YEAR: 1724. JUNE 7TH. LOCATION: FORT KESPARE IN SHIENA KINGDOM.

I was a normal high school boy, fulfilling my duties as a student, until a fateful accident changed everything, transporting me to another world like a classic Isekai novel.

It was a rainy day when it happened. Standing on the sidewalk, I was waiting for the light to turn green to cross the road. Suddenly, a truck sped toward the crosswalk. Focused on my phone, I stepped into the road just as the light turned green and got hit. Everything went black.

When I regained consciousness, I found myself as a baby, cradled by unfamiliar people. At first, I thought it was a joke or a dream, but as time passed, I realized I had been reincarnated into a medieval fantasy world where magic existed. Magic, a supernatural ability, allowed people to conjure elements with their mana, the magical energy everyone possessed. The more mana a person had, the stronger their magic.

Adapting to my new life was challenging. My father was a miner, and my mother worked as a waitress. I was the second child in a common family with an older brother. Life seemed peaceful until my parents sold me into slavery due to their debt. My father’s gambling had left them in dire straits, and when a slave trader came looking for a young child, they made the choice to sell me.

I couldn't understand why they would do this, as they seemed to love me. At just four years old, I lacked the strength to fight back or ask questions. I feared that if anyone discovered I was a reincarnation, I might become a test subject for horrible experiments.

On top of that, I had no plans for survival if I escaped; as a four-year-old, I couldn’t work or travel the outside world. Despite my attempts to flee, I was brutally beaten by the slave trader to keep me in line.

Bitterly, I thought, ‘What great parents’, as I received the name Aaron, a change from my original name, Aria.

The slave trader took me to a place filled with cells packed with slaves guarded by slavers. Most were young, having been sold by families or kidnapped. I spent my days sitting in my cell, occasionally inspected by customers. Despite several escape attempts, the security was too tight.

A year after, I was sold again to a rough-looking man in a modern military uniform, along with a hundred other slaves.

I thought my situation couldn’t get worse, until I discovered I’d been sold as a war slave.

War slaves were used by the military. Slaves wore metal collars that would tighten if they disobeyed, choking them to death. But in war, it hardly mattered. Death could come in countless ways: enemy soldiers, disease, madness, or even betrayal by your own allies.

As a result, many slaves fled the battlefield, either choking to death or being killed by enemy soldiers. Typically, they were used to carry supplies rather than fight unless they had battle experience. While employing war slaves addressed labor shortages, it also showed the nation's dire emergency, requiring everyone to contribute to its survival.

This was true for the Kingdom of Shiena, a small nation located in the west of the continent of Olina. Despite its size, it possessed military power comparable to wealthier nations, thanks to its rich access to mines filled with iron, silver, gold, and precious gems like diamonds.

These advantages allowed Shiena to prosper through trade. However, this wealth attracted the attention of the neighboring Emavia Empire, the largest nation on the continent, which aimed to dominate the entire continent. To achieve this, Emavia sought to acquire Shiena's valuable resources, as materials like iron were crucial for weapons, armor, war machines, and even improving agriculture to support their army.

As expected, the Emavia Empire declared war on the Shiena Kingdom four months ago, launching an attack to dominate the land. The Kingdom of Shiena continued to resist, largely because the Empire was also at war with two major power, Yiuiong Dynasty and Republic of Prancón, allied nations aiming to end its reign.

Natural barriers, such as mountains, delayed the Empire's advance, but despite these advantages, they gained the upper hand, capturing four major forts, Fort Stonebridge, Fort Blackwater, Fort Ironridge, and Fort Greenvale, while many minor forts were taken or destroyed. The situation worsened for Shiena as losses mounted and trading routes closed, significantly impacting their economy. However, their army remained strong.

The Shiena Kingdom's military consisted of the 1st to 9th Corps, each typically numbering 35,000 to 45,000 soldiers, with some, like the 1st and 2nd Corps, exceeding 50,000. The 1st to 7th Corps were deployed along the Eastern Line, while the 8th Corps defended the capital alongside the Emerald Order, the kingdom's only knight order.

