Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 14

[Translation By Divinity]

Damian squatted down, picked up a nearby twig, and started drawing on the dirt floor.

“First, we’ll use all the remaining smoke grenades in this direction. Then you’ll run in the opposite direction, using the smoke as cover.”

Damian drew an arrow pointing north towards the valley, indicating the escape route for his platoon. Vic shook his head.

“But smoke screens don’t last long. I’m not sure if we can get out of this valley before the smoke clears… And whether we go north or south, we’ll have to cross the valley, making us easy targets for the enemy.”

Damian raised a finger, cutting Vic off.

“The enemy will probably assume we’re escaping through the smoke, so they’ll chase us in that direction. Even if they can’t see us, they’ll know the general direction.”

“That’s true…”

“So this alone isn’t enough. We’ll do this…”

Damian drew a smoke symbol towards the south of the valley as he spoke.

“We’ll retreat north. The north side borders the forest, so if we can hold out for a bit, we can use the forest as cover. And while you’re retreating, I’ll keep deploying smoke grenades in the opposite direction, so the enemy will chase south instead of north. They’ll think we’re retreating south while using the smoke.”

Everyone focused on Damian’s voice.

“Once the enemy’s attention is drawn to the south, even if the northern smoke clears earlier than expected, you’ll already be in the forest, so they probably won’t notice.”

Jamie tilted her head, confused.

“But if we’re escaping north, how will we deploy smoke in the south?”

Damian pointed his thumb at himself with a stoic expression.

“I will.”

Whether people were staring at him with wide eyes or not, Damian continued.

“We have enough smoke grenades left to buy some time.”

“No, no, Lieutenant! That’s not right!”

Jamie jumped to her feet, waving her hands frantically, while Damian remained remarkably calm.

“But then we’ll escape, and you won’t!”

“That’s right! What will you do, Lieutenant?”

Not only Nicole, who had raised her voice involuntarily, but others were also shaking their heads. Damian scratched his chin, looking troubled.

“Well… there’s no one else suitable to act as a decoy, and… I’m responsible for the platoon here, so it’s my duty to ensure your retreat.”

“No, that’s not what we’re saying! We need to find a way for all of us to survive!”

“I can’t think of any good options. Do you have any?”

“…”

When the soldiers fell silent, Damian let out a soft groan and stood up from his squatting position.

“And while I appreciate your concern, wouldn’t I have a better chance alone? I’d be less noticeable than a whole group. As I said, I’ve earned medals by acting alone without support… I’m more resilient to bad luck than you might think.”

“But… that’s suicide! Even for you, Lieutenant, this is…!”

Someone protested, but Damian continued as if he hadn’t heard.

“If we’re going with this plan, we need to move quickly. The encirclement will get tighter, and we’ll have no room to escape. Everyone, get ready to move. Help the wounded over there.”

“Lieutenant!”

The soldiers didn’t move, trying to change Damian’s mind. So Damian took out his revolver from its holster and cocked the hammer.

And before anyone could say anything, he fired a shot at their feet without warning. The soldiers flinched at the sudden, harsh warning.

Damian aimed the gun at Vic’s forehead, who was standing at the front, looking at him with a disgruntled expression.

“Disobeying orders during an operation grants the platoon leader the right to immediate execution. So stop complaining and do as I say. Or would you like me to make an example out of you first, Sergeant?”

No one dared to speak at his chilling words.

“Ha…! Seriously, this is… unbelievable!”

Nicole ran her hand through her hair roughly. She strode towards Damian and grabbed his gun, lowering it.

Damian offered no resistance, letting his arm fall to his side. Nicole, after calming Damian down, snapped at the soldiers.

“Alright! Alright, everyone calm down. I understand you don’t get it, but now’s not the time to argue about right and wrong! Besides, the Lieutenant’s plan is the most plausible one we have! So we’ll…”

Nicole bit her lower lip lightly and continued.

“Let’s do as the Lieutenant says.”

At Nicole’s words, the soldiers looked like they had a lot to say but were trying to accept the situation.

As Damian and Nicole said, this plan was the one that could save the most lives.

Damian patted Nicole’s shoulder.

“Thank you, Nicole. If I’m not back, you’ll be in command as the second-in-command.”

“…I don’t like it, but I guess there’s no other way.”

Damian chuckled and then spoke as if he had just remembered something.

“By the way, could you do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“If you see Major Paul Jeska, tell him I said, ‘Are you relieved now, you bastard?!’ and then spit on his boots.”

“…You don’t want to see me get executed, do you?”

Ignoring Nicole’s disbelief, Damian focused on gathering all the smoke grenades.

“Let’s go.”

At Damian’s brief command, the soldiers followed him with solemn expressions.

After walking for a certain distance, Damian glanced at his platoon members and detonated a smoke grenade.

“See you all alive!”

Taking his words as a signal, the soldiers started running north, leaving Damian behind.

☆

Damian continued south, detonating smoke grenades at regular intervals.

Judging by the gunshots from the other side of the smoke, the enemy seemed to be following him as expected.

As if to prove his resilience to bad luck, bullets rained down through the smoke, but Damian remained unharmed.

He was out of breath, but he couldn’t stop.

He still had many smoke grenades left. He wouldn’t run or hide until he had used them all. Despite the cold late winter air, sweat dripped down his face.

After running for a while, Damian threw his last smoke grenade and paused to catch his breath.

“This should be… enough.”

He finally slowed down. Just then, a bullet grazed his shoulder. A shiver ran down his spine. Damian glanced at his torn uniform and started moving again.

“They’re not giving me a break. They must have figured out I’m the decoy.”

He didn’t know if they were persistently chasing him even after realizing the truth or if they were genuinely unaware, but every bullet that flew towards him was filled with murderous intent.

‘How do I get out of here…?’

Damian hid behind a rock and quickly surveyed his surroundings. But there was no escape route in sight.

He had no choice but to continue south, maintaining his current path.

As he moved, gunshots followed from behind, and a burning pain shot through his right arm before he could even react.

“Ugh!”

Damian gritted his teeth and fought to stay on his feet.

He instinctively pressed his hand against the wound, but warm blood gushed out. The realization brought a wave of intense pain.

Damian bit his left forearm to suppress a scream.

“Aaargh…”

He fumbled at his waist and pulled out a bandage. There was no time for proper bandaging, so he simply tied it above the gunshot wound to stop the bleeding.

“Damn it.”

His arm was useless, and he couldn’t hold his gun properly.

‘This time, it seems really dangerous.’

The thought crossed his mind involuntarily.

When he parted ways with his platoon, he had felt detached from the situation, almost unreal. But now that he was injured, a different feeling washed over him.

Cold sweat ran down his face, different from the sweat caused by exertion.

‘And even while doing all those crazy things that earned me medals…’

Damian chuckled wryly amidst the chaos.

‘It was a miracle I remained unscathed.’

He had been reckless beyond belief. He shouldn’t have taken his survival for granted after pulling off such stunts.

Damian knew he had been lucky so far, but he hadn’t fully grasped the extent of his good fortune.