episode_0095

“… … !”

Jinor’s expression turned contemplative for a moment upon hearing what I said, and then-

More and more doubts appear on the old man’s face.

Aside from the fact that I was surprised when I first heard it, I also questioned the words I had said as if I was certain: ‘Anima will lose this battle.’

“Look, Swen. After a Zen question that I don’t understand at all, why did I come to that conclusion?”

Yuuri is not Luna.

If you just go ahead and say this, it won’t work. I wish I had had a similar reaction to Jinor.

In order to persuade, this conclusion must be fleshed out.

then.

Why do I have to go to the lengths of persuasion to help Aceers?

I had already done everything I had to do as a favor to her. No, considering that Irene risked her life to carry out the operation, I actually wanted to receive something from her.

Still, if you have to help, what is the reason?

Without having to go far, I was immediately a member of the Aceers Army.

If you judge based on the story you heard from Anima and the atmosphere of this country.

It was clear that the moment something went wrong with her, the Aishous army itself would quickly collapse.

No, it’s not just her. It would be the same even if Hernandorf, Emma, or Epinel were to go wrong.

There is nothing to think about. They’re probably trying to force the troops for revenge or something. In the beginning, he may be able to win by riding the momentum of revenge, but if the fight goes on for a long time, he will inevitably lose to Serpina, who has a significant difference in weight class. This was such an obvious fact that there was no need to even use intelligence to predict it.

I think that the outstanding bond between these five people and the bond that was strengthened through the experience of coming up from the bottom has its advantages, too.

In these difficult times, having someone who sincerely believes in each other and has your back is an asset in itself.

It was very natural for each other to be deceived and deceived, and it was a world where betraying one’s master was not even a big flaw.

It was evident from the fact that I and Irene were getting along without any difficulties.

but.

As there were advantages, there were also obvious disadvantages. Jinor in front of me, who was strangely held in check even though he had the ability, was proof of that.

As I thought before, it was obvious that if one out of five people made a mistake, the country would collapse rapidly.

If Yuuri loses his judgment and starts running wild, wouldn’t that mean that I and Iren would have no safe place to stay right now?

And, even if you look at it from a macro perspective, from my perspective-

It wouldn’t be good if Acious went on a rampage and got eaten by Serpina.

The most ideal situation for the future Lunarien army was for the three regions of Brans, Serpina, and Aishous in the central continent to somehow be balanced.

‘So I have to take action here.’

If you have decided to persuade, now is the time to lay the foundation.

In order to meet the lord and persuade him, there is a need to sort out the situation here and now.

So, is Jinor the person I need to convince now?

“Zinor. Would you like to come this way?”

Instead of answering what I said, Jinor looked at me very strangely, but-

Soon, he came closer to me with a very serious expression.

Hispil Castle.

Memories of drawing a map with Irene at Castle Annell’s house came back to me.

Hispil Castle was a castle in the border area that bordered Charam County at the time.

That meant that a map of the area had been drawn.

I found the matching map in my arms, took it out, and spread it out on the table.

“Ultimately, the battle takes place on the ground.”

I played this game for over 10,000 hours.

It covers almost all cases. If Anima’s defeat is close to being confirmed, we will definitely be able to figure out how to defeat it.

‘Let me see.’

If Anima departs from Lacline Castle, there are three routes.

But there was no need to look at each route.

She would have definitely chosen the shortest route, the path that goes straight up.

Although it is a bit rough, it still takes the least time.

“Among the three paths, which one do you think is better to take if there is a surprise attack?”

“… … Well, it seems like you keep repeating the question without giving a proper answer. What on earth is this?”

“This is to explain exactly why Anima was defeated.”

“Are you saying that?”

Jinor still looked like he didn’t understand.

Certainly, from his point of view, it might seem like I keep talking nonsense.

What should I do here?

There might be a way to explain my situation slowly… … Now was the time to come out a little stronger.

“That’s right. Please let me know. We will definitely give you an explanation that you can understand.”

“… … .”

If you had just been commissioned into the Aishus Army, there is a high possibility that it would not have worked.

I had already achieved several ‘achievements’, and the person who observed the process closest was Jinor.

I don’t know his exact intentions, but seeing as he was trying to marry off his adopted daughter to me, there was a possibility that he would listen to me seriously.

