Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 237: Retreat to the Border, and What Follows (2)

Chel hastily assembled his forces and arrived at the nearest stronghold—Mirage Castle.

'There really is a white flag flying?'

As soon as he saw the white banner waving in the place where Serpina's yellow flag should have been, he became certain—she had truly abandoned her lands and withdrawn her troops.

"What are your orders?"

"What do you mean, what? We seize it immediately!"

"..."

Some of the officers hesitated, seeming uneasy about how easily things were falling into place.

But in an army like Brans, which had long been ruled by the sheer force of a ruler’s charisma, speaking out directly against the supreme commander was no easy task.

And so, after taking control of Mirage Castle, Chel left behind only a skeleton crew to manage the territory.

Without even giving the troops time to rest, he called out to them.

"We don’t have time to waste. We march on Alkanwood Castle immediately!"

"Alkanwood Castle, my lord?"

Alkanwood Castle was located just below Mirage Castle, another stronghold under Serpina’s forces.

"If Mirage Castle was abandoned so easily, there’s no way there are any troops left in Alkanwood.

Zelin Castle, or perhaps even Hisphil Castle, could also be left defenseless.

If we secure four fortresses, our army will firmly establish its dominance over the Brans faction!"

"But shouldn’t we send scouts first—"

"If we send scouts, we’ll be too late! What are you thinking? Do you want to ruin our army?!"

"N-no, that’s not what I meant..."

"Then enough with the objections! Follow my command!"

With that, Chel personally led his forces, wasting no time as they charged toward Alkanwood Castle.

And as expected, just as he had predicted, Alkanwood Castle was completely empty.

The moment he planted his flag atop its tower, Chel felt it in his bones—

'Has my time finally come?'

Everything that had gone wrong before was simply due to a lack of opportunity.

No matter the reason, the fact remained—Serpina, that wretched woman, had pulled her forces away from the border.

Now, at last, it was his army’s turn to seize the moment.

The sheer stroke of luck, as if fortune itself had dropped into his hands, could only mean one thing.

This was proof that he, Chel Brans, the firstborn, was the rightful heir to the Brans legacy!

He had launched his rebellion with great ambition, only to struggle at every turn.

Was it impatience that had driven him to this moment?

Or had he always been the kind of man who readily succumbed to this sort of manic superstition?

Whatever the case, to Chel, this was nothing less than a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And with that in mind, his actions grew bolder.

"Good. We head for Zelin Castle immediately!

From there, we’ll push straight to Hisphil Castle—order everyone to prepare for a forced march!"

But the very moment he triumphantly gave the command—

"My lord!"

A soldier came running toward him in a hurry.

"What is it?"

"There’s an army approaching from the south!"

"What?"

The south?

The south meant Zelin Castle’s location.

"Whose army?"

"Judging by the red banners... It appears to be the Aishus forces!"

'The Aishus army?'

If Aishus troops had emerged from the south, it could only mean one thing—

Zelin Castle, and even Hisphil Castle beyond it, had fallen into their hands.

Judging by the situation, Serpina must have withdrawn her forces from there as well.

And that meant his army wasn’t the only one taking advantage of the abandoned lands.

"Hah!"

Of course, nothing ever went entirely as planned—

But this time, he felt certain.

If anyone was meant to seize this opportunity, it was none other than himself!

"What are your orders, my lord?"

"What do you mean, what?"

Chel smirked arrogantly.

"Isn’t the answer obvious?"

We――

***

Chel has begun moving personally.

Epinnel let out a deep sigh.

Now that it was clear Serpina had withdrawn, they needed to secure the border territories as quickly as possible.

But while they had hesitated, wary of potential traps, Chel’s forces had already seized the northern territories first.

"What should we do, General?"

This translation is the intellectual property ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ of Novelight.

"We’re pulling back. We don’t have enough troops for a battle."

They had focused entirely on mobility, rushing forward with only the speediest formation to secure the castles as fast as possible.

But launching a siege in this state was out of the question.

Perhaps if she were a general with the title of Siege Specialist, she could attempt it, but that was far beyond her capabilities.

"Send word to Hernandorf at the vanguard as well."

"Yes, General!"

Just as Epinnel was preparing the retreat—

"Hey!"

"What’s happening?!"

"...?"

A commotion suddenly broke out at the frontlines.

And then—

"...!!!!"

A rain of arrows poured down from the walls of Alkanwood Castle.

"Aaagh!"

"Dodge! Move to the side!"

Are they... attacking us? Without even declaring war?!

