Youjo Senki Vol 1 Chapter 3

Translators: SifaV6, Skythewood
Editing: Doopington, Rockgollem

Raw provided by: swiss Momo

 

Rhine Battlefront

 

In the skies above the Rhine battlefront, Second Lieutenant Tanya Degurechaff was mixed among the chorus of mages currently taking flight. However, the difference between them was that she was ordered to fly alone.

 

Why?

 

Because the higher-ups were idiots.

 

That’s why she was flying in the frontlines like this.

 

All for just very vague reasons which could be summarized in roughly three lines. Although from the perspective of the Empire, the situation at hand would be considered as an unexpected development, but for the ones that were being deployed onto the battlefield, this was definitely not something which could be dismissed simply by saying it was just an unexpected development.

 

If she learned anything during her deployment in the northern front, it was that there were no places to take cover in the sky. Apart from clouds, nothing else could be utilized as a method of concealment. Fortunately, mages have a certain degree of resilience in terms of defence.

 

Although mages’ defences were reasonably sturdy and difficult to break through, it was definitely not impenetrable. If asked whether she was willing to stand before sniper rifles which emphasized penetrating power, or machine guns of unspeakable caliber, the answer would without a doubt be, “No”. On top of that, there were no military units that feared isolation more so than mages. Despite all that, the higher-ups still ordered Tanya to fly alone in order to buy time for tactical reasons.

 

How could a mere Second Lieutenant refuse? Like a salaryman, she could only follow the rules of her employment. The thing which made her want to cry the most was that no noble concept of a right to refuse existed in the military, and the effort she had put into developing her skills in aerial combat had even earned her an Air Combat Technician badge in OCS. At this point, it would be useless for her to cry and say she couldn’t fly.

 

And so, no matter how unwilling Tanya was, she still had to perform an emergency scramble to lead the way for the ground forces. The mission given was to act as a scout for the air security personnel and defensive frontlines. The call sign assigned to her by the western forces command post was “Hawkeye”. She preferred this much better than “Fairy”.

 

“Hawkeye 03 to Command Post, please respond.”

 

Her temporary air security call sign was Hawkeye 03. Her task was to keep her eyes wide, look out for signs of enemy ahead, and report if she detected any hostile force. She would then maintain her distance from the approaching enemy and continue to gather intelligence while engaging them. Depending on the situation, she would need to take on the role of aerial guidance for the advancement of her allies while directly covering for them.

 

Regrettably, the designated air control officer was captured before he could begin guiding the troops, which made this job difficult beyond expectation.

 

“... Hawkeye 03 to Command Post, please respond.”

 

Taking into consideration that the unit had been attacked and radio communications had fallen into chaos, Tanya luckily managed to contact the ground control officer after a repeated number of impatient calls.

 

“This is the temporary 7th Field Command. Call sign, Lazard 08. Reception is poor but working. Hawkeye 03, please proceed.”

 

As a matter of fact, an aerial mage with the role of air control and security was essentially just a pair of eyes in the sky, a role in which all enemy units aiming for the ground forces that the pair of eyes is responsible for would designate as their priority target number one. It was the same situation as the one she experienced in Norden. For an army that was unable to maintain neither its air nor magic zone superiority, losing such a mage would be the equivalent of losing their vision, yet despite of this, no-one seemed to be aware of just how vulnerable a solitary mage was at being preyed on by the enemy.

 

There was nothing to be gained if they were left alone, so battle plans would always prioritize taking out such units.

 

“Lazard 08, acknowledged. I am receiving you clearly. Commencing support operation.”

 

“Thank you, Hawkeye 03. We are just in need of a pair of eyes. We warmly welcome you!”

 

However, a newly emergent situation meant she had to pour a bucket of cold water over her allies who were exuberant that they were receiving effective air support.

 

“Hawkeye 03 to Lazard 08. This might be sudden, but please give up on relying on my support. I have spotted a large number of units to my front.”

 

In the eyes of a solo mage targeted by the enemy, this couldn’t be helped. If they were attacked the moment they reached their destination, defending themselves took priority over providing intelligence to allies.

 

Tanya had no intention of displaying her self-sacrifice or taking unnecessary risks. She maintained the highest level of alertness to keep herself safe. No matter what, since she was flying alone, Tanya had to flee the moment she was detected.

 

Consequently, even though it wasn’t her intention to draw attention, she still used the full potential of the battle-ready Type 95 Operation Orb and increased her speed. Pushing her speed and altitude to the limit, Tanya performed an emergency climb to an altitude that would allow her to escape before the enemy drew near. She accounted for the possibility of anti-air fire and formed a protective membrane immediately beneath her which should be able to withstand a single hit.

 

The altitude she chose in order to survive was 8000 feet. With the protection of the “Lord,” the Type 95 made various capabilities possible and achieved new limits for the maximum altitude during live combat exercises. According to that madman, this was the fruit borne from the miraculous collaboration between god and men. However, the process that achieved this revolutionary technology was deeply unpleasant for a certain individual. Worst of all, not only was this device cursed, Tanya was the only one who could use it; thus she couldn’t escape her position as its dedicated testing personnel.

 

From a different angle, one might describe this as a “protection” or a “blessing”, but for Tanya, she was far from willing to give it such credit. It was because of a reason she did not wish to talk about.

 

In a manga I read in the past, a member of an infamous crime syndicate said that a secret makes a woman more beautiful, but that is definitely a lie. After all, the more you use this orb, the deeper that “faith” is engraved into your psyche. I was changed in such a way that I will praise the lord, and I long for my heart to be free again.

 

Nevermind. Instead of worrying about that, I should take care of the job before me. Improvisation is fine too. This is what it means to lose your freedom of mind under the pressures of reality.