Jinor looked at me for a moment, lost in thought without saying a word…

Soon, he nodded his head slowly, as if he had made up his mind for something, and only then did he begin to answer what I said.

“… … If we were to make a surprise attack, we would naturally take the middle route, which is the shortest route.”

“Is that also the case? I think so too.’

It was not difficult to guess Anima’s judgment.

Well, from her perspective, she would take advantage of the empty Hispil Castle and launch a ‘surprise raid’ of her own.

In that case, it was clear that they would try to arrive as quickly as possible, even if it meant straining the soldiers somewhat.

“Wait a minute. Since you have been asking questions, give me the right to ask questions too. Wouldn’t that be better than explaining it one-sidedly?”

“Tell me.”

“The fact that a surprise attack was carried out means that Miss Anima had secured a basis for a surprise attack, but what exactly was that basis?”

In other words, are you asking what Anima believed in and carried out the attack?

There is not enough information to make guesses.

Anything is fine. I needed information about a woman named Anima Ingram.

“To answer that, I have to ask about Anima.”

“You mean you have to ask in order to get an answer, right?”

Jinor thought about those words a few times and then came up with an answer to my question.

“… … Miss Anima, Swen. As you know, before I came here, he was the national affairs officer for Aceers County. If you were to judge whether you have talent or not, I think you have it. I couldn’t watch her for long, but she must have been the one behind the scenes plotting the trajectory of Atious-kun.”

“I see. How is your personality?”

“I don’t know the details because I left right away… … I do know that you are very cautious. Shortly after taking office as a strategist, I looked through all the strategies and plans she had drawn up, and most of them were all strategies that prioritized reducing the possibility of failure to a minimum. If you think that the strategy you tried is impossible, you have a tendency to back out right away.”

“Careful, D. That’s fine. It was helpful. In that case, you must have figured out whether there are troops in the castle or not.”

“It is highly probable that that is the case.”

If you were a cautious person, you wouldn’t have suddenly attempted a surprise attack.

But, according to the inference, she loses that battle.

There were many cases, but they were largely condensed into two.

first. You may unfortunately encounter something like a natural disaster.

second. In fact, there were troops at Heathfield Castle.

Natural disaster… … Let’s exclude it for now.

Unless it could be predicted accurately, there was no guarantee that it was not a natural disaster. No matter how low the probability was, the possibility that lightning or a meteorite would actually fall on Aishus County this time could never be ruled out. Even if it unfolds that way, the outcome of losing itself does not change.

But now I had to convince Jinor. Furthermore, I had to persuade Yuuri.

Imagine saying with a very serious face, ‘A lightning strike will strike the troops led by Anima and they will be defeated.’

How could she, or rather Jinor in front of her right now, take those words at face value?

Even though I am someone who has once called down a meteorite from the sky, the reality is that I cannot easily believe in absurd claims like natural disasters.

So, rather than something like a natural disaster, it had to be a more believable story for anyone to hear.

So the second conclusion is-

“Hispil Castle… … Even though she checked once, there was an unknown medical history.”

“Unknown medical history exists? You’re saying something I don’t understand again.”

“But it’s true. Troops can neither soar into the sky nor fall to the ground… … It’s probably hiding somewhere… … ji… … ?”

As I looked closely at the map, I answered… … ‘Something’ came in.

“… … Huh?”

“?”

Near Heathfield Castle and Lacline Castle. To be exact, to the southeast of Hispil Castle, there was a not very high mountain range surrounded by forests.

I pointed to that place.

“If you hide your troops… … This way.”

If you hide it here, it adds credibility to the fact that ‘Anima is defeated.’ It’s the perfect place to pull back your troops and surprise the rear line.

“Ambush? … … Then there is a strange part.”

“What is it?”

“Just now you declared that ‘Anima is defeated.’ But Miss Anima went out with over 50,000 troops. Wouldn’t there have to be at least that many troops to defeat her? I don’t think it would be possible to ambush that many troops in that area.”

As he said, ambushing a large army of over 50,000 people in this area was a difficult task no matter how you think about it.

Let’s say you somehow managed to do it well.

However, how else will you defend Hisfil Castle, which is empty while you send your troops down to attack the rear?

In this case, there was no definitive situation where Anima was defeated.

But no matter how you look at it, it seems like an ambush… …

Now that a definitive prediction has been made, reliable materials are needed.

