The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 98

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 98

The Three Great Generals. This word comes up again.

“The Three Great Generals Guderian Chester…?”

The information broker speaks fluently, as if the cost I paid was not for Master Illya but for information about The Three Great Generals.

“They are three great warriors selected by the leaders of the West for continental conquest, regardless of their affiliations.”

“If you say warriors, does that mean they lack ability as commanders?”

“Not necessarily. First, Lexit Elberd, who died at the hands of Strategist Wade in the last Chimera War, was tremendous in his martial prowess but lacked ability as a commander. His original affiliation was Irbana. It’s said that Irbana was greatly angered by his death.”

I was curious about Irbana, but I didn’t ask, thinking he might demand money for it.

“Second is Guderian Chester. He is the founder of the Chester-style spear-sword technique and a master of martial arts, also said to be tremendous in his martial prowess. Moreover, he has some ability as a commander, so he can lead troops and engage in battle. It seems he lacks the ability to design operations, though.”

“So he has the ability to execute?”

“Yes.”

“Was he originally from the West?”

“It’s not certain, but given that he’s from Diellum, a beastkin village, it’s likely.”

“Diellum, a beastkin village?”

“It’s a large village in the West. It’s where beastkin driven out by the Fensillon Empire settled.”

“Wait, does that mean Guderian Chester is a beastkin?”

“Not much is known as he usually covers his face and body, but he is a pure-blooded beastkin. That’s why he maintains his skills even at his advanced age.”

Come to think of it, Master had mentioned earlier when discussing the treatment of Gaspar.

She said Guderian was a close friend.

‘Now it makes sense.’

Gaspar is a pure-blooded beastkin. And quite old at that.

It’s not strange for him to be acquainted with Guderian, another pure-blooded beastkin of similar age.

‘Wait, if Guderian Chester is part of the Three Great Generals, could it be…’

I naturally recalled those words.

— Don’t worry. I’ve called for reinforcements. The Three Great Generals will come to help us. If they assist our army, we can defeat the evil ones of Crossing.

Those words someone had said to the protagonist in the game.

Based on the information gathered so far, the possibility of it being Master Ilya has greatly increased. After all, she had direct contact with the Three Great Generals. Moreover, the speech pattern is similar.

‘Could Master really have been a Western spy…?’

With my mind in turmoil, I asked the information broker for other information to clear my head.

“The first is Lexit Elberd, the second is Guderian Chester. Who’s the third and last one?”

“I’m sorry, but that information is top secret…”

“Stop unnecessarily withholding and just tell me how much it costs.”

“Hehehe, please give me 2 million sillan.”

I should claim this cost from Juras later as an information expense.

The merchant laughs cowardly, saying he’s glad he came to Arandal, and speaks in a low voice. “The third of the Three Great Generals. Other than his nickname Gupung (Seeking Wind), nothing specific is known about his identity.”

“Are you joking?”

“No, this is the real information. The person is said to have advanced to the continent several years before the Three Great Generals was formed and infiltrated the Bülang Alliance.”

“Became a spy for Bülang?”

“That’s right.”

“Nothing else is known about him. Neither their affiliation nor the extent of their abilities. Even the infiltration of Bülang might just be a rumor.”

“Do you think they were involved in the recent assassination of the Bülang king?”

“I don’t think so. Because of that king’s assassination, the positions of Svenner and the West within Bülang have been reduced.”

“Hmm.”

It seemed like sparse information for costing 2 million sillan.

I already knew there was a Western spy within Bülang. It was the first time I learned they were one of the Three Great Generals, though.

Perhaps reading my expression, the information broker continues. “This is a small service, but someone has recently ascended to the Three Great Generals, replacing the deceased Lexit. A warrior belonging to Tetora, whose name is unknown, but is called this by others: Man-eating Demon. If you ever meet him, be careful.”[1]

Man-eating Demon. Sounds brutal.

“Thanks. That’s all the information I want to buy.”

“Hehehe, I hope it was a worthwhile transaction.”

There are a few things I learned from this transaction.

It’s certain that there was a Western spy close to the protagonist, and they were quite deeply involved.

The possibility that Master is connected to the West.

Looking at the information alone, there was a sufficient possibility that Master was a person dispatched by the West to grasp the situation on the continent.

“Phew…!”

Having to suspect Master. My head became complicated.

At that moment, Eo carefully says. “Ars. If you’re suspecting Ilya, you should just ask her directly.”

“What?”

“Ilya isn’t someone who would harm you or hide anything. If you ask, she’ll answer truthfully about anything. Please trust her.”

That’s certainly right. Rather than thinking seriously by myself, it would be faster to ask directly.

“I’ll do that. Thanks.”

“You’ve thought well.”

“But I’m surprised you’re giving me direct advice? It’s hard to think of you as that sly Eonia.”

“Sly!?”

“Didn’t you know? Everyone calls you that behind your back.”

“I’m not sly! Who on earth called me that!”

“Haha, it’s a joke. More importantly, shall we have dinner before going back?”

“Huh? But Yumir said she’d prepare the meal…”

“I just want us all to sit down and eat together once in a while. Let’s call Yumir too. It might be difficult to persuade her though.”

“Then I’ll persuade her.”

“You might get scolded again. I’ll do the persuading.”

This short vacation is over.

I decided to wear the Wade Helmet again to finish the war.