 

“Three o’clock, mages roughly the size of a squadron are coming in fast.”

 

As she increased her altitude, Tanya used the opportunity to report all that she saw to the ground control officer. She grit her teeth, cursing the incompetency of the Imperial military brass in her heart.

 

The only reason as to why Tanya was currently targeted by the enemy was because the higher-ups had neglected the possibility that the Francois Republic would actually launch a surprise attack; just how could they make such a terrible blunder? Their most egregious mistake was the concentration of the Imperial forces as they tried to stay true to the theory of pursuit battles and attempted to maximize military gains, hoping that they could quickly trample the forces of the Federation. They even had the delusion of annexing the Federation.

 

Thanks to this, our own territory was only lightly guarded, a foolish move that invited the West to invade. What a tasteless a joke.

 

According to the national defence strategy of the Empire, the northern forces could easily maintain the battlefront by stalling the enemy. The strategic objective of the northern defenses was to support the eastern forces responsible for the northeastern border against its possible aggressor, the Union. As expected, since the force prioritized defence, it was hard to ask for a “complete” victory by just providing partial reinforcements.

 

In order to execute the large scale invasion campaign that they never expected to happen, Military Headquarters attempted to mobilize their reserve forces on a grand scale to finish off the Federation once and for all.

 

However, the mobilization led to a rapid change in the situation. “The art of war is of vital importance to the state①”; planning the military operation of a country requires caution, but the Empire had carelessly mobilized its forces. It most certainly might not have been part of the plan, but this action had already agitated the neighbouring countries.

 

Just as the Empire had planned on finishing off the Federation in an “all out strike” with the intent of securing a better position for future defenses, the Francois Republic decided to take advantage of weakness in the Empire’s defences and similarly launched an “all out strike” for their own benefit. And the higher ups who created this foolish situation couldn’t do anything but to say that this was unexpected.

 

For the Empire, this mobilization was targeted at the Federation to resolve matters between the two countries. However for the neighbouring nations that were growing wary of the Empire’s increasing military power, the possibility that the containment net keeping the Empire in check being broken frightened them.

 

The Francois Republic to the west was even more concerned due to several skirmishes with the Empire in recent years due to territorial disputes. With such a history between them, there was no way they would turn a blind eye to the Empire’s actions.

 

Feeling the chains that had long been restraining the Empire finally beginning to loosen, in order to completely break free, the owner was forced to take a trip away from home. For the Francois Republic under constant pressure due to inferior military strength, this was an opportunity they couldn’t afford to miss.

 

Ironically, unlike the Empire which had an intense debate over whether or not they should break through the military deadlock that was in place, the Francois Republic had no choice but to launch an attack in order to safeguard the effectiveness of their own set military strategy.

 

“Also, I have confirmed a battalion-scale ground unit at one o’clock. On top of that, multiple unidentified aircraft are approaching fast.”

 

This led to Tanya to having no choice but to take to the sky, and an Operation Orb she didn’t want was shoved into her hands before she was thrown towards the enemy mages that were now swarming her.

 

“Lazard 08 acknowledge. We will take evasive action.”

 

Be it the Empire or Francois Republic, both parties knew each other's capabilities to a certain extent. Of course, the Francois Republic knew the Empire’s internal mobilization strategy and the resulting stalemate because of the containment net.

 

Practically speaking, the Francois Republic’s defence strategy was focused on how to break through the internal mobilization strategy of their potential enemy, the Empire.

 

Their answer was simple: after the Empire finished its large scale mobilization, they would send their standing forces to attack bases in the Empire’s west in order to suppress and grind away the Empire’s war potential. Making their move when the Empire invaded some other nation was part of their overall war strategy, a situation they considered and prepared for.

 

No, strictly speaking, the position of the Republic gave them no choice but to plan their actions based on the premise that the Empire had already made their move. If they ignored the situation, it would be very likely that they would eventually have to face an Empire that had been liberated of the pressure from their northeast border. Hence, they had to act while they still had the upper hand right now.

 

I see, purely from a historical perspective, the northeast front could be decided in just one go. It would only take an instant. Going by the civilian view, even amateurs knew that the war would end very soon.

 

The Federation would be powerless to resist and would inevitably surrender to the Empire. This cold analysis was undoubtedly a realistic possibility in the future, but for the experts it was slightly different. It was true that destroying a country in just a few months would be quite rapid, but on a strategic level, tying down a nation’s main forces in one place for several months would be too long.

 

The standing army would only need a few weeks to finish mobilization and launch their campaign with ample force. With this situation in mind, launching their attack was a tempting option for the Francois Republic. Just like the Empire’s firm belief that their actions would break the chains of the northern front for all these years, the Francois Republic also believed that this move would resolve the national security threat plaguing their homeland.

 

The priority was the achievement of victory in the northern theater. In other words, the higher-ups stressed that this was a strategic level decision… That’s how it was. They were either too stupid to think of this possibility, or they thought about it but underestimated the gravity of the situation.

 

In the end, they were much too hasty when it came to directing a war. “A brilliant strategy for the Empire to avoid fighting on multiple fronts, and the sound of the artillery will soon herald the arrival of a new world order!” Such foolish propaganda had been broadcast repeatedly after the initial victory in the northern war zone suddenly stopped when the Francois Republic mercilessly launched their surprise attack. However for the people in the frontlines, the only use the propaganda had was to be the butt of jokes for a method to pass the time by mocking the foolishness of the higher-ups. At most, it made them want to scream that if the military brass were able to spare the effort to send over such useless propaganda to the frontlines, they should hurry up and send more men and resources over.

 

Instead of righteousness and ideology, it would be troublesome if they didn’t deal with the reality before them.

 

“The vanguard of the enemy mage squadrons have already spotted me, and is approaching fast.”

