The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 146
The soldiers of Balas began to exhibit strange behavior.
Three times a day, they approached with shields, set fire to the ground, and then shot fire arrows towards the camp.
Tetora’s mood had become increasingly uneasy due to these eccentric actions.
This was because Ars’ intentions were still unclear.
‘What is this? Could they be withdrawing troops?’
She thought it might be a deception operation. Using smoke to obscure vision and shooting fire arrows was merely a trick.
They might be secretly withdrawing troops while creating a flashy distraction.
‘But if that’s the case, where are they withdrawing to?‘
The only thing she could imagine was that they were picking off the detached forces roaming outside.
Certainly, if the detached forces were ambushed and annihilated, it would be quite troublesome, but there were countermeasures in place for that.
The detached forces had their own command structure and were well-organized, so they could handle situations on their own without Tetora needing to give orders.
Moreover, because the troops were dispersed, even if ambushed, they wouldn’t be wiped out all at once.
‘Above all, our intelligence network is solid. If there were withdrawn troops, we’d detect them immediately.’
The only place without an intelligence network was this Sadban mountain range. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say the enemy controlled it.
“…It would be. Even if the enemy tried to flank us with troops, they couldn’t evade our intelligence network. We don’t need to worry about that aspect.”
Zeck Wilter’s briefing seemed to interpret Tetora’s thoughts exactly.
Tetora found this extremely annoying and unpleasant.
It felt like she was capable of thinking only the same thoughts as this common soldier.
“So our army just needs to maintain our position and there won’t be a problem. Thanks to the supplies we’ve plundered and moved here, we still have a month’s worth of provisions.”
“…Shut up.”
“Pardon?”
“I said shut up.”
“Ah… Yes!”
Tetora could sense it instinctively.
There was definitely something more going on.
But not knowing what it was made her anxious.
‘Just in case, should I move some of the external detached forces?’
Although it was an action born of premature fear, Tetora decided not to go against her instincts.
‘Yes, this is insurance. It’s just insurance. I’m definitely not scared of him!’
She decided to recall 10,000 detached troops to break one side of the enemy’s encirclement that surrounded them on all sides.
Thus, Tetora decided to contact the external detached forces using carrier pigeons.
Six birds flew off at once.
Carrier pigeons were remarkably fast as a means of communication.
They were unrivaled until the development of telecommunications. In fact, they continued to be used even after telecommunications were developed.
There are quite a few records of carrier pigeons being used even in World War I and II.
However, while they were fast, they weren’t a highly reliable means of communication. After all, being animals, there were too many variables.
Sometimes they would lose their destination and just be released into the wild, or they might be hunted by other animals.
The carrier pigeons Tetora released met similar fates.
Peep peep!
Eonia, who had been observing the sky intently, swiftly fired two arrows, shooting down birds that had risen from the western camp.
Finally, she shot down one more that had flown as far as 400 meters away, taking down three in total.
“Phew…!”
Eonia, who had been observing the direction of the carrier pigeons on Ars’ instructions, achieved the feat of shooting down three at a crucial moment.
The fate of the remaining three was similar.
The area around this mountain range was controlled by Balas’ intelligence units.
Among them was Crossing’s special intelligence unit that Ars had borrowed from Juras. These were the ones he had ordered Anton to borrow on the day they were formulating the plan.
Their specialty was information warfare. Intercepting carrier pigeons was one of their skills.
They had been tracking the movements of carrier pigeons for the past few days and had set traps all over the mountains.
One carrier pigeon, spotting a tempting bait, momentarily forgot its mission and dove to snatch the prey.
Having grabbed the bait, it was caught in the trap and met its end.
The fate of another was even more miserable.
It became prey to the birds of prey released by the intelligence unit and died a gruesome death.
Faced with this predatory threat, the remaining one flew away in terror, completely forgetting its mission.
Receiving this report, Ars breathed a sigh of relief.
‘That’s fortunate. If the information had leaked out, it could have been quite troublesome…’
Ars looked at Eonia with admiration.
“Well done, Eo. If you hadn’t shot down half of them, it might have been dangerous.”
“It was nothing significant.”
“Not significant? It’s something only you could have done.”
“…”
Ars’ eyes were full of affection as he looked at Eonia. Since realizing his feelings for her, that look in his eyes had intensified.
There was no way Eonia wouldn’t notice this.
“More importantly… The enemy is quite sharp.”
Ars was examining the letter from a carrier pigeon that had been shot down.
“To take action even when unable to ascertain the truth of our operation.”
Ars swallowed dryly, his mouth feeling parched.
“We might have less time than we thought. We need results quickly…”
At this moment, although Ars maintained his composure outwardly, he was extremely anxious inside.
After all, this operation was ultimately one last chance.
There was certainly a possibility that it could end in failure.
* * *
The strange fire attacks continued persistently.
It was on the fourth day of this that Sophia Veron, who had been working on rescuing civilians, returned in tatters.
Seemingly frustrated with the meaningless fire attacks, she was in a bad mood.
“…Elaine, you need to explain now. What on earth are you aiming for?”
