I Was Mistaken for a Great General of War

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Edvol, who was busily rolling his eyes, swallowed hard.

Thinking it might be better to cooperate for now, he nodded slightly.

Cautiously moving, Edvol walked over to the sofa and sat down across from Hamtal.

The member of the Black Crow disguised as a soldier was still aiming a handgun at him.

Feeling uneasy, Edvol glanced sideways, and Hamtal raised his hand.

At that, the member lowered the handgun without a word.

Realizing they weren’t trying to kill him, Edvol secretly felt relieved and looked at Hamtal.

“…What do you want?”

Hamtal didn’t respond.

He simply stared intently at Edvol.

Silence can sometimes be a powerful weapon.

Feeling the pressure, Edvol opened his mouth, even though Hamtal hadn’t asked any questions.

“Did you come from the Empire’s intelligence department? If so, I will cooperate. As you probably know, it was I who ordered the opening of our waters to the submarine. But it’s because the Allied Nations threatened me. I can submit evidence on that…”

Wait a minute.

As he continued speaking, Edvol froze.

His train of thought had abruptly stopped.

‘Was there… any evidence?’

Edvol reflected on his dealings with the Allied Nations.

They always sent someone to give him verbal orders or deliver bribes.

And it was always in places where the Allied Nations needed personnel.

Moreover, the bribes weren’t transactions through banks; they were pure cash.

That meant there were no basic documents or communication records.

There was no evidence.

Realizing for the first time that he had been played by the Allied Nations, Edvol’s eyes began to tremble.

“Edvol.”

Hamtal, quietly observing Edvol, spoke softly.

“What we want from you isn’t such trivial things. We merely hope you will tell the truth to the world.”

Cold sweat trickled down Edvol’s forehead.

The ticking sound from the wall clock seemed unusually loud.

As Edvol gasped for breath, he frowned.

“I can’t do that. Isn’t that basically asking me to die? If you’ve come to negotiate, then make a proper proposal.”

Hamtal let out a low chuckle.

“Looks like we still seem like Empire intelligence agents to you. They say there’s no remedy for stupidity.”

After a brief moment of consideration, Hamtal nodded.

“Fine. Since we’ve met like this, let me tell you an old story.”

Hamtal raised his hand and fiddled with his fingers.

“Edvol, do you know how long it takes for a toenail to grow back after it falls out?”

Edvol didn’t answer.

No, it would be more accurate to say he couldn’t answer.

If he had lived a normal life, he wouldn’t have had the luxury to worry about toenails growing back.

“It takes anywhere from six months to nearly a year. Let me tell you, it’s information I didn’t want to know. Losing a toenail is one of the worst pains one can experience.”

Hamtal clicked his tongue.

“When I was young, it was normal for Black people to be discriminated against. It’s not much different now, but back then, they didn’t consider Black people human at all. We were on par with beasts that could talk.”

Hamtal laughed with self-deprecation.

For some reason, that laughter made the atmosphere heavy.

“I, too, was a beast back then. My master treated me as such. He had a dreadful hobby—torturing Black slaves.”

Hamtal took off his leather gloves.

The smile vanished from his face as he looked at his hands.

“Because of that, it became commonplace for me to be beaten by my master. I lived with scars all over my body. Ironically, I thought back then that I could endure this much. Such a devastating slave mentality.”

“…”

“But it seemed my master craved more significant stimulation. One day, he came at me with pliers. That day, I lost my toenails amidst my screams.”

Hamtal turned his hand to show Edvol.

Irregularly growing, misshapen nails were visible.

The deformity was a result of the nails growing back after being pulled out.

“It hurt. I wondered why it hurt so much. Later, I found out that the nerves were excessively distributed underneath the toenails. So, any pain from cutting the skin would seem trivial in comparison.”

After putting his hand back, Hamtal donned his gloves again.

“Even more terrible was that losing my toenails meant I couldn’t pick up anything. Every time I tried to grab something, immense pain shot through my fingertips, making it hard to hold even a cup of water.”

“…”

“So, I made a resolution. I would kill the master who brought me this hell. That rage alone allowed me to endure for years. But sadly, the opportunity for revenge never came.”

Hamtal’s eyes slowly closed and then opened again.

“It was my fellow slave, unable to bear our master’s tyranny, who snatched a gun and shot him. Can you imagine how I felt at that moment? Give it a try.”

Edvol, watching Hamtal, spoke hesitantly.

“…You weren’t happy?”

Hamtal let out a low laugh and shook his head.

“Not at all. The master died too easily. With a bullet in his head, he likely felt no pain whatsoever. For him, a peaceful death was nothing short of a luxury.”

“So…?”

“My younger self was furious. I wanted to save him, if possible. To bring him back to inflict the same suffering I endured. I wanted him to see the hell of living a half-death.”

Hamtal, with a restrained smile, fixed his gaze on Edvol.

“But now that rage…”

A cold, detached light glinted in his empty eyes.

“Now it’s turning towards you.”

Edvol felt a wave of fear wash over him, gasping for breath.

Those words concealed a fear that surpassed simply promising to torture him.

Hamtal, watching Edvol tremble with fear, shook his head.

“But I won’t do that. I’m a different person than my master. However, Edvol, if you refuse our proposal…”

In a chilling atmosphere, Hamtal continued.

“We would willingly choose to become devils.”

Facing Hamtal, Edvol began to pant and inadvertently lowered his gaze.

He couldn’t endure Hamtal’s stare.

