Do Your Own Revolution

#063

Screech-!

“Kill them! Slaughter those Imperial dogs!”

“Waaah–!”

“Aaaah-!”

The whistle pierced through the sound of armored train gunfire.

That sharp sound, like a death sentence, filled the trench lines along with the soldiers’ battle cries.

“Machine gunners, prepare to fire!”

“Hold fire-! Hold fire-!”

“Don’t shoot until they’re in range!”

They loaded ammunition belts into machine guns and chambered rounds into rifles.

Soldiers who laid explosive wires held their detonators while catching their breath, and guards positioned inside loaded their shotguns while nervously swallowing.

“Almighty Father. Please protect me, shield me from this tribulation…!”

Tension filled the faces of soldiers pressed against the trench walls.

The dirt wall they leaned against trembled, and soil and gravel began to shake.

The idea that human footsteps could make the ground rumble like this.

It was an unbelievable sight no matter how you thought about it.

“Huff…! Huff…!”

A wave of humans filled the no man’s land outside the trench line.

The footsteps growing ever closer.

Gun sights beginning to shake from the vibrations.

Every kind of tension and fear combined to choke the Imperial soldiers’ throats.

One. Two. Three.

As the mounting tension and terror with each count reached its critical point-

“Open fire! All units open fire-!”

“Pour everything on them-! Don’t let a single one live!”

“Aaaaah—!”

With the officers’ screaming commands, thousands of gun barrels waiting along the trench walls began spewing fire all at once.

You couldn’t even hear the gunshots.

The sound of explosive wires and mines detonating. Hundreds of artillery shells fired from the rear batteries.

The water-cooled machine guns mounted in the fortifications spat out hundreds of rounds per minute, and soldiers loaded ammunition until their arms nearly broke as they fired at the Republican soldiers.

“Aaaack-?!”

“Advance! Advance-!”

“Anyone who retreats will be executed on the spot! Charge-!”

The bodies of Republican soldiers killed by gunfire and artillery grew in number.

The pistols in Republican political officers’ hands cut down retreating Republican soldiers, and soldiers with numbed minds began rushing into various parts of the trenches, climbing over their comrades’ corpses.

“Die you sons of bitches…!”

Just as one soldier who made it into the trench was about to spray his submachine gun-

A Republican soldier whose stomach was blown clean through by an officer’s shotgun crumpled lifelessly.

A rookie officer wearing a Second Lieutenant’s insignia.

With no time to dwell on his first kill, he immediately ordered his men:

“Maintain firing positions! Reinforce the line! Machine gunners use this chance to change barrels…!”

But at that moment-

With a thunderous roar, the defensive position where he had just been standing was completely overturned.

What happened? Artillery?

Taking out the machine gunner with such precision, how…?

His confusion was brief.

Heavy footsteps blocked the officer’s path.

“So it’s true the Knight Order withdrew. I didn’t expect it would be this easy to break through.”

“…!”

The one who spoke was an Armored Infantry who had fired the mortar on his shoulder.

Starting with that voice, steel giants began appearing one after another across the battlefront.

“Ah, aah…!”

“Armored Infantry! They’re in the trenches!”

“Snipers! No, gr-grenades?!”

“What should we…!”

A bizarre roar filled the trenches as diesel engine noise mixed with hydraulic cylinder rotations.

A sound like beasts growling.

The eyes of the panicking Imperial soldiers instantly filled with terror.

“U-uwaah?!”

The officer commanding the position defense was also gripped by fear.

Those were the Republic’s steel beasts made to kill knights.

There was no way ordinary humans could win against them.

‘So this is what happens without the Knight Order?’

Were Imperial forces really just an appendage of the Knight Order?

Without them, were they this powerless?

The demoralized soldiers began stepping back one by one.

An overwhelming sense of helplessness and defeatism was slowly eating away at their hearts.

“Vermin threatening the Republic, we’ll burn you all to death right here…!”