Even if they were dealing with Brans forces, the only faction they had actually clashed with was Lyn’s.

Chel’s forces had been treated as an independent state since he took power, so there was no reason to expect an attack from them.

They weren’t mistaking Aishus forces for Serpina’s—one look at the flags would have told them that much.

And yet—

The gates of Alkanwood Castle swung open.

Unlike Aishus forces, who had focused solely on speed, the enemy was fully prepared for battle.

Epinnel instantly grasped the situation and shouted to her troops.

"Form up! This is battle! The fight has begun!"

With no information on how many troops the enemy had, who their commander was—

Aishus forces found themselves engaging in an unexpected battle, against an unexpected opponent.

***

"...A battle? With Chel’s army...?"

"Yes! We must assemble reinforcements immediately!"

Faced with the breathless messenger who had come running with the report, Yuri quickly fell into thought.

Wait... why is Chel attacking us?

It made sense that they had preemptively occupied Alkanwood Castle once they realized Serpina had withdrawn her forces.

But what did they stand to gain by fighting Aishus forces now?

Chel’s best course of action should have been stabilizing his borders with Aishus while focusing on taking down Carlints Brans and Lyn Brans.

Wasting time and troops fighting them would only weaken his own standing in the struggle for dominance within the Brans faction.

If he were in Chel’s position, he would have opted to negotiate with Aishus forces, forming a temporary alliance before turning against Carlints.

But instead, Chel had chosen hostility.

For some unknown reason, he had decided to make an enemy of them.

We can’t just sit back and take this.

Alkanwood Castle, Mirage Castle beyond it, and even Kelstein Castle—this was the perfect opportunity to seize them all.

Chel’s forces had just occupied these castles, many of them left empty, with much of the population forcibly relocated.

A siege was more than feasible under these conditions.

"Alright. We’ll assemble reinforcements and—"

"Wait."

"...Anima?"

"I understand how you feel, but jumping into an all-out war with Chel’s army might not be the right move."

"What do you mean?"

Anima spoke in her calmest voice.

"If Chel’s army falls, Carlints or Lyn will benefit.

The balance the three have been maintaining will break, and Brans forces will quickly reunite under a single banner.

That means we’ll have to fight Brans instead of Serpina.

And if that happens, the only real winner will be Serpina.

Since we’ve already committed to fighting her, we shouldn’t rush into this blindly."

"But they attacked first!"

"In the grand scheme of things, it was nothing more than a skirmish.

You know as well as I do—war and battle are different things."

"...Then what do you suggest?"

"We send reinforcements.

But their priority should be retreating—we must avoid further clashes with Chel.

And we need to delay our attack on Serpina."

"What? You mean—"

Anima’s eyes gleamed as she locked gazes with Yuri.

"We attack Hesna instead."

"..."

"The best strategy changes depending on the situation.

If we had secured Kelstein Castle as planned, we could have fought Serpina head-on.

But things have changed.

Think long-term, Yuri.

To unify the continent, we will have to fight Serpina eventually.

You know I hate her more than anyone else."

Yuri let out a short sigh.

If he thought about it rationally...

When it came to these matters, Anima was the better strategist.

He had been fully prepared for an all-out war with Serpina, but if Anima said this was the better move—

Then she was probably right.

"Alright. We’ll retreat for now."

"Good. That’s the right call, Yuri."

Without wasting time, Yuri reorganized his troops and gave the orders for a swift retreat, following Anima’s advice.

Chel Brans...

Anima muttered the name to herself, exhaling sharply.

An unexpected nuisance, but in the grand scheme of things, Chel was nothing compared to Serpina.

The fragmented Brans forces, divided into three, were ultimately nothing more than obstacles to be cleared away.

That was what both Anima and Yuri believed—

At least, for now.

***

But.

"...Epinnel?"

A few days later.

The news arrived—

Eighty percent of the initial forces deployed had been wiped out.

Epinnel stood before Yuri, head bowed, unable to say a word.

It was an uncharacteristically poor outcome for her, but Yuri understood.

A force built purely for rapid occupation had no chance in an actual battle.

She had done well to even make it back alive.

"Epinnel, what’s wrong? This isn’t like you.

It’s alright. That force wasn’t meant for combat.

You made it back—that’s all that matters.

There’s nothing to blame yourself for."

"..."

But Epinnel still said nothing.

And Yuri, sensing something off since the moment she entered, finally asked the question that had been nagging at him.

"By the way... where is Hernandorf?"

"...Yuri."

At that moment.

Epinnel lifted her head—her eyes blazing.

"Hernandorf... was captured by Chel."