 

Reality was cruel and simple. The troops stationed at the Western Front were forced to be a punching bag that was unable to strike back until the main forces returned from the north. Even the Training Department had to dispatch their prototypical units onto the frontlines under the pretext of it being part of a live combat evaluation, which was definitely a sign that suggested the Empire has been pushed to its limits.

 

For the experimental and research-oriented troops of the Training Department to have been committed to the frontlines, such a move was usually only done when a country was just steps away from destruction. Of course, these units all possessed a certain amount of training and could be utilized for emergencies, which was why Tanya, who was supposed to remain behind in the laboratories of the homeland, ended up in the frontlines due to her nation’s panic when faced with the current unexpected development on the western front.

 

“Lazard 08 to Hawkeye 03. We will send support immediately.”

 

“Hawkeye 03 to Lazard 08. I won’t be expecting much, but thank you for your help.”

 

Tanya responded back and began to exit the battle zone at the same time. She was permitted to retreat at her own discretion this time, so she might as well make the most out of it.

 

“I will be leaving this airspace.”

 

“Hawkeye 03, best of luck!”

 

On the battlefield, support from allies might be your only hope. Yet in actual fact, reinforcements arriving in time was a rare occurrence, as Tanya knew very well from history and her past experience. Holding expectations for unreliable reinforcements and betting one’s life on optimistic speculations were examples of foolishness; that was why she decided to focus on making a retreat.

 

“Hawkeye 03, acknowledged.”

 

Considering the cards she had on hand, Tanya could not help but to turn melancholic. However, on her vexed and bitter face was the awareness that she still had to face reality. Her blue eyes, that were like a philosopher craving for the wisdom of mankind, showed anxiety and annoyance; a small child-like groan could be heard escaping from her petite mouth, it was the display of wrath over the current unreasonable situation.

 

“... Ugh…”

 

However, the worries of Tanya Degurechaff were very simple. It was the anger of forcing her to perform a task which was above that of her pay grade, and the resentment over a black-hearted career that couldn’t completely guarantee safety guidelines. This made her willing to accept the existence of labor unions and wished from the bottom of her heart for labour laws to be passed.

 

It could be said that this was a result of the dissatisfaction of an individual against the logically reasonable actions performed by the military. In order to relieve the fatigue of all aviation personnel so that they could maintain concentration during consecutive days of intense battle, the military would generously supply them with food containing high amounts of calories. In fact, having a high calorie diet was an obligation for the mages and pilots in the Imperial military.

 

But even so, when asked regarding the subject about the consumption of methamphetamine②, things became slightly complicated for Tanya. However, the more pressing matter that she was hesitating at the moment was something far worse than any drug out there, given in the form of the collaboration between that madman and a certain Existence X, to which Tanya had already received instructions that she was to make use of it as her final trump card. I really should have tossed it away long ago.

 

That was just how unwilling she was about using the Type 95. From the bottom of her heart she did not wish to ever use the Operation Orb that had been blessed by the gods, but what if she end up in a situation where she must rely on it in order to survive? It really was the most troublesome dilemma that Tanya had ever faced.

 

 

For the 228th Mage Recon Squadron of the Republic commanded by First Lieutenant Michel Housman, today should have been just like any other day. The unit at the furthest forefront of the Francois Republic had successfully conducted a tactical surprise attack. For vanguards like them, even if the effect of the surprise attack was wearing off and their mission was relabelled as an assault, the essence remained the same.

 

Robbing the eyes of the Imperial army that was trying to recover from chaos on one end and cutting off their communications on the other. Isolating the enemy forces and stopping them from building an organized line of defence, and assisting the troops that would be following to widen the breach. It was the same charge this group of veterans led by First Lieutenant Housman had received a few days ago.

 

However, on the actual battlefield, there was no foreshadowing of things like in the novels or the movies. Not for any given situation.

 

“Golf 01 to CP (Command Post). Encountered enemy sentry.”

 

“CP, acknowledged. We believe it is a lookout posted by nearby combatants. Eliminate them immediately, and continue searching for the location of the main enemy force.”

 

An unlucky fellow. That was the impression First Lieutenant Housman had. After all, that mage was being chased by a squadron of mages, and on top of that, it was his squadron, the vanguard of the entire army. The difference in strength was obvious. That was why the enemy mage chose to flee when he caught sight of us.

 

Based on the way the enemy had responded, Housman immediately understood that the opponent was highly skilled and capable of making quick decisions. After all, he had already climbed to an impractical altitude of 8000 feet. That was the reason why Michel thought the mage was unlucky. No matter how much skill one possesses, unlucky soldiers never live long.

 

“Golf 01, acknowledged. But an altitude of 8000 feet, what a desperate height…”

 

Even though the opponent seemed to be well aware of the difficulties involved in maintaining such altitude for long periods of time, but in order to escape, there was no other choice. Housman too was well aware of this fact. The only available options was to either flee to a place where the enemy would be hesitant to follow, or to fly at a low altitude and leave the rest to fate.

 

Normally, for units engaged in long-distance attack expeditions, they had a tendency of avoiding situations such as requiring to climb to an altitude of 8000 feet in order to conserve their energy. The opponent had the right mindset.

 

“However, the phrase, ‘It’s too high to reach!’ is only reserved for children. Brothers, let us begin our work in a gentlemanly fashion!”

 

Not allowing any enemy mages they encountered to escape so easily, for Housman, there was no room for discussion when considering the content of his mission.

 

“You all heard that? Good, Flight Mike will eliminate the sentry. Everyone else follow me to conduct force recon. We will then break through the enemy defence line.”

