"If you can decide the outcome of a war before it begins, that would be the best."
That was something Avnair once said. The beast General agreed with him.
And if there were four Knights and one frog, then victory was already half secured before even fighting.
If not?
Then just win the battle.
Avnair wouldn't step in directly, but he would give his opinion from behind, and all the General needed to do was pretend to be a Commander who wielded both strength and intelligence, crush the Border Guard, and secure Green Pearl.
While at it, he'd also kill the one Avnair failed to kill and left behind, as well as take care of the others around him.
'Four Knights.'
How could they be stopped?
That was the reason Aspen had decided on war. Whether by luck or effort, they had trained two more Knights.
And the resurrected Avnair, thanks to the wolf beast General, had this thought.
In the end, since they couldn't win with strategy and wit, they had to crush their opponents with brute strength.
He didn't think they would lose. Their forces were that strong.
However, Avnair had a long-standing habit, almost an obsession, of never doing anything half-heartedly.
For that reason, he pulled out his strategies, and the Supreme Commander was a generous man who listened to his words.
"We'll make so much noise that the entire continent will be buzzing. We'll shout for battle right in front, directly and boldly."
"Then the casualties will be too high, won't they? Haven't we borrowed resources from here and there for this? Supplies don't just sprout from the ground, and we've already lost Green Pearl due to a previous defeat. We aren't exactly in a rich situation."
The beast General had a good understanding of war.
War was more about supplies and marching than it was about battles. Preparing for such supplies and marches required a lot of Krona. A great deal.
But could they afford excessive troop losses in the current state of national exhaustion?
"Yes, that's why we'll just make noise."
"Just noise?"
"We'll use noise to distract them and send a small elite force in."
Avnair pointed his finger at the strategy map and drew a line. What if it was a path no ordinary person could cross but a Knight could?
It was a path through the Pen-Hanil mountain range.
Moreover, the other side had kindly cleared out the monsters of Pen-Hanil Mountain.
"Once we infiltrate?"
"We strike the head, separately from the Green Pearl garrison. We'll occupy the city."
It was a way to end the fight with one battle, not a drawn-out war. Avnair had come up with a way to use all his available forces perfectly.
The wolf beast didn't care about honor. He often scolded his human Knight apprentice, but as long as there was no inner hesitation, he thought it was fine.
The problem arises only when there's hesitation in the heart, if you're confident, it's all good.
The wolf beast thought crossing the Pen-Hanil mountains wasn't a bad idea.
Striking the head after crossing a rough path wasn't dishonorable, it was wise.
Once they reached their target, they could boldly declare they were about to occupy it.
That way, their honor wouldn't be tarnished. The enemy would simply have been outsmarted.
His rationalization was complete.
"Good."
The beast nodded.
"There's a recent incident we could use as an excuse. Two Junior-Knights were killed."
There had been casualties in the Aspen Royal Knights.
It happened when they entered the mountain range to check the infiltration route. They weren't the type to fall to monsters or beasts, so they trusted and sent them, but some swordsman killed them both.
The culprit didn't even bother to hide the traces.
Some rangers were sent to pursue him, but all that happened was the loss of an entire ranger unit.
A fearsome swordsman. Eventually, the swordsman retreated across from Green Pearl to Naurillia, making the excuse perfect.
"We can claim they sent assassins first."
Avnair already had a complete script in his mind from start to finish.
Even if Naurillia sent a Knight order to help, they wouldn't be able to stop it.
Then, they would secure Green Pearl, and Avnair would regain his position.
They would launch another war with the returning wolf beast General at the forefront. And what if they struck Naurillia's Capital in the same way?
The Red Cape Knights of Naurillia would intervene.
The damage would be significant. It wasn't like they had overwhelming power, so they couldn't go that far.
But given time.
Knights wouldn't just appear from nowhere like soldiers trained in drills, but the wolf beast General had already trained four Knights.
At one point, Aspen had pursued an interracial integration policy, and its greatest result was the wolf beast General.
He was the sharpest sword loyal to Aspen, and now he was making a name for himself as a teacher as well.
After losing interest in fighting to defend the borders and stepping down, he had returned, the sword once more, Varna Hurrier.
A beast who had become a part of the Hurrier family.
With this sword, anything was possible.
Four Knights.
Who could possibly stop such a force?
Avnair wasn't overconfident, but that was his thought.
Even if the opposing forces were comparable, no Knight order would be able to concentrate their strength like this.
Naurillia would only realize the situation after they had already lost Green Pearl.
'I'll make good use of the walls and city you built.'
