Royal Road of the Extra Scribe

64

Just before the operation commenced,

Alse left the military camp heading towards Elone Plain. It was to have a Plan B in case the operation was anticipated by the enemy.

For that, he needed to meet the commander of Elone Plain, the General of Albad, Sirak’s Kaien.

Additionally, he also called upon Jurass, who was on the left flank of Elone Plain.

Jurass, who had arrived before Alse, was engaged in a tense confrontation with Albad’s figures.

“Jurass, what in the world are you praying for this time?”

“I have no specific hopes. Just going with the flow… Sir Kaien.”

“I don’t particularly fancy being called ‘sir’ by you.”

“Why is that? It’s a fact that I received education from you only twice at the Epsilon Academy.”

“Spouting nonsense. At that point, there was nothing more to teach you. You must know that as well.”

“Ha, even so, you are special to me, sir. …Because there are few people worth devouring like you.”

Upon hearing this, Kaien’s aides, Giryas and Ussis, stood up abruptly and shouted.

“Nonsense!”

“Watch your words!”

Kaien raised his palm to stop them, then chuckled boldly.

“Devouring me, huh. That’s interesting. If you can, go ahead and try.”

“Unfortunately, sir. You are already in my grasp.”

“What?”

“It means, sir, you are already in my palm. You just haven’t realized it yet. Please wait joyfully for the moment you do.”

…”

If someone else had said such words, Kaien would have dismissed it as nonsense, but coming from Jurass, he felt a deep sense of unease within.

Giryas and Ussis also glared fiercely at Jurass, as if their feathers were ruffled.

In the midst of this, Alse appeared.

Arriving with a flourish, Alse looked at the tense atmosphere and, perhaps confirming that it was caused by Jurass, let out a small sigh.

“You’re quite… early.”

“Things are better on my end than yours.”

Alse then turned his gaze directly to Kaien. Kaien, with sunken eyes, stared back at Alse.

‘Impressive.’

Alse exclaimed in pure admiration.

Despite his calm exterior, Cayenne exuded a sharp and staunch aura as if refining steel. An upright spirit that seemed capable of piercing through everything.

Alse greeted with courtesy.

“I am currently in temporary command of the Calipha army. My name is Wade.”

“Hmm. Cayenne.”

“Yes, I was well aware of your reputation. It is an honor to meet the renowned strategist of the continent.”

Having clashed with Alse before, Gilias was grinding his teeth in frustration.

Nevertheless, he knew this was not the time to make a scene, so he restrained his anger, but he intended to address one thing for sure.

“Before we get to the point. What happened to Rutger?”

“Who are you?”

“Don’t play dumb!”

“Oh, now that I think of it, your face looks familiar. Was it Gilias?”

“You…! If you plan to mock me any further, I won’t hold back.”

“Easy now. If it’s about Rutger, he is under my command. He swore loyalty in exchange for curing his daughter’s illness. That’s the end of the story.”

To this, Cayenne interjected.

“Rutger must not have lied, then. Seems like he truly cured the illness. Remarkable. Even I couldn’t discern what illness it was. Could you elaborate on that disease?”

“Of course.”

As they discussed the illness, Cayenne nodded in amazement.

“It was a curse brought on by elven blood. I never anticipated that. I thought it was a local disease from the west, so I was searching for clues there. Turns out the answer lay in the northeast, in Genga.”

“What are your thoughts on Rutger?”

“It’s the path he chose. As his mentor, I must watch over him.”

“He mentioned he could even target your life.”

“That would be a delight to me. Finally, a disciple who surpasses me after 40 years.”

“Seems more adventurous than it looks.”

Alse found the answer satisfactory. If Albad had different intentions, he might have caused trouble for Estelle or Rutger.

At least Cayenne and his subordinates did not entertain such thoughts.

“Well, it seems the small talk has come to an end. Shall we move on to the main topic?”

Alse pointed to the map and explained Plan B.

In case their strategy was revealed, they would abandon the Galarn Mountains and bypass the battlefield to strike the flank of the Svenner army positioned in the Elone Plain.

“So, you plan to bypass the entire army?”

“When you discard, it should be done decisively. It would be great if you could attack Svenner in coordination with us.”

Based on the information Gaspar had obtained and the current situation of the Albad army, Alse explained the tactic to devour the Svenner army.

As Gilias and Yussis listened to the tactical explanation, their expressions hardened gradually.

Yussis, in particular, was not unaffected by the shock.

‘He’s quite something. I can understand what happened to Julian.’

Alse not only quickly grasped the opponent’s strategy by observing the formation but also pinpointed its vulnerability.

“If our Calipha army strikes the flank, Svenner will move the army sideways to respond. This is to facilitate easy coordination with the likely pursuers, the Tonkai army. So, Jurass, you should dispatch a mobile unit to stab the opposite flank.”

“But won’t we be exposed?”

“You should be able to do it without being detected, right?”

