episode_0122

Since ancient times, encirclement and annihilation, as the word suggests, meant a method of trapping those to be annihilated and exterminating them all without leaving a single survivor.

At first glance, it was easy to think that it was a very simple and effective tactic, but in reality, it was not so.

This war of siege and annihilation, regardless of the intimidating feeling the word gives, was one of the tactics that had very difficult conditions for its establishment.

In order to encircle and annihilate the enemy, you had to first surround them and leave no room for them to escape.

Encirclement was a tactic carried out with the expectation of encouraging surrender or disintegrating the enemy army based on numerical superiority.

This means that you must secure an overwhelmingly larger number of troops than your opponent, and in order to annihilate the siege, you must also avoid being discovered by the enemy.

From there, a contradiction arises.

If you are moving a large army large enough to surround the enemy, unless the enemy is an idiot with a missing screw, they will set up guards, and as a large number of soldiers are moving, they will be caught quickly.

Even if there was a siege, the problem would not go away.

Even if you somehow succeed in encircling the enemy and prepare for a war of annihilation, if the enemy breaks through a weak point in the wide siege network, the operation will fail.

Even in modern warfare, there were instances where highly mobile tank units broke through siege networks by poking into weak spots.

This means that as the siege network is wide, there are bound to be relatively weak areas, and if the commander who carries out the one-point breakthrough is good, there is a possibility of breaking through the siege network and escaping.

In other words, because encirclement and annihilation carried great risk, it was a tactic that should not be used hastily unless various conditions were met.

On the other hand, if the siege was breached, the widely spread troops could have been destroyed individually due to the time lag in gathering.

However, there was still one reason why Gilbert and Serafina prepared for the battle of siege and annihilation.

This was because the place where they would fight was in the city, and they couldn’t miss a single one of them.

In urban warfare, buildings are used as barricades, so the space for movement becomes narrow.

What he meant was that if you block the areas where the enemy can escape, it is possible to surround it with a small number of troops.

Moreover, in this world where magic and magical engineering exist, it was possible for even a single individual to produce firepower equivalent to that of a modern tank.

Additionally, since the existence of knights far exceeded the scope of individual military force, it was not impossible to surround and annihilate them if one took advantage of geographical advantages.

The selection of academy personnel as a separate unit was also done as a reserve unit in case of an unexpected situation.

This was to prepare in case the numerical superiority could not be achieved.

However, this was not without loopholes. The mere act of urban warfare was a threat to the lives of the citizens.

If they were to cause a large-scale explosion at a time when the enemy’s level could not be accurately determined, the damage the empire would suffer would be difficult to express in words.

However, Seraphina planned to proceed with the operation even if it meant risking everything. Even though her responsibility in case of failure grew, she did not waver in her decision.

This was not only because Seraphina believed in her subordinates, but also because she judged that it would be more dangerous not to root out the parasites living in the cancerous parts of the empire.

In fact, Seraphina’s choice was not wrong because she kept them alive in Tactical Combat, but they grew too big to handle, and they even participated in the rebellion.

Gilbert also thought of this operation because he knew this better than anyone else. Eliminating them before they get bigger will help the main scenario going forward.

Gilbert organized his thoughts and once again checked the number of people to be selected for the separate unit.

The most important thing he considered when selecting personnel for the special unit was how loud they were.

If information is leaked during the planning stage of siege and annihilation and they even notice, there will be no next chance.

It was clear that the moment they became convinced that the Empire was targeting them, they would hide in a darker place.

That’s why Gilbert looked for a cadet who was loud-mouthed but also had outstanding skills.

The first target that came to mind was Brynhild. She had no interests in the empire, and having won the position of great warrior of Sigurd’s clan at a young age, she was not lacking in skills.

It bothered me that she was a member of Sigurd’s clan and not a member of the Empire, but it was very damaging to make fun of a resource as small as her.

Moreover, Brynhild was a great person who always kept what he said, so he could be trusted.

The next people that came to mind were, of course, Angelina and Hans.

The two of them, who had been together since entering Demeia Academy, were talented and trustworthy.

In particular, since Angelina’s military insight was superior to Gilbert’s, he was confident that he would be able to lead the personnel of the special unit well even if he was absent, so he planned to appoint him as his adjutant again this time.

Hans, too, was so determined to follow Gilbert that his skills had soared recently and he had more than enough food for one person, so the two were also included in the special unit.

The fourth person selected in the competitive match was Illen, a commoner from the north. He was the person who met Gilbert in the round of 32 of the competitive match, and suffered the hardship of being eliminated as his opponent was Gilbert.

After being greatly impressed by Gilbert in the competitive game, Illen immediately declared himself as Gilbert’s subordinate, just like Hans.

It was good news for Gilbert, who was secretly planning to attract his soupmate as a colleague.

