episode_0157

“Are you ready now?”

I sink into the soft chair and slowly look around.

The room, which usually holds two or three people at most, was filled with people.

And those are very beautiful beauties too.

“The confirmed location of the Demon King’s army is in the forest, where it would be difficult to gather troops, so we decided to gather on a nearby plain.”

Sylvia had a rare calm expression, but her determination was burning.

Just a few months ago, she was smiling playfully, but now she was using her abilities without holding back to achieve her goal of defeating the Demon King.

Her outstanding work resulted in the formation of a union between the three nations of Naerne, Lumis, and Carrion.

If she hadn’t been there, I would have had a hard time with various troublesome things like foreign affairs that are difficult for me to handle.

“Then it looks like three countries will meet there.”

Nairn based on a powerful wizard.

A Carrion with threatening physical abilities.

If we add the Kingdom of Lumis, which has the largest number of troops, to that, it will be a perfect combination.

Even if the opponent was the Demon King’s army made up of powerful monsters, we had an advantage when we acted as a group.

Monsters with strong personalities inevitably had aspects that made them unsuitable for group battles.

“After checking, I found that the Demon King was also gathering his forces to respond.”

There was a faint hint of anger in the voice of the dragon Leia.

A huge movement called the union of three countries.

In reality, gathering a large number of troops required several procedures, no matter how secretly it was done.

So, it was inevitable that information would leak out during the process.

It was not surprising that the Demon King, who had been causing discord among humans from the beginning, obtained information.

“It’s inevitable that information will leak out, but it’s still a shame. If we could have attacked before they could respond, we would have won easily.”

“Should I find out who leaked it and kill them? Master.”

In an instant, Leia’s eyes became sharp and the temperature in the room rose.

For her, who had discovered the Demon King’s location, finding out information from someone wouldn’t be that difficult.

But I didn’t have the time or the luxury to waste on such useless things.

“Just leave it alone. We’ve already confirmed to some extent that there are no traitors. Since it’s a big move, it would be impossible to completely deceive them.”

If we do something like a purge internally now, it will only create cracks within the organization.

Thanks to Sylvia, we were barely able to form an alliance, but if there were any unfortunate missing or dead people, it could have caused unnecessary confusion.

“What do you think the odds of winning are?”

I look at Melissa, who is leisurely twisting her hair with her hands.

As she was in an ally relationship with the Demon King, she was the person who knew the most about the Demon King’s army.

Although she was not trusted enough to obtain the Demon King’s position, that did not mean that her information about her belonging to the Demon King’s army became meaningless.

Moreover, her prediction, combined with the information she had researched with Leia, was the most accurate information available at the time.

“Huhhhh··· If we fight head-on, it won’t even be half as good.”

The conclusion Melissa came up with after thinking for a moment was much darker than expected.

A win rate of less than half was essentially the same as losing if you confronted them head on.

Of course, there are many variables on the battlefield, so it’s impossible to know with that alone, but one thing was certain.

Our power is inferior to that of the Demon King’s army.

That meant that unless there was a way to turn the situation around or shake things up, the odds of defeat were high.

“Actually··· That’s a bit high. Right now, we’re going into enemy territory.”

“We’re being pushed back in terms of power and terrain.”

Not only is the power behind them, but the battle is also taking place on the enemy’s home ground.

It only took a moment for the gloomy conclusion to be drawn.

If it had been a normal war between nations, they would have probably given up at this point.

That is why war is difficult to wage, no matter how high the odds of winning are, because of the aftermath of defeat.

Needless to say, the odds of defeat were even higher.

But we had a reason why we couldn’t give up.

“I guess it would be difficult to increase the number of people participating in the alliance by spending time on it?”

“Rather, there is a high probability that only our side’s power will decrease.”

Now, the three countries of Naerne, Loomis, and Carrion were the most threatening countries to the Demon King.

Carrion and Loomis had a direct grudge against each other, and Naerne was actively trying to overthrow the Demon King.

