The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 40
It was dawn on the day of the deal with Marquis Reinhardt.
Bisketa, who had been summoned to Rainpol, expressed reluctance at my proposal.
“It would certainly be a great help, but…”
She seemed to resist the idea of sending people who trusted and followed her to the battlefield.
“Well, that’s fine then. There are plenty of others who want to do it besides you.”
This was a big opportunity for people of slave status.
The condition was that if they participated in this war, they would be freed from slave status.
Juras had to bear 800 million sillan for this.
It took 800 million sillan to free all 20,000 slaves and fill the labor gap caused by their absence.
Even though Juras would have to take full responsibility if he couldn’t get the amount from Calliper, he handled the matter nonchalantly, saying, ‘It’s enough if you bring back interesting news from the battlefield’.
“Lord Wade. Don’t do that. How about we talk a little more?”
Eo restrained me as I was about to leave without hesitation.
Then she whispered to Bisketa. “Growth…! This is an opportunity we can’t miss! Our lord cares for me more than anyone, that’s why he told me about this first!”
“I know, but…”
“If I ask our lord, I’m sure I can command the army. So please leave it to me.”
“That’s what worries me the most. Eo, you’re inexperienced in commanding an army.”
“What!?”
After pondering, Bisketa soon nodded. “Let’s at least survey to see if there are any volunteers.”
20,000 volunteers came forward quickly.
From the start, many of the slaves from Kuravel were soldiers who had become prisoners of war, so there were many who hoped to go to the battlefield.
They seemed to resist the idea of going to war under Crossing’s banner, but the purpose itself was the defense of the Calliper Kingdom, and since Eonia would be in command of the army, they accepted even that.
‘With this, the organization of the army is complete.’
The afternoon of the day after the deal with Marquis Reinhardt. A total of 20,000 regular troops arrived at Rainpol.
“Then we’ll depart!”
Under Eo’s command, we headed towards the western region of Calliper where the war would take place.
These movements of Calliper and Crossing were being fully caught by the intelligence network of the Alvard & Madon allied forces.
The 2,000-strong army led by Ars was detected as the unit was passing through the capital, Alpensard.
“Report! A 20,000-strong army from Crossing direction has begun marching! The final destination seems to be the western battlefield!”
“From Crossing, you say.”
Grand General Kaien narrowed his eyes, finding it unexpected.
The allied forces were just having a military meeting before their final march.
Originally, they had planned to devour Saleon faction’s army and then immediately cross into Calliper’s territory to establish supply routes.
But a small problem had arisen.
The Hellian faction’s army put up a desperate resistance in the north, causing delays, and there was friction over the distribution of prisoners in the south where they had devoured Saleon faction’s army.
“Damn it, isn’t this because you got greedy unnecessarily!” Gillias expressed his dissatisfaction towards Madon’s Grand General Julian Craig.
The night raid operation that perfectly devoured Saleon’s 30,000-strong army.
The number of prisoners captured in that operation alone reached 14,000.
Madon wanted to manage most of these prisoners themselves.
They claimed they had the right to take the prisoners since they had deployed far more troops, 23,000, for the operation.
However, the battle took place clearly within Alvard’s territory.
So Madon didn’t have a place to accommodate the prisoners right away, but Julian Craig took the time to transfer all the prisoners to Madon’s territory. He judged that if he left the prisoners in Alvard territory as is, they might not be able to retrieve them later.
As a result, the allied forces’ advance was delayed by about 3 days from the schedule.
“It’s fine, isn’t it? Why are you getting so worked up, Gillias.” Craig slightly mocked Gillias and said to Kaien.
“Master. The war situation hasn’t changed much anyway. It’s rather a better situation, isn’t it?”
“Hmm, why do you think so?”
“Look at where the enemies have set up their base. Didn’t they commit unnecessary acts thinking they had gained some time?”
It referred to the Calliper army deploying troops to the front.
“Their best choice would have been to hold out in their main fortresses, waiting for troop recruitment and support from Crossing, rather than advancing to defend and block supply routes. But they arrogantly came out to fight, stubbornly refusing to give up even an inch.”
To this, Ushis, the 4th general and a close aide of Kaien, expressed agreement. “Julian is right. It’s hard to believe they have the capacity to succeed in such an aggressive operation against our army. Moreover, isn’t the Madon army also coming up from the south?”
An additional force of 40,000 troops organized from Madon’s mainland was advancing northward towards southern Calliper. The southern and southeastern fronts of Calliper, which had entered emergency conscription to block this, could be considered paralyzed.
Gilias shook his head and shouted, “But Crossing has dispatched 20,000 troops as reinforcements. This clearly happened because we gave them time!”
“No,” Kaien shook his head. “Even so, it’s too fast. It might be possible if it were Juras, but he’s not very interested in saving Calliper in the first place.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He would rather see Calliper fall.”
“An ally wanting its ally to perish?”
“If we destroy Calliper and occupy its territory, there will inevitably be chaos. He plans to use that opportunity to come down and snatch the Calliper territory we’ve occupied.”
“Such a crazy idea…!”
“He’s capable of such a thing. Even I can’t read his mind at all.”
Silence fell over the military council chamber.
Thud! Kaien tapped his cane on the floor and continued speaking.
“There must be something else related to those 20,000 reinforcements. First, find out who the general commanding the army is.”
However, no sooner had he said this that a spy entered the tent and kneels.
“Urgent report! The identity of the commanding officer of Crossing’s reinforcements has been confirmed! A man wearing gray armor was spotted in the enemy camp!”
At this, Gillias stood up abruptly. “Wade…! He’s finally shown up!”
He burned with fighting spirit.
