Reborn: Imperial Officer Promotion Guide

After entering Lvyuan Village, more and more villagers gathered around, until Hull's team was unable to move forward due to the crowd.

"Damn barbarian beast!"

"Sir, you can't let the Kuming barbarians off easily!"

"Don't just stand there, go and prepare the fire! Burn this Kumin beast to death!"

"My brother died at the hands of the Kumins. I want revenge!"

"So did my grandfather!"

"Pay with the blood of that beast!"

Every villager had a look of resentment on their face, and the voices of condemnation and abuse were becoming uncontrollable.

Hull just frowned, looked indifferent and said nothing.

"Hey Leng Leng! Alsulu!"

However, the Kuming captives began to shout when they saw the villagers gathering around them.

Hull didn't understand his language, but from the tone, he seemed to be responding with swear words.

"How dare you, a barbarian beast, bark like a dog!"

A young man let out a strange cry, picked up a stone and threw it over.

Hull looked carefully, swung his right hand to catch the stone that was thrown at him. At this moment, his face was already cold and a little scary.

"My army does not allow the abuse of prisoners. Whoever dares to attack the prisoners in my army will be punished by military law."

"You...! Why are you defending the barbarians? My father was killed by these barbarians. Isn't it okay to just throw a few stones?"

"That's right! That's right! We have a deep hatred for the Kumin people! Let alone throwing stones, even if we kill that beast a thousand times or ten thousand times, it won't solve our hatred!"

"What are you talking about military law... We are not soldiers, we are just ordinary villagers! We are not under your control!"

"We don't need a weak army like yours!"

"Get out!"

All around Hull were the angry roars of the villagers.

Hull noticed that some young and middle-aged villagers had picked up pitchforks and sickles at some point.

Hull sighed heavily.

"Since you said you don't need the military to intervene... then, we will hand this Kumin over to you and withdraw from your village."

"But don't say I didn't tell you in advance. This Kumin captive is a magician. It shouldn't take more than one night to raze your village to the ground."

“…Huh!?”

The villagers, who had just been excited, suddenly became quiet.

They looked at each other, and then looked at Hull with horror, but there was no trace of a joke in Hull's expression.

After waiting for a long time, the young man who had thrown the stone just now spoke.

His lips trembled with anger.

"Are you...are you mistaken? You are soldiers of the Empire after all. If you let this beast do this, aren't you afraid of being held accountable afterwards?"

Hull sighed slightly.

"You are the ones who made the mistake, right? Our army is supposed to protect kind citizens of the Empire who obey the army's jurisdiction during wartime."

"It is your right to accept the protection of the military, and it is our duty as soldiers to protect the citizens of our territory from harm."

"In such a war zone, if one does not assume the obligation to obey the military's management, then it can be regarded as a voluntary waiver of the right to accept military protection."

"What...!"

"Before the Kumins launched their attack this time, our 8th Squad rushed to the battlefield as quickly as possible and crushed the enemy's unsuccessful offensive. When patrolling Midorita Village to confirm the casualties, the local villagers said [the army did not need to intervene] and refused to obey the army's orders..."

Hull talked to himself in an emotionless tone, as if he was preparing a manuscript for a later report.

"In other words, the villagers of Lvyuan Village have officially told us that they can protect their homeland even without the intervention of the army. I believe that from now on, the right to defend their homeland should be returned to the villagers of Lvyuan Village, and the defense zone should be replanned to save military forces to support other villages that need protection."

After saying this, Hull nodded as if he had already prepared the report materials, with a satisfied smile on his face.

"How...How could we possibly refuse the army's protection...!"

"Then, could you please put down your sickles and pitchforks and obey my orders?"

"The cruelty of war will not allow me to risk the lives of my subordinates to protect the extra rioters!"

After saying this, Hull got off his horse.

He murmured, "The qualification to be protected must be fought for. This is also the iron law of war."

Hull had a calm expression on his face, just walking in front, leading the horse. His eyes were extremely cold, as if the villagers surrounding him were not living beings at all and he did not take them seriously at all.

The villagers were obviously shocked by Hull's words.

Hull had only taken a few steps when the villagers who had been blocking his way all made way, and even the sound of their whispers became much quieter.

Sergeant Bass followed Hull closely, turning his head to look at Hull from time to time.

The expression was a little surprised.

"What's wrong? Is there something dirty on my face?"

"No... No. When Shangguan came to check on the situation in the village in such a hurry, I thought you were the type who would risk your life for the civilians..."

