The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 322
Rapidly Changing Battlefield Situation
As Sophia maneuvered her troops to flank, her opponent, Rancia Galeron, let out a sinister laugh.
“Just as expected.”
“General, we must send support as soon as possible. Since we are currently blocking the enemy fortress’s exit, we believe we can send more reinforcements!”
To such advice from his strategist, Rancia shook his head.
“That is exactly what the enemy wants.”
“…?”
“The enemy hasn’t actually sent reinforcements. They’re pretending to send troops while actually planning to circle around and surround our main force from another direction.”
“B-but if the enemy truly sends reinforcements, wouldn’t that be a disadvantage for us?”
“The countermeasure is simple. We’ll just detach a separate unit with the same number of troops.”
If the enemy tries to surround this place, we can use that separate unit to disrupt the encirclement. If the enemy moves as reinforcements, we can chase their rear.
A flawless response.
Suddenly, a letter arrived for him.
It was a letter directly written by Sophia.
“A letter…?”
Rancia’s brow furrowed at the letter from the enemy commander.
The strategist spoke up.
“There’s no need to read it. It wasn’t brought by an official messenger.”
“Well, but… How interesting, to attempt psychological warfare against me.”
Rancia began to break the seal and read the letter.
The opening was filled with praise and admiration for Rancia. It was a tribute to a legendary commander.
“Hmm.”
Rancia chuckled and lowered his gaze to the main content. The contents were quite shocking.
[Respected Rancia Galeron, you must withdraw your troops immediately.
In this fortress where we are camped, there is a special magical device installed by Ars Elaine.
In terms of its power, it’s equivalent to the dragon that launched a surprise attack in the north.
If Ars Elaine’s order is given, we will have no choice but to activate it.
I do not wish to win against a great general like you through such cowardly means. It would bring me nothing but shame.
Therefore, I hope you will withdraw your troops before the flanking forces prepare to surround you and activate the device.]
It was a message of concern.
“A magical device…?”
Rancia found it absurd but could not completely deny the possibility.
Ars had actually maintained close relationships with the external continent. It would not be strange at all if they borrowed power for war.
In fact, it would be more unnatural if they had not borrowed power.
“General, this is the enemy’s deception. You must not be shaken.”
“…..”
Certainly, but Rancia’s mind was becoming complicated.
He was a type of general who made cold and accurate judgments within thorough calculations, but the unknown existence of a magical device was causing him confusion.
‘What if such a device really exists?’
Maintaining the current encirclement could be dangerous.
If this is a fortress device prepared and designed for such a situation, the damage could be significant.
So, withdrawing and keeping distance from the fortress might not be a bad idea.
Anyway, the important battle now was the fight between Ars and Todolam happening higher up.
“Hmm…!”
Considering the unknown weapon, Rancia could not help but be shaken.
The letter looked like a deception strategy, but the possibility could not be completely excluded.
During this time, the troops Sophia had flanked changed direction and began moving towards the area where their main force was located.
Rancia tried to disrupt the encirclement using a separate unit as planned, but Lysithea, who was leading the troops, did not engage and maintained distance, focusing only on positioning.
As if saying that a critical move would emerge from the fortress.
Rancia’s anxiety could only grow.
At that moment, a strange-colored smoke began to rise from the fortress.
A brilliant combination of purple, red, and blue colors.
Seeing this, Rancia’s anxiety could only increase.
* * *
“Don’t burn it too much! Otherwise, the smoke will become cloudy!”
What Sophia was burning was a plant with special properties.
When slowly burning this plant, the smoke color could be controlled through the dye.
“Sophia, will this really work?”
Lucretia shrugged, finding it hard to believe.
“They’ll actually lift the blockade and retreat because of this? Elaine wouldn’t do something like this.”
“No, they will definitely retreat. Because Rancia Galeron is that type of general.”
Someone who wants to keep the situation under their control.
This was clearly understood through Ars’ previous deception tactics.
“So if we show that there are uncontrollable variables, their psychology will inevitably become complicated.”
“But won’t they think it’s a trick? Sending a letter to inform them of this is unnatural from the start. If I were them, I would have torn it up, calling it nonsense.”
“You would have done that.”
But Rancia is different.
Wanting to keep all situations under his control, he will choose the best alternative to eliminate variables.
Right now, withdrawing troops would not cause significant damage.
“So he will definitely withdraw his troops.”
At that moment, a scout rushes in and shouts.
“Reporting! The enemy is preparing to move!”
With the front blocked by the fortress and sides being treacherous terrain, there was no choice but to retreat.
Luc’s eyes went wide when the enemy actually withdrew their troops.
“This is the first time I’ve seen Sophia’s strategy work.”
“Be quiet!”
“So what’s the next move? Do you have another plan?”
Luc wasn’t particularly concerned about Rancia’s reason for withdrawing troops.
She thought there must be something more to catch the enemy off guard and asked Sophia, but Sophia instead shrugged and asked why she was asking such a thing.
“There’s only one thing left. Charge and smash through.”
“…What?”
“Prepare quickly. We need to send troops out of the fortress entrance and take our positions.”
Sophia’s purpose from the beginning was this.
Withdraw the enemy troops blocking the entrance and send the troops inside the fortress outside.
After that, engage in a full-scale battle and achieve a tactical victory.
Luc suddenly covered her forehead with her hand.
“Oh… I was completely forgetting about that.”
Sophia’s war style remained consistent.
