Chapter 223

Battle for the City of Shlun
The Shlein Count family, which governs the city of Shlun, is a noble house with a history slightly older than that of Arland.

Originally, they were part of the now-defunct Multispecies Federation. However, due to internal corruption and the betrayal of the royal family that once unified the Federation, the Federation collapsed. During this turmoil, the Shlein family offered their territory to Arland in exchange for granting their people asylum. Their selfless decision to prioritize their people's safety earned them recognition, and their territory was guaranteed. Today, they are a Count family ranked just below the Five Dukes and are known as Arland's granary.

Shlun, the stronghold of the Shlein family, is a fortress city that rivals the capital in sheer scale. However, years of budget shortages have left the walls aged and worn.

In the current war with the Empire, Shlun lies near the Empire's invasion route and is highly likely to suffer from looting. For this reason, the populace had evacuated to the capital.

The only ones remaining here was Unit 201.

Their mission was to conduct a defensive operation here and buy time for any citizens who were late in evacuating to reach the capital.

“Learn the layout of the city by heart while setting traps! Be ready for urban warfare!”
The commander of the 201st, Eudis, shouted loudly.

“You lot, search for any citizens who failed to evacuate. Your unit, bury landmines at the entrance to Shlun!”
“Understood!”

Watching his subordinates run off, Eudis discussed the operation with his staff officer.

“Do you think we can win?”

In response to Eudis's words, the staff officer shook his head.

“We don't have the numbers. All we can do is buy time. Did you actually think we could win, sir?”

“Heh. It's impossible, isn't it? But… couldn't we have done something about these landmines?”

“You're the one who made the impossible demand, sir.”

Eudis frowned at the landmines delivered by the supply corps.

They were, indeed, landmines—but their contents were repurposed 127mm shells meant for the armed airships.

Naturally. The manual included descriptions of landmines, but landmine production hadn't started yet. Still, based on that manual, Eudis had requested landmines from Alicetia, and this was what she sent.

Weighing over 30 kilograms, these landmines were far more lethal than the usual ones designed to wound. Killing the enemy outright was easy with this level of firepower. Eudis buried them all around the city gates of Shlun.

Five days after the 201st arrived in Shlun, the Empire's looting unit appeared.

With Arland's main forces surrounded at the fort, the Empire, short on supplies and with no successful pillaging so far, had increased the size of their looting parties. The group approaching Shlun numbered nearly 30,000.

The 201st unit had only around 300 soldiers.

The Imperial army began by issuing a surrender demand. But Eudis simply ordered his sniper, Simon, to take the shot. They had no intention of negotiating, nor any reason to do so.

The death of a surrender envoy was commonplace, so the Empire wasn't particularly concerned and immediately launched their attack.

Initially, the 201st unit fired machine guns from atop the city walls, mowing down large numbers of Imperial soldiers. But, overwhelmed by superior numbers, the enemy gradually closed the distance until they reached the walls themselves. At that point, the 201st abandoned the walls and retreated into the city. Imperial soldiers climbed the walls using ladders, found no defenders, and opened the gates.

As many Imperial soldiers tried to flood in through the gate, the buried landmines exploded one after another, inflicting massive casualties on the invading army.

The sudden massive explosions startled the Imperial forces, but overall, the damage wasn't enough to render them unable to fight. Their commanders berated the frightened soldiers, and they pressed on into Shlun.

The moment they entered the city, gunfire erupted from many buildings. Climbing ladders over the walls was difficult, so opening the gate was the easier route, but the narrowness of the gate limited how many soldiers could enter at once. The defenders exploited that bottleneck to launch their attack.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

The unexpected level of casualties forced the Imperial army to withdraw temporarily to regroup.

The soldiers of the 201st unit grinned as they watched. They knew forcing the enemy into the city was actually to their advantage. The entire city was riddled with traps.

That night, the Imperial army camped a short distance from Shlun to reorganize after their heavy losses.

Meanwhile, the 201st reburied their landmines under the cover of darkness.

The next day, another envoy came to issue a surrender demand, calling out politely near the walls.

This time, the offer was that if they surrendered, they could serve under the Empire. By now, the Empire had realized that the 201st was armed with repeating rifles. Acquiring those would be a significant gain.

In response, Simon, still rubbing his eyes sleepily, casually aimed at the envoy's head and shot him.

“You can hit them while yawning?”

“It's a stationary target, easy enough.”

The soldiers laughed heartily while Simon scratched his eyes, slightly sleep-deprived.

The Imperial army, seemingly having devised a plan overnight, attacked with even more aggression than the day before. The 201st again fired machine guns from the walls, slaughtering large numbers of Imperial soldiers, and when the situation turned against them, they retreated into the city.

Once again, Imperial soldiers stepped on the buried landmines as they entered Shlun through the gate. This time, they sent in magicians ahead to detect magic traps. However, the landmines contained no magic, so the magicians ended up suffering heavy casualties for nothing.

