High School Soldier
145. Free from responsibility

There was a large castle that existed in the Luan Empire, and it was 50 kilometers away from the Emperor Palace. Actually this building belongs to one of the nobles of the peace faction of the Luan Empire, but the noble has been executed by the Alliance because it is considered to inhibit ‘’ expulsion of Indonesian troops from the Holy Land. Not surprisingly, after that incident almost all the nobles of the peace faction in the Luan Empire sought refuge in the State of Yekirnovo and the Kingdom of Arevelk. Some of the lucky ones were gladly received by Arevelk and Yekirnovo, as they were expected to help hasten the end of the war, but those caught in the middle of the road were put to death on the spot.

This castle also served as the headquarters of the Alliance, and this was the place where a major war against the Expeditionary Force was planned. It was here that the leaders of the countries and the military brass of the Alliance members gathered to discuss the continuation of the war, or simply enjoy the bodies of the poor girls who were kidnapped or forcibly taken from the Imperial villages to satisfy the higher-ups of the Alliance.

In the midst of war, entertainment was indeed indispensable, or the troops would suffer from stress. But not with the Alliance's top military brass who attach more importance to victory than to the mental health of its soldiers. Although they managed to get the soldiers excited to fight the Indonesian troops in the Holy Land with their words of poison, but it was not enough just to achieve victory.

It could be said that the great victory the Alliance wanted to achieve was a huge ambition. Achieving a major victory according to some is the highest honor of being a soldier, and according to them the degree can be raised if defeated troops as strong as the Indonesian troops. Even soldiers from among farmers were promised noble status if they managed to exterminate Indonesian troops from the Holy Land.

However, after the great war was over, the Alliance only received ‘nearly won’ results, and suffered huge losses. The victory dreamed by all the people of the Alliance member countries who hate the Indonesian troops, all that is only a dream that does not materialize.

300,000 soldiers is a fantastic number for this world, even countries on other continents who hear the news are worried if such a large army against their country after fighting with Indonesian forces in the Holy Land. Especially with the existence of the Luan Empire and a country called the Duiwel Empire that both have great military power, of course, victory would be a close hope.

Duiwel Empire was a country that controlled most of the small continent as large as Canada, the continent was named Debule Continent. The Duiwel Empire that controlled most of the Debule Continent made it a very large military power, as it controlled a large portion of the population of the continent which made it have great military scientist potential as well.

Only the Duiwel Empire was an Alliance member state that came from outside the Andzrev Continent. The rest of the Alliance members were five of the seven countries that were in the Andzrev Continent. That was what caused the Alliance to have an enormous military force, as well as the first military unity created in this world.

The army with the strength of 300,000 soldiers with the latest weapons was only 10% of the actual strength the Alliance possessed. They also mobilized monsters that inhabited the Alliance member states, which added to their military might. The Alliance also had reliable weapons craftsmen, and created several new weapons to fight against Indonesian forces and their allies.

Still, the fantastic number of 300,000 of their soldiers was just a number. They themselves had difficulty mobilizing so many troops, and only used old tactics that were no longer efficient. ‘The art of war is one of the vital things for an army’, but the Alliance instead showed tremendous carelessness as it did not predict if Indonesian forces had assistance.

In the end, the perfect gate they had forcibly closed did not weaken the Indonesian forces. It is precisely this that makes the soldiers of the Indonesian army fight desperately to keep something very valuable. They had not previously predicted that Arevelk and Yekirnovo would help Indonesian forces fight them.

Then, the Alliance had also performed a hero summoning ritual to augment their military might. The summoned heroes are said to have little power from the God of War, and it is hoped that their great power can destroy the Indonesian army and its allies.

The summoned hero indeed proved to have quite a bit of the power of the War God. For example, the Hero of Lust who possessed the ancient magic of metal, he could create weapons that he had seen. Then, the Hero of the Heart has the ability to make poison or chemical weapons, and the Hero of Anger who has a special magic that matches his weapon in the form of an assault rifle, the Eternal Bullet that will not run out.

In each raid against the Indonesian strongholds, the Alliance deployed their heroes and managed to kill several Indonesian soldiers and destroy their proud steel weapons. It was a satisfaction for the Alliance as they managed to reduce quite a lot of the strength of the Indonesian forces.

But…

“How is it possible, our 300,000 troops were defeated by the enemy in less than half a day!?”

