Chapter 35: State Your Opinion
After leading the prisoners to the division headquarters at the outpost, Daniel sent the wounded soldiers to the medical unit and began to unpack.
He had just caught his breath and was about to pour himself a glass of officer-issue whiskey to ease his exhaustion, but the timing wasn't right.
“Captain Daniel Steiner? The division commander has summoned you.”
With no time to rest, Daniel nodded and followed the division commander's adjutant to the temporary operations headquarters.
The exterior of the building was intact, but inside, the corridors were littered with stone debris and splinters of wood.
It was a far cry from the splendid, immaculate corridors of the Staff Headquarters, which were reminiscent of a hotel.
Well, we did just drive out the Kingdom's army and take over this building...
He couldn't very well complain that it hadn't been cleaned yet.
Besides, only a madman would demand cleanliness on a battlefield where bullets were flying.
Mulling over these thoughts, Daniel made his way through the temporary headquarters and arrived at the operations command center on the third floor.
The adjutant knocked to announce Daniel's arrival, and a voice from within called for them to enter.
With a nod, the adjutant opened the door, and Daniel saw Major General Pelderaham seated at the head of a large, round table.
Pelderaham, whose large frame made the table seem small, raised a thick eyebrow and looked at Daniel.
His presence alone was intimidating enough, but the table was also lined with numerous other high-ranking officers.
The lowest-ranking officer in the room was a major.
It was safe to say that every star of the division command was gathered here.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
Heinrich caught his eye and gave a subtle wave of acknowledgement, but it only made Daniel feel uncomfortable.
Sighing inwardly, Daniel stepped into the command center and gave a sharp salute.
“Your Excellency! I was told you summoned me!”
Pelderaham let out a low chuckle and returned the salute.
“Yes. I called you in to cross-reference the radio operator's report. It says you attacked an enemy supply battalion, killing 135 and capturing 192. Is that correct?”
Daniel shifted to parade rest and stared straight ahead.
“I was merely lucky, Your Excellency.”
“Enough with the modesty. There's too much here that luck can't explain. More importantly, Captain Daniel Steiner, did you learn anything about the enemy's supply route?”
The supply route? He had simply intercepted the supply battalion; he had no idea about their route.
“My apologies, Your Excellency. I was unable to determine their route.”
“And the possibility of interrogating the battalion commander you captured?”
“From what I could gather, he's a man of strong conviction. I doubt he'd break, even under intense interrogation.”
Murmurs of disappointment rippled through the room at Daniel's response.
They were desperate to find the enemy's supply route, and Daniel's answer was a letdown.
But no one there dared to criticize him.
The merits of his achievement were too brilliant to be tarnished by a few disappointing words.
“I appreciate your honesty. It's much better than the other staff officers who are all talk.”
Pelderaham glanced around the table before turning his gaze back to Daniel.
“In that case, Captain Daniel, tell me what you think the enemy's supply route might be. A guess is fine. I want to keep all possibilities open.”
All eyes in the room focused on Daniel.
In the heavy silence, Daniel thought.
Wait a minute. If I say something completely ridiculous here...
He wouldn't just be disappointing the division commander; he could leave a terrible impression on every field-grade officer present.
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to send his performance evaluation straight to hell?
An opportunity like this was rare. Taking a deep breath, Daniel threw out the first thing that came to mind.
“Underground tunnels... that is, dugouts.”
The command center stirred at the mention of underground tunnels as the enemy's supply route.
A colonel who appeared to be a regimental commander frowned.
“Captain Daniel. Isn't that a bit of a stretch? The distance from where you attacked the supply battalion to Nordia is about 58 kilometers. Are you suggesting a tunnel of that length actually exists?”
It seemed they could accept the existence of a tunnel, but not one so long.
They'd probably faint if they knew the Vietnamese had built a 250-kilometer network of underground tunnels.
But to men who had never experienced the Vietnam War, such a long-range tunnel system was more than just unfamiliar; it was in the realm of the unknown.
“It's just common sense! A 58-kilometer tunnel is unbelievable!”
“But the enemy is getting supplies with no naval or air support, right through our tight siege! Underground tunnels would explain everything!”
“No matter how tight the siege, there are bound to be gaps. It's more realistic to assume they're slipping through one of those.”
The officers at the table began to argue amongst themselves.
Having unintentionally started the fight, Daniel could only stand there in awkward silence.
As the voices grew louder, Pelderaham raised a hand to silence them.
“Enough. Let's hear more from Captain Daniel. Do you have a reason to be so certain that their supply route is an underground tunnel?”
He didn't. But he could certainly invent one.
“The enemy soldiers were all lightly armed, as if they didn't expect to encounter any resistance. If they were breaking through our siege lines, they would have been heavily armed.”
“That's not reason enough.”
“That's true. But every single one of those lightly armed soldiers was carrying a portable flashlight. As if they were expecting to pass through somewhere dark... and quickly.”
