The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 286
The morale of the Bülang army that invaded Liande was sky-high.
They had continuously occupied territories without engaging in any significant battles, and the enemy had set up a defensive position in the capital.
The three princes surrounded the capital city, Alphensard, which Ars was defending, and burst into laughter.
“Even the greatest Wade would become a docile lamb before us.”
“Haha! That is absolutely true, elder brother.”
“….”
Only the 3rd Prince Eldric felt a sense of discomfort with the situation that was too easy.
‘But what is this? What are they aiming for?’
If Juras and Kaien were hiding somewhere, they should have appeared by now. He had prepared thoroughly for a potential flank attack.
However, no matter how long he waited, they did not appear. Until all territories fell into Bülang’s hands and the capital was besieged.
The capital’s defense was good, but its fall was just a matter of time.
This was because Alphensard was not a fortress city.
They had hastily built walls and formed a fortress-like structure, but it was not particularly threatening.
In the first place, in terms of supply warfare, they would last at most two months. The situation was such that they could win just by maintaining the siege.
Eldric returned to the military camp after deciding to attack the next morning and immediately looked for Casper.
“You called for me, Prince?”
“Casper, when will the support from the West arrive?”
“They should be entering Bülang’s territory right now. Lord Hanneman is firmly establishing the supply line and advancing.”
“What are the numbers?”
“Around 60,000. Certainly not a small number.”
“Hmm….”
Eldric was not at ease. Who was this Juras?
‘Could he be targeting the Western army?’
However, this seemed too unrealistic, and he shook his head even as he thought about it.
To devour a Western army of 60,000 at once, there would be no way other than an ambush. And that would require hiding troops numbering in the tens of thousands within Bülang’s territory.
‘There’s no way that’s possible.’
Yet, as he thought this, a doubt crept in that if it were Juras, he might just be able to pull it off.
“…Casper, send a messenger to the Western army right now. Tell them to be cautious of any potential ambush.”
“An ambush? Didn’t I already say that Lord Hanneman’s army is passing through Bülang’s territory? There can’t be an ambush in such a place.”
“But still…!”
“Aren’t you a bit tired?”
Casper asked with eyes filled with contempt.
He was exasperated with Eldric, who was insisting on an ambush.
‘A fool who entered the ranks of the Ten Heroes based on his flashy reputation.’
Casper thought of himself as the true talent worthy of being among the Ten Heroes. To him, Eldric was nothing more than a useless occupant.
As if reading Casper’s inner thoughts, Eldric threw out a question.
“Then, I’ll ask you, Casper. Where exactly are Juras and Kaien, and their troops?”
“There are several possibilities. First, as we anticipated, they might be hiding to strike our side. Lying low in Alvard’s territory and preparing to launch a surprise attack.”
“Yes, but we’ve taken measures by occupying Liande’s territory. By now, we can respond even if they launch a surprise attack.”
“It’s Calliper, not Liande. Please be clear about that.”
“Hmph, Calliper has already been destroyed. There’s only Liande established by Ars Elaine.”
“Prince…!”
“I understand your reluctance to acknowledge it, but answer my question now. What’s the second possibility?”
“…Attacking Bülang’s mainland. There’s a possibility of descending from the Alvard or Balas direction and launching an attack.”
“That’s also been prepared for. In that case, we’ve decided to convert the Western reinforcement troops into defense forces to repel the attack.”
“That’s correct. The last, third possibility is an invasion towards Europe or Svenner…”
“…Wait a moment.”
“Yes? Is there a problem?”
“Converting Western troops into defense forces… Then if the Western troops are annihilated, there would be no capacity to defend the mainland, right?”
“So how are you going to annihilate the Western troops? Stop with these impossible dream-like scenarios.”
“No, no…!”
Eldric finally became certain.
“They’re definitely aiming for that! Damn it, why did I only realize this now!?”
“That’s an absolutely impossible scenario. In the first place, they don’t even know that our Western army is advancing. Even if they knew about the advance, they wouldn’t know the direction or timing of the march.”
A strategically impossible plot.
For this strategy to succeed, one would need to know the internal affairs of the West thoroughly and completely deceive Bülang’s intelligence network.
“That’s why it’s a strategy he would attempt! Quickly send a messenger to the Western army! Tell them to stop and search for ambush troops!”
“……”
Casper shook his head.
Just then, a messenger burst in.
“Urgent news! Urgent news!”
Casper frowned.
“What is it?”
Meanwhile, Eldric lamented that they were already too late.
Casper’s eyes widened at the continuing report.
“The Western reinforcement army has been annihilated by the enemy’s ambush troops! The enemy is now beginning to march towards the capital!”
“Wh-what…?”
A surprise attack that struck the enemy’s rear.
With this, the war situation was instantly reversed.
