The Rural Officer Who Was Once a General

Part 1, Chapter 9

Scrape, scrape.

The movement of the iron staff scraping through the mud shifted subtly.

“This looks like the spot.”

An old ranger shook his staff, gauging the general location.

“Step on it.”

“Yes, sir.”

The young ranger stepped where the staff pointed and dashed forward.

Though it was a terrifying swamp, the man stepped down with a calm expression and quickly made it to the other side.

“Spot on.”

The ranger raised one corner of his mouth.

Clang!

Even though summer heat was starting to fully settle over the Empire, the training grounds of the Aide unit echoed with louder shouts and impact sounds than usual.

“Karun, your body’s moving out of sync.”

Fade swung a wooden training sword expressionlessly and struck Karun on the shin.

“Gah!”

Karun let out a groan and staggered.

“D-Do we really have to wear this during training too?”

He tapped the heavy armor he was wearing.

In the rising heat, the armor seemed to shimmer with heat waves.

Sweat was pouring from Karun’s head like a waterfall.

The heat from wearing full heavy armor tightly strapped to his body was bad enough, but moving in gear that easily weighed over 10 kilograms made it even harder.

“It’s already been four hours!”

‘Damn, I’m gonna drop dead at this rate.’

Enduring Fade’s brutal training for four hours straight had his body trembling.

Just training bare would’ve been exhausting, but doing it in full armor made his stamina drain like crazy.

“You’re a heavy infantryman. Of course, you should.”

“Ughh…”

Fade walked up to Karun with a blank expression.

‘Can’t be helped. Making him a cavalryman is out of the question.’

He could ride a horse, but there didn’t seem to be any benefit in doing so.

‘His combat sense just doesn’t come out on horseback.’

Fade had seen foot soldiers stronger than cavalry back when he was Terbior.

And he was confident he could make Karun into one of them.

With his own training and Karun’s natural combat sense, it should be possible.

"Alright, let’s resume."

Fade’s wooden sword rushed forward like a flash of light.

Thud!

Karun quickly extended his wooden sword to block it.

“That’s it. You’re finally picking up some speed.”

Fade’s sword swept down toward the crown of Karun’s head.

“Huup!”

Karun chose to evade instead of block.

Or rather, he didn’t fully evade—it was more like taking the hit with his heavy armor.

Crack!

As Karun twisted his body, the wooden sword struck the armor and broke.

“Tch.”

Fade’s expression didn’t change as he watched Karun’s movements.

The shoulder that had taken the hit was swinging wide.

‘Heavy strike.’

Before Karun could swing, Fade extended his leg and kicked at Karun’s wrist.

“Hrgh!”

As Karun lost grip of the sword, Fade’s fist slammed into the center of his face.

“Gahk!”

Karun fell back hard from the blow.

“Shall we end it here?”

Fade grinned faintly and dropped the training sword.

“But you should probably change weapons too.”

Fade helped Karun to his feet and motioned with his chin toward Ted.

Ted, who until recently had wielded a spear, was now swinging a massive war hammer in the air.

Originally, spears and swords were considered the orthodox weapons, and most soldiers used one of the two.

But sometimes, a different weapon might suit a person better.

Ted wasn’t technical—he was powerful.

So instead of a cutting weapon like a spear or sword, a blunt weapon was more fitting.

That’s why he ended up with a hammer.

Maces or flails had crossed his mind too, but since Ted couldn’t ride a horse, a two-handed warhammer with the power to take on cavalry was more suitable.

Now, what about Karun?

He was excellent in both skill and power—gifted, to put it nicely.

But the problem was his defense.

Even as heavy infantry, defense was critical, and Karun had a tendency to fumble after blocking, which often ruined follow-up attacks.

Above all, a longsword couldn’t fully make use of Karun’s raw strength.

He might be better off with a greatsword or a polearm…

They’d need to observe more to see what would suit him best.

“Sir, it’s lunchtime!”

Nearby, Niss shouted as he stabbed at a training dummy with a spear.

“Ah, can’t skip meals.”

Fade wiped away the sweat and left the training ground.

Even with just a single cloth shirt, sweat was pouring off him, and he felt a bit sorry for Karun and Ted, who had been in heavy armor all day.

Still, I can feel my body getting stronger.

Compared to when he first entered Fade’s body, he felt much lighter now.

It’s a shame the body doesn’t build muscle easily, though.

Even after pushing himself to the brink for a week since returning from the forest, no prominent muscles had appeared.

His stomach was flat where his abs should be, and his arms hadn’t thickened—clearly, this body wasn’t the type to show muscle.

Looking small kinda kills the charisma.

Fade knew well how much presence a burly general’s single command could have on the battlefield. So, it was a bit of a letdown.

***

"You only found it now?"

Rakula sat in her uncomfortable chair, listening to the report from the old ranger.

"Yes, there’s a spot where thirty people can cross at once. Very little sinking too. At this level, even cavalry and heavy infantry should be able to pass through."

"…How many troops are stationed in Aide?"

"Roughly twenty to thirty."

"Is that so?"

Rakula narrowed her eyes.

