"Put that old man at the vanguard? Then what about me?"
Tifa asked as she looked over the map of Zeilant and its surrounding regions laid out on the table.
I tapped the spot where the castle was located and said,
"Lady Tifa, you'll remain inside the castle with two thousand soldiers to defend the territory."
"Hold on… just hold on a moment."
Cain wiped the cold sweat from his face and asked, "If we assign two thousand soldiers to Lady Tifa… then I'm to be the vanguard?"
"You'll depart with the remaining soldiers."
Cain responded with a look of horror.
"If we station two thousand troops for Zeilant's defense, even if we scrape together every last soldier for the interception unit, there won't be more than thirteen hundred left. Am I wrong about that?"
"No, you're absolutely right."
So basically, what I was proposing was this—
Assign the vanguard role, which obviously requires a seasoned general, to a civil-type officer along with just thirteen hundred soldiers to face eight thousand enemy troops.
And keep the two thousand better troops tucked safely in the castle as the defense force.
Even a ten-year-old could see this made no sense.
Honestly, I didn't know why I was giving these orders either.
It was just that my head told me, "This is the right move."
"…Swen, do you have something against me? Because this sounds an awful lot like you're sending me out to die as bait."
"Exactly! If old man Cain goes out as the vanguard, he's definitely going to die! I'll take the lead instead!"
"That won't do. Lady Tifa, please focus on defending the territory."
"But why!!"
Tifa shouted in frustration.
"You need to explain things! If there's a plan, say so. If you've thought it through, tell us what you're thinking. If there's a strategy, say you're going to make it work and ask for our help. We're on the same side! We have to be able to share information!"
Yeah.
She was a hundred percent right.
I was dying to tell them.
I wanted to say, "We're gonna pull off a miracle win, so just follow my lead!"
But what could I do?
All I could foresee was the [result].
I couldn't predict the [process] that would lead to that result.
My job as strategist was to make that "process" seem as convincing as possible.
But let's be real—I wasn't exactly a tactics expert.
If I spouted nonsense and things played out differently, it'd just backfire.
This game, Garland Eternity Saga, was an old-school game that didn't expect high-level strategic decisions from players anyway.
So I got why they were reacting this way.
[Somehow things will work out, and the result will be good. I just don't know how. So trust me and do what I say.]
If I were a ruler and my strategist said that to me, I might chop their head off for insolence.
Sure, if I'd already proven myself, I could get away with saying that.
But this was my first battle.
"…"
Luna looked at me with a sorrowful expression.
From her face, I could read her thoughts.
She wanted to believe in me, support me, but… she just couldn't fully commit.
'How do I convince them?'
This wasn't like saying, "Trust me and go buy DogeCoin."
This was war.
We were under invasion.
We could die.
In that kind of situation, no one's going to follow you just because you say, "Trust me."
In life-or-death operations like this, going in without conviction was dangerous.
I knew the outcome would be good, so I didn't want to create any unnecessary variables.
If that was the case—
"So? What are you planning? How do you expect to stop eight thousand troops with this deployment?"
I gently closed my eyes and said, "Right now… I can't give you the details."
"What… are you kidding me?! You call that an answer—"
"However!"
I cut her off sharply.
Tifa, about to lunge at me in anger, flinched in surprise at my sudden assertiveness.
"I will go to the front as well. I'll accompany Lord Cain and lead the interception with thirteen hundred soldiers. Will that suffice?"
"W-What are you saying…"
"I deeply apologize, but my plan cannot be leaked. Not to anyone. Not even allies. We're on a cliff's edge, and I must proceed with utmost caution. Still, if I gave orders from a safe spot while sending you all to your deaths, I know you'd never trust me. So—"
I pointed to the place where Cain's unit would deploy.
"I will stand at the front lines with Lord Cain."
"You… you're serious?"
I looked at Cain and said in my most solemn tone yet, "Lord Cain. There's no way I would send you to die. If I were just shoving you off a cliff, would I be going with you?"
"Well, no, I suppose not."
"Then please, trust me and follow my orders. I will protect Zeilant."
Then I looked to Luna.
"My liege. Please give your command."
"…"
Yeah.
Even if I had 100 intelligence, ultimately the decision rested with the ruler.
If Luna didn't trust my words, it didn't matter if I had 100% accuracy.
She heard me out, then fell into thought.
And finally, slowly nodded.
"…In this defense of Zeilant, we shall prepare according to Strategist Swen's plan. If anyone objects, step forward now."
"Ugh, seriously… I'll go along with it since Luna says so, but… hey, strategist. If Luna dies because of this, I'll take your head myself. Got it?"
Tifa tried to sound menacing—
But maybe it was just her personality, or maybe she believed in my plan.
Either way, it wasn't very scary.
"As you wish. But during the operation, I ask that you follow my orders to the letter. Do not abandon your post to rush outside with troops."
"What do you take me for! Don't worry about that."
"Hmph…"
Cain didn't look pleased, but he wasn't one to slack off.
