Became a tyrant of defense games - Episode 112
◈ 112. [Side Story] Old Soldier) (2)
“Jupiter.”
Raina approached and calmly opened her mouth..
“Calm down for now.”
“Do I look serious now?! Why did the headquarters issue this order without even properly checking whether this was a military base or not?!”
“The guerrillas of the Camilla Kingdom army are vicious. They're hiding in every town..”
Reina shook her head slightly..
“And we don't have time to tell whether they are guerrillas or innocent villagers..”
“what?”
“It's already been half a year since the war with the Kingdom of Camilla began. It's winter soon. Just maintaining the front line is putting a strain on the headquarters... … . Don't you think we should finish it quickly?.”
“so……?”
Jupiter muttered helplessly..
“So, if there is any doubt as to whether they are guerrillas, they do not check and indiscriminately… … Burn it all down?”
Reina nodded..
“Because it's efficient.”
“efficiency?! This is efficiency?! Yes, it's efficient! It's very inefficient in terms of massacring civilians.!”
“Jupiter…….”
Reina sighed heavily..
“Do you know how many countries our magic corps has erased from the map??”
“…….”
“How many civilians do you think were swept away and killed in the process??”
“that… … Only when it is unavoidable…….”
“Of the enemy military bases you have burned over the past 20 years, how many do you think are ‘real military bases’??”
Jupiter's whole body became stiff..
I finally realized it. The truth about what you have done throughout your life.
Reina scolded, brushing her hair back in annoyance..
“You've been doing well for so long, so why are you giving a damn now? Really! Don't make people tired!”
“Whoop.”
Jupiter covered his hand with his mouth and,
“Wow!”
I vomited.
Tears and snot mixed with gastric juice poured out in a mess..
‘why.’
Throughout my life, I never even thought about doubting myself..
I just bombarded the magic as ordered. He got paid to fry and burn people..
I felt proud of my work. She felt proud every time the medals grew on her chest..
I felt happy to be able to contribute to the glorious advancement of the empire..
Everything was shit.
“You said it earlier. This is called war these days. Our job is to pour down magic from afar without leaving a single scar on the spot. Intelligent and gentle.”
Reina muttered bitterly..
“But if you look closely, this is reality.”
“…….”
“Meanwhile, you… … I was just looking away from afar.”
It was then.
Ugh-
I heard a child crying from afar..
“?!”
Jupiter suddenly raised his head and rushed towards him..
There was a small temple in the corner of the village. The crying was coming from there..
The entrance to the temple was burned and collapsed..
And there was a little girl lying under the burning tree..
“wait a minute! I'll take it out!”
Jupiter whimpered and lifted up the burning wooden beam. And she took out the child.
The left side of the child's face and body were severely burned, and his pulse was gone..
Jupiter looked at the already unconscious child's face and carefully held him in his arms..
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I'm sorry…….”
At that time, a voice was heard from inside the temple..
“Gu, are you a rescue team??”
Jupiter was surprised and looked inside, and there were survivors inside the temple..
The old priest and the bloodied children were looking at Jupiter with frightened eyes..
“Suddenly, heavenly punishment came down from the sky, and we thought we were all dead now.…….”
“…….”
“You came to save me. Thank you thank you!”
The old priest was about to come out of the temple with the children. Jupiter quickly raised his hand..
“no! Don't come out!”
“yes?”
“You can't come out! Hide inside, please!”
But it's late.
Soldiers following Jupiter found survivors..
“You are a survivor! here are the survivors!”
Reina, who followed one step later, clicked her tongue..
“You're so lucky to survive after being bombarded with magic like that..”
Afterwards, Reina tilted her head..
“No, is it bad??”
“Rayna, please……!”
Jupiter tried to ask, but Raina didn't even listen and ordered the soldiers..
“take it all out.”
“yep! pull it out!”
The soldiers rushed in and grabbed the priest and children and threw them out of the temple..
Priests and children screamed and knelt in the open space in front of the temple..
Reina took out a new pack of cigarettes from her pocket, opened the packaging, put the cigarette in her mouth, and slowly lit a match..
“Phew…….”
Raina blew out a long puff of smoke and looked around the entire village..
“Is the search over? Is this what survivors are all about??”
“That's right. There are no other survivors in town.”
“I'm sure it was thoroughly searched.?”
“We are checking to see if the building has a basement, but it is a village on a rocky mountain. There will be no other escape..”
“okay. That's it then.”
Reina approached the priest. The old priest was trembling, holding his children with his hands clasped together..
“Is he a priest??”
“Yes, that's right. Please have mercy. Children are not guilty of anything. Please at least save the children.”
“Depending on your answer, you can live or die. answer well.”
Reina asked after taking another drag on her cigarette..
“Where is the army of Camilla Kingdom that you hid in this village??”
“There is not a single soldier in this village… … All the young people were conscripted long ago and none of them returned. It's true. Please believe me.”
“Is it true??”
“I swear to God, it's true.”
“Right.”
Going to school-!
The next moment, a bullet of wind fired from Rayna's fingertips pierced the exact center of the priest's chest..
“sorry. Because the god of your country is different from the god of our country. Even if I swear, I won't believe you.”
The priest immediately fell to the floor, dead, and the children screamed..
Reina silently turned her finger toward those children..
