Ch.88Chapter 88. Encounter, Serpina’s Army (3)

Upon arriving at the royal palace, I saw the generals who remained at Valharat Castle, including Irene, gathering one after another.

I exchanged a brief glance with her, then found a suitable place and waited for all the generals to assemble.

Before long, after confirming everyone had arrived, Yurie spoke in a serious tone while seated on the throne.

“Everyone, I apologize for suddenly calling you during your missions. You’ve probably heard the news on your way here, so I’ll skip the greetings and get straight to the point.”

Yurie closed her eyes once, then slowly opened them as she began to speak.

“Serpina’s army has invaded Zelstrom Castle with approximately 70,000 troops.”

Zelstrom was the former capital of the Charam Army located north of Valharat—

Currently, it was a place Epinel was protecting as its lord.

From Yurie’s brief explanation, it seemed that Zelstrom Castle currently had about 53,000 soldiers.

This place had 60,000, and Raclaine Castle had about 69,000 soldiers.

“That’s the situation, and I’ll share my thoughts first. Losing Zelstrom Castle would be problematic in many ways. Since we’ve worked hard to expand our territory, I want to protect it if possible. So I’m thinking of sending reinforcements to fight back, but what do you all think?”

Hearing this, Ginor bowed his head before speaking.

“I believe we can defend it, but I’m concerned about what comes after.”

“What comes after?”

“While our forces are deployed to provide support, there’s a possibility that Serpina’s army will immediately march additional troops in this direction.”

“Well, wouldn’t that be fine? They can’t attack three castles at once, right?”

“That’s true, but… if we continue to expend our soldiers this way, we’ll eventually be at a significant disadvantage.”

“So, Ginor. What’s your opinion?”

“Abandoning Zelstrom Castle could be one option.”

“Abandoning… it.”

While Yurie lowered her head slightly in contemplation—

Ginor conveyed his opinion to her.

“Serpina is a powerful nation. Maintaining three battle fronts against them would be too much for our army in many ways. Since our soldiers don’t spring forth endlessly like from a magic pot, I believe it would be better to concentrate our well-trained forces at Valharat Castle and our forward base at Raclaine Castle to prevent Serpina’s army from invading recklessly.”

“But will that be okay? It’s essentially surrendering a castle, isn’t it?”

“If we must surrender a castle, it would be better for our army to give up Zelstrom Castle, which is situated to the north and difficult to defend, rather than Raclaine Castle, which occupies a more strategic position.”

“And after that? We can’t just remain on the defensive after giving up a castle, can we?”

“I suggest forming a temporary alliance with the Hesna Army in the south.”

“An alliance?”

“Yes. Or even with the Rolland Army if not Hesna. They face the same calamity of Serpina’s army as we do. Fortunately, our army doesn’t appear particularly threatening from their perspective. If we form an alliance and establish a defensive line, even Serpina’s army won’t be able to take us lightly. It would be even better if the Brans Army moves during this time.”

No matter how powerful Serpina’s army might be.

It was clear that any country would face difficulties if surrounded on all fronts.

In that sense, Ginor’s solution was arguably the best option available to us right now.

In fact, if I were Yurie, I would have safely withdrawn troops, generals, and supplies from Zelstrom Castle as Ginor suggested, then strengthened the defensive forces at Valharat Castle and Raclaine Castle, which border the national boundary.

Just by evenly distributing the 50,000 troops from Zelstrom Castle between here and Raclaine Castle, we could establish an extremely difficult defensive line with approximately 80,000-90,000 soldiers defending each castle.

While losing territory would be regrettable in the short term, this approach would be much more efficient in the long run.

It might seem frustrating, but without such strategies, a small nation could never defeat a powerful one.

Using even dirty and underhanded methods to endure and persist until an opportunity eventually presents itself.

That was the winning strategy—so Ginor’s “castle abandonment” strategy appealed to me as well.

However.

“Please wait a moment, my lord.”

Someone from the side raised their hand.

I had seen his face a few times before, but couldn’t recall who this general was.

“Glen, please explain slowly.”

So his name was Glen.

The young man with brown hair, called Glen, spoke to Yurie with a strong tone, almost pleading.

“Recapturing a castle once lost is extremely difficult. A larger territory means more subjects under our rule, which directly translates to national power. For our Aeshus Army, which values every single castle, it’s hard to accept the suggestion of abandoning territory without even fighting, even if it comes from our strategist. And!”

Glen pounded his chest with his fist as he continued.

“Who are we? We are the Aeshus Army, who have shared blood under the red flag. The one currently defending Zelstrom Castle is none other than Epinel Rosenkroz, the most excellent general in our Aeshus Army. She is assisted by Lady Emma. No matter how renowned the enemy generals may be, it won’t be easy for them to capture Zelstrom Castle with just that difference in troop numbers, not with Epinel and Emma there.”

The difference in forces was 17,000.

