Trenches, Guns, and Magic

Setting aside Ferdinand I's title as "Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria," he was also a man of many identities: writer, botanist, entomologist, and philatelist.

One could say he had a rather broad range of interests.

This also made him much more approachable than Morin had imagined.

Although he certainly carried the typical airs of European royalty—stemming from his relatively prominent background.

His father was Prince August, and his mother was the Gallic Princess Clémentine... Even his godfather was Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, and Queen Victoria of Britannia was his cousin.

He even held ancestral family lands within the Saxon Empire, meaning he shared blood ties with the royal families of many European nations.

In 1866, after a coup in Bulgaria overthrew the then 7-year-old Alexander I, Ferdinand I, who was serving as an army officer in the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time, was elected as the second Prince of Bulgaria.

Because the Great Rus Empire had not yet collapsed, the nations of Europa were deeply afraid of that massive empire gaining control over Bulgaria. Thus, they tried every possible means to find a new heir.

They even nearly had the former King Carol I of the Kingdom of Romania concurrently serve as the monarch of Bulgaria.

Looking back now, it was fortunate that proposal failed, otherwise Morin and his men would likely have had to continue fighting vampires after arriving in Bulgaria...

Due to the prolonged failure to select a new heir, Ferdinand began his rule as Prince of Bulgaria amidst this complex political climate.

Although several European monarchs, including the "Eternal Queen" Victoria, didn't think highly of this "fragile," "eccentric" Bulgarian prince with his "peculiar hobbies," Ferdinand actually delivered a rather decent performance during his subsequent reign.

Ultimately, this ruler—who penned the famous line, "Death is a cool summer night, offering carefree slumber"—officially declared Bulgaria a kingdom in 1908 and crowned himself "Tsar." (The original author of that quote was actually the German poet Heinrich Heine~)

And the outbreak of the First Balkan War in 1912 was practically inseparable from this "Tsar."

If Ferdinand I hadn't declared his intention to establish a "New Byzantium" and dragged other nations into declaring war on the Ottoman Empire, perhaps the situation in the Balkan Peninsula wouldn't be what it was today...

Though he bore many labels, at least right now, standing before Morin, he looked more like an overly haggard middle-aged man...

"Colonel Morin, the Kingdom of Bulgaria will never forget the helping hand the Saxon Empire extended in our darkest hour..."

Ferdinand I's spoken Saxon was extremely fluent, easily the most standard Morin had heard in Bulgaria so far.

"The friendship between our two nations, baptized by the fires of this war, will surely become even more indestructible."

Morin wasn't very familiar with this kind of diplomatic exchange, but he responded with a few polite pleasantries according to protocol.

He had expected the monarch to say more, perhaps sharing his views on the war or making demands for the upcoming operational plan. But the man's next words made Morin view him in a new light.

"Colonel, I have no talent for military command. Everyone present here is a professional soldier... Therefore, regarding operational matters, I leave the decision entirely in your hands."

As Ferdinand I spoke, he tilted his head slightly toward the other Bulgarian officers present.

"This includes our Bulgarian frontline troops. They must fully cooperate with the actions of our Saxon allies in this operation!"

These words surprised Morin. Given the man's status, this was quite a humble posture.

"Your Majesty is too kind; it is what we ought to do..."

While Morin replied politely, he silently gave the Bulgarian Tsar a thumbs-up.

Pretending to understand when you don't, amateurs commanding professionals, and then making a mess of things—that was the type of leadership Morin had always feared encountering most.

Fortunately, up to this point, the "big shots" he had encountered had all been relatively sensible and knew how to delegate authority.

As for this "Tsar," while Morin didn't know his level of skill in international politics, the man had at least demonstrated a certain degree of competence in "judging and employing people."

After a few more pleasantries, Ferdinand I left the warehouse with his attendants.

Before leaving, he specifically turned back at the door and said something in Bulgarian.

Lieutenant Colonel Ivanov beside him translated in a low voice: "His Majesty said... 'May the Lord bless you.'"

Morin nodded without speaking.

He wasn't sure if God would bless them, but he was certain the instruction unit's attack would bless the Greeks with nightmares for the rest of their lives.

After the King left, Morin spent another twenty minutes or so with Rundstedt and Hoth hammering out the specific details of the attack.

The core strategy was simple: Under the cover of darkness, the instruction unit would bypass the gap at the seam between the two defensive lines, infiltrate the Greeks' rear from the flank, and launch a surprise attack at dawn.

