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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 11 Part 1

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 11 – Part 1.

Our officer cadets who joined the army practiced on-site by moving between different units every day. 

They were educated on the roles and importance of the administrative unit, how to operate the scout unit, how to manage weapons, and so on – things they could learn in the field.

There were a few tests scheduled, and during these, blatant favoritism was taking place.

“—Therefore, when moving a large number of horses, you must first secure pastures. If you make a mistake, you may end up having to feed the horses the rations meant for the soldiers.”

Joshua, an officer of the supply unit, looked around at our officer cadets and pointed at Bannings next to me.

“Then you there. What do you think is the most difficult terrain to move horses across?”  

“Hmm… Since you mentioned pastures, would it be a wasteland where grass doesn’t grow?”

“You can’t think in such a limited way. When moving across such terrain, you would obviously prepare feed for the horses. Plus, wastelands are good terrain for horses to run across, so it’s easy to get out of there if needed. Next one, you answer.”

Joshua only asked questions to the noble officer cadets, as if he didn’t even see the commoner ones. As the atmosphere became tense, he pointed to Casper Millias.

Casper answered as if he had been waiting for it. “Marshlands!”

“Correct. Marshlands are even harder for horses to move across than deserts or mountains. The horses often get stuck floundering in the mud, and while there are many plants they can eat, just letting them eat freely can cause problems. Their hygiene can quickly deteriorate, leading to outbreaks of disease among the horses. There are also many beasts and insects that attack horses in those areas. Therefore, special care must be taken when moving horses through marshlands. You answered very well. Just as expected of the so-called Millias prodigy.”

He then started writing something on a grading sheet. It was an obvious show to give Casper preferential treatment.

Well, the other kids who missed such an easy question were pretty bad too.

All the training sessions followed this format. Casper was the only one who mattered, the rest of us were just extras. I was the same, but today was different.

“And… you’re Julia’s brother, aren’t you? That’s something for Julia to be proud of. A small piece of advice though, you’d do well to stay far away from the 3rd Administrative Unit. There are some fellows there who are pretty hungry for men. You might get devoured.”

“Ahahaha…”

“Right. Then why don’t you tell us the precautions to take when supplying an expeditionary?”

Thanks to Ferge and my sister Julia’s connections, I was also able to get a decent grade.

Just as this blatantly obvious training session was coming to an end, the military camp suddenly became chaotic.

Some officers began rushing around with grim expressions, and even the soldiers seemed to sense that something was amiss, their faces tense.

“…No way.”

I was packing up to leave when I hurriedly went to where master Ilya was.

My master seemed to have sensed the disruption too, staring in the direction of the headquarters barracks.

Soon, a soldier came running from that direction and prostrated himself before my master.

“I report! The 1st and 2nd Corps of Alvard’s army have launched a surprise attack on the northwest front! We are advancing to the east quickly!”

“I see. The 1st and 2nd Corps are on the move…”

Even my master had to swallow dry saliva – Alvard’s 1st and 2nd Corps were the elite forces.

The fact that they had launched a surprise attack on the northwest front was no small matter.

“The general has scheduled an urgent military meeting to take place one hour from now, earlier than the one planned for tomorrow! All officers of the 5th Infantry Division must attend!”

“Understood.”

My master accepted it calmly, but the other officers did not.

“Wh-What is this? The 1st and 2nd Corps launched an attack…! Does this mean full-scale war?”

“Is an actual war really breaking out!?”

While we had maintained an adversarial relationship with Alvard, there had been no outright full-scale war for about 20 years.

There were small skirmishes, but no major invasions.

So most officers did not expect the clash on the western front this time to escalate into a real full-scale war either, thinking it would just end in a stalemate as usual.

My mind was in turmoil too.

‘Could this really be the spark that sets the entire continent ablaze in war?’

The game didn’t explain what caused the outbreak of war either, so I had no way of knowing.

This sudden full-scale war.

I could only feel a sense of fate.

***

Over 100 officers had gathered at the headquarters barracks. 

At the center were Deputy Commander Ironheart and Morgan Lotsy, the Third General of Calliper and Commander-in-Chief.

