I’ve translated some teaser (up to ch 1) last year, and it seems no group has taken this,
Since the LN will be released early of next month, and the manga will start by next month, around 17th…
I decided to take this, but it’ll be released in a snail pace…
2. Chapter 2
Immediately after the fierce battle, those who were satisfied that they were still alive and had suffered no physical harm moved on without a break to the next battlefield. The looting of supplies and things left behind by the enemy was recognized in the Highserk Empire as a means of improving the morale of the troops.
Walm hesitated to touch the pocket of the enemy he had killed, but if he hesitated further, there would be nothing left for him.
As expected from a man who called himself a Platoon Commander, the things he left behind were great.
A pouch of silver and bronze coins, a hard-baked biscuit, and a kneepad that protected from shin to knee. The pad did not fit on Walm’s torso and so he did not take it with him.
“Forgive me.”
Without much thought, Walm’s hands moved to the dead man’s hand. He forcibly opened it to take the two-handed sword that the man still clutched even after death.
The dead man almost felt as if he was still alive, but since the military chaplain was there, Walm was at ease because he didn’t have to worry about the dead becoming a monster.
The sword wasn’t bad, but Walm already owned a better-quality longsword.
After being lost in the sea of thoughts for a while, Walm raised his voice.
“Would anyone like a sword? It’s a good sword. I would like to exchange it for something else.”
Walm decided to trade it, thinking that with so many abandoned items, there was bound to be one or two that could satisfy his needs.
If it was a small item, he would carry it, but the two-handed sword was bulky.
For Walm, who had no magic bag, it would be a useless long item.
A soldier responded before Walm could raise his voice again.
“Your shield looks bad.”
Walm’s shield, which continued to be attacked, was badly damaged and partially penetrated. If he used it in the next battle, there would be a high risk of being injured. On the other hand, the man’s shield was simple and sturdy, with no flashy decorations.
“Let me see it”
“Sure, I’d like to see it too.”
After temporarily exchanging things, Walm looked at the materials and reinforcements. It was lighter than it looked, and when he tried to hit it, a solid sound was returned.
The man also liked the two-handed sword.
Walm and the soldier looked at each other and nodded.
It was a mutually satisfactory exchange. After Walm pulled the shield through the sling and carried it on his back, he continued his looting.
“Oh? He’s still breathing.”
A squad member searching for prey at the edge of Walm’s field of vision found a Liberitoa soldier near death’s door.
If they were still alive, they would be sent away as slaves, and if they were aristocrats or rich people, they would be released as long as their families could pay the ransom
“He…..lp, me.”
His abdomen was full of blood and viscera were oozing from inside, and his shoulders were also deeply torn open. Since, blood had flowed too much, even if you used recovery magic on him, he would unlikely stay alive, as his condition was beyond saving.
Since too much blood had flowed, he would probably not stay alive even if you used healing magic on him, since his condition was beyond saving.
A thin voice pleading for help from the Liberitoa soldier repeatedly reached Walm’s ears.
“This isn’t good”
The soldier, who had found this annoying, stood up, pulled a longsword from his waist and plunged it into the throat of the Liberitoa soldier lying on the ground.
Walm could have stopped it, but he didn’t.
After all, viscera were pouring out of the Liberitoa soldier’s abdominal cavity already. Even if his life were to be prolonged, he would suffer constantly. It would just be a waste of resources.
Although Walm could understand it for that reason, he unconsciously drew his eyebrows together with discomfort as he watched what was happening.
“A, Uugggrhh”
Tch, what a rough guy.
It wasn’t right at the vital spot. Since the soldier couldn’t die immediately, he spat blood from his mouth, groaned and clenched his hands as if to endure the pain while watching the sword stuck in him.
“You suck, move.”
It was the commander of the squad to which Walm belonged. Perhaps he could no longer bear the sight of the suffocating enemy soldier. Dismissing his friend by the hand, he raised the war hammer over and swung it down.
A dull sound of a cracking skull rang out. This time the soldier was dead. Walm averted his eyes from him. The Squad Commander looked at the corpse for a moment, then threw it at the soldier standing next to him.
“Tibird, when I’m about to die, I won’t ask you for the final blow for sure.”
The bearded man snorted. He was Walm’s superior, The Squad Commander, Duwei. The war wounds all over his body were proof of his battle history.
He was average height, but still a little taller than Walm, but his trunk-like arms and thick chest plate looked so assuring, and most importantly, he had the skill, 《Strike》.
Unlike Walm’s previous world, the individual differences between people in this world were great. Sure, people who could use <Magic> were rare, but the one who possessed 《Skill》was also rare. That said, they were both powerful things.
There were women who could break a man’s arm, scouts more agile than animals, and even warrior monks who could stop a blow with their bare hands. Squad Commander Duwei was among those. His war hammer could shatter armored enemies.
