The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 52
It felt like I had been hit with a revelation.
‘So that’s what it was!’
This is what Juras had been aiming for from the beginning.
He had foreseen from the start that Alvard would join hands with Madon to attack Calliper, and that Calliper would block it and win the war.
‘He used me as insurance for that.’
When I asked to recruit soldiers from Kuravel, Juras willingly paid 800 million sillan. This was despite the situation where he would have to take the blame if he couldn’t recover it from Calliper.
There was a reason for that too. It was because I had to fight on Calliper’s side for his grand plan to have insurance.
So, after I led Calliper’s army to victory, and at the point when Alvard signed a one-year non-aggression treaty with Calliper, Madon became defenseless.
“I heard there are 300 ships prepared in the port city of Goth in Crossing. They will make a surprise southward attack and stab Madon in the back. If we push down in sync with this, Madon will be attacked from both above and below.”
If that happens, Madon won’t be able to respond at all. They can’t block this attack in an already chaotic situation.
“Then the war will be a short-term battle, won’t it?”
“Yes, food consumption will be minimized too. Or we might even become more abundant by seizing the food Madon has stockpiled.”
I glanced at Anton.
“Anton. Did you know about this too?”
“I didn’t know. I knew that the construction of transport ships in each port city had increased since last year, but I thought it was for maritime trade. I didn’t know it was to carry soldiers to attack Madon from behind.”
“Since last year… That Juras…”
Just how far ahead is that guy looking?
I couldn’t fathom his thoughts at all. It was to the point of feeling fear.
“If this happens, Madon will most likely be destroyed. But how do you plan to divide the territory? If it’s a joint operation, you’ll have to divide the territory with Crossing, right?”
“We’ll take over Madon’s northern territory, and Crossing will take the southern territory. Crossing has always wanted the granary region.”
“But in that case, Crossing’s territory will be divided into upper and lower parts. It might be fine now, but it could become troublesome if the alliance with Calliper breaks.”
“I thought so too. That’s why I thought you were involved in this matter.”
“Me?”
“I thought Crossing would take our northern territory on the condition that they give us all of Madon’s territory.”
“Ah.”
“Yes. In that case, Rainpol would have been completely incorporated into Crossing. But that Pamilion guy persistently wanted Madon’s southern territory. He said that even if the land route is blocked when our alliance is broken, they can just pioneer sea routes.”
“That’s not as easy as it sounds. The sea route will also be quickly cut off because Calliper’s territorial waters are in between.”
“I thought so too, but it seems they have some idea.”
“…”
Whatever Juras was planning through Madon’s southern territory, I had a feeling it was nothing ordinary.
“The reason I came to see you today was partly to ask about the success of this matter, and partly to apologize.”
“You mean about the fake Wade taking the forefront?”
“Yes. Even if he’s fake, if someone claiming to be Wade marches from our military, it can instill a great sense of crisis in the enemy. It has strategic value.”
“If that’s the case, you don’t need to apologize. It was Saleon’s side that put forward the fake.”
“Even so. I hope you don’t harbor any other ill feelings.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Rather… If things turn out like this, the situation will become quite interesting when combined with the circumstances in the west.”
“You mean the alliance between Europe and Tunkai? I was concerned about that too. Surely… The continental situation will be greatly shaken in the coming spring.”
This destruction of Madon will also affect the upcoming Chimera War.
This meant that cracks were starting to form in the story I knew.
***
As I finished my tumultuous 16th year in the winter,
Having confirmed my admission to the High Academy, I spent time training martial arts with Master Ilya.
I also steadily prepared for writing erotic novels by learning writing from Estelle in my spare time.
Meanwhile, the joint operation between Crossing and Calliper began.
Crossing made a surprise southward move with 300 warships, launching a sudden attack on southern Madon with 20,000 troops. The very next day, as if they had been waiting, Calliper pushed down with an army of 60,000.
Struck simultaneously from above and below, Madon fell into chaos, and seizing this opportunity, Crossing’s Second General Creeper Nolak launched a surprise attack on the capital and captured it.
In a situation where the king and royal family were captured, local nobles should have joined forces to recapture the capital, but Madon’s foundations were not solid.
Many of the influential nobles were recruits from other kingdoms, so their loyalty to the nation was not strong.
Julian Craig, who was a representative figure, broke his house arrest and immediately started a rebellion, taking his soldiers and setting up camp in the west. Other influential nobles also fled to the west with their soldiers and territory people.
If those who fled to the west had joined forces, it might have been a different story, but they split into five factions and caused internal strife, fighting among themselves to become king.
In response to this, Crossing and Calliper aimed for quick annihilation, but the five factions causing trouble in the west were larger than expected.