At the Eastern Line, the Imperial forces numbered around 500,000 while the force of the Kingdom was 360,000. Although outnumbered, Shiena's troops had the advantage of fighting on their home ground, supported by numerous forts. The south of the kingdom was relatively safe, as the Kingdom shared a border with the Yiuiong Dynasty, but the north was vulnerable.

The Emavia Empire held territory in the north, though it was thin compared to its main lands. Despite the limited presence, they sent 50,000 Imperial soldiers to charge in. The Kingdom of Shiena viewed them as less threatening than the Eastern Line and assigned the 9th Corps, known as the Iron Vanguard, to deal with them.

The 9th Corps, famous for their strong defense, numbered only 35,000 soldiers however and lacked sufficient equipment. The kingdom focused on the Eastern Line as they gave vast resources to them. The 9th Corps’ commander, Lieutenant General Cedric, managed to hold the Imperials at the border for four months but at a heavy cost, reducing their numbers to just 5,000.

A recent battle resulted in significant losses, with over 9,000 soldiers killed, largely due to the unexpected appearance of knights. Now, the last line of defense was at Fort Kespare, with no reinforcements in sight.

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‘It would be a good idea to sneak attack the enemy now that they’ve let their guard down,’ I thought as my superiors shouted, causing the other slaves to flinch.

Three years had passed since I was sold as a war slave for the 9th Corps, treated as a laborer alongside soldiers. The officer overseeing us wielded a whip, punishing anyone he deemed lazy, often hitting hard working slaves for his own amusement. As a result, we all bore red marks on our thighs.

“Get your lazy ass up and move those boxes! You don’t want the Imperials to kill you, do you?” he barked.

I wiped the sweat from my brow, exasperated. We were hauling arrows, boulders, and other weapons up to the fort wall under the blazing sun, its rays piercing our skin. The sound of the whip made us flinch, and some slaves collapsed from exhaustion, dehydration, or mental strain.

Miraculously, we had survived six hours of grueling work without proper rest. When slaves fell, they were dragged to the shade with bottles of dirty water infested with bugs. If they didn’t return to work within a minute, the officers whipped them, further depleting their strength.

Some slaves attempted to protest but were beaten to death, instilling fear in the rest. Humans are fragile, easily controlled by fear, thinking only of their own survival. While I despised being controlled, I had to acknowledge the officers’ effective methods. But I knew this situation wouldn’t last long before it turned.

Fort Kespare was in a state of emergency, bracing for an enemy attack, and the situation was dire. Originally built for over 100,000 soldiers, the 9th Corps had dwindled to just 5,000, leaving them with too much ground to cover. Most soldiers were stationed on the walls, but their defenses were spread too thin, making them vulnerable to a full-scale assault, especially with enemy knights among their ranks.

In this world, magic altered any logic back on Earth. Mages wielded unpredictable supernatural abilities, and magical traps could remain invisible without specific artifacts to detect them. While fantasy creatures like dragons and wyverns could be deployed in battle, they rarely appeared on the battlefield since they were valuable resources typically reserved for defense or emergencies.

Even if the mages or whatever the empire has however, they would likely appear at the Eastern Line where the main fighting is taking place. Nobody would be in their right mind to deploy something powerful and important to the Northern Line where it was already falling apart.

I considered fleeing when the attack happened since staying on the battlefield meant certain death. As a slave, I lacked proper equipment, making survival nearly impossible without a lot of luck.

I was one of the few slaves who returned safely from the recent battle, while over 1,000 others had perished, unable to escape the knights. Many slaves tried to surrender, but they were mercilessly killed; to the Imperials, we were useless. They had no need for slaves, and didn’t want to share their food with us, so they simply executed anyone they captured.

The surviving slaves were terrified, hurriedly moving boxes of weapons to the walls while watching for any sign of Imperial soldiers. It took a full day to get everything set up. There were few of us left to help, and all the soldiers were focused on defense, showing a clear shortage of manpower.