Walm had the impression that Squad Commander Duwei was one of those he didn’t want to meet as an enemy.
When the commotion died down, Walm glanced at the body. Even though Walm wasn’t clear about the belief of the man, he calmly extended his joined hands to the dead man.
Perhaps there was no such culture. But still, Walm did it. It was an act that helped him lessen his guilt. Some critical opinions were hurled at him, but he ignored them.
“Ah, Walm, are you doing it again?”
“It’s like a habit.”
“Hmm, I see, well, I don’t feel anything bad from it.”
In response to Walm, Squad Commander Duwei replied briefly. Perhaps having lost interest, he broke off the story. At the time when the bodies were no longer valuable, the squad gathered in one place.
“My squad had orders to dispose of the bodies in the area. Fortunately, this time there are many prisoners of war. You can use them as you like. Just keep an eye on them.”
The prisoners of war were sitting down next to the gathered squad members. Walm let his gaze wander over them.
In terms of numbers, there were just under 20 of them. None were mortally wounded. Some had noticeable bruises and lacerations on their heads and arms, but Walm determined that they wouldn’t interfere with the squad’s work.
Walm was assigned to monitor four prisoners and confirmed their conditions. If they were injured or died during the work, it would only be nothing more than an unnecessary waste of human life.
Apparently, there were no major injuries. The face was swollen or had some large bumps. Walm speculated that they had probably surrendered in a good manner.
The necks of the four were tied together with ropes, and they weren’t wearing anything that posed a threat. If any of them could use 《Skill》 or <Magic>, it would be dangerous, but in the first place, anyone who had the ability to break the rope with their bare hands wouldn’t be taken as prisoners of war. For those with the troublesome ability, there were only two options: either they tried to escape or they were killed.
Walm ordered the prisoners to remove the armor and clothing left on the corpse. Attracted by the blood, insects and birds flocked to it. He drove them away with his spear and his hands.
Each time, the prisoners shivered and continued to work. Walm pitied that the struggle must have worn down their minds and bodies.
Corpses were thrown into the graves that had been dug by the prisoners of another squad. He did not know how many had been thrown in there, but Walm’s eyes were fixed on one of the bodies about to be carried.
“…is he dead?”
It was the corpse of a ‘young man’ who belonged to the same squad and was also from the neighboring village. His age and birthplace were near Walm, and he often talked about his hometown and common acquaintances.
His lower jaw was crushed along with his teeth, and his tongue was sticking out of his mouth. Both eyes were open with an expression of anguish.
A battle virgin, and without being able to get rid of his first time, his skeleton was exposed in the distant land.
What’s the difference with me?
Is it the memories of a previous life? Or our luck? Or the difference in aptitude for killing each other?
Walm thought about it for a while, but he could not find an answer.
Walm’s eyes quickly fell on the prisoner of war, who was moving slightly. He looked down and stared blankly at the man without exchanging a word.
“I-I haven’t done anything.”
“Me too. I was scared, I couldn’t even thrust the spear properly.”
The prisoners opened their mouths as if to justify their actions. Walm was astonished at this. For their words told him that they had been killed out of personal resentment.
Unbelievable…
It would be a lie to say that Walm had never thought about it, but they were in a war. Right. A war. They could only act according to the intentions of their community.
They didn’t like to commit murder. They defeated the enemy simply because they were at war. It was the same with Walm.
If Walm took his personal grudge there and killed them as prisoners of war, he would be a murderer rather than a soldier. What he was doing was merely fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of a soldier.
Walm would never want to cross that one line. He could only bring himself to kill others as a soldier. Otherwise, as Takakura Raizou, as Walm, the foundations as a person would collapse.
Am I the one who’s abnormal? To think that killing people is okay as long as it’s for self-protection? No, perhaps, these people, who claim that they couldn’t kill people, who hesitate to kill other people, might be more human than me.
Walm, overwhelmed by such thoughts, returned to reality.
Then, Walm closed the eyelids of his former comrade with his fingers and pushed the tongue into the mouth.
“Carry him”
Hearing the two words, the four began to carry the corpse as before, but they treated the corpse more politely than the others. It was as if they were handling fragile and explosive dangerous goods.
Whether enemy or ally, the collected corpses were piled up so that they lay one on top of the other.
The military chaplain sprinkled holy water on the corpses and continued to recite words of prayer to prevent the formation of ghouls and skeletons that could appear on the battlefield.
The number of corpses alone exceeded 1500, and Walm was depressed to think that some seriously injured people wouldn’t live to see tomorrow.
The death toll of the Highserk Empire was reported to be around 300, which showed the extent of the damage they had done to the Liberitoa Trade Federation.
The sun was setting and smoke was rising from the corpses all at once.
