The End and the Beginning (2)
When Ian arrived in the conference room, all the commanders were assembled.
Beorn, who had arrived first and was preparing his documents, bowed his head in greeting.
"Are you here? It's not a meeting yet."
Ian nodded and sat down quietly.
Rahon, who had been yawning drowsily beside him, suddenly sniffed and sniffed.
Ian raised his eyebrows in response to his unflattering behavior
"What are you doing?"
"Does it smell sweet from you?"
"..."
He just ate a candy, but did that smell remain?
However, it was natural for his nose to react when he came out of the bloody battlefield.
Rahon pressed his face into Ian, twitching his nose blatantly
"It smells like candy. Where did you get it?"
"Put it away."
"Is there anything more? If there is, give it to me, maybe because I've been eating sairy rice lately."
"I told you to go."
Despite Ian's harsh warning, Rahon did not pay any attention to it.
He even groped Ian's body and searched everywhere until he found a candy case.
"Here it is!"
"..."
Ian's eyes filled with life.
However, Rahon did not notice this at all. He opened the candy case arbitrarily, and he spilled out into the room.
"Wow, how many of these? Did you want to eat all these things by yourself? If there's something delicious, we'll share it!"
The commanders, who had been concentrating on the meeting materials until then, immediately flocked to the candy.
Not everyone was old enough to be tempted by candy, but this is a battlefield.
It was a place where even people who usually hated sweet foods changed their tastes.
Rahon slipped a candy into his mouth and closed his eyes with an ecstatic expression.
"Yes, this was It... Ha. I think I'm going to live now."
He then grabbed another candy and handed the case to the commanders.
"Eat one by one. Everyone pulled sweets."
The commanders who glanced at Ian a little bit coughed and took a bite of the candy.
The candy in the case quickly ran out. The aides who were expecting to stay had to eat their meals behind the scenes.
"It's been a long time since I heard about candy."
"Fruits are sweet, but they're different from candy. Is that so?"
"I think it's because of the satisfaction that artificial sweetness gives me."
The elderly commanders puffed out their cheeks and had a gentle conversation.
No one saw Ian clenching his fists under the conference table.
"So, let's start the meeting."
Kalit spoke. His cheeks, like the other commanders, were protruding in a round shape.
"I heard that it is going to snow again for a while. This is very good news for us."
The commanders' faces brightened. The Marquis Astrod added.
"This makes it easier to predict when the final battle will take place. Of course, they'll attack after the snow stops."
"Of course, we don't know how much snow will fall. But it has bought you that much time. You have to make the most of that time."
Hallstaile responded to Kalit's remarks with a nod.
"They said that there were quite a few explosives in the supplies that arrived this time. I think we can use it and bury it on the way down."
"I agree. Wouldn't it be better to reduce the damage to our allies as much as possible?"
"It is also important to secure supply routes. I want them to widen the front so that they can't take over the supply route again."
"I feel the same way. We plan to use scouts and separate units to station them at the pier."
Several defensive strategies were added, and the plan was revised. As the meeting came to an end, Ian, who had been silent, raised his hand.
It was rare for Ian, who always listened silently, to express his opinion first. Kalit furrowed his eyebrows.
"Tell me, Commander."
"Why wait?"
"What are you talking about?"
The commanders' eyes fell on Ian. Ian continued with a calm smile.
"Until now, we have fought battles that focused on defense rather than attack."
"Yes, we needed explosives and traps to overcome the difference in force with them, and it took time to set them up. So we made a strategy centered on defense."
"With the eyes, you don't have to. For them, the snow itself is a trap and an explosive."
"Hmm... Are you saying that you want to go ahead on a snowy day?"
"Yes."
Although he replied calmly, Ian's heart was impatient.
Millenia is the most dangerous place. This fact alone burned to the core, and there was no way to send Millenia back.
Then they have no choice but to end this war as soon as possible.
Kalit crossed his arms with a strange expression.
"Well, I don't think there's any reason to take the risk. Snow slows down not only them, but also allies."
"It's getting colder and colder. If the river freezes over, we'll face supply problems again."
The atmosphere that had been skeptical of Ian's opinion suddenly changed.
Everyone has experienced firsthand how dangerous it was when the supply was cut off.
Although they had been fortunate to win the previous battle without supplies, the cold was a different matter.
Monsters are weak to snow and not cold, but humans can freeze to death.
If the supply is cut off in such a state, the soldiers' physical strength will drop rapidly.
This time, they could not even fight the monsters properly and were destroyed.
If so, it would be better to finish the Great Rift before then, as Ian said.
Kalit rummaged through the paperwork.
"I heard that a supply ship arrived yesterday... Have you received any reports from them?"
Beorn took Ian's glance and stepped out cautiously.
"Let me tell you about that. It is not yet dangerous, but there is information that thin ice has been seen at the dock."
If the river freezes a little more, it becomes difficult to sail out. Kalit tapped on the papers and opened his mouth.
"What do you all think?
"I think the commander's opinion is all right. I know the location of the nest, so I think it's possible."
Following Hallstale's re-award, the Marquis Astrode continued.
"I agree. It is considered advantageous to finish when there is enough supply and the morale of the soldiers is high."
"If you get frostbite. It will be a headache. Medicine doesn't treat it well, so if it gets worse, you have to cut it off... It is a problem to have less power, but what is the crime of that person? It didn't happen because I was fighting monsters. It's right to finish it before it gets colder."
Kalit nodded to Rahon's opinion. Millenia said something before the war began.
"Even after the Great Rift is over, people still have to live. Please try to bring back as many people as possible alive."
Winning the Great Rift won't change anything. It just prevented another crisis.
People will live today as if they were yesterday, and prepare for a tomorrow similar to today.
"From today, we will enter the emergency system of the entire army. The goal is a preemptive strike, and the day is a snowy day. Please plan your strategy accordingly. Then we will resume the meeting after lunch."
It was a series of meetings today. The commanders sighed and stood up.
Ian, who was sitting alone in the room, quietly pulled the candy case from the table.
It was neatly empty without any crumbs. The more he looked at it, the more anger hr felt inside.
Ian jumped to his feet and slapped Rahor in the back of the head.
Slap!
"Ahh!"
The commanders' eyes widened as they walked out of the barracks.
Rahon screamed as he shook his head with a slap to his head.
"Are you crazy? I took your side, so why are you beating me?"
Ian put the empty case in his pocket without replying. As he walked across the barracks, Rahon called out to him.
"Hey, where are you going? Aren't you standing there?! Tell them why you hit them and go! Oh, it hurts. Isn't this a broken head?"
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