Ch.327327. A Single Victory (2)

# BOOM!

With the sudden loud noise echoing repeatedly, Renias had no choice but to wake up from her deep sleep.

“Uh, huh?”

“…Huh?”

“I just heard a loud noise! Did monsters appear?!”

Having just woken up, she was disoriented. In that state, Renias looked around and quickly got up from her spot, her face still half-asleep, wondering if monsters had appeared.

“No… um… sorry, Renias.”

Junon scratched his head and apologized.

‘It’s… quiet?’

Yes. Inside was quiet.

Then what had happened? There must have been a reason for such a loud noise out of nowhere.

Logically, if such a loud noise occurred without any apparent problem, something would be very strange, so she was planning to carefully ask him what had happened.

‘It’s still not resolved…’

Renias turned her head to look at Junon’s face. Fortunately, as he said, nothing serious seemed to have happened, but she noticed that the shadow she had seen on his face during the day was still there.

When she asked again what had happened, Junon replied that he had been lost in deep thought without being able to come up with an answer.

As a result, he had unconsciously pounded on the table, waking her from her sound sleep.

*Scrape*

“Why don’t you tell me what’s troubling you?”

Determined that this was finally the time for her to step up, Renias pulled up a chair and spoke softly.

“Huh?”

“We agreed to worry together and discuss things together. That’s how we’ve been solving problems all along, so at least I can worry with you, right?”

Besides, Renias had to stay here following the commander’s orders not to encounter Ashpern.

He had asked her to guard this place in case of any unexpected situations, but that was just a superficial reason. In reality, monsters hadn’t even been able to set foot near this place, let alone infiltrate it.

She guessed that the kind-hearted man had calculated that the monsters’ power wouldn’t reach this far.

“Hmm…”

“Since I’m already awake, I’ll make some more coffee. Take your time and think it through until then, okay?”

Renias took the empty coffee cup and went out. While boiling water and making coffee, she didn’t say anything.

However, she made a bit more than usual.

Two cups of coffee.

Determined not to back down from the time to think together, she brewed her own portion as well and brought it to the table.

Sitting in the chair across from him at the table and sipping her coffee, Junon began to share the thoughts he had organized.

“I…”

.

.

.

‘Oh, this is difficult!’

As expected, even after listening, it was so difficult that she couldn’t easily offer any opinion.

Even if she heard the story two or three times, Renias vaguely realized that she wouldn’t be able to provide any meaningful input.

‘Hmph… I wanted to help though!’

Shedding imaginary tears in her heart and lamenting her insufficient brain didn’t help.

‘If, if I try to summarize what big brother said, is it something like this?’

Ashpern’s behavior seemed somewhat unnatural.

…That was about it.

‘Is, is there nothing more…? That’s just what big brother speculated!’

Sweating profusely, Renias put her lips to her coffee and, trying to drink the hot coffee too quickly, burned her tongue. But then.

Was it because her tongue was burned? A question floated in her mind.

“Hmm… I wonder if that’s related too…?”

“What is?”

“You told me not to get involved, remember? You said I shouldn’t meet Ashpern directly.”

“Yes… that’s right. Ronelion said to absolutely not let you and Ashpern meet.”

“This is a bit of a different topic, but… I was actually curious about that. Why he would say such a thing to you.”

As soon as she mentioned Ronelion, his eyes narrowed sharply.

It meant he was starting to think deeply.

She had only expressed a doubt that had occurred to her. Could that alone have provided some kind of clue?

‘…No way.’

Surely not. Thinking it probably wasn’t useful information after all, she considered bitterly whether she should just make more coffee.

“…No.”

But soon after, he denied something and then stood up from his chair.

Renias stared at Junon with wide eyes as he rose from his chair. Then…

“Huh? Big brother?”

“Couldn’t freeze the river, couldn’t evaporate it with fire magic… couldn’t put up a wall against the approaching water… Yes, that’s it!!”

Her body was suddenly lifted up.

“Kyaa?! Big brother, hugging and shaking me like this makes me dizzy!”

“Thank you, thank you Renias!!”

