The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 140 – Part 2
Swish! Cadillac broke out in a cold sweat.
‘So many unpleasant undercurrents…!’
He, who had intended to create variables all over the battlefield by engaging in chaotic combat, couldn’t help but be flustered. It wasn’t that there were no places to create variables, but all of those were traps.
Those places appeared to him as turbid streams.
Places where he would end up being caught if he went there.
‘The moves are incredibly deep and complex. I can’t even guess how far ahead they’re reading.’
Although Cadillac instinctively stirred up the battlefield, his tactical mind was no less than any strategist.
To him, the tactical movements deployed by Ars were the pinnacle of brilliance.
Brilliance could mean that the movements might be disorderly, but Ars’ movements showed no such clumsiness.
At first glance, all the gaps that seemed penetrable were well-crafted tactical traps.
“Instructor! The enemy has penetrated our right wing and established a bridgehead! The waist of our right wing has been cut off!”
“…Bordeaux! You head to the right wing. Reorganise the formation.”
“Yes, sir!”
Cadillac, who should have been stirring up the battlefield, was stuck in place, giving commands and trying to correct the formation. If he had rampaged alone without doing so, the entire formation would have been in danger of collapse.
“Toran!”
“Y-Yes.”
Even Toran, who had initially dismissed Ars, seemed to have a dry mouth, his voice cracking.
“If this had been a real war, what do you think would have happened?”
“That’s…”
“Yes, we would have already been finished. But this is just a mock battle. It’s different from a real war. The soldiers aren’t trying to kill each other, and time is being dragged out to regroup the surrendered soldiers. Even Wade wouldn’t have experienced a situation like this.”
There was dissonance occurring because of this.
“I see a decisive gap.”
It was Sophia, leading the commander’s flag.
Cadillac saw a charge route that could devour Sophia.
“B-But couldn’t this also be a trap?”
“That would be interesting too. Let’s see if they dare to try and control me.”
Click! After adjusting his breastplate, Cadillac glared at the enemy’s commander’s flag.
While being pushed around by Ars, he had managed to secure one tactical bridgehead.
It was a charge route that could suddenly attack the opponent’s commander’s flag.
Sophia was observing the battlefield movements as if entranced.
“A-Amazing.”
Although this wasn’t the first time she had formed a joint front with Ars, it was the first time she had seen him command directly up close.
To Sophia, Ars’ tactical insight was astonishing.
“To command all units as a whole…”
Through this, he had turned this battlefield into something like a chessboard.
No, it was even more profound than that. He had turned the battlefield into a Go board with complex reading.
As a result, he was starting to gain advantages all over the battlefield, quickly taking the upper hand.
The impression of Ars spread across the continent was that he had strong strategist qualities, but Ars’ greatest strength was actually tactics.
“So this is Wade…”
She chastised herself for trying to accept that it was natural that she had been defeated by Ars.
At that moment.
“Princess! The enemy is breaking through here!”
“Ah…!”
Like a puzzle piece fitting into place, a breakthrough route towards the commander’s flag suddenly appeared.
A raiding party of 100 led by Cadillac surged through that route like a flood.
This wasn’t a tactical mistake by Ars. It was a natural gap that occurred because it was a mock battle. A gap that wouldn’t have appeared if it had been a real war.
“We’ve been hit…!”
“Princess! Quickly, fall back!”
But Cadillac had already approached.
With Sophia right in front of him, he muttered with wide eyes.
“As expected… As expected, it was a trap.”
“…?”
Before Sophia could express her confusion.
Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! The retreat routes at key points began to be cut off in unison.
The breakthrough route that seemed to have opened wide closed its doors like a stranglehold as soon as Cadillac’s unit broke through.
As a result, Cadillac, who had broken through, lost his retreat path and became isolated.
At that moment, Ars, who had been hiding on the right side of the formation, led a special force of 50 to strike the enemy’s commander’s flag positioned at the rear.
“Kuhahaha! We’ve been beautifully caught! Does this mean everything was in the palm of their hand?”
Sophia was equally surprised. She bit her lower lip hard.
‘How dare you carry out such an operation without telling me, the leader!’
Although that part was disappointing, well, thanks to that, this battle was on the verge of victory. However, there was still one step left.
The time remaining until Ars destroyed the commander’s flag was about 20 minutes. During these 20 minutes, Sophia also had to hold on.
Ars, in his own way, trusted Sophia and gave her a chance to shine.
Sophia found that consideration both detestable and grateful.
Cadillac grins and shouts.
“Young girl! Do you think you can handle me?”
Suddenly becoming a ‘young girl’, Sophia angrily shouts back.
“Come and see! I’ll repel you completely!”
“Your spirit is good! Well then, shall we try?”
