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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 119

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 119

As I arrived at the academy, I sensed a strange atmosphere.

‘What’s this? Could it be that the West has made its move?’

As I was thinking this, a military officer approached me and whispered. “General, do you have a moment?”

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, it’s…”

The news was shocking even to me.

“Patricide!?”

Surprised by my words, other students’ gazes gathered, so I moved to another place to hear the rest of the story.

“Casper Millias killed George Millias. Is that correct?”

“Yes. Apparently, Lord Gilbert caught him in the act while visiting the Marquis Millias’ residence.”

“Huh…!”

Patricide was the greatest crime among the nobles.

It was a matter related to history.

There have been quite a few historical cases of killing one’s father to usurp the throne or steal the position of family head, so the crime of patricide was most despised.

To the extent that execution was certain if caught.

‘That madman. Did he do it to return to the military and become the family head?’

Certainly, if he became the family head, he could return to the military regardless of my dismissal.

Since Marquis Millias family had many private soldiers, he could enter the military as a special duty officer in exchange for providing those soldiers.

But even so, it was incomprehensible.

To kill his father for such a reason. I never knew he was that insane.

“So? What happened?”

“It seems there were some military personnel with Lord Gilbert at the time.”

“Of course. They went to discuss military matters.”

“Lord Gilbert tried to arrest him immediately using them, but he resisted with a weapon.”

Probably because he knew he would be executed if caught.

“In the process, he suffered a major injury, losing his left arm, but somehow managed to escape.”

“Still, having only one arm would be a good marker for tracking him down.”

“Yes, a warrant has already been issued. We’re prioritizing checks on one-armed individuals.”

The downfall of Casper, once called the prodigy.

It was the moment when the sandcastle he had forcibly built up collapsed in an instant.

This news shook the nobility.

With patricide occurring, the fall of the Marquis Millias family was a foregone conclusion.

They couldn’t decide on the next family head unless Casper was executed according to the law and the matter was settled.

Because of this, Marquis Millias’ territory came under tentative state management.

Gilbert demanded that it be given to him as the one who caught the criminal, leading to fierce political strife between the two factions.

That must have been why. We didn’t notice the West’s movements in time.

After the warrant was issued, a large-scale search for Casper began.

Due to the distinctive feature of having only one arm, there were eyewitness accounts from various places.

Thanks to that, even if they couldn’t catch him immediately, they could at least know his whereabouts.

He was crossing the western border into Bülang.

The military sent a cooperation document to Bülang and requested them to issue a warrant.

Since there was no reason for Bülang not to cooperate regarding the crime of patricide, it was only a matter of time before he would be caught.

‘He won’t be coming back alive.’

Neither faction targeting Marquis Millias’ family would welcome Casper’s return.

If Casper were to receive proper legal punishment, the matter would be settled, and someone from the Millias family would take over as successor.

So whether it was the Hellian faction or the Saleon faction, they must have dispatched assassins to kill Casper without a trace.

Similar rumors were circulating like ghost stories at the academy.

“That Casper. They say he’s already dead and buried.”

“To think he was capable of killing his own father…”

“It might be better if he just died. If he’s caught and brought back, they might make an example of him by burning him at the stake.”

“To think such trash was treated like Wade. Haha.”

In this situation, those who were originally part of Casper’s faction were keeping their heads down.

“Hey, Ars.” Dorofei approached me with a gloomy expression. “Casper… Do you think he’s really dead?”

Dorofei seemed to feel responsible for what happened to Casper. As always, being too kind-hearted can be a problem.

“He’s probably dead. Even if he’s alive, he won’t be coming back to Calliper. So don’t worry about him. You understand what I mean, right?”

“Yes…”

“You clearly don’t understand at all.”

I moved to the academy garden and pressed Dorofei.

‘In this state, he definitely can’t be told that.’

That I had asked Juras to take care of Casper.

It wasn’t out of malice towards Casper. He might come seeking misguided revenge.

Even if I could handle it, he might target other family members, so I wanted to eliminate any potential trouble at the root.

Juras was ruthless in handling matters, so he could be trusted with this kind of thing. We shouldn’t have to worry about Casper anymore.

As I was taking care of Dorofei’s mental state, several military officers rushed towards me with pale faces.

“Ge-General! There’s an emergency assembly! Please come to the meeting hall in the palace immediately!”

“What is it? Did something go wrong with the Casper Millias situation?”