And he'll fully utilize the recent cleaning of the Pen-Hanil mountain range as well.
It's not about revenge, but he wouldn't mind landing a solid blow.
* * *
Krais's daily routine was simple.
In the morning, he trained his body. Then he ate, handled simple tasks, and read books.
When he wasn't busy, reading was one of Krais's hobbies.
Krais was an avid reader of history, philosophy, and novels without discrimination.
Outwardly, it seemed like he wasn't busy. And that was true. Krais's body was at leisure. But his mind was always busy.
Krais's main job was thinking. Guessing, predicting—those kinds of things.
One of those thoughts was this:
'If I were Aspen?'
His recent thoughts were along those lines. It was his most important focus recently.
He had already reported to Encrid, but from this point on, it was in the realm of imagination to some extent.
Aspen stirs up trouble again.
Why?
'Because they want Green Pearl.'
The answer was clear.
The wind blew, tousling Krais's hair. Without thinking of brushing it aside, he just sat there, and Nurat brought him a cup of tea.
The office window was open but not closed.
It was a day when the wind felt good.
Krais took a sip of tea. The hot liquid warmed his throat and stomach.
'I feel somewhat full.'
Was the meal too much? Or was it that swallowing Green Pearl was overindulgence?
In fact, they hadn't even fully taken it.
If Aspen saw this, they'd probably clutch the back of their necks and say, "These bastards?"
Green Pearl, lying between Naurillia and Aspen, was both a reason for war and a border, but it had always been somewhat ambiguous.
Because they had fought over the Green Pearl plains for so long.
They hadn't claimed it fully, but used it as a border. For a borderline, it was unusually wide.
Krais took advantage of that, slowly pushing the boundary while pretending not to know.
Huh? Is this Aspen land? Since when? It was unclaimed land, wasn't it?
We took Green Pearl, so this is our land too. Don't like it? What are you going to do about it?
That's how it went.
So it made sense that Aspen would be furious, and the Border Guard would be quite satisfied.
'The opponent is inevitable anyway.'
Whether Naurillia or Aspen started it, war was inevitable.
However, Krais wasn't perfect either, and a few of his assumptions were off.
He hadn't expected Aspen to make the first move, but seeing the current situation, it was now a foregone conclusion that they would.
With that, a few assumptions naturally came to mind.
'If I were them.'
He wouldn't fight a losing battle.
So Aspen wouldn't start a fight they couldn't win either. When he concluded that, three assumptions came to mind.
First, they had hidden reserves of power.
Second, it was likely Knights.
Third, they had taken steps to prevent Naurillia's Knight order from intervening.
Even without proof, it was a guess filled with confidence.
Could the King just send out the Knight order to sweep away Aspen?
Krais had that kind of complaint inside, but he also knew that made no sense.
Each Knight of the Red Cape Knights had their own duties.
If a Knight holding back the great southern nation left?
Aspen wouldn't be the issue anymore. The Demon Realm at the Kingdom's border would also become a problem.
In any case, part of the reason for the existence of Border Guard as a city was to fend off Aspen.
And there was also Encrid, renowned as the Demon Slayer.
The fact that his name had grown famous meant he had to constantly prove himself.
If the Border Guard had no talent or resources, another force would have intervened by now.
Because if the border with Aspen collapsed, losing Green Pearl wouldn't be the only problem.
If Aspen managed to destroy the Border Guard and win? What would they do next?
'If it were me, I'd push deeper in.'
So they couldn't let that happen. But there was Encrid here. The Demon Slayer and friend of the King.
For various reasons, if Aspen invades, the Border Guard must hold the line.
Of course, Encrid had already been informed of all this, including Krais's speculations up to now. The Commander's response after hearing it all was quite impressive.
"War?"
He asked back with just one word.
"Yes."
Krais replied.
"If they come, we fight."
At that moment, as Encrid responded, Krais felt...something sentimental.
'A Knight, huh.'
Krais also glanced at Rem, who had challenged Encrid to a duel. Though his eyes couldn't tell anything, he had heard the man was a Knight.
Most of Krais's usual tasks involved predicting and imagining various ominous situations, but there were also some pure speculations.
Among them were thoughts about the Captain.
'What if the Captain becomes a Knight?'
That kind of thought.
When people gain power, whether it's military or political, they tend to change.
Would the Captain change as well?
Of course not.
From the moment he had stood in Krais's way with no skill greater than his own, it had always been like that.
He always looked toward where he needed to go.
Even when he said, "We'll fight if they attack", it was the same. His blue eyes reflected a calm light. What was he seeing?