Flashlights? It wasn't strange for a soldier to carry one, but portable flashlights were not part of the standard issue for the Kingdom's supply corps.
“Hmm.”
As a pensive Pelderaham tapped his fingers on the table, Daniel continued.
“If the enemy is indeed using underground tunnels for supply, you must order a search operation immediately. This is a clear opportunity.”
“Why do you think so?”
“After we secured the supply battalion, I examined their equipment. They had radios, but all the batteries had been removed. I suspect it was to avoid being monitored.”
Everyone present knew that Imperial Intelligence had compromised the Kingdom's communications.
They had even succeeded in completely deciphering the Kingdom's codes, forcing the Kingdom's army to avoid using their radios at all costs.
So how was this an opportunity? As Pelderaham mulled it over, a realization dawned on him.
The enemy's supply route... could become our invasion route!
Delays of a day or two were common for supply lines on the battlefield, where countless variables existed.
Sometimes, supplies could be delayed for as long as a week.
Since the supply battalion was avoiding radio contact, the armored division in Nordia would only know that a supply convoy had departed from their logistics base. They wouldn't know anything more.
Which meant they also wouldn't know that their supply battalion had been attacked.
If they could exploit this gap, find the tunnel, send in a brigade of the Magic Mobile Army, and then march the rest of the division's forces on Nordia...
...It's a guaranteed victory!
He could almost see the impregnable Nordia falling with ridiculous ease.
Exposed to attacks from both within and without, the Nordian armored division would surely raise the white flag without putting up a proper fight.
Pelderaham thrilled at the truly demonic tactic.
His hands trembled with excitement, but he quickly regained his composure.
The tactic is perfect. But it's a matter of possibility.
It was a strategy that could only be realized if every one of Daniel Steiner's words proved true.
Honestly, he couldn't fully trust the words of a mere captain.
But...
It was a gamble worth taking.
“...Very well. Captain Daniel Steiner, I will trust you on this. I will order all available personnel, including the search battalion, to scour the area where the enemy supply battalion was located.”
“I am honored to have earned your trust, Your Excellency.”
Daniel spoke with a serious expression, but inwardly, he was smiling.
Underground tunnels? What a load of nonsense.
Frankly, Daniel's opinion was similar to that of most officers at the table.
Supplying troops through a super-long underground tunnel defied common sense. It was patently absurd.
The more realistic scenario was that there was a hole somewhere in the siege line that the enemy was using to bring in supplies by land.
And even if there is a tunnel...
The Kingdom's army wouldn't be stupid. They would have hidden it thoroughly, making it nearly impossible to find.
As a result, I'll be the one responsible for throwing the Imperial Army into chaos...
His performance review would plummet, and he would easily earn the division commander's ire.
Then, he could finally cover up the "competence" he'd stumbled into with "incompetence."
Daniel let a small smile slip, thinking he might even be lucky enough to be discharged.
Seeing it, Pelderaham drew a sharp breath.
He's smiling? Is he that confident in the operation he proposed?
Even competent staff officers were usually anxious that their predictions might be wrong, yet Daniel was smiling.
And he was doing so while discussing a plan that would lead to the slaughter of the enemy.
In that moment, Pelderaham felt his impression of Daniel completely change.
An elite staff officer from HQ? The Hero of the Capital?
What laughable titles.
Pelderaham stared at Daniel and gave a savage grin.
In Pelderaham's eyes, Daniel Steiner was a magnificent, bloodthirsty warrior.
*
Late that night.
A search battalion under the division's command.
“You really think there's an underground tunnel around here?”
“Beats me. Orders are orders. Can't say I believe it, though...”
The soldiers of the search battalion grumbled as they walked.
Headquarters had suddenly ordered them to search the area where the enemy supply battalion was captured, and they had been wandering around for six hours already.
But they hadn't found so much as an animal burrow, let alone an underground tunnel.
Just as they were wondering how much longer they had to keep up this foolish task...
Thump...
The sound that echoed wasn't of earth, but of a metal plate.
Wondering what it was, he looked down, but the ground was covered with branches and countless leaves, making it impossible to see what he had stepped on.
“What? Why'd you stop?”
“Hey. Did you hear that? I think I stepped on something. It's not... it's not a landmine, is it?”
“What? Shit! Hold on. Don't move your foot!”
A soldier slung his rifle over his back and knelt, clearing away the branches and leaves around his comrade's foot.
What they uncovered wasn't a landmine, but a massive iron door.
The soldiers stared blankly for a moment, then looked at each other and stepped back.
“Don't tell me this is...”
After a silent consensus, the two of them grabbed the handle protruding from the iron door and pulled it open.
A pitch-black interior was revealed.
“Flashlight. Turn on your flashlight.”
The soldier nodded, raised his flashlight, and pressed the power button.
Click—
A fan of light spread out, illuminating a set of stairs leading down into the earth.
At the same time, the soldiers froze in shock.
There was no room for doubt.
“This is...”
It was the Kingdom's underground tunnel, the very thing division command had ordered them to find.