Because the mountainous forest terrain was too complex, it was impossible to build continuous trenches all the way to the sea like on the Western Front. The defensive positions of both sides in the Bulgarian mountains and forests were largely separated by the terrain into independent strongpoints.

As for contacting the frontline Bulgarian troops to coordinate a counterattack, that was Rundstedt's responsibility.

Around 4:30 AM, he would notify the Bulgarian officers at the forward positions via telephone, informing them that Saxon reinforcements were about to attack the Greek flank and ordering them to prepare for a frontal assault.

"The notification time must be strictly held until after 4:30. Not a minute earlier."

Morin emphasized this point again.

"The longer the chain of information transmission, the higher the probability of a leak... To be honest, I don't trust the communication security among those frontline Bulgarian troops. Plus, considering how hard you've been fighting, I have a feeling the enemy has been intercepting information..."

"Understood, Colonel!" Rundstedt agreed without hesitation, then continued, "Regarding the enemy intercepting information, we have indeed harbored such suspicions..."

Morin: "In any case, be extra careful. I can guarantee you right now: I will absolutely lead my troops to the designated position covertly before 4:30!"

After the brief deployment meeting concluded, Morin checked his watch; it was already 10:40 PM.

"Gentlemen, I leave the rest to you."

He nodded to Rundstedt and Hoth, then turned and walked out of the warehouse.

The night breeze outside was much cooler than before. Lieutenant Colonel Ivanov, having just returned from seeing Ferdinand I off, immediately walked up to Morin when he saw him emerge.

"Colonel, sir, I can escort you back."

Morin didn't decline. He mounted his horse, and the two rode back the way they came.

After riding for about ten minutes, the lights of the landing zone reappeared in the distance.

The massive silhouette of the L15 still hovered in mid-air, with technicians busily constructing the platform below.

Arriving at the edge of the site, Morin dismounted, handed the reins to a nearby Bulgarian soldier, and bid Ivanov farewell.

The Lieutenant Colonel hesitated, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

"What is it, Lieutenant Colonel?"

Ivanov's grip on his reins tightened.

"Colonel, sir... We are counting on you."

With that, he saluted Morin, turned his horse around, and disappeared into the night.

Tch... Everyone is telling me 'we're counting on you'. It feels like I've become the hope of the whole village...

Watching the direction Ivanov disappeared, Morin offered a rare complaint before turning his attention to the massive landing area behind him.

The level of activity at the site had increased several notches since he left.

The main framework of the field platform was basically formed, and the technicians were securing several key load-bearing structures one by one.

After a brief inspection, Morin pulled the portable magitech communication device from his satchel and set the directional communication mode to the sub-unit on the L15 armored airship's bridge.

Upon hearing Morin's call and inquiry about their progress, Lieutenant Colonel Andreas's voice quickly came through.

"Colonel, progress is faster than expected. We should finish constructing the platform and begin loading and unloading between 11:45 and 11:50 PM."

"Good work."

Morin quickly calculated the time in his head.

If the 1st Battalion hurried up when disembarking, they could move out around midnight. A four-and-a-half-hour march over twenty kilometers... meant they'd be in position by 4:30 AM.

The timing was perfect.

And Morin had even built in a lot of redundancy into this calculation. In reality, based on their normal training performance, the instruction unit's average forced march speed at night could reach around 5 kilometers per hour.

Thinking of this, Morin continued speaking into the communicator: "Lieutenant Colonel, get Wolf, Ludwig, and the artillery battalion commander... have them all come up to the bridge. We'll hold a short meeting to arrange the upcoming combat operations."

Soon, the three men Morin named arrived on the bridge. Down on the ground, Morin also waved Klaus over to his side.

"Since everyone is here, I'll start right away. Time is indeed tight!"

Morin organized his thoughts and began explaining the situation to the group in the most direct, straightforward, unvarnished terms possible.

"The main force of the Greek Kingdom Expeditionary Force facing us has about a hundred thousand men remaining, spread across a twenty-kilometer arc-shaped line of contact southwest of Sofia. Their main direction of attack is the Pernik Corridor."

"The Bulgarians are holding the front with a heavily inflated force of fifty thousand men, but according to their own admission, it's hard to say if they can even survive tomorrow."

"Therefore, the fastest way to break this deadlock is to use our element of surprise to launch a raid... The 1st Battalion of the Instruction Unit will come with me by land. We'll disembark and move out immediately after the armored airship lands!"

Morin paused, ensuring everyone grasped his meaning before continuing, "Under the cover of night, we will bypass the gap at the seam between the two defensive lines, infiltrate the Greeks' rear from the flank... and then launch a surprise attack."

