Ch.122122. Main Scenario – Slaves

In the truest sense, the term “encirclement and annihilation” meant exactly what it described: containing the targets and eliminating them completely without leaving a single survivor.

At first glance, it might seem like an extremely simple and effective tactic, but the reality was quite different.

Despite the intimidating impression the term conveyed, encirclement and annihilation was one of the most demanding tactics in terms of prerequisites.

To execute an encirclement, one first needed to completely surround the enemy, leaving no space for escape.

Encirclement was a tactic predicated on numerical superiority, designed to either force surrender or disintegrate enemy forces.

This meant securing overwhelmingly greater numbers than the opponent, while simultaneously avoiding detection for a successful encirclement and annihilation.

A contradiction emerged right there. When moving a force large enough to surround an enemy, unless the enemy forces were complete fools, they would post sentries, and the movement of such a large number of troops would be quickly detected.

Even if encirclement was achieved, problems remained. If the enemy managed to break through a weak point in the widely spread encirclement with a concentrated breakthrough, the operation would fail.

Even in modern warfare, there were instances where highly mobile tank units pierced through weak points to break encirclements.

The wider the encirclement, the more likely there would be relatively vulnerable sections, and if the commander executing the breakthrough was skilled, there was a real possibility of breaking through and escaping.

In other words, encirclement and annihilation carried significant risks, making it a tactic that shouldn’t be employed rashly unless multiple conditions were met.

Conversely, if the encirclement was broken, the widely dispersed forces could be defeated piecemeal due to the time it would take to regroup.

Nevertheless, the reason Gilbert and Seraphina were preparing for an encirclement and annihilation operation was simple: the battle would take place in an urban area, and they couldn’t afford to let even one of the targets escape.

Urban warfare restricted movement due to buildings serving as barricades, creating confined spaces.

This meant that if the escape routes were properly blocked, encirclement could be achieved even with fewer troops.

Moreover, in this world of magic and magical engineering, even a single individual could produce firepower equivalent to a modern tank.

Additionally, the existence of knights, whose individual combat capabilities far transcended normal human limits, meant that with proper use of geographical advantages, encirclement and annihilation wasn’t impossible.

Recruiting personnel from the Academy as a separate detachment was done to prepare reserves for unforeseen situations.

It was a precaution in case they couldn’t secure numerical superiority.

However, this approach wasn’t without flaws. Urban warfare inherently threatened the lives of civilians.

Without accurate intelligence on the enemy’s capabilities, if they were to launch a large-scale explosive attack, the damage to the Empire would be beyond description.

Nevertheless, Seraphina was determined to proceed with the operation despite the risks. Even though failure would place immense responsibility on her shoulders, her resolve remained unshaken.

This was partly because she trusted her subordinates, but also because she judged that allowing these parasites festering within the Empire’s dark corners to remain would be even more dangerous.

In fact, in Tactical Combat, leaving them alive had allowed them to grow beyond control and even participate in rebellions, so Seraphina’s choice wasn’t wrong.

Gilbert also understood this better than anyone, which was why he conceived this operation. Eliminating them before they grew stronger would benefit the main scenario going forward.

Gilbert organized his thoughts and rechecked the personnel he would select for the detachment.

The most important criterion in his selection was discretion.

If information leaked during the planning stage of the encirclement and annihilation, alerting the targets, there would be no second chance.

The moment they became certain the Empire was targeting them, they would retreat deeper into the shadows.

Therefore, Gilbert sought cadets who were both tight-lipped and skilled.

The first person he thought of was Brynhild. With no ties to the Empire and having earned the position of great warrior of the Sigurd clan at a young age, she lacked nothing in terms of ability.

Although he was concerned that she was a member of the Sigurd clan rather than an Imperial, wasting such a resource would be a significant loss.

Moreover, Brynhild was a straightforward person who always kept her word, making her trustworthy.

The next personnel he considered were naturally Angelina and Hans.

The two had been inseparable since enrolling at Demeia Academy and were both talented and reliable.

Angelina, in particular, had military insight surpassing Gilbert’s, giving him confidence that she could lead the detachment well even in his absence, which was why he planned to appoint her as his adjutant again.

Hans, driven by his determination to follow Gilbert, had also shown remarkable improvement recently, more than capable of pulling his weight, so both were included in the detachment.

The fourth person selected was Illen, a commoner from the North who had participated in the competition. He had faced Gilbert in the round of 32 and lost, given that his opponent was Gilbert.

After being deeply impressed by Gilbert during the competition, Illen immediately volunteered to serve under him, just like Hans.

This was a stroke of good fortune for Gilbert, who had been considering bringing this fellow “gukbap” comrade into his fold.

