The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 147
The soldiers of the West were falling one by one. It had already gone beyond the stage where isolation could solve the problem.
Patients were appearing everywhere, as if the disease had already spread without anyone noticing.
“Hey, trash! What the hell is going on here?”
Tetora, who didn’t know much about the endemic diseases of the Balas region, could only be flustered.
Even Zeck Wilter didn’t know much about the Marolin disease.
“This, this seems to be an infectious disease called Marolin disease.”
“Then cure it! You must have prepared medicine for possible infectious diseases, right?”
“Well… Marolin disease isn’t supposed to be prevalent at this time, so we didn’t prepare any specific medicine for it.”
The time when Marolin disease truly becomes rampant is two months from now.
There are even years when Marolin disease doesn’t break out at all.
But how? Only then could Wilter look around… Not at the soldiers and formations, but at nature.
The tightly closed southern wall. For some reason, the air was murky with higher temperatures and all kinds of dust. No wind blowing.
It was an environment where it seemed natural for Marolin disease to break out.
“Is there no way? Is there no way to make a cure?”
“There is. If you grind and consume Keplite grass, the symptoms of Marolin disease improve quickly.”
“By Keplite, do you mean that common weed? The one that’s scattered all over the mountains?”
“Yes.”
“Then move quickly! Take the soldiers who can still move and go get it!”
Wilter closed his eyes tightly.
It’s a trap. That’s what he thought.
If they could secure Keplite grass, they could certainly control the disease.
But would the enemy not know this?
Just looking at the intention behind the fire arrows, you could tell.
Even though this place was scorched by slash-and-burn agriculture last year, it doesn’t mean there were no weeds at all.
Among those weeds, there must have been Keplite grass.
But from the moment the enemy started shooting fire arrows from higher ground, the situation changed.
They had completely weeded the area because of the risk of flames spreading through the ground weeds.
The weeds they had removed then had already been left to rot.
Now, they had turned what could have been precious medicine into garbage with their own hands.
The enemy is this thorough. They won’t let us get the medicinal herbs.
“That was the enemy’s intention in shooting the fire arrows. To make us discard the Keplite grass ourselves. So the enemy must be well-prepared in the mountain areas as well. Rather than that, wouldn’t it be better to use all available forces to break through the encirclement now? That’s the only way out…”
Attack first? Tetora shook her head in disgust.
“No need! I’ve already contacted the external forces! We can break through the encirclement with their help!”
“But, but that communication is likely to have been intercepted! An enemy who has prepared so thoroughly wouldn’t miss something like that! Moreover, there’s a high possibility that this herb search will be attacked by the enemy!”
“Shut up! Then we’ll take more troops! Find it somehow!”
Tetora had half lost her reason.
Having really taken a big hit from Ars, who had mocked her, her composure had been shattered.
In addition, there was her own impatience.
A sense of discomfort brushing her chest.
“Cough! Cough! Kuhek! Hey, trash. If you don’t go right now, I’ll kill you!”
“…Yes. I’ll depart immediately.”
Wilter, who headed to the mountain area with 6,000 troops, looked up at the sky hopelessly. Now he too had realized.
“He wasn’t my match.”
Even Tetora Anistri wasn’t a match for that guy, for Wade.
His tactics weren’t something ordinary that anyone could predict.
Who could have anticipated a plague using terrain manipulation?
“This is the end now.”
Wilter never dreamed he would lose in this war. That’s how Tetora had set up the situation.
From the enemy’s perspective, it was something they couldn’t do anything about.
But he spectacularly broke through the situation.
“Officer Wilter, we absolutely cannot find any Keplite grass.”
“Of course. That’s to be expected.”
The outside of the encirclement set up by the Balas army had already been weeded. To obtain medicinal herbs in large quantities, they would have to break through the encirclement, which was impossible with such a small force.
“Couldn’t you find even one?”
“We did find one, but…”
“Deliver it to Sky Mother immediately.”
“General?”
“Go!”
“Yes, sir!”
This was the last act of loyalty he could do as a military officer.
Moreover, Tetora. That woman who had massacred so many civilians shouldn’t die comfortably from disease.
She should at least be beheaded in front of the public, enduring their curses.
“Listen, everyone. There will soon be an enemy attack. If you value your life, surrender. I won’t stop you.”
Wilter essentially declared surrender.
Not long after, the Balas guerrilla forces appeared.
* * *
The Western army searching desperately for Keplite grass.
“Disguise.”
Though cunning and shrewd, she lacks experience.
The experience of defeat, that is.
As a general, I think I understand the essence of Tetora Anistri.
She must have always created favorable situations for herself and achieved promised victories.
You could call her a master of setting up the game.
It’s true that her method is threatening. But when her setup crumbles and she finds herself in a tight spot, she can’t come up with a proper solution.
It’s the same now.
The enemy’s only way out now is to use all available forces to break through the encirclement.
