When they heard Bal, the commander of the Duojialong Brigade, still trying to talk tough,
Claude and the other two were utterly helpless. In the end, they could only turn to look at him and hear what other lofty arguments he had to offer.
Then they heard Bal say:
"But those four brigades under the Ministry of National Defense are practically all recruits. No matter how good their equipment is, they definitely can't match our strength, so what do we have to be afraid of?"
"..."
Claude, commander of the Aksang Brigade, and the other two were all struck speechless by Bal's remarks.
The commander of the Ailidun Brigade opened his mouth.
He wanted to say something, but ultimately gave up, because he didn't want to keep arguing with Bal, who was missing a screw. It was pointless.
Claude, on the other hand, spoke to Bal helplessly after the corners of his mouth twitched a few times:
"How did you figure out that they can't match our strength? Yes, their soldiers really are mostly recruits, but haven't you noticed that their soldiers already far surpass ours in discipline, obedience, and even initiative?"
"..."
Seeing that Claude had stopped speaking and Bal hadn't offered a rebuttal, the commander of the Drago Brigade continued:
"Besides, why would they use infantry to fight our infantry? Their tanks, wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, armored vehicles, and large-caliber artillery alone could beat the shit out of us, never mind the fact that they have an air force too!"
"All right..."
After hearing what the two of them said, Bal stopped talking tough. Instead, he sat down dejectedly to Claude's right, then held out his left hand and said:
"Give me a cigar too. Sigh-"
"..."
Claude hesitated for a moment before finally handing Bal a cigar, though the look in his eyes showed that it pained him a little.
Just as Bal accepted reality and sat on the sofa, learning to smoke a cigar while heaving sighs, an officer hurried into the office where the four of them were gathered.
"Brigade commander!"
The officer stood in the doorway and saluted Claude.
"What happened?"
Claude frowned and asked.
"We just received word that the Ministry of National Defense's 4th Light Armored Brigade and 5th Infantry Brigade were transferred to Bugani in the south thirty minutes ago."
The officer answered.
"Hm?"
Claude was stunned at first. The next second, an inexplicable gleam flashed through his eyes. Then he nodded and waved at the officer.
"Understood. Dismissed!"
After the officer left,
Claude was just about to speak when Bal beat him to it, saying excitedly:
"Two brigades have been transferred to Bugani! That means the only forces behind us now are the Ministry of National Defense's 1st Light Armored Brigade and 2nd Infantry Brigade!
"If you said we stood absolutely no chance at first because our troop numbers were about equal and the Ministry of National Defense had the equipment advantage, then now we outnumber them two to one. Even if we can't beat them, surely we can outrun them?"
"But..."
The commander of the Drago Brigade wanted to say something more, but Bal interrupted him the moment he opened his mouth:
"No buts! Rather than stay here and let the National Liberation Alliance wear us down to death, we might as well take a gamble. Maybe after we retreat, the Ministry of National Defense will be so busy keeping the defensive line stable that they won't have time to bother with us!"
"That's certainly possible!"
The commander of the Ailidun Brigade nodded, effectively acknowledging Bal's argument.
"So, what do you say now?"
Seeing that even the commander of the Ailidun Brigade supported him, Bal immediately turned to Claude and the commander of the Drago Brigade, waiting for their answers with an expectant gaze.
"..."
Claude and the commander of the Drago Brigade fell silent, frowning in thought.
Several minutes passed. Just as Bal was getting impatient, Claude finally spoke:
"It does seem like we could..."
"Vrrrr-"
But before he could finish, waves of roaring came from the sky.
"!?"
All four of them were startled.
Then, as though remembering something, they immediately stood up, walked to the window, and looked straight up into the sky.
Then they saw-
Over a hundred fighters and bombers swept overhead, blotting out the sky and sun!
"..."
At the sight, Claude and the other three stood rooted to the spot in a daze, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"Boom-"
"Boom-"
"Boom-"
Only when the ferocious bombardment arrived, seemingly powerful enough to shatter eardrums and shake the earth, did they abruptly come back to their senses.
"Fuck! Didn't the Ministry of National Defense only have a few dozen planes? How did that turn into over a hundred so quickly? Do planes not cost money or something? And where the fuck did they get so many pilots!?"
Claude was the first to swear.
"..."
The commanders of the Drago Brigade and the Ailidun Brigade both wore dark expressions and said nothing.
Bal, who was always being called brainless, patted his chest and said quietly, still shaken:
"Fuck, we haven't even run yet! Those sons of bitches at the Ministry of National Defense have already guessed what we're thinking!
"Looks like it really is just as you said, Claude. If we actually ran, these planes probably wouldn't be dropping bombs on the National Liberation Alliance. They'd be dropping them on our heads!"
"..."
Once his words fell, only silence remained in the room again.
No one knew how much time passed. In the end, all that remained were the utterly helpless sighs of Claude and the other three:
"Sigh-"
Dugagu, the presidential palace.
"So you agreed?"
Sankara asked in shock.
"Yes!"
Katelai, the minister of national defense, stood in front of Sankara's desk, nodded, and answered:
"Those instructors from the Soviet Union all assured me that they were only taking the trainees up for a little flying, and nothing would go wrong.
"They also said that actual combat was the best training. I remembered you saying that too, Mr. President, so I agreed in the end."
"..."
The corner of Sankara's mouth twitched. The boomerang really had come back and hit him in the head, but were these things remotely the same?
One was the army, the other was the air force. The costs of trial and error were worlds apart!
And was this really just a little flying?
Those Soviet instructors had clearly taken a bunch of trainees who had only been learning for a little over a month, who might not even have familiarized themselves with their planes, and flown fighters and bombers hundreds of kilometers to drop bombs on the National Liberation Alliance's heads!
They really didn't have a care in the world!
Sankara could only marvel inwardly. They really do live up to being Russian bears!
"Uh... Mr. President, should I not have agreed to the Soviet instructors' plan?"
Seeing Sankara's expression, Katelai reached up to scratch the back of his head, smiled awkwardly, and asked.
"Sigh-forget it!"
Sankara waved his hand helplessly and said:
"Since nothing went wrong, it was a good plan! I won't give you a talking-to, but next time, before you agree to such a risky plan, remember to tell me first, all right?"
"Yes, Mr. President!"
Seeing that Sankara wasn't angry, the awkward smile on Kelaide's face immediately turned into a goofy grin. Then he saluted Sankara and answered loudly.
"..."
Seeing Katelai change his expression so quickly, the corner of Sankara's mouth couldn't help twitching.
"Get out of here already. Just looking at you annoys me right now!"
Seeing Katelai still grinning foolishly, Sankara bluntly ordered him out.
"Hehe... I'll definitely discuss it with you next time, Mr. President!"
Katelai chuckled foolishly a few times. When he reached the doorway and was about to leave, he put away his smile and added those words with a solemn expression.
"Scram!"
Of course Sankara knew what Katelai meant by that, but he still trusted Katelai absolutely.
And the system's data panel also provided solid corroboration for Sankara's trust in Katelai.