Most of Madon’s military power and more than 60% of its citizens were absorbed into this western region, so in case of emergency, it was possible to mobilize up to 100,000 troops.
Having missed the opportunity for annihilation, the Bulang Alliance extended its reach.
They quickly incorporated puppet forces into their alliance, swallowing up their power.
Once they entered Bulang, there was nothing more that could be done.
Thus, Calliper took the northern territory of Madon, Crossing took the south, and the Bulang Alliance took the west, leading to the fall of the Madon Kingdom.
Although it wasn’t a complete success, by occupying more than 60% of Madon’s territory, Crossing and Calliper managed to occupy all of the far eastern territory of the continent.
Not wanting to stand by and watch this, the Alvard Kingdom brought in Beckavia to invade Crossing, but Juras entered the defense with 100,000 troops.
Unlike the southern Madon, the northern Crossing had a harsh winter, so when Alvard & Beckavia alliance saw signs of a prolonged war, they had no choice but to retreat without much gain.
* * *
The spring of my 17th year had arrived before I knew it.
I began preparing to head to the High Academy, sensing that this year would be far more eventful than the last.
Although the capital Alpensard, where the academy was located, wasn’t far and I had planned to commute by carriage, I had to pack my belongings as cadets and were required to stay in the dormitory for the first month or so.
Usually, Yumir and Eo would take care of such things, so I had only planned to go with just myself. However, the luggage they had prepared for me was piled so high I had to look up at it.
“What is this? There’s too much luggage.”
The prepared luggage was almost too much to fit in a single carriage.
Eo tilted her head, wondering what the problem was.
“But aren’t you staying for a month?”
“That doesn’t mean you need to prepare a month’s worth of clothes. Three sets of clothes are enough. I’ll be given a uniform too, and if necessary, I can wash them myself.”
“What? You’re going to do your own laundry, Lord Ars?”
“Well, usually I leave everything to you or Yumir, but I can at least do laundry, you know?”
Eo smiled warmly, as if looking at a child boasting about becoming president when they grow up.
“Lord Ars, laundry isn’t just about soaking clothes in water.”
“You think I don’t know that!?”
They’re treating me more and more like a child. Well, I suppose I’m partly to blame for leaving everything to them because it’s convenient.
So, I packed only one bag’s worth of luggage and headed to the meeting place for Rainpol cadets, where I was seen off by acquaintances.
“Lord Ars…! Please accept this.”
“Thank you, Cassie.”
“Do your best!”
A 10-year-old girl with blushing cheeks handed me a bouquet.
She was the daughter of a flower shop owner, a child I had become acquainted with while living in Rainpol.
“Lord Ars! Please accept mine too!”
“And mine!”
Besides Cassie, about five other girls brought bouquets, so I had to board the carriage with my arms full of flowers.
Seeing this, my classmate Bannings sighed, unable to bear it.
“You’re really something, Ars. Well, I guess I can understand… Can you give me just one of those flowers? You have Estelle anyway.”
“It’s the thought that counts. Would you give it away if you were me?”
“I guess you’re right.”
Thanks to reducing my luggage, I was able to neatly arrange the bouquets inside the carriage.
After several hours, the carriage that had set off like that arrived at an intermediate stopover.
All the students gathered in one place, as if for some kind of departure ceremony.
During this process, an uncomfortable journey with students from other academies began.
“Tch! To think we have to go with Julia’s leftovers. How disgusting.”
It was the Grancel Academy students who expressed such discomfort.
“Leftovers? Watch your mouth, you Grancel hicks.”
The Saleon faction and the Hellian faction growled at each other. However, the upper hand was clearly with the Saleon side.
It was because of the fake Wade, Casper Millias.
Casper stood there with a frown. As he was originally from Julia Academy, the Julia students looked at him with complex expressions.
“It’s Wade. Wade is here.”
“That traitor. I heard he achieved military exploits in the recent Madon war too?”
“He’s certainly impressive. I wonder why Duke Hellian didn’t capture Marquis Millias. Even though Wade is there…”
Perhaps because they’re just kids, they sincerely believed in the shoddy impersonation. While the Wade Baeolaf theory was mainstream abroad, within Caliper, it was Casper who was getting attention.
It wasn’t just the kids; even some nobles and soldiers who weren’t well-informed about the situation thought Casper was Wade.
‘I’m not sure if I should say he’s lucky or unlucky.’
Originally, Casper was in no position to impersonate Wade. It was because he had been captured as a prisoner in the war with Alvard.
However, a problem arose when he was captured.
‘I heard that Madon and Alvard had friction over the distribution of prisoners, didn’t they?’
At that time, Alvard captured the key figures Marquis Millias and Gilbert Saleon, while Madon took the rest as prisoners. However, Madon failed to properly identify Casper’s status.