Hearing this, Wolf reacted quickly.

"Commander, another forced march?"

"Yes, similar to the river valley raid last time... But this time the difficulty is higher. Not only is it at night, but the distance is 20 kilometers..."

"No problem, Commander! Last time the 3rd Battalion got to show off. This time, our 1st Battalion will do even better!"

Sigh, this intense competition...

Wolf wasn't panicked about a 20-kilometer night forced march in the slightest; he was practically itching to go.

Because within the instruction unit's training system, transitioning directly into combat status immediately after a night forced march was actually one of their specialized training subjects.

Most soldiers in the instruction unit had previously considered this subject one of the "perverted training" routines. But whenever it was actually needed, these soldiers, drilled countless times, became the sharpest blade in Morin's hand.

"Wolf, the entire battalion will carry minimum ammunition and rations. Heavy machine guns, light mortars, flamethrowers, and other support weapons must also be brought."

"I'll have the Bulgarians provide a batch of packhorses and wagons to help share the load."

After speaking, Morin glanced at Klaus beside him, then spoke into the communicator again: "Klaus and Ludwig, you will stay on the airship with the Thunder Warriors and Armored Knights. You are not going by land."

Ludwig's voice quickly came through the device: "Don't tell me it's another airdrop?"

"Hey~ You guessed it!"

Ludwig: "..."

"After dawn tomorrow, the armored airship will arrive over the battlefield synchronously. I will determine the location and timing of the airdrop based on commands from the ground."

"Understood!"

Finally, the situation for the artillery was somewhat special.

Because the terrain near the front lines wasn't convenient for artillery operations, especially restrictive for long-barrel guns, the 105mm artillery battalion needed to maneuver independently by land after dawn to an artillery position about 7 kilometers away within Bulgarian territory.

This process would also be guided and escorted entirely by allied forces from the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

It wasn't that Morin hadn't considered having the airship transport them directly...

It was just that the difficulty of loading and unloading 105mm long-barrel artillery on an unanchored platform hovering at 50 meters was too high. Even in the world before his transmigration, such high-difficulty operations were hard to pull off.

At 11:41 PM.

Thanks to the outstanding performance of the armored airship technician team and the help of the Bulgarian volunteers, the construction of the field landing and maintenance platform was completed ahead of schedule.

The soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Instruction Unit, already prepared, began disembarking from the airship in an orderly manner, carrying their required weapons and equipment.

Their proficiency left the spectating Bulgarian soldiers dumbfounded.

There was no chaos or crowding. Each platoon quickly walked down to the ground through different channels of the landing platform according to their designated numbers and positions.

Upon landing, they didn't scatter or stand around aimlessly, but assembled directly at their designated locations by company.

The entire process was quiet and swift, every face wearing a cold expression that screamed, "I am the elite."

Major Victor, Commander of the Sofia Youth Defense Regiment, stood at the edge of the clearing, surrounded by a group of his child soldiers. These kids were undoubtedly also dumbfounded.

"My God, do you see that? Those Saxons are all built like calves..."

Ivan, who had first made contact with Morin, had also wandered over at some point, craning his neck to look.

"But their guns are so short? What kind of guns are those?"

"No, look over there, the ones those guys are carrying are longer... And what is that thing? A tank on his back?"

The child soldiers chattered and discussed.

The packhorses and heavy wagons prepared by the Bulgarians were already waiting on the other side of the clearing.

Wolf's adjutant jogged over to coordinate with the Bulgarian official in charge, loading the heavy machine guns, mortar components, and extra ammunition crates onto the wagons.

The entire process was smoothly completed before midnight. Morin was the last to walk to the front of the formation.

He didn't deliver an impassioned speech... Aside from the newly added replacements, the current instruction unit no longer needed such things.

Morin, also fully armed, swept his gaze over his soldiers, then simply raised his hand and waved it forward.

"Move out!"

"All companies! Center dress! Quick march!"

The procession of over seven hundred men silently left the brightly lit landing zone, disappearing into the dark streets of Sofia.

At 1:15 AM.

The unit had already traveled about five kilometers away from the urban area of Sofia.

The road beneath their feet transitioned from cobblestone to dirt, and then from dirt to a mountain trail mixed with gravel and weeds.

Morin walked at the very front of the column, holding neither a torch nor a lantern.

His modified constitution gave him vision in low-light environments far surpassing ordinary humans. Coupled with the navigation of the system map, the entire marching route was crystal clear in his mind.