Cadillac rushes towards Sophia’s commander’s flag. Sophia begins to command her soldiers to counter that momentum.
Meanwhile, Ars was launching a surprise attack with a special force of 50 to capture the commander’s flag.
“Whew! The old man is quite something. Sophia might have a hard time.”
Ars didn’t mind even if Sophia collapsed. Losing is losing. Anyway, he was just an assistant, so he thought Sophia should overcome at least one crucial hurdle.
That’s why he didn’t rush too much in this task of destroying the enemy’s commander’s flag.
“You bastard…! Stop him!”
It was Toran, Cadillac’s aide guarding the commander’s flag.
He charged at Ars with a wooden sword and shield, but he was outnumbered.
Toran fell to his knees, dry heaving from Ars’ spear strike to his abdomen.
Thud! After knocking him unconscious, Ars stood in front of the commander’s flag and ordered his soldiers to bend it.
The commander’s flag was made of thick iron bars to prevent it from breaking due to arrows, so it took about six soldiers using all their strength to bend it.
“S-stop! We can’t give up the commander’s flag!”
“…?”
Ars tilted his head at the familiar voice.
Maisen had come to save the commander’s flag, leading 20 soldiers.
“We cannot give up the commander’s flag!”
“Haha, what are you trying to do, coming to the battlefield as a medical officer? Olaf will be worried.”
“Ugh…! N-no need for other words!”
“Yes, then come at me.”
Maisen charges at Ars with a wooden sword.
Her martial arts skills were insignificant.
Ars was just playing along moderately since the commander’s flag couldn’t be protected anyway, but thud! Maisen herself was about to fall after tripping on a stone.
“Oops!”
Ars caught her and lifted her up.
“When wielding a sword, the lower body is most important. Especially on an unstable battlefield like this. Remember that.”
“L-let me go!”
Maisen struggles and thrashes about. Ars had no choice but to hold her tighter, as it was clear she would fall face-first if he just let go.
“I’ll put you down, so calm down first!”
“Ugh….”
Maisen, now standing quietly, blushed, seemingly embarrassed by her unseemly behavior.
Almost immediately, six men rush at Ars to save her.
“You lowlife! How dare you try to harass her in this situation!”
“Let go of Roypier! Attack him now!”
They were men who usually tried to gain her favor.
Maisen was a noble lady of the duke’s family, and she was quite beautiful, so there were many such men. To them, Ars holding her to prevent her from falling looked like harassment.
“N-no! Junior Elaine was just trying to help me…!”
Maisen tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but the men, filled with killing intent, wouldn’t listen.
Seeing their ominous spirit, Maisen shouts at Ars to avoid them, thinking he might get hurt.
Ars smiles bitterly.
“What are you trying to do, worrying about the enemy?”
Ars smoothly drew the sword on his back. Regardless of the opponent’s motives, he couldn’t underestimate their skills as they were officer cadets.
Judging that he might struggle with just a spear, Ars drew his sword as well.
“I commend your enthusiasm, knowing that I’m Wade. Come at me.”
“Y-you bastard!”
Chester-style elegant techniques that toyed with the charging opponents.
The situation was resolved in less than a minute.
“Ugh, gah!?”
“Guk!”
The men fall to their knees. Ars lightly struck their heads with additional blows to knock them unconscious.
“…!?”
Maisen’s mouth gapes open.
Ars speaks leisurely.
“It seems to be taking some time to bend the commander’s flag. Since it’s come to this, shall we chat? I had something I wanted to ask you about Olaf.”
“Yes….”
Maisen answered without realizing it.
Ars’ martial prowess was that unbelievable.
All the men now unconscious were second-year students, seniors to Ars. Even though Ars said he was Wade, it was surprising.
Wade was rumored to be a strategist.
But to have such martial arts skills.
“Senior Maisen.”
“Y-yes!?”
“Have you ever thought that if you hesitate, someone else might snatch Olaf away? Olaf is quite popular, you know? I’ve seen some women showing interest in him.”
“…”
Maisen bit her lip tightly. Ars seizes the moment and says, “If you want, I could actively help set you up.”
“H-how do you mean?”
“Olaf is my subordinate, after all. For example, if you set up a date, I could give Olaf a day off on that day.”
Maisen was tempted by Ars’ proposal to form a strategic alliance.
However, before she could answer, the commander’s flag bent, and cheers from the 8th Military Science students rang out loudly.
“Oops, it’s over. If you have any thoughts, please contact me later. Well then, goodbye.”
The 8th Military Science team had secured victory.
It was such a surprising event that a first-year Military Science team beating a second-year team happened for the first time in 5 years, but Ars just shrugged his shoulders as if it were nothing special.
TL NOTE:
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The enemy are planning wars while ars here is playing cupid