The name Anima wasn’t one I had never heard before.
'That’s right. There was definitely a strategist-like general named Anima.'
I remembered her as a capable female character with decent stats.
Of course, she wasn’t a character who appeared as a hidden general, but in every scenario, she was always affiliated with the Aishus army.
Indeed, the strategist for Aishus' army was usually Anima.
For some reason, Jinor was holding that position now, but Jinor had originally been a hidden general.
Now, with Anima added to the mix, I started to understand Epinnel's strangely stubborn behavior.
Could it be...
'Is it possible... that Epinnel didn’t like the fact that Anima was ousted from her position as strategist?'
Goodness.
No matter how much Aishus’ army was run by veteran soldiers, if you consider the primary trait of a strategist—intelligence—then Jinor would undoubtedly be far superior.
Moreover, this wasn’t a game; it was the real world, and Jinor, unlike me who predicted and fit pieces together, was undoubtedly an extremely smart and wise individual.
But still, was she resentful of this?
If she cared so much about the 'original members,' then why was she recruiting talent in the first place?
"..."
After hearing Jinor’s words, Epinnel pondered for a moment before looking at me.
"Swen. You’re sure about this, right?"
"Are you talking about me?"
"The part about how you’re willing to risk your life to make a miracle happen. If the surprise attack doesn’t come, then this fortress, after we withdraw the troops, will be in a precarious situation. If your ability doesn’t activate, we will be in deep trouble."
"...It’s possible. If this fortress falls, I’ll surely become a prisoner of Brans’ army. And from Brans’ perspective, I’m a traitor. Why would I risk my life to tell lies?"
I said the lie without a change in my expression.
Well, based on my predictions, the surprise attack would likely happen, so I wasn’t worried.
"..."
Epinnel listened to me and thought for a while before turning to Jinor.
"Strategist. I hope you won’t be too upset. But I hope you understand that Anima is an extremely important person for our Aishus army. We received a lot of help from her during the early days. She is not someone who should be treated this way. I’m not criticizing you, strategist, but..."
"I understand, General."
"I’m glad to hear that."
Epinnel nodded.
"We’ll withdraw the troops and prepare for the surprise attack on Valharat Castle."
"Epinnel."
I took a map from my pocket and handed it to her.
It was the map I had just made, marking the likely location of the surprise attack.
Epinnel took it and looked at me in surprise.
"This... Swen, did you prepare all of this?"
"Yes."
"Ho... I thought you only had the ability to read the heavens’ will, but it seems you’re quite skilled in tactics as well."
Just to clarify, I had no idea about tactics.
I only knew the basics, like the 'hammer and anvil' tactic, but I had no real expertise.
I had simply spent 10,000 hours playing this game, so I knew roughly how a surprise attack would unfold.
"Anyway, just in case, I want you to start preparing for the ritual. I’ll assign a few soldiers to assist you."
"I understand."
"Once that’s decided, we should move quickly."
Having successfully convinced Epinnel,
I turned to Jinor and asked a question.
"Where is Anima right now?"
I didn’t recall seeing her face during the meeting.
I remembered her having light brown bobbed hair, but there was no such woman here.
"She’s gone on a pilgrimage."
"A pilgrimage?"
"...She thought that her shortcomings were the reason she lost her position, so she left for some place within the territory for a pilgrimage."
"Huh...? Did our lord allow this?"
It was called a pilgrimage, but wasn’t she just disobeying orders?
Wasn’t it just an excuse like 'I won’t do anything unless I’m made strategist' and then running away?
"The current lord, Yuri, and the key figures in Aishus army share a very strong bond. Apparently, even while on pilgrimage, she must still be in contact with someone."
"Huh..."
I cautiously looked at Jinor.
From his expression, I felt it was okay to ask a bit more, so I decided to proceed.
"Why exactly are you with Aishus' army, Jinor?"
Jinor’s eyebrows twitched at my question,
but as I expected, he didn’t seem too offended and let out a short sigh.
"Quite a bold question. Well, I suppose from your perspective, it might seem that way."
For someone like Jinor, he would surely be treated well wherever he went.
He was known as one of the wisest men on the continent.
So, the fact that he became a strategist was not because he was someone who should be treated this way.
"This country is definitely heavily influenced by the founding heroes, but fortunately, those founding heroes are all generals with extraordinary abilities. General Epinnel, General Emma, General Hernandorf, and even the former strategist Anima. Though they can be a bit stubborn, none of them are foolish or evil people. They’re all people who are genuinely working for the peace of the continent. And of course, our lord Yuri is also much more suited to be a ruler than people like Lyn Brans or Navidos Ohana."
Navidos Ohana
It referred to the ruler of Ohana army, which bordered the southern Karelia army.
"After the empire collapsed, I realized that, like the past rulers of the empire, simply being a 'ruling lord' isn’t enough to bring true peace to this continent. The fact that the entire continent is now divided among lords proves that. I believe that someone like Yuri, who will unify the continent, will bring peace."
"Wouldn’t Karelia be a ruler who doesn’t 'rule' in the same way?"
"You mean Makana Karelia? Back when the empire was intact, I had the chance to speak with her while she was still young. I do think that, in terms of leadership, Yuri would need to bow down to her, but... she’s too kind, and that’s the problem."
He said this, letting out a sigh as if worried about a daughter.
