The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 225
The situation was not as good as expected.
“You’re not sure exactly where the attacking group is?”
At my question, Lucretia lowered her head, looking ashamed.
“The suddenly spreading poison smoke had blinded our sight… After that, we engaged in battle with the pursuers, but they had thoroughly concealed any clues about their identities.”
“I’d like to take a look at what they looked like…”
At that time, Gaspar and Elena, who had been scouting the surroundings, returned.
Elena is holding a corpse, and Gaspar is empty-handed.
Elena speaks first.
“I eliminated the suspicious person who was wandering around. One of them activated a teleportation scroll and disappeared, but this one just died.”
Gaspar shrugs.
“I captured and restrained two of them, but apparently they had some means of self-destruction. Even though I didn’t do anything, they just suddenly disappeared.”
Gaspar then scolded Elena.
“You, aren’t you in charge of the Sentinel as the captain or something? You should have restrained them! The one you killed didn’t use the teleportation scroll, so if you had captured him, he would’ve been a huge clue!”
“That’s because…”
“I hope you’re not saying that capturing them was too difficult for someone with your skills?”
“I got carried away because they tried to use a cowardly skill.”
Elena didn’t argue back, admitting that she had been reckless.
The only clue is the corpse. I looked at Luc with a glance.
Luc shakes her head.
“Their attire is not the same as those who were chasing me.”
“That means they were just monitoring our mansion, unrelated to this incident. And those who disappeared using teleportation scrolls must be the ones targeting you.”
Then this place is dangerous.
“Surveillance of this place will be greatly strengthened soon. So I’ll evacuate the mansion. Gaspar, you take Eonia, Mother, and Meissen to a safe place. Then join me. Mother, I entrust Ryuna to you.”
Mother, who took the baby from me, nods solemnly.
After they left, I gave instructions to the operational team members.
The operational team members are Ash, Elena, Rinoa, Anduha, Erina, Yumir, Bisketa, and myself.
“The fact that they acted so noisily means the opposing side also sees today as a decisive battle. I can’t say for sure what force launched this gambit, so we’ll have to observe the situation further. But there are things we need to prepare first. First, Erina, Rinoa, Anduha, and Elena.”
The four called out gave tense expressions, waiting for my next words.
“You will infiltrate the royal palace and secure Princess Rosa. Rinoa and Erina, you are in charge of securing the key figure. As for Anduha and Elena, you two will be the escorts… But I’m honestly worried.”
It’s about Elena. From working with her recently, I’ve felt that her reliability is lacking compared to her abilities.
This aspect is really like Eonia.
Elena, as if sensing my intentions, burns with enthusiasm.
‘That’s why I’m worried about that…’
At least I can take comfort in the fact that I’ve attached the cool-headed Anduha to her.
“Wade.”
Rinoa says with a grim face.
“Are we only rescuing Princess Rosa? What about Lord Railand?”
“It’s ambiguous. Assuming both are detained, the possibility of Princess Rosa being alive is very high, but Railand the prime minister may have already been killed. So it’s better to proceed with the operation focused on securing Princess Rosa, without risking the danger of finding Railand.”
“What if there’s a lead?”
“A lead?”
“Which side do you think attacked the prime minister- Prince Joseph’s faction or Prince Landis’s faction? Who would have had a reason to do that?”
A question with substance. I shook my head.
“Neither of them really needed to. If they wanted to eliminate him, they would have done it already. Both factions probably wanted to use Railand the prime minister to stabilize the kingdom’s affairs quickly after succeeding to the throne.”
“Then the answer is clear, right? If it wasn’t the two factions, then the search will be easier. We just need to search the areas that the influence of those two factions doesn’t reach. Those places are limited, you know. I’ll search there.”
“I understand what you mean, but that will be just as dangerous.”
“Isn’t that a risk we can afford to take? If we can retrieve the prime minister, it will definitely be a great help.”
High risk, high return. After a moment of contemplation, I nodded.
“After securing Princess Rosa, if there’s time left, go ahead and do that. … And Erina.”
“Yes!”
Erina nodded robotically. She was stiff as a rock, as this was the first time she was involved in such a serious operation. At least she had the experience of the war against the undead, otherwise she might have been trembling uncontrollably.
