I Became the Strategist the Monarchs Obsess Over

Chapter 31

The general leading Crothea's defense force was very young. He looked only a few years older than me. Could he be in his late teens or early twenties? He must be the child of a good family. Just like Charles, he's a parachute.

"I observed from afar, and your military operation was flawless. May I ask for your name?"

The parachute asked. And I answered.

"Charles Jean Rochefort."

"I see. Your military operation was so excellent that I thought your aunt was directly commanding."

"Aunt?"

"I'm late in introducing myself. My name is Juan de Balboa. Dian de Balboa is my aunt."

I see, so he was Dian's nephew. However, he doesn't look that much younger than Dian.

"Excuse me, but what is your relationship with my aunt to be commanding the Valboa Army?"

"A teacher-student relationship. I am under her tutelage at Arcadia Academy."

"I see, so you're my junior."

A junior. It seems this man also graduated from Arcadia Academy.

If that's the case, it makes sense. The ability to arrive as reinforcements neither too early nor too late. It makes sense if he honed that at Arcadia Academy.

"I look forward to working with you, junior."

"Yes, senior."

We shook hands again and exchanged greetings.

By the way, he's good-looking and quite capable.

I don't understand why he couldn't become a playable character. He's a fine figure.

"Sir Juan, after giving the soldiers a short rest, we plan to head north immediately. What do you think?"

"What is the reason for heading north?"

"To cut off the enemy's supply line."

If I were to draw the current situation on a map, it would look like this.

---------------Mountain----------------

----------Seiz Castle----------

Talin Castle-----Sea-----Crothea

In this situation, Talin Castle and the Crothea Peninsula were in our hands.

The enemy was isolated in Seiz Castle.

"Hmm... Since the enemy is isolated in Seiz Castle, cutting off supplies to Seiz Castle would starve them to death naturally."

At Juan's words, I nodded. He's pretty perceptive, isn't he? He's capable in his own way.

"Will you cooperate?"

"Of course. I'm not foolish enough to refuse an opportunity to earn merit."

I felt the same. I wanted to seize any opportunity to earn merit.

Thus, we headed north, and the next day we found the supply unit heading to the enemy camp.

-----

Meanwhile, at Duke Chronor's tent.

"Messenger! The siege force at Crothea Castle has been annihilated!"

"Messenger! Our supply unit has been ambushed!"

"Messenger! Our rear has been blocked!"

Bad news kept piling up in Duke Chronor's tent.

-Clang!

The wine glass Duke Chronor threw shattered on the ground. Duke Chronor stomped on the broken pieces with his boots and shouted.

"Damn it! Why! Why did this happen?"

In the front was Talin Castle, and in the rear was Crothea Castle. If they occupied Seiz Castle, the center, he thought Crothea Castle in the rear would naturally fall. However, Duke Chronor's plan was overturned by an unexpected variable. It was the existence of the special unit that had crossed the sea.

The special unit annihilated the siege force of 3,000 in the rear and even cut off their supply line. At this rate, they would all starve to death without food. From a winning situation, Duke Chronor was suddenly on the verge of starvation, feeling as if he was losing his sanity.

"Why...! Our forces surely won the battle! So why is the supply line cut?"

Their forces had achieved a major victory in the Battle of Imor River. A one-sided victory against an enemy more than double their size. Naturally, after such a grand victory, they should have conquered a castle or two.

However, when they opened the lid, the situation was entirely different from what they'd expected. Although their forces had won the battle, when they regained their senses, they found themselves in a disadvantageous position.

"Why! Our forces surely won! So why are we in this situation?"

Bang! Duke Chronor slammed the desk. Watching this, the retainers withdrew in silence, simply waiting for Duke Chronor's fury to subside.

However, amid the tension, only one person, Emilia von Chronor, spoke up.

"I already told you the reason before. Our forces have been in a disadvantageous situation all along. Although Seiz Castle did fall into our hands, aiming for Crothea Castle as well was overambitious. To defend both castles, we would have to split our forces, and dividing forces is one of the classic mistakes in strategic theory."