“The opportunity will only come once. I hope you choose wisely.”

If you don’t tell the truth to the world, you will witness hell.

Conveying such a meaning, Hamtal picked up the fedora from the table and placed it on his head.

After Hamtal stood up, Edvol, still looking down, spoke in a trembling voice.

“…May I ask one thing?”

“What is it?”

“If you’re not members of the Empire’s intelligence department, then what exactly are you trying to uncover regarding the sinking of the official dispatch vessel?”

It was a brave question from Edvol, but Hamtal and the member of the Black Crow simply laughed as if it was amusing.

However, the laughter didn’t last long.

At some point, the laughter abruptly stopped, and Hamtal’s chilling voice echoed.

“You must know. You’ve touched someone you shouldn’t have.”

Edvol’s eyes went wide.

“Don’t tell me…?”

He had heard about the mysterious organization known as the armed Imperial Guard that was rumored to be tied to Captain Daniel Steiner.

Just as Edvol began to figure out Hamtal’s identity, a sudden impact struck the back of his neck.

Without even a scream, Edvol collapsed to the floor, rolling his eyes back.

In his fading vision, he saw Hamtal looking down at him from above.

“Everything…”

His consciousness began to sink slowly.

Just before Edvol fainted, Hamtal whispered, lowering the brim of his fedora.

“For Daniel Steiner.”

*

Meanwhile, under the orders of Selvia, the Empire’s fleet traversed the waters of Belanos and safely arrived at the port of Tentarvahem.

Amidst the protection of four massive surface warships, four landing craft carrying search troops and two supply ships crossed the sea, creating a magnificent scene.

To top it off, a maritime patrol aircraft was circling around the fleet, with several Empire fighters flying over Tentarvahem in reconnaissance, causing citizens to initially mistake it for a declaration of war.

To prevent any misunderstandings, the fleet commander, upon arriving in Belanos, explained to the citizens the reason for the troop arrival and ordered a search operation.

With no time to rest, the troops silently began the search mission.

Among those search troops, the Imperial Guard was also included, with Colonel Hartmann, responsible for the chief security detail, leading the battalion.

“We will investigate this nearby coastline! It’s the command of Her Highness the Princess! Search thoroughly!”

As Hartmann issued orders from a beach, the Imperial Guard members scattered in all directions to conduct their search.

Confirming that the troops moved in an orderly fashion, Hartmann glanced around.

‘Abandoned fishing boats and shacks…’

The scenery felt oddly shabby.

While observing the surroundings for a while, Hartmann decided to check one of the shacks and took a step forward just then.

“Colonel Hartmann!”

At the sound of his subordinate’s voice, he turned his head instinctively.

The subordinate opened his mouth with a look of disbelief.

“…I think we’ve made a discovery.”

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

Beneath the subordinate’s feet lay a uniform buried in the sand.

‘This is…’

Kneeling down, Hartmann dug into the sand to retrieve the uniform.

The uniform had not only the National Order of Goryeo Medal but also the Golden Cross Medal attached to it.

It was undoubtedly Captain Daniel Steiner’s military uniform.

“Ha…”

Dumbfounded, Hartmann stood there with his mouth agape while the subordinate spoke.

“Do you think he hid the uniform?”

Only then did Hartmann snap back to reality and nodded.

“It seems he hastily buried the uniform here before leaving. The strong winds over the past few days likely uncovered it.”

“Why would Captain Steiner do such a thing…?”

“By the time he was stranded, he probably realized there were traitors in the Empire working with the enemy within Belanos. So it makes sense that he wanted to hide his identity for safety.”

After placing the uniform down, Hartmann stood up.

“Of course, that’s not the only reason for hiding his identity. Captain Steiner likely intended to use the fact that he was presumed dead to his advantage.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Corporal Pandaim, think carefully. We entered Belanos without bloodshed under the pretext of explaining Captain Daniel Steiner’s death. What does that mean?”

Now, the prime minister of Belanos had no choice but to bow to the Empire.

Not only was there a terror incident targeting the Empire in their territorial waters, but they were also suspected of having traitors collaborating with the Allied Nations within.

Moreover, having the Empire’s army enter Belanos placed the prime minister in an extremely disadvantageous position for diplomacy.

Realizing that, Corporal Pandaim blinked in astonishment.

“…Surely, the Empire will gain substantial diplomatic advantages. But why didn’t Captain Steiner inform his homeland about this? He could have carried out the operation secretly.”

“Daniel Steiner fundamentally does not trust his allies. Because he doesn’t know who the spy is.”

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

Daniel had gone down south alone and wiped out the prince’s secret organization without informing anyone in the Empire.

To deceive the enemy, deceive your allies.

Hamtal knew well that Daniel Steiner was the one who best utilized this maxim.

With a click of his tongue, Hartmann looked at his subordinate.

“Inform the homeland that the probability of Daniel Steiner being alive is high. Her Highness the Princess will surely be delighted.”

“Understood!”

Saluting energetically, Corporal Pandaim moved toward the radio operator.

After sending off his subordinate, Hartmann looked up at the city not far away.

Daniel Steiner was surely operating from there.

‘I always knew he was an extraordinary person, but…’

To use even his own death for the Empire—it almost felt inhuman.

Hartmann swallowed a dry gulp.

‘What kind of scheme might he be concocting there…’

In his rush to stay one step ahead, Hartmann found it impossible to follow the brilliant mind of Daniel, the genius staff officer.

 

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