Semi-Coercive Imperialist

The Sentinel Knights.

Newspapers insulting the Empire and its knights circulated across the continent. Translated tabloid articles were delivered and placed on everyone’s desks.

”I hear the Izenheim bastards burned another Yaken village.”

Conspiracy theories from unclear sources about Izenheim settled heavily over them.

”They say the Izenheim kill even newborns if they are Yaken. I’d really like to know why.”

Anger toward them smoldered like embers, and everyone treated it as obvious fact that Izenheim stood behind every news outlet.

”...”

Knight Hanna Usar sat quietly in her office, lost in thought.

They said anger settled when it rose too high. We had all reached that point lately.[ The Empire’s strongest knight order only reads newspapers in its offices ]

[ Sentinel Knights, actually just for military parades? ]

[ Empire Stumbles: ”Drops are nothing but a show... Knights who do not stand on the front lines are highly inefficient.” ]

Despite the endless bullshit from the foreign press, the knights did not say much.

They preserved their dignity as knights and merely waited for the moment that would one day come.

Then.

The door suddenly flew open, and a staff officer rushed in.

”Knight! You are ordered to assemble at the Drop Base...”

Hanna rose before the officer could finish. She immediately left Sentinel headquarters.

A crowd had already gathered outside. Sentinel’s knights and agents filled the broad grounds.

Her classmates Royce and Dare Tan. Senior knights including Zionne, Raynel, and Cliff, already moving ahead. Junior knights such as Mia and Ruin, following after them.

Everyone was headed toward the same place.

The direction they were headed was...

* * *

What was the system of war and battle?

And what was the doctrine that could make one advanced?

Military doctrine was important. Perhaps it was the most important thing of all.

Strategy was the eye that viewed war on a grand scale. Operations were the design for seizing a theater. Tactics were the means of winning a battle. Doctrine encompassed all of them.

A commander faced the enemy before their eyes. A general divided and colored a map.

But the person above them had to move the continent. From the highest position, they had to look to the farthest horizon.

In that respect, I was the person who looked farther than anyone else in this world.

I had experienced what the continent had never experienced and seen what it had never seen. I had already read the answers for making use of technology the continent had yet to absorb and advanced machines.

”First, we will divide our forces into the main force and a diversionary force.”

The Empire’s main force was unquestionably the famed commander, Lieutenant General Schweitzer. His formation was the fastest in the Empire, and its destination was Bolska.

”We will leave Bolska to Lieutenant General Schweitzer.”

With the continent’s attention fixed on Yursled and the west, we would strike and swallow Bolska before it could strengthen its defenses further.

”His corps will be more than capable of swallowing Bolska.”

I sent Schweitzer a letter. It granted him full authority over the Bolska theater while strictly forbidding war crimes.

He would advance quickly and cleanly.

”At Yursled’s Bresla Fortress, Imperial Guard tanks will bypass the position while infantry captures it.”

On the Yursled front, Imperial Guard tanks would not cross the ridge. They would go around and strike another front.

”The Sentinels will assist them.”

However, there was an imperial command. The fortress that had humiliated the Empire had to be destroyed without fail.

”Yursled’s fortress will vanish from the map.”

The Imperial Guard tanks would bypass it, while infantry stood before it.

To display the overwhelming force the Emperor wanted, knights would drop in and pulverize every anti-tank gun position and headquarters. Then the infantry would seize the fortress.

”And if they refuse to surrender to the very end?”

I looked at the man who asked.

His voice was heavy, deep as old iron.

”...”

It had been too long since I last faced his eyes. They still touched the deepest part of me.

”We will kill them all.”

There were perhaps fifty thousand soldiers or more stationed along that defensive line.

If they wished to die for their homeland, if their commander wanted to kill young soldiers for the sake of a mere country, then gladly.

”And next?”

Sebastian, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army, gave a slight nod.

”The third is the western river.”

I continued.

It was the route the Allied Forces had taken when they advanced immediately after declaring war. The knights would cut off their rear, then the isolated Allied Forces would be bombed.

”We will open three fronts at once and make the continent understand the Empire’s true resolve...”

* * *

「Bresla Fortress」

Gunner Zenkos watched through his sights, searching for Imperial tanks.

”...”

Bombarding tanks to halt their vanguard and slow the enemy’s advance was something they could now do with their eyes closed.

But for some reason, the bastards had not appeared for a long time today.

”It’s quiet.”

At Zenkos’s words, the other gunners relaxed slightly and muttered among themselves.

”Did those Imperial bastards give up here?”

They were full of confidence. After successfully defending the position again and again, any fear they had once felt toward the Empire had long since disappeared.

”Those pigs are getting beaten in the west, and they are getting beaten here too...”

”They have no brains.”

”What were they saying? That they own the continent? Serves them right for acting so big.”

They smiled as they mocked the Empire’s hegemony.

”What are those knight bastards doing?”

”Probably sitting at home. They die when shells hit them too.”