“Do not forget the enemy also get help from Arevelk and Yekirnovo.”

Bogat and several other leaders of the Alliance member states only put on a grim face while Imperial Emperor Duiwel and King Ban Mamaki did not believe in the outcome of the war.

“For what do we call those useless heroes!?”

“Yes! They even fled when our troops fought against the enemy's relief forces.”

When they saw with their own eyes the nine heroes returning from the battlefield with pale faces, it was the most shameful thing. How could heroes who possessed extraordinary strength be able to retreat from the battle against an army that relied solely on their steel weapons? That was what the military leaders and top brass of the Alliance member states thought.

After the events of the heroes who fled the battle, now they are rumored to be much weaker than the dragon king who had been defeated by Indonesian forces. This rumor spread rapidly throughout the Alliance member states, like a fire snatching gasoline. That's why people's trust in heroes is declining rapidly.

The technology of the steel weapons owned by the Indonesian troops is not a match for the strength of the heroes. Supposedly, if the heroes decided to unite, they could defeat a large force of relief forces from Indonesia and its allies.

But, the heroes were only told if they had to help the Alliance to win the war, and were promised various things, including the title of nobility and being repatriated to the home world if victory was achieved by the Alliance.

“The two bitch queens seemed to want to pit the strength of our troops against their forces..”.

“If we then choose to fight with Arevelk and Yekirnovo, it means we will go back to war with Indonesia. The heroes can't seem to be expected anymore.”.

Bogat and several other leaders of the country still did not react to the sentence. They just sip wine with high alcohol content, and stay on the spot while looking at the map of the area of the Holy Land that was successfully re-controlled by Indonesia.

Only less than 80,000 of their soldiers managed to return from the battlefield, although they returned with various conditions. Most of them suffer from tremendous mental stress, to the point of almost near insanity.

Several returning Alliance soldiers recounted what they had seen while fighting with the relief forces.

A soldier from the Luan Empire recounted his experiences when facing the Indonesian infantry, but the expression he gave was almost similar to that of a person with a mental disorder.

“What do you see!? On the battlefield, they (tNI soldiers) attacked us with explosions. Bang out! Bang out! Bang!... such was the attack they gave against us!” those fellow soldiers just looked at him with concerned gazes. The soldier actually looked almost crazy despite only going through the battle for one week. No one knew why he was able to arrive like this after coming home from the battlefield.

But, the silence in the meeting room of the leaders of the Alliance member states was the answer.

Only the Indonesian forces and their allies could drive the Alliance soldiers nearly insane, and were reluctant to return to the battlefield. Actually they still want to go to the battlefield, except for the battlefield with the enemy in the form of Indonesian troops and their allies.

Almost everyone who heard the news of the Alliance Army's defeat wondered if their hearing was still functioning. After which, they made sure with hearing from their own ears if the large army of the Alliance was nearly destroyed on the battlefield of the Holy Land.

Emperor Bogat simply said, “So, Kambana also helped the enemy” after hearing reports that Sheyn's sister was creating new weapons to deal with the Alliance Army.

The 4-meter-high wall-protected castle was visited by thousands of humans from the Luan Empire and Alliance member states. They demanded the Alliance to return their children, husbands, and lovers who died on the battlefield. The words they uttered sounded like insults towards the Alliance, and their fury was already boiling up like this hot afternoon.

It seemed ironic indeed, as the men and youth who came from the Alliance member states did not voluntarily become soldiers of the Alliance. Most of the Alliance's soldiers were forced to fight, and if resisted the punishment would be accepted by the soldier's family. Moreover, they were clearly forced to fight against an army that was almost impossible to make surrender, and the Alliance soldiers were largely devoid of any sense of nationalism towards the home country and the Alliance, he said, and the soul of corsa against fellow soldiers. In order to survive the fight of the Indonesian troops and their allies, there were many Alliance officers who used their subordinate bodies as shields. Then, if the battle was increasingly impossible to win, some of the soldiers would escape and let their comrades be killed.

The Alliance's higher-ups promised their soldiers a fair pay, including the families of fallen soldiers would be promised the same money as those who managed to survive. However, the Alliance had lost the war so badly, and those promises were nothing but nonsense.

Although the Alliance Army had fought bravely, but the people seemed unwilling to accept their struggle if the result obtained was ‘the biggest defeat’.

