Ch.8686. Revealing the Map

It had already been three days since Lily had stayed at the Earl Hart’s residence under the pretext of giving Gilbert a chance. During that time, Gilbert had been contemplating how to utilize this opportunity she had granted him.

But the phrase “giving a chance” was completely ambiguous. What exactly did it mean to give him a chance to make up for his mistakes?

Helping her heal from her trauma could be part of it, but that was by no means an easy task. Treating trauma required psychiatric care.

Moreover, mental illness had a vague concept of complete recovery. Even when someone seemed to have improved, relapses often occurred.

And to begin with, Gilbert himself was also dealing with mental illness. In such a situation, it was absurd to think he could treat someone else.

If he could just empathize with her, that would be fortunate enough.

Gilbert laughed self-deprecatingly.

In the end, he put aside thinking about methods for now. His current priority was clearing the main scenario.

Though he felt sorry for Lily, this main scenario was one that would diverge dramatically depending on the player’s actions.

The main scenario “The Sigurdian Raid” was one of the few scenarios where the player could choose not to intervene and simply let it play out without affecting gameplay progression. Unlike scenarios where failure meant game over, this part didn’t directly harm the player.

However, in that case, the war between the Imperials and the Sigurdians would cause massive damage with numerous casualties. Visbarc, which would become the battlefield, would be almost completely destroyed and take a long time to recover.

When playing Tactical Combat, since it was a game, there was a need to explore various routes, and sometimes it was necessary to deliberately ignore “The Sigurdian Raid.”

Gilbert himself, after intervening once to clear all achievements, would often choose the non-intervention route in subsequent playthroughs.

But as he always reminded himself, this wasn’t inside a game. Whether it was another world or something else, the place where Gilbert currently lived was reality.

Even if it resembled the world inside the game, as long as Gilbert himself perceived it as reality, it was reality.

Knowing what was about to happen here, Gilbert couldn’t simply let it pass.

Even though the world had changed and his body was different, inside he was still a former soldier who had risked his life alongside comrades to protect his country.

The first action Gilbert took after being officially entrusted with all operational command by Count Lithuania was to strengthen the border security.

While it was a given that the Sigurdians would attack, he didn’t know exactly when they would strike.

Normally, as people who valued honor, they would declare war first, but their situation was so dire that they had abandoned even the honor they held so dear.

Moreover, nominally, the Empire and the Sigurdians were in a ceasefire. This meant war could break out at any time without being unusual.

In such circumstances, a declaration of war was rather unnecessary. It was merely a formality, and one could say they already had sufficient justification.

This was also why Count Lithuania had been preparing for war. He had been finalizing preparations for deployment, believing they could attack at any time.

Gilbert shared the count’s thinking, so while he continued directing war preparations, he also further strengthened the border security.

He calculated that if they could determine the timing of the Sigurdians’ attack, they could minimize casualties.

He reduced the rotation periods of the guard units to operate more of them, and additionally drafted rangers to run reconnaissance teams. He judged that relying solely on guard units was too passive.

Moreover, Gilbert anticipated that the Sigurdians would have noticed the increased number of guard units. They weren’t the uncivilized barbarians that Imperials often described them as.

They were specialists in combat, and overlooking this fact was something that should never happen.

Concerned that they might exploit weaknesses in the guard units that hadn’t yet been identified, he began thoroughly searching the surrounding areas with reconnaissance teams composed of rangers.

This was what Gilbert had been doing since returning to the mansion. Initially, there was some resistance when Gilbert suddenly took command, but in the military, rank was king.

Once the order came down from Count Lithuania, who could be considered the commander-in-chief, his subordinates had to follow Gilbert’s orders whether they liked it or not.

But that only happened at the beginning.

Gilbert’s orders were clearly reasonable and correct, so the vassals participating in this war gradually began to trust his words.

And there was one decisive reason why they came to follow Gilbert’s orders without question.

He led by example in everything.

While this was something occasionally seen in the Hart earldom, which inherently lacked authoritarianism, Gilbert took it even further.

What particularly surprised everyone was that he participated without fail in the hellish physical training usually reserved for new recruits. Even the toughest individuals would collapse from exhaustion during this training, yet Gilbert silently underwent the same regimen as the newcomers.

With the highest commander doing this, those below him naturally had no choice but to join in. Those who initially thought he would give up soon were inspired by Gilbert’s serious commitment to physical training, and it became part of the daily routine.

As knights and soldiers all participated in physical training together, the army’s morale began to rise rapidly. Doing things together naturally fostered camaraderie.

In a way, he neatly resolved the most difficult aspect of military unity simply by silently carrying out physical training.

Those who had doubted his qualifications had no choice but to change their minds after witnessing this. He had effectively proven himself through results.

However, his leading by example sometimes became problematic. There was one person who tried to stop him from personally taking action.

“Lord Gilbert! How many times must I tell you? What army in the world has its commander joining a reconnaissance team?”

“Lord Fermo. I have also told you many times. I must see with my own eyes.”

“And I’ve told you many times that you cannot!”

Currently, Gilbert was arguing with Fermo, a vassal of the Hart family who had become his adjutant.

The reason was that Gilbert had expressed his intention to personally participate in reconnaissance as a member of the search team.

For Fermo, who had to care for Gilbert’s well-being both as his adjutant and as a vassal of the Hart family, this was maddening. If anything were to happen to Gilbert during reconnaissance, he couldn’t bear the consequences.