Sophia looked visibly exhausted, as if she had been engaged in an intense psychological battle with the enemy’s detached forces over the past few days.
Other officers tacitly agreed with her direct complaint.
Olaf nodded in agreement.
“She’s right. Won’t you explain now? The soldiers are also questioning this operation.”
I shook my head.
“Secrecy is the top priority for this operation. If even a single spy learns the true intent of the operation, it will all be for naught.”
“Even so, couldn’t you at least tell us?”
“…Alright, Sophia Veron. I’ll tell you, since you’re openly expressing dissatisfaction. If you appear to understand, the others will likely accept it too. Take a breath and come to my tent. I’ll be waiting.”
Sophia nodded and left the command tent.
I clutched my throbbing head.
On top of the stress from the operation, now there was the distrust from the officers.
Feeling nauseous, I left Olaf in charge of the command tent and went outside.
I quickly walked to a secluded spot.
“Ugh…!”
What I had eaten in the morning came back up.
‘Damn, I didn’t know an uncertain operation could be this pressuring.’
The reason I hadn’t told even the officers about the operation was simple. It was uncertain.
If they learned that all our actions so far were for this uncertain operation, it would cause confusion and distrust. That’s why I hadn’t told even close aides like Olaf.
Until now, I had only used tactics and strategies I was certain about. There was a basis, and as long as I did things properly, the operations could succeed. But not this time.
Regardless of my intentions, if luck wasn’t on our side, the operation would fail.
If my preferred style was to move the battlefield like a chessboard, this was different.
Thinking about how the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians depended on an uncertain operation made me feel sick.
After emptying my stomach thoroughly, I returned to my tent.
‘If only Yumir were here at a time like this…’
Just then.
“Lord Ars, are you alright?”
Eo must have followed me, concerned about my poor complexion.
I let her into the tent.
Then, looking at her, I patted the bed.
“Sit here.”
“Huh? …Huh!?”
Eo turned as red as a well-boiled shrimp, not knowing what to do.
I forcibly sat her on the bed and laid my head on her lap.
It wasn’t as comforting as Yumir, but it had an effect. I could feel my throbbing headache subsiding.
“I’ll just stay like this for a moment.”
“Y-you can stay like this as long as you want.”
Eo placed her trembling hand on my head.
I turned my face and buried it in her stomach. I could feel sleepiness creeping in.
As I was being healed like this.
“…Well, well. Am I interrupting?”
Sophia, who had come to my tent, sighed in disbelief.
“You’re not interrupting… But I wish you had come a little slower.”
“Oh my, feel free to talk while lying down.”
Sophia sat in a nearby chair.
Accepting her kindness, I began explaining the operation while still lying down.
Sophia’s expression changed moment by moment as I explained.
“Is such a thing… Possible?”
“I don’t know. But I thought this was the only way. You know? This war was a losing battle from the start if we followed orthodox tactics and strategies. To avoid that dead end, we had to take a gamble like this.”
“Don’t tell me that huge mud wall was built for…!?”
“To increase the odds of the gamble. Building the mud wall, setting fires, shooting fire arrows – it’s all for that. If this doesn’t work, we’ll retreat. We have 10 days left.”
There wasn’t much time left as the protagonist and Saint’s coup forces in the south had started to become active.
Sophia eventually nodded. “I see why the operation’s secrecy was essential. This absurd operation… Can we even call it an operation?”
“Why, Professor Sophia. Didn’t you say that war is not just a battle between forces, but also a battle with nature?”
“Honestly, how do you remember every detail of the lessons despite your poor attitude in class?”
After this interview, Sophia no longer expressed dissatisfaction with me.
Rather, she took the initiative to soothe the discontent of other officers.
Seeing this, I thought again how nice it would be if Sophia became one of my talents.
Her abilities were above average, and more importantly, she had the interpersonal skills and subordinate management abilities that I lacked.
Well, considering her status and position, the possibility of recruiting her was almost non-existent.
* * *
10 days remaining.
While Ars was anxious and Tetora was suffering from inexplicable uneasiness in this confrontation, an incident occurred.
It happened on the very first day.
Splash!
Tetora rose from the bathtub. Recently, she had been frequently soaking in the tub like this.
It was because dust kept settling on her, and her clothes kept getting dirty.
This was due to the Balas forces constantly setting fires and shooting fire arrows.
Thanks to the abundance of water, she could wash it off by bathing, but the ordinary soldiers couldn’t. Despite the abundance of water, it wasn’t enough for group bathing.
Tetora frowned as she looked at the faces of the maids wiping her body.
“Get your filthy hands off me!”
Tetora snatched a towel and started wiping herself.
Just then.
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”
A maid started coughing. Enraged at the thought that her freshly washed body was being dirtied by the cough, Tetora punched the maid in the face with a thud!
Seeing the grime on her fist from the punch, she became even more enraged and started beating the maid indiscriminately.
“Damn it!”
After beating the maid to a pulp, she immersed herself in the bathtub again.
The other maids were busy trembling and watching her nervously.
It was then.
“Sky Mother!”
