Surviving on the Northern Front with Gukbap

Slapped on the Cheek in Jongno, glared at Han River (1)

Just as I was desperately trying to wake Legion,

Spot-!

There was a sound of air dispersing as space tore apart.

I turned my head, caught up in joy and surprise, and shouted,

"Battalion commander!!"

It was the battalion commander, returned after breaking the curse of 10.

The old man, with one arm lost, was kneeling, covered in blood. Thud.

'Damn.'

Due to the OOPArts' cooldown, the battalion commander had fallen to 3rd-rank.

And it wasn't just that—he had lost an arm.

The fact that he had survived against the curse of 10 in such a state was a miracle,

but even now, an eyeball was spinning above the old man's head.

"Are you alright?!"

Afraid of getting caught up in the curse, I couldn't approach and could only shout,

and the battalion commander, with an exhausted face, stared at one spot.

"!!"

In the reflected light of the battalion commander's pupils, Schutmann was seen disappearing as a beam of light.

He watched the process of Schutmann becoming an OOPArts, muttering in disbelief.

"Ian... Did you... do this?"

The old man's face flickered with all kinds of emotions.

No matter how determined you are not to give up and fight with your life on the line,

from the battalion commander's calculation, our chances of victory would have been 0%.

Yet in his absence, Schutmann was dead—the situation was understandably complicated.

Reading the old man's emotions, I spoke as humbly as I could.

"Thankfully, I've reached 4th-rank."

The battalion commander's gaze shifted to me.

He quietly raised a faint smile and spoke.

"As expected... This battalion commander's prediction was correct. For us to survive, the only way was for you to reach 4th-rank. Huh... huh. Khak!"

With a cough, the battalion commander spat blood, his body swaying greatly as he stabbed his sword into the ground, and at that moment, setting aside my hesitation, I tried to approach him—

"!"

The old man's blood-soaked palm was raised toward me.

It was a signal not to approach so as not to be swept up in the curse.

"Please give me a battle situation report, Ian."

A chill ran down my spine.

Even with death right before his eyes, his response was extraordinarily concise.

"Company commander Ralph, deceased. Company commander Lantz and Special Investigator Legion, unconscious. Company commander Hank is critically wounded... and soon, an all-out assault from the beastkin is coming."

"In that case, we need to retreat from here and return to the garrison right away."

As he spoke, the battalion commander's gaze landed on Hank.

Hank, even after his grave injuries, was still alive.

With the Fragment of the Firmament, his mana had surged, which was palpable.

I thought to myself what a tenacious guy he was,

and somewhere deep inside, I found I sincerely wanted to save him.

'Am I going crazy?'

Any chance I had, I'd wanted to utterly ruin Hank—

but now I was clutching the commander's scarf around my neck.

'It's because of Ralph.'

A brief flash of awareness crossed my mind—that the scarf Ralph had given me and the OOPArts were messing with my head—

when suddenly, the curse of 4 appeared above the battalion commander's head,

"Kuhk."

I turned at the sound of Legion's voice from behind.

Having regained her senses, she quickly scanned her surroundings and shouted,

"Lux Aurea!"

Once more, the Sanctuary area buff was cast,

and the speed of the shadow soldiers' attacks began to slow.

Boosted by this, the battalion commander brushed off the curse of 4 and spoke.

"That's a relief, Ian. That means you're not alone to deal with the aftermath."

Just as the battalion commander said, Legion was now in better shape than Lantz or Hank;

but there was another implication in those words.

'He's presuming his own death.'

It felt like he was entrusting Hank and Lantz to me and Legion.

As if to confirm, the battalion commander showed an unfamiliar expression for the first time.

"Legion, you've been through a lot, but I'm giving you my final order."

At his words, Legion knelt on one knee and answered.

"Please speak."

"In the event of my death, the next battalion commander will be you, Special Investigator Legion."

Hearing this, Legion's face twisted in agony but she slowly bowed her head and replied,

"I shall obey."

"Heh heh. Thank you. And Ian."

Unlike Legion, I did not kneel as I looked at the old man.

With a bitter smile, he continued,

"You are no longer just the cook platoon leader, but the Special Investigator. Take good care of Lantz and Hank."

At last, the temporary title was gone—I was now officially the Special Investigator.

But I felt no joy in it. Instead,

'I feel absolutely disgusting.'

The more the battalion commander resigned himself to death,

the more the words and expression Ralph had shown me back in the minor Demon Realm resurfaced.

― Ian!!

Ralph had shouted at Alec, who, at that moment, was even closer to certain death than the battalion commander now.

― Let's go back to the village.

That was the kind of man Ralph was.

A man who kept fighting, even when the outcome was obvious.

A man who could throw away his own advantage for a comrade standing at death's door.

A man utterly lacking in talent, but who never gave up on his dreams.

But me—

'Why should I simply accept the battalion commander's death?'

Already, three people had died in the battle with Schutmann.

Not just Ralph.

Though we weren't close, Pab, with whom I'd interacted,

and even Zaiya, who had loyally served me.

Given this much sacrifice,

should we just accept it again?

No. I—

'I don't want to helplessly accept my comrades' sacrifice anymore!'

That was the will I'd forged by surviving through Ralph's sacrifice and growing stronger.

With that courage, I spoke up.

"Battalion commander."

"......?"

