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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 150
The king of Balas who disappeared from the royal palace.
As a result, a crack appeared in Juras’ scenario.
The Crossing forces within Balas, quite flustered, were scrambling without direction.
It wasn’t someone else’s business, as I was also indirectly involved in the coup by withdrawing my troops.
Since there was a possibility of being attacked, I handed over the command of the remaining army to General Mainz Armstrong, and decided to return via Beckavia.
After sending the vassals back to Rainpol for a vacation, I headed to Karten, the area ruled by Juras, accompanied only by Anton and Olaf.
Juras seems to be busy, as he’s away from his post.
I was staying there, compiling the incoming intelligence.
‘Indeed, so that’s how it turned out.’
I had been consistently finding something strange about this incident.
Alvard, who took on the role of a breakwater to prevent the forces of Crossing and Calliper from reaching Balas. They suffered a major blow to their eastern territory by the armies of Crossing and Calliper.
Thanks to the siege fortresses built in advance, they were able to minimize the damage, but it was still severe.
The question is, what could Alvard gain in the Balas region after enduring such losses?
According to the plan, Cassius would probably inherit the throne of Balas and connect with Svenner & the West.
Alvard is not part of this plan. Because even from Svenner and the West’s perspective, Alvard is ultimately an obstacle.
They may have joined hands for now, but it’s not an official alliance.
‘Alvard must have known this.’
That’s why they also made moves under the surface.
Removing the king of Balas in advance, and involving Bülang under the surface.
“The involvement of Bülang… You say?”
Anton tilted his head. Well, Bülang was already involved after all. The existence of Prince Eldric.
“Then could it be that another force within Bülang intervened? Like the 1st Prince faction, or the 2nd Prince faction?”
“No, such noisy movements would certainly be caught by intelligence. Svenner or Crossing wouldn’t be unaware of that.”
“B-but if that’s the case, the Bülang force that joined hands with Alvard would be…”
“There’s only one. That’s right. It’s Prince Eldric.”
“…!?”
In other words, it’s like this.
Prince Eldric betrayed the West and joined hands with Alvard.
I don’t know the reason, but there must have been some trouble with the West.
I could guess the reason.
‘The civilian massacre that took place in Bülang last time. That’s where Prince Eldric had a change of heart!’
Moreover, seeing the civilian massacre that occurred in Balas this time, he must have made up his mind. That he couldn’t go along with the West.
So he turned his back on the West and Svenner and joined hands with Alvard.
“The situation has become quite tricky.”
Olaf swallows dry saliva as he speaks. “If it turns out like this, the king has fallen into the hands of the southern coup forces after all.”
“That’s right. The Alvard side will threaten the king to abdicate the throne. Or give Cassius authority equivalent to that.”
“From a formal perspective, the latter would be better. A sudden abdication would look suspicious.”
“…”
“Checkmate. This time, Alvard was one move ahead.”
I thought this incident was a confrontation between the West & Svenner and Crossing, but there was an unexpected player.
Alvard ends up swallowing Balas while taking advantage of the situation.
My prediction turned out to be exactly right.
Alvard, in connection with the coup forces, pushed up to the capital.
In the process, Cassius Lloyd came to the forefront. He claimed legitimacy, asserting himself as being of imperial blood.
At the same time, he presented himself as the king’s proxy who had been delegated full authority from the king of Balas.
Once this happened, the regular army of Balas couldn’t resist.
After all, with the king on the opposite side, resisting would make them traitors.
Thus, Cassius’s forces recaptured the capital occupied by Crossing and proceeded to execute a large number of nobles, including Marquis Federin who had staged the coup.
After the situation was settled, they entered into full-scale diplomatic warfare.
Svenner, who was suddenly backstabbed, angrily denounced Alvard, and Crossing also strongly criticized Bülang’s intervention as a violation of the treaty.
Other kingdoms also wanted a resolution to this incident.
In response, Cassius convened a continental conference to declare his position.
I decided to participate in the conference as a member of Calliper, not Crossing. After all, my official affiliation is with Calliper.
Having been delegated full diplomatic authority by King Gareth, I headed to Platon along with Duke Hellian.
On the way, Duke Hellian says, “The situation is turning out to be quite peculiar. If Balas becomes subordinate to Alvard… The political situation will shake once again.”
“I suppose so.”
Alvard is likely to realize the Central Alliance that has been a constant concern by joining hands with Europes and Tunkai. Although Bülang, which was the biggest threat to the Central Alliance, is left out, it’s still threatening.
“Kaien the Strategist… It must be his design.”
Kaien, the great general of Alvard. He has realized the tripartite division of the world by swallowing Balas.
Svenner & the West.
Europes & Tunkai & Alvard.
Crossing & Calliper & Beckavia.
Three forces divided into West, Central, and East. The idea is to determine the hegemony of the continent from this landscape.
‘Does this mean Juras’s bipartite division of the world comes to nothing?’
Well, there’s still room for conquest regarding Bülang.
If I start from the south and conquer Bülang, the balance of power would be disrupted, and ultimately, the big picture Juras drew could be realized.
However, it was clear that an obstacle to that plan had appeared.
For example, in a situation where I try to conquer Bülang, Alvard might secretly send support troops to Bülang. Such things could happen.
“It’s complicated. That’s why this diplomatic warfare is more important than anything else.”
It was as Duke Hellian said.
