I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander

Rolling his eyes restlessly, Edvol gulped down his saliva.

Initially thinking it wise to cooperate, Edvol gave a small nod.

Moving cautiously, Edvol approached the sofa and sat across from Hamtal.

The Black Feathers operative, disguised as a soldier, still had his gun trained on him.

Unnerved by this, Edvol glanced sideways, prompting Hamtal to raise his hand.

The operative then silently lowered his gun.

Realizing they did not intend to kill him, Edvol inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at Hamtal.

“…What do you want?”

Hamtal did not respond.

He merely stared intently at Edvol.

Silence can sometimes become a powerful weapon.

Feeling burdened, Edvol opened his mouth, despite Hamtal not asking any questions.

“Are you from the Imperial Intelligence Agency? If so, I will cooperate. As you likely already know, I was the one who ordered the territorial waters opened to the submarine. However, this was because the Allied Nations threatened me. I can provide evidence related to…”

Wait.

Edvol trailed off, his train of thought halting.

‘Evidence… was there any?’

Edvol reflected on his dealings with the Allied Nations.

The Allied Nations had always sent people to verbally issue orders or deliver bribes to Edvol.

But only at locations devoid of potential witnesses, as they desired.

Moreover, the bribes were in the form of pure cash, not bank transactions.

This meant there were no basic documents or communication records.

There was no evidence.

Finally realizing he had been deceived by the Allied Nations, Edvol’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Edvol.”

Observing Edvol’s state, Hamtal spoke quietly.

“What we want from you is not some trivial thing. We simply wish for you to reveal the truth to the world.”

Edvol broke out in a cold sweat.

The ticking of the wall clock sounded unnaturally loud.

Exhaling heavily, Edvol frowned.

“I cannot do that. That would be tantamount to asking me to die, wouldn’t it? If you came to make a deal, propose a proper offer.”

Hamtal let out a low chuckle.

“It seems we still appear to be Imperial Intelligence operatives to you. Foolishness indeed has no cure.”

After a brief contemplation, Hamtal nodded.

“Very well. Since we have met like this, allow me to share a story from my past.”

Hamtal raised his hand and stroked his fingers.

“Edvol. Do you know how long it takes for a lost fingernail to regrow?”

Edvol did not respond.

Or rather, he could not respond.

If he had led an ordinary life, he would not have had cause to ponder such a question.

“It can take anywhere from six months to nearly a year. Let me tell you in advance, it was information I did not wish to know. The experience of having a fingernail ripped out was truly one of the worst pains imaginable.”

Hamtal clicked his tongue softly.

“When I was young, discrimination against black people was considered normal. It’s not much different now, but back then, black people were not even treated as human beings. We were regarded as mere beasts capable of speech.”

Hamtal let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

For some reason, his laughter weighed heavily upon the atmosphere.

“I too was but a beast back then. My master treated me as such. He had a cruel hobby – torturing black slaves.”

Hamtal removed his leather gloves.

The smile faded from Hamtal’s face as he gazed at his own hands.

“As a result, being beaten by my master became a daily occurrence. I lived with scars covering my body. Absurdly, I thought I could endure that level of abuse, a testament to my ingrained slave mentality.”
“…”
“However, it seems my master required greater stimulation, as one day, he approached me with a pair of pliers. On that day, amidst my screams, I lost my fingernails.”

Hamtal turned his hand to show Edvol.

His fingernails had regrown unevenly, appearing lumpy and misshapen.

A deformity resulting from the regrowth process after being ripped out.

“It was excruciating. Do you know why it was so agonizing? I later learned that an excessive number of nerves are concentrated beneath the fingernails. So, merely cutting the skin pales in comparison to the pain.”

Lowering his hand, Hamtal put his gloves back on.

“Even more dreadful was my inability to grasp objects after losing my fingernails. Whenever I tried to pick something up, intense pain would shoot through my fingertips, making it difficult to even hold a cup of water.”
“…”
“So I resolved to kill my master, the one who had subjected me to this hell. That single fury sustained me for years. Unfortunately, the opportunity for revenge never presented itself.”

Hamtal’s eyes slowly closed and reopened.

“Because a fellow slave, unable to endure my master’s violence any longer, seized a gun and shot him dead. How do you think I felt at that moment? Go on, tell me.”

Observing Hamtal’s expression, Edvol opened his mouth with difficulty.

“…You were not pleased?”

Letting out a low chuckle, Hamtal shook his head.

“Not at all. My master died too easily. A bullet to the head meant he felt no pain. For him, a peaceful death was an immense luxury.”
“So…”
“As a child, I was furious. If possible, I wanted to revive him. Revive him, so I could return the suffering I had endured. I wanted to show him the hell of being neither alive nor dead.”

Having finished laughing, Hamtal stared intently at Edvol.

“And now, that fury seems to be…”

His hollow eyes harbored a chilling malice.

“…directed at you.”

Those words caused Edvol to exhale sharply, gripped by fear.

For they carried an unspeakable horror beyond mere torture.

Watching the terrified Edvol, Hamtal shook his head.

“But I will not act upon it. For I am not like my former master. However, Edvol. If you refuse our offer…”

In the eerie atmosphere, Hamtal continued.

“We will gladly embrace the role of demons.”

Unable to withstand Hamtal’s gaze, Edvol found himself involuntarily lowering his eyes, panting heavily.

“This is your final chance. I hope you make a wise choice.”

Implying that failing to reveal the truth would consign him to hell, Hamtal picked up the fedora from the table and placed it on his head.

As Hamtal rose from his seat, the cowering Edvol spoke in a trembling voice.