Of course, the Demon King who has been deploying all kinds of schemes will spare no effort to reduce his power.

Even though they had formed an alliance by striking players, there was no guarantee that they would be able to form another alliance like this next time.

In addition, other countries that had no particular contact with the Demon King were showing a lukewarm response to the subjugation.

Rather, I was worried that they might take advantage of my defenseless gap.

“Really··· It’s annoying and a headache.”

“The odds of winning are the highest now. The Demon King’s army hasn’t gathered yet.”

“They haven’t even gathered yet, but you’re saying our forces are weak… Then we have no choice.

Anyway, as time goes by, the odds of winning will only decrease.

I have no choice but to think of this as an opportunity presented by Sylvia’s quick processing skills and rush into it.

However, since we had no chance of winning if we just confronted each other, we needed to come up with a plan.

“Haaa··· Is that the only way in the end?”

Since you are fighting in enemy territory, your strategies are bound to be somewhat limited.

In a situation where we had to worry about the enemy’s traps, there was only one trump card we could play.

“What are your plans?”

Agnes looked at me with a puzzled expression.

But it wasn’t easy to get the thoughts out of my head.

A strategy that I, a non-strategist, can come up with.

I was disappointed at the extremely simple yet gambling-like plan, but in my head I was telling myself that it was the only effective method.

“There is no choice but to use the troops as bait to launch a surprise attack.”

“Surprise···? ”

“Gather as many enemy forces as possible near the forest, then use teleportation to invade the Demon King’s Castle.”

Only a small number of people were able to teleport.

In that case, we have no choice but to launch a surprise attack on the Demon King’s Castle with a small number of elite troops.

No matter how great an army is, it will fall apart if its leader dies, so this was the plan with the highest chance of success.

“It’s too dangerous.”

Melissa’s face, which was usually calm even in serious situations, became stiff at some point.

Her cold voice and expression, which were the complete opposite of her personality, told us how reckless the plan was.

“While you and Leia are killing time, I can defeat the Demon King. It’s a simple plan.”

“It’s too reckless to fight the Demon King alone.”

Sylvia, who had been listening to the story, glared at me with a stern face.

Her appearance revealed her intention to actively dissuade him if he really intended to carry out the plan.

“It would be nice if we could all storm the Demon King’s Castle together, but if we show up in the middle of the enemy lines, we’ll naturally be attacked in an instant. In that case, I’m sorry, but Leia and Melissa, who are very skilled, will have to play the role of buying time.”

Sylvia had a worried expression on her face, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

Not only her, but everyone here was silently staring at me, as if they were thinking the same thing.

“Unfortunately, this is the method with the highest winning rate.”

In order to win in an unfavorable situation, you have no choice but to take a gamble.

If you do it the right way, you will just lose the same way.

It’s simple, but when you do something crazy, your opponent will be confused.

Surely you wouldn’t think that would actually happen.

There is no choice but to exploit that gap.

The atmosphere in the room, which had been filled with worry as if they had also become somewhat convinced, had changed slightly.

“Then, Leia and Melissa. Please.”

It’s not just me who’s at risk in this operation.

Leia and Melissa, who are playing the role of buying time in the middle of enemy lines, will have no choice but to wait for death, surrounded by troops on both sides if I fail.

But the two nodded willingly.

“Please leave it to me.”

“If I lose here anyway, the Demon King will come after me too, so I have no choice.”

With this, the gambling plan was practically decided.

Sylvia also looked helpless as if she had no choice.

“Because it’s Eugene··· I’ll believe it··· ”

A serious and gloomy atmosphere filled the room.

In the midst of a subtle yet unbearable situation, as if I were going to make a sacrifice, one thought crossed my mind.

“When you come back, how about we all have a wedding?”

I had a feeling that I might be foreshadowing myself, but surprisingly, it was hard to say anything except at a time like this.

‘I guess that’s why everyone talks like this in these situations.’

At the word marriage, the mood in the room quickly changed, and before long, the gloomy atmosphere had disappeared without a trace.