Citizen, Chlust Balford, Russiva Imperial Year ??? Month ???, Day ???, No Man's Land, Deutsche Imperial Army

Chlust never wanted much out of life, He was satisfied with what he had right now, He had nothing special but he also had nothing to worry about.

Chlust was born with a physique larger than others, and that came with a little bit of ease in life as well. People who tried to pick a fight with him were intimidated, and his looks weren't that bad as well, so paired with his tanned skin and fair amount of muscles he was fairly popular with the ladies.

He was born into a commoner family, His mother was a weaver who earned money by weaving cloth, and his father was the owner of a small, yet sufficient farm. His little brother looked up to him as a man, and he considered himself to be blessed enough to not want.

He knew how to read and write as well, making him seem like a prodigy in his small village out in the sticks inside a country where the literacy rate was less than 50%.

Yes, those were the good times.

Emphasis on 'were'.

---

Citizen, Chlust Balford, Russiva Imperial Year 781 Month 1, Day 9, No Man's Land, Deutsche Imperial Army

It all came crashing down suddenly, when he found himself on a week after his 19th birthday.

His family was okay though, and his home wasn't burnt down to the ground or anything like that. No, it was something worse.

"Ohhhhh, Our son will be fighting for the glory of the Emperor!"

"Big brother Chlust! You were specifically conscripted for your outstanding skills! I'm so jealous of you!"

A recruiter arrived into his village and started conscripting the healthy young men, interrupting his peaceful life, as well as putting his retirement plan of owning his father's farm at risk.

It could not be helped after all, Chlust was almost 210cm, And with an affinity for magic, most people think that he had great potential to be a soldier.

He considered running away from the conscription, but then his whole family would get executed for desertion.

So he had no choice but to resign himself to his fate, and hope that he would survive his newly-found career.

---

Chlust, after going through the basic training as a soldier was immediately sent to the front lines at the Rhine.

Or that's how it was supposed to go, However...

"Why are we heading to No Man's Land exactly?" Chlust asked out loud to nobody.

When he was recruited(conscripted) he was told that he was going to the glorious Rhine warfront, where the Francais are evenly locked with the armies of the 6 Grands in a war that ends up with nothing short of a bloodbath everytime they clashed.

It was truly incomprehensible.

"It's so us fresh untrained recruits can take the place of the veterans the higher-ups are going to pull out of No Man's Land, so they can fight in the Rhine warfront in our place."

"I see..." It all made sense now.

Using recruits in a war against a professional army was certainly not a smart move, It was such a bad move that even the people with little to no level of education would know that it would only be harmful to their own side to do that.

'But still...those guys should be arrested for false advertisement!' It still didn't feel good to be lied to, that's for sure.

"But hey, I'm not complaining, Instead of fighting against a real army we only need to keep watch on a bunch of goblins!" The random soldier who answered Chlust's question earlier followed up.

The Czuch Union was a officially recognized as a country way back then during the Warring Ages, when monsters who were intelligent banded together to make their own country when they were kept being hunted down by not just human adventurers, but also elven, beastmen, and dwarven adventurers as well.

The monsters took advantage of the friction of the War between the four races, and made their country in the unclaimed territory while the four races were still banging sticks against each other.

And because of how they formed their country without needing to fight, their neighbors have recognized them as a weak and savage people.

It was truly a wonder for Chlust how monsters can form their own country without it collapsing for more than a hundred years. Not to mention this wasn't a country specifically made for only 1 race, instead it truly welcomed all races as long as you weren't human, elf, beastman, or dwarf.

---

He was placed into a into the 126th Sturm Infantry Squadron, and it had a total of 10 members.

The first day was nothing short of a disappointment actually, it looks like the Empery only needed numbers to intimidate the monsters from actually trying to sneak on the border of the Empery.

The Czuch Union was currently interlocked with an intense battle with the Polski Confederacy, a country that was located just west of the Empery and was about almost the same as the Empery as well in terms of size. And unlike other countries, this was a country whose government was mostly made up of the dwarven people.

Dwarves, so short yet packed with undeniable physical strength and a knack for anything that involves metalworking. Their weapons have been worshipped as the best in the world, and they employ tactics and machinery that are so much more diverse and effective than what humans use. They were powerful, and powerful enough for the Emperor to personally want the leader of their council to be his personal friend. Although the relationship between the Confederacy and the Empery is neutral right now, with a nothing out of the ordinary trading deal established between the two countries, 30% of the weapons and equipment of the Empery's army are supplied by the Confederacy.