“…May I ask one question?”
“What is it?”
“If you and your people are not from the Imperial Intelligence Agency, then for whom are you trying to uncover the truth behind the sinking of the diplomatic vessel?”

While Edvol had mustered his courage to ask, Hamtal and the Black Feathers operatives merely responded with dismissive laughter.

However, their laughter did not last long.

At some point, the laughter abruptly ceased, and Hamtal’s chilling voice rang out.

“You should know. You messed with the wrong person.”

Edvol’s eyes widened.

“Surely not…”

He was well aware of the rumored existence of an unknown covert organization loyal to Daniel Steiner, referred to as his armed guardians.

As Edvol deduced Hamtal’s identity, a sharp impact struck the back of his neck.

Unable to even cry out, Edvol collapsed onto the floor, his eyes rolling back.

Through his blurring vision, he saw Hamtal looming over him.

“All of this is…”

His consciousness gradually faded.

Just before losing consciousness, Hamtal lowered the brim of his fedora and whispered.

“For Daniel Steiner.”

Meanwhile, acting on Celvia’s orders, the Imperial fleet that had crossed Velanos’s territorial waters arrived safely at the port of Tentarbahm.

Amidst four massive surface battleships providing escort, four landing ships carrying search troops and two supply ships traversed the sea, their arrival at the port a magnificent sight to behold.

Additionally, maritime patrol aircraft circled the fleet, while Imperial fighter jets patrolled the skies above Tentarbahm, initially leading citizens to mistake the situation for an outbreak of war.

To avoid any misunderstanding, upon arriving, the fleet commander explained the reason for the military presence to the citizens and ordered the search operation to commence.

Treating rest as a luxury, the troops silently launched into the search without delay.

Among the search forces were members of the Imperial Royal Guard, led by Hartman, the head of security detail, commanding a battalion-sized contingent.

“We will investigate this nearby coastal area! By order of Her Highness the Princess! Search thoroughly!”

At Hartman’s command on one stretch of coastline, the Royal Guards dispersed in all directions to conduct the search.

After confirming the troops’ disciplined movements, Hartman surveyed his surroundings.

‘Abandoned fishing boats and huts…’

An uncharacteristically desolate landscape.

Having taken in the scenery for a while, Hartman decided to inspect one of the huts and started to approach it.

“Major Hartman!”

Turning his head instinctively at a subordinate’s voice, the subordinate spoke with an expression of disbelief.

“…I think we’ve found something.”

At the mention of a discovery, Hartman immediately approached the subordinate.

There, partially buried in the sand near the subordinate’s feet, lay a military uniform.

‘This is…’

Kneeling down, Hartman brushed away the sand to retrieve the uniform.

Not only did it bear the national commander’s rank insignia, but also the Golden Cross medal.

Undoubtedly Daniel Steiner’s military uniform.

“Huh…”

Dumbfounded, Hartman stood gaping until the subordinate spoke.

“Did he hide his uniform?”

Finally regaining his senses, Hartman nodded.

“It seems he hurriedly buried his uniform in the sand before leaving this place. The strong winds these past few days must have scattered the sand, exposing it.”
“Why would Lieutenant Colonel Daniel do such a thing…?”
“At the point of his shipwreck, he must have realized there were collaborators within Velanos working with the enemy nation. Hence, to ensure his safety, he concealed his identity by removing his uniform. That would be the reasonable assumption.”

Setting down the uniform, Hartman rose to his feet.

“Of course, concealing his identity was not his sole motive. Lieutenant Colonel Daniel undoubtedly intended to exploit the presumption of his death.”
“I fail to grasp your meaning…”
“Sergeant Pandeim, think carefully. Under the pretext of avenging Daniel Steiner’s death, we have effectively occupied Velanos with our military forces. What does this imply?”

The Prime Minister of Velanos would now have no choice but to adopt a submissive stance towards the Empire.

Not only had a terrorist act against the Empire occurred within their territorial waters, but there were also suspicions of an internal collaborator working with the Allied Nations.

Coupled with the entry of Imperial troops into Velanos, the Prime Minister would be at an extreme diplomatic disadvantage.

Realizing this, Sergeant Pandeim blinked vacantly.

“…Certainly, the Empire will hold a significant diplomatic advantage. But why did Lieutenant Colonel Daniel not inform our homeland of this? He could have covertly conducted operations.”
“Fundamentally, Daniel Steiner does not trust his allies. Because he cannot discern who might be a spy.”

A similar incident had previously occurred in the southern region of the Empire.

Daniel had gone to the south alone, without informing anyone within the Empire, and single-handedly eliminated the Prince’s covert organization.

To deceive the enemy, one must deceive one’s allies as well.

Hartman was well aware that this maxim was Daniel Steiner’s modus operandi.

Sticking out his tongue, Hartman looked at his subordinate.

“Inform the homeland that there is a high probability Daniel Steiner is alive. It will bring joy to Her Highness the Princess in her grief.”
“Understood!”

Sergeant Pandeim saluted vigorously and walked towards a radio operator.

Seeing off his subordinate, Hartman raised his head to gaze at the nearby city.

Daniel Steiner was undoubtedly lying in wait there.

‘I knew he was an exceptional individual, but…’

To utilize his own presumed death for the Empire’s benefit, he no longer seemed human.

Filled with an indescribable sense of awe, Hartman swallowed dryly.

‘What kind of scheme is he plotting there…?’

For Hartman, who could barely stay one step ahead, it was impossible to fathom the thoughts of the brilliant staff officer Daniel.