Now that he had gained strength and heard the word 'war', wouldn't he want to charge forward?
Even if Krais didn't understand the concept of omnipotence, he understood human nature.
When people gain power, they usually want to use it.
But Encrid was Encrid.
He remained the same. He hadn't changed. What he was looking at wasn't visible to Krais.
He says he's protecting something, but to be honest, he didn't even understand why.
It's not that he didn't understand the idea of saving people. It's just, why do it?
Is it for Krona?
Or is there some other benefit?
Was he trying to do something with the people's praise?
Not at all. He just acted as his heart guided him, and Krais simply couldn't fully grasp that. In fact, there was no need to fully understand.
Krais had decided to follow the man who once stood in his way, and he was still following him.
Whoosh.
The wind blew again, tousling Krais's hair. He brushed the hair away from his eyes.
Thanks to what Encrid had said earlier, Krais was now sitting in his office, organizing his thoughts.
"Gauge the timing and lay out the plan. Figure out where and how we'll fight."
It was a short sentence, but Krais understood it clearly.
"...Me?"
"Who else would do it?"
Encrid said, glancing to one side.
There stood those who were brimming with talent, at least when it came to fighting. The Mad Company.
Rem, Jaxon, Ragna, and Audin.
If you added Teresa, Luagarne, Lawford, and Pel?
A force rivaling, if not exceeding, any Knight order.
But they couldn't be entrusted with a war.
Encrid knew that well. Tactical thinking and war were two very different things.
Setting up a battlefield was not something Encrid was confident in.
"I feel like I've said something annoying just now, but forget it. This time, I'll handle it. Big Eyes, you stay out of it."
Rem said, resting his axe on his shoulder. He was half-laughing and half-scowling, exactly like his usual self.
If you asked him how to handle supplies, he'd probably say to just steal the enemy's.
"War? We just need to go out there and slash them. I'll handle it myself rather than leave it to some barbarian."
Ragna stepped forward as well. It would be fortunate if he didn't lose his way while leading the troops.
Even if he didn't get lost, the moment he saw the enemy's banner, he'd likely charge straight in.
It wouldn't just be bloodshed, but a flood of it on the battlefield.
Both armies would suffer severe damage, and there would be a series of battles with no clear winner.
But if Ragna led, would they win?
Probably. That brute of a swordsman would cut down everything in his way.
Most importantly, the enemy wouldn't be able to predict Ragna's movements.
Last time, he went out for a 'stroll' and ended up fighting Aspen's two Junior-Knights and an entire ranger unit, killing them all before returning.
Aspen used that as an excuse for war.
Well, they would have found some excuse anyway, so there was no need to blame Ragna.
"Do your part."
Encrid looked at Krais again, speaking with a serious gaze.
"Yes."
Krais nodded.
There was no need to add any unnecessary comments. He had no complaints.
If Encrid weren't there and he was asked to take full responsibility, Krais would only be able to utilize half of his abilities.
But that situation wouldn't happen.
'If it does, I'll run.'
Encrid made the decisions. That eliminated any sense of unease. Thanks to that, Krais could fully demonstrate his abilities.
As ominous thoughts crept up, he painted out every possible scenario of what might happen.
In the past, it was painful, but now, he had a sword to draw from this.
'Four Knights.'
Ragna, Rem, Sinar, Encrid.
Jaxon was Knight-level, but Krais wasn't aware of that.
'If the four are tied down?'
While Avnair was confidently boasting that the enemy wouldn't be able to stop their four Knight weapon, Krais was imagining a scenario where even their own forces couldn't stop them.
That was Krais's innate talent. Imagining ominous possibilities and drawing a future from them.
That was the difference between Krais and Avnair.
And in the past, Krais's mind would have stopped at just imagining ominous outcomes, but now it moved forward to finding answers.
'Then how can we ensure they don't get tied down?'
Experience makes people grow. Just as Encrid moved forward, Krais had changed as well.
His vision had expanded, his thoughts had deepened, and he knew more now.
Countless things floated into his mind, disappearing and reappearing, forming a picture.
He was constructing the plan for war. While the war wasn't happening tomorrow, it would soon.
The means and methods to respond—that's what ran wild in Krais's head.
Nurat, watching Krais's eyes, thought.
He's always going on about how the Captain's eyes shine, but right now, his own eyes were gleaming just like that.
"Are you enjoying this?"
Nurat asked silently. There was no need for an answer. The sparkle in Krais's eyes, like stars twinkling in the sky, was the answer.