The capital city of Josegrad is the Sabbath's most developed city.
With a population exceeding one million, a notable feature of this city is the Volga River, which crosses through the city from the north to the south.
This wide, gentle-flowing freshwater river has attracted people since ancient times, forming a large city in the frigid land of the Sabbath due to its water source.
The water-rich capital of Josegrad had waterways circulating throughout the city.
The river is teeming with freshwater fish, and dishes of these small fish marinated in oil are commonly eaten as snacks with alcohol.
My impression is that Sabbatian food is often heavy on oil and salt. Perhaps it's to go with alcohol.
I feel like Austin food suits my taste better.
Sabbatian food isn't bad, but it tends to feel heavy on the stomach.
"Well then, gentlemen. We have finally returned to the capital."
General Blake, commander-in-chief of the Sabbatian government forces, gave a speech about 5 kilometers before Josegrad.
"In our hometown of Josegrad, there are countless lights from houses. Those are the lights of bandits. Twisted fluorescence that has been exploited and controlled by bandits."
"…"
"Seeing such lights must pain your hearts. That light must be returned to those to whom it rightfully belongs."
Unlike the previous assault on Fort Rusovets, General Blake seems confident today.
Maybe he has some amazing plan up his sleeve?
Perhaps he just felt victory was assured without much basis.
"Everyone, take your positions; this is a holy war. Let's banish the darkness of bandits and bring light back to the Sabbath!"
The response to General Blake's confident speech was as follows:
"Oh…"
"Ugh…"
The soldier's replies were weak.
***
"We're once again facing the enemy's trenches head-on."
"It's always the most dangerous spot. I'm getting sick of this."
As expected, Gorski Platoon is on the front line.
We are tasked with bravely leading the charge towards the trenches at our superior's signal.
"You look very tired, Sylph."
"Hmph."
Behind this arrangement, our commander, Sylph, is sitting in a bad mood.
Until now, she has stayed in the rear. Looks like she'll be taking command from the front today.
"Despite a comfortable journey, you're looking quite glum, Captain."
"Without asking for the details, how confident are you in this strategy, Captain?"
The soldiers sarcastically ask Sylph about the success of the plan.
Knowing that their lives depended on her strategy, the soldiers were understandably anxious.
"…There is confidence. However, I'm not the one in charge of commanding the operation."
In response to that question, Sylph sighed and gazed blankly out over the banks of the Volga River.
She seemed somewhat despondent.
"Then who is leading?"
"Our commander in chief, General Blake."
"Really?"
"…"
Sylph, lacking motivation, wrapped herself in her cold-weather gear and sat down.
There is a hint of resignation in her voice.
"What kind of plan is it?"
"Just wait and see. You'll know soon enough."
As I watched the trenches, wondering about General Blake's grand plan,
I'm a little worried that it's not Sylph's plan, but General Blake is the one who was appointed commander-in-chief.
Let's trust that he has a decent strategy in place.
Thinking this, I looked over at the trench in front of me.
"Now, let's begin our advance! Let's show the bandits our bravery!"
The signal was accompanied by a resounding brass instrument.
"…Um, what's the plan?"
"Oh, you'll be amazed to hear it."
At the signal, Gorski stood up and ran, and we all hurriedly followed him.
"It's a simultaneous multi-point breakthrough."
***
Since we had no time to dig trenches, we charged at full speed towards the enemy's first line of trenches, completely exposed.
"Isn't there any strategy other than a frontal assault?!"
"The war wouldn't have lasted for 10 years if there were!"
Trenches are so prevalent precisely because they are so difficult to break through.
Even Bern Valou didn't try to break through the Sabbatian Army's trenches head-on; he used the river for a surprise attack.
This means that even Bern couldn't come up with a brilliant strategy to break through trenches.
"The simultaneous multi-point breakthrough tactic is certainly effective, but…"
"That's something you do on the border. The range is too narrow. It's no different from a normal single-point breakthrough if you try to attack a city."