Then he hugged her and shook her around. The completely unexpected reaction made her head spin.

‘I-I don’t know what it is, but I guess the problem is solved…?!’

Though dizzy, she thought it must be fine since he had found an answer.

***

The next day.

After a brief rest, the commander ordered everyone to arrive at the scheduled time for the operation briefing.

“It seems like it’s time… are they late?”

“That can’t be. No matter what, who would be late in a wartime situation like this?”

“Don’t tell me. They only called us…”

“N-no way.”

Then Senia cut in firmly.

“It seems Michel is right. They’ve only invited us to this meeting room.”

There were no senior officers here. Only the Tembris members. Even Cain and Lumia were completely excluded.

This meant that the meeting would proceed with just them, excluding the senior officers who usually attended every meeting.

As if confirming that this speculation was correct, Junon opened the meeting room door right on time.

As expected, not a single senior officer followed him in.

“If it’s just us… does that mean only the four of us, excluding even Cain and Lumia, have to do this job?”

As Junon took his seat, Senia directly asked about the content of the meeting.

“Not exactly. A mission with just the four of you would only be poison in this situation. However,”

The tension rose at the word “however.” A map was unfolded and the designated location was revealed.

That location was a place they could never forget.

“I don’t think it’s poison for only you four to know the truth.”

A place remembered only by those who had faced the past.

Where they had escaped to help the Sirens, continued fighting recklessly until they went berserk, doubted the commander after hearing about losing a comrade, and couldn’t help at all in the whole situation.

It was the Ross region.

“What… do you want us to do?”

Michel spoke first, but everyone had the same thoughts.

They would do anything. They would carry out any order from him. To avoid repeating the same past. Each member was prepared to carry out the mission even if it was dangerous enough to cost them their lives.

“─────.”

Junon answered the question in a low voice, and all four were shocked.

No, they were more than shocked—they were worried.

“I think you’ll have a lot to say. But this is the best move I could come up with.”

“”…””

The best move.

What he had just said was completely contradictory.

Paradoxically, it had no connection at all with what he had just said.

The shock was so great that they momentarily wondered if Junon’s condition was poor or if his judgment was temporarily clouded…

‘But that face… says otherwise.’

‘His condition isn’t bad enough for his judgment to be clouded…’

‘But he’s so confident.’

‘Why? As if he’s certain…’

Someone with the eyes of a person who had given up in the face of this country’s dark future couldn’t look so alive.

He was incredibly confident. With a face so assured that anyone watching would trust him enough to entrust their backs to him, he recited the details of the operation.

There was no room for doubt to arise.

“Then may I ask just one question?”

“What question?”

“I’d like to know why you didn’t bring Cain to the meeting. He can keep his mouth shut too.”

It was pointless to say. Cain already owed Junon a huge debt—Lumia’s life—so he was no different from the other Tembris members.

The same went for Lumia. Not only was Junon her lifesaver, but he was also the one who had restored Cain to his former self when he was gradually falling apart, making her an invaluable asset in lending her strength.

Nevertheless, Junon said:

“I have something else for them to do. For that… both of them must remain unaware of this plan.”

Even that, he claimed, was part of his plan.

***

Just the day before, they had fought a major battle at the Ripol River, but the Imperial Army’s strength hadn’t been significantly depleted.

However.

“Is this operation really okay? A preemptive strike…”

“It’s not okay! How can we win with these numbers, not even against the entire Imperial Army!”

In some quarters, questions arose about whether launching a preemptive strike against Ashpern’s monster corps was the right strategy.

*Tap*

Someone’s hand touched the shoulder of a whispering soldier.

“Eek! Oh, L-Lady Aris?”

“What’s wrong? Does it seem strange that we’re launching a preemptive strike?”

“Huh? Well, that…”

“Then what about the Ripol River battle you saw yesterday? Wasn’t that strange too?”

“…Ah.”

As Aris pointed this out, the voices of the whispering soldiers gradually subsided.

They couldn’t answer her question about how strange the battle at Ripol River had been.

Yes. What strategy could be stranger than that? Digging trenches and employing tactics that offered no advantage to humans near a river. Yet ironically, that strange strategy had given the Imperial Army a victory that made them forget all their past frustrations.

