“Put that old man in the vanguard? Then what about me?”
Tifa asked while looking at the map of Jelant and its surroundings on the table.
I touched the place where the castle was and said,
“Miss Tifa, you should defend the territory with two thousand soldiers inside the castle.
“Wait… just wait a minute.”
Cain wiped the cold sweat off his face and asked,
“If Miss Tifa is entrusted with two thousand soldiers… then what about me, who will be in the vanguard?”
“You should march with the remaining soldiers.
Cain, hearing this, asked in astonishment,
“If two thousand soldiers are deployed within the territory for Jelant’s defense, I understand that only about thirteen hundred soldiers are left for the interception force… Am I mistaken?”
“No. You are correct.”
So what I am saying now is-
Assigning the vanguard to a general, who is clearly not suitable for a general’s position, with only thirteen hundred soldiers, to face eight thousand soldiers.
And confining two thousand soldiers just as defense troops.
Also, alongside the most combat-skilled general within the forces.
Even a ten-year-old child would find this decision incomprehensible.
Honestly, I didn’t understand why I was giving such an order either.
Just, ‘this is the right thing to do’ is what my head was telling me.
“…Swen. Do you have some kind of grudge against me? No matter how I think about it, it sounds like you’re just sending me to die as bait.”
“That’s right! If Old Man Cain stands in the vanguard, he will surely die! I’d rather be in the vanguard myself!”
“That won’t do. Miss Tifa, please concentrate on defending the territory.”
“Why!!”
Tifa yelled, seemingly frustrated.
“You have to tell me why! If there’s a strategy, then say there’s a strategy. If you have a thought, then explain what that thought is. If you have a plan, tell me how I can help with the plan. Isn’t communication possible like this? We are on the same side! We should be able to share information!”
Yes.
Her words were absolutely right.
I desperately wanted to tell her.
That I plan to miraculously achieve victory and ask her to follow me.
But what can I do!
I could only predict the [outcome] that this is good.
But I couldn’t predict the [process] to that [outcome].
My role as a strategist was to package this ‘process’ as convincingly as possible.
But even if I tried to package it, I wasn’t thoroughly knowledgeable about tactics.
If I talked nonsense and somehow another solution emerged, that would be an awkward situation.
This game [Garland Eternity Saga] was an old game that didn’t require high-level tactics from the player.
Still, I understood such a reaction.
[Somehow it will work out, but the result will be good. But I don’t know how it’s going to happen. Anyway, please trust me and follow my instructions.]
If a strategist said that, if I were the lord, I might behead him for impudence.
This was my first battle, so such comments would not be convincing.
“…”
Luna looked at me with a sad expression.
From her expression, I read her inner thoughts.
She seemed to want to support and trust me, but she herself couldn’t reach a firm conclusion.
‘How can I persuade them.’
This wasn’t something that could be convinced by pushing like [Believe in what I say and go to the market].
This was war.
We were invaded.
It was a situation where lives could be lost.
In such a situation, pushing them to ‘just trust me’ wouldn’t convince them properly.
In such a life-risking strategy, there’s nothing more dangerous than participating without being convinced.
I thought the outcome would surely be good, but I didn’t want to create even the slightest variable.
So then.
“Understood.”
“Okay. So, how are you going to do it? How are you planning to stop eight thousand soldiers with this kind of troop deployment?”
To Tifa’s question, I carefully said with my eyes closed,
“Right now… I can’t tell you in detail.”
“What…? Hey, are you kidding me?! You call that an answer-”
“But!”
I harshly cut off Tifa’s words.
Tifa, who seemed about to rush at me in anger, hesitated for a moment, seemingly not expecting me to come on so strong.
“I will also be in the vanguard. I will join Cain and lead the thirteen hundred soldiers to the interception. Is that acceptable?”
“That… what does that mean.”
“I’m terribly sorry, but my plan must not leak to anyone. Even if it’s our allies, given the desperate situation, I want to proceed with the plan as safely as possible. But, if I just say this and stay in a safe place while sending you all to
danger, naturally you wouldn’t trust me. So.”
I pointed to the place where Cain’s interception force would go and said,
“I will go to the forefront with Cain.”
“You… are you serious?”
I looked at Cain and spoke in a more serious tone than ever,
“Cain. I wouldn’t send you to a deadly situation. If sending you there meant sending you to your death, do you think I would go with you?”
“That’s true, but.”
“So please trust me and follow my orders. I will definitely protect Jelant.”
I immediately looked at Luna and said,
“My lord.”
“…?”
Something was still bothering me.
Why had I concluded that two thousand soldiers needed to be stationed for the defense of Jelant Castle?
If the soldiers were kept here, it meant they would be needed.
There might be a possibility of a direct enemy surprise attack.
If it came, it would likely be from the rear, not the front, where there were only a few small countries similar to ours.
So, I couldn’t say anything for certain, but I thought it would make a significant difference in preparation to at least bring it up.
“My lord.”
“…?”
Even if I am a strategist with intelligence of 100, ultimately, it’s the lord’s decision to follow my words or not.
If Luna doesn’t trust my words, what’s the point of predicting with 100% accuracy?
After listening to me, she pondered for a moment and then slowly nodded her head and said,
“…For this Jelant defense battle, we will actively reflect the opinions of Strategist Swen in the preparations. If anyone objects, step forward.”
“Ah, really…! I’ll do as Luna says, but… Sigh. Look, Strategist. If something goes wrong and Luna dies, your head will fly by my hand, understand? Got it?”
Tifa threatened me in a menacing tone, but-
Perhaps due to her personality or because she was convinced by my words, it didn’t sound too scary.
