Transmigrated at the Moment of Defeat

"Fuck! They all fucking ran off!"

Looking at the empty tent, Li Mu couldn't help roaring in anger.

"Battalion commander, what should we do now?"

The voice of Preston, the captain of his personal guards, brought him back to reality.

With the commanding officer nowhere to be found, he had become the highest-ranking military commander in the Third Supplementary Army by default, as the only battalion commander in camp.

The thought of running away had barely surfaced before he quashed it.

Leaving aside the consequences of desertion, being alone on the vast grasslands in unfamiliar territory was also extremely dangerous.

"Preston, summon all officers of company commander rank and above to a meeting at once, in Viscount Sutton's name!"

Three days ago, he had been pulling an all-nighter gaming with his teammates.

His computer screen had gone black, and he had found himself on the Pannosia Continent with a new name: Harrison Victor.

He was the commander of the seventh battalion of the Holy Glory Empire's Third Supplementary Army, and an honorable imperial knight.

After his initial confusion, Victor quickly accepted reality.

Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. He was a beast of burden either way, so it made no difference where he was.

Last night, Viscount Sutton had suddenly told him that Marshal Alvin had summoned the army's senior officers to a meeting, and had put him temporarily in charge of military affairs.

The original owner of this body and Viscount Sutton had been classmates and had been very close at school. Their families had even been linked by marriage generations ago, making them firmly "family."

They had studied together, fought together, and... Their bond was exceptionally strong.

Victor came from an ordinary background, and he had become commander of the seventh battalion thanks to Viscount Sutton's strong recommendation.

As soon as he entered military service, he was labeled one of Viscount Sutton's own.

It was perfectly normal for the commanding officer to leave military affairs in a trusted subordinate's hands when he had to go away.

Earlier, Victor had gone to discuss escorting provisions with the commander of the third battalion. Even after finding that the man was not in camp, he had not suspected Viscount Sutton.

Only after visiting six battalions in a row and finding much the same situation in each did Victor realize something was wrong.

One battalion commander disappearing might have been an accident, but several disappearing at the same time was deliberate.

If it had been a routine military operation, there would have been no need to hide it from him.

The only explanation was that something had happened on the front lines, and these well-informed scions of powerful families had chosen to run, leaving an unlucky bastard like him to take the blame.

The Third Supplementary Army was a hastily conscripted logistics force. It might have had some fighting strength, but certainly not much.

If the Northern Frontier Corps had suffered a crushing defeat on the front lines, it would be exceptionally difficult for infantry like them to retreat home with enemy cavalry in pursuit.

(Note: A full-strength army consisted of ten battalions of one thousand men each. Including army headquarters personnel, its total strength was about twelve thousand five hundred.)

"The army commander has gone to a corps meeting. Before he left, he put me in charge of all military affairs. Does anyone have any objections?"

Victor asked, forcing himself to remain calm.

Deep down, he had already cursed eighteen generations of Viscount Sutton's ancestors.

It was one thing to leave him behind to take the blame, but Sutton could at least have explained things and let him know what had happened on the front lines.

Throwing him into the role without a clue left him no way to survive.

"No!"

"We'll follow the battalion commander!"

"We'll follow the acting army commander!"

The uneven chorus of replies betrayed their fear.

With all the officers from influential backgrounds disappearing together, anyone could tell the situation was dire.

"Very well. From this moment on, I am formally taking command of the army."

"Pass on my orders: in every battalion whose commander is absent, the deputy commander is to take command.

If the deputy commander is also absent from camp, the commander of that battalion's first company will take over for the time being.

If the first company commander is absent, the second company commander will take his place, and so on down the line.

The enemy could attack at any moment. You must establish a clear chain of command as quickly as possible and ensure it functions properly!"

Victor steeled himself and gave the orders.

Other problems could wait, but the army's chain of command had to be clarified immediately.

Signs of chaos had already appeared in camp. Once the news spread throughout it, these officers would be needed to steady the troops.

"Yes, sir!"

They responded in unison.

Perhaps it was the excitement of promotion, or perhaps they had no better choice.

Although morale was still low, they were in much better shape than before, as though they had found someone to rely on again.

"Carry out your orders!"

After watching them leave, Victor slumped. His earlier confidence had been entirely forced.

He had lived in a peaceful age, where even killing a chicken would have left him flustered, let alone leading troops into battle.

About a cup of tea's time later, Victor had recovered and gradually noticed something strange.

He had a vague impression that a mysterious crystal had appeared inside his body.

He reached up and patted his head. After confirming it was not an illusion, he immediately began to investigate.

Unfortunately, his mental strength was limited. After taking just one look at the mysterious crystal, he grew drowsy.

Relying on his willpower, he barely managed to make out the two Chinese characters engraved on it-"Command"-before falling asleep.

When he woke, it was already afternoon.

When he stepped out of the tent again, the soldiers had resumed their patrols. Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Victor smiled faintly.

His guess about the mysterious crystal had received preliminary confirmation.

With the senior officers all having run away, it made no military sense for the camp to return to normal so quickly on the strength of a single order from him, the acting army commander.

If the Command skill had helped him, then it all made sense.

Once they acknowledged him as their commander, they would instinctively carry out his orders.

The Command skill was not all-powerful, however.

The soldiers' faces were still filled with panic, and the officers' spirits were no higher. Morale remained low.

He made a tour of the camp and finally stopped at the storehouse.

After opening the door and taking inventory of their supplies, Victor's expression changed drastically.

"Thirty tons of salt, and what's here probably doesn't even amount to ten!"

"Six thousand five hundred tons of grain, but there are only a little over twenty-five hundred tons here at most. Where did the other three thousand-odd tons go?"

"Why are there only three hundred suits of armor when the ledger records a thousand?"

"Why are there only eight hundred strong bows left out of two thousand?"

"Why are there fewer than five thousand spears out of thirteen thousand?"

The barrage of searching questions frightened the officer guarding the storehouse so badly that he dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Army commander, this has nothing to do with me!"

"The quartermaster was responsible for allocating supplies. I was only in charge of guarding them and keeping records."

"Perhaps they were allocated elsewhere in advance while someone else was on duty, or perhaps there were losses during transport..."

No one could believe such an outrageous explanation.

No matter how great the losses during transport, weapons and armor could not simply vanish that way.

Besides, military supplies were strictly controlled. The amounts recorded at the storehouse were what had actually entered it; losses on the road were accounted for separately.

"Tell me, where did the rest of the supplies go?"

Victor demanded sternly.