The higher-ups of the military were worried that some of the goblins would try to escape their war with the Polski Confederacy and illegally enter the country through No Man's Land so the purpose of the Sturm army camp is to serve as some kind of intimidation wall to make the monsters from the Czuch Union think twice about entering the Empery.

"Haaaaaaah- So in the end I'm basically just walking around for my pay..."

"Well kid, It could always be worse, You could be fighting against the Francais knights or those Durchian barbarians."

"I guess you're right Corporal." Chlust sighed as he agreed with the man in front of him.

The man was the first adjutant of the squad leader, in other words, one of his many direct superiors, Corporal Benjamin Arrigstein.

"Well, it's time for you to earn your pay then." Another voice came into hearing range, and it was the voice of a middle-aged man.

It was again, one of his many direct superiors, First Sergeant Luther Burghoff, a veteran with much experience to his name, as well as a serious, yet casually friendly person just like Corporal Arrigstein.

"You mean that I'm going on a night patrol on my first night here, Sir?"

"That's right! However don't expect much more than just the cricketing of cicadas or the ruffling of bushes and leaves from the wind, because nothing much happens in region we're going to be patrolling anyways!" Sergeant Burghoff said with a hearty laugh as he ended his sentence.

It was true enough though, The forest they were going to patrol in was one of the many peaceful regions in No Man's Land, not much actual troubles happen in No Man's Land aside from the occasional skirmishes with beasts or stray goblin deserters.

And this particular region they were patrolling in wasn't only the farthest from where the occasional skirmishes happen, it was also one of the most deserted regions.

"It's gonna be a walk in the park, what's the worse that could happen?"

---

It was Chlust's first time at patrolling around the land near the army camp during night, And it could not have gone any worse.

'An Alraune!' Chlust was basically shivering in fear.

Alraunes were a type of magical plant monsters, they weren't normally found in this region of the Empery because this was literally a warzone even if it didn't seem like it. They were very much dangerous for large groups because they hunted by using their whip-like appendages to behead, or even bisect people.

It was a monster way beyond the league of 10 recruits.

"Run awa--" Corporal Arrigstein was going to say something, but what sounded like clothes being ruffled was heard instead, as if someone was being shoved.

It was a blur, but Chlust saw it with his own eyes, Sergeant Burghoff and Corporal Arrigstein were suddenly the line of fire.

"You vixe--" Burghoff was going to say something, but his sentence was cut short when a tendril swept past his head and crushed his skull.

Arrigstein didn't even know what happend to him, as when another tendril hit him square on the chest he didn't even get a chance to get whatever e was about to say out of his lungs.

"T-The commanding officers have died!" One of Chlust's squadmates have said so, and when another tendril was about to go for his head he was suddenly thrown onto the ground, barely dodging death.

Someone had tripped the recruit and saved him, unlike Chlust's two superior officers.

'Who is she again? Her name was Schwertspinne right?' The girl's face was like a doll's, and aside from the scar which was more of a decoration than a fault, her pale skin without any blemishes was perfect when contrasted to her dark, jet-black hair and red eyes. Since the moment that Chlust had seen her as part of the squad, he tended to ignore her for the most part, It wasn't worth poking into things like relationships with a quiet uneraged girl in the military.

Private Reichel Schwertspinne.

"The two commanding officers have died! There is no retreat! I will take command temporarily!" She said boldly.

Nobody objected, because currently it was only Reichel, and Reichel alone who could react with the beast's movements in time, as well as deal any sort of damage. The darkness was covering all their views and it was because all of the recruits had dropped their torches to the ground in surprise when they heard the initial swinging of the Alraune's whips.

"Hengsbach, bend your back by 90 degrees!"

'What?' Chlust thought, as he looked on his far right and saw Private Hengsbach who barely avoided being pummeled into a corpse by dodging the fast tendril.

Reichel spat out commands on repeat faster than Chlust could think, and finally it was when Reichel called out to him that he snapped back to reality.

"Balford, move left by two steps in swing your sword down!"

'What? Me!?'

'Scheisse!' Chlust reacted quickly, there was no time to dabble on thoughts while in a life or death situation.

"Bartsch, move your left knee up!"

Chlust followed Reichel's instructions and nimbly moved 2 steps to his left without any question or any sign of reluctance.