***

I resumed my activities, donning the helmet that Olaf had brought, and headed towards Arandal’s palace with Eonia in tow.

As Arandal was the capital of Beckavia, it had a large palace inside.

There, Sophia Veron was holding a military council meeting.

The guard at the gate raised his vigilance upon seeing me, but as I had already arranged something through the Crossing military, he let me pass with a solemn expression when I showed him the mark.

“Everyone’s working hard.”

At my words, the military council chamber fell into silence.

A swirling hostility. I lightly sneered at them and headed for the seat of honor.

“As I informed you earlier, I will be commanding the 10,000-strong unit from Crossing that has come to support. The military told me to coordinate with your Beckavia forces.”

“Tch!”

I heard someone clicking their tongue openly. From the Beckavia military’s perspective, I was nothing short of a mortal enemy. Although they seemed to understand given the situation, they couldn’t possibly be happy about it.

But I wasn’t in a good mood either.

“As you must have heard from the Calliper forces. I hate working with incompetent fools like you as much as you do. So I’ll take overall command. You just need to follow my orders.”

“What!”

“Don’t spout nonsense!”

“This bastard has no filter!”

The Beckavia officers reacted vehemently. 

I spoke to Sophia. “Hey, incompetent princess. If you have any shame, you should quietly make them obey.”

“…”

Sophia clenched her fist tightly. “…We’ll do as he says.”

“Princess! What are you…”

“It’s better to unify the command structure, even for future considerations.”

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we take overall command!”

“When news spreads that Wade has appeared, the enemy’s reaction will change too. It has strategic significance.”

“But…!”

“I’m sorry, Austin. Please go along with my stubbornness this time.” 

Sophia was suffering from guilt.

Although she had secured the safety of Arandal’s residents, she had effectively killed numerous Beckavia and Calliper soldiers, and even Commander-in-Chief Delbadova.

After completely taking the seat of honor, I spoke to them.

“It seems we’ve settled this. Begin your report.”

They were trembling with clenched fists. Vali Austin painfully opened his mouth. “The enemy forces that were in the Coquin mountain have retreated further back and set up in the Quentin plains. It seems they intend to align with the front lines where the West and Crossing are facing off.”

“So they plan to strike the side of other fronts after regrouping.”

“That’s what we think. So we should also advance and face off against them in parallel.”

“There’s no need for a meeting over such a simple matter, so you must have been discussing something else. Tell me about that.”

To this, Sophia responded instead. “The Quentin plains where they’ve set up become soft during the rainy season. There are even points where swamps form. And now is, needless to say, the rainy season. The ground is in an irregular state due to the rain that fell a few days ago.”

“It’s become difficult for cavalry to maneuver?”

Currently, the Tunkai army had a relatively high proportion of cavalry in their units due to the ambush forces they had used.

“That’s right. So the enemies are also likely to avoid battle in the Quentin plains as much as possible. Therefore, we don’t necessarily need to face off in the Quentin plains either. So where is the optimal location? It’s right here.”

“The Calec mountain?”

“That’s right. It’s the mountain range located southwest of where Crossing’s 30,000-strong force is stationed. If the Tunkai army tries to strike Crossing’s flank, we can come down from the mountain and conversely strike their flank for a tactical advantage.”

It wasn’t a bad tactical insight.

If we set up camp in the mountain, the Tunkai army with its high proportion of cavalry would be reluctant to attack, making defense easier. If the Tunkai army moves to a distant location, we can simply join with the Crossing forces in front of us and attack the Western army, so Tunkai would have no choice but to follow our army’s movements.

“Hahah.” I couldn’t help but sneer. “Is this one okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if the Tunkai army doesn’t follow our movements and moves elsewhere to plunder defenseless territories?”

“What are you saying? The possibility of that is… Sli…”

“Why, is it fine this time because it’s not Arandal that’s in danger?”

“Kuk…!”

“What a hypocrite. At least show some consistency, incompetent princess. Or is this showing consistency in its own way? Right, I suppose it doesn’t matter if other territories and civilian homes that aren’t major cities fall. Hmm, I understand now.”

I continued to berate her for quite some time after that.

This isn’t usually my style, but perhaps because I had just experienced a truly life-threatening crisis, I couldn’t shake off the uncomfortable feeling no matter how much I criticized her.

Eventually…

“Hic, sob…!” Sophia burst into tears.

‘No, if she cries right away like this…’

I was left with nothing more to say.

‘Was I a bit too harsh?’

Well, if I put myself in Sophia’s shoes, her position wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. And there’s no point in dwelling on what’s already happened.

“I’m sorry. I seem to have gotten carried away.”

However, Sophia shook her head. “No, please continue.”

“…What?”

“Please, I beg you, continue to berate me. It feels like that’s the only way I can hold myself together.”

“That’s a bit…”

Sophia was pleading, almost clinging to me, asking me to keep berating her.

Seeing her like this, I no longer felt like criticizing her further.

“Please. It has to be you who does it.”

“No, I won’t do it anymore.”

“Where did your earlier spitefulness go? Come on, condemn me!”

“I don’t want to.”

“Do it!”

“I said no!”

Sophia demanding to be berated and me refusing.

The other officers were watching us in bewilderment.

Footnotes:

1] Her gender is most likely not known by the agent or could be someone else.

TL NOTE:

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