"She doesn’t have the charisma to seize control in these turbulent times. Yuri has generals who help make up for her shortcomings, but she doesn’t have that kind of support. The generals who have shared hardships with Yuri help cover for her weaknesses."
Jinor clicked his tongue lightly before continuing.
"Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an ideal ruler who leads with virtue instead of power and stands firm without being swayed by others? But that’s not the reality. You’ll understand what I mean one day."
Strangely enough, as Jinor spoke, Luna’s face came to mind.
Luna Iniang.
'If there’s anyone who leads with virtue instead of power, without being swayed by others... it would be Luna.'
She had trusted me entirely when I was with her, but it wasn’t because she was swayed by anyone’s opinion.
Rather, Tifa and Cain, who seemed to have been with her for a long time, had expressed reservations about my unclear orders.
She had single-handedly pushed a strategist who had only been here a few days forward based on her own judgment, which clearly differentiated her from Yuri.
Moreover, she was very fortunate.
The one she trusted completely, me, had an intelligence stat of 100.
Trusting me entirely meant she would only make the right decisions.
It was a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but it was the truth.
'Maybe, later on, I can bring Jinor over to our side...'
At that moment, Jinor turned to me.
"Enough talking."
"Thank you for helping with the persuasion today."
"Well, it’s all for Yuri’s victory, isn’t it?"
Yes.
For now, Aishus’ army had to win for my sake.
It would be far too dangerous if Brans’ army, now my enemy, continued to grow.
"Well, I’ll take my leave now."
After parting ways with Jinor, I headed toward the place where Luna was waiting for me.
*
"To perform the ritual...?"
"But, Swen. If you do that, your life will—"
"Don’t worry about it, Airen. I won’t even have the chance to ask for the heavens’ will."
I explained the situation to Airen clearly.
I told her about my predictions of Brans' plans, what had happened with Jinor, and the events with Epinnel.
"A surprise attack...? Yes, a surprise attack... That’s not Chel’s idea, but if it’s something Parfalle would propose, it’s quite convincing."
"She’s probably scared of me. After all, I’m one of the few who’s seen my ability up close. I was the one who broke apart Aishus' plans in the first place. So, there’s no need to worry about me risking my life. Everything will be fine."
"...If that’s the case, then it’s a relief, but..."
At that moment,
Airen stared straight into my eyes.
Was it my imagination?
I felt like her pupils lost focus for a moment...
"If by any chance, if there’s no surprise attack... I won’t just let you risk your life to perform the ritual. I’ll put my life on the line to make sure it doesn’t happen. Never."
...I swallowed involuntarily.
It was the first time I had ever felt such overwhelming force from Airen.
"...Don’t worry. Why would I lie to you, Airen? There’s no option other than a surprise attack."
"I believe you, Swen, but as I’ve said before, you are the most important to me, to the point I couldn’t replace you with anything. I won’t stand by and let you risk your life, no matter what happens."
"..."
Though there was a somewhat chilling feeling coming from her,
since my prediction was 100% correct, I wasn’t worried about the surprise attack.
'...Once this battle ends, the central continent will be in chaos.'
The balance that had never been shaken since Brans' army took over the central continent,
I began to make my preparations, thinking of the moment when that balance would collapse.
*
For the defense against the surprise attack, Airen took the lead.
With Emma and Hernandorf being deployed to other battlefields and Epinnel staying at the fortress, it was only natural that the capable general, Airen, would be tasked with the role.
Although I wanted to stay by Airen’s side if possible,
since I had said, "If there’s no surprise attack, I’ll perform the ritual," I had to stay at the fortress.
'Please, Airen. Just survive.'
It was a fight we were overwhelmingly favored in, given our advantage against the surprise attack,
but still, sending her into the battlefield wasn’t something I found pleasant.
At first, I had approached her simply thinking it would be beneficial for Luna’s army...
But before I knew it, she had become far too important to me.
'It’s fine. My prediction is always right. She won’t be in danger.'
I calmed my mind and spent time preparing for a ritual I had no intention of performing.
Now, it was literally in the hands of the heavens.
***
In the woods surrounding Valharat Castle,
Airen, who was in charge of leading the troops to defend against the surprise attack, had placed soldiers at key points in the forest where the attack might come from and was waiting quietly for the strike.
‘Swen said the surprise attack is likely to happen at night.’
Usually, battles didn’t happen much after dark.
It was troublesome for the attacking side to fight at night.
But a surprise attack was different. Striking when the enemy doesn’t expect it is the essence of a surprise attack.
'It’s fine. I just need to follow Swen’s plan.'
How long had it been since we silently waited in the dark woods?
Eventually, the soldiers entered exactly along the route Swen had predicted.
Having placed soldiers in the forest ahead of time turned out to be the correct decision.
'Now!'
The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.
Airen shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Charge! Eliminate the enemies who are not identified as allies!"
And as soon as her voice was heard,
the Aishus army, which had been lurking in the darkness, quickly revealed themselves.
"What, what’s going on?!" "Enemies! Battle!"
Just as Swen had predicted,
Brans’ army was launching a surprise attack on Valharat Castle, not the fortress.
Even Airen, who had been with Swen the longest in Aishus army, couldn’t help but realize this truth anew.
This time, too, everything Swen had said was completely right.