Rather than drawing a grand strategy through tactics, she preferred to capture the enemy through battle.
She was confident that in a 5 vs 5 situation, she would not be defeated.
“I’m marching out!”
Sophia pulled her troops out through the narrow fortress entrance at the enemy’s withdrawal timing and formed a battle formation.
She immediately pursued the enemy and engaged in combat.
* * *
Todolam was aggressively pushing forward.
He was a general with an exceptional instinctive sense.
‘He’s extremely different. Unpredictable to the point of being uncontrollable.’
At first glance, he reminded him of Juras, but while Juras was more intellectual, Todolam was the embodiment of freedom.
‘Now I understand why Rancia Galeron became that type.’
Rancia Galeron, who did not allow any variables and tried to control everything.
Considering Todolam was his sworn enemy, it seemed understandable.
Sometimes he would use weather predictions to strategically use sudden rain, and while he seemed to charge recklessly, there was always a tactical meaning.
Having to deal with such an unconventional person, it was almost natural that Rancia was obsessed with eliminating variables.
“Lord Ars! The ancestor is struggling!”
Mirabel, deployed to restrain Todolam, was far behind.
Although she had led troops of different races in war, she did not have the feeling of commanding an army.
She was merely a symbolic figurehead who charged at the forefront.
However, now she needed to effectively command troops to cope with Todolam’s sensory movements.
“Really… Eo, you too, and Elena too, you’re all the same. Are you all just carbon copies of Mirabel?”
“Pardon?”
“You all charge without looking ahead or behind. You’re exactly alike.”
“What do you mean…! I’m not like that!”
Eo seemed unconvinced, but Ash nodded in understanding.
“Ash! Move the cavalry! Open a path for Mirabel!”
“I’ve been waiting for this! Let’s go!”
Ash ran forward, leading his subordinate officers.
This was at least a minimal response.
Ash, who had a basic tactical plan, assisted Mirabel and opened a path.
Mirabel used this to seize Todolam’s foot.
A general driven by instinct loses power just by having his ankle caught.
Mirabel fought Todolam to a draw and bought time.
As a result, the sun began to set.
This was due to the time consumed by firefighting evolution.
Todolam, seemingly not intending to settle the matter today, pushed Mirabel away and issued a retreat order.
‘Unexpectedly, this might become a prolonged battle.’
Even if it lasted only two or three days, compared to other battlefields where short decisive battles were certain, this could be considered a long battle.
After the enemy retreated and the formation was reorganized, I comprehensively assessed the battlefield situations.
First, I looked at Sophia’s side, which was closest.
“Engagement?”
“Yes! Commander Sophia utilized her tactics to push the enemy back, creating a space for troop formation, and then pursued and engaged in combat!”
“Hmm…!”
Sophia also had a somewhat battle-loving disposition.
‘I told her to handle it herself…’
But I didn’t expect a full-scale battle.
Well, it wasn’t a bad choice. If she hadn’t done so, more enemy reinforcements would have come to my side.
Moreover, Sophia had excellent adjutants like Rutger and Altior Saleon by her side.
If I can’t trust my own vassals, who would I trust?
‘That’s settled then.’
The problem was in the north.
The north was still in a state of chaos.
The intelligence coming in was fluctuating, making it impossible to understand the situation.
‘As night falls, the confusion will only increase.’
Anyway, because this intelligence was crucial, I had to wait in the command tent without sleeping.
Looking at Mirabel sleeping on Eo’s knee, I also felt drowsy.
‘I should have brought Yumir.’
Yumir was staying at the mansion to prepare for any potential enemy infiltration. To protect the children.
‘I miss the kids.’
When in this desolate battlefield, I often thought about my children.
‘I’ll just close my eyes for a moment.’
Just then.
“General Elaine.”
“…?”
Few people called me ‘General’. Usually, they would call me ‘Your Majesty’.
If someone called me ‘General’, they were typically information agents from other kingdoms.
“Who are you?”
Although he wore our military uniform, I felt something was off. He was too perfectly dressed. Uniforms usually get disheveled during battles.
“I was sent on Lord Calvern’s instructions.”
“…!”
An informant from the enemy camp.
My drowsiness instantly vanished.
“What is your purpose?”
“First, this.”
The letter he handed over contained a series of recent situations.
I had thought Calvern had blindsided me, but he explained the circumstances.
Mother goddess was beginning to feel impatient and had entrusted full authority for dragon usage to Zemuto.
‘Mother goddess…!’
Calvern explicitly mentioned information about the mother goddess.
‘A beautiful woman in her 30s…’
He provided detailed information about her appearance, clothing, and activity times, almost like commissioning an assassination.
“Are you saying Calvern is at odds with the mother goddess?”
“I do not know the specifics. But he said this: While no one knows whose vision is right, one thing is certain – there is no need for a transcendent god in the history of life.”
“Oh…”
Calvern was not particularly supporting my stance.
He simply could not accept the intervention of transcendent beings.
From the beginning, he did not think favorably of the mother goddess. While appearing to follow, he was watching for an opportunity to eliminate her.
“We currently have surveillance on that woman. I wish to share that information.”
“Very well. I’ll take measures immediately.”
The Mother goddess, who revealed her anxiety and created vulnerabilities.
I decided to move more aggressively to further amplify that anxiety.
By expanding her vulnerabilities, I could simultaneously achieve victory in the war and deal with the mother goddess.
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