The battalion commander's eyebrow twitched as if he sensed something in my face.

But, regretfully, I had already made up my mind.

"I thank you for the formal appointment as Special Investigator... but I refuse."

I felt a surge of relief as the corners of my mouth turned up almost involuntarily.

Of course, the battalion commander and Legion did not.

"Are you insane?! How dare you refuse the battalion commander's order!!"

Legion's sharp voice cut across,

but I answered regardless.

"A true subordinate must also be able to refuse the commander's misguided orders."

Flustered, Legion twitched her lips, and the battalion commander let out a booming laugh.

"Hahaha. That reminds me of when you once said you wouldn't become a soldier."

For a brief moment, I realized this was my second time disobeying an order.

Blood dribbled from the edge of the battalion commander's lips as he continued.

"But what can I do. I don't have the energy left to bicker with you."

His face looked grave and desperate,

but I had resolved to act according to my will, so my mind spun rapidly.

"... I think I understand your intentions, battalion commander."

I continued, facing the battalion commander whose eyebrow twitched again.

"You've decided not to hold out, but just to die, haven't you?"

No sooner had the words left my lips than the curse of 3 appeared,

and the battalion commander smoothly evaded and dispelled it, breaking the pattern.

"Hm. Indeed you have insight."

That smile told me my reasoning was correct,

but for Legion, who looked utterly confused, I decided to explain.

"Thanks to Legion's Sanctuary, the battalion commander can now break the curses more or less consistently."

By now, the patterns of the curses were all too familiar.

Of course, the pattern of 10 would be too much,

but he'd already survived it once in that condition, so there's no reason he can't do it again by repeating.

"As long as we don't get three consecutive 6's, he can keep holding on."

"Then why...?"

When Legion looked at me, confused, I looked at Hank and replied,

"The battalion commander plans to give his OOPArts to Legion."

He intended to promote Legion to 5th-rank through the Phantom Crest.

When a priest reaches 5th-rank, their buffs become stronger, and they even gain healing power.

With that, Hank could be saved for sure.

"?!"

Legion's eyes widened as she finally understood the battalion commander's true intention,

and the battalion commander clicked his tongue.

"As expected, you're astute. Hahaha. But listen."

As the battalion commander spoke, I took a sugar candy from my hardtack pouch and tossed it, cutting him off.

"In the end, if 666 comes up, you die anyway—so you want to sacrifice yourself now to save company commander Hank, isn't that right?"

"... Hmph. Maybe I should have appointed you as battalion commander instead of Legion. Hah."

Having listened quietly up to this point, Legion spoke in a cold voice.

"But Ian. Regrettably, I think we have to follow the battalion commander's decision."

In truth, Legion had a point.

If the battalion commander tried to hold out and failed, Hank might die as well.

It would be better for the one doomed to die to save another.

Apart from Hank's connection to the battalion commander, it was about maintaining fighting strength.

However,

"I don't believe the battalion commander's sacrifice is the best option. In fact, I think it's the worst."

Legion's expression twisted at my retort.

But regrettably, I had no intention of backing down.

"Suppose the battalion commander dies, company commander Hank returns to health, and Legion becomes the battalion commander. Can you guarantee victory in this war?"

"T-that's..."

Legion was visibly startled, stepping back,

but I stared into her eyes and pressed further.

"You both know that war isn't a numbers game. You've fought longer on this Granfen frontline than I have."

By simple force alone, Granfen and the spirit stone quarry would already have been overrun by the beastkin of the Red Rooster.

Our support and numbers couldn't compare.

Yet Granfen survived as a village where miners and prostitutes gathered, and endured because—

'It's all because of the old man's presence.'

Thanks to his strategy, Granfen had withstood and not lost the war.

If such a symbolic commander died, would Granfen have any future?

No. None.

In other words, my decision was a product of both emotion and reason!

"The moment the battalion commander dies, Granfen will collapse. That's why we have to think of some way—any way—to save him."

Legion's expression softened a bit, as if she partially agreed,

but perhaps still dissatisfied, she snapped back.

"I also think like you. If I had to choose between Hank and the battalion commander, of course I'd choose the battalion commander. But isn't it impossible to save him? That's why he made this choice."

Her reasoning was understandable.

I'd thought the same earlier, which is why I was flustered by Hank and Lantz's rampages.

But not anymore.

"What if there is a way to save the battalion commander?"

Legion's eyes bulged as if they were going to pop out.

"N-no way. Do you know a way to break the curse on him?"

Oops. Legion hadn't heard the explanation about the Ten Thousand Times Cursed Eye.

"If we find and kill the one who cast this curse artifact, the curse will be lifted."

"Wait—are you saying..."

Legion bit her lower lip, lost in thought for a moment, then asked,

"Is there a way to find that beastkin?"

Her calculation was clear—she thought it nearly impossible to find the rabbit beastkin before the battalion commander died.

But—

"Yes. I can find them."

Clang! Clang!

The sound of the battalion commander parrying the shadow soldiers' attacks grew louder—it wasn't just my imagination.

"Haha. I hope you're not planning to search recklessly like company commander Hank."

I grinned at the battalion commander's concern and replied,

"It's similar, but a bit different."

"?"

"First, can you trust me?"

At those words, both of their intense gazes fell on me,

and I steeled myself, deciding to shoulder their expectations and spoke.