The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 129

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 129

The situation on the battlefield slowly began to settle.

Bülang’s army that had entered our territory completely retreated.

As we had discussed, the royal family, worried about the formation of the Central Alliance, ordered to cease any further combat.

In a few days, the order to withdraw troops was expected to be issued.

I was in my quarters, compiling intelligence information sent by Juras.

Wars breaking out in various places.

First, in the confrontation between Europe and Tunkai, it’s said that a standoff is occurring without any significant gains.

Unlike the southern region where we are, the northern area where Tunkai and Europe are located experiences harsh winters, with cold waves hitting even in early winter like now.

Thus, Tunkai was adopting a strategy of wearing Europe down by fortifying key strongholds.

Unexpectedly, battle results came from Beckavia’s side.

Beckavia’s army of 30,000, led by Commander-in-Chief Vali Austin, invaded the eastern region of Tunkai. They surprised and captured 2 cities and 2 fortresses, seizing territory near the border.

Tunkai felt ashamed of being defeated by the likes of Beckavia but had to watch helplessly due to the standoff with Europe.

‘The war in the North will probably end with this.’

Indeed, active warfare was difficult due to the weather.

The South was where sparks flew.

First was the Svenner army, which attacked Europe from behind, claiming to support Tunkai.

Svenner invaded southern Europe with an army of 60,000 led by the 3rd General Ryan Bell. Europe, judging the number to be small, quickly countered with 30,000 hastily conscripted soldiers and 30,000 regular troops.

It’s said that casualties in this process exceeded 10,000.

Still, this was cute compared to what followed.

The problem was the West and Svenner attacking Bülang.

They invaded western Bülang with a total of 150,000 troops: 80,000 from the West led by Tetora Anistri, and 70,000 from Svenner led by the 2nd General and Chief of Staff Hasikuran, known as Zemuto’s right-hand man.

The South, even in early winter, maintains temperatures between 7-10°C above zero, making it suitable for waging war.

‘Tetora Anistri… The woman Guderian warned me about.’

I was curious about what kind of war capabilities she possessed.

Hence, I was prioritizing gathering information about this battlefield.

‘Lastly, there’s Alvard’s invasion of Svenner via Europe…’

For some reason, there was no information about this part at all. It was as if Alvard’s army had been annihilated in an instant, with information cut off at the point they entered Svenner’s territory.

The continent’s situation had become chaotic.

In this state, Crossing came to hold the reins.

It was obvious that the situation would change dramatically depending on which side Crossing decided to intervene.

They could attack Tunkai, or attack Alvard and Europe. Or they could even attack Bülang.

‘Surely Juras didn’t design this situation, did he?’

Even for him, I wanted to believe he hadn’t planned this far.

Then, two days later.

A shocking report came in.

It was about Alvard’s betrayal and the mass slaughter by western people.

* * *

It was a natural course of action for a military council to be convened immediately upon hearing the shocking news.

The meeting hall was in utter chaos. Since Duke Hellian had returned to the capital to deal with post-war issues, General Ironheart led the meeting instead.

“As you’ve heard, Alvard, who seemed to be helping Europe invade Svenner, suddenly betrayed Europe. The army that had entered Svenner’s territory changed its marching route and invaded Europe instead. Moreover, it appears that in Alvard’s mainland, an army of 60,000 led by Kaien of the Four Strategists is stirring. It seems they will invade Europe soon.”

The meeting hall was abuzz.

Altior speaks, “If this is the case, we should consider the Central Alliance a failure.”

“That’s correct. We don’t need to think about the tripartite alliance of Bülang-Europe-Alvard for the time being.”

In this case, we can move again.

With the concern about the Central Alliance gone, we can freely strike Bülang’s territory.

“But why on earth did Alvard make such a choice…? Even if they help Svenner, there’s no benefit for them…”

I knew the reason because of my knowledge from the game.

And knowing that reason made me shudder.

Because this reason would only be revealed long after the Tail War.

It happened alongside the Tail War. Even though that Tail War itself occurred about 8 months early.

‘The game’s story is rushing in quickly.’