“Well… It seems it will end up that way. Anyway, please come quickly! And, Count Grimwood should also attend.”

Specifically calling Dorofei by his title of Count meant that a major incident requiring all high-ranking nobles to gather had occurred.

Only then did I recall what I had forgotten.

‘Is this the West’s scheme…!’

I was curious inside.

How did they create a pretext?

To put it bluntly, it was a forced excuse that showed signs of being artificial.

Namely, the Bülang Alliance had designated Calliper as the culprit in the attempted assassination of their king.

* * *

High-ranking nobles and military leaders had urgently gathered in the palace meeting hall.

Their expressions were filled with bewilderment.

To think they would be accused of being behind the Bülang assassination attempt. It was unimaginable even in their wildest dreams.

Using this as a pretext, Bülang had declared war and begun organizing for an advance.

As they had already increased their forces in preparation for civil war, Bülang was able to quickly mobilize a large army.

“What is the scale of their forces?” King Gareth asked with a gloomy expression.

To this, Grand General Altior replied. “An estimated 130,000. However, not all factions in Bülang have turned their swords against us. Some are reportedly taking the position that we should be cautious about verifying the truth.”

“If those factions join the battlefield as well, what scale are we looking at?”

“…An estimated 300,000.”

The meeting hall buzzed with murmurs.

A force of 300,000 was a number that Calliper could barely match even if they staked the fate of the nation on a large-scale conscription.

Even if they did so, the aftermath would not be small.

Calliper would likely enter a period of stagnation due to the major war for the next few years.

King Gareth closed his eyes tightly. “How did it come to this? There’s no way I would try to assassinate Wilfred…”

As the king lost his words, Duke Hellian stepped forward. “Gilbert! How are you responding to this? Diplomacy with Bülang and Alvard was your responsibility! Moreover, I told you after the last regular military meeting. I said to pay attention to the diplomatic situation of surrounding powers! Yet how do you explain this current situation!”

It seems Duke Hellian had taken measures after hearing my advice.

The unfortunate part was that Bülang, which became the starting point of the incident, was Gilbert’s responsibility.

“Th-That is…”

“I know you’ve been obsessed with taking the Millias family’s territory. But does that mean you can neglect your duties!”

Gilbert broke out in a cold sweat under Hellian’s fierce attack. “F-For now, I’ve dispatched numerous diplomats to demand a fact-finding investigation. If we can clarify that there’s been a misunderstanding, Bülang should withdraw their troops.”

“And when will that be? The situation has already become irreversible! There’s malice from those targeting us involved in this incident! We don’t have the luxury of leisurely fact-finding!”

This time, Hellian looked around at the other nobles and exclaimed. “Unless we actually tried to assassinate King Wilfred Schwarzer, it’s right to think that a third party is involved in this incident! What we need to uncover is which power that is! Only by knowing that can we persuade Bülang!”

The third party Hellian mentioned. The king opened his eyes that had been tightly shut. “Regnat, which three powers are you referring to?”

“We’ll have to put our heads together to think about that part.”

At that moment, Hellian suddenly looked at me, sitting quietly with my arms folded. “General Elaine. Would you share your view?”

“Me?”

“Many people here are doubting your abilities. Of course, everyone knows you were an outstanding cadet, but many think you’re not qualified to rise to the rank of general… I’m asking you to show your insight, if only to dispel such concerns.” This was Duke Hellian’s consideration for me.

As he said, many people are doubting my abilities in this situation.

If we go to the battlefield like this, discord will arise. So he’s telling me to suppress that aspect here and now.

Moreover, since I was the one who informed him that the third party was the West, Hellian seemed to think that speaking about it himself would be taking credit away from me.

I nodded and replied. “This incident must surely be the work of the Western people.”

“The Western immigrants. Why do you think so?”

“Logically thinking, it can only be them.”

“Is that so? Wouldn’t it be more generally understandable to consider it the Svenner Kingdom?”

“In the case of the Svenner Kingdom, I know that during the Chimera War, there was an operation to raid military supply depots. And due to being implicated in the assassination of the king, many of the spies hidden inside were exposed. They don’t have the capacity to carry out something like this now.”

“What about Tunkai?”

