The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 321
The opponent who broke through the wooden fortress by using an unimaginable method.
I suddenly recalled the historical assessment of this person named Todolam.
‘A general blessed by divine fortune… Now I understand the reason.’
Todolam, from the Erebonia Kingdom, was significantly undervalued as a historical loser. From the perspective of the victorious Fensillon Empire, he was an enemy they would gladly tear to pieces.
Thus, historians portrayed him as an enigmatic figure.
Some described him as an emperor of the night who shone more in social circles than on battlefields, or as a merely attractive lucky person.
There were many stories about how he miraculously avoided crises during actual wars due to sudden rain or snow, or how floods suddenly cut off the enemy’s supply lines, leading to victory.
I had thought historians were distorting the facts, but now my perspective has changed.
‘Everything was true. Moreover, it wasn’t even a coincidence. He was calculating everything…’
Though I couldn’t understand the principle, Todolam had predicted when a sudden rain would fall.
Therefore, he spread fire tactics and pushed us behind the second wooden fortress.
“This can’t be…”
Eonia was glaring at the enemy’s vanguard with wide-open eyes.
“A general who can make it rain!”
“What are you talking about? The rain fell by chance. He just read the timing. Well, that’s still surprising.”
I could predict which direction the wind would roughly blow by calculating the local geography and seasons, but predicting the weather was impossible.
It was something no ordinary human could accomplish.
“Ars! Battle preparations are complete! Just give the order!”
Ash spoke enthusiastically. Since Todolam was the one who took one of his wife Lysithea eyes, it was natural that Ash was burning with revenge.
“Don’t get excited. We will counter-attack.”
From the beginning, we didn’t have as many cavalry as the enemy.
The cavalry led by Ash had to be used as a tactical joker card.
At that moment, officers in the front shouted, “The enemy is coming!”
“Raise your spears!”
Thud! Thud! Todolam’s cavalry approaching through the rain.
“Hahahahat!”
Standing at the forefront, Todolam began slaughtering our soldiers while swinging his long sword like a ghost.
His martial skill level was unparalleled.
“Lord Ars! Please send me! I will stop him!”
Eo gritted her teeth and shouted, but I had to deliberately ignore her. If I sent Eo to him, it was obvious she would lose her life.
I turned my head and looked at Mirabel.
“Mirabel, can I entrust this to you?”
“If I don’t go, you’ll send Eo, right?”
“No, even if you refuse, I have no intention of sending Eo to her death.”
“…Huh.”
Mirabel smiled warmly at my response.
“When I return, I’ll take care of the twin children and Eo for the time being.”
“Please do so.”
“Then I’ll go.”
Tap! Mirabel mounted the nearby horse.
After sending Mirabel, I deployed troops to deal with the following enemy infantry.
* * *
The war intensified with battles breaking out in the north and south.
Calvern, commanding the central army, was having a private meeting with someone with meaningful eyes.
A mysterious woman of indeterminate age with an enchanting appearance.
While she looked attractive, Calvern sensed an ominous feeling from her.
“What brings you to visit in person?”
“…Why, can’t I come?”
“No, that’s not the case.”
She was a divine being. An ancient, mystical existence from the beginning.
And her existence was being threatened.
“The surveillance on me has intensified. Those disgusting dragons are surrounding the continent and monitoring my movements.”
She was the creator of this world, who could live immortally by merging with land or sea, but there was a constraint. While possessing a living body, she could be killed.
She wouldn’t completely perish, but she would lose her influence and have to wait for an uncertain resurrection.
“Then wouldn’t it be better to abandon that body?”
“I can’t do that now. More importantly, I have something I must do.”
That was to annihilate all intelligent beings.
She was completely consumed by her hatred towards these intelligent beings.
Calvern couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you hate them so much?”
“Don’t you understand yet, Calvern? Intelligent beings are entities that bring harm to this world.”
“…?”
“Fundamentally, they only think about themselves.”
Mother goddess began to tell a story about when humanity developed.
For their own interests, they destroyed the surrounding environment, devastated everything, and ultimately caused their own destruction.
“So now is the time to end everything. Before these intelligent beings completely ruin this world…!”
“…..”
Calvern remained silent. While he couldn’t sympathize with the mother goddess’s story, he confirmed the firmness of her beliefs.
“Of course, I’ll keep my promise. Calvern, I’ll establish a kingdom just for you. The population will be maintained under 1,000, but you can live like a king there.”
“…Thank you.”
Calvern believed this promise would only be valid while he was alive.
Once he died, she would likely kill everyone without a second thought.
That was also why the mother goddess was taking human form.
No matter how much humans self-destruct, there’s always a line. To cut off the last life, the mother goddess needed to step in personally.
“More importantly, Calvern, why are you moving so lukewarmly? Battles are already happening in both north and south.”
“There’s no meaning in moving.”
“No meaning…?”
“The fact that battles are happening on both wings is precisely because the enemy’s center is thick. The enemy troops in the center are still holding their ground and maintaining their formation. For this war situation to change, we need achievements on both wings. I’m waiting for that.”
“Hmm…? Wouldn’t a full-scale assault work just as well?”
From the mother goddess’s perspective, who wished for the maximum number of deaths, Calvern’s passive movement was unsatisfactory.
“That could lead to a defeat in the war. You wouldn’t want to see Ars Elaine conquering this continent either.”