“To actually dare to invade, those insolent Alvad bastards…!”

Morgan was constantly muttering and glaring at the situation map.

With only 2 years left until his retirement, this war seemed to be an unpleasant matter for him.

He was assessing the situation, jiggling his puffy cheeks.

“General, what should we do?”

“What do you mean, what should we do!” 

When Deputy Commander Ironheart asked, Morgan barked out.

“We must defend, don’t we!”

The Northwestern Front was located about 60 km away from here.

If they decided to send reinforcements, they could immediately dispatch support troops. They could arrive within a day if they forced a march.

“Shouldn’t we send reinforcements? If Alvad’s 1st and 2nd Corps launched a simultaneous surprise attack, even General Dunan won’t be able to endure it.”

“The military command must have also anticipated their diversionary tactic. Besides, there has been no request for support yet, has there!”

“That’s because they were ambushed! They wouldn’t have had a chance!”

“Whatever happened, there was no request for support! Unless I receive orders from the General Headquarters to provide support, I won’t move!”

The two were arguing. 

The officers remained silent like mutes who had eaten honey, watching their exchange.

“There’s no time to wait for orders from the General Headquarters! We must send support right away!”

“No way! Would our support even make a difference initially! The Northwestern Front involves much larger forces clashing over the plains! Even if we send 3,000 troops as support, it won’t significantly change the situation!”

“We won’t know unless we try! If we can penetrate the enemy’s rear or flanks, we can certainly influence the situation!”

“You want to recklessly charge 3,000 troops into tens of thousands? We can’t conduct such a risky operation without orders from the General Headquarters!”

Morgan was adamantly refusing to send support. 

His argument made some sense.

“More importantly, we can’t send support troops from our force currently engaged against 10,000 enemies! The moment we send support, our immediate opponent will undoubtedly attack!”

“The terrain favors us! We can easily pin down their 10,000 troops with 7,000 soldiers! So we must immediately dispatch 3,000 troops to the Northwestern Front!”

“Hrrmph…!”

It seemed Morgan was afraid of engaging in a tactical battle against the enemy general, Ushis.

At least, he didn’t want to fight in a situation where his troops were outnumbered.

‘Morgan’s choice is tactically correct.’

The fundamentals of all tactics are,

Prepare more soldiers than the enemy. Occupy higher terrain. Defend a more fortified position.

Morgan definitely wanted to uphold at least the first element of these three.

He wasn’t a general lacking the concept of military strategy.

But war cannot be viewed from the perspective of a single battle alone. One may win a battle but still lose the war.

“No! This part is settled. Unless there is a request from headquarters, there will be no support for the Northwestern Front. From now on, let’s discuss our future strategy!”

“Hah…!”

Ironheart sighed.

With a stubborn expression, Morgan refused to send reinforcements and moved on to the next topic.

Putting the issue of reinforcements aside, what should they do now?

Then, Master Ilya raised her hand and spoke.

“How about going on the offensive?”

At the mention of an offensive, murmurs arose in the barracks.

“The enemy who simultaneously invaded the Northwestern Front also won’t have the capacity to send reinforcements here. If we crush our immediate opponent with our matching force of 10,000, the enemy will be the ones in a predicament.”

Ironheart took up Master’s suggestion.

“You mean to wage an all-out war against Ushis Goldray?”

“Yes.”

“There is certainly logic to it, but…”

Even Ironheart found it difficult to readily accept such an aggressive choice.

“It’s a war with equal numbers… I can’t even estimate how many of our men would die.”

“Hmph, if you’re afraid of death, then what kind of war are you even fighting?”

“Well, you’re right about that. But the enemy knows that too, don’t they? That’s why they stationed Ushis Goldray here, right? It would be extremely foolish to clash against an opponent who has made thorough preparations. Isn’t that so? Ilya, Mercenary Commander.”

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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road

Score 9.2
Status: Completed Type: Author: Released: 2022 Native Language: Korean
I ended up possessing Ars Elaine, a supporting character in the game. Struggling to prevent my death, I pave my way.

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