The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 319
The Svenner Army defeated by Ars’ strategy.
A somber atmosphere permeated their military camp.
In the northern, central, and southern battlefields, no significant achievements had been made.
“How surprising. With so many brilliant commanders gathered, yet there are absolutely no results.”
As Calvern smiled with a raised corner of his mouth, the other generals’ expressions twitched.
However, they could not say anything.
After all, Calvern was the only one making any progress.
Calvern had been gradually seizing territory and pressuring the central front.
“Now even that is impossible, since you have been defeated in the north and south.”
The military personnel losses were not significant, but the strategic movement losses were substantial.
While the Svenner Army had been unilaterally driven back, the Allied Forces had effectively pursued and positioned their troops.
“This is already a past event. Continuing to discuss it will only lower morale.”
Rancia Galeron glared sharply at Calvern and then turned his gaze to Zemuto.
“Zemuto, to change the war situation, we now have only one option – engagement. It’s time to make a decision.”
They had a last resort. The decision to use it rested with the commander-in-chief, Zemuto.
In fact, they could have used it without Zemuto’s permission, but they deliberately did not.
Even the mother goddess, who prepared this last resort, recognized Zemuto’s capabilities.
She was certain that Zemuto would use this strategy under the most optimal circumstances.
After pondering for a long time, Zemuto spoke softly, “…Can a dragon really change the war situation? Can a dragon even come here in the first place?”
“Yes, as you already know, Crossing’s fleet has already broken through the division barrier and gone outside. As a result, our external forces have suffered a severe blow.”
“Hmm.”
“Now it’s our turn.”
Just as Juras attacked the center from the outside, they now planned to invade the center from the outside.
Their ultimate weapon for this was the dragon Mepatra.
The chaotic dragon that Ars confronted when clashing with the black magician group Article.
They intended to use its unique ability to prevent friend-or-foe identification, throwing the opponent into a state of confusion.
If approximately ten thousand troops were to fall into chaos, the Allied Forces would undoubtedly suffer a devastating blow.
Their plan was to recapture Platon, occupy the central region, use it as a bridgehead to destroy Alvard in the central region, and then capture Alphensard, the capital of Liande.
By doing so, the Allied Forces would be cut off between the north and south.
Zemuto finally nodded,
“…Very well. We will use it. However, where and how it is used will be determined by me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Although I’ve entrusted troop command to you, that’s all. I am the supreme commander. From the beginning, I do not trust any of you.”
Zemuto revealed one piece of intelligence,
“Recently, the enemy has been intensively conducting one type of training.”
“Training?”
“Night combat.”
Training with nighttime operations in mind.
“Isn’t night training typical?”
“It would be typical under normal circumstances. However, the opponent is in a defensive position.”
Being in a defensive position, night combat isn’t particularly frightening. They would be fighting in their own main base, with torches illuminating various areas of the camp, so it wouldn’t be very dark.
“Nevertheless, the fact that they are training for night combat suggests a high possibility that they have detected the dragon’s existence.”
The core of night combat training is identifying friend from foe.
Zemuto believed that the Allied Forces knew about the dragon’s existence and were training accordingly.
Calvern counters, “They must know. During the war with Article two years ago, Ars Elaine directly experienced Mepatra’s abilities. They probably vaguely know that this dragon is in our hands. So it’s natural for the enemy to be prepared.”
“That might be true, but it could simply be that there’s a traitor.”
Zemuto suspected that a traitor might exist among the three of them.
“As long as we cannot rule out that possibility, I will personally negotiate with the woman called the mother goddess for this operation. I intend to deploy the dragon to an arbitrary battlefield, so be prepared for a series of situations.”
The three fell silent.
Then Todolam speaks, “You… Are more capable than I thought. Yes, that’s how it should be. To deceive the enemy, we must first deceive our allies. I have no objections.”
Rancia also internally agreed.
This choice by Zemuto would be absolutely unpredictable from the enemy’s perspective. It was truly an invincible strategy.
“…”
Calvern stared at Zemuto with a meaningful expression.
Then soon nodded, reluctantly agreeing.
* * *
The battlefield was gradually turning to our advantage.
From the beginning, we only needed to defend, so this achievement of repelling the enemy’s invasion was significant.
It would take at least four days for the enemy to reorganize their forces and redeploy to the battlefield.
I planned to reorganize our troops and strengthen our defenses during these four days.
‘One variable.’
The dragon that the enemy would deploy.
Having directly experienced how threatening this dragon could be, I must prepare for it.
However, since explaining magic or dragons to the officers would be ineffective, I was conducting training under the pretext of night combat.
‘The location Calvern mentioned is the center…’
Calvern’s letter specified the time and place.
The plan was to gather troops from the north, center, and south in one location, drawing our defensive forces together, and then dropping the dragon into our camp.
We were preparing for this.
The moment the dragon descends, we would deploy our core forces to eliminate it.
Since Vandalin, another dragon, has agreed to help, we should be able to handle this easily.
