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“Yes, upon verification… it seems we’ve successfully recaptured the gold mine base.”

At Tayren’s words, Seorael furrowed his brow.

It hadn’t even been a month since they received weapons and armor from him.

And yet, they had managed to recapture that hilltop base?

Seorael sighed in disbelief.

But then…

“However… sir, there’s a problem.”

“What is it?”

“They did recapture the gold mine base… but they abandoned it immediately and returned to their unit.”

“…?”

Seorael blinked.

“What did you say?”

“They abandoned the gold mine base and returned to their unit.”

“Are you saying they just left the base they recaptured and returned to their unit? Why?”

Seorael questioned, as if doubting his own ears.

“I’m not sure either…”

Tayren shook his head.

It was an utterly nonsensical turn of events.

“…Damn.”

Seorael muttered under his breath.

Recapturing the gold mine base with a bunch of rejects in less than a month was an impressive feat.

“But they abandoned the base they worked so hard to retake?”

What kind of ridiculous move was this?

Seorael stood up abruptly.

“I’ll go see for myself.”

“You’re going personally, sir?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“No, sir!”

At Tayren’s response, Seorael made his way toward the Makstri unit.

His mind swirled with questions.

“In just 20 days… they retook the base with those rejects…”

What kind of magic did they pull off?

Seorael’s pace quickened as he headed toward the Makstri unit.

* * *

“Do you know how to defend a position?”

“…Huh?”

At Damian’s question, the squad leaders blinked their eyes.

They had the feeling that if they replied, “Just hold it,” they’d get smacked hard.

Seeing no one answer, Damian asked another question.

“Alright then, raise your hand if you know how to shoot a bow.”

Two of the squad leaders hesitantly raised their hands.

But before they could fully lift their arms…

“At least 150 meters, hitting more than half of your shots out of ten. Assume the target is a person.”

Slowly, they lowered their hands.

Damian continued.

“As you all know, the gold mine base is set on a hill. There’s no fortress wall. So, the key is to set up obstacles, slow down the enemy’s advance, and reduce their numbers before they get close.”

Damian stood up.

“But without anyone among us who can shoot a bow, what difference does it make if we stay at that base?”

“But isn’t it much easier to fight from above against those climbing up from below?”

The third squad leader cautiously suggested.

Though he flinched when Damian glanced at him…

“Good point. You’re right.”

Damian nodded.

“But.”

Damian pointed outside the tent.

“Aside from that one advantage, everything else is against us. In that conflict zone, we never know when the enemy will attack, so we can’t even train properly.”

Damian looked at the squad leaders and asked.

“Let me ask you. Why were you able to retake the base?”

“Well…”

Everyone knew.

It was because they trained relentlessly, day and night, following Damian’s formation tactics.

“Under your guidance, Captain… We trained hard.”

“Right, but unfortunately, you can’t train at that base. You’d be too busy standing guard, worrying about the next enemy attack.”

The primary reason Damian decided to retreat was this.

“To defend, you need to develop skills suited for that. Understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes, understood!”

“Does anyone still have questions about this retreat?”

“No, sir!”

They responded in unison.

Damian smirked.

“Until you’re called, don’t cause trouble and take a rest. The next three months will be tough.”

He grinned widely, and the squad leaders instinctively shivered.

Every time they saw that grin, it meant unimaginable pain was coming.

“Th-Thank you, Captain!”

“Have a good rest, sir!”

The squad leaders scurried out of Damian’s tent as if fleeing.

And then…

“Heh, are you playing some kind of military game?”

Seorael entered the tent, having seen the squad leaders rushing out, and spoke to Damian.

Damian’s expression twisted for a moment.

“I was planning to report to you soon. What brings you all the way here?”

Damian quickly plastered a smile on his face as he addressed Seorael.

Seorael glanced around the tent briefly.

“No reason, just thought I’d have a chat.”

He casually sat on a chair inside the tent, smirking.

Seorael stared at Damian.

Damian sighed internally, recognizing that look all too well.

He knew those types all too well.

‘…He’s tasted money.’

Damn, he’s going to keep squeezing me for more now.

Damian cursed inwardly as he sat across from Seorael.

Seorael then asked Damian, “I heard you retook the base.”

“Yes, we were lucky.”

“I also heard that you suffered minimal losses?”

“Five dead and eleven injured.”

At Damian’s response, Seorael burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, that’s an unbelievable level of damage. What did you do with those rejects?”

“…We were just lucky.”