 

With the defence line of the Empire still in a very much weakened state, the situation at hand was greatly in favor of the Republic to win. This was the principle to which everyone involved in the operation believed in, regardless of whether they were a general or a private. They mustn’t allow the temporary defence line to stall their own advance which could lead to the main enemy forces returning on time to defend.

 

That was the reason the reconnaissance mage units were expected to further disrupt the enemy defence line by performing force recon, which was to offensively engage the enemy defence line to collect intelligence. If they succeeded in disrupting the line, gaps in the enemy would appear. Aware that the responsibility of leading the Republic to victory relied on their soldiers, they bore the resolve to never retreat.

 

“Acknowledged, I will catch up in a while.”

 

After the flight leader said that, Mike’s flight climbed rapidly in pursuit. And of course, even the elite of the Republic would lose energy fast at the altitude of 8000 feet. The standard bearable altitude for combat was 4000 feet, or 6000 feet at the very most.

 

In this sense, the enemy was quite smart in choosing the altitude of 8000 feet. In actual fact, this pursuit would probably drain the combat potential of Mike’s flight, reducing the combat potential of the force recon team into two flights. From the perspective of acting as decoy and dragging out the battle, the sentry contributed wonderfully. We are fighting an opponents that are worthy of our respect.

 

“Engage. Fox One, Fox One③!”

 

First Lieutenant Housman who fell into deep thought, had his focus broken by the radio message. Fulfilling his responsibility as a squadron leader, he listened to his subordinate announcing the firing of long-ranged spell missiles. At the same time, the enemy soldier before them made a new move. He probably realized there was no escape. The enemy turned abruptly and charged Mike’s flight as if he was hunting them. It appears that he was taking the offensive.

 

“Fox Two, Fox Two! Impossible— he dodged that!”

 

The confused voice that was conveyed through the radio contained confusion, surprise that he was attacked, and the shock of his attack being evaded. In a blink of an eye, the distance between Mike’s flight and the enemy mage was shortened to middle range as they were speculating the enemy’s intentions.

 

It was rather far away, but when Housman sensed that Mike’s flight was starting to get serious, he was certain that they could handle the situation. Was the enemy trying to stall for more time through close quarters engagement? For a tactic that was adopted on the fly, this wasn’t a bad choice. But the opponent wasn’t a squadron, but a flight. The teamwork in a flight made harassment tactics difficult, and the combat disparity was despairingly high for a lone mage to take on. He respected the courage and determination of the opponent, but this was a foolhardy move.

 

“Enemy charging! Scatter! Scatter!”

 

At the same moment, Mike’s flight spread out, changing their formation to counter melee combat. Their goal was to eliminate the eyes of the enemy and support their own follow-up attacks. The opponent they were engaging might not know yet, but the mission of the recon squadron was complete the moment he was spotted. The enemy’s “eyes” were taken out. Hence, there was nothing to worry about even if they were stalled for a short while.

 

“Three-burst crossfire! Prepare your spells! Firing, Fox Three! Fox Three!”

 

Deliberately keeping some distance away to intercept the attack and maintain their crossfire zone, Housman’s subordinates’ teamwork and skill were as good as the textbook ideal. The enemy mage entered the firing line of bullets infused with magic. Even if the opponent had the advantage in speed, it wasn’t difficult to score a hit for the waiting defenders.

 

But what happened next was beyond the expectation of First Lieutenant Housman and his men. The enemy definitely suffered a direct hit. The volley fire from the guns shot out military-grade explosive spells that could dissipate a mage’s protection membrane and even pierce through tough protective barriers and hit the target straight on.

 

“Fox Three! Fox Three! Damn it! Why is he so tough?!”

 

The moment multiple bullets with embedded spells activated, the enemy mage was engulfed in flames. Even though that did happen—

 

“That thing” advanced unabated, as if it was flying in a deserted air space and closed the distance fearlessly. They realized the situation was terrible by instinct instead of reason, but humans had already lost their primal senses with the advent of civilization.

 

“Mike 03! Check Six④! Check Six! Ahh, damn it!”

 

In a blink of an eye, “that” dashed into his arms and a mage bayonet sprouted out ominously from his chest. In a move just like cutting your apart your dinner delicately without any crudeness, the blade was swung away in one motion.

 

“Pan-pan, Pan-pan, Pan-pan!⑤”

 

“What is that!? What is that! That bastard! Damn it, Fox Four!”

 

A complex set of radio messages. What was that? What the hell was that? Through the lens of his binoculars, Housman focused his eyes on the scene unfolding before him. The terrible sight made him doubt his eyes. In terms of aerial maneuvering, Mike’s flight was the best in the squadron. They were being toyed with? … “Impossible—” he mumbled unconsciously. Were mages a type of unit… that could do this?

 

“Mike One? Mike One?"

 

When Housman came to his senses, Mike’s flight was akin to being paralyzed from the waist down. Mike 01 and Mike 03 were down, the receiver of Mike 04’s Operation Orb was probably hit, and he was losing altitude fast. Mike 02 was barely hanging on while covering Mike 04, and wouldn’t last long.

 

“Damn it, flight Bravo, flight Golf, turn back! Turn back! We are covering flight Mike.”

 

There was no way First Lieutenant Housman could ignore the plight of his subordinates. He hastily ordered the flights under his command to turn back and cover flight Mike at full speed.

 

But the question, “Why?” remained in his heart. The abilities of mages might differ from individual to individual, but could a mage be that good? According to rumours, some of the Empire’s mages possessed specially calibrated Operation Orbs, and used the large amount of mana they were born with to arm themselves.

 

Even so, they could match a two-man team at the most. Even those Named-level Ⓑ monsters were mostly fellows that utilized hit and run tactics. In a battle between mages, it was unbelievable for someone to fight an entire Flight head on, instead of taking out mages one at a time.

 

“The enemy is within range!”

