Chapter 15: Trench
Outside the once-sealed wagon—
Chaos had already taken hold.
A handful of soldiers stood scattered about, their composure shattered, their voices overlapping in confusion. Even the officers—those who should have been restoring order—were visibly shaken, their faces pale, their commands uncertain.
This wouldn’t do.
No… this was truly disastrous.
The entire operation had been built on the assumption that we would remain on the offensive. The moment we were forced onto the defensive, the plan had already collapsed. There was no salvaging it in its current form.
“W-What happened!?”
As I calmly assessed the situation, the man who had been sitting beside me tumbled out of the wagon, nearly tripping as he landed. He shouted desperately at the nearby soldiers, his voice cracking with panic.
“We’re retreating troops! The Friez Kingdom launched a counterattack! They pulled soldiers from our lines to cover for some idiot marquis family’s failure—and that’s when they struck! It’s a full counteroffensive!”
Some time had passed since the war began, yet up until now, it had been the Kingdom of Lunoa that held the initiative.
And perhaps because of that… they had grown complacent.
That complacency had allowed the Friez Kingdom to execute their counteroffensive with ease.
“Recruits! I’m the commanding officer here!”
Just as the explanation ended, a man bearing the insignia of a colonel strode toward us from a short distance away, his boots crunching against the dirt.
“Here! We establish our line here! The frontline troops are retreating! Grab shovels—dig trenches! This is the new front!”
His orders were sharp and direct—
“Now!? There’s no way we’ll make it in time!”
—but utterly unreasonable.
The distance between our current position and the former frontline wasn’t great. There was no time to leisurely construct defensive trenches. Worse still, we lacked the manpower.
Roughly thirty soldiers had retreated here in a handful of trucks, and there were only eight recruits—including myself—who had been en route to reinforce the front.
Building a proper trench line with such numbers was simply impossible.
“But we have no choice—!”
“Out of the way.”
I cut him off, my voice calm but firm.
“Step aside… If it’s trenches you need, I’ll dig them.”
To make the impossible possible—
That was precisely why magic existed in this world.
Without waiting for permission, I brushed past the colonel, forcing him aside, and placed my hand against the ground.
Then, I activated my magic.
The earth responded instantly.
The ground trembled, split, and shifted on a massive scale, as if the land itself had come alive beneath my will. Soil surged and sank, reshaping itself in sweeping waves—until, in mere moments, an enormous trench line carved itself into existence.
“…Hah…”
A deep breath escaped me as I straightened.
The spell had consumed a significant amount of mana, but in exchange, I had created a defensive structure capable of housing two—no, three thousand soldiers.
With a little time to recover, I could even expand it further.
At this scale, the trench line could easily conceal an entire regiment of retreating troops.
“Earth magic…!? N-No—more importantly, what is this scale!?”
“Colonel Kernel, correct?”
Turning back, I addressed the man directly.
Up to the rank of colonel, I could just barely match faces to names.
“Y-Yes… that’s right. But—you’re only a private, aren’t you? No matter how impressive that magic was, your attitude toward—”
“My apologies for the late introduction,” I interrupted smoothly. “I am Noah, third son of the Willard Marquis family.”
“The Willard… Marquis family!?”
Aside from ducal houses—those practically considered royalty—the marquis families stood at the pinnacle of noble authority. There were only four such great houses, and ours was one of them.
Compared to a colonel—typically no more than a viscount in standing—my status was undeniably higher.
And I was the only one in my family currently bearing our name on the battlefield.
“By my father’s command, I have come bearing the name of House Willard,” I continued, my tone unwavering. “From this point forward, will you place yourself under my command?”
“T-That order hasn’t been given—!”
I pressed forward regardless, asserting authority without hesitation.
“I am giving it now,” I said coolly. “You’ve seen me before, haven’t you? Even if I don’t appear often in public, I’ve made myself… noticeable in other ways.”
“…Earth magic… but a marquis house… The prized son of that family…”
Colonel Kernel’s expression grew complicated, his gaze flickering as he processed the situation.
After a moment, he gave a slow, heavy nod—clearly having reached some conclusion of his own.
In truth, there was nothing so grand about it. I was merely a failure whose abilities happened to align perfectly with this battlefield.
“…My apologies for my earlier discourtesy. Then—what are your orders?”
“No need to apologize,” I replied lightly. “First, gather all retreating troops into these trenches. Then, we’ll ambush the enemy forces pursuing them and wipe them out.”
I paused briefly, organizing the plan already fully formed in my mind.
“Prepare a group of elite soldiers with strong nerves. We’ll place a small detachment in plain sight to act as a decoy—make the enemy believe we’ve left a rearguard behind.”
Soon, more of our troops would come flooding back in retreat.
We would absorb them, regroup—and then execute the strategy I had envisioned.
For that, I needed Colonel Kernel, their commanding officer, firmly on my side.
“…Wait—that’s—”
“If we do nothing, they’ll be overrun and die anyway,” I cut in sharply. “And in terms of effective firing range, our weapons are superior, aren’t they?”
I let the words sink in before continuing.
“We’ll open fire first. The moment we do, the decoy unit will fall back into the trenches. We’ll already be entrenched and prepared—while the enemy advances carelessly toward us. Tell me… in that situation, who do you think wins a firefight?”
As a weapons merchant, I knew the answer better than anyone.
In terms of firearm performance, the Kingdom of Lunoa held a clear advantage over the Friez Kingdom.
“….”
When I finished speaking, Colonel Kernel could only stare at me in stunned silence.
I met his gaze head-on—then narrowed my eyes slightly.
“Is there a problem?”
“N-No! None at all! We’ll proceed exactly as you’ve ordered!”
That single look was enough.
Spurred into motion, the colonel hurried off, barking orders at the surrounding troops as he threw himself into action.