As if a hole had been punched in a dam. It was trying to surge in all at once, becoming an unstoppable torrent.

“… Elaine? Do you have any ideas? If so, speak up.”

Altior urged with deep eyes.

I hesitated whether to speak, but Alvard’s intentions would be revealed soon anyway.

“It might be… To absorb Balas.”

“Balas!? How can they absorb that neutral kingdom?”

Balas was an absolute neutral kingdom that hadn’t engaged in war even once since the fall of the Fensillon Empire. It was also where the city of Platon, home to the Fensillon Academy, was located.

“Alvard has probably been eyeing Balas for a long time. They just coluldn’t attack Balas due to diplomatic issues.”

“Of course. If they attacked Balas, they’d face concentrated fire from other kingdoms.”

“Yes, that’s why they thought now is the opportunity, with the interests of various kingdoms intricately intertwined.”

“I see…!”

If Svenner and Tunkai turned a blind eye, it wouldn’t be difficult to destroy Balas. Bülang is also overwhelmed with internal affairs, and Beckavia lacks power.

“As such, how Crossing responds has become most important in this matter. I think it’s okay to move on for now, considering that.”

“Hmm…”

The next issue.

It’s about the mass slaughter by the Western people.

The Western army that attacked and entered Bülang’s western territory didn’t take civilians in occupied territories as prisoners, but beheaded them all.

The number was 200,000. An entire region was virtually annihilated.

“Those barbarians! We knew they were ignorant, but to this extent!”

“How could such a thing happen!”

Massacring enemy civilians to weaken them has been common historically.

The Changing massacre by Bai Qi of Qin is a prime example.

He executed as many as 400,000 prisoners.

Although records state all 400,000 were soldiers, that’s just on paper. It’s impossible that all 400,000 were soldiers in those times.

Civilians must have been included as well.

In that sense, this Western massacre was different in meaning.

Because all 200,000 were civilians.

Although Bülang also organized guerrilla forces to plunder civilians in this war, they didn’t engage in indiscriminate beheadings.

Including potential civilian casualties from starvation and disease due to food shortages caused by plundering, the total was about 100,000.

This was also quite high, but the West showed a different class by killing 200,000 through simple massacre.

Crack! Altior gritted his teeth.

“That massacre. The beastkins must have done it.”

“According to eyewitness accounts, there were many beastkins.”

“As expected…! Those beasts!”

Altior showed overt hostility towards beastkins.

‘Come to think of it, Duke Hellian mentioned before. That Duke Altior has painful memories related to the West.’

I wondered if it was related to Diellum, the beastkin village.

“They’re beings we can’t associate with. They’re not even human. Just disgusting beasts. In a way, it’s natural.”

Altior’ hostility was already directed towards the West, not Bülang.

Reading a strange intention in his eyes, I reflexively said, “An alliance with Bülang would be a mistake.”

“…!”

Altior, whose thoughts were read, opened his eyes wide, then smirked and said, “Why is that? Now that Alvard has joined hands with Svenner and the West. If we join hands with Bülang, the largest alliance will be formed. Using that power to sweep away Alvard and Svenner, wouldn’t we grasp great power?”

“It’s not that simple. If that happens, Bülang will also gain hegemony, creating an even more troublesome situation.”

If Bülang, which is in a state of internal turmoil, rapidly expands its power, it might split into dozens of kingdoms if internal division occurs.

The situation would become even more chaotic.

“Moreover, Crossing won’t respond to such a proposal in the first place.”

“So even here, Crossing holds the knife handle…”

Altior shook his head, saying he didn’t like it.

How Crossing would act wasn’t just our concern.

All kingdoms were watching the movements of Crossing, or more precisely, Juras.

Finally, as if the time had ripened, Juras conveyed through diplomats to each kingdom.

‘Stop’, he said.

Then, as if by magic, the wars happening in various places entered a lull.

* * *

Crossing declared mediation, not intervention.

After demanding that each kingdom stop the war, they proposed joint negotiations for a ceasefire.

