Do Your Own Revolution

#074

Roooar…….

In the pitch-black darkness where I couldn’t see an inch ahead.

As I moved forward through the thick smoke, a familiar face appeared before me.

“Eugene Lorentz!”

Claude Elcidore.

No, now he was Claude de Lascol, wasn’t he?

But something looks weird about him.

Why is he riding a horse in this era?

And what’s that he’s holding? A spear?

He never used things like that, did he?

While I was puzzling over these things, Claude came forward with a majestic appearance and shouted at me.

“You bastard son with three fathers! Revolutionary Army supreme leader Claude de Lascol has arrived!”

“What?”

Wait, what nonsense is this bastard suddenly spouting…

“You were originally an orphan, then entered the Elcidore family as Lupeon’s adopted son, right?”

Though it was just on paper, I can’t deny that.

“Then you made a deal with Keiren and killed Lupeon with your own hands!”

It wasn’t me, you bastard.

It was Maximilien who killed him.

I just delivered the finishing blow…….

“And now you’ve sided with the Emperor! Aren’t you a bastard after all!”

Along with Claude’s shout, the red horse I was riding seemed to express anger on my behalf with a neigh.

Wait, red horse?

What? Why am I riding a horse too?

And what’s this on my head? Antennae?

While I was in this confused state, Claude charged at me with his spear raised.

“Bastard Eugene Lorentz, take my spear!”

Who’s this bastard calling a bastard?

With a momentum that seemed dozens of times greater than what I’d seen before, Claude’s spear thrust toward me and…….

“Eugene. It’s time for your shift.”

With the thunderous sound of a grenade exploding, I was finally able to wake up from this idiotic dream.

“……Ah.”

“Why do you look like that?”

“It’s nothing. I was just about to smash Claude’s head in Hulao Pass.”

“……?”

I can still see that image flickering before my eyes of him rambling ‘For a bastard, you sure know how to use your strength!’

This is driving me crazy, seriously.

Now I’m even having dreams like this?

“How’s the battle situation?”

As I staggered up from the trench wall and asked, Matt, looking as haggard as I was, replied.

“After the offensive failed at dawn, it seems the Republic Army has exhausted their strength. According to Erich, we should be able to drive them out completely with the next artillery barrage.”

“What? Then I didn’t need to wake up…….”

“Artillery deployment isn’t under our authority. The battalion commander has to give the order directly.”

“Keeeeek-!”

You woke me up for such a trivial reason?

This damn army.

What’s the point of getting promoted? All I do is eat dirt in trenches all day.

“So hurry up and move. Your bunk is the only one left.”

And look at this.

These subordinate officers get more and more disrespectful toward their superiors with each passing day.

This is why they say raising kids is pointless.

As I quietly vacated my spot, Matt, who had finished his report looking half-dead, immediately crawled into the bunk where I had been sleeping and passed into eternal rest.

“Snore…….”

“Special Magical Power Unit 3rd Company Commander Captain Matt, here lies in rest.”

I should ask the artillery commander to fire a blank round when it’s this bastard’s shift change.

After finishing my solemn salute, I left the temporary morgue… no, sleeping quarters that had been dug into the ground.

This squelchy feeling of mud mixed with filth, the thick smoke, and the gunpowder smell mixed with burning corpses filling the narrow passage.

Taking a deep breath of it all, I opened my mouth with a refreshed and invigorating expression.

“Another shitty day.”

Where I’m standing is Hill 774 on the Western Front.

In this hellscape where ownership changes three times a day, I and the Special Magical Power Unit have endured for two weeks.

Two weeks.

These two weeks that the Special Magical Power Unit has held this hill have given the Imperial Army many options.

“Lieutenant Colonel Eugene-!”

The ten artillery pieces deployed on one side of the hill were also one of those many options.

Instead of answering the voice calling my name, I gave hand signals to the artillery officer.

Begin bombardment.

The artillery officer immediately loaded shells into the prepared artillery pieces, and after confirming this, I immediately walked toward the front line of trenches.

“Eugene!”

The one who approached me wearing lieutenant rank insignia was 2nd Company Commander Ortega.

After I delivered the news that artillery preparations were complete, Ortega smiled, showing his teeth, and climbed up onto the trench.

Occasional shots from Republic Army snipers.

But as if that didn’t matter at all, Ortega spread both arms and shouted toward his company members.

“2nd Company-!”

“Waaaaaah—!”

“We’re going to crack those Republic bastards’ skulls soon! Anyone want to back out?!”

“Hu-! Hu-! Hu-!”

Moving through countless battlefields and fighting dozens of battles, Ortega’s 2nd Company always led the charge at the vanguard.

And as a result, the 2nd Company had turned into something resembling a bizarre cult of fanatics centered around Ortega.

“What is our mission!”

“Tear and kill! Tear and kill! Tear and kill!”

“Why are we here!”

“Kill-! Kill-! Kill-!”

Ugh, they’re like blood-crazed natives.

The 2nd Company members finished their assault preparations, firing magic bullets and activating magic imprints.

And the next moment.

Along with the artillery bombardment, hundreds of mages with defensive barriers charged toward the Republic Army position below.

The Republic Army, whose momentum had already been broken after failing three offensives, couldn’t possibly stop this.

The Republic Army’s position was completely annihilated.

The two-week battle for Hill 774 ended in Imperial Army victory.

***

“Ugh… Uugh…….”

“Snore…….”

Two days after leading the two-week hill recapture operation to victory

The Special Magical Power Unit, after handing over the hill to reserve forces, was finally able to enjoy some rest after returning to their base in the rear.

“With this, we’ve recaptured most of the key points on the Western Front.”

At the operations headquarters.

