During moments like this, it was important to consider the unexpected outcomes of the enemy taking a different strategy than anticipated. “What would I do if I was in their position?” I whispered inside my manor’s office, staring down at the map of the continent I’d gotten from Apollo.
Arte and Khamsin both poked their heads out from beside me, taking their own looks at the map. “Are you thinking about what Yelenetta might do?” Khamsin asked.
I grinned and nodded. “Yeah, but His Majesty will have considered anything I could possibly come up with. Still, I figured I might as well prepare for any eventuality.”
Khamsin nodded enthusiastically. “Amazing, Lord Van! I’m certain you’ll think of things that even His Majesty has yet to consider!”
“Ha ha, thanks.” I smiled at Khamsin, then looked back down at the map.
Arte chose that moment to say quietly, “Um, what do you think will happen?”
I groaned and laced my hands behind my head. “Hmm, great question. If they have complete confidence in their military strength, they’ll probably try to take back the fortress city. Simple, right? They’ll be in a great position if they manage that. But if they aren’t confident they can win, well, that’s the real question. They could maybe post up some of their forces near the fortress city to prevent Scuderia from moving onward, then try and attack another location? You know what they say: lose a battle to win the war.” I pointed at the roads on the map. “They could also lure our forces out of the fortress city and hit us with a trap, but that would be too obvious considering the lay of the land.”
Fortress City Murcia was directly in front of the Wolfsbrook Mountain Range. Yelenetta’s capital city was to its northeast, and while there were a handful of defensive strongholds on the way there, that was about it for obstacles. The handful of towns decorating the path likely posed no real military threat, and the road itself was flat, with only a single river in the way. A bridge ran across it, and to cross it with such a large army, you’d have to reorganize into a really tight formation. If the enemy managed to launch a surprise attack there, depending on the timing, they could deliver a decisive blow before we had a chance to regroup.
I was still looking at the bridge when Khamsin and Arte both snapped to the same realization.
“Oh, you mean the bridge is dangerous?” Khamsin asked first. Arte shot me a serious look.
It’s like they’re checking their answers with me, I thought with a smile. “Well, I could be wrong, but there’s nowhere around the bridge to hide a large military force. At best, they could annoy us with cannon fire from a distance, but that won’t be terribly effective. If they take out the bridge, they could slow us down, but they can’t exactly beat us like that either… That’s why I think they’ll try to force a retreat.”
“So where do you think they will engage us in battle?” Arte asked, frowning.
“If I was in charge…” I pointed at a spot on the map. “I guess I’d use this town as bait for a surprise attack. Since Scuderia has a host of powerful mages, it would be wise to avoid any kind of battlefield that would work in our favor.”
They both seemed puzzled by my words. “What do you mean?” asked Arte.
Khamsin said, “What do they have to gain by using a town as bait?”
I started to answer but was interrupted by Till arriving with tea. “I see you’re all studying hard, but how about you take a break for now?” she asked with a smile, setting tea and snacks on the table. It all looked delicious.
“Wow! Thanks!” I said.
“Thank you very much,” said Arte. We both reached for the snacks.
“…May I have some too?” Khamsin whispered.
He must’ve been hungry; normally he’d wait for Till to say something. He had probably been using his brain too much.
Till smiled behind her hand. “Of course. Help yourself, Khamsin.”
Khamsin smiled brightly in return and reached for one of the snacks. Till and I watched over him warmly. Arte, meanwhile, was staring at the map while she munched on a cookie.
She must have still been thinking about our earlier conversation. It was rare for her to do something like this, given the emphasis she placed on manners.
“So…it’s not exactly a strategy I’d ever want to use myself, but if the enemy lured us into a walled town, they’d be able to engage us in close-range combat,” I explained. “Assuming they were willing to sacrifice themselves, they could use the black balls to create chaos on the battlefield, which would reduce the effectiveness of our mages and machine bows. Though the standard infantry and mercenaries would make up the majority of casualties in the first town, because His Majesty would be the last to enter it.”
They all looked up at me. “What a horrible strategy,” Arte murmured, looking grim. “What do you mean by ‘first town?’”
“Are you saying that they’ll use the same tactics in other locations?” asked Khamsin, his tone and expression identical to Arte’s.
I nodded at them, then slid my finger forward on the map. “They’ll kill a few thousand soldiers in this town, then a few thousand in the next. It’s hard to tell from this map, but if it looks like they can hide a large army in these small woods, they’ll attack from behind when we try to strike at this next stronghold. In every combat exchange until then, our most important people will be at the rear, so if they play their cards right, they could potentially assassinate His Majesty,” I explained delicately.
Till, Arte, and Khamsin all swallowed hard. Till said, “Then at this rate…”
“Should we not go to aid them?” Arte asked.
They looked deeply concerned. I panicked and waved a hand, quickly shooting down my own theory. “Look, this isn’t set in stone! As I said earlier, it’s likely that they’ll try to invade Scuderia or do something about Fortress City Murcia. It’s also possible, but less likely, that they will focus on defense and request aid from an allied nation. I personally doubt they’ll take such a laid-back approach to the war, but they have a few options available to them.” I forced a smile.
Till and Khamsin nodded, though they still seemed troubled. But Arte hung her head, looking even more concerned than before. In an unsteady voice, she whispered, “D-do you think they’ll attack House Ferdinatto again…?”
Arte and Khamsin jumped in to reply before I could. “I am sure House Ferdinatto will be fine.”
“I heard all about how you really beat their butts before, so I bet they’re too scared to go anywhere near your family’s territory.”
Arte glanced at me. I met her gaze and nodded. “They’re right. It’s unlikely that they’ll try to attack your family again, given that they’ve already lost there once before. Hmm…” I pulled my finger along the map again. “If they plan to invade before we take their capital… They can’t use the ocean or the Wolfsbrook Mountain Range, so…”
Eventually, I stopped on a neighboring country. At that very moment, someone knocked at the office door.
“Lord Van! Apollo from the Business Guild has a pressing matter he wishes to discuss with you!”
I had a bad feeling about this. “…Tell him to come in.”