The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 304
While listening to the battlefield situation on the left side of the battlefield, I let out a sigh of relief.
“Whew! Still, we managed to overcome it.”
Sophia’s bold pursuit battle.
It was a battle I would absolutely never do, which worried me, but we ultimately won.
Although we suffered massive troop casualties, capturing the enemy’s commander-in-chief could be considered a significant achievement.
“My lord! The enemy’s main force stationed at the Luden Mountains is retreating! Should we pursue them?”
Anton spoke in a bellicose voice, but I shook my head.
“Leave them be. The enemy will retreat anyway. Moreover, we owe them something, and so do you, Anton.”
“What do you mean…?”
“The reinforcement troops who infiltrated this detour battlefield… No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like Sophia’s doing. It’s not mine either, so it was probably Aggert’s.”
“Could it be that Calvern intentionally sent them…!?”
“I don’t know, but if that wasn’t the case, master Ilya might have been in danger.”
“I, I see.”
Anton also wiped his chest.
“Anyway, I’ll leave the enemy troops alone. Tell Olaf in the Luden Mountains to descend while leaving only minimal troops behind.”
“Yes!”
Lucretia was staring at me fixedly after I issued such an order.
“What are you looking at?”
“Oh, no.”
“Are you worried about Ash?”
“…W-well, of course!”
“Oh, I understand. Once Olaf hands over command, I’ll go with you. There’s something I want to see as well.”
A passage written in the report.
The part that mentioned Gunther losing an arm.
I was feeling anxious about that.
* * *
After Olaf from the Luden Mountains descended and took over our troops, I headed towards Sophia, who was handling the post-victory cleanup, accompanied only by Lucretia and Yumir.
Officers were constantly entering and leaving the large military tent where Sophia was staying, moving busily.
The officer guarding the military tent widened his eyes when he saw my face.
“Oh, Your Majesty!?”
“No need to make a fuss. Can I come in?”
“Yes!”
As I lifted the tent flap and entered, I saw Sophia pointing at the war map and giving instructions.
She was dealing with the enemies who had plundered our territory.
Now, conducting intelligence warfare was important, so precise movements were necessary.
“You seem busy.”
Whether she had been informed of my arrival by her aide, Sophia just slightly raised her eyes and then lowered her gaze back to the map.
“And you seem quite relaxed.”
Lucretia frowned at her attitude.
“How presumptuous, Sophia. How can you take such an attitude towards the monarch?”
Both I and Sophia were bewildered by this statement.
Neither of us expected Luc to say such a thing.
Sophia chuckled and said,
“What, have you completely turned to Liande’s side? Wouldn’t Rosa feel sad if she heard this?”
“That’s not it!”
“Then?”
“Well, that is… He’s my lord, and I heard that soon Elaine and Rosa will have a political marriage, so I thought it would be okay to consider him a lord….”
Sophia shrugged her shoulders.
“How endearing. Well, understand my attitude. When you’ve been awake for three days, everything in the world becomes irritating.”
Dark circles were heavily settled under her eyes, indicating she had been staying up all night.
“Get some rest. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Thank you, but I decline.”
“…?”
“You… You plotted behind my back this time too. Weren’t you that distrustful of me? I could have done everything perfectly!”
That seemed to have touched her pride.
I nodded obediently.
“Yes, I didn’t trust you.”
“Ugh…!”
“And I’m equally untrustworthy. So when something similar happens, support me from behind.”
Hearing this, Sophia bit her lip, looking annoyed.
“You speak well. Whew! Alright. I’ll sleep for a bit. Take care of things until then.”
Sophia left the military tent, staggering, with Yumir supporting her.
The male officers’ expressions relaxed as I replaced Sophia.
Unlike Sophia, who handled tasks strictly, I wasn’t one to be harsh on the troops.
“Can you state your name and rank?”
“Yes! I am Giorno Liddyoson, captain of the Liddyoson infantry! Please give me your orders, Your Majesty!”
“Has there been a victory celebration?”
“With enemies still everywhere, the chief of staff Sophia judged a celebration unnecessary!”
“As expected. Liddyoson, request celebration supplies from the Renova side right now. Afterwards, have the entire troops take turns holding celebrations four times.”
“I shall follow the command!”
The officer quickly left the military tent.
“Anyway, everyone is so stiff.”
Becoming king made these aspects uncomfortable.
Everyone was unnecessarily scared and guarded.
This image seemed to have been created during the process of strengthening royal power by massively purging the nobility.
While giving instructions to the officers, Ash, master Ilya, and Gunther appeared.
“Gunther!”
Seeing his empty right arm, I unknowingly jumped up.
Gunther responds with a bitter smile.
“Don’t make such an expression, Ars. This is a medal. Right, Ilya?”
Master firmly nods.
“Of course. It’s a symbol of bravery. Something to be proud of. So Ars, you don’t need to sympathize with Gunther. That would be like insulting him.”
“Even so, I should have you retire. Gunther, please step back from the battlefield and rest now.”
However, Gunther shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.”
“What are you saying? If you continue going to war like this, you’ll die!”