Still, the Imperial army pressed the assault, disregarding their losses. They'd learned from the previous day that once the mines were detonated, they were no longer a threat.

But the true hell awaited them inside the city. Thinking they could finally loot the place, some Imperial soldiers rushed into houses.

The moment they opened doors, explosions rang out. The soldiers were blown away, while nearby troops were shredded by grenade fragments and collapsed, writhing in agony.

“Gyaaaahhhh!”

“My eyes! My eyeeeees!”

The 201st had filled the city with traps, both in the buildings and on the streets, using the terrain of Shlun to torment the Imperial army.

Urban warfare in an unfamiliar city overwhelmingly disadvantaged the Imperial troops, and they had no way of knowing where traps might be hidden.

“Simon, can you take the shot?”

“Easy.”

As Simon pulled the trigger, one of the Imperial commanders in the distance was shot through the forehead and fell from his horse. Simon reloaded and quickly shot a nearby officer.

Another sniper, equally skilled, was positioned in the bell tower at the center of Shlun, picking off Imperial soldiers from above.

Even without hearing the gunshot, the direction the bodies were falling from gave away the general location.

“That tower!”

“Bastards! Kill them!”

Enraged by the way their comrades were being toyed with and having lost many officers, the Imperial soldiers charged toward the tower without caution or order.

“Well, time to make our exit.”

One of Simon’s comrades slung his rifle over his shoulder and threw down a rope. He grabbed Simon and began rappelling down the side of the tower.

With both hands free, Simon calmly picked off Imperial soldiers on the ground as they descended. The moment they reached the ground, the top of the tower exploded.

“Fools fell right into the obvious trap. Alright, let's move to the next sniping point.”

The team, rifles at the ready, moved with sharp caution, constantly watching not just ahead but also behind and to the sides. Some Imperial soldiers spotted them, but in the narrow alleys, spears were useless, and most carried only swords, making them easy prey.

All members of the 201st inside Shlun wore communicators, allowing precise coordination and organized counterattacks.

Their commander, Eudis, was stationed underground.

This was the sewer system. Ancient, with a complex structure impossible to navigate without a map, it also doubled as an emergency evacuation route. The entrances were few and well-concealed. Eudis had borrowed the map from the Count’s family when they evacuated. Shlun had originally been designed to use these sewers for defense, and parts of the sewer system were designated as command posts.

“What’s the situation?”

Eudis asked a soldier holding a communicator. He was frustrated, unable to fight himself, as his subordinates insisted the commander must be protected.

The communicators functioned even underground and underwater.

“Simon has taken out several commanders. Without leadership, the Imperial troops are in complete chaos.”

“Ahahaha! That guy’s the best sniper in the 201st. He’s good at hiding too.”

Simon, naturally timid, was skilled at finding hiding spots, and when he got serious, even the 201st had trouble locating him.

Constantly shifting sniping positions, they were sowing confusion among the Imperial troops.

“They haven’t noticed the underground passages either… Or maybe they just don’t have the time to look for them.”

The unexpected counterattacks and unknown traps left the Imperial army unable to carry out their original suppression mission. They were being slaughtered by traps and gunfire.

Despite suffering devastating losses, the Imperial army managed to take control of the surface.

But this was when the real torment began. With depleted supplies, exhaustion, and most of their officers killed, the Imperial troops remained in Shlun, making them vulnerable to constant ambushes.

The 201st unit used the sewers to move undetected, launching attacks day and night to harass the Imperial army.

After several days and reinforcements arriving, the Imperial army finally realized the existence of the sewer routes and began systematically searching them. But by then, the 201st had completed their mission, leaving only traps behind as they withdrew.

It took the Imperial army roughly eight days to fully subjugate the city of Shlun. By the time they realized that most of the nearby citizens had already evacuated to the capital, it was far too late.

“So, Commander, what’s our next mission?”

The 201st had regrouped at a location a short distance from Shlun. They’d already laid traps at the cleverly disguised exit.

“Actually… I haven’t heard the next orders yet. So, I’m using my independent operation authority.”

“We’re heading to the border. We’ll hit them while they’re ‘retreating.’”

Thus, the 201st began their independent movement along the border. A few days prior, they had heard via communications the outcome of the Imperial army’s advance on the capital, which confirmed their confidence in victory.

“By the way, word is the assault on the capital ended in failure, as expected.”

“Gahahaha! Of course it failed. I wouldn’t want to take part in that ‘demon city’ siege either. It’s just asking to embarrass yourself.”

They knew the capital couldn’t be taken unless it surrendered. They hadn’t been worried from the start.

“I heard the Imperial commanders were red-faced, shouting that it wasn’t even a war.”

“Oioi, of course they weren’t taken seriously. The capital’s busy with other things.”

The residents of the capital were still expanding the city under Alicetia’s orders.

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