“Should I even do something like this?…….”
In an instant, magic power gathered at my fingertips and shot out..
And Jupiter intervened in the path of the flying magic. I quickly gather my magic power and spread my defense shield..
Going to school-!
“Pfft!”
Blood burst out from Jupiter's left eye, where the wind bullet missed. Jupiter gritted his teeth and endured the pain..
Reina muttered as she chewed on her cigarette..
“It's sick, really..”
“Please, Rayna..”
Jupiter growled, the left side of his face soaked in blood..
“Let's say the reason they burned the village was because there might be guerrillas. however… … These kids are really just civilians..”
“…….”
“Why are you trying to kill me! Have you killed so many people that you've lost your mind??”
“Jupiter.”
Reina, holding a cigarette in her hand, pressed her forehead as if she had a headache..
“Who is the commander of this war??”
“what? That's right…….”
Jupiter answered hesitantly..
“Your Majesty.”
“okay. His Majesty has left his home. And Your Majesty?”
“……You are perfect.”
“I know. Your Majesty makes no mistakes.”
Reina let out a long sigh..
“Command determined that this village was an enemy military base..”
“…….”
“But, what? It turned out that it was an innocent village, and the command's judgment was wrong. Are you going to report that they mistook civilians for enemies and massacred them??”
Only then did Jupiter understand why Rayna tried to kill even the survivors..
“Are you planning to leave a stain on His Majesty’s command just because you made a mistake?!”
“ah…….”
“Unless it is. Wouldn't it be right to burn all the enemy soldiers here??”
“…….”
“So please, don't make everyone tired anymore, and get out of the way quickly. I’m not doing this because I like it..”
The magic power of the wind gathered again at Raina's fingertips..
Jupiter, who was looking in that direction, slowly lowered his head..
The burned girl was still in her arms, breathing lightly..
“……Pfft.”
Jupiter's teeth gritted. She let out a suppressed voice..
“……I'll leave it behind.”
“what?”
“I will leave a stain on His Majesty's command..”
“…….”
“I will formally complain to my superiors. I will report that the command's judgment was wrong and that what we burned was a village with only civilians in it..”
A bright blue venom flickered in Jupiter's eyes..
“I will testify that Your Majesty's command was wrong..”
Raina, who was frozen because of the absurdity, laughed in vain..
“crazy bitch.”
“Why are you going to kill me too??”
Jupiter glanced at the soldiers and knights surrounding him..
“Then, the magic corps soldiers and the heavy knights who witnessed all of this. I'll have to kill them all.”
“…….”
“I can't do that.?”
More than anything.
Because the two were inseparable friends,.
Jupiter believed that Rayna would not be able to shoot him. and it was true.
“…….”
Reina slowly lowered her finger down..
Her face suddenly became as cold as ice..
“Do whatever you want, Jupiter. Whether you protest, throw shit on His Majesty, or save the children of the enemy country you helped. Do whatever you want.”
Reina turned around, the hem of her uniform coat fluttering..
“However, you will have to take off that military uniform soon. You'll have to throw away everything you've built all your life.”
“…….”
“Now, if you pretend to be clean and be hypocritical, nothing will change. You stupid friend..”
Raina looked back at Jupiter for the last time and then turned her gaze forward again and walked away..
“It was like we were together, let's never see each other again..”
Jeez. Jeopuk.
Jupiter stared blankly at the sight of his colleague, with whom he had shared joys and sorrows for 20 years, walking away..
When I looked back while holding the child in my arms, I saw the surviving children covered in blood and soot..
These were new lives that she would have to take responsibility for from now on..
***
Jupiter formally complained to headquarters..
This was the first official massacre of civilians in Everblack Empire military records..
And this remained the only mistake made by the imperial command during the operation to occupy the Kingdom of Camilla..
It became a clear stain on the operation directly commanded by the emperor..
Afterwards, the Imperial Magic Corps was not used in guerrilla clearing operations..
Once the Magic Corps' bombing stopped, the operation was delayed even further than the headquarters' expected end date for the war..
It took several years to eradicate all of the Camilla Kingdom's guerrilla forces even after the kingdom was occupied..
And it didn't take long for Jupiter to be kicked out of the magic corps and relegated to the countryside..
***
One month after the operation.
Jupiter's new post was a small coastal village guard unit on the Eastern Front..
Strictly speaking, there was no Eastern Front in the Empire..
To the east there was only the sea, and there were no other countries beyond the strait..
Even though it was a security unit, there were less than five subordinates..
It was a clear demotion. The rank was also downgraded..
But it didn't matter.
He used all his life savings to build a house at the entrance of the village overlooking the sea..
Carpenters flocked in and busily started construction..
Jupiter turned around as he looked at the house with its pillars rising..
“here… … We live together.”
“…….”
Children with burns all over their bodies and limbs burned looked up at Jupiter with empty eyes..
Standing in front of the children was a girl with burns on the left side of her body..
The child was staring at Jupiter with clear eyes..
A violent mixture of guilt and the desire to run away roiled Jupiter..
However, Jupiter, who worked hard to overcome it, squatted down in front of the children and made eye contact..
“Come to think of it, I've never introduced it properly. my name is jupiter.”
Jupiter smiled, missing his left eye and wearing a cheap eyepatch..
“Should I call you grandma from now on?.”
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