 

However, as the squadron captain, Housman didn’t have time to worry about it. The Bandit is within shooting range. Wipe away all the distractions from my mind, and give the instruction to snipe from long distance in flight formation. It is a bit far, but it is impossible for volley fire from two flights to miss.

 

The opponent must have realized this too. Adhering to textbook air combat theory, he began evasive maneuvers. Everything until this point was acceptable...but the question was, how was he darting around so deftly, as if gravity wasn’t applicable to him?

 

“Fox One! Fox One!”

 

And the most unbelievable thing was—no, the nightmarish thing was the toughness of the opponent’s protection membrane. Even though long distance shooting primarily emphasized accuracy, there was still an explosion spell mixed in with the homing spell. Even if he dodged all the attacks, there was no way he could avoid the explosion that covered the entire sky.

 

But the enemy wasn’t fazed and started counterattacking, making one wonder whether this was a joke.

 

“I’m charging! Cover me!”

 

Golf 02 probably thought it would be useless to carry on shooting. He drew his close quarters magic bayonet and charged with a roar. That was the right judgement. No matter how tough one’s defence was, it would be impossible to remain unscathed after suffering a hit from a magic bayonet at close distance. Since long range shooting couldn’t finish off the enemy, focusing fire was also a reasonable strategy.

 

“Got it! Fox Two, Fox Two!”

 

In response to his charge, the entire flight advanced into mid range, knowing that it would be difficult to evade at such a distance. It was a skillful display of simultaneous volley fire, the tradition of the Republic, famed among nations as the “Named Killers.” With six sniping spells and one explosion spell used in place of a smoke grenade, their supporting fire hit the enemy mage directly… That what should have happened.

 

“He’s still there? How is that possible!?”

“Golf 02, break! Break!”

 

Despite suffering the blanketing mid-range fire, the enemy mage was still alive. He could still fly after eating sniping spells that could pierce half-baked protection barriers? Even though they witnessed such an absurd scene, they didn’t have time to think about the question.

 

As for Golf 02, who tried to attack from close range, he barely managed to escape because of the covering fire of Mike 02. On top of that, the shots from the enemy mage shredded the protection membrane of their allies as if it was nothing, taking out two members in no time.

 

“We were tricked! Damn bastard!”

 

No matter how unwilling Housman was, he still understood that he had been had.

 

The evasive actions and climbing to 8000 feet was a scam. A move to split our forces. It was common sense that combat maneuvers were impossible at 8000 feet…but that has been turned on its head. He played us like a damn fiddle, I made such a stupid mistake and my subordinates are being taken out one by one. Biting his lower lip, First Lieutenant Housman find it hard to swallow the rage of his subordinates being hurt, but he understood the situation he was in. They encountered a monster—an unknown Named.

 

“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! We have encountered a new type of enemy mage!”

 

“Damn it! And they claimed it would be an easy victory! Golf 01 to CP, emergency report! We have encountered an unknown Named, please permit us to RTB (Return to Base) and send reinforcements.”

 

Imperial Technology Research Laboratory Investigation Committee

 

Just utilizing the latest technology wasn’t good enough for a new type of weapon. The production cost, maintainability, and operative efficiency are all elements that dictated the value of new weapons. On the other hand, there were many elements that could only be evaluated after using it in a live situation on the frontlines.

 

It might be the worse news for the Military Headquarters, but the war breaking out with Francois to the west was a chance for a live battle that the Type 95 development team was waiting for. With the entire research team mobilized, they hoped the Type 95 would be proven combat-ready in the battle. It even exceeded their expectations in a spectacular manner.

 

“How was the battle?”

 

“Exceptional. Downed six, damaged three, three missing in action. According to the surveillance report, it was unlikely that the three that went missing will return to their base.”

 

It was acceptable even if the experiment ended in failure; it was a weapon that was completed through a miraculous experiment after all. However the experimental usage yielded amazing results. The accomplishment of the Type 95 was enough to earn the delighted personnel involved in the research plenty of acclamations.

 

And of course, the skill of the user played a major role. Second Lieutenant Degurechaff’s skill was indeed worthy of being awarded the Silver Wing Assault medal. Yet that wasn’t enough to display such a disparity in fighting prowess and obtain such excellent results.

 

“She literally took out an entire squadron by herself.”

 

She didn’t down all the mages, but still fended off one whole squadron. This could only mean she had an overwhelming advantage in terms of quality. It was hard proof that the theoretical values had been shown to be possible in a practical settings.

 

“Yes, to think it would reach such a level.”

 

Judging by common sense, this was an unbelievable result. Aside from revolutionary, there was no other words that could describe this. With this new technology, battle on a different level had made its debut.

 

“That’s right. Judging from the Elin Laboratory’s results, I thought it was a terribly flawed machine.”

 

The general officers who once doubted the practicality of continuing research lamented. After opening the cover of the after action report to check on the things that he had been worried about, only to find extraordinary results that wiped away all the failures so far in one shot. Since such a result was achieved, all the things that happened in the past were worth it. Even the cost could be minimized through mass production.

 

“No, this is machine is flawed.”

 

Yet a cold bucket of water was thrown in response to the compliment that was filled with admiration. The research department was well aware of the thought processes behind those from the operation side. A revolutionary technology, and hopes for a revolutionary improvement in quality. If the research department had to comment, they would tell you that was unfortunately a fantasy.

 

Since it was just a fantasy, they had to wake them up from it early.

 

“What do you mean? From the battle results, it was beyond our expectations.”

 

“That’s true. This is a product that can change the face of mage battles.”

 

The Type 95 had indeed achieved fantastic results. It was a fact. The performance was also vastly better than the current generation, calling it a next, next generation product would not be an exaggeration. The quad-core synchronization structure made the stabilization of mana in its physical form possible, allowing one to store and use it in live combat. The technology to turn this fantasy into reality made the operations officers drool.

