Royal Road of the Extra Scribe

60

After the meeting, Bangs approached me enthusiastically.

“Hey, Al! Is it true? You’ve been promoted five ranks!”

“That’s right. It seems I’m now a infantry battalion commander.”

“Really! Being an infantry battalion commander is quite prestigious. It easily takes about 10 years to reach that position unless you’re from a high noble family.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! Even common soldiers take about 30 years to reach that rank. Did you know that?”

Typically, noble cadets start at lower officer positions. That’s why being promoted five ranks put me in quite a high position.

Bangs sighed enviously.

“Phew…! I wonder if some kind of luck will come my way and make me roll into some prestigious position.”

“Then maybe an opportunity will arise soon.”

“Opportunity?”

“Look over there.”

The key officers were explaining the military deployment to the officers.

Watching this for a moment, Bangs’ complexion turned pale.

“W-what, deployment? A full-scale battle with our entire forces…”

“Try to seize the opportunity well.”

“Wait a moment, Alz. I have something to tell you.”

“…?”

“It’s from Dorothy. She seems to want to express her gratitude to you. Visit her when you have time.”

“Alright. I’ll make sure to visit her later.”

Since I was too lazy to go see her anyway, I decided to just let it go.

Returning to the barracks, I was able to meet the new unit.

Thanks to General Duna’s subtle consideration, the newcomers were familiar faces to me.

“Well, I never thought I’d end up under your command.”

It was Felix, the infantry captain who Wade first introduced to me at the Battle of Poldic. Leading a thousand heavy infantry, he had joined my unit.

Beside him was Stina, a female officer and, as I heard, also the companion of Perjee, my brother.

“Nice to meet you, you’re Alz, right? I’ve heard a lot about you from Perjee and Yulia. Yulia wasn’t exaggerating when she said you’re unforgettable. I almost found myself staring blankly for a moment.”

“Uh… thanks.”

Having a female officer in a combat unit was extremely rare, so it seemed I couldn’t manage my expression for a moment.

Stina chuckled and said, “Don’t find it strange. I’m just in charge of the territorial militia brought in for this war. Normally, I work as a training officer for female cadets. So, I’ll leave the practical command of the army to Perjee.”

“I see. Welcome aboard.”

The number of soldiers she brought with her was three thousand.

Considering Stina’s noble lineage as a viscount, it was quite a significant number. Especially since we had only brought in five hundred militia.

Soldiers entering our camp and organizing their formations.

With this, my unit’s number reached five thousand.

“Perjee, will you handle the basic command structure? The soldiers might not listen politely to me.”

I was already known in the military circles as a promising officer who rose through the ranks quickly.

Perjee nodded but let out a deep sigh.

“It took me five years to go from a regular officer to an infantry platoon leader… and here you are, a battalion commander in a week…”

He seemed disappointed.

As Perjee was organizing the unit, Gaspar, who had been sent to scout the Elone Plains, returned.

To avoid causing confusion by sending scouts towards the Tunkai Formation, I had deployed them to the adjacent battlefield.

“How’s it looking at the Elone Plains?”

“There’s a tense atmosphere. It’s understandable since Cayenne and Jemuto are facing off. However, it doesn’t seem like an immediate battle will break out. They seem to be watching this side as well.”

“Are they planning their next move based on the outcome here?”

“Most likely. But why is it so noisy here? Could it be an expedition?”

“It seems so.”

As I explained the situation, Gaspar frowned.

“Hmm. Not very reassuring.”

“What do you mean?”

“This peculiar baiting tactic. It’s a method often used by bandits. They kidnap hostages to make the opponent anxious, leading them into a trap.”

“Do you think that’s the case here? But it’s not easy for us to fall into a trap.”

“hahahaha, don’t underestimate the bandits. Even if they’re ignorant of military tactics, they excel at causing confusion and panic in their opponents.”

“Hmm… Gaspar, please continue monitoring the Elone Plains.”

“Leave it to me.”