In response, Svenner showed a lukewarm attitude, but Tunkai, which was being invaded, readily agreed, and Europe reluctantly accepted. Beckavia, which had already benefited, and our Calliper, an ally of Crossing, also agreed.

As a result, Bülang, Svenner, and Alvard had no choice but to accept.

The date set for negotiations was 5 days later.

The negotiation venue was the neutral kingdom of Balas.

Since there was an immediate ceasefire, our army withdrew and returned to Alphensard for now.

The royal family was already organizing a diplomatic delegation to participate in the negotiations.

Gilbert Saleon and Duke Hellian were elected as joint representatives, and the diplomatic corps below them was organized.

And it seems someone recommended me in this process.

I politely declined that. I intended to participate in the negotiations, but not as Ars.

This is because Gillias Melbourne, a general of Alvard, could come to the negotiation site. My identity would be exposed to everyone because of him, who knows my face.

So I decided to go to the negotiations as Wade, along with Juras.

Once I returned to Rainpol, I headed to Karten with Anton in tow.

Juras was waiting for me alone.

“Why are you alone like that? Where’s the diplomatic corps?”

To my question, Juras laughs as if I’m saying something stupid.

“You’re there, aren’t you?”

“Are you saying I’m the diplomatic corps? Anyway….”

Just in case, I brought about a hundred capable people from Crossing’s military as escorts.

So in the carriage heading to the Kingdom of Balas, the negotiation venue, I asked Juras.

“This series of events…. Did you design it?”

I was hoping Juras would deny it, but he nodded ambiguously.

“If you’re talking about the fundamental parts, then yes, but if you’re talking about the details, then no.”

“The fundamental parts?”

“This series of flows itself is what I intended. But even so, the development is too fast.”

“…!”

He was thinking the same thing as me.

I thought the story ahead was progressing too quickly. And Juras says his design is unfolding faster than expected.

It felt eerie, as if Juras was involved in the entire story of the game.

“That’s why I put on the brakes. If we continue like this, there will only be chaotic disorder.”

“It would have been impossible… To intervene on one side and gain hegemony.”

We can’t join hands with Svenner, nor can we join hands with Bülang, which is an obstacle to continental unification.

If there’s any option, it would be joining hands with Europe, but this doesn’t have much effect.

Thump! The carriage rattles.

Soon Juras speaks, “More than that…. You used the hornet.”

“You told me to use it.”

“That’s true, but. It seems like it was used too boringly. The hornet was one of the spies I planted that had infiltrated quite deeply into the core. Hearing what the hornet said…. You used it to save a subordinate.”

Juras stared at me meaningfully.

That gaze seemed to mock me.

As if saying, did you throw away such an important long-term piece just to save one subordinate?

“Ars, what did you do when playing chess? Didn’t you boldly discard any piece for victory?”

“I judged that if I didn’t use it there, the war situation could have collapsed in a chain reaction. I could have died too. My opponent, Claus, was very skilled in martial arts.”

“That’s because you didn’t bring Anton with you.”

“…”

When he said that, I had nothing to refute.

“If you’re going to do it like that, it’s best to leave things like internal affairs to your subordinates. I’ll assign capable officers, officers you can use and discard, as your subordinates. Then at least there won’t be incidents like this one.”

“I’ll manage my subordinates myself. Mind your own business.”

I thought I might have spoken a bit irritably, but Juras laughed instead. “Huh, well, that’s fine. Maybe this is the ideal relationship between you and me.”

“What do you mean by ideal relationship?”

“You are the light. And I am that shadow. In the end, your kingdom will unify, so it makes sense for you to take on that role.”

“I didn’t expect you to volunteer to take on the role of the shadow.”

“I’m that kind of person, Ars. I can no longer face the light. If I did, the shadow behind me would become so dark that it would swallow not only me but you as well.”

“…”

“You’re different. You can still face the light. I’m not talking about justice or great causes. Be a king with a justification that can convince the people of conquered kingdoms. Be a king without a shady background.”

He’s saying he’ll do all the shady work himself.

‘It sounds moving if you just listen to the words, but….’

Since it’s this guy saying it, I couldn’t trust it at all.

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