90
Joint military meeting of Bekabia and Calipha.
As they entered the military meeting, Sophia spoke as if testing the waters.
“What do you think the enemy’s intentions are?”
This was a question to General Delvadova and indirectly to Als.
General Delvadova nodded.
“In fact, our coming this far was planned.”
“Planned?”
“We made efforts to understand their intentions when they attacked us at the Calon Mountains. Why attack our idle army?”
“We got the answer.”
“Indeed. Ilain here made an assumption.”
“Hmm? I-Ilain. Ilain…. Hmmm.”
“Why are you acting like that?”
“It’s nothing. It’s just a name I’ve never heard before, so it’s intriguing. So, what was their intention?”
“Well, Ilain, explain.”
This was a gesture to save face. It was to subtly push Als so that his past wouldn’t haunt him.
From Als’ perspective, it was a pointless act.
Als let out a small sigh and, touching on the topic, explained.
“The enemy’s intention is simple. They plan to use ambush troops to break through the Bian Mountains you were guarding and surround Arandal located behind it.”
“Arandal!? What nonsense! There were no such ambush troops to begin with!”
“There’s no way the spy network was caught. They were probably holding their breath within Tunkai’s territory. Aren’t you focusing on intelligence within the territory right now?”
“Yes, but even if an ambush force emerges within Tunkai’s territory, they won’t get caught in the spy network while the army is advancing.”
“That’s why the ambush force will likely be entirely cavalry. So even if they get caught in the spy network, they won’t fall behind in a speed battle.”
“No way…”
It was then.
“Urgent report! A cavalry force of around 4,000 has suddenly appeared and is heading towards the Bian Mountains!”
“There you go.”
The officers of Beccabia were at a loss for words.
“The enemy’s goal is to surround Arandal, cut off supply lines, and seize a favorable position to make us attack. Now that our supplies are cut off, that’s the only option left.”
“Even knowing all that, why would they do such a thing?”
“To play the game of deception.”
With that, Alce pointed to a certain spot.
“When it was mentioned that the enemy was organizing a cavalry force to target the Bian Mountains, the likely spot to conceal that would be here, nine times out of ten.”
“Harbart Fortress…!”
“That’s right. In this case, the shortest march route to the Bian Mountains would be like this. Knowing this reveals how the enemy’s supply lines are structured and where the supply depot is located.”
Alce pointed to four spots.
“We’re not going to Arandal to rescue it; instead, we’ll strike deep into Tunkai’s territory. From that route, we’ll plunder the enemy’s supply depot to make up for our lacking supplies.”
It was a kind of chicken game. Alce suggested, let’s see who blinks first.
“In the end, the enemy will be in more of a hurry. Since they’ve come to us, not the other way around. If we attack Tunkai’s territory, the enemy’s supplies will be completely cut off. The Western forces, having come a long way on a campaign, are undoubtedly relying on Tunkai for supplies. If that lifeline is cut off, they won’t be able to sit still.”
“But if they come back to annihilate us? There won’t be any way to escape. Are they suggesting we all die after the mission is successful?”
This was Bali Austin’s question.
To this, Alce provided a simple answer.
“You just have to escape to this point.”
“Isn’t that… Albad Kingdom?”
“From a diplomatic standpoint, there’s no way Albad wouldn’t accept us. Even if they don’t, it’s not a big deal. Neither Tunkai nor the Western forces pursuing us can enter Albad’s territory. Just briefly enter Albad’s territory, then escape towards Beccabia. If Albad were to mobilize a large army to attack us, that could pose a problem, but the likelihood is extremely slim. Extremely.”
“That makes sense. Albad won’t be hostile to us right now. Hmm, it’s perfect. Surprisingly so.”
“It’s not that impressive.”
“It’s definitely not. This operation… it’s similar to the tactics Wade used in the war of Madon and Caliper. When Wade marched into Albad’s territory in reverse, the situation changed dramatically.”
“…”
“It might have been even more challenging than that. Because you have to identify the location of supply lines and depots. Of course, Wade had already achieved an unbelievable victory against Julian Craig’s forces, so it’s difficult to directly compare… Excellent. Alce Iline, was it? I think it’s not wise to say such things lightly, but I might understand why the golden age of Caliper emerged.”
Continued praise. Alce looked at Sophia as if to ask her to control them, but Sophia was staring seriously ahead.
Then she spoke.
“No, this won’t do.”
“Princess? Why all of a sudden…”
“This plan is not acceptable!”
“Is there a problem?”
Ultimately, what Sophia had an issue with was that this was ultimately a chicken game.
Sophia feared that the enemies might show audacity.
“If the enemy doesn’t retreat and instead loots Arandal, massacring our people, what then? Even if Beccabia wins in war, it will crumble! Arandal is that kind of city!”