There was a possibility of facing a major crisis if Svenner unexpectedly organized a guerrilla unit to support Tunkai.

“He mentioned Akno Jerum.”

In the game, only the name was known. He was a character who had not shown any activity.

“An individual of this caliber would not be insignificant, so the likelihood of his involvement in the ongoing story updates is high.”

He was comparable to that guy, Juras. He was no mere extra.

I had a hunch that he had taken some measures even in this chaotic mountain area.

* * *

On the other hand, Tunkai’s formation facing the Caliper army.

Commander Krauss Forkner was trembling.

“What did you just say! Are you telling me that Kalehan died not just because he failed to capture the target!? Except for Dunan, there’s no one who can kill Kalehan facing the enemy formation! Did Dunan show up there?”

“But… Kalehan, the head of the unit, fell to the enemy soldiers…”

“Is that what you call it? Kalehan was defeated by a mere soldier!”

“But it’s true!”

“Shut up!”

From Noble mtl dot com

Krauss kicked the soldier who was reporting, causing him to collapse, his stiff military boots causing the soldier to faint.

“Damn it! This will mess up the plan!”

With this move, the Caliper army was supposed to initiate an attack. By kidnapping the son of the opposing general, they planned to drive a wedge.

If Caliper made the choice to sit still, Tunkai would end up sacrificing the elite cavalry.

“Damn it!”

Krauss, unable to contain his anger, threw himself onto the heavy chair. At that moment, laughter erupted from beside him.

“hahahahaha, Krauss, where did your confident declaration of showing a different side disappear to?”

It was a middle-aged man dressed in exotic attire.

Behind him stood a man with a stern look, dressed similarly, and all the soldiers in the barracks, except Krauss, looked at him fearfully.

“It is premature to conclude that the operation has failed, Grandis.”

“Hmm, then there was no need to express anger even at the cost of sacrificing your subordinates?”

“That’s…”

Deep down, Krauss was cursing under his breath.

“Those darn Svenner people. Of all things, they had to involve the Western immigrants…”

They were people from the Western ethnic group, newly accepted as allies by the Svenner Kingdom.

As a native of that region, Krauss had known this man, Grandis, for a while.

Through the relationship between the punitive army and the bandits.

Krauss had suffered defeat and been driven out to the continent by Grandis in the past.

“What do you want, I will help you. What could be the reason Akno secretly dispatched me here for.”

“I appreciate the offer but will decline.”

Despite past defeats, Krauss never thought he was inferior to this man.

“Whatever it is, I will help. I will not reject the favor from Akno.”

Krauss was determined to lead this war to victory, no matter what.

“If the lure operation through the cavalry failed, I will switch to a more sinister method.”

Like that woman who had taught him the ways of war and was now one of the leaders of the Western immigrants.

“I need to change the plan.”

But that was the moment.

“Chief! The enemies are attacking!”

“Is that for real!?”

“It is real!”

“They really are attacking? Alright, you bastards, move!”

Dunan was a fool. Dunan was a fool! Kraus called out for readiness, and then sent the signal to commence the planned operation.

Caliper’s army, with a fearsome force of 65,000 soldiers, began to advance.

They shattered the watchtower located in the neutral zone as their first target.

Whoa!!

As the cursed watchtower collapsed, the soldiers couldn’t help but cheer, even though no one had ordered them to.

General Gaitz chuckled as he witnessed this.

“General. It seems morale has been boosted.”

“Yes, just as you said.”

Caliper’s army, after destroying the watchtower, began to penetrate deep into enemy territory.

Their target was the formation located at the far end of Tunkai’s six main bases.

Attacking from the rear would draw the enemy out one by one, like sausages on a string, ready to be cut down.

“General. The enemy is in sight.”

“Alright, it’s payback time! Follow me!”

Dunan personally led the elite troops of 10,000 from the front lines.

“Huah!”

Clang! A stunning display of prowess as he single-handedly took down three enemy soldiers.