"..."

Duke Chronor stared silently at Emilia. Most of the retainers felt overwhelmed by the predatory intensity in his gaze. Even Duke Chronor acknowledged Emilia's exceptional talents. In swordsmanship and strategy and tactics, Emilia was outstanding.

But even so, publicly disagreeing with her sovereign before the retainers was neither proper as a retainer nor as a daughter. Duke Chronor was furious. Furious at this daughter who seemed determined to humiliate him. Ever since she defeated Dian in the previous battle, she had become excessively arrogant. It seemed time to humble her.

With that thought, Duke Chronor began walking towards Emilia. The retainers held their breaths in tension. As always, they anticipated another round of Duke Chronor's ruthless violence.

And when Duke Chronor stood directly in front of Emilia.

"Emilia."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You need some education."

The moment he said that, Duke Chronor raised his hand and swung it with full force at Emilia's face. Although Duke Chronor was not a Sword Master, he was a man over 2 meters tall and weighed well over 100 kilograms. A full swing with all his strength would have been enough to cause a concussion or even death for an ordinary person.

But Emilia was no ordinary person. Snap! The sound of the slap echoed in the military tent, but Emilia endured the duke's violence stoically as though she was used to it.

Duke Chronor's violence was merciless. He slapped, kicked, and stomped. Although Emilia's level in swordsmanship was higher, his immense power derived from his height and weight was no joke.

Emilia felt immense pain every time she was struck. However, she didn't show even a trace of discomfort. It wasn't because she was physically strong but because her mental strength surpassed that of ordinary people.

The sight of blood splattering and bruises forming on her pale skin shocked the nobles. Who in this world could treat their jade-like daughter in such a manner?

Yet no one stood up to intervene. Emilia was the only one among them who could endure such violence. If any of the other nobles were struck by Duke Chronor, they could genuinely die.

After the storm of violence subsided, Emilia still stood in a formal, upright posture. Meanwhile, Duke Chronor was panting heavily as if exhausted.

Watching Emilia, who had not let out a single scream, Duke Chronor muttered.

"You wretched girl."

However, Emilia accepted his words calmly, without despair or triumph.

Spitting out the blood in her mouth, Emilia spoke to Duke Chronor.

"Your Majesty."

In that moment, Duke Chronor felt an indescribable sense of foreboding. Even after such a beating, she was addressing him. What could she possibly want to say? Was this the thought process of a normal person? What kind of being had he brought into the world?

The retainers felt the same. Duke Chronor was undoubtedly insane, but so was Emilia. This father and daughter pair was equally unhinged.

After a brief silence, when Duke Chronor did not respond, Emilia continued.

"Deploy thousands of elite soldiers to the rearguard to block the Crown Prince's advance and buy time. Meanwhile, the main force must retreat. The rearguard will suffer near-total annihilation, but that's unavoidable. Even at the cost of significant losses, we must stage a retreat here."

"..."

"..."

Watching Emilia, who was discussing strategy even after being beaten, Duke Chronor felt a chill. She had always been strange, but ever since people started calling her the Goddess of War, she had become even stranger.

'I wish she would just disappear somewhere...'

Even though she was a Sword Master and his daughter, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about her. He wished she would just die somewhere.

At that moment, a brilliant idea occurred to Duke Chronor. Emilia had said to leave a rearguard of elite troops. Then who was the strongest in their army?

'Emilia.'

Emilia had defeated Dian, the world's only Sword Master. If Emilia were left in the rearguard, it would minimize their forces' losses while also potentially eliminating Emilia. It was a perfect two-for-one solution. With this thought, Duke Chronor shouted.

"Emilia!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You will lead the rearguard. While you hold them off, we will lead the main force back to the North!"

The retainers were stunned. Duke Chronor was essentially using his daughter as bait to secure his own safety. But no one pointed that out. After all, leaving Emilia in charge of the rearguard would indeed be reassuring. The nobles here were all prepared to sacrifice others for their own survival.

However, one person.

"Yes."

Without any additional words or complaints, Emilia simply replied with her usual expression.