 

After all, the technology to stabilize mana in a physical form like bullets provided limitless tactical potential. Using stored mana to fight meant the normal mana limitations had been removed.

 

“All the worries and critique raised in the past have been refuted in live battle. That’s how I understand this.”

 

This was the mutter of a certain general-rank staff officer. In reality, the facts trumped any debate.The synchronized quad-core made quadruple output a reality, raising combat prowess to a brand new realm. After learning the technology could work, the operations side craved to have it.

 

“There is only one successful case. Aside from the goal of testing this technology, the project was a complete failure.”

 

Nonetheless, from the perspective of the researchers, they didn’t commit the Type 95 into live combat in order to promote its technology. From the current situation, they wanted to find out where problems were, and so they pushed for its deployment when war broke out in the west. Putting the scientific studies aside, there was never any consideration of mass producing it.

 

“What happened to the other cases?”

 

The most successful case was also the only successful case after all. If they didn’t have any idea how to manufacture it normally, it would be doubtful if they could even make another one. For a technology specific to users that were difficult to find, having just one person who could use the Orb successfully made it impossible to mass produce this weapon.

 

“In one of the worst cases, the entire laboratory exploded, and an entire team was lost.”

 

It had a tendency to explode after all; something that will disintegrate on itself if the circuit was not perfect. If the Orb was successfully covered just once, it could be used freely in the future; this had been proven to work in live combat. Still, the success rate of the critical covering was despairingly low.

 

The worst case was after the failure to synchronize, quadruple the amount of mana exploded, blowing the team performing the test into dust. These included the trainers dispatched by the Training Department from central, and elites from the advanced technology testing team.

 

“...But, this can enhance magic powers right? It has a charm that makes it hard to let go.”

 

“The only one who can use it properly is Second Lieutenant Degurechaff. The best the other testing personnels could do is to not get blown up.”

 

As the developers and as researchers, they had to give a stern warning because of their ethics. The researchers who pushed for research to continue placed their efforts only on revolutionizing the scientific aspect, pursuing “the limit of what they could currently achieve,” but after thinking it through calmly, they are the ones who best understood the danger and difficulty of this new technology.

 

They had to understand this point.

 

“Isn’t there a successful case? Why don’t you just recreate that situation?”

 

“...Elin Laboratory almost disappeared. For the successful case of Second Lieutenant Degurechaff, even though I shouldn’t be saying this as a researcher, was the result of incredible coincidence.”

 

The level of danger in stabilizing mana in physical form through synchronizing quad cores was much higher than predicted. This was proven by analyzing the observed results after the experiment. The test succeeded miraculously, but if it failed, judging from the amount of mana that was measured, the entire Elin Laboratory would have been turned to ashes. Going by rational decision-making, they couldn’t afford to carry out another experiment as any failure would be devastating.

 

“You mentioned coincidence?”

 

“The instant when the mana went out of control and the core was about to break apart, the interference wave just happened to be in sync, and the core barely managed to be synchronized right before it fell apart.”

 

For the researchers, it was a mind blowing result, but they succeeded in the end in a baffling manner. They only knew that the out of control mana just happened to fuse together. Even if they wanted to test it one step further, in the end, they could only say that it was a coincidence.

If one really wanted to push it, it might be possible to recreate this situation by letting the mana go out of control and adjusting it skillfully...but such a conclusion was useless. This wasn’t a result that could be recreated normally. This was like seeing a lightning strike that just happened to carve out a masterpiece sculpture, and trying to recreate it manually by hand.

 

“Hence, the out of control mana triggered the phenomenon of the mana stabilizing in physical form. Simply put, this is a miraculous coincidence.”

 

Even on the experimental report, Engineering Director Schugel also noted that “success was only possible through the act of god,” which showed just how miraculous it was. An event that was nigh impossible. A coincidence that happened which was beyond the understanding of mankind.

 

Even Engineering Director Schugel who completed the Type 95 gave up on developing it. He expressed the conclusion that ”Continuing would be a sacrilege on this miracle, an arrogant move that disrespects god.” Even this through-and-through scientific expert concluded that “only the one chosen by god can use this tool,” which went to show how difficult it was.

 

“Which means?”

 

“Something baffling happened in a baffling condition, and it is being used right now. That is the current situation.”

 

Anyway, that was what they knew. Be it the principle behind it, or recreating it again, would require huge amount of time and effort. And no matter how they calculated the probability, the numbers were not worth betting on.

 

“Might as well hail Second Lieutenant Degurechaff as a hero, that might be a better deal.”

 

“...I agree. This will yield greater benefits.”

 

Fortunately, Second Lieutenant Degurechaff was quite young—to put it simply, she was a talent who received the Silver Wing Assault medal at such a tender age. Complimenting her capabilities would make things easier for political propaganda.

 

Cadet Corps Dormitory

 

I, Victoria Ivanovuna Serbiakof am a early riser.

 

“Visha! Rise and shine, Visha!”

 

“Uuughhhh, morning, Erya.”

 

Truthfully speaking this is because my beautiful friend will always wake me up; that’s why I could maintain my early-rising lifestyle. Not only was the kind-hearted Erya taller than me, she had a great figure with all the right curves despite being slender. Although she had such a great figure, she didn’t suffer from low blood pressure in the morning, and had a considerate personality.

 

I was shorter than her by just one centimeter and was thin too, but the heavens were really unfair. Erya had the same lifestyle as me, but her growth in specific parts of the body differed so much from me, which was hard to accept.