In addition, since people from the North place great importance on trust and honor, it could be said that they were the best for this job.

The fifth person was Lily, whose relationship dramatically improved during the Sigurd clan invasion scenario.

She was the main companion in Tactical Combat, considered the best soup among soups.

In reality, her skills were always at the top, so I decided to have Lily participate in the special unit.

Her family, the Count Nobilitas family, was a family belonging to the imperial faction that was recognized by the empire, so there was no need to worry about information leaking out.

The character Lily herself was not very talkative, so she could be said to be a key figure in this operation.

After selecting the five members of the separate team, Gilbert was troubled about the last member. The number of separate troops he had originally planned was about seven people in total, including himself.

If too many people were selected for the separate unit, there was a possibility that it would attract too much attention, so the Maginot Line was set at seven. At that level, I was able to somehow get rid of it with Brianna’s approval and the excuse of a field trip.

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

I was worried about who to select as the last member. Except for the people he had already selected, there were no people that caught his eye.

If he didn’t feel like he would reveal a secret, his skills were not good enough, and if his skills were outstanding, he was too soft-spoken.

I wondered if I had set too high a standard, so I decided to settle on six people, but I still felt like I had to fill up seven to be able to function as a reserve unit.

Gilbert stroked his chin and thought of the two people who were in better condition.

Ian and Camilla.

Although he is the protagonist of Tactical Combat and has a bit of a flaw in his personality, Ian, who possesses Precia, has the potential to show a great performance in this main scenario.

Although it wasn’t enough to catch Gilbert’s eye yet, Ian was able to handle the job better than anyone else as long as he had the best supporter named Precia.

This is because it was an artificial intelligence called Precia that provides guidance by taking into account the user’s shortcomings.

However, Gilbert was not confident that he could control the two idiots. No matter how much Precia provided guidance, in the end, she could not completely break the will of the contractor who signed with her.

If Ian made an unexpected move in such a situation, the entire plan could have been shaken.

It was too risky for Gilbert, who had to take responsibility for them.

Gilbert wrote “Pending” next to Ian’s name and then thought about the next candidate, Camilla.

First of all, Camilla didn’t seem to be impulsive because she was active and motivated by interest, but she had a very heavy mouth.

Especially if you think it’s funnier to keep your mouth shut, he was the type of person who didn’t open his mouth even if a knife was held at his throat.

It was clear that if I told them about this secret operation, they would be filled with interest and would keep the operation secret.

However, the problem with including Camilla is her skills.

I’m accelerating my training to see what kind of feelings I had after the Sigurd clan’s invasion scenario last time, but because I’ve been playing for so long, my skills haven’t improved yet.

Unless he had some awakening, his skills were a bit lacking for him to participate in a separate team.

Gilbert also wrote “Hold” next to Camilla.

Gilbert sighed at the two difficult choices between Ian and Camilla.

Did you say there was a handshake at the end of the book?

Gilbert thought it was pointless to worry any further.

– Crumbling

Gilbert rewrote the number of members of the separate unit in elegant handwriting, checked it a few more times, then rolled it up and put it in his arms.

– Grumble

He quietly stood up and headed towards Seraphina’s office.

With all the members of the separate unit selected, all that was left was the princess’s permission.

“You’re here, Gilbert.”

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

Gilbert greeted her and handed her the paper in his arms.

“These are the people selected as members of the special unit. If my sister-in-law allows, I plan to proceed like this.”

“It’s a familiar name. Indeed, the priest has similar perspectives as you. W These are also the cadets who were interested.”

Seraphina’s eyes sparkled.

Seraphina, who loved talented people, knew well how talented the six cadets selected by Gilbert were.

The people at the top of her recruitment list were also the same people that Gilbert selected separately.

“In particular, we included people who were judged to have a loud mouth and outstanding skills. I only selected cadets from the same grade as I had little contact with other grades, which could raise suspicion.”

“Don’t worry about that. Since I wrote it with my free hand.”

Gilbert couldn’t help but feel that way. As to why he had left the task of selecting the separate corps entirely to himself, this smart princess seemed to have expected him to target only first-year cadets.

Although that feeling was a bit scary, Gilbert didn’t show it.

“Then, we will form a separate unit with these people.”

“I understand. Before that, I’d like to ask you one question.”

“Is your sister-in-law talking to me?”

“Okay. Looking at this list, I can’t help but ask. I know that the priest has discernment. And I understand that there is no prejudice even though they are commoners. That’s why I have doubts.”

Seraphina smiled and asked Gilbert, who was looking at her with an expressionless face in front of her.

“Why didn’t you let Ian participate in the special unit?”

Gilbert got choked up at that question.

He couldn’t bear to say it as it was, saying that he had removed Ian because of his personality as a junior high school student.