“Tunkai doesn’t have the guts to deal with the aftermath. If it’s revealed that they were behind this incident, they would face retaliation from four kingdoms, Bülang, Crossing, Beckavia, and our Calliper. Tunkai wouldn’t take such a gamble. In Alvard’s case, there’s no benefit in pitting us against Bülang. So what’s left is just one, the Western people. The West thinks that even if they’re caught, it doesn’t matter. They have no diplomatic channels, and it’s difficult to launch an expedition for retaliation.”

By now, the conference room had gone quiet. Everyone was listening to my words with serious expressions.

Duke Hellian, observing this, smirks and says, “But why? Why is the West targeting us?”

“It’s more about Crossing than us.”

“Crossing!?”

“The last war must have been painful for them. They want revenge on Crossing somehow. They want to weaken them. That’s the thinking behind this incident.”

At this point, I stood up and pointed to the map in the center of the conference room as I continued speaking. “What the West wants is ultimately to advance into the continent. In that situation, their big attempt at a northern expedition ended in a major failure. So the West turns its gaze back to the south. Specifically, to Bülang. But the time isn’t ripe to attack Bülang yet.”

Bülang was on the verge of civil war, but hadn’t taken that decisive step yet.

If one faction moved first and officially started the civil war, that faction might face concentrated fire.

It’s like a balloon that’s about to burst, but hasn’t quite yet.

“So they orchestrated this incident to make that decisive step happen. Making us, Calliper, attack. Such a military action will ultimately trigger a civil war. Because Bülang was already on the brink.”

“But!” Marquis Geglish, of the Saleon faction, stands up abruptly and barks at me. “Listening to you, it seems the West holds a grudge against Crossing. Yet why did they target us?”

“It’s because there’s no use in framing Crossing for the assassination. Even Bülang would find it difficult to move rashly if the opponent is Crossing. If they invaded and suffered a defeat, followed by a counterattack, it would be disastrous. Crossing demonstrated such a show of force in the recent Beckavia war.”

It wouldn’t work from the start.

Juras, the real culprit behind the assassination, wouldn’t be clumsy enough to get caught. They probably already prepared for this kind of counter-operation.

“So from Bülang’s perspective, they trapped us, an easier target. Bülang, already itching for action, found a justification and launched an attack.”

“Wait!” This time it was Marquis Reinhardt of the Hellian faction. “Your words seem plausible at first, but there’s a contradiction. If Bülang is wary of Crossing, wouldn’t that apply this time too? Crossing is our ally, after all!”

“Yes, that’s why Bülang won’t prolong the war. When Crossing starts preparing to assist us, they’ll withdraw their troops and try to smooth things over, claiming there was a misunderstanding. The period will be short, at most 20 days. If we can endure for just 20 days, Bülang will retreat on its own.”

“Ah, no. Why does it take 20 days for Crossing to help us?”

“That’s the key point.”

I pointed to the southern territory of Madon that Crossing had occupied.

This region shares a border with Bülang.

“Currently, Crossing’s defenses in the south are weak. If Crossing immediately declares participation in the war, Bülang will march into that southern territory and plunder it.”

“…!”

“Crossing won’t take that risk. They’ll pretend to mediate by sending diplomats to Bülang and Calliper, while starting to fortify their southern territory. Only after that’s complete will they join the war. That period is 20 days.”

“Then after those 20 days! If we and Crossing’s allied forces advance into Bülang? Didn’t Bülang calculate that?”

“They didn’t. So let me ask you, Marquis. If we propose an all-out war with Bülang, do you think Crossing would accept?”

In that situation, Crossing wouldn’t have much anger towards Bülang. They’d be reluctant to engage in an all-out war.

“Then can’t we demand Crossing’s participation immediately? If Bülang truly feared Crossing, they wouldn’t rashly attack the southern territory!”

“That might be so, but as I said, Crossing isn’t willing to take risks. They just fought a major war a few months ago. Moreover, while they forcibly pinned the charges on us, that part hasn’t been clearly explained yet. In the current situation, Bülang has the justification. If Crossing joins immediately, other kingdoms might see it as supporting Calliper’s assassination of Bülang’s king. Crossing wouldn’t want that either. During those 20 days while Crossing prepares its southern defenses, we also have time to clear our name.”

At last, the conference room fell completely silent.

“…That’s all.” I bowed to the king and returned to my seat.


TL NOTE:

Schedule: Everyday

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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.

Comment

  1. Jay Crowler says:

    I won’t lie. Marquis Reinhardt is looking pretty suspicious right now.

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