"Right."
Sylph's brilliant simultaneous multi-point breakthrough tactic during the East-West War completely turned the situation around.
The shock of this tactic was so great that commanders from various countries began to imitate it.
As a result, reckless charges misunderstanding the essence of the strategy became rampant.
"The key is to launch such a wide-ranging attack that the enemy can't respond effectively. Doing it now will just be met with normal countermeasures."
"Then what's the point of this assault?"
"It's just a reckless frontal charge."
Hearing that it's a reckless charge sounds like a guaranteed failure.
That being said, it's not like there were any other brilliant strategies out there.
"We're about to enter the range of enemy artillery. I'll withdraw here. I wish you luck."
With those words, Sylph retreated to the artillery positions looking exhausted.
In the end, the basics of trench warfare are frontal assaults by infantry.
…This was a common sight on the Western Front.
"Uraaaaahhh!!!"
As someone weak, I just followed the back of our valiant Platoon Leader, running through the battlefield filled with the smell of gunpowder.
What's different from back then is that the ground below is crusty and slippery with snow.
I moved my body, heavy as lead from the cold, driven by the desperate desire to survive.
"Anyone who doesn't fear my spear, come at me!"
Mr. Gorski's golden hair swung as he charged into the trench.
A rainbow-colored aurora created by the gunfire shook my [Shield] with its impact.
Mr. Gorski's blood spurted out, but he continued his charge without flinching.
"On a snowy battlefield, slide in the trench when you get close. It lowers your posture and makes landing inside the trench easier."
"Got it."
A Sabbatian soldier named Tombel from the same platoon taught me this.
Sliding is quite effective when fighting in the snow.
Snow that has been stepped on even once becomes very slippery.
"Ah! My leg!"
"…"
Well, you might accidentally break your leg if you're not used to it.
When you slide with the usual sense, your body will feel heavier than usual because of the heavy equipment you are carrying, causing you to misjudge the momentum.
"Ouch, that looks painful."
"Are you okay?"
Tombel broke his tibia while sliding in. I fixed it for him with Mr. Gorski's permission.
***
"Well done everyone. We have successfully secured the first layer of trenches!"
"Finally…"
After that, the battle continued for a while.
The regular Sabbatian Army managed to secure the first layer of trenches and concluded the day's operation.
"General Blake says, 'You've done well, now it's time to rest.'"
"We're almost run out of ammunition anyway. We have no choice but to rest."
"Platoon Leader Gorski, where's the food? We haven't received today's rations."
"There isn't any. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow."
In the Sabbatian trenches during the dead of winter, with temperatures dropping below minus 30°C at night…
We were forced to sleep in the trenches without food.
"Platoon Leader, it's so cold that my vision is starting to blur."
"Don't fall asleep if you still want to live."
"…"
This was extremely serious.
Without exaggeration, it was expected that hypothermia would claim many lives.
There was also a significant risk of our hands and feet freezing and becoming necrotic if left untreated.
The soldiers huddled in the trenches had to find some way to warm up by a fire.
"Permission to start a fire."
"If you're going to do it, clear all the snow first. The fire will go out if it melts into water."
In such extreme conditions, we built a bonfire to keep warm.
We used shovels to clear the snow in the trench, exposing the soil, and made a depression where the survivors gathered in a circle.
"What should we burn?"
"Candles…?"
"Are you stupid? How can something like that keep us warm?"
Fortunately, we had enough equipment like medical burners to start a fire.
However, there wasn't much wood or other combustible material on hand.
For this winter battle, all we were given for cold protection was a single candle.
"Can we dig out the trench supports?"
"Use them. They won't collapse since they're frozen solid."
"They're wet with snow, but if we dry them…"
"Smash them up. Break the supports into small pieces with a shovel and burn them."
The soldiers started burning anything remotely flammable they could find nearby.
