The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 268
After receiving the power, I had to move busily.
To be honest, I never thought things would unfold like this.
My purpose in meeting King Gareth was to restore the Duke Hellian, not to become the king myself.
‘This is troublesome.’
It was even more so because all my vassals were outside. You could say I wasn’t yet prepared to run the kingdom.
However, postponing the coronation would seem to give the opposition a pretext.
Therefore, I decided to proceed with a simple coronation when the envoys from various kingdoms arrived. Considering we were in wartime, I planned to finish it quickly like roasting beans over a lightning fire.
Duke Hellian, who had been moving busily until now, speaks with a tired expression.
“I can’t predict what stance other kingdoms will take. Although King Gareth directly designated you, he was so elderly. They will likely question the succession process.”
“Are the princes’ positions still unchanged?”
“Yes. They claim that their father has gone senile. Or that you coerced him.”
“Whew! I didn’t come back to spend time on such political strife…”
“What will you do if Altior Saleon army stationed in the Beckavia direction begins to retreat? With the number of soldiers currently in the royal capital, you won’t be able to stop them.”
“How many troops are stationed there?”
“There are 40,000 stationed troops and 20,000 reserve forces. In contrast, the number of troops we can deploy, even combining all my forces, is 40,000.”
“…..”
I wanted to move the Crossing army to organize the situation, but doing so would greatly highlight my close relationship with Crossing.
In that case, doubts about legitimacy would only grow further.
“…I’ve taken measures for now. But I’m not sure if they’ll work.”
“Oh, what about Erina Saleon?”
“I will respect her choice.”
“Huh, I understand your feelings…. She might be waiting for you to make a decision.”
“Even so, I don’t think we should force her to abandon her family and clan.”
“Hmm….”
It was while having this conversation with Duke Hellian.
A servant approached with a flustered voice.
“Your, Your Majesty! Someone is urgently requesting an audience with you! They say to let them pass if you hear the name Elena.”
“She is a guest I called. Please let her in.”
Guided in, Elena shrugs her shoulders.
“It seems there’s been a commotion. Elaine, have you become king?”
“It’s a situation I didn’t expect either. More importantly, did you pay respects at your husband’s memorial?”
“Fortunately, it remains as it was. I placed the flowers he loved during his lifetime.”
The Duke Hellian gestured at her, asking who she was.
“She’s the former Valkyrie of the Kuravel Kingdom. A heroine who defeated the Fensillon Empire’s army 40 years ago.”
“Is that true!? Then she would be a great help to the military!”
“She doesn’t have the qualities of a general. She’s a military type.”
Elena furrows her brow, seemingly offended.
“Elaine, I often feel that you’re disregarding me.”
“Well, the comparison targets are my Master Ilya or Anton.”
“Ugh…!”
“If that hurts your pride, prove it to me directly. Show me that my thoughts are wrong.”
“Hmph, just wait and see. I’ll definitely show you.”
This meant that Elena had subtly established herself as my vassal. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have cared how I evaluated her.
* * *
Before Ars’ coronation.
Opposition figures were moving busily.
Gilbert Saleon, detained in the royal palace under the pretext of a funeral, successfully sent a letter detailing the current situation and future movements outside the palace.
If this is delivered to his father in the Beckavia direction, the situation will be reversed.
The 60,000-strong army led by Major General Altior Saleon could retreat and occupy the capital and royal palace.
‘This might actually be good!’
Gilbert intended to sit on the throne through a military coup.
Since Ars had already taken the throne, there was no need to secure legitimacy anymore.
Thus, the letter containing Gilbert’s ambitions was delivered to Major General Altior.
“Umm…!”
Altior let out a heavy sigh.
As one of the founding contributors, he had an unusual loyalty to King Gareth.
The reason he had not passed the Duke title to Gilbert and continued to maintain it was because he wanted to support King Gareth until the end.
He had planned to pass the Duke title to Gilbert only after King Gareth passed away.
‘How could it turn out like this…!’
He was inwardly complicated hearing that King Gareth had designated Ars as the next monarch.
Should he go against the last order of the king he respected and revive his clan, or obey the king’s will?
After agonizing, he eventually leaned towards the former.
‘I’m already practically retired. Gilbert, go ahead and try your way.’
Gilbert was already the de facto head of the Saleon ducal family. Except for the Duke title, he held all the real power.
Altior makes a decision and orders the army.
“Everyone, prepare to withdraw! We’re retreating to the capital!”
The situation Ars and the Duke Hellian most feared. The troops at the front were beginning to retreat.
The Calliper’s army, abandoning the Beckavia front and preparing to head south towards the capital.
From the perspective of the Tunkai army that was confronting them, it was a golden opportunity, and a part of the Tunkai army took sudden action.
They chase the rear of the retreating Calliper army.
“Enemy contact! The Tunkai cavalry is attacking our army’s rear!”
Altior frowned.
“Why are they doing this!”
From Tunkai’s perspective, letting them go was the best strategy. Nevertheless, the 3,000-strong cavalry followed because of the measures Ars had taken.
“Take this!”
“Haaht!”
Kwak kwak kwak kwak! Spearmen displaying their might at the forefront.