Erich nodded with a satisfied expression and drew a line on the military map spread out in the center.

The Imperial Army maintaining their line while occupying most of the high ground, and the Republic Army holding back to reorganize.

Seeing how different it was from the early war situation, Erich and I were lost in thought while looking at the operations map.

“What do you think about the current situation, Eugene……?”

“We have the initiative. However…”

While looking at the front lines that had entered a lull with only sporadic engagements repeating as large-scale military operations were restrained, Erich and I came to the same conclusion.

“This means the current Empire doesn’t have the capacity to subjugate the entire Republic.”

It had been about three months since the Special Magical Power Unit revealed itself through the victory parade.

Through the explosive power of magic bullets and mass-produced magic imprints, the Special Magical Power Unit was driving out Republic forces from various points along the front.

However, these were just victories in individual battles; it was impossible to completely reverse the war situation.

To push the front lines and advance into Republic territory would require enormous supplies, railways, and forces to defend those supply lines.

The current Empire, with the Revolutionary Army and magic nobles fighting each other, didn’t have that capacity left.

“And at the same time, it’s impossible for the Republic to reverse this atmosphere.”

Having lost all strategic strongpoints due to continued defeats, and with soldiers being constantly depleted, they were reaching their limit.

The Republic must be struggling now that the Imperial Army, which should have been pushed back overwhelmingly in the original work, was holding out like this.

The Empire and Republic. Neither side had any factors left that could change the war situation.

“The Republic needs to replenish troops depleted by continued fighting, and the Empire needs to suppress the rebels stirring internally as soon as possible.”

“You mean their interests have reached a point of alignment.”

If I, fighting on the front lines, had reached this conclusion, then surely the Emperor and Keiren were well aware of the situation too.

If so, that means…….

“The higher-ups must be preparing for an armistice agreement soon.”

Erich quietly nodded at my words.

The war with the Republic would end.

It meant it was time to turn the Special Magical Power Unit’s gun barrels, which had been aimed at the Republic Army all this time, in a different direction.

Magic nobles. Revolutionary Army. And monsters.

While recalling the options laid out before me one by one, I fell into contemplation.

‘First, the most urgent thing is weakening the magic nobles’ power.’

Whether sooner or later, the Emperor’s death would come.

And the moment one pillar maintaining the balance of power disappears, the nobles would immediately take action to claim the empty throne.

So, I and the Special Magic Unit needed to steadily build up achievements and expand our power.

For the day the Emperor leaves this world, to carry out our promised plans.

Then, what would be my best move?

A way to weaken the magic nobles’ power, build up achievements, and expand the Special Magic Unit’s influence…….

“Ah, come to think of it.”

While deep in thought, Erich handed over a letter from his breast pocket as if something had occurred to him.

“What’s this?”

“A request for support. They say they need the Special Magical Power Unit’s help?”

It was a familiar thing.

But a letter delivered to Erich rather than me?

Opening the suspicious-looking document, there was an unexpected name written there.

“Margrave Gloucester?”

“Someone came while you were at the front lines. Said they were a knight from the Gloucester family.”

Margrave Gloucester.

The eastern pioneer who roams the uninhabited areas in the northeastern Empire, purifying contaminated regions.

Someone who just watched while the Revolutionary Army caused trouble across the Empire is now personally sending knights to find me?

And not just to any magic nobles, but to the Imperial Army who were essentially enemies?

My head became complicated.

The great Gloucester requesting outside help – was there a similar incident in the original work?

“Eugene! I brought lunch!”

While I was thinking about this, Irene entered the operations room carrying a basket in one hand.

“Ah, Miss Irene?! I’m sorry but we’re in the middle of an operations meeting…….”

“Oh, I shouldn’t come in right now?”

“Y-yes…….”

Erich hurriedly stopped Irene with a troubled expression.

Just as a dejected Irene bowed her head and was about to close the door.

“Wait!”

Seeing Irene’s face, one incident came to mind.

‘Right, why didn’t I think of that?’

Black Sun Incident.

One of the worst events in this game that Irene would cause in the original work.

The trigger for that was due to some kind of experiment conducted by the Elcryer family in the contaminated zone.

Human and monster fusion experiments.

It was an experiment that Elcryer conducted independently to avoid Imperial surveillance, coveting the infinite magical power that monsters emit.

And the place where that experiment was conducted, where Count Elcryer who led the experiment died, was…….

‘Gloucester territory, Uninhabited Zone No. 17.’

The puzzles in my head fit together one by one, and speculation became certainty.

‘Something unusual must be happening in the northeastern uninhabited zone.’

If Gloucester, an expert in monster warfare, was sending support, there could be no doubt.

I thought this event wouldn’t happen since the variable called Irene was gone, but did they create a different test subject?

If that’s the case.

If the Black Sun Incident happens again……!

‘I must stop it.’

‘Irene Elcryer’ was one of the highest difficulty boss monsters in all of [Revolution Empire].

If not eliminated at first encounter, she becomes an existence that leads the entire game scenario to a bad ending.

And the Black Sun Incident becomes the branching point for that bad ending route.

If left alone, it could cause a catastrophe that would shake the entire continent.

To the extent that the Revolutionary Army and magic nobles had to temporarily cooperate to stop it.

“Eugene, what’s wrong?”

I looked at Irene who was tilting her head while holding my hand.

Those amethyst eyes looking at me with innocent eyes.

What lies dormant in those eyes, only I would know at this point.

“Irene.”

“Yes!”

Looking at Irene who answered energetically, I opened my mouth with a smile.

“How about we have a talk with your family after a long while?”

“……?”

The Special Magical Power Unit’s next destination was decided.

Gloucester territory.

We had to kill Count Elcryer, who was conducting secret experiments there.