The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 215
The surveillance on me had weakened as the capital fell into chaos due to the succession dispute between Fourth Prince Joseph and Second Prince Landis.
While they still seemed somewhat wary of Rinoa, even this wasn’t particularly intense.
I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to carry out the raid operation on Uland’s underground market.
After receiving news that the Northern Continent group had gathered near Uland, I left the mansion’s personnel under Lucretia’s protection and secretly moved to Uland.
The meeting place was the abandoned mansion we had used last time. Everyone had gathered there.
“You’re finally here. We’ve been waiting.”
Sophia, who had been reading documents at a table near the entrance, greeted me.
She had taken charge of designing this raid operation. She arrived here first to conduct local reconnaissance and establish the operation plan.
“Where are the others?”
“Passed out drunk. Really, how much can they drink?”
“Will it affect the operation?”
“If we were starting the operation right now, yes, but that’s not the case, right?”
“That’s right.”
“When they know you’re here, they’ll probably become more focused. By the way, things seem chaotic in Baien too – is it okay to leave it like that?”
“It’s fine for now. More importantly, is Elliot here?”
“You mean the tracking mage from the Savior Alliance? They’ll be arriving soon with Dorofei.”
“Thank you. I should talk with the vassals first.”
“Vassals…? Let me tell you in advance, I’m not your vassal. Neither is Gunther.”
“What’s the harm in playing along? Just go with it while we’re here.”
“Ha!”
Sophia sighed but seemed to have no real objection to the arrangement as she kept quiet.
I went to check on the vassals who were reportedly drunk and sleeping in the rooms.
There were only two in the room.
The alcohol-tolerant Gaspar and Master Ilya were nowhere to be seen, having left at some point. Only Ash and Gunther remained, snoring away.
Elena looked down at the two disapprovingly before telling me, “I’m going to look around the city too. I’ve been curious about what kind of place Uland is.”
“Alright, but please don’t pick a fight if you happen to run into Master Ilya.”
“…Of course.”
The brief pause was concerning, but Elena probably wouldn’t act rashly.
After Elena left, I was alone and woke up Ash by kicking his leg.
“Hey, wake up.”
“Hmm…? Oh, what is it. Ars, it’s you.”
“I didn’t call you here just to drink.”
“I know, I know. But I couldn’t help drinking after hearing senior Gunther’s circumstances…”
“What?”
Ash scratched his messy hair and stretched.
“Let senior Gunther sleep. He only managed to get his feelings out yesterday.”
“So what happened?”
“You know too, right? The reason senior Gunther became a dark mage’s puppet, even abandoning his sense of self?.”
“Yeah, I know. The woman he loved was killed by a dark mage…”
“Well, there’s something odd about that woman’s story.”
It was information I didn’t particularly want to know.
Seeing this sentiment on my face, Ash gave a bitter smile.
“To get to the point, it seems senior Gunther thought he had to get revenge somehow to appease that woman’s grudge. That’s why he became a puppet. But while hearing about that woman, I discovered something. That woman was a con artist.”
“Huh?”
“She’s famous among mercenaries in Malora. Known for deceiving and exploiting naive men.”
There are countless such people regardless of gender. If anything, there are probably far more men trying to deceive women.
“She probably noticed how senior Gunther was quite naive despite his skills and tried to take advantage of that. Well, she probably didn’t expect senior Gunther would massacre nobles and enter the Forest of Lament. Must have been quite a shock for her too.”
“That’s kind of sad.”
“It is. That’s why senior Gunther refused to accept it until the end. He kept saying things must have been different with him. But when we looked into it carefully, turns out that woman was involved with everyone in senior Gunther’s group at the time. When it got to that point, even senior Gunther had to accept it and broke down crying.”
“Geez. Falling in love so quickly is something to seriously think about.”
“Ars, you wouldn’t understand. Women will approach you because they like you. And without any ulterior motives at that. You lucky bastard!”
Just then, Master Ilya returned with Gaspar. Both were sweating with the smell of alcohol, presumably from sparring to cure their hangovers.
I sent them to clean up before starting the meeting.
By the time the meeting started, Dorofei and Elliot had arrived, and Elena who had been looking around the city, as well as Gunther who had been sleeping, joined with puffy eyes.
***
I explained the operation’s objective.
“The goal of this operation is, needless to say, to rescue Yumir. Our opponent is Roar, one of the Savior Alliance’s factions. They’re said to be a powerful group, but with our firepower, I think we can break through and infiltrate without much difficulty.”
Everyone agreed with this.
Especially Elliot, who seemed to be trembling with excitement at his fingertips.
“Un-unbelievable. To think such powerful individuals would gather so easily at your word.”
He swallowed hard while glancing at Elena and Master Ilya. He must have sensed that Ash and Gunther were also quite capable.
“Dorofei said you were extraordinary, but… What exactly are you?”
“Just an academy student.”
“What a smooth talker, phew! I’m not sure if cooperating with you is the right thing to do as an Alliance member.”
“The fact that you agreed to help means you’re looking to gain something by siding with us, right? So this is a transaction.”
“…”
“While we’re at it, what are you after?”
“Nothing special. Recently, there have been many disappearances among lower and middle-ranked Alliance members. Our Alliance suspects these might be related to slave hunting.”
“Hmm, so you want to find evidence of this in the underground market?”
“That’s right. If it becomes known that powerful Alliance factions like Roar are involved in such activities, it would completely change the Alliance’s power structure.”
“And your Alliance, having exposed this, would instantly become mainstream.”
“…That’s the idea.”
“That works for us then. Let’s complete this transaction cleanly.”
“So? What’s the operation plan?”