And from where he was just a second ago a tendril lashed out like a chain whip, seeking to destroy him.

If he hadn't followed Reichel command then he would have been crushed under all that weight and he would have died miserably in this forest.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" And all of a sudden he found himself screaming while bringing down his sword, cutting off the tendril and spilling white sap everywhere.

'Is she seeing the Alraune's movements using Mana Vision?' Chlust thought.

He had heard about them before, there were mages who could see the movements of mana in the future and then act accordingly during 1v1 battle. People who dedicated their entire lives to master Mana Vision just to know the enemy's step before they themselves think of doing it.

'But this isn't that, this is different!' He could tell.

Chlust didn't feel even a speck of mana emnating from Reichel when they first met, Naturally no matter how low your mana storage is even some of it would leak out occassionally. She was one of the 'Cursed'. One of those who did not receive God's blessing of mana.

Reichel was predicting the Alraune's moves before they even happend based on her pure intuition and the tiny amount of body movements the Alraune gave off before it executed its planned actions.

While barking out orders, each of Chlust's squadmates have essentially entrusted their very bodies to Reichel's words, all of them being continuing to dodge and even attack when her voice tells them too.

"Jahn, tilt your head to the left and use your sword to strike overhead!"

"Finck, jump up and stab your sword into the ground!"

Her commands were accurate, as well as precise. No unnesecary movements were made and whenever somebody was told to move their sword they could always feel that they hit something at the end of their motions.

She was like the angel of the battlefield, she was a natural at leading, and as long as her orders were followed, they promised safe return.

And eventually, after what felt like hours of following orders, to attack, to defend, to evade, and to live, the life-threatening motions were put to an end.

"It's over. Congratulations, I, as well as all of you lot, have survived your first battle against a monster." She said so, as moonlight shined over her small figure, which was covered in green Alraune sap all over, as well as her sword, which shone more beautifully even after being dirtied in tonight's fight.

When Chlust and the others returned from their patrols, the others hailed them as something like urban legends, his other squadmates boasted about how she ran through the darkness like a fleeting wraith, how she swung her sword like the perfect swordsman, and finally how she kept all of us alive during the encounter.

The higher ups of the Sturm army camp were surprised at the report, and with a battle like this she already had enough merit to climb up as a Corporal from that one encounter, as well as become the squad leader since there wasn't anybody to replace Sergeant Burghoff.

However Reichel was only promoted to Lance Corporal instead of Corporal due to her commoner lineage, and the squad was given a day off from military duties as a reward instead.

---

The food was the usual meat stew with a side of hard bread, It wasn't as delicious as his mother's cooking but it provided the body with the sustenance needed.

It wasn't all that bad-tasting even, The food was about 6/10 in terms of his own preference.

Yet with what happend yesterday, He couldn't help but not have the appetite for it. Two of his direct superiors have died, and one was promoted as a replacement.

He was surprised by his first experience of death, how fleeting human life actually was, and why No Man's Land is still a warzone despite actually lacking an actual war.

In all honesty, he was scared. He now knew exactly how fragile and precious human life was, and he was now working a job that required you to die for the Fatherland.

"You're not going to eat that?" A gentle voice interrupted Chlust's thinking.

The voice was feminine, it was gentle like a spring song, upon hearing it Chlust experienced an unnatural feeling of serenity of calm. As if all of his worries and troublesome emotions were suddenly pushed down the drain.

It was Private...Lance Corporal Schwertspinne, The angel of the battlefield, and his new direct superior.

'That's right...as long as I follow orders...and sharpen my skills....I can survive!' Chlust thought.

"You can have it if you want Lance Corporal, I'm not exactly hungry today."

"I'll take you up on that offer then, Danke."

Chlust handed over his rations, and the Lance Corporal's face immediately showed a happy, and joyous beaming smile befitting the innocence of a girl her age.

"Why did you join the military, of all places?"

The question came out of nowhere and all of a sudden, and Reichel wasn't sure how to respond to it.

If you think about it, it made sense to the average person. She was 17, not an adult yet, yet she willingly threw away whatever time she had left for childhood and went straight ahead for the battlefield.

Usually at times like this, Chlust would say that 'It's only one year anyways' however after what happend last night he had forced upon himself a different view on the pricelesness of time.

It was nothing like conscription, or forced recruitment. Women were only able to enter the military by joining out of their own volition in the Empery.

Reichel stared at Chlust as if she thought that he was trying to make a joke, But after seeing his serious expression she confirmed that he wasn't kidding.