This was partly due to the confusion caused by the mind games with Alvard, and also because there were too many prisoners to check individually.
Meanwhile, as Madon’s army suffered a major defeat by me, there was some laxity in prisoner management, and hundreds escaped.
Judging by the fact that Casper wasn’t present during the prisoner exchange, it seems he was one of those escapees.
With this alibi, Gilbert Saleon deemed him suitable to be used as a disposable pawn and ruthlessly made him impersonate Wade.
‘I wonder if he knows he’s become a disposable pawn.’
If he didn’t know, it was simply pitiful.
Besides Casper, all the key figures of his age were on Saleon’s side.
Ruan Chase was like that, and so was Erina. On the other hand, Julian Academy only had Kate, who had previously applied to be my partner.
Bannings poked my side and whispered.
“To think Kate MacMillan is the leader of her peers. Our faction isn’t without talent either.”
“I can’t deny that.”
“Ars, shouldn’t you step up? In terms of grades, you’re probably the best in the Hellian faction, right? No, you might even be in the top three overall.”
“Grades aren’t what’s important here.”
“True, the power of the family is more important.”
Our Rainpol Academy was in a position to watch the fire without belonging to any faction.
Amidst this tension between the students, a man who appeared to be the guide shouted.
“Get into your carriages! Try to load your luggage onto the baggage carts!”
It seems they’re trying to consolidate and load efficiently, given the widely varying amounts of luggage each person has.
“Oh dear.”
It was obvious that if I loaded the flowers onto that baggage cart, they would all be crushed or disappear.
“I can’t throw these away… I’ll have to find a separate carriage.”
“Hey, let’s go together. I’ll chip in for the money too.”
Bannings followed me, worried about getting caught up in the power struggle between the two factions.
“If that’s the case, can I join you too?”
Another male cadet tried to follow us.
He was a boy with striking freckles.
His skin was extremely pale, making the freckles stand out even more, and that white skin gave off a sense of frailty.
“You are…?”
“Dorofei Grimwood. I’m from Nardan Academy. Nice to meet you.”
“Um… I’m Ars Elaine. From Rainpol Academy.”
“Rainpol? Isn’t that the place that operates the academy integrated with Crossing?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow. You guys really come from an unusual place.”
Bannings beside me started to get excited.
“W-wait. If you’re Grimwood, aren’t you from Grand General Dunan’s family? Don’t tell me…”
“Haha, you figured it out? He’s my father.”
“Gasp!”
The son of the Grand General. Dorofei was sufficient to be a key figure among his peers.
“Ah, don’t be wary because of that. I want to get along well with the Grancel students too.”
“That’s fine then. Elaine and I belong to the Hellian faction.”
“I said not to worry about that stuff. More importantly, weren’t you looking for a carriage? There’s some space in that baggage cart over there. If we ride along there, we won’t have to pay extra.”
As we were following Dorofei, accepting his suggestion.
We happened to run into Erina, who was about to board the VIP carriage.
“Oh my, oh my.”
Erina was treated almost like a goddess among her peers.
Bannings was ecstatic just to encounter her.
For me, it was awkward due to issues related to Wade and the gazes of others around us.
That’s why I had sent a letter in advance asking her not to acknowledge me in situations where others were watching.
“It’s nice to see you all.” Swoosh! Erina greeted us while opening her fan. Her presence drew the attention of others.
After exchanging brief greetings with the other two, she immediately turned her gaze to me, holding the bouquet of flowers.
“Mr. Elaine, you seem to be in quite a flamboyant state?”
“Yes, the flower petals keep scattering, and it’s quite a handful to keep holding them. So, may I go ahead, Miss Leona?”
“Leona…? You’ve only got two letters right, as usual.”
To this, Bannings chided me, saying ‘You don’t even know her name!’, but she knows I did it on purpose.
“I’m sorry. I must have mistaken you for someone else.”
“Oh my. Are you being mischievous again? And if it’s hard for you to hold the flowers, I can help carry them.”
“Is there any need for you to go to such trouble? I can just go my own way.”
If I go around with Erina here, troublesome things will happen.
Various gazes were already fixed on us from around. The Saleon faction kids were glaring as if they might pounce at any moment, and the Hellian faction kids were also watching us meaningfully.
It seems okay only because Dorofei, who has more influence than me, is with us.
“So, may I take my leave now?”
“…”
Swoosh, tap! Swoosh, tap!
Erina expressed her displeasure by repeatedly opening and closing her fan.
“Where is your carriage, everyone?”
The problem was that Bannings spilled everything, even things that didn’t exist.
Erina suggested with a bright smile.
“In that case, why don’t you come along in my carriage?”
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