[Three Weeks Later]
It’s been three weeks.
By now, the Yerinetta army has probably opened hostilities. If their commander is as thoughtless as the prince who once marched on Ceat Village, they’ll try the same tactics and throw themselves at the fortress city of Murcia.
If that’s the case, we could withstand ten assaults and never fall. We have Panamera and Ventury on standby—mages of overwhelming power. With artillery that primitive, we can counter it long before it gets close.
The problem is if they choose a different approach. Normally, an invasion of Yerinetta from the sea requires smashing through a chain of forts and strongholds. Cutting through the Wolfsburg range and plunging straight into Yerinetta’s heart was an achievement far beyond what anyone expected.
For Yerinetta, we’ve seized the worst possible point. If we march from Murcia toward their capital, the fastest timeline has the royal city falling in a matter of months. Even if they stop that, a seaborne thrust could shear off twenty percent of their territory at once.
They can’t defend both fronts at the same time—and if word of that weakness spreads to neighboring states, someone will offer Scuderia an alliance. Then it’s over. Fear will work its way through Yerinetta’s nobility, and the kingdom will start collapsing from within.
Right now, Yerinetta has only one sane move: retake Murcia. But if they switch strategies, we need to be ready for surprises.
“How would I fight this?” I muttered.
In the lord’s manor at Ceat, I stood over the map of the continent we’d purchased from Apollo at the Merchants’ Guild. Arte and Kamshin leaned in beside me, eyes following the same lines of ink and roads.
“Are you thinking about Yerinetta's next move?” Kamshin asked.
I nodded with a wry smile. “Anything I can think of, His Majesty has probably considered already. But I’d like to prepare for the unexpected anyway.”
Kamshin bobbed his head briskly. “As expected of Van-sama! I’m sure you’ll come up with something even His Majesty hasn’t foreseen.”
I laughed. “Thanks.”
I checked the map again. Arte’s voice came softly. “Um… what do you think they’ll do, Van-sama?”
I folded my hands behind my head and groaned. “Hmm… If they truly trust their own strength, then, sure—recapture the fortress city. That’s the move that secures the most favorable future, and it’s easy to explain to the court. But if they aren’t certain of victory… then what? Pin a screening force on Murcia to keep Scuderia tied down, and strike somewhere else… ‘cut flesh to break bone,’ as they say. Or lure us out of the fortress and spring a trap—though, looking at this map, any obvious bait would be too obvious.”
I traced the highway with a finger: Murcia—marked as a fortress—sat just in front of the Wolfsburg range. The royal capital lay to the northeast. Between them, only a few forts and a scattering of towns that didn’t look well defended.
The road itself was mostly flat and gentle. Only one real choke point—there, a bridge over a river. On paper, that’s the spot. A large army has to stretch into a thin column to cross. If you can hit them at the right timing, you can land a decisive blow before they re-form.
As I studied the bridge, Kamshin and Arte both drew a sharp breath.
“Then the danger is the bridge?” Kamshin asked. Arte looked up at me, face serious.
I gave a rueful smile. “Maybe. But I don’t think there’s enough cover near the bridge to hide a striking force. At best they could shell us from a distance, which is more harassment than battle-winning. Dropping the bridge might slow our advance, but it won’t reverse the war. If Yerinetta wants to make us retreat, they need something heavier.”
“…Then where would they choose to fight?” Arte asked, a small crease forming between her brows.
“If it were me…” I tapped a point on the map. “I’d use this town as bait and launch an ambush. We’re the ones with multiple elite mages; we should avoid the battlefield the enemy prefers.”
“A battlefield they prefer?”
“Use a town as bait—how?” they asked together, heads tilted.
I opened my mouth to answer—but Till came in with a tea tray.
“You’re all very diligent,” she said, smiling as she set cups and sweets on the table. “How about a short break?”
“Wow, thanks!”
“Thank you,” Arte added.
“…May I have some as well?” Kamshin murmured. He usually waits for Till to invite him—he must be starving, or maybe all this thinking drained him.
“Of course, Kamshin. Please,” Till said, covering her smile as she nudged the plate toward him. His face lit up like a flower as he reached for a cookie. Watching him, I felt my shoulders loosen a little. Arte, however, was still studying the map, nibbling a fresh, warm cookie—uncharacteristically distracted for someone so well-mannered.
I took a breath and said what I’d been circling. “It’s not a tactic I like, but if you draw us into a walled town, it turns into close-quarters fighting. In that scrum, they could use the black sphere at point-blank, even on a suicide charge. That would blunt the advantage of both mages and the repeating crossbows. His Majesty and the senior nobles would be the last to enter, of course—so at the first town, it would be common soldiers and mercenaries who pay the price.”
All three of them looked up at me.
“…That’s a frightening way to fight. But what do you mean by ‘the first town’?”
“Would they do the same at other towns and forts?” Kamshin and Arte asked, faces tightening.
I nodded and slid my finger farther along the route. “Cull a few thousand here. Do it again at the next town. And if—off the map’s detail—this little forest can conceal a force, then when we commit to storming the fort, they hit our rear. By then the key figures will be traveling toward the back. If it goes perfectly, they might even assassinate His Majesty.”
I laid out Yerinetta’s options in a flat, clinical tone. The three of them sucked in a breath.
“Then at this rate…”
“Sh-shouldn’t we send reinforcements?” Arte and Til asked, anxiety creeping into their voices.
I waved both hands quickly. “No, no—we don’t know that’s their plan. As I said, they could swing into Scuderia’s own lands instead, or move to neutralize Murcia somehow. It’s a long shot, but they might even hunker down and work their alliances—though I doubt they’ll be that patient. There are a lot of ways to play this.”
Till and Kamshin nodded, thoughtful. Arte, though, looked even more uneasy and lowered her gaze.
“…C-could they target House Ferdinatt again?” she whispered.
Till and Kamshin panicked before I could answer.
“It’ll be fine.”
“I heard you thrashed them last time, Lady Arte. They won’t dare come near.”
Arte glanced at me. I answered with a firm nod.
“Right. They’re in a corner; I doubt they’ll return to a field where they already lost. If they plan to move before we can threaten the royal capital… they can’t come by sea or over the Wolfsburg side. Which leaves…”
I murmured to myself as I slid my fingertip across the map—then stopped on the border of a neighboring country.
A sharp knock struck the office door.
“Lord Van! Urgent news—Apollo of the Merchants’ Guild requests an immediate audience!”
A chill pricked the back of my neck. I stood.
“…Show him in.”
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