The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 120
A heavy silence hung over the royal palace conference room.
Separately from that, the gazes of the people looking at me had changed.
Especially the king’s eyes, how should I put it? They were like eyes looking at a son.
Duke Hellian clears his throat and speaks. “It seems there are no objections to General Elaine’s opinion. Then we can say that the future policy is also decided.”
To clear the false charges of assassination. And to defend the territory for about 20 days in response to the enemy.
“Is it alright to proceed like this, Your Majesty?”
“Do so.”
With the response method decided, the important thing was the organization of the army.
Hellian first demanded the mobilization of private soldiers from the great nobles.
The number was roughly 100,000.
This number was possible because Calliper had greatly increased its military strength after the war with Alvard & Madon in the past.
To this, 10,000 of the royal family’s direct army is added, making a total of 110,000.
“Regarding that part. May I have a moment?”
It was Count Chase of the Saleon faction.
He brought up the Marquis Millias’ family.
“Your Majesty, what are your thoughts on the troops of the Marquis Millias’ family?”
As it stands, the regular forces of Marquis Millias’ family amount to 10,000.
Since the Millias’ territory has now come under royal control, it could be incorporated into the royal direct army, but there was a problem.
“It’s hard to think that their officers and soldiers will obediently follow General Elaine. If possible, I think it would be better to organize their troops into a different army.”
King Gareth nodded, saying it made sense, and said, “How is the pursuit of Casper Millias, who committed the crime of patricide, progressing?”
“We were in the midst of tracking with the cooperation of Bülang, but… Due to this incident, the trail has been lost. According to the last intelligence, a body presumed to be that of a one-armed man was found near the tracking point. We think that might be Casper.”
At these words, all the nobles nodded.
They had assumed that an assassin sent by someone had dealt with Casper.
The king seems to have made a similar judgment.
“It’s a sad affair. To think that a child once called a prodigy and praised as the future of Calliper would meet such an end. Was allowing him to impersonate Wade the root cause? If I had known it would come to this, I should have taken action earlier. Not just leaving it to you two.”
At these words, Gilbert and Hellian swallowed hard.
It seems the king had noticed Casper’s impersonation.
‘So that’s why he deliberately appointed Delbadova as a tutor.’
Delbadova had made efforts to lead Casper in the right direction. However, that time was too short. If Delbadova hadn’t died in the Beckavia War, Casper might have had a different future.
Or if Casper had waited quietly, the king might have allowed him to return not long after.
Even if other nobles didn’t, the king’s order could overturn my decision.
But Casper couldn’t even think of that short time and ended up killing his father.
“Altior, you take charge of the Millias family’s troops.”
“I obey your command.”
General Altior organized the 1st Army with troops from the Saleon faction.
“Our 1st Army will defend part of the west and southwest with an army of 50,000. Ironheart, Fricksen, Holcost. Your 2nd Army will block part of the south and southwest.”
The number of the 2nd Army was 60,000.
This meant my role would be to lead the royal direct army of 10,000 and defend the rear.
The royal direct army’s top priority was originally the defense of the capital, so this was natural.
“Elaine, I’ll entrust your 3rd Army with the defense of the strategic points leading to the capital.”
“Understood.”
This was the best option.
Although it created a structure where the two factions were in opposition, this was still the most efficient form.
Once the personnel were decided, each army began organizing its units.
This war was not only a large-scale invasion, but also because the enemy kingdom territory bordered extensively, there were many fronts formed.
The number was roughly 27.
So rather than battles of large masses, there was a high possibility of skirmishes between thousands of small-scale forces.
“Um, excuse me!”
Dorofei seemed to have guessed that he might end up in charge of an entire battlefield if he wasn’t careful.
Thinking that if he were to be defeated, it would cause trouble, he spoke to Duke Hellian in a strained voice.
“Duke…! I intend to accompany General Elaine on the campaign.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I recently declared my support for Elaine. So I want to prove through this war that that support wasn’t just empty words. Please, incorporate me and my family’s troops into the 3rd Army.”
The number of private soldiers from the Grimwood Count family was 6,000. And they were quite elite troops.
That gap was not small for the 2nd Army.
Duke Hellian glanced at me as if asking for my opinion.
I shrugged and answered. “We can send 6,000 of our royal direct army there and incorporate Grimwood’s forces into the 3rd Army.”
“Then let’s do that. I’ll be expecting great achievements. Grimwood, Elaine.”
Dorofei let out a sigh of relief.
Then he smiled at me broadly, as if he had accomplished something.
I, who was put in charge of the 3rd Army, quickly returned to Rainpol and summoned my vassals while the royal direct army was being prepared.
As always, Estelle participated, and this time Bisketa and Brother Ferge also joined.
The news seemed to have already spread, as there was a tense atmosphere among them.
“To think that the culprit of the king’s assassination was Calliper. This is surprising, isn’t it?” Olaf says, whistling. “Ars, is this true? If so, Calliper will really be in a tight spot.”
“Ah, come to think of it, you weren’t there at that time.”
“What do you mean by at that time?”
It was when I heard the truth from Juras.
