"General, how can you be here? Get the general out of here, now!"
Sansuke hurriedly said to his subordinates.
Although Tanaka Shin had retired, to Sakura soldiers—especially the ordinary rank-and-file—he was a godlike figure.
He was their spiritual pillar, their faith.
That was no exaggeration. Tanaka Shin was famous for treating his soldiers like his own children, never distinguishing between them based on family background or rank as other generals did.
But more importantly, there was Tanaka Shin's benevolence.
Unlike other generals, he did not harbor excessively hawkish and extreme views, which made him deeply beloved by the officers and soldiers.
Soldiers needed to be good at fighting, that was true, but their thinking absolutely could not become too extreme.
He had always held to one creed: fight only for the safety of the nation.
Chiori Tsurumaru, the newly appointed commander of Sakura's Jaeger Combat Department and his student, had been deeply influenced by him.
Though their conduct and beliefs were utterly at odds with the entire military establishment, and they were even ostracized for it,
as long as they had the strength, their day would eventually come.
Heaven bestowed great responsibility upon such men.
No one's path to success and fame was ever smooth sailing.
"How can I not be here? I'm a soldier too! Once you put on certain uniforms, you wear them for life!"
"Don't get distracted because of me. Focusing on resisting the enemy is the top priority!"
With Tanaka Shin joining them, the soldiers of the Hirosaki City garrison seemed to have been injected with stimulants. They no longer looked listless, ready to slip away at any moment.
But whether they stood much of a chance against the Demon Witch was another matter entirely.
If a burst of morale was enough to fight monsters, then