Indeed, an army of 300,000 to lose to a lesser number of enemies was a very embarrassing result. Although Arevelk and Yekirnovo had sent their help, the number of the Alliance Army was still much higher. But, the difference was that the Alliance Army soldiers had gone through a long and grueling series of battles, while the relief forces were saving manpower just to face them.

At the very least, the people should be able to accept the loss of family members killed in the war, even though the Alliance did not win the battle.

It seemed, the great defeat of the Alliance Army was equated with a tsunami-level major disaster. But, what they were facing was a country that came from another world with a higher level of civilization thousands of years from them, and it was not wrong to equate their enemies with disasters.

“The situation is not that simple. We do not just swallow a very embarrassing defeat.”

Finally, Bogat opened his mouth and spoke after finishing two glasses of wine. The anxiety of the people in this place appeared after the sentence was said to be Bogat.

“I understand. The battle we are starting will probably create the seeds of hostility from other countries. Because of our great battle, the Holy Land has been tainted by the blood of war.”

Then, Emperor Bogat said the most alarming thing after Emperor Serca's words, but he said it with a grinning smile.

“It seems, we ‘unintentionally’ started the First World War, yes?”

**

The Holy Land, which is now successfully defended, and the Expeditionary Forces and volunteer forces that managed to be rescued from a major battle a few weeks ago.

Not a single relief force soldier, both TNI, Russian, and North Korean soldiers returned to the world of origin. There are several important reasons that aid forces have not returned, including the service period that has not reached the final stage. According to the appointed time, the relief forces will return to the world of origin one month from their arrival to the battlefield. That means, the relief forces still have a 2-week service period in this world.

Instead of being angry about the 1 month stint in the other world, Russian and North Korean soldiers really enjoyed their assignment to this other world. Although during the war they saw the most terrible battlefield they had ever seen during the work of becoming a soldier, the battlefield was filled with large troops who were subjected to very easy fire.

There is a hill created from a pile of rubble of fortress buildings, the hill has a height of about 30 meters. Some of the rubble was reused to patch up parts of the collapsed fort walls, and some of it was used to create the artificial hill. It was additional work for servicemen of aid forces from Russia and North Korea.

Most of the buildings standing in the Expeditionary Force fortress collapsed and were heavily damaged, making it impossible to reuse. So, for the residence of the soldiers in this world, while they use tents. Although some of them feel comfortable sleeping in combat vehicles, such as tactical vehicles and transport helicopters.

The mission is also an opportunity for North Korean and Russian soldiers to interact more deeply with TNI soldiers and other world soldiers from the Arevelk and Yekirnovo Kingdoms. Some of them interviewed the Expeditionary Force soldiers with the intention of imagining the battle they had when the Gate was closed and the relief force had not yet been delivered.

Even just by imagining, Russian and North Korean soldiers can creep and feel amazed by the experience of Expeditionary Force soldiers who fight desperately until the aid troops arrive.

Then, in a separate place, 60,000 captured prisoners of war were secured in an area that was once the area of the Expeditionary Force soldier barracks. The captives were heavily guarded by 400 TNI infantry.

Despite their status as prisoners of war, none of them were allowed to accept crimes of any kind. Even so, there are still some TNI soldiers who challenge the prisoners to fight, or to be rude to the prisoners. Surely the idle soldiers will be punished according to their actions.

Some refugees fortunately suffered only minor to moderate injuries, most of them burns. For the refugees who became volunteer troops, they had only gotten a few sword incision wounds, and received a few stitches on their bodies.

The cruiser team 1 is one of the units that can be said ‘lucky’, because the number of members is still intact after the war is over. Meanwhile, there were several Cruiser Guilds that had lost most of their members, even some barely remaining a single member. That is what makes the members of the 1st Cruiser Squad grateful, and decided to look after each other for the unity of the unit.

Regarding Nio, the young man was seen walking in a new field uniform. Although Nio walked while looking straight ahead, but the gaze he gave turned out to be able to make Sigiz and Lux who wanted to approach him undo their intentions. Sigiz and Lux feel that Nio is really very sad and angry about the death of General Sucipto and Captain Surya.

Nio's mood was much worse than when facing his enemies in the previous war when he heard the news of Sucipto and Surya's death. Nio's almost expressionless face made some people keep their distance from him. A few more even had to consider looking at Nio's figure again when the young man was in an unclear mood.