Forcing it. Well, alright. Surely, if we fight like this, we can gain an advantage. However… it doesn’t mean we can fully make up for the loss of the Galrun Mountains we’ve taken. Moreover, what’s in the enemy camp is their Jemuto. The possibility of facing an unjust retaliation cannot be ruled out.

“Probably.”

“So, Wade. I must hear about the stratagem you’ve been planning. The feat of cutting down all the trees. The meaning behind it. I will decide after hearing that.”

“Understood. My plan is…”

As Alz unveiled the stratagem devised by Juras, the barracks fell silent for a moment. Giryas and Yushis were speechless, wearing blank expressions, while Kaien blinked in amazement.

On the other hand, Juras suddenly burst into laughter.

“hahahahaha! How amusing. Truly delightful! This is why I’ve fallen head over heels for you! Well done. Very well done, Wade!”

“Ugh.”

Feeling repulsed by the mix of affection and madness in Juras’ gaze, Alz took a step back from him sincerely.

In the end, Albad agreed to Alz’s Plan B. Subsequently, discussions began on the actions to take if Plan A succeeded.

* * *

13th day of the Chimera War.

The battles that started on eight different fronts showed varying patterns.

Some were approaching a stalemate, while others engaged in fierce combat.

Especially, the 2nd Army of Bryun, where the game’s protagonist, Cassius Lloyd, was stationed, suffered a total of 70,000 casualties in the intense battle against the 3rd Army of Svenner.

Strategists anticipated that battle to be the largest in this war, but on the morning of the 14th day of the war.

A battle worthy of history began in the Galrun Mountains.

“Advance, vanguard!”

The vanguard of Caliper moving forward.

Alz deployed 10,000 troops widely in a horizontal formation. It was in two layers. In total, 20,000 troops were arranged.

With no trees blocking between the soldiers, they could form an orderly large formation.

The remaining 20,000 troops kept a distance from the vanguard, waiting. The other 8,000 troops were still in the rear forest area where they could hide their bodies without cutting down trees.

“To actually launch an attack…”

Kraus, looking at Caliper’s formation, felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

Like a deity of cunning, he instinctively sensed there was something else, but rationally couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

Grandis spoke, “Not a bad move. Do you understand, Kraus? With the situation like this, we are now unable to launch an attack.”

“That’s right. Since the trees are gone, that area is no longer a mountain but a plain.”

While the enemy was consolidating strength with a large formation, the Tunkai army couldn’t do so due to the presence of trees.

Even if defense was fine, if they were to advance for an attack, the formation would inevitably be disrupted due to the trees.

Hence, all the Tunkai army could do tactically at the moment was to intercept the enemy’s movements in place.

Caliper’s infantry, holding the sword of attack.

Grandis chuckled with interest.

“Well, where shall we watch the struggling from?”

Swish! Swish! The vanguard infantry of Caliper advancing.

They soon entered the range of arrows.

“Fire! Make them regret foolishly cutting down the trees!”

Pew! Pew! Arrows whizzed by.

The Caliper infantry responded as if they had been waiting. The front 10,000 troops knelt down, placing shields on the ground, while the rear 10,000 troops stood closely behind, stacking shields on top, forming a shield wall in pairs to prepare for the arrows.

Kugugugung! The arrows were mostly blocked by shields and returned without effect.

Caliphe infantry slowly advancing in sync. Toonkai soldiers hid between trees, preparing to counterattack.

And at that moment, Krauss felt a deeper sense of unease.

‘Wait… Why are our forces fighting in a place like this in the first place?’

This place was a neutral area located further ahead than Toonkai’s previous position, where the accursed watchtower stood.

‘No, there was no other choice.’

Because they knew the enemy had fire mages.

That’s why they had to set up defenses even in areas where trees were not cut down.

It was to preemptively block the fire magic, as they didn’t know how the fire would spread if left unchecked.

‘Wait. There was no other choice…right?’

Krauss, who only now realized Alz’s existence in psychological warfare, was taken aback, but was left speechless by the actions of the Caliphe troops that followed.

As the advanced infantry faced the enemy lines, they raised their shields in a defensive formation and then… crack! They began stacking the prepared firebombs.

They had gathered plenty of dry firewood and leaves, so the amount of firebombs exceeded imagination.

“Do they really have fire mages…?”

“What did I tell you.”

Fwooosh! Flames blazing horizontally in line with the infantry.

Krauss, with a puzzled expression, gave instructions.

“The soldiers in the front, fall back to the designated area!”

They had already taken measures, making it difficult for the fire to spread.

Even if it did spread, they were prepared to contain it.

In reality, the fire couldn’t catch onto the trees; it just emitted thick smoke.

‘Wait… The amount of smoke…! Could it be?’

“Oh-ho. So that’s what it was.”

Even Grandis had a surprised expression this time.