"What's with that question all of a sudden?"

"I've just been wondering Lance Coporal, You had so many choices...why the military?"

Reichel was silently just nibbling on Chlust's rations, until finally she decided to respond.

"I didn't have a choice."

"I see." Chlust didn't understand at all what that meant, but he decided that it would be best not to pry on her history any further.

"Lance Corporal! I feel strangely full as well today too! Please accept my ration!"

"Me too!"

"I feel the same way as well, Lance Corporal!"

The other recruits felt the same way as well, It was only natural to show gratitude after being saved from a life-or-death experience after all.

"The rations are well appreciated, but I feel bad just accepting everybody's rations without giving something in return."

"No no no no, Don't worry about it Lance Corporal! You saved our lives yesterday!" One of Chlust's squadmates said.

"That's right!" The others followed up.

"Nein, I only gave out commands and you followed them to the letter, I would not have defeated the Alraune so easily without the help of my squadmates."

"Bahhh! Lance Corporal is too humble!"

"Being humble is indeed a virtue, but too much of it just starts to make me feel bad."

"Okay! I have a suggestion then!" Chlust clapped his hands loudly, prompting everyone to turn their attention to him, Reichel included.

Reichel had a geniunely interested look, that says that she can't figure out what Chlust is going to propose.

"Hmmmm?" She hummed, as her eyes widened in anticipation.

'Deep down, she really wants the rations for her unnatural appetite, but her sense of ethics is in the way! How kind!' Chlust praised her inside his head.

"We'll give you some of our rations everyday, only if you teach us how to do those sick moves you did!"

"That sounds like a fair trade, Yes."

"Indeed it does, Yes."

The other recruits agreed, It was most likely that they didn't have any money and military rations were the only form of wealth they could share. But if that means that they could survive on the battlefield then it was a small price to pay to only miss one meal for some real training and survival skills, unlike the ones that were basically skimmed off of in basic introductions in Cadet school.

"Alrighty then, I'll teach you, but don't expect me to be a soft teacher." Reichel said with a giggle.

"Alright!"

"That's what I'm saying!"

"Woohoo!"

That day, Chlust swore that he was going to better himself, It was nothing for the sake of something that was flimsy as his love for the Empery, or his obligation as the Emperor's vassal.

He just wanted to survive and make it big.

---

Eventually, the day came when the two new replacements had arrived while Chlust was wandering around the camp.

They had an air just like him, fresh from school and they believed they could do anything with their knowledge.

Well even if they were placed higher than the Lance Corporal in terms of rank, he was sure that his squadmates would follow the Lance Corporal's orders instead of the newcomer's even if it warrants a court-martial for insurbordination.

"Welcome to the Sturm army camp!" Chlust called out to them in a perfect friendly voice, trying to mimick Reichel's occassional carelessness.

---

"It's horrible." Chlust had no option but to speak up.

The bodies were all mangled over and too grotesque to look at, no corpse was left untouched while they made some sort of messed up bloody painting all over the once-populated village of Urganschoft.

"Hengsbach, you don't have to hold yourself back."

"Shields!" The sudden ring of a feminine voice while he was observing Hengsbach, who was bent over on the ground releasing his half-digested lunch.

"Scheisse! Get up!" Chlust shouted at Hengsbach who was still bent over.

'Shields? What does she mean by shields!?' Chlust was thinking in extremely visible confusion.

The Sturm army camp's military equipment didn't issue any kind of shield at all, There was the signature leather armour, spear, and shortsword, but there was no such thing resembling something like a shield that you could find anywhere in the standard get-up.

'Think! Think!'

That's when he heard the sound of debris being moved, and that's when Chlust had the idea.

"The debris! Use the debris!"

Chlust shouted to his squadmates, pulling Hengsbach while he was still vomiting and lifted a large piece of flat burnt wood to place it above themselves.

The others, upon seeing this action imitated his actions, taking place hiding themselves underneath a fallen piece of wood, and sticking their backs next to a wall if they didn't reach any in time.

"What are you guys doing?" Another voice came into his ears, this time from a male.

It was the Second Sergeant's friend who arrived with him, Corporal Veit Welcker.

"Get to cover!" Chlust tried to shout, but when the ground was suddenly covered with the shadows of hundreds of arrows, it was already too late.

'Blame yourself for not following the orders of the angel of the battlefield!' He screamed inside his head.