"It is a soldier's duty to confirm the casualties in the territory after the war. I am just fulfilling this duty. It has nothing to do with whether the local residents are civilians or nobles."

Of course, Hull once indulged in the heroic complex of saving the world.

But as he grew older, he realized that this so-called "salvation" was just a kind of condescending self-indulgence.

Isn't this also a form of arrogance and discrimination towards those being protected?

"There are bad-behaved commoners in this world, and there are kind-hearted nobles, and vice versa."

"People are not the kind of creatures that can be judged as good or bad just by their background. Rather than looking at the height of their background, I prefer to look at the other person's undisguised behavior and lifestyle. Only by starting from this aspect can I see the value contained in the other person."

"...You are right. I have learned your lesson."

Hull answered this way, and Sergeant Bass nodded frequently beside him.

When he was unable to command the 8th Squad personally, Hull planned to let Sergeant Bass take charge of the command of the 8th Squad.

Therefore, Hull felt it necessary to express some of his more subjective thoughts to him.

When Hull was about to take another step, he felt a sense of irritation as if a gravel had sunk into the sole of his shoe.

After a sigh, Hull chose to stop.

"...I told a lie."

"Hmm? Shangguan, what did you say?"

"A little bit... I have a little bit of personal feelings in it..."

"Huh?!" Sergeant Bass seemed to be doubting his ears.

"——The kind of guy who only dares to swing his sword at people who are defenseless..."

"I'm disgusted!"

Sergeant Bass remained silent.

"My father was killed...My brother was killed...I want to avenge my lost family..."

"If you want revenge, come forward with honor. If you have the courage, I might give them a chance to take revenge. But those villagers only dare to shout and kill after their opponents lose the ability to resist... When I really ask them to fight the enemy, they shrink back..."

"I only see two words for this kind of person - [despicable]!"

What Hull had said to the villagers before about reporting to their superiors was just pressure.

In fact, even if you report it like that, it will not be recognized.

Although he would not admit it, Hull was not the kind of wooden-headed person who would only act according to military law.

He was just using military law to justify his actions.

Whether it is the laws of the empire, the commander-in-chief of the army, or even His Majesty the Emperor.

Hull did not intend to let anyone bind him with any form of military law, law, or order.

Using his identity and status as an officer, he gradually climbed to the pinnacle of power and took the empire into his own hands.

This is the real purpose hidden in Helheim's deep eyes.

After his thoughts circled around the origin and returned to reality, Hull sighed slightly.

"Huh... I'm really tired..."

"...Huh? What's wrong with you?"

Sergeant Bass asked with a look of not understanding.

"As for me, I also want to complain sometimes. No one is made of iron. I am also made of flesh and blood. If I keep some things in my heart for too long, I will become unbearable. Since I became a soldier, I have to pay attention to the eyes of people around me all the time. It's really tiring."

"Care about...other people's opinions? You said you care about other people's opinions?!"

Sergeant Bass's expression suddenly changed, as if he suspected that he was hallucinating.

"Well... I have to consider what you, my subordinates, think of me, and I also have to consider what my superiors and colleagues think of me. I even have to consider the thoughts of ordinary civilians. I have prepared myself mentally in advance, but these days, I really feel how difficult it is to be an officer."

"Concerned about what everyone thinks...? Uh... okay."

Bass hesitated to speak, with a wry smile on his face.

Hull didn't know why the other party showed such an expression. Did he say something wrong?

Well, as expected, as a superior, maybe I shouldn’t complain in front of my subordinates.

Really failed in my duty...

In this way, Hull led the members of Team 8 to patrol the nearby villages one by one.

Finally we arrived at a medium-sized village called Ashvale.

The villagers here are also hostile to the Kuming people, but not as much as those in Lvyuan Village.

In Hull's opinion, this is probably due to geographical reasons.

The Valley of Ashes is located in the valley, farther away from the Kumin people than other villages, and should not have been attacked on a large scale by the Kumin people in the past.

Therefore, their hatred towards the Kumins was weaker than that of other villages.

"Sergeant Bass, take some people to the village and ask if there is anyone who understands the language of the Kumin people."

"Yes!"

Along the way, the Kuming captives would talk to themselves from time to time, but Hull and the others could not understand a word of it.

If they don't speak the same language, even if Hull wants to get information from the other party, he won't be able to do it.

In this case, the value of the prisoner would be greatly reduced.

Under the pretext of confirming the damage in the territory, Hull immediately went to inspect each village.

The real purpose is to find someone who knows the Kumin language and get their assistance.

Only then can he begin to plan how to maximize the results of this battle.