With about 50,000 against 70,000, the defenders weren’t in an extremely disadvantageous position.

In such situations, battles typically unfold according to the capabilities of the generals or commanders, and as this man Glen claimed, Epinel and Emma were indeed SS-rank generals.

Certainly… it seemed like we might be able to win.

“As the strategist said, I don’t deny the possibility that sending reinforcements could endanger the castle they’re sent from. And I acknowledge that our troops aren’t infinite. But, if I may say so—Serpina’s troops aren’t infinite either. Moreover, they’re not only facing us but are also in a standoff with the Brans Army. So I think it would be better not to hastily abandon the castle.”

“So you’re saying we should send reinforcements?”

Glen shook his head in response to Yurie’s question.

“No. I don’t think we need to send reinforcements. Even without them, Epinel, Emma, and the capabilities of our Aeshus Army should be sufficient to repel the enemy. I earnestly request that we trust Epinel and give her the authority to make decisions here.”

“Hmm…”

Given Epinel’s personality, she was unlikely to retreat, so if given the decision-making authority, she would probably choose to hold the castle.

While Yurie was lost in thought, I organized the two arguments in my own way.

Ginor’s proposal: withdraw troops from the castle and strengthen our defensive line here. I thought this approach made more sense.

Glen’s proposal: trust Castle Lord Epinel. With someone like Epinel and Emma there, it wasn’t such an absurd suggestion.

Well.

Those were just their opinions.

Now it was time to ask for my “always correct” opinion.

I could have let it pass, but—after all, Yurie had clearly said to us before starting the discussion:

“I’m thinking of sending reinforcements to fight back, what do you think?”

Since the question had been posed, I could find an answer.

I entered that question directly into my mind.

‘Is it right to fight against Serpina’s army?’

The answer came with astonishing speed.

[We will win for now.]

‘…Huh?’

What?

We’ll win for now?

Since Epinel and Emma are certainly excellent generals, it seems we’ll somehow manage to win…

But if that’s the case, shouldn’t the answer simply be [We will win]?

Why did I get such a result?

If there’s a phrase like “for now”… does that mean there’s something else besides simply winning?

“…Swen?”

No, let’s think about this differently.

In what situations do we normally use expressions like “we’ll win for now”?

When winning is just part of it… when that’s not the whole story…?

‘Is it because… the method isn’t very efficient…?’

“Swen?”

Then.

Someone gently touched my waist.

“…Swen.”

“…Ah.”

It was Irene standing beside me who brought me back from my confusion.

Thanks to her, I regained my senses and noticed Yurie was looking at me.

“Is something wrong? You don’t look well.”

“No… it’s, it’s nothing. I was just lost in thought. I apologize.”

“Swen, I asked what you think. I want to hear your opinion too.”

“Me, my lord?”

“Yes. You were the one who detected the surprise attack during the fortress battle, weren’t you? I’m curious about your thoughts. What do you think?”

“So… you’re asking whether we should defend Zelstrom Castle or not?”

“That’s right.”

“…”

Since the answer in my head was “we’ll win for now,” we would win, so there wasn’t necessarily a need to withdraw from the castle…

Nevertheless, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t the ultimate correct answer.

That thought unconsciously seeped into my words.

“Well… the strategist’s words make sense, but as Glen said, we will win. Epinel and Emma are excellent generals after all.”

“Oh… so you think so too!”

Glen smiled at me with approval, but.

Yurie, perhaps detecting something in my words, asked with a puzzled expression.

“We will win, you say? What do you mean by that?”

“Well… what I mean is, we will win. Epinel will… repel the soldiers.”

“…?”

Just as I was wondering how to explain this.

A lifeline came from an unexpected direction.

“Swen, do you perhaps think there’s another way?”

“Pardon?”

This time, the question came from Ginor, who had been listening to the conversation beside Yurie.

“Another way…?”

And.

He naturally asked me the exact question I needed at this moment, like a welcome rain.

“I’m asking if you think there might be a more efficient method than this.”

‘…Ah!’

Only after hearing Ginor’s words did I realize the source of the discomfort in my mind.

Yes.

“We’ll win for now” means—”We’ll win for now, but that’s not the most efficient method,” doesn’t it?

That suggests there’s a more efficient way.

Thanks to Ginor asking if I thought there might be a more efficient method, I could input the question in my mind.

‘Does it mean we will win, but withdrawing troops as Ginor suggested would be more efficient?’

Well, I just needed to check the answer.

I quickly entered the question: “Is there a more efficient method than holding the castle against Serpina’s army?”

The answer… flowed out quickly without hesitation this time as well.

[Meet with Serpina directly yourself, not through someone else, and negotiate. That is the most efficient method.]

‘…’

Amidst the gazes of everyone waiting for my answer.

Once again, I found myself cast into a sea called “What does that mean?” holding a compass that didn’t clearly indicate which direction—

but undoubtedly pointed toward the absolutely correct path.