The key was the intentions of Europes and Tunkai. And Cassius’s true intentions.
‘Would Cassius turn his back on the West so easily?’
If so, it means Cassius was merely a subordinate of Prince Eldric all along. The relationship with the West was simply formed through Prince Eldric.
But is that really all there is to it? Was the protagonist simply a subordinate of Prince Eldric and had no significant relationship with the West?
I had a hunch.
That all the stories would be revealed in this diplomatic warfare.
* * *
Upon arriving in Platon, I briefly shared a meal with Sophia Veron, who was also preparing for the diplomatic warfare.
Since our opinions on the diplomatic warfare were similar, we quickly moved on to another topic.
It was about the academy.
“Whatever the outcome, the academy won’t be able to continue.”
Sophia made a bitter expression, as if she had grown somewhat attached to the academy.
As she said, given the situation, the Fensillon Academy can no longer be maintained. The students will probably return to their home kingdoms and continue their studies at their national high academies.
“It’s really a shame. I was just starting to enjoy teaching.”
“Well, you attended here as a student too, so you might feel more strongly about it.”
As for me, I hadn’t particularly grown attached to it.
If I had any regrets, it was that I hadn’t recruited as much talent as I had hoped.
Apart from Meissen, there were no confirmed recruits.
There weren’t many candidates either. Just Ash, Gunther, and Sophia.
I decided to make one more attempt to recruit Sophia.
“Hey, Professor Sophia.”
“You… I’ve been thinking about this, but that ‘professor’ title. You’re using it to tease me, aren’t you?”
“Oh? You just realized that?”
“Anyway. So, what were you going to say?”
“It’s nothing much. Just… I was wondering if you’d consider working under me.”
“That again…”
“It’s not a bad offer for you, is it? Even if you return to your home kingdom, you won’t be able to take on any suitable important roles due to the succession dispute. Until then, wouldn’t it be not so bad to work under me?”
“Elaine, think about my position a little too.”
“I did think about it, you know? I thought about it and judged that there would be benefits for you too, so I made the offer.”
Sophia was silent for a moment. She probably saw that there were benefits for her too.
But soon she shook her head.
“I’ll decline. Working with you would certainly be an attractive prospect, but… I have more important things to do.”
“Sigh, alright. I suppose there’s no use in pushing it any further.”
I decided to talk to her about it again after Beckavia’s downfall.
The kings did not attend this diplomatic warfare. Only the senior officials of each kingdom were sitting with stern faces.
As I entered the conference hall with Duke Hellian, I was met with meaningful gazes.
Some looked at me with admiration in their eyes, while others feared or were angry.
“Causing an epidemic through terrain manipulation… What an amazing strategy…”
“Mercenary Wade… His skills said to be on par with the Ten Heroes were no exaggeration.”
In fact, this operation would have been impossible to formulate without Dorofei, Meissen, and General Armstrong.
Dorofei, skilled in terrain and architecture, was a great help in constructing the earthen walls of the south and the stockades of the encirclement.
Meissen, proficient in pathology and public health, provided in-depth advice on the Marolin disease. General Armstrong also provided advice on the Marolin disease and maintained the morale of the soldiers during the construction work.
If even one of the three had been missing, this operation might have failed.
I felt uneasy because it seemed like I alone was taking credit for the current situation.
“Well then, since everyone seems to be seated, let’s officially start the conference.”
Diallu, the prime minister of Balas, began the conference with a gloomy expression. It’s no wonder, as he had been reduced to a puppet by the coup forces.
You could say he was in a state where he didn’t know when he might be eliminated.
Still, it seems he was chosen as the moderator of this conference due to his symbolic status.
As soon as the conference started, harsh words were exchanged towards each other as if they had been waiting for it.
Among them, Crossing was receiving both criticism and ridicule.
“Hmph, the Crossing rat dares to show his face.”
It was Gillias Melbourne, a general of Alvard. He openly mocked Juras.
“To think you were plotting such a dirty plan behind the scenes while pretending to help Balas. If you have any shame, give up your position as one of the Ten Heroes right now. The other Ten Heroes would be ashamed to have you among them.”
“You…! How dare you spout such nonsense…!”
Juras openly displayed his anger.
He must have been caught off guard quite a bit. He seemed to have lost his composure.
Seeing this, Prince Eldric looked as if a 10-year-old indigestion had been cured.
He, who was sitting at the Bülang side for now, also mocked Juras.
“Juras, you’ve always been like that. Saying that results are everything. Look. This is the result! You were nothing but a small-minded person in the end!”
“Kuk! Shut up! If you mock me any further, I won’t stay quiet!”
“Hahaha! Go ahead and try it if you can!”
An enraged Juras and a heartily laughing Prince Eldric.
Everyone in the conference hall was laughing at Juras. After all, he had failed. He had failed stupidly while doing small-minded things.
If results were everything, Juras deserved to be ridiculed.
“You bastards–! You’ll surely pay the price for insulting me! Remember that!”
As Juras growled, everyone laughed, asking if a dog was barking somewhere. This gaze of ridicule must be a first for Juras.
In fact, if we’re talking about objects of ridicule, I was included too.
After all, I had helped in that small-minded act by withdrawing my troops.
However, no one could mock me. Because there was an unbelievable achievement that overshadowed that.
Rather, there seemed to be a view that I, not Juras, was the true power holder in Crossing.
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Now what’s he planning