“Master! Let me face him! I’ll definitely bring you his head!”
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down, Gillias.” It was Julian Craig. He spoke as if he had been waiting for this moment. “Judging by the size of the army and their march route, their base must be at the Setes intersection in the southwest. Wasn’t that where our Madon army was supposed to attack?”
“Then hand over the command to me, Julian!”
“…That’s enough nonsense, kid.”
“…”
Sparks flew between their glaring eyes.
Julian glared at Gillias for a moment, then sneered. “Since it’s come to this, please leave Wade to me. I’ll take care of him nicely. Well then, I’ll be going now. I wish you good luck, Sir.”
As Julian left, Gillias expressed his frustration. “Master! That guy’s aim is to capture Wade as a prisoner and bring him to their side! Ushis! Say something too!”
“It’s obvious. It’s common knowledge that Madon is desperate to recruit talent. That’s similar to why Julian himself turned his back on Alvard and committed to Madon in the first place.”
“That traitor. Getting all high and mighty just because he became a general…”
Kaien lightly dismissed their complaints.
“Even if that’s the case, this is the ideal personnel decision.”
“What!?”
“Julian’s skills are superior to both of you. It’s appropriate for him to take charge of the main force in the south.”
“Then, Master, why don’t you take command of the southern army!”
“No, I need to be in the north. There’s a slight chance that Juras might launch a surprise attack from the north.”
“But you said Juras wants Calliper to fall…”
“Didn’t I tell you? He’s a man whose mind I can’t read at all. It’s hard to predict what whims he might have.”
The one Kaien was truly wary of was not Dunan Grimwood, the grand general of Calliper, but Juras. That’s why he was personally leading the northern army.
“I doubt whether Julian can handle this well. He’s excessively rash.”
“If he can’t handle Wade, it means you two couldn’t either. Tsk, tsk, if only Rutger were here at a time like this…” Kaien was looking into the distance, muttering bitterly.
***
Pollack, one of the major cities in the West.
It was a territory ruled by Marquis Geglish, one of the leaders of the Saleon faction.
Here, I was able to meet the army of 20,000 prepared by Calliper.
The soldiers’ expressions were visibly tense. There were also some who were too young or old to be soldiers. This meant the troops were hastily gathered.
‘I knew it, but I didn’t expect the army to be this untrained.’
The level of 15,000 conscripts was below expectations.
“We’ll need some kind of countermeasure.’
I first gave rest to the tired army of Crossing, then immediately convened a military council meeting.
My master and Rutger, who had arrived early to gather information, also participated in this meeting.
My master began the briefing by spreading out a map of the battle situation.
“The enemy is advancing, dividing their army into four.”
Then master pointed out key locations in the north and west.
“Godin Valley in the north. Below that, the Moro Mountains. The Foldick Mountains in the west. And here, the Setes intersection in the southwest.”
“What about the number of troops?”
“The estimated numbers are 30,000, 10,000, 20,000, and 30,000 respectively.”
“I see…”
The areas we needed to defend were the Setes intersection and the Foldick Mountains. Originally, it would have been enough to block just the Setes intersection, but since they brought 20,000 support troops, we were requested to block up to the Foldick Mountains. In exchange, they said they would reinforce forces towards the north.
It felt like we were being left holding the bag, but strategically, it was a decent formation.
‘The Alvard army in the north will be wary of Juras coming down for a surprise attack.’
The addition of forces to the north was like adding fuel to that concern. Alvard would fight with a non-existent Juras.
In reality, Juras might actually come down to attack. He was an unpredictable fellow after all.
“The total number of enemies we have to face is 50,000…”
On the other hand, our forces totaled 40,000. We were in a situation with 10,000 fewer than the enemy.
“Rutger. Have you gathered information about the Alvard camp?”
“There’s no need to say much about Alvard. Kaien and his close associates, Ushis and Gillias, would have set out anyway. The part we should focus on is not them, but Madon’s grand general Julian Craig, whom we will be facing.”
“Do you know anything about him?”
“Of course. I’ve even taught him personally.”
“You?”
“To be precise, he’s a disciple of Kaien. However, unlike Gillias and Ushis who went under Kaien, he devoted himself to Madon for his own ambition. He thought he couldn’t rise high in Alvard because Kaien was holding his ground there.”
“If he became a grand general, it seems to have worked out well in the end. How skilled is he?”
“He had the best qualities among the three. He might not match up to the Ten Heroes, but he should have skills comparable to the ‘Twenty Heroes’.”
“He’s quite formidable. What are his main tactics? What’s his disposition like?”
After gathering information about the opponent from Rutger, I simulated the path to checkmate in my mind.
It was nothing more than a rough sketch, but for now, that was enough.
“Alright. Now I’ll distribute the personnel. First, Rutger. You lead 15,000 troops to the Foldick Mountains. Guard that place thoroughly. Anton, you assist Rutger as his deputy.”
“Will do. Yes, sir!”
“And to master, I’ll give you 1,000 soldiers from mercenary backgrounds. As a multipurpose unit, please follow my commands swiftly. First, head to the surrounding territories and requisition war horses and bows. Tell them the amount will be paid later by the Calliper military department, and bring as much as you can.”
“Understood.”
“And Eo. Select skilled archers from among the soldiers from Kuravel.”
“Yes, sir!”
With the personnel decided.
I gave one more instruction before they dispersed.
“This could be the key to this operation, so carry it out naturally so that the enemy doesn’t find it strange. Before everyone heads to their respective posts…”
My vassals focused their attention on me, holding their breath.
“Gather all the soldiers’ uniforms in one place, mix them all up, and then distribute them randomly.”
At this instruction, everyone was confused, tilting their heads without understanding the reason.
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