Just as the Armored Infantry who broke through the machine gun fire turned their flamethrower nozzles toward them-

With an explosion, the Armored Infantry was thrown backwards.

“Ugh, what…?”

“What was that, where did that come from?!”

“Artillery?”

They turned around at the sudden situation.

An officer in a black uniform was aiming a rifle at the Armored Infantry.

When he pulled the rifle bolt, a shell casing with an unusual shape emerged with red smoke.

And behind that officer, soldiers in black uniforms began appearing one by one.

The soldiers aimed rifles similar to the officer’s at the Armored Infantry charging into the trenches and-

“4th Platoon, open fire-!”

With the command, red light erupted from dozens of gun barrels.

Streams of red light spread in all directions, striking the Armored Infantry charging toward the trenches.

Each shot had power and impact rivaling artillery fire.

The Armored Infantry who had been ravaging the soldiers began falling one after another.

“Kack?!”

“Wh-what?! Artillery?!”

“Damn it, where the hell…!”

Some officers didn’t miss their chance as the Armored Infantry frantically tried to get up.

“Bring explosive wire! And construction explosives! Hurry!”

“J-just wait…! You bastards…!”

After pinning down the struggling Armored Infantry with their bodies, they inserted explosives into gaps in the armor and detonated them.

The Armored Infantry died as bloody pulp inside their armor plates.

“Good. Well done.”

After confirming this, 4th Platoon Commander Matt raised his voice toward the front:

“We’ll handle the Armored Infantry! Ortega!”

“Got it!”

The one who answered was a young officer with a cheerful expression.

With a shotgun slung over his shoulder, he called out to the dozens of soldiers following him:

“3rd Platoon-!”

“Waaaaaah–!”

“This is our glorious first deployment as the Special Magical Power Unit! I trust there are no idiots who want to die right from the start!”

“Ooh-! Ooh-! Ooh-!”

If the soldiers who appeared earlier were well-trained marksmen, these were bloodthirsty natives.

Looking at the soldiers shouting in unison, 3rd Platoon Commander Ortega called out with satisfaction:

“The company commander ordered us! To burn all the Republic’s cockroaches to death! So tear them apart and kill them! Those Republican vermin you see before you will become your honor and glory-!”

“Uwaaaaah-!”

“Charge-! Charge-!”

“Tear them apart! Kill them–!”

Dozens of soldiers burst out from the trench line and began charging toward the Republican forces.

“Wh-what are those?!”

“Sh-shoot! Kill all of them…!”

The soldiers’ voices didn’t continue any further.

The tremendous flames that erupted from the shotguns burned them all away.

A barrier that deflected bullets and artillery, and wide-area annihilation magic bursting from shotguns.

The Republican soldiers who had approached right up to the trench line began getting swept away like fallen leaves in an instant.

“The Republican forces…!”

“They’re being pushed back!”

The eyes of the Imperial officers watching lit up.

Special Magical Power Unit members were now mixed among the soldiers, fighting alongside them.

Unlike until now when they had merely cleaned up after knights, they were defending against the Republican forces in coordination with the Imperial army.

“Deploy barriers! Buy time to recover the machine gun positions!”

“One Armored Infantry is down! Riflemen forward-!”

Not overwhelming superhumans acting alone, but well-trained human weapons coordinating with Imperial forces.

A unit member positioned in the fortification raised high an Imperial military flag that had fallen to the ground.

“…!”

The Imperial forces dominating the battlefield, and the Imperial flag fluttering in their midst.

A thrill ran through the officers who stood up with weapons in hand.

“This battle… This time…!”

How long had it been since that flag flew at the very front of the battlefield?

How long had it been since they played a leading role in battle rather than just supporting the Knight Order!

“We can win. We don’t need the Knight Order! We can win with our strength alone!”

Despair turned to hope as officers gripping their weapons plunged into the midst of battle.

