepared.
***
The operation proceeded swiftly and stealthily.
The soldiers moved in silence. Critical ammunition and rations were quickly smuggled to the rear, and empty tents were stuffed with straw and scraps of uniforms to disguise them as sleeping soldiers. Wet firewood was added to the campfires, producing smoke to create the illusion of human presence.
And the most important bait. Dozens of bone fragment necklaces collected by the 2nd Company were gathered inside the largest command tent in the very center of the camp.
An hour later.
All troops of the 7th Regiment had completed their ambush on the C-shaped ridgelines surrounding the camp. Thousands of gun barrels hidden in the darkness of the forest and the folds of the terrain were aimed at the empty camp.
I hid in a trench halfway up the ridgeline with the members of the 3rd Platoon. Beside me, Hanna, Klaus, and Staff Sergeant Gunter lay prone.
"...They're coming. An enormous number."
Hanna whispered with her eyes closed. But I could tell even without her report. The edges of the [Minimap] floating in a corner of my vision were already beginning to turn scarlet.
"All units, hold. Do not fire until my signal."
Silence. Suffocating stillness flowed. The soldiers swallowed dryly, fingers on their triggers.
Soon, the earth began to tremble.