Despite my surroundings, I didn’t look as tired as the other slaves. I had strong endurance from working in the fields, but for some reason, I lacked visible muscles. I suspected that mana might be enhancing my body without my awareness, but I couldn’t be sure since I couldn’t feel it.

After six hours of continuous work, most slaves went to the mess hall to eat, but I avoided it, uncomfortable with the soldiers' glares. They despised us, viewing us as dirty and weak, making us easy targets for their "pranks," which often led to injuries. Injured slaves received no proper treatment, and the soldiers faced no consequences since we were easily replaceable.

Instead, I returned to my room, a horse stable where we slept since slaves were denied proper beds despite plenty of empty rooms after the fort's population dwindled from 35,000 to 5,000. The officers refused to let us sleep in the beds, treating us as less than equals. I had grown accustomed to this treatment, adapting over time to life without luxury. Fortunately, the horses were long gone, leaving us plenty of space and hay to make makeshift beds.

Though it also meant they were in a hopeless situation. I thought tiredly, already seeing my grim future. Horses were important resources in a war setting in medieval battles, and it would be nuts to not have any horses in a huge army like this.

I lay on the straw bed I had made and stared at the ceiling, longing for freedom from this life as a slave. The thought of dying on the battlefield loomed over me, but instead of planning my escape, my mind fixated on battle strategies to help us survive.

If anyone saw me lost in thought about tactics instead of fleeing, they’d think I was crazy. But I was different. Back on Earth, I was a battle nerd, obsessively studying tactics and military strategy. Even now, in this new world, that knowledge felt like my only anchor.

My parents, both First Lieutenants, had taught me everything they knew about warfare. Unlike me, they were strong and brave, but they were lost on a mission when I was young. I never truly understood their fate, but I knew they were gone for good.

After their deaths, I ended up in an uncaring orphanage with a few friends who were more like acquaintances. I didn’t miss my old life; it offered little comfort.

That’s why I focused on battle plans for the 9th Corps. Their success in driving back the enemy was my only chance of survival. Having overheard soldiers since I was five, I had gathered valuable information about the situation, understanding that intelligence was crucial in battle.

I had almost finalized my plan for the upcoming conflict. It was simple but effective: instead of remaining defensive, the 9th Corps needed to go on the offensive with a surprise attack on the Imperials. A sneak attack would catch them off guard and increase our chances of winning.

After all, the Imperials had achieved a big victory not long ago and would relax their guards, focusing solely on attacking. If that happened, they would suffer significant damage from a sudden, unexpected attack.

“Pearl Harbor is a famous example of that. The Japanese sneak-attacking the Americans,” I murmured, smiling at the memory.

However, Cedric didn’t seem inclined to attack the Imperials, as the soldiers weren’t preparing for any kind of departure. In fact, they seemed to be adopting a defensive stance in the fort, which would be the worst possible choice.

I needed to find a way to change Cedric’s mind if I wanted to survive in this fort. Normal soldiers captured by enemies were usually executed to prevent rebellion, while slaves were mercilessly killed without question.

The problem was that I was a slave, making it unlikely for Cedric, the commander of the 9th Corps, to meet with someone like me. Even if I did get a chance to speak with him, he probably wouldn’t take me seriously, considering I was just a child and a slave.

I needed a convincing approach, and I had a risky plan. I retrieved a hidden piece of paper and a pen from beneath my bed. In this world, they weren’t rare but had become scarce in the Kingdom of Shiena due to the ongoing war and economic collapse.

Getting my hands on paper and a pen as a slave was almost impossible, but I had managed to sneak some when no one was looking. I learned to write by observing others and had plenty of opportunities while delivering letters to soldiers.

“Dear Lieutenant General Cedric,” I began, carefully writing my message until I was satisfied. Quietly, I slipped out of the horse stable and made my way to Cedric’s office, easily identified by its fancy door design. It was fortunate that few soldiers were on guard duty, or I would have been caught.