What did I miss?

‘Let’s change our perspective.’

This is the end of our guesses about Anima’s whereabouts.

From now on, let’s think that I am Serpina.

“First of all, setting up an ambush means… … It seems safe to say that the Serpina army is expecting to be attacked by the Aishous army. Do you agree?”

“Agree and sleep, isn’t that the only number of cases? There is no need to set up a meaningless ambush.”

“Then… … Serpina must have set a trap… … ?”

“Trap?”

okay.

As I put my thoughts into words, the picture was becoming more and more concrete.

This is Serpina’s trap.

“Well, I deliberately emptied my troops to lure Anima. Even the cautious Anima had the illusion that there were no troops in the castle.”

“It’s a trap.”

Jinor looked at the map and checked the location I pointed to several times.

“Then is this what you mean? They sent troops out to set a trap and ambushed the troops at this point in the mountains, so they will be defeated?”

“Wait a minute. That alone is not enough. If Anima was fooled in the first place… … Not to the south where the mountain ranges are, but in the other direction… … ?”

‘uh?’

that’s right.

Anima must have moved after confirming that the Serpina army had dispatched troops somewhere.

So where?

I checked the map again.

Below Heathfield Castle is Lacline Castle.

If you pass through the rough terrain to the right, you will see a fork in the road leading to Zellstrom Castle and Walharat Castle.

And above, there was a castle belonging to the Serpina Army.

Lastly, on the left… … There was a castle belonging to Brans County.

The top is out of topic. There was no reason for the Serpina army to withdraw its troops to the rear. If that were the case, Anima would have won rather than lost. It runs counter to the conclusion I derived by combining my predictions.

If it is right, then Anima sending troops to Hispil Castle will lead to victory. This is a problem that can be solved by intercepting it at Balharat Castle. In the first place, a messenger must have arrived saying that enemy soldiers were coming this way. So exclude it.

At the bottom is Lacline Castle. From our military’s point of view, there was no reason to leave the easy route of staging a sit-in at the castle and go out far to intercept them. Since he was an animator who had held the position of a counselor, he would have this level of sense.

All that remains is on the left.

The territory of Brans County.

“The Serpina army attempted to dispatch troops to where the Brans army’s territory was located. so… … Anima took advantage of that opportunity. That’s all there is.”

Assuming you were going to deploy to the military, this was the most natural place.

Rather, this was the only one. For Anima to think of ‘surprise’.

then… … Did they make it look like they were dispatching troops to the left and then quickly turn the troops toward the ambush site?

‘no. ‘There’s not enough time.’

Considering the map, it was inevitable that we would encounter Anima’s forces before arriving at the ambush site.

Even if we returned as quickly as possible, all we could do was arrive at about the halfway point between Heathfield Castle and Ayers County.

In that case, depending on the situation, Anima may win. This means that the enemy soldiers came out without having to sit in.

If there was a sit-in protest, it got even weirder. From Anima’s point of view, it would be enough to just withdraw the troops, and it would have been too complicated to do just that.

And by the time I thought about it.

“Umm… … So when are you going to order an ambush? Are you really going to claim that there are more troops in the Serpina army that we haven’t figured out?”

“… … Ah.”

When I heard his words, my voice dropped without me realizing it.

At that moment, I feel like my mind, which had been foggy and stuffy, becomes very clear.

“What Jinor said is correct.”

“… … What?”

“The ambushed troops… … It already exists!”

“!!!”

[The power of Serpina’s army is not limited to the main force of Hispil Castle.]

If you think about it that way, all of Serpina’s actions fit together very neatly.

There was even a plausible explanation as to why the castle was left empty on purpose.

To the extent that everything that was done by moving the troops around seemed like it had been planned from the beginning, rather than just a random act.

“First, move the troops as if they are intentionally withdrawing to the west to make the Aishous army move their troops.”

“After confirming Anima’s departure, they quickly withdraw their troops and head to the south of Hispil Castle. You may not be able to reach the ambush site, but it doesn’t matter. Because there are troops already in ambush.”

“It’s okay for the Aceers to fight here, but there’s no problem if they run away. Because the additional troops in ambush can surround the rear.”

“That’s why-”

It was only then that I started seeing things properly.

A picture of Anima being defeated.

“Anima, you will lose this battle.”