It was Wilter, running in with a terrified expression.
He was so flustered that his face had turned pale. He showed no reaction to seeing Tetora naked or the bloodied maid. As if he had no time to care about such things.
Seeing him like this, Tetora felt the anxiety she had been feeling reach its peak.
“What’s all the fuss about?”
“The soldiers, the soldiers are collapsing one by one!”
“…What did you say?”
Tetora could only ask again in shock.
***
I unknowingly cheered.
“Checkmate!”
This was after hearing the intelligence that panic had appeared in the enemy camp. Sophia also breathed a sigh of relief.
Dorofei and Meissen were the same. General Armstrong was grinding his teeth, saying it was finally time for a counterattack.
On the other hand, others were looking confused, unable to follow the conversation.
“W-what is it? Explain before you rejoice.” Olaf asks with a blank expression.
I decided to explain briefly. “Olaf, as you know, red flowers bloom from the Marolin trees that grow in this Balas region.”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“These Marolin flowers are generally harmless, but in some cases, they mutate and cause harm. That’s the contagious pneumonia called Marolin disease.”
At this, Ash’s eyes widened. “Marolin disease!?”
Reacting to this, Lysithea quietly asks. “What is it, Ash? Does something come to mind?”
“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”
Unable to say that it was knowledge he had acquired to seduce women, he brushed it off and then changed his expression to speak to me.
“But Ars, I thought Marolin disease only spreads in summer. Why has it broken out now?”
“It’s not that it spreads in summer. It spreads because the temperature rises. Well, I suppose that’s the same thing.”
“Temperature…?”
The Marolin flower is both a flower and a fruit, so instead of drying out and withering, it has a tendency to rot. Therefore, when summer comes and decay is easier, it emits a foul odor along with toxic substances, causing trouble for people. Think of it like a ginkgo tree.
“But it’s still spring now. It’s not that hot yet.”
“That’s right. That’s why those operations were necessary.”
What I did was mainly two things. Building an earthen wall as high as the mountain in the south.
And carrying out fire attacks.
“First, building the earthen wall in the south. That artificial mountain built with over 20,000 manpower and enormous resources…”
“Artificial mountain?”
Rutger asks with a furrowed brow.
“Yes, in fact, it doesn’t serve as a fortress. It’s simply a barrier to block the wind.”
That’s why if the enemy had attacked on the first day, it could have disrupted the plan. Because that wall was the key.
“The terrain here is a natural fortress. The middle plateau is surrounded by high mountains to the east, west, and north. I simply blocked the one open side, the south. In this case, this plain area becomes a basin completely surrounded on all sides.”
“Ah…!?”
Olaf and Rutger exclaimed simultaneously.
“Now that it has become a basin terrain, air circulation slows down. Because the southern route that should act as a ventilation is blocked by the artificial mountain.”
Moreover, the trees on this middle plateau were cut down last year for slash-and-burn agriculture, and all the weeds were burned.
As a result, this area within the Sadban mountains had the highest radiant heat from sunlight. Basically, the temperature was about 3-4 degrees higher than other areas.
“Then the fire attacks were also…”
“For similar reasons. And also for deception.”
Silence fell over the meeting room. No one had anticipated this operation.
“But that doesn’t guarantee everyone will get sick, right?”
Aggert says.
“When an epidemic hit our village before, I was fine!”
“Of course, that’s possible too.”
Because people’s immunity varies greatly.
For example, this Marolin disease is not that dangerous for the citizens of Balas at present.
Whether it’s due to genetic immunity or immunity gained through experience, the rate of severe cases isn’t high.
Compared to people from other regions, that is.
Usually, those who suffer severe cases from this Marolin disease are mainly people from other regions. Ash’ warning to the girl from Tunkai about being careful of Marolin disease during the last hunting trip made sense in this context.
In this sense, the soldiers of the Western nations cannot have immunity to this disease.
They had been separated from the continent for over 100 years.
“Even so, the probability of infection occurring is low. That’s why I thought the success rate of the operation was about 50%. That’s also why I didn’t tell you.”
“If it’s 50%, isn’t that worth trying?”
“Because the air circulation is slow, the mutated pollen will stay in the enemy camp for a long time. Once one person is infected, we don’t have to rely on pollen after that.”
The smoke and dust from the fires also play a role.
The reason for burning trash and other miscellaneous items was to pollute the air by burning various things as much as possible. This would cause respiratory problems and make people cough a lot. The aim was to increase the speed of disease spread through this.
“The spy seems to have confirmed the infected person. Now the Marolin disease will spread through the enemy camp in no time.”
Marolin disease is fatal to the respiratory system, with over 60% of cases accompanied by severe pneumonia. It’s a disease with quite high infectivity and mortality rate.
Moreover, once it develops, it immediately removes the soldier from combat due to high fever and difficulty breathing.
“This is a checkmate. The enemy won’t be able to stay still like this either. They will surely attack to create an escape route. We will repel that.”
Making the enemy, who had been stubbornly defending while building a fortress, attack.
That was the true purpose of this operation.
TL NOTE:
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