”They said they could fly through the sky. Aren’t they just sparrows?”

”Heh heh. Exactly. They’re all just people. Aren’t they embarrassed, calling themselves the Empire’s sword at their age...”

They laughed and talked, enjoying a relaxed morning for the first time in a while.

Thoom.

An ominous tremor sounded from somewhere.

Every Yursled soldier in the fortress hurried into position.

Wheeeee!

It was artillery fire. The air rushed in before the sound.

Keeeeenng!

A pressure seemed to crush their ears. Then came the sound of the atmosphere tearing apart.

Boom!

A barrage of shells came crashing down. Dirt sprayed from the trenches at the impact sites. Roofs collapsed. Soldiers’ bodies were hurled away.

”Take cover!”

The commander shouted. The Yursled soldiers hid in their designated positions, as they had been trained to do.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Shells poured down like rain. The earth along the ridge shook as if a layer had been peeled away, and trench walls collapsed like graves.

Boom...

Gunner Zenkos’s hearing became muffled. At some point, their mouth had filled with dirt.

”...”

As Zenkos blankly watched someone beside them mumble a prayer...

Wheee...

The bombardment stopped.

Several silent seconds passed.

Then the ground began to shake.

Rumble rumble rumble...

Yursled soldiers rushed out of the trenches and looked toward the not too distant horizon.

An infantry force holding rifles was advancing.

Bang! Bang! Ratatat!

The bastards fired as they climbed the slope. But their advance was strangely clumsy.

They almost seemed afraid. They also seemed unable to keep proper intervals between one another.

They said the Imperial Guard was a little worse than the Regular Army.

”Fire again!”

The Yursled soldiers hurriedly returned fire with artillery and rifles. Yursled superhumans hidden along the ridge continued supporting them with magic.

Boom!

Bang! Ratatat!

Cold weapons infused with magic. Bullets crashing against bullets.

Then, amid the battle for the heights, a soldier looked up first.

It was the loader beside Zenkos.

”...”

At the sight of the soldier staring blankly with their mouth open, Zenkos slowly raised his head as well.

In the dust-filled sky, there was a strange point above them.

”...?”

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...

They fell too straight to be birds and moved too gracefully to be artillery shells.

”What is that?”

As they tilted their head, the points slowly grew larger.

No. More precisely, they were coming closer.

Toward this place...

”...!”

Before long, the points became human silhouettes. Zenkos could finally make out their forms.

People in black uniforms and helmets that concealed their faces.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Whoosh!

The first knight descended into the center of an anti-tank gun position, raising a gale. They drew their sword before touching the ground.

Craaaack!

The anti-tank gun split in two.

”Fire! Fire!”

Someone gave the order. But their voice scattered away with the wind, and the face that had separated from their body spun through the air before falling onto the ground.

Swoosh!

The knight’s sword swept over the ridge. An entire line of trenches fell silent. Arms that had been firing rifles froze in that very position, and blood flowed like a river.

Step.

Gunner Zenkos looked at the figure approaching them. They could not see the face beyond the helmet.

There was not a single trace left by which one human could recognize another.

Perhaps this was their final memory.

”K-Knight...”

Slice.

The artillery positions were neutralized by knights dropping in simultaneously.

Next, the ammunition depot exploded, and Yursled’s superhumans were killed by the sword.

”Knights! The knights are here!”

That name was despair for some and courage for others.

”Advance! Advance!”

Yursled’s ground forces at Bresla had their attention seized by the knights, and bullets from the infantry rushing forward pierced their foreheads.

...

The air lay still. Damp mist drifted around ankle level at the border between the Empire and Bolska.

”It is obvious. The Bolska bastards will be prepared at Genson.”

Lieutenant General Schweitzer had arrived in terrain strangely unsuited for an armored force.

But it was no mistake. He had memorized most of the continent’s maps from the start.

”No need to ram ourselves into the place they are ready for us.”

At the Genson border, every kind of barbed-wire fence and anti-tank obstacle would be laid out to stop tanks from coming through.

It was so obvious that Schweitzer would go around instead.

Of course, he would win even if he charged straight in. But victory had standards.

Destroying the enemy army from the front was low-grade. It was like breaking only their legs.

The highest-quality victory was destroying the enemy’s heart.

”Prepare yourselves.”

Blitzkrieg. A very pretty name Maximilian had given it.

But charging through as fast as possible was not always the answer. Going where the enemy was absent could be far faster.

Of course, the Bolska bastards probably believed there was no route around them.

Genson was the road connected to the Empire, while the land north of it was marshland without any suitable route for tanks.

”Give the engineers their orders. We are building a bridge.”

Schweitzer broke their common sense with engineers.

He planned to lay tank-width steel plates and logs across the marsh, enough to fill two hundred trucks.

”They only need to fit the tanks and bear the weight without collapsing.”

It was a strategy Schweitzer himself was trying for the first time, but it would not be difficult. The tread widths of the tanks were all standardized.