Additionally, people from the North generally valued loyalty and honor, making him ideal for this mission.

The fifth member was Lily, with whom relations had dramatically improved during the Sigurd clan invasion scenario.

She was considered the ultimate “gukbap” ally among the main companions in Tactical Combat.

In reality, her skills consistently placed her among the top ranks, which was why Gilbert decided to include her in the detachment.

Her family, the Nobilitas County, was a well-known Imperial faction house in the Empire, so there was no worry about information leaks.

Lily’s personal disposition was also not one of loose lips, making her a key figure for this operation.

After selecting these five members for the detachment, Gilbert pondered over the final member. His original plan was to have a total of seven members, including himself.

Having too many members in the detachment might attract unwanted attention, so he set the limit at seven. With that number, he could somehow justify it as a field study with Briana’s approval.

Gilbert wrote down the information of the detachment members and stared at the paper for a long time.

He was struggling with who to select as the final member. Apart from those already chosen, no one else met his standards.

Those who seemed unlikely to divulge secrets lacked skill, while those with exceptional abilities were too loose-lipped.

He considered finalizing with just six members, wondering if his standards were too high, but felt that seven would be necessary for an effective reserve force.

Gilbert stroked his chin and thought of two candidates who somewhat met his criteria.

Ian and Camilla.

Ian, the protagonist of Tactical Combat, had some character flaws but possessed Fresia, which gave him the potential to make significant contributions in this main scenario.

Although not quite up to Gilbert’s standards yet, with Fresia as the ultimate supporter, Ian could handle tasks better than anyone else.

After all, Fresia was an artificial intelligence designed to guide users, compensating for their shortcomings.

However, Gilbert wasn’t confident in his ability to control that chuunibyou fool. Even with Fresia’s guidance, she couldn’t completely override the will of her contractor.

If Ian were to act impulsively in such a situation, it could jeopardize the entire plan.

For Gilbert, who was responsible for them, this was too great a risk.

Gilbert marked “pending” next to Ian’s name and then considered the next candidate, Camilla.

Camilla, despite appearing immature due to her energetic and interest-driven nature, was actually very discreet.

Especially if she found keeping a secret more interesting, she wouldn’t reveal it even with a knife to her throat.

If told about this secret operation, she would certainly be intrigued and absolutely keep it confidential.

However, the problem with including Camilla was her skill level.

After the Sigurd clan invasion scenario, she had been training diligently for some reason, but due to her long period of idleness before that, her skills hadn’t improved enough yet.

Without some kind of awakening, her abilities were somewhat lacking for the detachment.

Gilbert also marked “pending” next to Camilla’s name.

Faced with these two difficult choices, Gilbert sighed.

They say that after long deliberation, one often makes a bad move.

Gilbert felt that further contemplation would be meaningless.

*Scribble scribble*

After rewriting the detachment roster in elegant handwriting and checking it several more times, Gilbert rolled it up and tucked it into his chest.

*Slide*

He quietly rose from his seat and headed toward Seraphina’s office.

With the detachment members all selected, all that remained was to obtain the princess’s permission.

“You’ve come, Gilbert.”

Seraphina greeted him with her back straight at the reception table, as if she had been waiting for him.

Gilbert paid his respects to her and handed over the paper from his chest.

“These are the individuals I’ve selected for the detachment. If Your Highness permits, I would like to proceed with this arrangement.”

“These names are familiar to me. Indeed, your eye for talent is similar to mine. I too have been interested in these cadets.”

Seraphina’s eyes sparkled.

With her fondness for talent, Seraphina was well aware of the brilliant potential possessed by the six cadets Gilbert had selected.

The individuals at the top of her recruitment list were identical to those Gilbert had chosen for the detachment.

“I’ve included personnel who I judged to be particularly discreet and skilled. I selected only cadets from the same year as mine, as I have fewer connections with other years and might arouse suspicion.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve made arrangements.”

Gilbert couldn’t shake the feeling that this was expected. He had wondered why she had entrusted the selection of the detachment entirely to him, but it seemed this clever princess had anticipated that he would target only first-year cadets.

Though somewhat intimidated by her perceptiveness, Gilbert didn’t show it.

“Then I will organize the detachment with these members.”

“Very well. But before that, I have one question.”

“For me, Your Highness?”

“Yes. Looking at this list, I can’t help but ask. I understand that you have a good eye for talent. And I know you don’t discriminate against commoners. That’s why I’m curious.”

Seraphina smiled gently at Gilbert, who was looking at her with an expressionless face, and asked:

“Why didn’t you include Ian in the detachment?”

Gilbert felt his throat tighten at the question.

He couldn’t bring himself to honestly say that he had excluded Ian because of his chuunibyou personality.