Behind him, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Instruction Unit, split into multiple columns, advanced rapidly along the mountain trail.

No one spoke. There was only the rustling of combat boots crunching on gravel and the occasional creaking of wagons rolling over uneven ground.

Just as Battalion Commander Wolf had confidently asserted, this level of night forced marching truly wasn't a highly difficult task for the instruction unit.

The instruction unit officers had also developed various unique routines to maintain unit cohesion and prevent soldiers and equipment from falling behind during night marches.

The organization of the marching column was also specially optimized.

Leading the way was a specialized reconnaissance platoon from the 2nd Company. These point men, equipped with suppressors and optical sights, not only wore camouflage cloaks but had also camouflaged their helmets with netting and leaves. They fanned out to search approximately two hundred meters ahead of the main force.

In the middle were three infantry companies and the support weapon detachments.

Bringing up the rear was another platoon from the 3rd Company, responsible for rounding up any personnel who might fall behind due to unforeseen circumstances.

At 3:45 AM, near the defensive line 20 kilometers from Sofia, the soldiers of the Bulgarian Army were huddled in simple trenches in the woods, resting.

These Bulgarian soldiers varied greatly in age. The young ones slept hugging their rifles like children, while some soldiers with graying hair slept peacefully leaning against the trench walls.

A portion of the soldiers responsible for night watch lay at their posts, staring vigilantly into the pitch-black woodland ahead.

However, judging from the combat during this period, the opposing Greeks had never launched an attack at night. Therefore, for the most part, both sides coexisted peacefully during the night.

About less than 600 meters away from the defensive line, two sentries of the Greek Kingdom Expeditionary Force were thinking exactly the same thing.

In reality, the Greeks had considered launching night raids.

But the problem was, if they attacked at night, they wouldn't have the support of those Britannian mages, because those spellcasters required at least 3 hours of rest at night to continue fighting...

Clearly, not all spellcasters were like Morin, the "cheater," possessing fully automatic spell slot preparation and not needing sleep to refresh their status.

But if they had to rely solely on themselves, the Greek officers feared a night raid would turn from an attack into a surrender to the enemy positions.

From this perspective, the Greek Expeditionary Force officers had a very accurate assessment of their own soldiers.

Based on these factors, the attackers and defenders generally coexisted peacefully at night.

But this state of affairs was completely shattered today with the arrival of Morin and the instruction unit.

As the two sentries focused on the distance, they didn't realize they had already been locked onto by two instruction unit soldiers aiming semi-automatic rifles from afar.

And the cigarette butts they had sneaked out in violation of battlefield discipline to stay awake became the best aiming indicators in the night...

However, the instruction unit soldiers aiming at them had no intention of killing them unless absolutely necessary.

Unless these two sentries discovered them or made any other unusual movements, because even though their semi-automatic rifles were equipped with the latest suppressors, the sound of gunfire at night was still enough to alert the enemy.

And these two smoking sentries obviously wouldn't realize that in the distant woods to their flank, an entire battalion of elite infantry had spread out by company, increasing the distance between them.

Carrying light and heavy machine guns and support weapons, they bypassed the gap at the seam and circled around to the flank of this Greek position.

At exactly 4:00 AM, Morin halted the unit about two hundred meters behind the flank of the Greek position.

At the edge of the woods ahead, the outline of the Greeks' temporary position could be seen... sandbags piled haphazardly, various tents in the low-lying area behind the position, and some shallow trenches abandoned halfway through digging.

Morin lay prone at the top of a gentle slope, raising his binoculars to observe.

Beside him, Wolf, relieved that they had arrived on time, also pulled out his binoculars.

After a few glances, Wolf offered a somewhat disdainful evaluation in a hushed voice.

"This Greek position... the fortification level is worse than any army I've ever seen."

"Well, this is the Balkans... You can't expect everyone to be as skilled at earthworks as we are."

Morin also lowered his binoculars, simultaneously checking the system map as he spoke.

The position of the L15 armored airship was approaching rapidly from the north—according to their prior agreement, Lieutenant Colonel Andreas would enter the combat airspace precisely at 4:30 AM.

With half an hour left, the troops could take this opportunity for a quick rest.

On the eastern horizon, a very faint grayish-white hue was beginning to emerge.

In the Balkan Peninsula during mid-to-late June, dawn breaks relatively early, but for Morin, this wasn't a major issue.

Compared to the phase of launching the attack on the position, he actually felt the long-distance night march was the more difficult part~

At 4:25 AM.

The various units of the instruction unit had completed their deployment on the flank of the Greek position.