 

No matter who it was, after enrolling in the Cadet Corp, they would want to sleep for longer inside their warm beds. Chatting all night long with friends from the dormitory was one of the few pleasures we could indulge in after all. Erya really loves chatting through the night. Most of the time, I would retire to bed earlier than her.

 

Despite that, she always gets up earlier than me, that’s just plain unreasonable. This meant that no matter how much effort I put in, the difference between individuals are simply difficult to overcome.

 

I might be saying that, but I don’t hate this kind friend of mine.

 

Even if one doesn’t wish to, those who had the potential to be mages would be drafted forcefully, and dumped into the Cadet Corp to receive training. Forced to live a stringent and disciplined lifestyle, filled with the unending lectures of demonic drill instructors. The reason I wasn’t blaming god all the time was because of this wonderful acquaintance.

 

But my days together with this good friend of mine would probably end today. I didn’t feel this way all this while, but today, Erya and I will be assigned to a combat unit. I hope we could be posted to the same unit, but I probably couldn’t expect too much.

 

Instead of wearing uniforms, it was more like the uniforms wearing us, yet we were still real soldiers. Fate gave us the potential to be mages for unknown reasons.

 

And so, we became Imperial mages feared throughout the world. More accurately speaking, we were going to be rookies soon. Before I knew it, I became a reinforcement sent to the Rhine battlefront to the west and was dumped in the dormitory of the western army.

 

Due to my obligation as a soldier, I had to act as a shield for the beloved fatherland in the dangerous west, working diligently to secure the borders…or something like that. As a citizen of the almighty Empire, I did think about fighting for the glory of the country, but I always felt that I was too insignificant to matter. This couldn’t be helped, after all, my birthplace was the beautiful Moscow that was white with snow. What I could recall from that time was vague, and there was remnants of unpleasant memories of widespread communism too. Thanks to that, I experienced life as a refugee with my parents as we journeyed to seek safety with our relatives. I was young back then, so those days were just a blurry past to me, but I still feel unqualified as an Imperial soldier.

 

But I am very grateful to my uncle and aunt who took me in. In second place was god who blessed me with food every day.

 

“Bon appetit.”

 

Unlike the meals in the rear, the NCO (Non Commissioned Officer) mess in the front mainly consisted of vegetables that weren’t too fresh and canned food, and I have gotten used to them. Even the meal that tasted like a combat ration which made me cry a little when I reported to the unit on the first day seemed to taste better now.

 

“Are you listening, Visha? I heard the flight you are assigned to will be lead by a new flight leader.”

 

Meal time was the time when everyone gathered together to chat happily. And considering the time and place, the topic would always drift to our postings.

 

“Really? How is it possible to assign a new flight leader at a time like this?”

 

“It’s true!”

 

“Erya, calm down.”

 

However, most of them were baseless rumours. I once heard that the if you stay in a unit long enough, you would be able to find out about your posting, and even the posting of your colleagues, which sounded probable. But of course, even though we were NCOs, mages fresh from the Cadet Corp like us couldn’t even tell our own bearing in the army; seeking out such information would be impossible.

 

That might be so, but I was very concerned about my posting. Also my friend had a knack with odd pieces of news.

 

“But is it true? We are reinforcements, will they really let us form a new flight in the frontlines?”

 

“Visha, that might be so in theory, but I guarantee that this is true. After all, I heard the manpower officers say so with my own ears.”

 

Though the thing I was most concerned about was where did Erya hear all this news from? They weren’t grade school teachers; would manpower officers from the military discuss posting issues in the presence of others? …I better not think too much.

 

“Erya…Sometimes I wonder if you are a ninja that came from the far east.”

 

“Hahaha. A woman has her secrets, comrade Victoria.”

 

“Alrighty. By the way, you know where this flight will be assigned to?”

 

“Ah, it’s not forming a new flight, but replacement in a flight that was wiped out… that’s basically it. Don’t worry, I heard the flight leader is a veteran soldier who possess Silver Wing.”

 

For a brief moment, I didn’t understand what I just heard. When I came to my senses, my idling brain reacted immediately due to shock.

 

“Silver Wings? …You mean the Silver Wings Assault Medal!?”

 

“Ohh, look how panicky you are.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Visha has an expressive face as usual.”

 

My friend controlled her volume expertly, laughing softly without drawing attention from the other people in the mess; I will thank her later. But to think someone could receive the Silver Wings Assault Medal alive… Rather than being an amazing imperial soldier, that was more like being an amazing human being.

 

“Oh right, you know about your own posting too, right?”

 

“That’s right. I will be a forward observation officer supporting the artillery. In charge of slacking off in the rear.”

 

“You… If you are careless, who knows what might happen.”

 

I might be saying that, but the news that my friend would be staying in a safe place made me so envious and relieved.

 

“Uh-oh, you are taking it too easy, meal time is almost over. Hurry up and eat, Visha.”

 

“Mhm, okay… eh, where did my caramel go?”

 

“Ohh, since you didn’t touch it, I helped you eat it.”

 

After all, this mischievous person who always makes me angry was my most important friend.

 

(Several days prior) Imperial Capital

 

“Reassignment?”

 

A reassignment notice given out by the Technology Research Department that made her the test personnel for the Type 95 and treated her like a guinea pig. Second Lieutenant Mage Tanya Degurechaff, who was longed for this day after spending each day as if it was a year, accepted the notice with a heart full of satisfaction. Finally… Her application was approved. Her psyche could be liberated. She couldn’t wait to head for her new posting immediately.

 

“It’s a reassignment alright. The higher-ups didn’t plan to let an Ace idle around. You will be assigned to the 205th assault mage squadron as the leader of flight number three.”

 

Considering the fact that the Training Department had to join the battle, it couldn’t be helped if her posting was to the frontlines. Or rather, a mage from OCS being assigned to be a flight leader in the front lines was much better than being toyed with as a guinea pig in the lab.