Whose strategy was it? Undoubtedly, the young commander who had recently been appointed. Junon.

Continuing to doubt would imply a lack of trust in the second strategy of the commander who had led them to a miraculous victory, so the soldiers’ mouths automatically closed.

“Stop grumbling and walk properly.”

“Yes!”

Whenever the soldiers wavered, Aris, who would fight the first battle of the day in the Ross region, admonished them.

However, knowing the truth, she felt goosebumps all over her body.

‘Junon’s words… were completely right…’

Indeed, just as he had said, Ashpern had not appeared.

Ashpern, who would normally rush in at the sight of Imperial troops to slaughter humans and thrust spears of magical energy to exert the power of oblivion, had not appeared to face this small unit, despite knowing he couldn’t lose to them.

She wasn’t afraid.

If everything went according to his calculations, there was nothing to fear.

*BOOM!!!*

The lotus flower Aris conjured emitted a huge explosion.

The sequential explosions gradually built up power and struck the location where the monster corps had been stationed. The detonated fuse completely devastated the area where the monsters had been staying.

“What, what is this…”

The soldiers were bewildered.

They hadn’t faced many monsters. They had only broken through a few monsters, moved according to Aris’s instructions, and then set up an ambush.

The cause of this result? The only thing they could pinpoint was that they had laid out many bags filled with something before the ambush. Nothing else could have produced such a result.

And once again, a glimmer of possibility began to bloom in their minds.

‘We can win…!’

The monsters would have been significantly weakened by the massive explosion and the chain reactions it triggered.

If they seized this opportunity, they could greatly reduce the enemies’ numbers. That’s what everyone thought.

But then.

“That’s it! We’re retreating without fighting any further!”

Aris, who was leading this unit, suddenly declared a retreat.

The soldiers’ minds were filled with one question: Why?

“Lady Aris. Wouldn’t it be advantageous for us to fight here…?”

Unable to contain himself, a squad leader questioned this incomprehensible retreat order.

The lotus explosion had swept away the monsters, and the chain explosions and flames had scorched them. Wasn’t this the opportunity to finish off as many as possible?

They had set up a good ambush and broken the monsters’ formation, so they just needed to engage them. If they retreated now, they would have to withdraw without capturing even a few monsters.

“I understand what you’re saying. But we need to retreat.”

There was only one reason.

“D-did the commander order us to go only this far?”

“Yes.”

Because Junon had ordered it. She didn’t add any other reason.

The soldiers were mostly puzzled, but they began to move, accepting the order even without a plausible explanation.

‘Surely the commander has reasons for making such a judgment?’

‘At Ripol River, he swept away the monsters like that, but here he might know it’s dangerous to pursue them!’

‘Even if it’s not that, he might be looking at a bigger picture. Like at Ripol River!’

After all, the current commander was the only person who had brought victory to the Imperial Army.

And the only person who knew the truth in this place, Aris, stepped forward to respond as if she had anticipated it.

“Abnormal grade, Flame Harp! Retreat before it charges! Interception unit!”

“”Yes!!””

But it was too late.

The Flame Harp, covered in flames, charged in and wreaked havoc on the human formation.

“Waaagh!!”

“Cast flame resistance magic on the vanguard!”

Nevertheless, the damage was minimal.

Why?

Because they had declared a retreat rather than continuing the battle.

Also, due to the surprise attack, the monsters were still unable to charge at the Imperial Army because of the aftermath of the flames and explosions. Thanks to this, even though the Flame Harp disrupted their formation, there were injuries but no fatalities.

If asked whether they had been defeated, the answer would have to be yes.

However, since the Flame Harp had rushed in belatedly as the monsters’ reinforcement, if they had continued the battle, they would have faced an even more devastating defeat.

So it could only be described as exquisite timing.

Everything matched perfectly—the number and composition of monsters, the tactical defensive posture of the humans, and the characteristics of each individual.

-‘We will suffer consecutive defeats in this place. But what we need is.’

-‘Just one victory.’

That’s what Junon had said in the meeting room.