The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 292
I convened a military conference and immediately headed north.
There, Juras was training soldiers.
He showed an unexpected reaction to my proposal.
“Reclaim the Tunkai region?”
“Yes, if possible, I want to do so.”
As I explained the circumstances, Juras chuckles as if finding it absurd.
“Dragons in the Elrich mountains?”
“I know it sounds ridiculous. But I want to investigate if possible.”
“Come to think of it, there was such intelligence. The Svennerian army occupying the Tunkai region is behaving strangely.”
“What do you mean by strange behavior?”
“I don’t know the specifics. Like searching the royal palace, or digging through various areas…”
“They’re probably looking for that dragon.”
“Hmm.”
Juras silently spreads out the map.
“Ars, there are many difficulties in reclaiming the Elrich mountain right now. We would have to cross the Beckavia region in between.”
“…”
“If we try to eliminate the Tunkai forces stationed there, Tunkai will side with Svenner. Wasn’t the plan to infiltrate Ash Peyton internally to overthrow them?”
“That’s right. So I think we need to find a way to attack without provoking Tunkai.”
Juras shook his head.
“Right now, Tunkai is no different from a frightened rabbit. They’ll go berserk if we move even a little.”
“So how about trying another route of invasion? For example, by sea. Bypassing the Beckavia region through the sea and directly invading the Elrich mountain.”
“…Are you serious? You know how difficult a maritime invasion is. If the enemy anticipates it, we could be wiped out helplessly. More importantly, we can’t transport many troops by ship.”
His words were entirely correct.
There was no immediate strategic method to attack the northwestern region.
Then at that moment.
“Then how about targeting Europe?”
It was Kaien.
Unexpectedly, Ryuna was standing beside him. It seemed she was skipping her diet-related martial arts training.
“Dad!”
“Oh my, my daughter! Why have you gotten so heavy?”
“Ugh, I’m not heavy.”
Anyway, Ryuna’s sudden intrusion changed the atmosphere.
Juras looks at Kaien and asks.
“Targeting Europe?”
“Originally, we thought of this war as a conflict between the west and east.”
In the form of Svenner in the west and us in the east confronting each other.
“So I’m suggesting we change our perspective. We’ll push up from the south to the north.”
“To the north…?”
Balas and Alvard knew this was possible.
Kaien was proposing to target Europe through this formation.
“Europe is a neutral kingdom, but they’ll side with Svenner when necessary. Moreover, Europe is like a natural enemy to Tunkai. If we attack Europe, Tunkai will join us. In that process, if we ask for northern territories, they’ll accept without argument. Use those northern territories to attack the Elrich mountain.”
“Are you planning to lead the command against Europe?”
“Yes. Because I know that region best.”
Juras strokes his chin and nods.
“Not a bad configuration. Svenner will push in, but… Liande can handle the defense. Ars, when you said you’re going to the Elrich mountains, do you have any capable people to command the army in your place?”
“Uh… Olaf, Sophia, or Rutger.”
“That might be sufficient. Very well. I have no objections.”
With Juras’s final consent, the operation outline was established. All that remained was fine-tuning, which Kaien had already prepared, so I could take a brief rest.
Since the operation had changed, I needed to inform Ash’s group who were supposed to infiltrate Tunkai.
I headed towards their location while holding Ryuna.
Then Ryuna became restless.
“Dad, Mom is over there.”
“No, you need to exercise.”
Ryuna, returning to Yumir, goes to do her diet with a sullen expression.
I said to Ash’s gathered group.
“The operation has changed. Sophia, you’ll need to return to the south.”
After hearing the operation overview, Sophia showed confidence.
“This will lead to a direct confrontation with Svenner.”
“We just need to counterattack. Discuss with Rutger and Olaf and prepare to move. And Ash! I need you to accompany us. We’ll need your and Lysithea’s help to find where the dragon is hiding.”
Ash shrugs.
“Don’t expect too much. We don’t know the geography completely. It’s an extremely rugged area.”
And so the operation began.
The first point was whether the opponent could read our intentions.
* * *
The combined forces of Crossing, Liande, and Alvard begin to move.
The situation was such that it was hard to anticipate that the allied forces would move first, so Svenner’s military camp was in emergency.
***
General and leader of the Ten Heroes, Zemuto, stands with arms crossed, staring at the map.
Calvern, a subordinate of mother goddess and a hero of another race, was also in this military conference room.
Zemuto mutters.
“Invading Europe, I can’t understand the intention.”
He naturally looks at Calvern.
“Is this your doing?”
“…”
Calvern slowly nodded his head. He spoke in the awkward central continent language.