Ash wipes the blood on his helmet and looks around widely.
“The vanguard is about to change formation! Prepare to break out! Luc! You’ve gone too deep!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll come back right away!”
Lucretia was extremely excited about experiencing a large-scale war for the first time. At the same time, she was feeling fear about the horrific scene of lives disappearing one after another.
“Damn… Is this what I’m returning to? Anyway, this continent is hopeless.”
Ash involuntarily spat as he tasted the dirty flavor of war for the first time in a while.
“Gather the spoils and withdraw from the battlefield! Retreat!”
Ash called out to an officer while retreating. It was an officer from Crossing sent by Ars.
“Is this okay?”
“Yes. Lord Wade said that Lord Ash should buy some time.”
“That bastard… He must have known exactly what position I’m in at Tunkai.”
From Ash’s perspective, mobilizing 3,000 cavalry was a breathtaking adventure. This military force was his own power organized in absolute secrecy, unknown to the royals of Tunkai.
“If they find out that I did this, they won’t let me off… This is troublesome.”
Lucretia says to him.
“At that time, you can rely on him, right? He already thinks of you as his own person. That’s why he assigned you this role.”
“Ah… I guess that’s right?”
Ash scratched the back of his head.
Initially, he didn’t truly trust Ars. He thought they would eventually face each other as enemies.
However, the time spent in the outside world greatly changed their relationship.
Ash had come to cherish Ars’ vassals like his own life, or was captivated by Ars’ human qualities. He was gradually becoming accustomed to how Ars treated him like a vassal.
He had recognized him both as a friend and a lord.
Moreover, Sophia’s serene attitude in accepting the fall of Beckavia had also shaken Ash’s values.
He wondered what meaning there would be in overthrowing Tunkai and becoming king.
He thought it might be better to help Ars and pacify the entire continent.
‘More than anything, I don’t want to turn Juras Pamilion into an enemy.’
Antagonizing Ars would mean antagonizing Juras and Crossing. Ash didn’t want to do something so exhausting.
“Well, can’t be helped. …Our army will pursue the enemy and enter Calliper territory!”
Then he planned to surrender to Calliper and formally become Ars’ retainer.
Then, the worst news reached Ash.
Namely, the Alvard Kingdom, which had been eyeing an opportunity in the west, had joined the war, supporting the Saleon faction and marching towards the capital Alphensard.
* * *
Diplomatic envoys from various kingdoms visited the coronation.
Crossing naturally celebrated my ascension, but other kingdoms’ reactions were ambiguous.
Since the mercenary Wade, who had been missing for two years had suddenly appeared to inherit the throne, people suspected it might be Crossing’s scheme.
There were many kingdoms that didn’t like me from the beginning, so it couldn’t be helped.
Tunkai, which was in the midst of war, didn’t even send a diplomatic envoy, and Europe took a lukewarm stance, saying they would observe the situation further.
On the other hand, there were those who were hostile to me.
Specifically, Bülang and Alvard.
The Bülang side did not recognize me as the legitimate heir to Calliper, citing the murkiness in the process of succession, and Alvard explicitly claimed that I had usurped the throne by threatening King Gareth, defining my succession as a rebellion.
If it had ended there, I might have accepted it, but the problem was Alvard mobilizing its army.
Alvard had already increased its military strength in preparation for participating in the Beckavia region, so its dispatch was swift.
With General Kaien as the commander-in-chief, 50,000 troops began marching through the western territories towards Alphensard where I was.
“Ars! There’s no other way now! We must call the Crossing army!”
“…That’s the last resort. We need to handle this with our own strength for now.”
If I called the Crossing army now, my legitimacy would completely disappear.
“I will lead an army of 30,000 and go on an expedition myself. Please minimize the chaos in the royal palace, Your Excellency!”
“Are you really okay? Even if we set aside the Saleon army, we don’t have the capacity to face the Alvard army! Even you!”
“…I have a plan. So please protect the royal palace.”
Duke Hellian reluctantly nodded.
I led an army of 10,000 from the royal family and 20,000 from the Hellian faction westward.
‘This is bad, this will put Ash in danger…!’
If Alvard had joined hands with the Saleon ducal family to invade, they would likely first try to eliminate Ash’s cavalry, which was following and slowing the advance of the Saleon army.
As expected, a scout approached and reported.
“Urgent news! Alvard’s forces are moving towards where the Saleon rebels are!”
Elena, who was listening to the report, tilted her head.
“Why are they trying to merge their armies? In a situation where each of them has overwhelming military power against us…”
“They’re trying to eliminate variables. Most of the Saleon rebels right now don’t know exactly how the situation is unfolding. Many officers and soldiers are just moving, knowing only that they’re retreating. If they were to switch to my side, the Saleon rebel army could collapse.”
“Then…!”
“Kaien is trying to eliminate that variable. By combining the armies in one place to establish a perfect military force, and incidentally, to also take out Ash’s cavalry, which is another variable. To completely finish me off.”
Kaien, one of the top ten strategists alongside Juras, a living legend who was also the commander-in-chief of the Fensillon Empire, was moving to target my neck.
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