Although not featured in the game, if he were, he would have been rated around 95 in combat prowess. He was stronger than Eonia and Yumir, and on par with Ilya and Hogg.

He was particularly sharp in combat situations like this.

A general who could read the flow of the battlefield with animalistic instincts, Dunan could sense the impending danger before long.

“The air suddenly feels different…?”

It wasn’t the air on the battlefield that had changed. It was the ominous currents swirling from all directions around Caliper’s army that had engulfed the battlefield.

Dunan quickly returned to where General Gaitz was, trying to ascertain the situation.

Gaitz was visibly flustered.

“How did they set up this ambush…!”

Ten ambush troops were tightening the noose around Caliper’s army from all sides.

“There weren’t just six main bases!?”

In other words, including this location, Tunkai’s army actually had eleven formations.

Gaitz was shocked by the misinformation from the start, and also thrilled by their agile response in simultaneously approaching from all directions.

“General! The enemies are closing in from all sides!”

The tactic of ten-sided ambush. A strategy known for being used by Hanshin of Hannara and Jeonguk of Weenara, famous for their ambush tactics.

A tactic where ten armies strike from all directions, swiftly annihilating the enemy.

“Excellent.”

Dunan praised this agile ambush tactic.

Unlike General Gaitz, he never underestimated Kraus from the beginning.

‘Who would have thought we could set up an ambush so smoothly. The rumors of being as skilled as ten thieves weren’t baseless. But…!’

This was exactly the situation Dugan desired.

“Don’t panic! Prepare yourselves and intercept the enemy!”

The Calipher army was consolidating their strength around the center, ready to counter the encroaching foes.

Despite being surrounded, Calipher had the numerical advantage.

Moreover, this forested terrain made it difficult for the encirclement to be advantageous.

If they could hold out and concentrate their strength, Calipher had a good chance of winning.

‘Now is my time. I will crush you, Kraus Forkner…!’

Dugan, a master of warfare.

He was confident in leading this chaotic situation to victory.

That’s why he insisted on not staying still when Alsgar warned of a possible ambush.

In the end, Dugan made the choice to lead the war to victory, but…

“Ha! Fool.”

Kraus chuckled darkly and signaled, “Now…! Destroy them!”

At that moment, a sudden change occurred at the heart of the Calipher army.

Swoosh! Tuncai soldiers, who had been secretly digging tunnels and hiding, emerged discreetly and set fire using the incendiary tools they had prepared.

“What…!?”

A massive blaze erupted from the center of the formation.

This damp, springtime region was slow to catch fire due to its moisture-laden trees and leaves, but the dry flower petals on the ground acted as kindling, quickly spreading the flames.

“General! Fire…!”

“…!”

Dugan was speechless.

A fire breaking out in the center of the formation.

Due to this unexpected fire, Dugan’s plan to concentrate the army’s strength and counter the enemy ambush had completely failed.

‘Was I playing in the palm of their hand…?’

Preparing such a sophisticated scheme meant knowing exactly where and when the attack would come.

“Hey! Evacuate quickly!”

Gates ordered the evacuation of the fire instead of Dugan, but as the fire climbed up the trees, igniting branches and leaves, extinguishing it became impossible.

“This is the end, Calipher’s cuties. Annihilate them!”

Due to the ten-sided ambush scheme, the completely surrounded Calipher army had no way out.

With fire raging in the center and the outer perimeter surrounded.

Kraus intended to proceed with the annihilation operation, but suddenly, a clanging sound of disagreement was heard from the rear.

“…What?”

Commotion on the northern battlefield.

Soon, a subordinate approached and shouted, “Chief! Jaggartan’s chief unit has been defeated! They’ve broken through!”

“What!?”

Could the ambush be broken through this quickly?

This time, it was Kraus who was left speechless.

“No, this can’t be happening! The escape route should not open this quickly! Block that place immediately!”

Klaus tried to deploy troops from both ambush units to plug the hole, but even the reinforcements were defeated by Als’ forces.

A huge gap was created in the ten-sided ambush scheme.