“Hmph. Then I’ll massacre civilians. There must be enemy civilians in the territories we’ve taken.”
“I apologize, but that’s impossible. If we were to do such a thing, it would tarnish our side’s reputation and give the enemy the moral high ground. Everything is for the victory of the war. Please be patient.”
“Tch, if I had known this, I would have left Tetora Anistri alive…”
Mother goddess became irritated, saying she was not pleased with either option.
She was on edge because of the dragons closing in and constricting her breathing.
She growled threateningly at Calvern.
“You better do well. You know your life is in my hands, right? If I want to, I can turn you and the others into dust.”
“Of course, I understand completely.”
“Hmph.”
Mother goddess leaves, roughly pushing aside the tent flap.
After confirming that she had completely left, Calvern snapped his fingers loudly to summon his aide.
“You called, Sir.”
“Follow the woman from earlier. Follow her and identify her detailed whereabouts.”
“…What is the level of danger?”
“She has mysterious powers. Her inherent strength is likely strong as well. But right now, she’s lost her composure, so there will be gaps. If we proceed carefully, the surveillance should be possible.”
“Yes, I will start immediately.”
The aide quickly departs.
Calvern, unusually showing signs of anxiety, swallowed hard.
* * *
Meanwhile, Sophia, who was confronting Rancia Galeron, was heightening her vigilance against the enemy’s potential flanking maneuver.
She thought that Rancia might redirect his troops to target Ars.
Therefore, she was increasing her intelligence personnel and accelerating information gathering.
During this time, news broke that Todolam Dorlen had broken through the wooden palisade using fire tactics.
“Reporting! His Majesty’s troops have entered full engagement with the enemy!”
“How could the wooden palisade be destroyed like this…!?”
Sophia couldn’t help but tremble.
A strategy using the weather – she naturally thought Ars wouldn’t have noticed.
“What will you do?”
It was Altior Saleon, who was participating as an aide.
Although he was much older than Sophia, he treated her with utmost respect considering her rank.
In addition to him, Rutger, Lysithea, Lucretia, Gunther, and Cassius Lloyd were also supporting her.
As they all possessed strategic minds, various opinions emerged.
Lysithea spoke.
“If a full-scale battle has already begun, we don’t have time to hesitate. We must send reinforcements immediately.”
Gunther and Cassius agreed with this.
“Lysithea is right. We are defending with a well-built fortress. Sending about 4,000 troops as reinforcements would be sufficient to hold out. First, it would be best to dispatch all the cavalry we have.”
There was a counterargument.
Rutger shook his head and responded to Gunther ‘s suggestion.
“If that happens, the enemy in front of us will also send reinforcements. The enemy is currently blocking the exit of our fortress, so they are in a position to move more troops.”
The Svenner army led by Rancia was surrounding and blocking the western exit of the fortress.
As long as a certain number is maintained, the entrance blockade will not collapse.
So, except for that specific number, the remaining troops could be sent as reinforcements.
The fewer troops stationed in the Liande army’s fortress, the more troops that can be sent as reinforcements.
Structurally, Svenner could send more troops as reinforcements.
Sophia was concerned about this aspect.
Therefore, she proposed a different strategy.
“What if we feint a troop movement to the east to attack the enemy in front of us?”
“…..”
Silence flowed through the meeting room.
Sophia’s idea was this,
While pretending to send reinforcements to Ars, they would circle around and attack the enemy before them.
In this case, if they could successfully deceive the enemy, the opponent would send reinforcements to Ars, thus gaining an advantage in terms of troop numbers.
“Indeed… If it goes exactly like that, the enemy would be caught off guard.”
Rutger understood the theory but was emotionally unconvinced.
“I’m dubious whether the enemy will be fooled. More importantly, such a large operation would require permission from His Majesty Elaine….”
The subordinates were still fundamentally more trusting of Ars than Sophia. This was because Sophia had rarely succeeded in acting independently.
Moreover, the opponent was the legendary strategist Rancia Galeron.
Sophia’s strategy could only appear to be a shallow trick.
The attitude of these aides made Sophia’s blood rise.
Comparisons with Ars were like touching her sore spot.
She could tolerate comparisons, but when they didn’t follow her orders, she couldn’t help but be angry.
Ars had said something about this.
Gunther spoke.
“Didn’t Ars say that field decisions would be delegated to Commander Sophia? Therefore, Sophia’s thoughts are essentially the same as Ars’ thoughts. If there are no objections, shouldn’t we follow them?”
Lucretia chimed in.
“I also believe we should follow Advisor Sophia… No, Commander Sophia’s strategy. It’s a brilliant strategy with no room for disagreement.”
Sophia was slightly moved, looking alternately at Gunther and Luc.
“Then we’ll proceed with this plan. Lysithea! You will lead the flanking troops. Pretend to be reinforcements, and at a certain point, deceive the enemy’s attention and maneuver the troops around. Cassius and Luc! Both of you stand by at the fortress exit. When our flanking troops strike the enemy’s side, you must quickly exit and form a battle formation.”
“Yes!”
Sophia began to move.
She was more resolute and focused than ever.
Therefore, she was confident.
That Rancia Galeron was reading her strategy.
‘Then I’ll use that against you.’
Sophia immediately began to draft a letter.
A letter to the enemy commander, Rancia.
Hi guys, please check out the new novel I picked “I killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.”
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