Given our advantageous terrain and formation, it would be an unfavorable battle for them at about 4:6 odds, but she doesn’t realize how grateful she should be to even have a 4:6 battle at this point.
She simply chose another method, turning away from the correct answer because her pride was hurt at the idea of attacking first.
“But if they get the medicine, won’t the situation return to square one?”
This was Eo speaking, gripping her spear tightly.
“Only if they can get it.”
We’ve already used the special forces lent by Juras to weed out most of the Keplite grass inside the encirclement. The enemy will be lucky to find even a few.
“It’s time. Eo.”
“Yes Sir!”
“I’ll entrust you with the vanguard.”
“I’ll carry out your orders!”
Eo led the troops to ambush the enemy searching for medicinal herbs.
This happened in all directions – north, south, east, and west.
In the north, Olaf and Gaspar. In the east, Landon Crow, Ash, and Lysithea. In the west where I am with Eonia and Anton. In the south, Rutger and Sophia were in charge of the operation.
“Haaaa!”
Eo charged in recklessly.
“Wh-what!”
“Enemy raid! It’s an enemy raid! Kuhek!”
Kwak kwak kwak kwak! With each flash of her spear, a life disappeared.
After that, 3,000 infantry following her mercilessly cleared out the confused enemies.
Someone who looked like a commander tried to rally his soldiers and command them, but that command hastened his end.
“There he is. Anton, go.”
“Yes Sir!”
Because the army itself was in a state of confusion, there weren’t many guards protecting the enemy commander.
Anton displayed overwhelming martial prowess and approached right up to the enemy commander’s chin.
“Surrender! I surrender!”
The enemy commander shouted, falling to his knees. Anton captured him without bothering to cut his neck.
As the commander surrendered, the soldiers began to disintegrate.
“Hmm? There’s not much resistance.”
As if they had intended to surrender from the beginning.
“Well, all’s well that ends well.”
A light victory bell rang.
It was the same elsewhere. The enemy soldiers who came in search of herbs were ambushed and defeated.
The enemy army had to lose about 6,000 soldiers they had deployed for the herb search.
Tetora listened to the successive reports in a daze.
Despite deploying 6,000 soldiers, they only brought back 10 Keplite grass. On top of that, they were ambushed from all directions, and less than 3,000 returned alive.
That trash also surrendered, they say.
Excluding patients and potential patients, the available forces are now 53,000. Less than the enemies.
And it will continue to decrease as time goes on.
“Damn it, if only Guderian were here…!”
General Guderian. If he and his direct subordinates, the Beast Demons, were here, they could have easily broken through this situation.
But Guderian opposed the massacre of civilians and withdrew from this operation, disappearing.
Moreover, most of her capable officers directly under her command are in external detachments. It was to increase the command capabilities of the external detachments.
As a result, the main force lacks capable officers.
It wasn’t for nothing that she entrusted command to a surrendering general like Zeck Wilter.
At that time, she didn’t think it would be a problem.
That’s how advantageous it was.
This is the situation.
They need to break through the encirclement and escape right now.
Her reason was sounding the alarm.
But her emotions wouldn’t allow it.
Defeat? Her, defeated? In that advantageous situation? Miserably?
Against that detestable guy who provoked her?
“It can’t be. It can’t be! There must be a way. A way to break through this situation…!”
Or the external detachments that received the contact might be on their way to support.
So Tetora decided to wait and see for another day, optimistically viewing the situation.
This was Tetora’s big mistake.
She didn’t know much about Marolin disease. She thought it was like any other infectious disease. There wasn’t even a disease expert who could give detailed advice about the disease.
Marolin disease affects the bronchi and is transmitted through the bronchi. Moreover, now the air circulation has slowed down, and coughing is induced due to dust.
Its rate of infection far exceeded her expectations.
The problem was that they were too densely packed to prevent infection.
Even though only a day had passed, more than 1,000 soldiers had become incapacitated due to the disease.
In addition, there were soldiers who deserted during the night and crossed over to Balas.
They surrendered to receive medicine from the enemy.
Receiving this report, Tetora felt like everything went dark before her eyes.
Now, even if support comes from the outside, it’s uncertain whether they can break through the encirclement.
The only remaining option is a breakthrough at a single point.
But the enemy has built a stockade in the mountainous area and is waiting.
‘To think that I, Tetora Anistri, would be paid back in the same coin…!’
Tetora had built a fortress and provoked the enemy as if daring them to attack.
In war, the defensive position is always much more advantageous. Tetora thoroughly adhered to this basic principle of warfare.
And Ars did the same. Ars’ strategy was also to make the enemy attack.
However, it’s fundamentally different from the situation Tetora created.
The Balas army had the option of not attacking.
They could have just held their position, turning a blind eye to the massacre of civilians.
But now the Western army is different. If they don’t strike out, they all die.
Make the enemy attack. The one who carried out this strategy more surely was none other than Ars.
“Pre-prepare the entire army for departure. We will break through the enemy’s encirclement…”
Tetora gave the order with a dazed look on her face.
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