Reborn General: My Interstellar Arsenal Slays Magic

Chapter 1: The Cold Steel of Redemption

The icy wind of Frostpeak Fortress didn’t just bite; it gnawed straight to the bone.

Leonidas Vance stood at the edge of the battlements, staring down at his trembling, bloodied hands. They weren’t the battle-hardened hands of the Supreme Marshal who had commanded half a million men against the Demon Tide. They were the thin, callous-less hands of an eighteen-year-old outcast—skinned raw by the freezing drag of iron chains.

Ten years.

The memory hit him like a physical blow: the blinding flash of Imperial magic, the cold smile of Emperor Aurelius as the royal guards ran a sword through his back, and the searing agony of betrayal after he had bled for an ungrateful empire.

Then, total darkness. Until thirty seconds ago, when he opened his eyes and woke up in the frozen nightmare of his past.

"Look at the noble trash," a harsh voice spat behind him.

Leonidas turned slowly. Standing at the top of the stone stairs was Captain Vance of the Imperial Cadre—no relation, just another aristocratic sycophant—flanked by three armored guards.

"Prince Valen’s orders were explicit, disgraced cadet," Captain Vance sneered, resting his hand on the hilt of his mana-infused longsword. "You are stripped of your family name, banished from the capital, and assigned to the penal vanguard of Frostpeak. No mana. No legacy. You die when the monsters breach the gate, or you die by my hand if you take one step off this wall."

Leonidas didn’t flinch. The cold in his chest far exceeded the sub-zero blizzard howling around them. In his past life, this was the exact moment he had broken—begging for mercy, cursing his lack of mana, and accepting a slow, agonizing descent into despair before crawling his way back up through sheer blood and luck.

Not this time.

If mana is the mark of gods in this world, Leonidas thought, his jaw tightening as anger surged through his veins, then I will bring the hammer of science to shatter their altars.

[INITIALIZING INTEGRATION...]

A semi-translucent, blue holographic interface suddenly flared into existence before his eyes, invisible to the guards.

[AUTHENTICATING USER: SUPREME MARSHAL LEONIDAS VANCE.]

[SYSTEM CORE ONLINE: INTERSTELLAR SOVEREIGN ARSENAL.]

[CURRENT EXP: 0 | BIOMASS CREDITS: 500 (INITIAL WELCOME REWARD)]

[TIER 1 ARSENAL UNLOCKED: EARTH EXPEDITIONARY SMALL ARMS.]

Leonidas's heart hammered against his ribs. The system was real. The high-tech orbital network of ancient Earth—the legendary phantom arsenal—was bound directly to his soul.

"Are you deaf, trash?" Captain Vance stepped closer, unsheathing his blade. The steel hummed with a faint blue magic aura. "Kneel and sign the penal decree, or I’ll cut off your fingers one by one."

The emotional weight of ten years of humiliation, the memory of his men dying because corrupt nobles withheld supplies, and the burning urge to tear down the Solaria Empire roared within Leonidas. He looked Captain Vance dead in the eye.

"You have five seconds to put that blade back in its scabbard," Leonidas said, his voice terrifyingly calm.

Vance laughed hysterically. "A mana-less bastard threatening an Imperial Officer? Die!"

Vance lunged forward, his magical aura flaring as the sword sliced down toward Leonidas's neck.

Purchased: Suppressed 9mm Tactical Sidearm + High-Velocity Armor-Piercing Magazine (150 Credits).

Cl-click.

In a fraction of a second, raw weight materialized in Leonidas’s right hand—cold, matte-black, precision-engineered alloy. He didn't draw a sword; he simply raised his hand, stepped inside the arc of Vance's swing, and pressed the heavy suppressor directly against the captain’s mana-shielded chest armor.

THWIP. THWIP.

Two suppressed shots coughed in the freezing air. The armor-piercing rounds didn't just strike the magical barrier—they tore through the mana field like paper, shattered the steel plate, and liquefied the officer's heart.

Captain Vance’s eyes went wide with sheer disbelief. The blue glow of his sword flickered and died. He collapsed onto the snow, dead before his body hit the stone.

The three guards froze, their faces turning pale as paper. They hadn't felt a single drop of mana. No incantation. No spell circle. Just a quiet thwip and their elite commander was gone.

"What... what magic is that?!" one guard screamed, drawing his weapon with shaking hands. "He murdered the Captain! Kill him!"

Leonidas didn't answer. He adjusted his grip on the weapon, the cold metal feeling more natural than any sword he had ever held, and pointed the barrel directly at the leading guard's forehead.

Before anyone could move, a deep, earth-shaking roar echoed from the valley below.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The warning bells of Frostpeak Fortress began to toll frantically. Down in the blinding fog of the canyon, thousands of crimson eyes ignited in the dark.

[ALERT: RANK-4 FROST ORC SURGE DETECTED.]

[ENEMIES APPROACHING: 500+ UNGUARDED AT THE FRONT GATE.]

[GARRISON STATUS: CRITICAL. NO MAGICAL DEFENSES ACTIVE.]

The guards backed away in absolute terror, looking between the horde of monsters rushing the gate and Leonidas, who stood alone atop the wall holding an unknown weapon of death.

Leonidas looked down at the horde, then raised his head toward the southern horizon—where the Imperial Capital lay in blissful, corrupt peace. A dark, ruthless smile cut across his face.

"Let them come," Leonidas whispered.