Everyone’s attention turned to Sophia.
Sophia nodded and briefed them on the operation outline.
“Based on the information Elliot provided, it seems there are multiple entrances to the underground market. Of course, a underground facility this large couldn’t have just one entrance. If there was only one, someone could take control of it and flood the place, killing everyone inside.”
“If there are multiple entrances, infiltration shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Not necessarily. These entrances seem to be located within powerful Alliance factions’ headquarters.”
“That’s…”
“It’s like having one entrance in each great noble’s mansion, in terms of the kingdom. So to use those entrances, we’d need to breach each Alliance’s security network separately.”
“That would be troublesome. Aren’t there any external entrances besides the ones in Alliance headquarters? There should be some made for regular customers.”
“Yes, but those are especially heavily guarded.”
Option A was to go in with a bang – either raid an Alliance headquarters or attack an external entrance head-on.
Option B was to go in stealthily.
Either infiltrate one Alliance headquarters or find another way to break in.
Dorofei raised his hand and spoke, “I investigated the ground base on what Elliot told me. I found some weak points. Princess Sophia, could you show that map?”
Sophia spread out a map. It had Dorofei’s markings on it.
“I think if we dig down about 10 meters at these points, we can connect to the passages leading to the underground market. I can’t be certain… But if successful, we could avoid the guards’ attention.”
“Wade, the choice is yours. Whether to charge in head-on for a quick resolution, or use the side paths as Dorofei suggests.”
Sophia seemed to think either method would work.
Before making my decision, I decided to hear the other vassals’ opinions.
“Let’s go in with a bang. Such facilities have rarely experienced a proper attack. Therefore, they’re likely to be poor at handling chaotic situations.”
“I agree.”
Gaspar and Elena were in favor of a frontal assault.
“I oppose. Entering head-on without accurately understanding the enemy’s strength carries too much risk. While our abilities are certainly excellent, overconfidence is poison. We should use a safer method for infiltration.”
“I agree with Ilya.”
“Me too.”
Master Ilya, Ash, and Gunther were for using the side paths.
Dorofei would clearly be for the side paths too, so I decided to ask Princess Sophia’s opinion.
“I… Think we should shake them from the front. As Gaspar said, the enemy will surely be thrown into chaos. I don’t want to give up that tactical advantage.
Sophia was for a frontal assault.
Finally, Elliot chose the side path, citing his desire to minimize casualties.
Among the majority who favored the side path, I was drawn to Sophia’s opinion. Perhaps strategists truly understand each other.
After careful consideration, I nodded.
“We’ll split into two groups. The assault team will distract the enemy from the front, causing them to strengthen external security while weakening internal security. Meanwhile, the operation team will infiltrate using the side path to rescue Yumir.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“The assault team will consist of Gaspar, Elena, and Gunther. Elena, I’m putting you in command.”
At this, Gaspar frowned in displeasure.
“What nonsense is this, Ars? For field command, I’m obviously more capable than Kuravel’s antique.”
“What did you just say?”
I quickly stepped in to mediate.
“Gaspar! How many times have I told you to refrain from making such confrontational remarks!”
“Tch. This is happening because you’re making strange personnel choices. Especially for an operation to rescue that child…”
“You may be right that you’re better at field command. But you’re too ruthless.”
“Is that supposed to be a problem?”
“Yes, it’s a big problem. The top priority for this operation is to complete it without casualties. Not a single person should die. Even if we find Yumir, it would be meaningless if someone dies. Am I wrong?”
“Well… I suppose. If one person dies while trying to save another…”
“In that sense, your cold command style isn’t appropriate. You’d abandon stragglers without hesitation if things go wrong, wouldn’t you?”
“…”
“That’s forbidden in this operation. That’s why Elena should be in command. Don’t worry, Princess Sophia and I will handle any unexpected situations.”
“…Fine. I apologize. I got too excited.”
Gaspar apologized to both Elena and me.
The situation finally calmed down.
Now that the operation overview was decided, it was time to prepare.
***
The key points of this operation were to retreat safely and avoid revealing our identities.
This required advance preparation.
First, we investigated the side paths that Dorofei had mentioned.
There were four side paths that could be dug underground.
I decided to dig them partially in advance. Fortunately, these were areas with little foot traffic, so we managed to complete the work in two days without being discovered.
Next came the clothing to conceal our faces and physical characteristics.
While proper attire was enough for the others, Master Ilya and I needed separate weapons due to our distinctive martial arts styles.
We needed to be especially careful since that Cuthbert person had already informed the Alliance about Master Ilya and me.
“Haha, it’s been a while since I’ve used a sword with my right hand.”
The right-handed sword felt unfamiliar to me, as I had only used my left hand for swordsmanship.
In contrast, master seemed comfortable using her right hand.
After a brief sparring session, I was thoroughly defeated.
As I sat on the ground, master extended her hand and said, “Originally, the Chester style wasn’t strictly defined. You use it according to the situation. Even using a left-handed sword and right-handed spear started when Master Guderian randomly grabbed weapons in an urgent situation.”
“So we need to maintain basic proficiency with different weapons.”
“In my case, I had separate sword training when I was young, so there’s bound to be a difference from you. Want to try again? You should get used to using a sword with your right hand.”
“I’ll be fine using magic. More importantly…”
I felt a piercing gaze.
Elena was pressuring me to keep my promise to spar with her.
I couldn’t help but smile as she looked like a child eager to join in play.
Master also chuckled.
“I’m fine with sparring.”
“No, we should be cautious.”
Since the operation was scheduled for tomorrow, we decided to postpone their sparring session.
Naturally, Elena’s reproachful gaze was fixed on me.
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