Since my previous life, I've always been good at sensing danger.
I could instinctively sense the critical point where going any further would be dangerous.
I don't know if it was because I was just cowardly or if some animalistic instinct remained in me.
But it was certainly one of my unique skills.
For example…
When I had a bad feeling and stopped at a corner, a runaway truck rushed past right in front of me.
One day, I spat out my school lunch immediately because I didn't like the taste, and a mass food poisoning incident occurred at the school.
────And…
Before leaving, I felt an inexplicable fear and stubbornly refused to go on a family trip.
The plane my parents were on crashed, and both of them never returned.
I was the only one who survived, left in the care of my grandparents.
All alone in the world, I stopped going to school and stayed at home.
I squandered my parents' inheritance and immersed myself in my favorite FPS games.
I guess my grandparents couldn't stop me because I seemed to enjoy myself only when I was gaming.
I spent my days gaming to forget reality and rapidly improved my skills.
Battle royale-style FPS games were a perfect match for my abilities.
I somehow felt when I was being targeted. I somehow felt when I was being ambushed. So, I knew it when it was dangerous to attack.
With such a sixth sense at play, I was strong in the gaming world.
I was a shut-in and continued to play games, ignoring my worried grandmother.
After long hours of practice, I eventually became known as a god and became the best in the world.
There have certainly been quite a few twisted gods.
***
What I'd done up until now in those FPS games was simple.
"The enemy has diverted their defense of the artillery position to surround us. This is a good opportunity."
I would attack until I instinctively felt that going any further was dangerous.
When I felt it was impossible, I stepped back. All I did was repeat this process over and over.
It's important to balance attack and defense in battle royale games. Figuring out how to shoot the enemy without dying is crucial.
No one could match me when it comes to that sense of balance, at least not in my previous life.
"That's too reckless, Touri. Our escape route will be cut off if we do that, and we'll have no choice but to die."
"It's okay. We won't die."
If ruin lies ahead, I will be able to sense it.
On the other hand, as long as my intuition says it's possible, we should keep pushing forward.
This has been my shortcut to victory thus far.
"I can't die and leave Sedol behind."
"Touri…"
"At the very least, we have a much better chance of survival than if we retreated to the rear. Please believe me."
Mr. Gorski and the others looked at me with very dubious eyes.
…But I wasn't going to back down. From the beginning, this was supposed to be my role.
It isn't like me to leave the command to someone else and just follow instructions.
"Mr. Gorski, I… I don't want to die yet."
I was always the one in charge of strategic command and the team's IGL (In-Game Leader).
Even when we reached the top of the world in that game, I was the team's leader.
"…What do we do after we secure the artillery position?"
"We will break through and invade the city. We should be able to hold out for a while if we occupy houses and barricade ourselves inside."
"We'll end up attacking civilians. Are you prepared for that?"
"There are no civilians left in this area. If there were any, they would have evacuated long ago."
I should have properly suggested retreating instead of blindly following Sylph's plan.
Now is the time to learn from my failure to do so and express my opinion.
"Currently, escaping to the city is the only way we can survive."
"Hmm…"
***
Thanks to my strong proposal, Gorski Platoon decided to advance.
The plan is to break through the thinly defended artillery positions and advance straight into the city.
"It's reckless to retreat, and it's reckless to attack. If we're going to do something reckless, let's harass the enemy as much as possible."
"We're not going to survive anyway. Let's just go along with it."
It is clearly reckless for one platoon to attempt this.
Most of my comrades who accepted this probably thought, "If we're going to die anyway…"
However, it's precisely because it's so reckless that the enemy won't be on guard.
I think there was also an element of surprise, as they wouldn't expect us to advance.
"There, the trench is thin because there is barbed wire in front. Let's open a path with Mr. Gorski's spear and secure it."
"Got it."
And it was fortunate that our platoon leader, Mr. Gorski, had one of the best assault abilities in the entire army.
If it's just a small amount of barbed wire, you can cut it through with the lightning-charged spear and advance.
The way he charges into enemy territory faster than anyone else reminds me of the heroic figure of Platoon Leader Garback from the past.
"Everyone, prepare yourselves. With the resolve to die here with me, let's deliver a fatal blow to the enemy."
***
"Consider it an honor to fall here!"
As soon as we decided to move forward, we immediately charged into the final line of trenches.
The enemy's reaction was quite slow, as they probably did not expect us to advance any further.
We managed to secure the trench much more smoothly than anticipated.