"Call General Turg! I’m issuing a deployment order!"

Now I can restore my reputation.

The rumors hadn’t spread far yet.

The Empire didn’t know the operation was under her command, and within the Khanate, it had been a classified mission.

No matter how much that damn commander ran his mouth, he couldn’t have spread it in just a week.

That meant there was still enough time to turn things around.

How many should I send?

If she mobilized her entire force, she could crush thirty men with three thousand, but she had other duties to attend to—full mobilization wasn’t an option.

How many troops can I spare?

Rakula quietly went over her unit's organization, current assignments, and the outlook of the war.

One hundred fifty is the limit.

She couldn’t afford to pull more than that while still confronting the Empire.

She had already burned through a dozen elite rangers.

Next is the unit composition.

There was no need to waste precious archers in a clash between small forces.

One hundred infantry, thirty cavalry, the rest filled in with rangers.

Honestly, that would be more than enough to take care of some rural bumpkins.

Still, something bothers me.

That officer who saw through her strategy—he was an irritation.

"You called for me, Lady Rakula?"

Turg entered the tent and knelt before Rakula.

"General Turg Tetsinye, my axe."

"Yes, Lady Rakula."

"I'll form a detachment. Invade and seize Aide."

"I will gladly carry out your command, Lady Rakula!"

"And…"

Rakula tore at the sheepskin of her chair with her nails as she continued.

"That whelp of an officer with platinum hair who led the Imperial cavalry—bring me his head!"

As Rakula snapped with irritation, Turg furrowed his brow.

"Do not worry Lady Rakula, your axe never misses its target."

"...I know. I just don’t like unpredictability."

"All wise men are like that."

"I'll assign Tizik to you. Bring my axe down on that bastard's neck."

"Yes, Lady Rakula."

"Tch, making this old man work again…"

The reporting ranger, Tizik, made a show of patting his back.

"Turg."

Rakula gave a sly smile and whispered to Turg,

"Even if everything else goes to hell, that man must die."

"Yes. I will keep that in mind."

Rakula leaned back into the chair with a quiet chuckle.

It was an unbearably uncomfortable chair, but for her, it was the perfect place to envision the course of the war.

That man… if only he disappears…

Everything would fall into place.

Not just planting distrust through poisoned supplies—she could strike from behind and lead the enemy to total annihilation.

Really, I ought to thank him.

Her legend would be written from this point forward, at least, that’s what Rakula believed.

***

In the center of a vast forest, two infantrymen leaned against trees and rocks, engaged in idle chatter.

“Wow, I really didn’t expect you to volunteer for this mission.”

The junior soldier asked with a puzzled expression.

“We’re far from the unit, gotta light a fire every time we eat, and there’s nothing fun to do.”

From his perspective, there was really no reason to take this kind of perimeter duty.

Back when they were on village guard duty, they could slack off here and there and maybe even get snacks from kind-hearted old ladies.

Even so, he followed the senior soldier—he was, after all, the unit’s unrivaled expert at avoiding work.

There was a reason he was nicknamed the ‘Honeybee of Aide.’

“Hey, haven’t you noticed training’s gotten tougher? That new officer’s been working us to the bone. It’s better to just stand around doing nothing. Don’t you think?”

“Well, now that you mention it, you’re right.”

The junior nodded instinctively at the Honeybee’s logic.

Training under Fade in this summer heat was nothing short of hell.

At least they were from a different unit and didn’t get pushed as hard. The four in Fade’s unit were practically dying under the brutal regimen.

Compared to that, this spot was heaven.

“Plus, it’s cool here. No one’s watching, so there’s no need to wear full armor.”

Indeed, the dense trees made the place much cooler, and since he had already loosened his light armor and was basically just wearing a thin cloth, he wasn’t even sweating much.

“This duty just got added recently, and you noticed all that right away! You really are the best honeybee!”

“Haha, is that supposed to be a compliment?”

The Honeybee chuckled and took a deep breath.

“Mmm, the fresh smell of grass... or is it honey?”

Still feeling a bit warm, he loosened the belt that held his dagger.

With the pressure of his clothes eased, a cool breeze swept in.

“I swear, Officer Fade is like a flower giving us honey. Don’t you think? Letting us stay in a cool place like this in the middle of summer. And he’s out there making everyone else suffer!”

The Honeybee chuckled again as he continued.

His laughter drowned out his words a little, but not enough to miss the meaning.

“Nothing’s sweeter than sucking honey while others are suffering.”

“…Wow, that’s kind of messed u—”

***

Part 2

Just as the junior soldier chuckled and was about to respond, a ranger dropped from the tree and split the junior's skull open.

“Son of a bitch!”

The Honeybee reacted too late, gripping his spear and aiming it at the ranger.

“Wh–Who the hell are you?!”

His voice trembled as he clutched the spear tightly.

"Someone who came to pluck a flower."

A raspy voice came from behind a rock, and then a dagger plunged into the Honeybee’s neck.

“Shall we proceed, General?”

As Tizik pulled the dagger free, the detachment led by Turg revealed themselves.