Chapter 19: Offensive
Advance.
Advance—do not stop.
On the first day of the offensive led by Noah, the third son of the Willard Marquis family, his unit surged forward, carving a path through mud and blood, pushing the line eight miles ahead.
Advance.
On the following day, without pause or mercy, they pressed on another nine miles.
Advance. Advance. Advance. And still, advance.
The defensive lines of the Friez Kingdom collapsed.
Across the entire front, the forces of the Lunoa Kingdom began their great push—five, eight, eleven… twenty-five miles gained. The vital city of Yale, a cornerstone of Friez’s strength, fell into their hands.
Advance. Advance. Advance. Still, advance.
And yet, the war did not end.
Machine guns tore soldiers into shredded flesh, reducing men to unrecognizable ruin. Artillery shells rained down, churning bodies into fertilizer for the scorched earth.
Advance. Advance. Advance. Still, advance.
Then—stagnation.
Move. Move. Move. Still, move.
The army of the Lunoa Kingdom continued its relentless offensive.
Soldiers, advance.
Soldiers of Lunoa—do not look. Do not look upon the front lines, lest your minds be swallowed by madness.
Soldiers, advance.
Soldiers of Lunoa—look closely. Do not avert your eyes from the battlefield.
You are there. You stand within it.
“Ah… God…”
O God—bring this war to an end.
Soldiers, advance.
Forward. Forward. Across the lands of Friez—oh, God… please…
Advance. Advance. Advance. Still, advance.
The Lunoa Kingdom’s army crossed the river near the capital—the Loom River.
However, in other theaters, they faced counterattacks from the Friez Kingdom and were forced into a halt. The units that had successfully crossed became isolated… and were soon annihilated.
The war did not end.
■■■■■
The war plan devised by the Lunoa Kingdom—
It was a lightning campaign, executed through a neutral nation.
The regions of the Friez Kingdom bordering Lunoa were, of course, heavily fortified. Forcing a swift surrender there was impossible. Thus, their eyes turned to a small neutral country—Born.
Bordering northern Friez while also sharing a boundary with Lunoa, it was the perfect corridor for a surprise invasion—an open road into the enemy’s flank.
Lunoa struck swiftly, crushing Born in short order. From there, they advanced through the lightly defended northern territories of Friez.
Their aim was simple—seize the capital and force the kingdom’s surrender in one decisive blow.
However, within the first week, the plan shattered.
The lightning offensive succeeded only on the first day.
In Born, mercenary forces deployed counter-magic measures and engaged in brutal urban warfare. Faced with this unexpected resistance, the majority of Lunoa’s nobles withdrew from the front lines.
Deprived of its commanders, the Lunoa army faltered—its advance stalled as early as the second day.
Even so, Lunoa adapted. By assembling their own mercenary forces to fill the gaps and relying on their superior industry and technology, they reignited the offensive.
After two grueling weeks, they succeeded in forcing Born to surrender.
But those two weeks came at a cost—more than a week behind their original schedule.
By the time Lunoa’s forces crossed into Friez territory, the Friez army had already begun deploying to the north.
At that point, their numbers were still limited. Like Lunoa, Friez’s nobles had overestimated the power of magic and were easily swept aside. The initial offensive concluded in Lunoa’s favor.
But the true limit lay with Lunoa itself.
Having lost many commanders, the army pressed forward in a fragile, barely held-together state. On the third day after crossing the border, that strain finally broke.
The offensive was halted to reorganize the front lines. Troops were repositioned.
And in that fleeting moment of vulnerability—Friez struck.
Targeting the thinnest section of the line, they launched a counteroffensive. The front collapsed. A massive breach tore open across the battlefield.
It seemed as though the entire Lunoa army might crumble—
And then, a single reinforcement changed everything.
The counterattack was repelled. Exploiting the enemy’s depleted forces, they broke through sections of Friez’s weakened trench lines.
From that breach, Lunoa surged forward once more, shattering the fragile defensive network and resuming their advance.
…
………
“Damn it! We’ve taken too long!”
In the coastal city of Liber, a bay city of the Friez Kingdom—now occupied by the unit under my command—I ground my teeth in frustration.
“But even so, securing this city carries great significance. We’ve taken the port. We can establish supply lines by sea from the homeland—and at the same time, disrupt the enemy’s supplies.”
The capture of Liber—
Yes, it had immense strategic value.
But…
“What I wanted was the complete annihilation of the Friez forces entrenched here! And yet… we let them retreat. When we push forward from here, we’ll be stopped again by their reinforced defensive lines!”
It had already been two weeks since I first set foot on the battlefield.
In other words, a full month had passed since the war began. By now, Friez had finished redirecting its forces to the north.
Worse still, estimates suggested that the Austin Empire would complete its military deployment in just two more weeks. To force Friez into surrender before then…
“This isn’t enough! At this rate—gh…!”
The capital was close.
No—reaching the capital itself wasn’t even necessary. Just a little further… just a little more. If we could deal them a decisive blow—something devastating enough…
“…Noah-sama. Please, don’t strain your body so much. You’ve been pushing yourself far too hard.”
“Haa… haa… haa… I’m… fine.”
I had remained on the front lines the entire time. My magic was beginning to lose its effectiveness.
The number of bullets lodged in my body had increased. At this point, I could barely feel anything at all.
“It’s not over yet…”
No—the war was not over. My mind still burned with a feverish intensity, drowning out the pain of my failing body.
“Excuse me!”
“…!”
“What is it?!”
Just as I lowered my gaze to the map spread across the table, preparing to draft the next offensive plan, a messenger burst into the room.
“R-Report! The Austin Empire has begun its offensive on the eastern front!”
“…What?”
The words that left the messenger’s mouth were so sudden, so unbelievable, that for a moment—my thoughts froze.