"Don't let up, keep pressing forward! Start firing at the artillery position!"
"Roger!"
Beyond that was the artillery defense position made up of piled up sandbags.
Finally, we were on the verge of striking the enemy's exposed weak spot.
"…Over there, over there. That side is safer."
"Oh, I see. The left side does look less defended."
"Alright, let's charge to the left! Let's go, Aust-chan!"
Morale in the Gorski Platoon was high, but it wasn't because they were determined to survive; rather, it was the attitude of "Let's make one last splash before we die."
With resigned smiles, they began to ruffle my hair.
Geez, treating me like a pet again even though I'm a married woman.
"Platoon Leader, we've got some lead from the stalkers on the right rear. You think they're our fans?
"Should we shoot back a bit? Give them some fan service?"
"Hmm."
The enemy, panicked by our advance towards the artillery position, started to pull back.
And their attacks on us intensified.
"Mr. Gorski, let's ignore the gunfire from the right rear and escape to the left, aiming for the artillery position."
"Escape?"
"Yes, they are a very skilled unit. We'll probably lose if we engage in a shootout."
I could tell that the force attacking from the right rear is exceptionally skilled.
This is because they had timed their attacks perfectly to prevent us from retreating at the right times.
They were probably a veteran commander's unit. Engaging them directly would be disadvantageous due to the difference in numbers.
"But if we escape to the left, what then? We'll hit a dead end eventually."
"Let's break through the enemy on the left front. The enemy directly ahead also looks quite strong."
The enemy troops in front of us also seemed to be well-trained.
They were hidden behind sandbags, with soldiers evenly spaced in a neat formation.
It looked like a textbook example of a proper formation.
Being able to execute textbook maneuvers likely indicates a competent commander.
"…But the unit to the left front is moving strangely."
However, the adjacent unit on the left front was very disorganized.
Gunfire was sporadic, and the soldiers' positions were uneven and unstable.
It was probably a hastily assembled unit or one with an inexperienced commander.
"They're exposing their heads too much. They probably don't have any combat experience."
Moreover, the commander of that unit was constantly checking our position with his head sticking out from behind the sandbags.
He didn't seem to be using anything like a periscope.
He must have avoided death so far simply because he hadn't experienced real combat.
"…I can hit him. Permission to fire?"
"Go ahead."
…Just stick your heads out of the trench for three seconds. If I have that much time─
"I got him. I shot the soldier who appears to be their commander."
"You hit them?"
"It was a lucky shot."
Even I managed to shoot that careless enemy commander.
After all, I've been trained by Mr. Zafqua in shooting.
I can aim with decent accuracy if the target isn't moving.
"Don't miss this confusion after shooting their commander! Once we pass this position, we can escape into the city. This is our last push!"
"Yeah!"
A unit losing its commander quickly falls into disarray.
A highly trained unit can swiftly reassign command, but I doubt a poorly coordinated unit can pull that off.
"Charge into the artillery position! Follow me!!"
"Oooooh!!!"
As expected, the unit lost its cohesion and fell into confusion.
Mr. Gorski didn't miss this chance. With incredible force, he cut into the sandbags and slaughtered the enemy soldiers.
"Don't stop moving, keep running! Leave anyone who gets shot behind. If you don't want to die, run!!!"
Gorski Platoon took advantage of the collapse of that disorganized unit and dashed through the artillery position.
Just having one disorganized unit mixed in with your elite forces can create such a significant gap.
…And once we breached the artillery position, it was a free-for-all.
"Shoot the artillerymen! Fire at or blow up the crates containing magic stones!"
"Roger that."
Magic artillerymen are not adept at handling firearms. Just as medics don't train with guns, they don't learn to use them.
Enemy bullets flying from all directions sometimes hit the members of Gorski Platoon, and sometimes they bounced off each other, injuring soldiers who were supposed to be allies.
"…Shooting the artillerymen is more effective than destroying the magic stones."
I shot at every artilleryman I could see, over and over.
I didn't care if the shots were fatal. Just hitting them was enough.
"Keep going straight into the city!"
"Yes, sir!"
The crates of magic stones the enemy had stored exploded with the help of our grenades.
The defenders who rushed in to protect the artillery became nothing but rust on Mr. Gorski's spear.
During this charge, I was hit twice. One of those shots blew away my cheek from a diagonal direction.
Blood dripped into my mouth, and I was quickly given permission to treat it. It was the first time I had been hit in the face.