“That wouldn’t be so bad. Ars, if I were to dedicate my life, I would want to dedicate it to this war.”
“Do not even say such things.”
Gunther seemed to think this war was a noble war for the continent’s future.
“Gunther, there are no noble wars. Everyone is doing this only for their own interests. There’s no need to sacrifice your life for such things.”
“That may be so. But at least I don’t think that way. I know exactly what your purpose is in this war, Ars. …So let me rephrase. I will not hesitate to give my life for your victory.”
“Huh…! Ash, try to stop him.”
Ash also shook his head from side to side.
“It’s useless. Gunther is stubborn in these matters. You should give up.”
Gunther seemed to have plans even for his armless part.
Apparently, he planned to fix a shield at the elbow section.
Because it seemed impossible to restrain Gunther’s spirit as Ash said, he decided to stick close to Ash to ensure maximum safety.
* * *
The battlefield was quickly organized.
The Western forces, having lost their commander, began a massive retreat and completely withdrew from the southern territories they had invaded.
Originally, they could have continued to remain, but Calvern, holding full authority, had judged that a massive war would unfold in the continent’s central region and had withdrawn the troops en masse.
As he judged, war clouds began to gather in the central part of the continent, in the neutral kingdom of Balas.
It was an unavoidable choice for the other side.
This was because the allied forces, which were supposed to provide support due to Juras’s strategy, had been completely destroyed.
According to the incoming reports, Juras had instantly pacified the western continent and driven the Alliance’s forces to the north.
The Alliance was so busy reorganizing its stance that it had no capacity to intervene in this war immediately.
Rather, time was on their side.
The Alliance had pursued centralization through massive purges after the great upheaval, and significant noise occurred in that process.
Since the Alliance’s core forces had been critically struck by Juras, the lower-tier forces of the Alliance, who had been waiting for a chance to turn the tables, would definitely cause internal strife.
Juras would actively exploit this part and completely dismantle the Alliance.
Therefore, Calvern was looking to resolve this in a short-term decisive battle.
If they could win in a battle between great armies and occupy Balas, the center of the continent, the war’s structure would become advantageous.
That decisive battle was set to begin within at least half a year.
“Whew! Now I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”
Having finished cleaning up the battlefield, I had returned to Grancel with Yumir to see the babies and, more importantly, to decide the fate of the Western commander, Tetora Anistri, whom we had captured.
Though she was someone who deserved to be torn apart and more, I couldn’t just execute her emotionally.
There must be procedures for everything.
A military tribunal was scheduled in Grancel.
After instructing that the military tribunal would be held within a week, I headed to Saleon’s mansion.
A sweet smell of baking cookies wafted from the mansion. I felt I knew exactly what that unique scent was.
“Eonia seems to have returned.”
“Yes… And it seems Ryuna is demanding cookies.”
Yumir bit her lower lip and completely suppressed her presence.
“What are you doing?”
“If I don’t do this, Ryuna will notice. Please also hide your presence, young master.”
“M-me too?”
“It’s for the child’s discipline.”
“Well, if that’s the case…”
I followed Yumir, sneaking towards the mansion’s kitchen.
Just as expected, Eonia was cooling the baked cookies.
Ryuna was bouncing, waiting for the cookies to cool quickly.
When Yumir spoke behind Ryuna’s back, Ryuna jumped as if struck by lightning.
“Ryuna, weren’t we supposed to eat cookies at the table?”
“…!?”
“Come this way.”
Ryuna walked stiffly and creakily.
Yumir picked up the frozen Ryuna and tapped her bottom lightly, leaving the kitchen. Ryuna kept her gaze fixed on the cookies, looking completely unsatisfied.
She signaled me with eyes about to burst into tears. She wanted me to grab the cookies.
“Goodness. What an appetite.”
But I understood. Eonia’s baked cookies were incredibly addictive.
I was already eating them without realizing.
Eo asks with sparkling eyes, “Delicious? I used spices I discovered while traveling to the eastern continent this time. How is it?”
“Delicious. No wonder Ryuna begs you for cookies whenever she sees you.”
“I couldn’t help it. Ryuna kept asking me to bake cookies to give to her siblings.”
“To the twins?”
“Yes, she’s been persistently asking to give cookies to her younger siblings.”
In reality, Ryuna had given cookies to the twins. The problem was that she would eat 50% of them herself.
“Shall we have a tea party together later?”
“That’s a great idea! Ernie and Ed will definitely be happy to see their dad after a long time.”
Eo started making more cookie dough with renewed energy.
I watched her back for a moment and then asked, “More importantly… How was it? What did the dragons say?”
At my question, Eo’s hand stopped.
Turning her body to meet my eyes, she answered, “Opinions were mixed, but we eventually reached a consensus.”
“I see… Looks like Elena worked hard.”
“But will it really be okay? Everyone will be shocked if something like this happens.”
“Well, let’s hope for the best. More importantly, You should make more cookies. I’ve already eaten half without realizing.”
All preparations that could be made were now complete.
Only the final battle towards the grand finale remained, and until then, I wanted to spend time as peacefully as possible.
Hi guys, please check out the new novel I picked “I killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.”
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