”Begin construction! Shoot any bastard who slacks off dead!”

The engineers laid Aternum logs crosswise over the swamp.

Every log was the same length and thickness, all made to identical specifications.

During the day, they spread camouflage nets over them. At night, they worked by feel.

”Tell them to rest in shifts. They will get six hours of sleep.”

Two days passed.

At dawn on the third day, the bridge was complete, and the Fourth Armored Corps entered the path.

”Thirty-meter intervals. Match the lead vehicle’s speed. Abandon any vehicle that gets stuck in the swamp.”

Schweitzer had a certain fastidiousness. Thanks to it, the column did not break formation.

Vrrrrrr...

The logs sometimes shook but did not collapse. Tanks, self-propelled artillery, and armored vehicles passed smoothly through Bolska’s marshlands.

”Commander, I believe we will arrive soon.”

Beyond the marsh was far from the Genson border line the Bolska bastards had prepared. There would only be a minimal force there.

Perhaps no one at all.

”Hm.”

Schweitzer looked at his watch.

It had been only five days since he had received his posting to the front and assumed command of the sector.

In five days, Schweitzer had reached this place.

”Prepare for battle. From now on, burn every bastard who stands in our way.”

”Yes, sir.”

Schweitzer ordered the advance.

Rumble...

Feeling the vibrations of the tracks, he suddenly realized that no one was restricting him.

No Imperial Guard bastards behind him, constantly trying to hold him back with their fucking nonsense. No Regular Army old guard who feared every departure from precedent.

Only my way.

This thing called full authority was something he had received for the first time in his life.

”Fuck, the air is fucking clean.”

After breathing nothing but the smell of sand in that damned Zerpha, breathing air this fresh...

It made him think he was lucky to be alive.

...

I stood on the ramp of a transport craft and looked down.

I could see a river. Silver water rippled as it stretched long from north to south. Beyond it stood the Allied Forces that had crossed into the Empire.

They had already reached the port, the core of the Sea Plan.

Bang! Ratatat!

A battle seemed to have already begun, but something was strange.

They seemed afraid. They did not advance boldly. They seemed hesitant.

There had been a similar mood before my return.

It was an expedition meant to contain the Empire, but they did not truly feel its necessity.

The reason was simple.

Why should we make sacrifices for countries like Bolska and Yursled?

The old politicians of Prozen and Hailand would still be at home, eating good food with their beloved families.

The young would not understand such unfairness.

That was precisely why I could not help but win.

I was still young and would not leave the battlefield.

I would remain on the battlefield with the soldiers and continue my mission.

”We are at the point.”

The pilot spoke just as the ramp opened.

Rumble...

Wind rushed in like a wall. I looked beside me.

Leon was there. Dare Tan, Royce, Hanna, Tiana, and Cliff. All those knights stood at my side.

”Helmets on.”

Everyone put on their helmets.

Slowly, each reached their assigned point.

”Hanna. Dropping.”

Hanna Usar dropped from the ramp.

”Leon. Dropping.”

Tiana, Cliff, Dare Tan, Royce...

Knights I had known for years. People I trusted. They joined the front in the way of knights.

”...”

Afterward, alone, I stood before the ramp and looked down at the silver river.

I had passed my designated point slightly, but I had enough room. My gliding skill was fairly good.

After enjoying the view for just a little longer...

”Dropping.”

Thud.

I gave off mana and leaped lightly.

Whoosh!

Wind wrapped around me. Freedom touched my entire body.

With my magic wings spread, I glided through the air for several minutes. Before long, the river below drew near like a silver thread, and the bridge pier appeared dark against its surface.

I landed softly.

”What?”

”Enemy!”

An Allied Forces platoon had already entrenched itself there. It was a solid enough outpost guarding the rear, equipped with anti-aircraft guns and searchlights.

”Request reinforcements first...”

”Fire!”

They moved frantically, but were extinguished in an instant.

My longsword swung silently, cutting through the waists of those in front. Then I stepped forward in an instant and severed the necks of all the rest.

One by one.

I killed them all.

”R, bridge secured.”

”D, bridge pier secured.”

Just as I captured the outpost, reports came through the mana stone communicator.

”L, secured. Communication line cut.”

One by one.

Their voices reported the completion of their missions.

”H, secured. Supply depot set ablaze.”

The purpose of this mission was to cut off every supply and communication line leading to the Western Allied Forces.

We would sever all their supply lines, destroy the telephone wires and communication relay stations they had set up, and isolate their main force.

The Allied Forces would be trapped within Imperial territory.

Unable to receive supplies or support, they would suffer artillery bombardment and air raids from Maut’s Army Group. They would have no choice but to surrender or retreat.

”...”

From the bridge, I looked toward the western sky.

In the cloudless expanse, a mass of steel seemed to spread and gather.

Whoooom...

Imperial bombers approached, slowly forming into ranks.

Now began the Empire’s real war.

I would exterminate Izenheim.