“Lord Gilbert, you must be aware of your current position. Leading by example? Of course, it’s an admirable attitude that sets a good example for the soldiers. But right now, you are the commander of the upcoming war. If someone in your position were to suffer any mishap during reconnaissance, it would negatively affect everything from the army’s morale to overall operations.”

Fermo’s words were absolutely correct. A commander leading by example was excellent for boosting soldiers’ morale. Seeing a high-ranking person who didn’t shy away from difficult tasks naturally silenced complaints.

But directly participating in dangerous missions like reconnaissance was a double-edged sword. Even if completed successfully, it was a break-even proposition, and if it failed, the ripple effects would be unpredictable.

Moreover, reconnaissance didn’t just mean poking around here and there. It meant looking for traces the enemy might have left and examining the surrounding environment to scout for enemies.

That’s why reconnaissance teams were always filled with highly trained rangers. Even though Gilbert had been knighted, the rangers were superior in the field of reconnaissance.

Gilbert joining the reconnaissance team and interfering would only have negative effects.

“And even though you’ve been knighted, Lord Gilbert, reconnaissance is a different matter entirely. You know this well.”

“I do.”

“Then I’ll take it that you won’t be joining the reconnaissance team.”

Fermo smiled with relief and turned around, intending to issue orders to begin the delayed reconnaissance patrol.

“Wait. I didn’t say I wouldn’t join the reconnaissance team.”

“Lord Gilbert!”

Fermo quickly turned back and glared at Gilbert.

If Fermo had been a commoner or a minor noble, this would have been crossing a line, but he was one of Count Lithuania’s trusted vassals.

Normally, Gilbert would also have to address him respectfully.

However, that rascal quality was still inherent in Gilbert’s character.

The fact that he wasn’t treating Fermo as he had before was already a compromise. Perhaps speaking respectfully would be impossible for the rest of his life unless there was an overwhelming difference in social status.

It seemed like a penalty from the system, forcing him to maintain his character setting just as he could use game elements due to the system’s influence.

“This is an order as commander. I will not accept any further objections.”

“What exactly is your purpose in joining the reconnaissance team? Surely you know that you won’t be of much help?”

“That’s probably true. My tracking abilities aren’t that impressive compared to rangers who have received specialized training.”

While he could use mana for detection, that wasn’t suitable for a reconnaissance team that needed to move stealthily. In the end, he would have to rely on pure tracking abilities without mana detection.

Although Gilbert was a former soldier and a pilot who had undergone quite intensive training, his specialty was ultimately flying combat aircraft. In terms of tracking abilities, he was far inferior to trained rangers.

Nevertheless, Gilbert still intended to participate in the reconnaissance personally.

“I must see the geography of this place with my own eyes. Especially the areas where trained rangers are searching.”

Gilbert’s eyes flashed.

This wasn’t stubbornness; it was something he absolutely had to do.

Gilbert’s gaze moved past Fermo to the empty space in the upper left. There, the minimap he had seen countless times while playing Tactical Combat was activated.

He never expected there would be unlock conditions just to open the minimap.

Gilbert shook his head slightly in disbelief.

He received the message that the minimap had been unlocked when he was officially entrusted with all operational authority by Count Lithuania.

A system message suddenly appeared, announcing that the minimap, which he had thought didn’t exist, had been unlocked.

When he hastily checked the unlock conditions, he found that it required securing command authority over a certain size of military force.

Until now, he had thought the minimap didn’t exist because this place was closer to reality, but it had simply been locked.

Regardless of the reason, Gilbert couldn’t help but feel encouraged. The difference between having a minimap and not having one was quite significant.

Of course, the unfriendly minimap of Tactical Combat didn’t function like the all-powerful map hacks in other games. Players could only use the minimap within a certain range in areas they had personally explored during combat.

But being able to know the surrounding situation in those intense battle situations gave a huge advantage in combat. That’s why users playing Tactical Combat always performed what was known as “map illumination.”

The reason Gilbert wanted to join the reconnaissance team and explore personally was for this map illumination.

However, since Gilbert couldn’t tell anyone about this, convincing Fermo was no easy task.

“Is there a reason why you must do this? If there isn’t a valid reason, I must disobey even if it’s an order. This is something Count Lithuania himself has permitted.”

So he’s playing that card.

Gilbert couldn’t help but sigh deeply at Fermo pulling out his trump card.

Count Lithuania had chosen Fermo as a brake to prevent any potential recklessness from Gilbert. Because of this, Fermo officially had the authority to block Gilbert’s orders.

While it was frustrating for Gilbert, objectively speaking, it was a flawless measure.

He had no choice but to convince Fermo.

“As a commander, if I don’t know the terrain where battle will take place in detail, I cannot issue proper orders. You would agree with that.”

“That’s why I’m here to assist you.”

In response to the unyielding answer, Gilbert replied just as firmly.

“I know. But coordinating opinions with you during urgent battle situations is dangerous. Besides, aren’t you supposed to take command of the divided forces?”

“That’s…”

This time, Fermo was at a loss for words. It was none other than Fermo himself who had proposed the draft plan to divide and operate the forces.

“There’s no need to worry. I don’t intend to go on night reconnaissance, so this one reconnaissance will be sufficient.”

“Sigh…”

Fermo finally raised both hands in surrender. After all, as long as Gilbert wouldn’t give up, he would have to continue this pointless argument.

“Very well. But I will increase the number of reconnaissance units.”

“That’s fine.”

Having reached a dramatic compromise, the two moved to issue the delayed reconnaissance orders.

This all happened 30 minutes after their argument began.