The veterans of the 1st Company, acting as the first attack echelon, spread out across the face of the gentle slope, less than one hundred and fifty meters from the Greek position.

The 2nd Company, serving as the deep attack force, remained concealed about eighty meters behind the 1st Company, ready to follow up and penetrate deep the moment the 1st Company tore open a breach.

The 3rd Company acted as the reserve and fire support element, responsible for setting up a cordon on the perimeter to prevent the Greeks from reinforcing from other directions.

Four light mortars had already been set up behind the gentle slope. The gunners lay prone at their positions, silently awaiting the order.

The heavy machine gunners of the support weapon detachment had also selected several firing positions, essentially providing fire support from behind the attacking troops.

Only a unit like the instruction unit, which practiced close-range danger-close fire support every day, could pull this off. If it were any other unit, they might lose quite a few men to friendly fire the moment they charged.

Everything was ready.

Morin lay at the edge of the gentle slope, sweeping his binoculars over the Greek position one last time.

The entire position was still fast asleep, with no apparent intention of waking up early. This once again showed Morin just how much the "noobs pecking at each other" dynamic applied to the Balkan Peninsula.

If this were the Western Front, the artillery "wake-up service" from both sides would have started long ago...

"This is way too relaxed..."

Wolf muttered beside him.

Morin replied in a low voice, "They are used to the Bulgarians not launching night raids. After all, after so many consecutive peaceful nights, people develop habitual thinking."

"Heh, well their luck has run out today."

Wolf said, reaching toward the flare gun in his adjutant's holster.

Morin held his hand down.

"Wait a moment."

He glanced at the system map; the armored airship still needed a few minutes to enter the combat airspace.

Moreover, the brighter it was, the better the attack's effectiveness.

Although the instruction unit soldiers could fight just as well at night, with better visibility, their firing accuracy was higher, coordination was smoother, and the probability of friendly fire was lower.

More importantly, the Bulgarians' frontal counterattack could only launch smoothly once it was light.

Having those child soldiers and frail militiamen charge in the dark was simply too difficult a task.

At the same time, in an inconspicuous tent on the Greek Expeditionary Force's position, several soldiers who had just completed their shift change were guarding a special machine, each holding a receiver.

Behind the machine, several telephone wires ran all the way out of the tent.

If one followed these telephone wires, they would find they left the Greek position entirely and eventually spliced into several Bulgarian telephone lines in the wilderness.

Just as Morin had suspected, the Greeks were indeed eavesdropping on communications.

And this was suggested by the Britannian "Spell Jägers," who had even covered the Greek signalmen as they risked splicing into these telephone lines.

This tactic had already been used once before when they broke through the Rila Mountain defensive line.

After being halted by the Bulgarian defensive positions again, the Greeks chose to repeat the trick, and it indeed yielded some results. The intelligence regarding the Bulgarians deploying their last reserve force yesterday had also been acquired by them.

Usually, the eavesdropping duty during the early morning hours was quite boring, as the opposing Bulgarians basically never communicated at this time.

Just as the Greek soldiers thought it was going to be another mundane morning, one of the tapped lines suddenly connected.

Hearing voices from the receiver, a Greek soldier who had been nodding off instantly sat up straight.

Then, the contents coming through the receiver turned his face completely white.

"What's wrong? What did you hear?"

An officer who rushed over upon hearing the commotion shook his shoulder, asking anxiously.

"I heard the Bulgarians say that a Saxon reinforcement unit seems to be preparing to launch a surprise attack on our position?"

"Saxon reinforcements... launching a surprise attack on our position?"

The officer was clearly taken aback for a moment, then slapped the soldier on the head.

"Are you fucking dreaming? Where would Saxons come from?"

"Sir, I swear on my great-grandmother's name, I definitely heard the words 'Saxon reinforcements' and 'about to launch a surprise attack'!"

The eavesdropper's absolute certainty made the officer hesitate. But soon, similar reports coming from other lines made him realize there might actually be a situation.

He pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it: 4:33 AM... At this time, all the senior officers were still asleep.

But eventually, the officer made up his mind and began walking out of the tent as he spoke.

"Tch, I'd better go report this to the superiors..."

"Fwweeeee——!"

The sound of a green flare shooting into the sky in the distance interrupted his remaining words.

Just as the officer and the eavesdroppers hesitated, several shrill shrieks came from the sky.

Immediately following...

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

As light mortar shells exploded around the position, and the Greek officer led his men to dive for cover, a single thought synchronized in his mind.

The intel was real!