“Are you really okay?”
“I-I’m fine!”
If possible, I didn’t want to include Rinoa and Erina in the operation, but they were the ones who knew the royal palace interior the best, so there was no choice.
“Erina, I have a separate request for you.”
“Tell me anything.”
“It’s not that difficult…”
Once the operation briefing was over, they moved out first.
I let out a light sigh and then looked at Bisketa, Ash, and Lucretia.
“As I mentioned earlier, this side will organize a guerrilla unit and attack the main gate of the royal palace at dawn. Bisketa, you’ll be in charge of unit composition, escape routes, and securing hideouts. And Ash, you’ll be the attack commander.”
“Hehe, so you know I’m the right person for the job? Surprise attacks are my specialty. Leave it to me.”
“The adjutant is you, Luc. Please make sure the Akasha family’s troops follow the orders well.”
Ash, who became a superior officer thanks to my appointment, grins mischievously.
“Hmm, Adjutant Luc. I’ll count on you.”
“I don’t remember giving you permission to call me Luc.”
“Come on. It doesn’t really matter what the superior calls you, does it? To get hung up on that kind of thing, the morale of the troops here is quite telling.”
“Ugh…! F-Fine, I’ll let it slide just for this operation.”
“Okay, Luc.”
After that, Ash called her ‘Luc’ more than thirty times, and the simple operation meeting was concluded.
With the three of them gone, only Yumir and I remained. Yumir was now showing confidence, saying that she was also capable of carrying out the operation.
I decided to go on a late-night date with her.
* * *
The city was quiet. The citizens were well aware of the tense atmosphere around the royal palace, so they didn’t dare to wander out at night.
The city was quiet by nature, so the silence was almost eerie.
I moved through the least crowded areas, with the help of Yumir’s sharp night vision.
The destination was a shabby request office on the outskirts of the city.
“Yumir, can you cover your face for a bit? Just enough to hide it, that’s fine.”
She wrapped the cloak I handed her around her head, leaving only her eyes exposed.
Then we went inside the building.
There was nothing and no one inside the building.
‘This was supposed to be the meeting place…’
At that moment, Yumir pointed to a specific spot. The floor there was less dusty than the rest.
After a brief inspection, I could see that there was a concealed entrance to the underground.
“Those Alliance guys really love their underground facilities, don’t they.”
I opened the mechanism and entered the underground, revealing a space of about 15 pyeong (approximately 50 square meters). There, 8 members of the Ramparts Alliance were watching us warily.
“Greetings. You must be the Ramparts’ Alliance members, correct?”
“You are…?”
“I’m called Wade. And you are?”
“I’m Ivor.”
He was one of the Ramparts’ core executives. He continued speaking with a sharp gaze.
“Let’s cut to the chase. The prime minister, Railand said he would give us a clue to undermine the upper Alliances. So let’s join hands, what’s that all about?”
“It seems you’re mistaken. We’re not in some warm and fuzzy relationship where we’re joining hands. We’re just mutually turning a blind eye so we can each do our own thing.”
For the legitimacy of Princess Rosa, I had to avoid a close relationship with the Alliance.
My words drawing the line displeased Ivor, and he frowned.
“If you’re just going to play word games, then the conversation ends here.”
“Then end it. I’ll be going now.”
“…Tch. Alright, alright. We can’t go back empty-handed after coming all this way. Let’s just say this cooperation of ours officially never happened. Will that work?”
“That’s sufficient.”
Ivor acknowledged that he was in a weaker position. I then got to the main point.
“The situation has become urgent. The prime minister has been attacked by unknown assailants, and his whereabouts are unknown.”
“Hah, so he’s in trouble, huh? It’s obvious what you want to ask us. You want us to find the prime minister, right? Since the decision-maker has been kidnapped, you’re powerless.”
“But we’ve already taken action on that part. We’re operating under the assumption that Railand is dead.”
Ivor tilted his head, not understanding.
“What are you talking about? The mastermind, the prime minister, has been captured by the enemy, so it’s over, isn’t it?”
“Who said Railand was the mastermind?”
“…What?”
