episode_0105

Imperial Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff of the First Army. Kael Klauwitz.

Oh my goodness. I now have two titles that would be terrifying to hear just one of.

I never dreamed that I would end up like this.

Just two years ago, I used to say, “I hate serving in the military!”

He suddenly became a genius strategist and now he has suddenly become the hope of the empire.

‘I’m going crazy.’

But I am not at all worthy of that kind of person.

They are not the great emperors who founded the nation or the heroes of the early days of the empire.

Neither are the Admiral Yi Sun-sin or other great patriots from my past life.

This guy just got into trouble because he was messing around with memories from his past life.

I was really lucky. The circumstances just fell into place and this is how it turned out.

Humility? You pretend not to know, but haven’t you already done everything you had to do?

Don’t you feel like you’re secretly enjoying it yourself?

Damn it. No matter what, this situation is really too burdensome.

The original 1st Army, plus reinforcements from other countries and even reserve forces in the rear.

Nearly 400,000 people are expected to be influenced by my opinion.

It’s not just moving, it’s war. Some people will get hurt and some will lose their lives.

But if there’s someone who doesn’t care, then he’s truly crazy.

“Hoooo.”

Wash your face dry with both hands once. Take a deep breath.

Yeah, I know. I can’t turn back now.

And I myself have no intention of backing down now.

For the sake of my beloved family. For the sake of my precious family and those around me.

As the princess said, now is the time to do it for yourself.

“Chief of Staff. The Commander is waiting.”

Still, I don’t consider myself a genius or a bookworm.

Since people around me keep calling me that, I can’t deny it in front of them.

If I could, I’d say I’m still just a guy who relies on luck.

But I won’t use that as an excuse to run away from the situation right in front of me.

If there’s something I have to do, I have to do it to the best of my ability.

Because he is from the Clauswitz family. Because he is the eldest son of Imperial Count Berthier.

Plus, he’s also the genius strategist you all talk about so much.

“Are you here, Chief of Staff?”

As I entered the barracks, the 1st Army Commander greeted me warmly.

This is someone I’ve seen a lot, especially at banquets and parties held in the system.

They said he would soon be in charge of a key military position, and it really happened.

If you are the first 1st Army Commander, your place will be remembered in imperial history.

Perhaps, if things work out well, his family will continue to shine with pride.

The problem is that it also has one of the first and worst defeats of the Empire in its history.

“It’s been a while, Commander.”

“There are so many things I want to say, but let’s stop here. Right now, the Chief of Staff and I have so much work to do.”

“I totally agree. Let’s get to the point.”

As the commander gestures, the adjutants nearby quickly unfold their maps.

Above them, the staff officers position the Imperial and Dedorant troops’ horses one by one.

“The current situation is as follows.”

“You’ve been pushed back a lot.”

“Yes. There were places where they intentionally gave up strategically unimportant places among the places they had previously advanced to, but there were also many places where they could not defend because the counterattack of Dedorant was so strong.”

The operation to push all the way to the royal capital of Dedorant in one breath ended in a great failure.

They came in all at once and destroyed the border, and the protrusions they created were completely removed.

Especially the central part where the Western Corps was located is still quite precarious even now.

“I heard that Dedorant cherished and saved their elite soldiers and deployed them all at once.”

“Yes. I found out that the only troops our empire has ever fought against were the second-class troops from Dedorant and the troops brought down from Atria. They also used many of the surrendered troops from Dgalle.”

“Didn’t each legion notice such a part in advance?”

“They said that since they had never directly encountered the Dedorant, they couldn’t be sure whether or not they were the real Dedorant forces they were supposed to fight against. In addition, the fact that the 2nd-class troops actually showed decent fighting ability also played a role.”

This is really it. I got really hooked. I took their bait.

There have been many discussions since then, but in reality, they have been nothing more than post-mortem reports.

The Western Corps was already in such disrepair that it needed to be reorganized for some time.

The Eastern and Southern Corps also suffered significant damage and must retreat for a while.

The Northern Corps was the only one that retained its full strength.

“The Chief of Staff really did a great job.”

“Yes?”

“It is extremely difficult to fill the gap of 40,000 combat troops when the Imperial reserve force is not yet ready. In the meantime, reinforcements sent from each country can be placed under the command of the Empire.”