Luckily, the shot was only to the cheek. If the angle had been a little more inward, the bullet would have penetrated my eye or brain.
Being hit only twice was lucky.
I managed to run desperately, and it was only because of that I survived with just two hits.
I would have been surrounded and killed If I had stopped even a little.
Indeed, a fellow soldier who slipped and fell was immediately turned into a bullet-riddled corpse.
The only thing I can say is that I was extremely lucky to survive.
***
From the time Gorski Platoon was surrounded to the charge through the artillery position and into the city, the entire battle took less than 30 minutes.
If we had hesitated, we would have lost our escape route and been annihilated.
This achievement was possible only because Mr. Gorski made a decisive and swift decision, accepted my proposal, and moved forward.
"…"
Half of Gorski Platoon perished in those 30 minutes.
Five soldiers died in the line of duty, spilling fresh blood on the icy snow.
Their deaths were caused by my reckless proposal.
A frontal assault on the enemy's artillery position with a single squad was excessively reckless.
It was never possible for all of us to survive.
…But, retreating would likely have led to complete annihilation.
Therefore, I must accept that it was impossible to save those five platoon members from the start.
I can't allow myself to be haunted and burdened by these, like with Lakya.
***
"Let's hide in that house for now while there are no enemies around."
"Got it."
After breaking through the artillery position, we advanced into the city.
As we reached the city, the number of soldiers intercepting us decreased significantly.
The soldiers who did engage were mostly from patrol units, and many fled upon seeing Mr. Gorski's imposing presence.
"Platoon Leader Gorski… I can't see out of my right eye."
"Caught by a grenade blast, huh? Touri, can you heal it?"
We managed to hide in a civilian house after shaking off the enemies.
We are still surrounded by enemies, but we can finally take a moment to catch our breath.
"I'm sorry, but healing magic won't restore sight… I can't heal blindness."
"Yeah, I figured."
The soldier had requested me to treat his eye, but unfortunately, sight couldn't be restored with [Heal].
Apparently, healing magic is ineffective because the eye has weak regenerative ability.
"Having lost one eye is bad, but we're still alive. That's good enough."
"That's true."
"Heh, I still want to keep fighting. I'm going to push even deeper."
Even though they are in such a battered state, the members of Gorski Platoon are still determined to fight.
…This is the excitement that comes from being prepared for death.
When soldiers come to terms with their own deaths, their spirits often lift, and they become more enthusiastic.
"Let's take a little rest and then go wild again."
"Yeah… I never thought we'd make it this far."
I think Mr. Gorski himself has come to terms with death.
I guess no one believed me when I said we were doing this all to survive.
They must be thinking, "If I'm going to die anyway, I want to go out with a bang."
It is the ideal way to die that any soldier on the battlefield fantasizes about at least once.
I guess they think it's cooler to die dramatically in a life-risking suicide attack than to die in an ordinary battle.
"No, Mr. Gorski. Let's end the battle here."
"Huh?"
"We've achieved our tactical objective. Advancing further would be too dangerous."
Though I understood their sentiment, I'm not yet looking for such a dramatic death.
"…So what's the plan now?"
"We just need to wait. We'll survive if we do."
"Wait for what?"
There's probably no point in going any further from here.
It would only result in a dramatic but pointless death.
That's not where I want to be.
"Well, let's just wait for a miracle to happen."
"Are you serious?"
"It's fine. Have some faith."
We did everything we could.
Disrupting the enemy, sabotaging the artillery position, and drawing out the central enemy.
There's no way that monster would just sit back and do nothing with the battle situation set in such a favorable direction.
"Can't you hear it? The battle cries echoing from the camp we just ran through."
It is unclear how much of today's battle was anticipated by her.
At the very least, I think it was unexpected that the central position was breached and Sylph Company being left behind in the trenches.
Almost all the remaining platoons, except for our own Gorski Platoon, had been wiped out.
"I can definitely hear the voices."
"What? What's happening on the battlefield?"
On the other hand, it is also true that she had prepared various strategies in case of an emergency.
When she gave the order to head for the artillery position before the operation began, I think it was based on her anticipation of us forcing an advance rather than retreating.
The evidence was in how we, following Sylph's orders, had charged through the artillery position.
"…It's our allies. A friendly unit is breaking through the trenches and pouring into the city!"
"We survived! We made it!"
Protected by the allied Sabbatian forces, who launched an offensive in follow-up of us, we managed to return safely.