 

She would finally have subordinates serving under her. She could now delegate the tasks that she had to handle alone in the past. Even if it left an unfavourable impression with the higher ups, in the worst case scenario, the subordinates could be used as human shields. Never mind, she wouldn’t do that unless they were very incompetent. No matter what, this was something to be happy about.

 

“And congratulations, Second Lieutenant. According to your merits in the earlier battle, we have decided to award you with the Flying Assault medal, but this might pale in comparison compared to the Silver Wing,.”

 

“Thank you, Sir.”

 

Tanya even answered simply with a smile that befitted her age. She then returned to the dormitory in high spirits and packed her luggage quickly. Still, soldiers doesn’t have many personal effects anyway. Even though she was biologically a girl, Tanya feels that clothes just needed to be clean and neat. The clothes she owned were just uniforms. However, as all the standard sizes didn’t fit her, she had no choice but to apply for a uniform allowance to have them made custom.

 

Even so, she didn’t even need an hour to pack this much of her belongings into her officer luggage bag. She informed the head of the temporary dormitory about her reassignment and appointment letter, and thanked him for taking care of her for this period of time. Her paperwork was done.

 

After that, she immediately headed for her assigned unit. In the end, this was an assignment out in the frontlines, so she could save the hassle of social etiquette such as farewell parties, and she wanted to take up the post as soon as possible. Hence, after receiving permission to fly from the Air Defence Identification Zone⑥, she immediately placed her packed luggage onto her back, and flew towards the assigned allied forces rendezvous point.

 

Fortunately, despite the war being waged, this was still movement between places in the rear lines. After completing the safe, short flight that took less than two hours, Tanya arrived at the base and presented herself before her squadron captain, reporting her assignment loudly:

 

“I am Second Lieutenant Mage Tanya Degurechaff, 3rd flight leader of the 205th assault mage squadron, reporting for duty.”

 

“Well met, Second Lieutenant. First, let me welcome you. I am the squadron captain, First Lieutenant Iren Schwarzkopf.”

 

As he faced the flight leader reporting duty with her assignment orders in hand, the squadron leader confirmed the document as he welcomed Tanya and completed the assignment orders. The two conversed as per military guideline about the business at hand also sized each other up with their eyes. After all, both of them were soldiers, and couldn’t choose the person who would be fighting on their side. Since there wasn’t a choice, they would like to know the character of the other person at the very least, or they wouldn’t be able to survive in the battlefield. This was a logical conclusion.

 

“Yes, Squadron Captain Schwarzkopf. Pleased to meet you.”

 

“Very good. Let us get to the point, Lieutenant Degurechaff. How is your experience with leading a flight?”

 

The thing that made Tanya happy was that from a first impression, the commanding officer she was assigned under was an orthodox mage. A First Lieutenant squadron captain. From his age, he probably served in the military for many years. Other than that, she could deduce from the medals he was wearing that he had plenty of combat experience.

 

Especially the medals commemorating his participation in numeral small scale battles; they were proof of his abilities. So from the first impression, Tanya didn’t need to worry about him being an incompetent superior that would be more frightening than the enemy. As she couldn’t choose her commanding officer, if he was like the legendary fellow who caused the collapse of the Burma-Imphal battlefront, she would have no choice but to mourn her lack of luck.

 

“This is my first time after being commissioned.”

 

First Lieutenant Schwarzkopf was also observing Second Lieutenant Degurechaff. He couldn’t deny that he felt baffled when a child had brazenly walked to his desk in the Squadron Command office. The message from the higher-ups only mentioned about sending him a mage with combat experience in the northern frontlines, and had a stint in the Training Department in Central.

 

First Lieutenant Schwarzkopf had previously envisioned in his mind a hardened veteran who had started from the very bottom of the ladder and climbed up to where he was now. After all, it was the norm for one to think a Second Lieutenant from the Training Department would be someone who had experienced a fair amount of battle, and being the veteran he is, it would be good to rely on in many ways. On top of that, as the possessor of the Silver Wing Assault medal, it would definitely mean that he would be highly experienced and a capable soldier. That’s why when he saw this brat who was younger than his daughter performing a crisp salute, he had second thoughts about leaving the most troublesome flight that only a veteran could handle into her hands.

 

“...Second Lieutenant, I will be frank.”

 

If her resume wasn’t forged and there wasn’t any misunderstanding in between, the Second Lieutenant who was waiting for the First Lieutenant to speak was indeed an important asset who achieved amazing merits and was sent by the higher-ups to the west in order to deal with the precarious western battlefront. But being a great athlete was different from being a great coach, and the situation made him bear worries akin to that.

 

“According to regulations, our 205th Assault Mage squadron should have three flights, but actually, since the early days of the war, our numbers dwindled to below two flights, and there hasn’t been any replacement for the longest time.”

 

That’s why a new flight leader and members were assigned to the squadron. Realistically speaking, even if the entire flight was comprised of newly minted recruits, First Lieutenant Schwarzkopf knew he had no grounds to complain. Although that was why he hoped the flight leader in charge would be an experienced veteran.

 

“...Can you command a flight comprised of recruits from the Cadet Corps?”

 

Saying it in a nasty way, a flight leading rookies couldn’t contribute, and were just a burden. No, more than a burden. This was expected; they wouldn’t be having such a hard time if they could spare the effort to babysit kids while waging a war.

 

Depending on how the question was answered, he would decide if an immediate change in personnel was warranted. In response, Second Lieutenant Degurechaff simply answered:

 

“Please give me the orders to do so.”

 

She didn’t waste any breath, just a solemn tone of describing the truth. Despite that, her eyes that was looking back at Schwarzkopf was rebellious pride and frustration th

Chapter end