“As much as I dislike saying this myself, the one planning, commanding, and leading this operation is me.”
“This brash young fool is talking nonsense…”
“If you don’t believe it, I can even show you the evidence?”
“Ha! Evidence? Go ahead and show it!”
I gestured to Yumir. Yumir then removed the hood that was covering her face.
Ivor, who had been wondering what she was doing, widened his eyes upon seeing Yumir’s face.
“Yumir…?”
“Oh, so you even knew my name?”
“Of course I do! After the incident where our Alliance’s base was attacked, the one who went missing was none other than you!” Ivor gritted his teeth and growled. “So it was you! You were the one who attacked our Alliance, and also caused trouble in the underground market!”
“If you’ve already reached that conclusion, then the story is moving along quickly.”
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused us? Because of your reckless attack on the underground city, we’ve been forced to take action as well! And now the upper Alliance is putting heavy pressure on us! Our Alliance leader has been summoned to a ‘meeting’ which is just a fancy term for being detained! All of this is because of you!”
“I don’t really care. Anyway, this should prove that I was the mastermind behind the operation, right?”
“That may be so…! If you’re the kind of madman who would attack the underground city, then pulling off something like this would be no big deal for you.”
“It may seem like I’m giving you poison and then the antidote, but if this all works out, your situation will surely improve. Through Princess… No, Queen Rosa, I’ll provide support behind the scenes for you. Let me make this clear – I’m not joining hands with you, but simply carrying out my own mission to punish the upper Alliances who dared to interfere in the battle for the throne. Remember this point.”
“Phew! Alright, I get it. There’s no point in trying to take revenge on you for what happened back then…”
After confirming the cooperative relationship, we were able to calmly discuss the details.
First, I asked about the situation in the underground city.
“How’s the situation in the underground city right now?”
“We’re working hard to restore the passageways. If those are blocked, the people in the underground city will starve to death or suffocate.”
I didn’t want all those people to die, not just the Roar Alliance members, but also the unjustly enslaved miners and the women trapped in the harem.
“How long will that take?”
“The risk of suffocation is fine for now. There’s an air circulation magic cast there, a kind of earth magic that circulates air through the ground. That should hold out for about two weeks. The real problem is food. There were so many people there. I don’t know the details, but I heard the stored food will run out in about a week.”
It had already been more than a week since then. That meant the people there were likely already starving, as Ivor said.
“There’s almost no vegetation growth and they can’t raise livestock there. When the stored food runs out, it’s going to be a huge problem.”
“How long will it take to restore the passageway?”
“They originally estimated about a month for restoring it from one side. But if they work on it from both sides, it should be done in half that time. It’ll probably be finished in just a few days now.”
Seeing my serious expression, Ivor sneered.
“What, are you just now starting to worry about the people there?”
“No, it’s not like I was the one who blew up the passageway.”
“That’s true.”
I also asked him about the Alliance Dorofei belonged to, but Ivor didn’t know anything beyond that.
Since I had learned enough from him, we started discussing the operation.
“What I’m asking you to do is simple, yet complex.”
“Just say it’s complex. What’s the operation?”
“It’s to light the fuse. Right now, there are nobles affiliated with Prince Landis and Prince Joseph who have been co-opted by the upper Alliances. You should impersonate the upper Alliances and incite them to action.”
I handed over the confidential documents I had obtained through the intelligence information.
Seeing this, Ivor’s eyes gleamed.
“You… Where did you get this information?”
“I stole it from Roar’s headquarters.”
“Hahaha! Those fools. They thought that place was absolutely secure. How stupid.” Ivor strongly demanded those confidential documents. “Hand those over to us! Even information that you think is insignificant can take on a different meaning when we interpret it! It’ll make an excellent weapon to pressure the other upper Alliances!”
“I’ll consider it once this is all over.”
“It sounds like you’re not going to give it to us.”
“I don’t want to risk it boomerang back on us.”
“You’re a picky one. Fine, I’ll move according to your instructions. What’s the specific operation?”
And so, throughout the early morning, I conveyed the details of the operation to them.
And as dawn broke, Ash attacked the main gate of the palace, officially launching the operation.
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