The letter Sucipto wrote was the beginning of Nio knowing the news of the man's death. The young man received three letters, all of which were written by Sucipto, one of which was received by Nio. It contained a thank you Sucipto for Nio who had fought together in the great war against the Alliance. And written also the expression of Sucipto's admiration for Nio's ability, the man praised Nio's ability which was different from ordinary Student Army soldiers.

For Sucipto, Nio is a young soldier who has a promising future in the military. In fact, while fighting alongside Nio against the Alliance Army, Sucipto felt that Nio had actually turned into a figure that surpassed even the general. The man also wrote a letter to his family if this war would make him die honorably, and ordered Nio to hand the letter directly to his family. While one other letter is a secret letter that Nio must give to the President after returning to Indonesia.

Then, regarding the death of Surya, Nio of course felt very lost. Nio knew the young man had an arrogant attitude, and often sought attention in front of the female soldiers of Company 406. Even Herlina did not escape Surya's temptation, and did not give up on approaching the girl despite knowing that Herlina liked other men.

Nio also receives a letter tainted with Surya's blood, a letter that the young man specifically wrote for him. A letter that became an important message for Nio, and alluded to the future of Surya's sister, Nike.

Surya wants Nio to take care of Nike like the young man is looking after the country, and hand the future of his sister over to Nio. Only that young man Surya trusted for the mission of guarding Nike, because he himself had seen the nature of Nio during his time in Company 406. At the end of the letter, Surya orders Nio to apologize to Nike if he should fall before seeing her happy. Because, only the Nike family has Surya since the war with the other world began.

“Why am I the one they gave this task to? Is there no one else?”

Instead of not wanting to accept the duties of the two fallen soldiers, Nio only imagined the reaction of the Sucipto and Nike families when he learned of the loss of both of them. Nio could even imagine what happened when he handed the last letter Surya and Sucipto wrote to their families both.

Evidence of Nio's anger over the deaths of Surya and Sucipto and other soldiers were some prisoners of war who had to receive special treatment. It happened shortly after Nio received a letter from them, indicating that Surya and Sucipto were killed while fighting against the enemy. The necklace belonging to Surya and Sucipto that Nio received also became evidence if the two soldiers died.

Nio who lost his temper and could not think clearly after going through a grueling and crazy battle, headed for an area where prisoners of war were secured. He challenged several captives, and more than 40 prisoners accepted Nio's challenge.

With his bare hands and against his own captives he challenged, within 15 minutes Nio was able to leave several captives broken, unconscious, and traumatized. If some of the soldiers did not stop Nio fighting with the captives, perhaps the wounded prisoners were much more.

Because of that, Nio became the talk of people. As he walked towards the Emergency Operational Headquarters, he could hear the whispers around him, most people talking about him were precisely the soldiers of Arevelk Kingdom, “That's him, the one who was foretold, the one who was, and the one who could make our queen fall in love for the first time. The blood-soaked, ruthless and heartless warrior of humanity.”

“He said, we won't be able to last 5 seconds if we fight against him!”

“You're kidding!?”

“Serious..”.

Even so, Nio still held a personal grudge against the Alliance who had killed many of the nation's best soldiers. To be exact, almost all the soldiers were furious against all the enemies of Indonesia, for having killed their family members.

Even if this war continues to an unpredictable time, the soldiers do not mind continuing to fight with all the enemies of Indonesia and avenge their personal revenge.

**

Nio arrived in front of the biggest tent of all the tents set up on the temporary defensive line before the fort was rebuilt. He asked one of the four soldiers guarding this place about the whereabouts of Nugroho, who he said called himself to meet the commander-in-chief.

Soldier One asked Nio to enter the tent if he wanted to meet Nugroho, and indeed the commander wanted to see Nio. After thanking him, Nio entered the tent and glanced in all directions to look for Nugroho's whereabouts.

While walking, Nio saluted the officers several times, until he found Nugroho. Some of the working soldiers glanced at Nio, who had already changed a few things, including a look that was almost similar to one filled with ambition to kill.

“Maybe he'll actually get the rank of lieutenant.”

“It was indeed no doubt..”.

Nio only heard people talking to him like advice that goes into the ear hole and out into the other ear hole.