“Hey, don’t leave me out. What were you talking about?”
“It’s nothing special. Just that it was Crossing who assassinated King Bülang.”
“What…!?” Olaf is at a loss for words. Lysithea’s eyes also widened.
“That’s not important now. Let’s look at the current reality instead.”
“Wait…” Olaf trails off for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts. “That means someone forcibly framed Calliper, right? But if that’s the case, Bülang’s guys would have noticed. Are you saying they’re still attacking despite that?”
“They were already itching for a fight. Whether it was someone’s scheme or not, once they had a justification, they moved. Of course, not all of them moved. About half are watching the situation.”
“I see, so they cleverly exploited the situation. The West is quite capable.”
I briefly explained the war situation. “The troops I’ve been assigned are about 10,000. We need to split them into three as we have to manage three fronts. So we need generals who can command the army. I was thinking of asking for volunteers.”
Then, bang! Eo was the first to raise her hand.
I tried to ignore it, but Eo moved to where my gaze was directed and kept raising her hand, bang, bang! appealing to me.
“…Eo. Do you really think you can command about 3,000 troops? Seriously?”
“Of course!”
“Well, if it’s just charging, it might be possible. But this time it’s not like that. You have to face the enemy and engage in a battle of wits. You have to take overall command of the army.”
Although I said it indirectly, Eo seemed to understand my meaning and made a sad face.
“Am I… Not reliable enough for you?”
“Hmm…”
Thinking about it, maybe I’m being too negative.
It’s certainly foolish to conclude that she can’t do it without even trying.
“Then Eo, you…”
At that moment, Bisketa scolded me in a stern voice.
“Entrusting the command of 3,000 troops to Eo, what foolishness is this!”
“Huh!?”
I barely came to my senses at that shout. “What was I thinking…?”
Maybe it’s because I’ve been too indulgent with Eo usually.
I’ve developed a tendency to want to listen to whatever she says.
Bisketa sighed heavily. “It reminds me of the late Holy King. He was also infinitely weak towards Eo. Anyway, entrusting military command to Eo is out of the question.”
“Holy King!? Why…”
“Don’t look at me with that expression. Military appointments should be made precisely, putting the right person in the right place. Commanding an army isn’t what you’re good at, is it?”
“Ugh…”
Saying that, Bisketa pointed to Olaf and Rutger.
“Wade, if you need commanders, taking those two would be the most ideal choice.”
“Yes, I know that, but…”
This war also required defense on another front.
This was because I had to manage Mobrey, the southern territory I had been granted as a reward for my military achievements.
Mobrey was a small city in the southern region of Dalia, with a total population of only 6,000. Recently, there had been so many shocking events that I hadn’t been able to pay attention to it, but now that war had broken out, I needed to take measures as its administrator.
“Rutger, I’d like you to take care of that part.”
Rutger would be able to handle the nitty-gritty tasks flawlessly, such as evacuating residents in preparation for enemy invasion or managing food supplies.
“Please go to Mobrey with my sister, Julia Elaine. I’ll leave the on-site decisions to the two of you.”
“I understand what you mean. Then, may I make one request?”
“If it’s about support, I’ll provide as much as needed.”
“No, it’s not that. I was just wondering if I could take Estelle with me.”
“Estelle?”
Estelle is looking around, wondering what that means.
“I want to teach her studies whenever I have time there.”
“Ah, haha… Do as you please.”
“Thank you. In return, I’ll leave Miss Lysithea here.”
“That… Would be helpful.”
Lysithea was the type who could command troops sufficiently if given an assistant.
Compared to Eo, while Eo was superior in individual combat ability, Lysithea seemed to be above her in other aspects.
“…Alright. I’ve decided everything.”
After organizing my thoughts, I assigned roles one by one.
“First, Anton, you stay in Rainpol with Master Ilya. With winter here, internal affairs have decreased significantly, so there won’t be any difficult tasks. And Ms. Bisketa is here too.”
“…Yes. I sincerely thank you for your consideration.”
Although Anton himself wanted to go to the battlefield, I decided to leave him behind since it hadn’t been long since his child was born.
“And Olaf, Yumir, Lysithea. You are one team. Olaf, please take the lead in commanding.”
“Haha, interesting selection. Got it.”
Then Lysithea frowns and says, “You, are you really thinking of sending me to the battlefield?”
“Why, is that not okay?”
“Of course not! I…”
“You agreed to work under me for two years, right? That naturally included things like this, didn’t it? Are you saying you’re changing your words now and saying it wasn’t like that?”
“That’s not it. Sigh… I understand. I’ll do it, okay? I’ll do it.”
If you’re going to do it anyway, might as well do it obediently.
“For the rest, Brother Ferge. I’d like you to command another army.”
“M-Me?”
“Yes, there’s a unit with my friend Dorofei Grimwood. I believe you’ll do well. Gaspar! You assist him.”
Gaspar decided to take Aggert, who usually follows him calling him master, and thus the team of Ferge, Gaspar, and Aggert was formed.
And as for me, as always, I ended up with Eo.
TL NOTE:
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