“They are targeting Tunkai.”
“Tunkai? It seems to have no strategic value.”
“There is a dragon there that divides this continent.”
At these words, the other officers shook their heads in disbelief. Only Zemuto nodded with a firm expression.
“So, have you found that dragon?”
“Not yet. I haven’t discovered the internal passage. If we could use magic, we might find it quickly, but that’s impossible….”
“What benefit would we gain by discovering that dragon?”
“We can eliminate the division barrier. Our forces outside could come here.”
“Wouldn’t that be the same for the other side?”
“Yes, but at least we could potentially reverse the current difference in national power.”
The current problem was food. With enough food, they could form more troops.
The outside world has abundant food, and by bringing it here, Svenner could acquire a more powerful military force.
“Hmm….”
However, there was resistance to defending the Tunkai direction. The Elrich mountain are located at the northwestern end of the continent.
They had deployed tens of thousands of soldiers, but if the opponent doesn’t attack, those massive troops would be left idle.
Zemuto shook his head.
“I will not dispatch additional support troops to the Tunkai region. Tell this to your master as well, Calvern.”
“As a general, I believe this is a wise decision, Zemuto.”
“We will attack Liande and Balas together with the west. Calvern, you help too.”
Svenner begins advancing eastward, ignoring the Tunkai direction.
In the absence of Ars, Sophia and Rutger must stop this.
* * *
Our advancing northern military forces and the enemy’s advancing eastern forces.
As these intersect, the war situation becomes quite intricate.
Leading the Crossing army and passing through the northern Beckavia region into Tunkai’s territory, I was receiving intelligence by the hour.
“Urgent report! Svenner’s 100,000 troops are invading Balas! General Rutger has begun responding!”
“Reporting! A large army is moving from the west! Their target is Liande!”
The full-scale war has begun.
The war situation itself was favorable to us.
Svenna had abandoned additional defense of Tunkai. The defensive line was too wide to defend.
Their goal was to steal Liande’s territory, even if it meant giving up the Tunkai region.
‘I’m worried.’
While I have no doubt about Sophia and Rutger’s abilities, the opponent’s capabilities are so outstanding that I can’t predict the outcome.
Strategically advantageous as we just need to hold out until we pacify the north, I was still anxious.
‘I’ll just have to trust that Juras will provide backup.’
We secured our supply lines and quickly marched, entering the Tunkai region.
Here, we decided to divide our army and quickly pacify the surroundings.
“Gaspar, I’ll give you 10,000. Chase away all military forces that could pose a threat.”
“Got it!”
“Anton, take 30,000 troops and occupy the nearby cities. The city citizens won’t resist fiercely, so it won’t be difficult.”
“Yes!”
“Ash, I’ll give you 2,000 cavalry. Go ahead and destabilize the enemy.”
“I’ll take Lysithea too!”
After dividing the troops, we proceeded directly towards the Elrich mountain
After marching for about two days, the entrance to the Elrich mountain finally came into view.
‘These are the Elrich mountains….’
They looked much more rugged than the mountainous region where the Kuravel Kingdom was located.
‘With this size, even the enemy would find it hard to search.’
Even though the dragon is large, it’s at most the size of a massive mansion.
In contrast, these mountains were the size of an entire kingdom. If they can’t find the underground passage, even a dragon would find it difficult to locate.
Tada! At that moment, Yumir, who had returned from reconnaissance, spoke.
“Young master, there are almost no enemy troops visible.”
“It’s so wide. Then let’s go right away.”
Because we had Ash and Lysithea as local guides, we could quickly head towards the center.
During this, we discovered something strange.
A piece of land had been brutally smashed. Lysithea screamed when she saw this.
“Ah! They’ve destroyed the pillar!”
“A pillar?”
“It’s like a symbol of our tribe. We used to hold ceremonies here every year….”
Feeling a strange sensation, I immediately called Elena.
Elena also seemed to agree, nodding her head.
“It might be similar to the barrier installed in our Kurabel. But if it were such a thing, Ash and Lysithea would know. It doesn’t seem to be a barrier to repel external invaders.”
Regardless, someone had destroyed this.
Moreover, they had maliciously disrupted several areas.
Just as I was wondering why, Eonia frowned and spoke.
“It’s the same.”
“Huh? What is?”
“It’s exactly the same as when Juras himself destroyed the barrier of our Kurabel Kingdom. He severed the ley lines, cutting off the magical supply.”
“Cutting off the ley lines…?”
At that moment, Ash shouted.
“Ars! Come here!”
This was a signal that they had found an underground passage.
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