Although rumors about Nio and all the Expeditionary Force soldiers will receive a promotion for fighting to protect the coat of arms, the Red and White, Nio considers it a punishment.

Nio felt that if the higher the rank that would be accepted, then the jobs received and responsibilities would be even greater. That was the thing Nio wanted to avoid the most, he would rather work on a live battlefield than inside an air-conditioned workspace.

The person Nio wanted to meet smiled when he saw the young man coming. Nugroho sat at the desk writing something down on a pile of paper in front of him. This officer, it was hardly like he was working on the battlefield because it was so calm. Almost all the soldiers were still anxious about the enemy's attack if it came suddenly.

Nio stood firmly in front of Nugroho's desk while saluting according to protocol. Nugroho who was wearing daily service clothes stopped his work, and returned the young man's respect.

“Congratulations on your promotion, you will soon be ranked as First Lieutenant of the Student Army. Nio..”

Nio smiled thinly and coldly in response to Nugroho's congratulations. Nio could only feel annoyed in his heart, because in front of him was a supreme officer in the TNI. Nio could not resist ‘punishment’, inevitably he had to accept the promotion.

But, the sad situation like now was the thing that created a strange atmosphere in his heart regarding the promotion of the position he received.

“Ready! Thanks for the compliment, Sir.”.

He could not be angry just because he would get a promotion, but Nio did not feel happy about it at all.

An accomplished warrior like Nio should not think that way, but he also could not easily dispel the sadness in his heart. He could not receive such a high award, at a time when this victory was achieved at a great price from the blood and lives of the fighters.

Like having esper powers, Nugroho said, “Are you close enough to General Sucipto?”

“Siap..., I think he is quite close to the soldiers. He is also a role model.”

And that was why Nio always put on a threatening face, because he could not easily let go of Sucipto for ever.

“In addition to him, we also need young men like you, Nio..”.

“Siap. My greatest happiness is where a young man like me is trusted to look after the nation.”

“Outstanding.”

Perhaps the only thing Nio had in mind when delivering the sentence was wanting to hide his anger towards the enemy. In his opinion, he still felt that his expression was still too clearly showing anger. In addition, he said it was due to formality, rather than saying too monotonous a thing.

Nugroho then handed him a piece of paper that he had signed, and this was the purpose of the man calling Nio here. Although Nio was ready to receive punishment for fighting with the prisoners, but he was much more fortunate not to be dragged to military court for killing prisoners of war troops mostly from Indonesia.

The staff in this tent barely looked at Nio, each working on the documents they received. Nio felt if there was something bad happening to him because the atmosphere of this place was so calm.

“You, will be relieved of the responsibility of leading the 1.” Explorers Squad

Nio who was surprised by Nugroho's words then read the paper he received, and the writing on the paper contained if Nio was no longer the commander of Team 1 explorer. Previously, Nio had thought that the paper he received contained a notice if his salary would be cut for fighting with the captives. But the content of the writing on the paper turned out to be much worse.

“You will be transferred to the Reconnaissance and Battle Group, and lead one of the teams there. Of course you will carry out this task after returning from Indonesia.”

Nugroho explained to Nio what the Reconnaissance and Battle Group was. The man told Nio that this team only absorbed members from the Special Student Forces. That means, all members of the army will come from among the Student Army soldiers who are part of the elite force. But, Nio again considered if his new task as punishment for all his mistakes on the battlefield.

After he finished saying that, Nugroho told Nio the time and place of the promotion ceremony for him and all Expeditionary Force soldiers.

“You also received praise from officers of the Kingdom of Arevelk and Yekirnovo. And Queen Sigiz and Her Majesty Sheyn said they would grant you special titles. I also don't know for sure what the two of them will give you, but it seems like they have a taste for you.”

Instantly, the atmosphere in this place grew even more gripping when some female staff stopped their work abruptly after hearing that Nio was about to receive a gift from Sigiz and Sheyn. Moreover, the words Nugroho ‘maybe they have a taste of you’ make some sharp gazes from the male and female staff lead to him.

“Yah... whatever you will receive, do not forget your first task to become a Special Student Forces soldier.”

“Siap... understand, Sir!”

Nio then saluted Nugroho according to protocol, and walked to the exit while carrying the paper given to him. Some of the staff resumed their work, some of the female staff smiled until their cheeks blushed slowly, while most of the male staff glared at Nio with envy.