A victory they had never tasted before.

A pure Imperial victory was within their grasp.

***

– Communication from 3rd and 4th Platoons. Enemy Armored Infantry annihilated. Successfully defending against Republican forces. Over.

A magical power communication came in from Guille who was escorting the artillery.

Not bad for their debut battle.

Thinking this, I raised my hand to stop the soldiers following behind.

This was a forest located on the eastern front.

When I activated Eye of Horus, several Armored Infantry were detected in my field of vision.

‘As expected. They were here.’

About five Armored Infantry and one large one among them with a special form.

And something huge following behind them.

It was certain.

The Republican forces’ offensive currently heading toward the main front.

This was a detached force moving in sync with that offensive to disrupt the rear formations.

‘The real problem is that monster. Should I try to capture it? No, that might not even be possible…’

Just as I was thinking this, suddenly one of the lead Armored Infantry aimed a cannon in my direction.

“?!”

They detected the detection magic?

You’re saying they can use magical power?

Then, that Armored Infantry aiming at me now…!

“Ugh-!”

What they fired at me was a smoke grenade.

My vision was instantly covered in smoke.

While the following soldiers raised their weapons, a low voice emerged from beyond the smoke.

“I let my guard down hearing the Knight Order withdrew, but to think the Imperial army had prepared such an interesting trick.”

Parting the thick smoke, a huge shadow slowly approached.

A massive red-painted Armored Infantry.

When the faceplate opened, what was revealed was a man with literally bear-like features.

Long hair reminiscent of a lion’s mane and scars visible on his face. Plus the unique pressure emanating from his body.

“Klaus Medvedev…!”

“You didn’t slack on intelligence gathering! You even know my name?”

The Red Bear of the Republic.

To think he would appear in person.

While I was thinking this, something huge burst through the smoke toward my unit members.

“Graaaawrr-!”

“Damn it?!”

“It’s the monster from the reports! Maintain distance! Herd it to one side!”

The monster diving into the center of our formation, and the Armored Infantry following behind it.

Though I saw it all, I had no chance to support my soldiers.

Klaus threw a punch charging toward me.

Even with his faceplate down, I could tell he was smiling at me.

“I received reports. They say my subordinates pressuring the main front were annihilated. Now that you’ve handled the main front, it must be our turn, right?”

“Ugh…!”

“But you’re wrong. While you were blocking the main front, we’ll crush your command post in the rear…!”

His chilling laughter pierced my mind.

The Republic’s bear trying to kill me with blazing eyes.

Meeting that gaze, I frowned.

‘Is that why they left over 100 Armored Infantry in the rear? The reason he participated personally was to annihilate the command post with an elite few…!’

While we were intoxicated with stopping their first offensive, the command post would vanish without a trace.

The Republic’s second offensive would follow immediately, with over a hundred Armored Infantry taking the field.

It was reckless and rash, but that made it a deadly move.

If that operation succeeded, the Imperial forces would have been annihilated before they could even retreat.

However.

“Now, let’s talk slowly, young Imperial officer. Until my subordinates and that monster slaughter all your precious soldiers…!”

“Graaaawrr—!”

The monster’s scream cut off Klaus’s chilling laughter.

Following that came artillery fire and red light echoing from all around.

“You stopped a monster equipped with powered armor?”

Klaus muttered in disbelief as he gazed into the distant forest.

And hearing that, I smiled with satisfaction.

The monster burst out from the undergrowth, and the Armored Infantry who had been chasing my unit members began falling back.

“Absolutely… I absolutely won’t die here…!”

The one who emerged walking forward, overwhelming them in reverse, was a soldier wearing the Special Magical Power Unit uniform.

“It was worth bringing him after all.”

Leopold Kolhead, loading his shotgun while burning his two stroke engraving with enough intensity to shatter it.

The man who had stood at the vanguard of the Revolutionary Army was helping me drive back the monster.