The moon was barely visible behind the dark and cloudy night sky.

"Hear that whistling wind, men? It seems God has given us his blessing for tonight"

Lt. Colonel Gregor, the commander of Trento's garrison, declared with a smile.

In fact, it wasn't a coincidence that the sky was dark and the wind was heavy tonight. Lt. Colonel Gregor had been planning this night raid for a few days. For a night raid, naturally, many factors needed to be considered, including weather.

The land surrounding Venice, which included Trento, had a typical Mediterranean climate. During the winter, the water temperature in the Mediterranean was relatively high, while during the summer, the water temperature was lower, so high pressure was formed, attracting and greatly strengthening the westerly winds.

Of course, Lt. Colonel Gregor was not knowledgeable of the science behind meteorology, but he had been stationed in Venetia for a long time, so he knew that Trento was dry and windy during this time. In addition, it was late in the month which meant that a new moon was close and visibility at night would be very low. The lack of light and the presence of wind could effectively cover the raid squad's actions.

Lt. Colonel Gregor declared, "The time has come for you to prove your valor! Zum Österreich!"

The soldiers responded by enthusiastically slamming their feet on the floor. Thankfully, the loud winds prevented the noise from reaching anywhere near the Sardinian camp.

With that, the raid squad left the barracks, but, unlike the march of an army, there was hardly any noise. The soldiers were dressed in all black with their cuffs tied with rope close together to prevent noise, and even their boots were wrapped in cloth.

As the soldiers solemnly left, the commanding officers stood at the castle walls and watched them.

Colonel Heinz looked at Lt. Colonel Gregor, who had his fists clenched, and asked, "You worried?"

"Aren't you? The battle tonight will decide our future. If it goes well, our road to becoming generals will be smooth, but if not, we might have to retire early and return home!" replied Lt. Colonel Gregor in a solemn voice.

Lt. Colonel Bartz patted Lt. Colonel Gregor's shoulder and joked, "You're worrying for no reason. If things don't work out tonight, at worst, you will get a reprimand. With your skill at castle defense, Marshal Radetzky won't let you just return home."

In fact, victory or defeat on the battlefield was a routine thing for officers. There were many factors that went into determining victory or defeat, most of which were beyond the control of the officers, so none could claim that they would remain undefeated forever. So long as the defeat wasn't caused by a fault of the officer, it didn't mean the end of their careers.

Although Lt. Colonel Gregor was not a famous general or hailed from a long line of servicemen, through the previous battles, he had proven that he was an excellent mid-level commander.

Marshal Radetzky was the most senior and the most respected man in the Austrian army. This was not only thanks to his command skills, but also due to the fairness he displayed in his dealings and his habit of promoting competent juniors. This led to him being admired by all officers in the Austrian army.

Since the night raid had been approved by him, as long as there was no problem with its execution, there was no need to worry about being discharged to carry the blame. This was why the three had decided to initiate this night raid. With a boss who did not steal the credit of his subordinates and instead shielded them from bureaucracy, they also needed to try their best.

Lt. Colonel Gregor sighed and whispered, "Still, I can't help but worry… I've raised most of the youngsters that went out tonight like my own children, and I'm sure that the same is true for you two. If they fail to return, how will we be able to face their families?"

As he said so, he kept his gaze fixed on the back of a young man who was situated at the forefront.

Time passed minute by minute, but only the sound of roaring wind resounded in the night.

"It's almost time… It seems no accidents occurred."

As he said that, Lt. Colonel Gregor wiped the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. The last few dozen minutes had been some of the most stressful minutes of his life.

The two men standing nearby also pulled out their watches to confirm the time. As long as they had not been prematurely discovered by the enemy, the night raid could be deemed a success.

Lt. Colonel Gregor was on the move as he said, "Come on! Let's get the men up and eating. We need to deploy within an hour!"

* * * * * * * * * *

A flare was fired in the sky and, at the same time, the sound of a bugle resounded, followed by the roar of gunfire.

The Sardinians hastily awoke from their slumber, unaware that war was already upon them.

General Messier rushed out of his luxurious tent, which could only be said to be impractical on a battlefield, and yelled, "Damn it! What's going on out here?!"

"General, the enemy has launched an attack!" answered the nervous guard stationed outside.

Hearing this news, General Messier's droopy eyes opened wide. He ran back inside and quickly returned, now dressed in his uniform, before he rushed to the command tent.

At this time, the aftereffects of the blind expansion of the Sardinian army reared its ugly head. The conscripts, who outnumbered the regular soldiers 4 : 1 turned into headless corpses, scurrying around in fear. The chaos seemed contagious and it soon spread throughout the army. Seeing bullets flying in the dark, but being unable to see the enemy created a fear that the conscripts were simply unable to withstand.

As people beside them began to drop like flies, some conscripts began to indiscriminately fire in the direction where they thought the enemies were located which only added to the chaos.

General Messier quickly made arrangements with the officers in the command tent. Colonel Scilla, who had just left the command tent to find his men, became the first unfortunate victim of the indiscriminate firing. Before he knew it, a bullet had pierced through his chest.

Looking at Colonel Scilla lying on the ground, the officers who had just left the tent felt their hearts cool and they involuntarily retreated back inside the tent.

Watching the cowering officers, General Messier pulled out his gun and fired a warning shot in the air, and ordered in a stern tone, "The enemy is few in number. Everyone get back to command your troops. Whoever dares to desert will be executed!"

In the face of cruel reality, the officers reluctantly stepped out of the command tent. In fact, General Messier's judgement was correct since there were not many enemies who had launched the raid on the Sardinian camp. However, that was when the night raid had begun. By the time the officers left to command the soldiers, the Austrian army had already arrived at the camp and the decisive battle had already begun.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Kill!"

"Kill the Sardinian bastards!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The Sardinian barracks had degenerated into a sea of murder and mayhem, both due to the surprise attack of the Austrians and chaos amongst the conscripts.

The sound of gunfire, explosions, shouting and crying; the smell of blood, smoke, rotting flesh and even human excrements.

Filippo, a young boy of 17 who had been a farm hand all his life until a few months ago, couldn't believe that he was living through this hell. He, who had only ever tended to cows and fields and had only ever wished to inherit his father's farm and marry Angelica, his neighbor's daughter, was now stuck in this murder fest because he had been young and naive and had believed in the Sardinian promise of a "United Italy."

Suddenly, he recalled something; something that he had overheard some older conscripts talking about. He quickly looked around and found a small pile of corpses lying near one of the tents. He crouched towards the pile and jumped inside. Despite the stink of blood, vomit and human waste, he endured it just to be able to see his Angelica smile one more time.

Unbeknownst to him, Filippo's strange actions had attracted the attention of many nearby soldiers. Soon, a strange phenomenon appeared on the battlefield as the Sardinian casualties suddenly began to rise at a frightening pace, shocking the Sardinian officers and even the Austrians.