Damian trailed off, and Seorael nodded. He hadn’t come here to dig into the details anyway.

Seorael then asked, “But I heard you retreated after retaking the base. Was that your plan?”

“Yes.”

“That makes it tricky for me to report up the chain. Why did you abandon the base right after taking it?”

Damian suppressed a sigh. He had just explained all this to his squad leaders, and now he had to go through it again with this nuisance.

“…Given our current strength, I judged that even if we retook the base, holding it would be impossible. Moreover, it’s extremely difficult to train effectively at the base.”

The gold mine base was a battlefield in a conflict zone. It wasn’t a place where they could train without worry.

However, Seorael didn’t seem convinced and circled around the topic.

“Hmm… just for that reason… I wonder if the higher-ups will accept it.”

“….”

Damian knew exactly what Seorael was getting at.

Seorael furrowed his brows as he spoke to Damian.

“There are many questions among the soldiers in the unit, and convincing the higher-ups is going to take a lot of effort on my part.”

At those words, Damian opened a box in the corner of the tent.

Click.

Just in case, he had some extras…

Jingle.

Damian handed a pouch filled with a few gold coins to Seorael.

Seorael responded, “Oh, come on now. Do you think I came here just for this?”

“Haha, of course not. But since my unilateral decision put you in a difficult spot, consider this a gesture for a squad dinner or something. And also…”

Damian brought up the subject of bows.

Seorael’s brow furrowed slightly.

“You need as many bows as there are of those rejects?”

“Yes, I’ll take care of the arrows. Just supply the bows.”

“Hmm… it’s not impossible, but…”

Seorael hesitated.

“The day you supply them, I’ll show my appreciation for your efforts.”

Damian leaned in close, whispering to Seorael.

Seorael’s lips curled.

“Well, if you put it that way, I’ll see what I can do. I assume the sooner, the better this time too?”

“The more effort you put in, the greater my appreciation will be.”

“Hahaha, you’re quite a straightforward fellow for your age. Alright, I’ll have them ready within three days.”

It meant Damian also had to prepare within those three days.

Damian nodded.

“I’ll be ready in time.”

With that, Seorael left.

“Haa, it’s not easy.”

For a moment, Damian thought about quitting everything and just walking away.

* * *

Seorael was remarkable in his own way.

He was corrupt, but he got things done quickly.

Or rather…

‘…How much has he siphoned off to pull this off so quickly?’

A total of 150 bows.

Plus, as if doing him a favor, Seorael even brought a cart full of arrows.

All within two days.

“Haha, I’ve pulled some strings for you. And this… this is something I’ve prepared because I think highly of you.”

“…Thank you.”

Seorael pointed to the cart full of arrows.

“But because I overextended myself, the higher-ups might get suspicious. Supplying this much gear suddenly does raise questions.”

What he meant was that he wanted more money for his personal expenses.

Damian sighed inwardly.

“Haha, you always work hard on my behalf.”

He approached Seorael with a smile.

“This… is my token of appreciation for the bows, and this… is for the extra effort you made for the arrows.”

Damian handed Seorael two small pouches.

Though they were small, each contained several gold coins.

‘…I guess it cost less than buying the arrows myself, so there’s that…’

In some ways, it was still a profit, but…

‘This is why the military is rotten.’

Damian was beginning to understand why a large military like the Baroque Kingdom’s struggled so much against the Empire in the early stages of the war.

They were a large army in name only, with poor internal management.

‘When this is over, I need to report this to the 6th Corps Commander.’

Damian smiled at Seorael.

“Thank you, I’ll put them to good use.”

“Come to me anytime you need help, haha.”

Seorael left with his heavy pouches but a lighter heart.

As Seorael walked away, Hemus approached Damian.

“Shall we distribute the supplies?”

“…Yes.”

Damian nodded.

Sure, this much was fine.

After all, in his past life, he’d been through far worse.

‘Right now, I’m focused on just one thing.’

The reason Kiaran had sent him here was to test his abilities as a commander.

In that case…

‘I need to deliver results that leave no room for doubt.’

Damian had no tolerance for half-measures.

Results that would leave everyone speechless.

To achieve that…

‘Securing the gold mine fully for our kingdom is crucial.’

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy.

Even if these men learned a few tactics, it wasn’t enough.

But he never expected it to be easy in the first place. And besides…

“They’re more useful than I thought.”

They were criminals and deserved condemnation. But in war, they proved to have their uses.

With a bit of polishing…

Damian watched as the men received their newly supplied bows and arrows, already envisioning the plans ahead.