There were also personal portable meals, but they were for emergencies. Walm wouldn’t touch them as long as the ration distribution continued. Besides, he had made a lot of loot today.
Each squad went to the meals with its own team. Despite the death of two people, Duwei’s squad received wine and ale in addition to the meals for the team’s excellent results.
No sake is born out of nothing.
Walm stared at it, thinking that it was probably one of the large quantities of supplies left behind at enemy headquarters.
The Liberitoa Trade Federation might have many weak soldiers, but their economic power could be described as outstanding. Their land was close to the sea, mines, labyrinths, and rivers, which were the key to logistics. At this thought, Walm was frustrated that he had to fight against a really unfair opponent.
To push these extra thoughts away, Walm turned his attention to the food that was in front of him.
Two hard-baked pieces of bread, salted herring and cod, and even sauerkraut.
he best was the unadulterated horse meat, for which they would hang a fresh horse carcass or a warhorse with a broken leg from a tree to suck out the blood. Although most of it was muscle meat, it was the highest quality protein you could get on the front lines, so there was not a soldier, including Walm, who didn’t like it.
Horse meat and potatoes were cooked in the big pot, and even wild grass was there.
The horse meat was full of flavor, and the firm meat was chewy. With the potatoes, which didn’t crumble, it was a filling meal.
Walm threw the food into his mouth with all his might.
Some of the soldiers covered their mouths because of the unfamiliar smell of death and the struggle. It couldn’t be helped because it was their first battle. When Walm saw this, a bitter memory flashed through his mind.
It was the path that Walm had also taken. At first, he also felt disgusted to eat meat while surrounded by the smell of death, but then he realized that the longer he had been in a battle, the duller his senses and reasoning became.
Walm couldn’t say for sure whether he was happy as a human or not, but one thing was certain: as long as he could focus on the food in front of him, he was happy.
“Walm. I heard it. They said you killed 9 enemy soldiers. But, I’ve killed 15 so I won. But sure, you’ve got the prospects.”
Walm knew who it was without turning around, because he could smell alcohol.
Squad Commander Duwei held two bottles in his hand and put his arm around Walm’s neck.
“No, I can’t beat you, Commander Duwei.”
These were his true feelings. Even though Walm was reluctant to about it, he was recognized by his comrades for his talent to fight and kill, but still, Squad Commander Duwei was exceptional.
“Come on, drink”
Feeling good, the middle-aged superior poured wine into the cup.
With a bitter smile, Walm lifted the cup, and Squad Commander Duwei poured half of the rest into the cup and drank it all at once.
Walm was impressed with the way he drank, but more worried that the other members wouldn’t get their share. So he turned to the surroundings and saw that other members of the group also had a bottle of alcohol in their hands.
“Walm, your face looks strange”
Jose, who was sitting on the right side, smiled with a barrel of beer in his hands. It would be difficult to see his face in the dark without squinting your eyes because his skin was dark.
Jose, a soldier who had been with Walm since he joined the army, was considered trustworthy in obtaining supplies and information. In short, a reliable person.
His hair was slightly curly. But in contrast to his cheerful appearance, he also had a rather tough side.
“I mean, how could we’ve so much alcohol…”
“It seems that when one of the enemy commanders was taken prisoner, he had a “magic bag” with him. It was said that there was a lot of booze for victory in it.”
A vital item for the movement of goods in this world, supporting logistics, called “magic bag” was mentioned. Although it was only the size of a waist bag, it could hold a lot of supplies, but the amount it could hold varied. Walm was looking for this item, but it was too difficult to get.
There were two main ways to obtain it: you could find it as a relic in the Labyrinths and Ruins. Or you could get it from the Aleinard Forest Alliance, where the World Tree was located, since a small number of magic bags were made by them.
Since Aleinard kept the production method secret, only aristocrats and big merchants were in possession of it, besides the army. Although, the ones excavated from archeological sites and labyrinths were said to have had a larger capacity.
Jose said that besides these people, only adventurers could have it, who had many opportunities to acquire it, such as in the labyrinths and ruins.
“That’s why we should celebrate it. Thank you for the riches of Liberitoa.”
Instead of the wine he had drunk earlier, this time beer was poured into the cup. Since there was no ice or refrigerator, it was a normal-temperature beer, but Walm kept drinking it and found that the unique sweetness, sourness and bitterness that comes at the end was not bad.
On the side, there was a side dish called salted herring. Because it was salted, it was quite salty, but compared to the sweat that flowed during the fight, it wasn’t too bad. With a cup of beer, it would be just right.
Killed people then celebrated the victory with comrades on the side of the corpses. A world with different values and laws. In such a world Walm had a hard time and suffered to adapt. Nevertheless, he did it, because that was the only way Walm could survive.
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