As the dense smoke spread widely horizontally, the movements of the Caliphe troops were completely obscured. Not even the temporary watchtower could observe the enemy’s actions.

Grandis chuckled.

“hahahahaha! The enemy already knew how I would handle this. I’ve been curious how they would attack after deploying the fire magic. So this is the method they chose. Krauss, the current fire magic is a deception. The enemy is now aiming to infiltrate our territory from a specific point and establish their formation.”

“As expected…!”

The smoke rose so high and thick that Toonkai couldn’t determine where the breakthrough point was.

And then it happened.

Crash! Toonkai’s formation suddenly shattered.

From Caliphe’s perspective, it was the left flank, while from Toonkai’s perspective, it was the right flank.

“Urgent news! Caliphe’s forces have entered the right wing camp!”

“Are they trying to seize the high ground on the right…!”

While it wasn’t a high ground to speak of, it was the most ideal position for infiltrating and establishing a formation.

“Damn! We’ve been hit.”

Toonkai’s forces, spread out in formation, couldn’t respond immediately to this sudden breach. If the enemy had shown any movement, they would have reacted swiftly, but due to the smoke, that was impossible.

Grandis sent lavish praise towards Alz.

“Truly cunning enough to be called divine! But it’s just a suicidal act! Krauss, reorganize the troops. I’m going to devour them soon.”

“Tsk! Understood.”

Kraus was not pleased with Grandis suddenly taking on the role of a general, but since the decision itself was correct, he started reorganizing the soldiers on the right as he said.

As he had predicted, the enemy’s choice to infiltrate this formation was an act of suicide.

It was obvious that it would take time to secure the formation, so if they could eliminate the encirclement before that, it would be over.

But that wasn’t the case.

“General! The enemies are attacking!”

“Already!?”

From Noble mtl dot com

The army of Caliper swiftly attacking before securing the formation.

“The numbers!”

“I can’t see clearly due to the obstruction, but it seems to be close to around ten thousand!”

“Hmph, are they trying to buy time!”

Tunkai sent troops in haste, aiming for the reorganization of the formation.

“Defend. It’s just a minor attack.”

As the soldiers of Tunkai rushed to defend, Anton’s forces pushed back, causing the formation to collapse in an instant.

Grandis narrowed her eyes as she looked at the position.

“Indeed, is that the armed individual who blocked Lexite. Kraus, do you know anything about his identity?”

“There was no information in the intelligence reports. It might be Wade’s subordinate who was missing.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. He’s going to die here regardless. Lexite. Go and take care of it.”

Lexite, with a weapon in hand, seemed ready as if he had been waiting.

Due to losing his weapon in the last duel, he was slightly behind Anton, but this time was different.

“Kill him! Uaah!”

“Come!”

Clang! Lexite engaged in a one-on-one duel with Anton.

Anton responded as if he had been waiting.

The two clearly demonstrated what it meant to be at the highest level of martial arts, starting to exchange hundreds of moves.

As a result, the front line became deadlocked around them.

“It’s dragging on unnecessarily…”

Grandis, regaining her composure, urged Kraus.

“Is it ready, Kraus?”

“Just a little more, please wait!”

And so, after 30 minutes.

Kraus finally completed the reorganization of the army.

“I’ve finished organizing the vanguard troops for now!”

“Good, push forward all at once.”

Twenty thousand vanguard troops began advancing towards the hill where the enemy was positioned.

If the remaining twenty thousand rear troops launched an attack afterwards, the Caliper army wouldn’t be able to hold on and would collapse.

The vanguard troops of Tunkai advanced.

“They’re coming…! We can’t hold on any longer! Everyone, retreat!”

Anton, seeing Tunkai’s troops advancing, signaled the army camp and began to retreat.

“Do you think they’ll let us escape so easily!”

Although Lexite tried to pursue, Eonia provided support with arrows filled with a whistling sound, allowing Anton to create distance and retreat.

“Damn!”

Lexite furrowed his brow in arrogance.

He felt ashamed of being at a disadvantage against Anton.

He thought that the only opponent who could stand against him was in the same three-gunners, so this match was nothing but disgrace.

Galton, a close aide of Krauss who led the reserve forces, spoke to him.

“Brother, you’re Lexite, right? The chief entrusted you with the command of these forces. He said to chase the enemy with these forces and sweep through their front lines. If you keep pushing forward, you can paralyze their command structure.”

It was difficult for the opponents holding the line to deal with Lexite’s army pushing forward aggressively. If the reserve forces swept through the front lines, paralyzing the command structure, the rear forces could advance and end the battle in victory.

“But be careful, if you get surrounded, there’s no way out.”

“Fine. Follow me. I will slaughter every last one of the enemies!”

“hahahaha! You’re quite fearsome, brother.”

Lexite led his forces into the enemy formation aggressively.

His target was undoubtedly the heights where Alce would be.

And at that moment.

Alce’s strategy began to show its teeth in full force.