Currently, Liande’s capital Alphensard still maintained a defensive posture with 100,000 troops, while Bülang’s capital is completely defenseless.
* * *
An enemy military camp visibly flustered.
Anton whispers.
“It seems the operation was successful.”
“Indeed.”
Juras and Kaien. As the two held hands, they had even succeeded in this unbelievable strategy.
Returning to the opposite side of the continent to set up an ambush.
It was a crazy operation that no sane person would consider.
“Anton, prepare for departure. If they choose to retreat, we’ll immediately catch their tail.”
“Leave the vanguard to me…! It’s an honor!”
Because Eo also wanted to be in the vanguard, Ars attached Anton as the vice-commander alongside master Ilya.
‘Now, what will you do?’
The enemy has two choices.
Abandoning the Bülang homeland and capturing Alphensard here to establish a new system, or retreating to defend the homeland.
However, in the former case, since most citizens who form the foundation of national power have evacuated to Crossing, establishing a new system would be nothing but hollow.
And if they retreat, they will clearly suffer a massive loss, so they hesitate.
At that moment, Duke Hellian arrives with quick steps after hearing the news.
“Ars! Is that news true!? The armies of Crossing and Alvard have caught the enemy’s rear!?”
“It’s not just catching. They’ve swept away the enemy’s defense forces while securing the rear.”
“Haha! It was an unbelievable operation! Now I understand why you kept your mouth shut. Even a small leak of confidential information would have led to failure.”
“That’s right. Juras probably did various preparations as well.”
Since there might be spies within the military, they likely made the soldiers circle around so they wouldn’t know their destination, or made them march in the middle of the night.
The soldiers probably didn’t even think they were lying in ambush in Bülang’s territory.
“This will certainly confuse them! They’ll have to decide whether to stay or retreat! Hahaha!”
Hellian laughs heartily, as if his old indigestion has been relieved.
As he said, there was undoubtedly considerable confusion in the enemy camp.
In fact, even a day after the intelligence came in, they had not made a decision.
The princes were engaged in heated arguments and could not unify their opinions.
‘Checkmate.’
This is the end. Wasting a day would be a fatal blow to them.
The 30,000 troops of Nolak, the second general of Crossing from the north, and Gillias Melbourn with 20,000 troops from the west began to surround the enemy.
The opponent finally began to retreat in a hurry but was caught by Anton’s mobile unit.
“Not a single one shall return! Do not forgive those who invaded our territory!”
I switch to an offensive and launch a fierce attack on the enemies.
The Bülang army scatters and disbands. During this time, Juras and Kaien capture the Bülang capital, and the war flows completely to our advantage.
* * *
“Damn, damn, damn!”
Casper’s face looked like a ghost.
He could not accept this situation of retreating without fighting a proper battle.
“If it was going to be like this, we should have launched a total offensive on Alphensard!”
However, the Bülang army was commanded by three princes, making coordination difficult.
The First Prince advocated retreat, the Second Prince remained neutral, and the Third Prince pushed for an offensive, wasting an entire day.
During this time, support troops from Crossing and Alvard arrived, and retreat became the decided course, but it was too late, and they were caught within Liande’s territory.
Casper, moving with Eldric with 30,000 troops, tried to hurriedly return to Bülang, but Eonia pursued him.
“Haaah!”
Kwak kwak kwak kwak! Eonia’s spear technique was noticeably improved.
Previously, with no instructor to teach her, her talent had been stagnant, but externally, Elena and Mirabel were present.
Especially Mirabel, who would say ‘Eo, you’re too weak. With that, you can’t protect Ars’ kids’, stimulating her pride and personally training her.
Thanks to that training, she had broken through her previous limitations and risen a level.
“Eonia Mirabel…!?”
Casper was shocked and tried to escape but was eventually caught.
At that moment, Casper’s closest aide Pedro stepped forward.
“Casper! Quickly escape!”
“No, Pedro! Come back!”
Pedro was Casper’s lifesaver and only friend. A noble he met while being abandoned by Calliper and pursued.
He was the only person Casper could truly open up to.
As Pedro tried to sacrifice himself to help Casper escape, Casper unknowingly shed tears.
“Uwaah! Come at me! I am Pedro!”
Pedro displayed outstanding martial skills while facing Eonia.
“…!”
Perhaps overwhelmed by his momentum, Eonia’s previously unstoppable force momentarily hesitated.
“Pedro…!”
Casper escapes, swallowing his tears.
Ilya blocked his path.
“Ilya Anfei…!”
“What a tragic fate. I sympathize.”
“Ugh…!”
Casper tried to resist somehow, but his one-armed attack was nothing more than laughable.
Ilya easily subdued Casper.
Taking him captive, she drags him to Ars.
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