That was a time when I was thinking about things too carelessly.
“Urgent report-!”
A messenger rushed in frantically. His expression looked as if he had seen a ghost.
“Sir, multiple monsters have appeared in the northern battlefield!”
“What are you talking about? Multiple monsters?”
“That is… I have only received such a report myself…”
“Tell me more details!”
Upon hearing that report, I felt like I had been struck hard by a hammer.
‘I’ve been deceived!’
Calvern’s letter was a trick. There was no other way to explain it.
Calvern had leaked the operation’s outline, created a psychological gap for me, and then suddenly deployed the dragon.
“Aggert! Are you there! Anton! You too!”
My voice, laden with age, made them both look bewildered.
“We’ve been deceived by Calvern. Currently, the dragon has appeared in the northern battlefield and is causing chaos. Quickly spread this information to all military camps and prepare for defense!”
“Wait a minute! You’re saying Calvern deceived us. That’s impossible!”
“You’ve been deceived too, Aggert.”
“It’s impossible! He’s not that kind of person! There must be some misunderstanding!”
“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, that’s not important now. Just move quickly!”
The opponent’s movements felt exceptionally tricky this time.
If they had used it as a big strike like the letter suggested, we could have prepared and intercepted, but using a dragon in this guerrilla-style made it difficult to respond.
‘Even then, targeting the north where Juras is located.’
It seemed they thought dealing with Juras was the priority.
‘I would have done the same.’
Currently, it was difficult to send support to the north.
‘Juras must have been preparing something as well.’
I didn’t know what that preparation was. Now, I could only hope that his preparations would work out and that Juras himself would overcome the battlefield situation.
* * *
Chaos erupted in the Crossing camp due to the dragon appearance.
Juras did not lose his smile amidst the confusion.
“Indeed, is this the Great Chaos that Ars experienced…?”
Dragon Mepatra was roaring. Because of this, soldiers began to see each other as monsters, and communication became impossible.
Although field training had been continuously conducted to prepare for such a situation, the effect was almost negligible.
This was because everyone around appeared to be non-human monsters.
Only the officers who had received specific information in advance were relatively fine.
Nolak, the Second General of Crossing, had captured some enemies causing destruction in the chaos. They were those who appeared with the dragon.
They were attacking soldiers and creating disorder.
“These bastards!”
Nolak targeted them.
He swung an iron club at a suspicious figure wielding a halberd.
Kwadeudeuk! A terrifying shock that crushed ribs and internal organs while shattering an arm.
Nolak, judging the opponent incapacitated, turned his back to deal with others, but then—
Kwak! The halberd’s blade severed Nolak’s arm.
Nolak, having lost his right arm, tried to quickly retreat but tripped over another corpse.
“What…!?”
Nolak stared up at his opponent in astonishment.
The opponent, whose arm was broken and ribs shattered, had somehow completely recovered.
That person, Cuthbert, waved his previously broken arm and smirked.
“Stupid fool, if you had aimed for my head immediately, you could have killed me. Well, I doubt you can even understand this. Die now.”
Boom! Nolak’s neck flew away.
Cuthbert looked around and shouted to his subordinates, who could communicate through some kind of magic.
“Find the enemy commander! Do not miss Juras Pamilion!”
Their goal was Juras.
Zemuto thought that even if they only eliminated Juras through this dragon operation, it would be advantageous.
There was no need for a grand operation; even a minor gain would be enough to change the battlefield’s dynamics.
“Hmm…”
Juras let out a low sound.
He wanted to give orders, but communication was impossible as no one understood.
But he had a method.
“Let’s see…”
When he raised a red flag high in the command tent, after a time lag, red flags began to flutter here and there.
This was a prepared operational signal.
Run in the specified direction. Anyone moving in the opposite direction is to be considered an enemy.
That specified direction was the camp of Svenner, where Zemuto was located.
Svenner’s camp was also in chaos due to the dragon’s influence, but they were prepared and could respond because they knew the timing.
Despite seeing each other as monsters, the soldiers somehow maintained composure.
They were relieved watching Crossing’s camp turn into a scene of carnage.
When Crossing’s soldiers launched a simultaneous charge, Svenner’s camp also fell into turmoil.
Crossing’s officers and soldiers perfectly executed Juras’s operational instructions even in the chaos.
They inwardly thought that the monsters around them might be allies. So when the operational signal was given, instead of being confused about whether these monsters were allies, they decided it was better to charge and kill the monsters in the enemy camp.
“Wh-what!?”
“Damn! Counterattack!”
The armies of both sides began to entangle.
This was completely unexpected for Svenner.
Zemuto had planned to cause internal strife and gain a unilateral advantage, but this would now cause significant damage to Svenner’s forces.
Moreover, that wasn’t all.
“This is exactly what I wanted. They’re creating this opportunity for me directly.”
Juras smiled eerily, saying this was the perfect camouflage.
He naturally blended into the troops. And so, he headed toward the enemy camp to target Zemuto.
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