We stripped clothing from the dead, dug up the wooden supports used in the trench's foundation, and gathered roots from plants in the trench.
This managed to keep the fire going for about an hour, but the fuel eventually ran out…
***
"Ugh, it stinks…"
"At least it burns well."
Next, we set fire to human corpses.
Yes, in order to stay warm in extreme conditions, the Sabbatian soldiers burned the corpses of the enemies.
"Don't resent us."
"They shouldn't. We're cremating them even though they're the enemy. They should be grateful."
By midnight, the smell of burning fat filled the trenches.
We huddled together in the smoky trench, trying to keep each other's spirits up.
"Everyone, please help yourself if you'd like. Here's hot water made from melted snow."
"Thank you, Aust-chan. If we make it back alive, let me hold you once. I think I'm starting to like you."
"I don't like crude people. Besides, I'm married."
We were warming ourselves by the crackling fire, surrounded by the burning bodies of youthful enemy soldiers.
These boys were someone's beloved family members. I saw a hat and hair catch fire and a corpse's face transform into a pitch-black skeleton.
"Ugh, I feel like throwing up."
"Turn away if you do. Don't douse the fire by puking on it."
The clothes of the deceased, soiled by post-mortem excrement, emitted a foul smell as they burned.
Despite the stench, the soldiers kept the corpse-fueled fire going.
The cold was so severe that it felt like our limbs would fall off if we didn't stay warm.
"…The fire's gone out again. Any more bodies?"
"Let's warm up with the residual heat for a while."
"Oh, there's the body of Private Raymond who died around noon."
"Alright. He's a comrade, but let's burn him."
Bodies don't burn completely in the extreme cold; only parts of the uniforms and the surface of the corpses catch fire.
There was no way the fire would last long like that, and there was also no way it would be able to withstand the cold of the night without some kindling.
We ended up setting fire to the bodies of our comrades to get through the night.
Our comrades from yesterday were lying on the trench floor, their clothes scorched and their skin charred.
I'm sure we wouldn't have been able to bear this if we were in our right minds.
"Thinking that it could be me tomorrow is unsettling."
"You guys. If you die, don't complain if we burn you."
The soldiers made this promise and huddled together to get through the night.
If you lose your life in this battle, you will be turned into fuel that evening.
The thought that I might receive the same treatment if I died froze me with fear.
"I'm hungry. I wonder if I can eat this."
"You'd better not. This person's diarrhea smells fishy. It looks like he's infected with something."
"I see."
Some soldiers drooled over the thought of eating the corpse's flesh.
"Aust-chan, you don't look like you'd burn very well."
"Please don't evaluate me like that…"
The cold had numbed their sense of ethics, causing them to see the corpses as nothing more than food.
If I hadn't stopped them, a feast of human flesh might have begun.
***
We couldn't sleep a wink that day.
Not only was there a risk of freezing to death if we fell asleep, but we also ran the risk of being burned by our comrades.
We fought off sleepiness, huddled together by the fire, encouraging each other through the long, long night.
A considerable number of people froze to death that night.
It was surprising to find a hell worse than the Western Front.
Even in Senior Allen's stories, there wasn't anything as horrific as this.
"Ah, the sun's rising."
The temperature warmed slightly as morning came and the sun rose.
As usual, there were no food rations. I lacked energy and was too lazy to even move my body.
"We have to fight again, don't we?"
"I can't take this anymore. There's no way we can survive this every night."
"I want to go home. I want to go back to the base and sleep on a warm bed."
It was the second day of the Battle of Josegrad. We haven't even reached the entrance to the city yet.
The soldiers, terrified of the ice and snow, had to face their homeland ahead with only a few remaining bullets and no breakfast.
They no longer had the will to fight. Only fear and despair remained.
"Mr. Gorski."
"…What is it?"
"It's time. We need your orders."
"Ah, it's already time."
Shivering in the cold, we stared at the enemy city over the trenches.
Barely alive, another day of this life-threatening war began.