“Ah… . Are you talking about that?”

After a brief pause, I finally decided to bring up the subject.

I originally planned to do it later, but I had no choice because of the circumstances.

“For now, we plan to keep the reinforcements sent from each country on standby in the rear.”

“Chief of Staff? Rear?”

“They have their own work to do. I plan to keep the Western Legion’s place in the Western Legion.”

“But the damage to the Western Corps is too great. If the attack continues in this situation… .”

“That’s it.”

The commander and other commanders look at me as if they are wondering what I am talking about.

It seems as if the question is being asked, “That’s it? What is that?”

“You all probably heard the news that I guarded the gate.”

“Ah. Yes. Chief of Staff. Everyone here heard about his heroic deeds.”

“It is as the Commander said. Everyone was just amazed when they heard the news.”

Ahem. I didn’t bring that up to hear such embarrassing words.

Still, I feel good, so I’ll give one point to each of our staff members.

“According to information later revealed, the person leading that special force was none other than the third prince of Dedrant.”

“What a shame. If only we had been a little faster, we could have captured him!”

Yeah. No. The Eastern Allied Forces were really lucky to arrive at that time.

If they actually collided, our Allied friends would have been crushed in an instant?

“At first, I was disappointed and surprised. But when I thought about it again, the part that felt strange became stronger.”

“What’s weird?”

“If he is the 3rd prince, he is the most important figure in Dedorant. After the coup, he is practically the king of Dedorant. Such a great man personally led the army and stormed the empire’s gate.”

“That’s right. But why is that… .”

“But the Dedorant Army was quiet. They launched a large-scale counterattack, formed a siege, closed it, and cleaned up our legion. They haven’t made any other moves since then, have they?”

Everyone was momentarily taken aback by Dedorant’s devastating blow.

I thought they would come at any moment and push the remaining Imperial legions back to the border.

It’s not a crowd. I understand. Who can maintain their sanity in the face of such a terrifying counterattack?

I just came to my senses first because I was relatively far away from there.

“The enemies will find it difficult to attack any further. It is clear that they have no offensive power.”

“What is that… .”

“Although they were defeated, the Imperial Legion is clearly the best fighting force. It is impossible for the enemies who clashed with them head-on to not suffer any damage. I heard from the Legion Commanders I know right away that they fought a fierce battle. In other words, the enemies also suffered considerable damage.”

The situation would be favorable for them, but Dedorant is not pushing the Empire any further.

The only ones who moved until the very end were the three princes and their guards.

Dedorant children. They successfully counterattacked, but they also lost a lot of blood.

“Let’s take our time. There is a high possibility that the second offensive they want is the real form of us panicking and panicking here.”

“But Chief of Staff. If even that could be a trap. If they come in while we are off guard… .”

“It would be better to just push the imperial army back as is instead of preparing such a trap. They would know that they have the momentum, so why would they do something like that?”

You have to catch your breath. You can’t be so scared and intimidated.

You need to quickly rest your injured body and relax your stiff muscles.

Deodorant is likely waiting for us to tie ourselves up with the rope of fear.

“We must now fully utilize the Empire’s superiority.”

“What if it’s superior?”

“This is Dedorant. It’s their land. In the end, the ones who are in a hurry are the guys.”

Until now, the grand strategy of the Imperial General Staff has been to ‘end the war quickly.’

They openly went around saying that they would receive surrender right away by the New Year’s ceremony.

But I am the opposite. I intend to see this war as a long-term war.

Dedorant is never an easy opponent. Thinking about the East or the South is a big problem.

Now that we’ve actually done that big thing, no one will even think about it like that.

So, conversely, this time we’re the ones who bring them in.

Although two of the Imperial Legions are said to have been destroyed, there are still nine Legions left.

Meanwhile, three more legions are coming towards us from behind.

There were already 70,000 reinforcements and over 100,000 reserve troops arriving there.

“Our empire will not be threatened by defeat, but they are different. If they know that even after doing this, they have only inflicted a single wound on the empire, they will eventually show their weakness. If they make one mistake, the kingdom will be blown away along with the capital.”

We exchanged blows. We knew that we were not easy opponents.

Everyone has a sense of whose fists are stronger. From now on, it’s a fight to see who can last longer.