“Do as you wish. But when executing the plan, please strictly follow my instructions. Refrain from abandoning the defense and leading the soldiers out of the gate.”
“Don’t treat me like that! Don’t worry about it.”
“Hmm, well……”
Cain seemed displeased, but he wasn’t the type to slack off in his duties.
“Now. Miss Tifa, please gather the defense troops, and Cain, please organize the interception force. Time is of the essence. Please move quickly.”
“Got it!”
“Understood. Then, see you later.”
After the two left the castle,
I spoke to Luna, who was left alone.
“My lord.”
“…?”
Continuously, I was concerned.
Why had I concluded that two thousand soldiers needed to be stationed for the defense of Jelant Castle?
If the soldiers were kept here, it meant they would be needed.
There might be a possibility of a direct enemy surprise attack.
If it came, it would likely be from the rear, not the front, where there were only a few small countries similar to ours.
So, I couldn’t say anything for certain, but I thought it would make a significant difference in preparation to at least bring it up.
I whispered softly to Luna,
“There’s a high possibility that someone will raid this castle. It might be one of the countries in the rear, or it could be a mercenary group hired by Brans.”
“…!”
Startled by my words, Luna asked,
“So you’re organizing the castle’s defense troops…?”
“That’s right.”
“But… if they raid, the size of the soldiers won’t be that large, wouldn’t it be better to put more weight on the interception force that will face eight thousand soldiers?”
“…”
Just as I was about to ponder how to answer,
She slowly shook her head and said,
“…No. I will trust you, Swen. You don’t have to explain. As you said, there’s nothing more dangerous than a plan going awry.”
Trust, huh.
I had never received such unilateral trust in my life.
Honestly, even though I commanded to find the treasure chest – I haven’t shown her anything as a strategist.
Yet, this woman trusted me this much.
I am human too.
Naturally, I wanted to repay the trust of those who trusted me.
“I will definitely return alive. Please survive.”
“Understood. I will definitely survive. Swen… please, come back alive.”
I slowly left the castle and headed towards the site where the interception force was being organized.
*
Jelant Castle wasn’t very far from Brans’ stronghold, Anel Castle.
It was possible to reach it in just one day from the closest Brans’ territory, Kihara Castle, with a brisk walk.
You could quickly get near the castle gates by running-
“Slow down the march!”
Calintz Brans was deliberately slowing down the pace of the march.
The strategy he had established this time was a pincer movement.
Setting 8,000 soldiers at the forefront to attack, while simultaneously – one of the forces behind Lunarien’s army, Garammil’s troops, would strike the rear of Jelant Castle.
The negotiation he referred to was precisely with Garammil’s troops.
Since Garammil’s troops greatly feared the Brans army, the negotiation didn’t take long.
To create chaos in Lunarien’s army, it was better to advance slowly in sync with the attack of Garammil’s troops.
This strategy was beneficial for Brans’ army in various ways.
If a large number of soldiers came out for interception, they could quickly occupy the castle, which would be taken over by Garammil’s troops if it was empty.
The morale of the soldiers who lost the castle would plummet, and dealing with demoralized soldiers would be easier than sweeping leaves.
Conversely, if no one came out for interception and they just held a siege, that too was advantageous.
Given the slowed pace of advancement, Garammil’s troops would inevitably engage Lunarien’s army first, and Brans’ army could easily take over the castle when the two forces were exhausted from the battle.
He reckoned the enemy would most likely hold a siege.
It didn’t make sense to form an interception squad from just 3,000 soldiers.
So, he hoped that Garammil’s troops would weaken Lunarien’s army by engaging them in battle as he slowly advanced.
‘It’s a perfect strategy, if I do say so myself.’
Although it seemed overkill to do so much against just 3,000 soldiers –
After recently feeling humiliated by the soldiers of Walnut’s troops recapturing their territory, Calintz had been executing strategies using more than double the forces against even the weakest opponents.
He didn’t want to make the same mistake again, especially since he had been unable to stand out compared to his older brother and his lord, his younger sister.
While he was contemplating this –
“The enemy is in sight!”
“The enemy’s interception squad has appeared!”
Voices began to emerge from the front of the column.
‘An interception squad?’
Sending out an interception squad with just 3,000 soldiers?
He was briefly surprised by the unexpected move, but it changed nothing.
‘They must be desperate to hasten their demise.’
Well, it wouldn’t be fun if it was too easy.
Calintz Brans shouted with confidence,
“All troops, prepare for battle!”
* * *
“That flag is…”
“It’s definitely Brans’ army’s flag.”
I nodded in response to Cain’s statement.
“That’s right.”
As expected, the enemy didn’t take too long to arrive.
The Kihaara Castle, where I had stayed before joining Lunarien’s army, wasn’t that far from here.
In fact, considering the distance, they arrived a bit later than expected.
“So, what do we do now? Strategist. Are we going to charge and fight like this?”
“…”
Thirteen hundred against eight thousand.
In this game, there were not many scenarios where a battle with such odds could be won.
If there was an SSS-class general, it might be possible to cut through the soldiers like cake.
But right now, it’s just me and Cain, who can’t even be considered as having high military prowess as a joke.
‘…’
The battle is about to start.
If it goes on like this, we will die.
I won’t be able to return to the original world, nor see Lunarien Iniange unify.
But.
I regained my confidence.
My intelligence is 100.
An intelligence of 100 never goes wrong.
So, we will definitely win.
With that thought – I slowly opened my mouth.
“All troops, charge-”
But.
I couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Fire!!!”
Thududududududuk!
“What, what’s that!”
“Is it the enemy?”
“No, it’s from that side!”
As if an angel of God had appeared –
Suddenly, a rain of countless arrows began to pour down on Brans’ troops.