From Noble mtl dot com
Beccabia’s second city and a significant part of the nation’s power. If Arandal were to fall, Beccabia, already weakened, would not withstand it and face destruction.
Alse asked, “What are you talking about?”
“There’s no way the enemies would be so idle. If we stay put, our supply lines will be cut off completely.”
“They might raid Arandal to replenish their supplies!”
“Even if they try, it won’t last long. Instead, they would isolate themselves, wasting time. Crossing’s forces won’t just sit back and watch. The enemies will surely abandon Arandal and return.”
“Then why attack Arandal?”
“…It would be a sad affair. But I believe it won’t come to that.”
“But that’s uncertain!”
For Sophia, the most crucial things were her people’s lives and the nation’s existence. Victory in war was solely for those reasons.
Alse argued that winning the war would resolve everything, but Sophia wanted to secure the nation’s existence first before winning the war.
“Princess, please think rationally. As the author said, the enemy can’t surround Arandal. Retreating seems probable.”
“It may seem probable, but it’s not certain. I can’t agree to such a plan!”
Despite Austin’s objections, Sophia remained adamant.
Annoyed by her persistence, Alse spoke harshly, “So what then? Do you intend to clash with the prepared enemy? To save Arandal?”
“If that’s what needs to be done, then so be it.”
“Many soldiers will die in that process. By following my plan, the soldiers can preserve their lives, and Arandal will remain unharmed!”
“Even with the soldiers’ sacrifices, Arandal’s safety is crucial to me.”
“Hmph! We can’t see eye to eye.”
Alse turned to Austin. As the chief, he was supposed to disregard Sophia’s opinion and make the decision.
However, Austin lacked that level of authority. Merely a nominal chief, the majority of military power was in Sophia’s hands.
This was due to Beccabia having lost several capable generals recently. If General Karl Maxman were alive, he would have disregarded Sophia’s opinion and proceeded with the plan as intended, but Maxman was killed by Wade in the Triad War.
“…I’m sorry. We will head to rescue Arandal.”
“Whatever.”
Alse, baffled, let out a bitter laugh and directed his frustration at Sophia.
“You are incompetent. First a genius princess, then a military leader. Know this is embarrassing.”
“Say what you will.”
Despite Alse openly rebuking the princess, none of Beccabia’s officers dared to argue or show anger.
That’s how dire the situation was.
***
After the military council.
I took a breath, sitting on a rock. Dorothy approached me.
“Feeling a bit better?”
“Phew! Anyway… why are there so many trolls around me?”
“Trolls? What’s that?”
“They exist.”
In the battle of Poldic Mountain, there was a chubby general only concerned about his safety. During the war with Madon, it was the Salion faction who sparked the war as they pleased. In the Chimera War, it was Dugan and his lieutenants.
“At least this time, General Delvadova understood. I didn’t expect trouble from another side.”
“hahahaha…”
Dorothy chuckled dryly, then spoke with determination.
“I can understand Princess Sophia’s thoughts. It’s too late to say now, but I think we should have informed the Beccabia side about this plan first.”
“We should have sent a messenger? If we got caught, it would all be in vain. Even if the content didn’t get caught, just the fact that we sent a messenger to Beccabia would have raised suspicions. That’s why we decided not to send.”
“Yeah… I know that too… What should I say… Just because what we thought was the best way wasn’t the best for everyone. It’s regrettable that we didn’t try to listen to others’ opinions because we thought we were right. What if we had made a bit more effort to communicate?”
“Well, that’s why this happened.”
In an extreme example, if we had consulted with the Lord of Arandal about this plan, he might have strongly opposed it.
How he would perceive it would certainly vary depending on the situation he was in.
Right now, Sophia is facing such a situation.
Dorothy sat next to me and let out a deep sigh.
“What will happen now?”
“What will happen? We have to go to rescue Arandal. There’s no other way.”
It was difficult to abandon the Beccabian army and escape. As they are well aware of our supply situation, they would tie us down in a way that we couldn’t escape.
At that point, we would be finished. The morale of the army would plummet, leading to desertions.
So, joining forces with Beccabia to crush the enemy and rescue Arandal was truly the best option in the current situation.
“Or perhaps that Juras fellow will take some action.”
Just mentioning that Juras guy made it oddly quiet. They were just holding three armies in check, not doing anything to finish off the enemy.
“Are they maneuvering behind the scenes?”
Whatever it was, the chances of help coming from their side were low.
From Juras’ perspective, they might think I would advance towards Tunkai to cut off supplies. It’s hard for Juras to imagine that Sophia would sabotage the plan.
If we had time, we could have consulted with Juras to overcome this situation, but without supplies, we don’t have that time.
We have to overcome this crisis on our own.
“I miss the Gashindel even more now.”
If they were here with us, we would have felt more secure.
Standing alone was more challenging than I had anticipated.