"Now then. Lady Tifa, gather the defense forces. Lord Cain, organize the interception unit. Time is of the essence. Let's move quickly."
"Got it!"
"Understood. I'll see you later, then."
After the two left the castle—
I turned to Luna and said, "My liege."
"Hmm?"
There was something that kept nagging at me.
Why had my calculations called for two thousand soldiers to be stationed at Zeilant for defense?
If we were leaving them here, it meant they would be needed.
I didn't know exactly how, but there was a high likelihood of an enemy surprise attack.
If it came, it wouldn't be from the front.
It would come from the rear—where only a few small allied nations lay.
So I couldn't say anything for certain… but it seemed better to give a warning than not.
I leaned close and whispered to Luna, "There's a high chance someone will launch a surprise attack on this castle. It might be one of the countries to the rear… or a mercenary force hired by the Brance Army."
Luna looked shocked and asked, "That's why you set up the defense force here?"
"Yes."
"But… if it's a surprise attack, the enemy force won't be large. Wouldn't it be better to put more weight into the interception force against the eight thousand?"
"…"
The moment I was wondering how to answer.
She slowly shook her head and said, "...No. I will trust you, Swen. You don't need to explain. Like you said, there's nothing more dangerous than a broken strategy."
Trust, huh.
Never in my life had I received such one-sided trust.
Honestly, even if I had discovered a treasure chest through commerce, I hadn't really proven anything to her as a strategist.
Even so, this woman was trusting me this much.
I'm human too.
Of course I wanted to repay someone who believed in me.
"I will return alive. Please survive as well."
"Understood. I will survive no matter what. You too... please come back alive, Swen."
* * *
Swen slowly left the castle and walked toward the scene where the interception force was being formed.
Zeilant Castle wasn't far from the Brance Army's stronghold, Anel Castle.
From Kihara Castle, the nearest Brance territory, it could be reached in a single day with a fast march.
If they moved quickly, they could reach the gates in no time, but—
"Slow down the march!"
Karlinz Brance was deliberately slowing the army's advance.
The strategy he devised this time was a feint.
While 8,000 soldiers charged at the front, one of the powers behind the Lunarian Army, the Garammil Army, would strike from the rear of Zeilant Castle.
The negotiation he spoke of was with the Garammil Army.
Since the Garammil Army feared the Brance Army greatly, the negotiations didn't take long.
To synchronize their attack and cause chaos in the Lunarian Army, it was better for Brance's main force to advance slowly.
This strategy had multiple benefits for the Brance Army.
If many soldiers came out to intercept, they could quickly capture the empty castle—Garammil would take care of that.
The troops who lost their castle would panic, their morale would plummet, and troops with no morale were easier to sweep away than fallen leaves.
On the other hand, if no one came out and the enemy entrenched themselves, that was fine too.
Since they slowed the march, the Garammil Army would inevitably clash with the Lunarian Army first, and once both sides were weakened, the Brance Army could easily seize the castle.
Most likely, the enemy would entrench.
It made no sense to send out an interception force with only 3,000 soldiers.
So, Karlinz simply hoped that the Garammil Army would clash appropriately with the Lunarian Army and wear them down while he advanced slowly.
'Even I think this is a perfect plan.'
He wondered if it was necessary to go this far to deal with just 3,000, but—
Ever since the humiliation of losing a territory to Walnut soldiers, Karlinz had made it a point to overwhelm even weak opponents with at least double the force.
Compared to his older brother and his liege sister, he had never really stood out in ability, so he didn't want to make the same mistake again.
As he was thinking that—
"Enemy spotted!"
"Enemy interception force has appeared!"
Voices rose from the front lines.
"An interception force?"
'They were sending one out with only 3,000 troops?'
The unexpected move caught him off guard, but it didn't change anything.
"Looks like they're in a hurry to die."
Well, it wouldn't be fun if everything went too smoothly.
Karlinz Brance shouted with confidence,
"All troops, prepare for battle!"
* * *
"That flag..."
"Definitely the Brance Army."
At Cain's words, I nodded.
"Indeed."
As expected, it didn't take long for the enemy to arrive.
After all, Kihara Castle, where I stayed before joining Luna's army, wasn't far from here.
If anything, they arrived a little later than expected given the distance.
"So, what now, strategist? Are we charging in like this?"
"..."
1,300 vs. 8,000.
In this game, there were ways to win with that kind of ratio.
If we had just one SSS-ranked general, they could slice through soldiers like cake.
But all we had were me and Cain, neither of whom had any decent combat power.
"..."
The battle was about to begin.
At this rate, we would die.
I wouldn't return to the original world, and I wouldn't see Lunarian Iniang unify the continent.
But.
I was certain once more.
My intelligence is 100.
Intelligence 100 never lies.
So, we will win.
With that belief, I slowly opened my mouth.
"All troops, charge—"
But.
I couldn't finish the command.
"Fire!!!"
Thududududududu!
"W-What the?!"
"Enemy?!"
"No, over there!"
As if divine messengers had descended—
A rain of arrows poured toward the Brance Army from somewhere.