The vast majority of the paths from the Bernini Mountains to Saint Mathilde are believed to be under the control of Jean Beltoir, except for a few feudal lords classified as staunch loyalists. All territories relying on trade routes will willingly submit to Jean Beltoir.
Even if they are considered loyalists, it is uncertain whether they remain loyal to the royal family in the current situation.
“Eugene.” (Ivan)
“Big Brother!! How come you’re here already…?” (Eugene)
“I guess you need to learn how to ride again.” (Ivan)
Ivan caught up with the party that had left earlier and looked around. At this speed, they might not be able to shake off any potential pursuers.
Even the somewhat inexperienced riders had no trouble catching up with these greenhorns. The party seemed exhausted from the night’s climb and the journey across the battlefield, but the real ‘battlefield’ lay ahead.
“There are two options.” (Ivan)
“Yes?”
“To scatter and head to Saint Mathilde individually. In that case, at least one of you might make it. But in this case…” (Ivan)
“I’ll die.” (Oscar (
“Probably.” (Ivan)
Ivan nodded at Oscar’s words. Oscar would likely be the one the Counts would most want to deal with at this moment.
“We can’t do that!” (Isabelle)
“Right! How can we abandon a friend!” (Ecdysis)
Isabelle and Ecdysis immediately protested. Ivan nodded quietly.
If Oscar dies here, there will be no pretext for seizing control of the capital. Unless it’s under the authority of Duke Etarique, everyone here is essentially an outsider.
“Or we could try shaking them with a decoy. Elpheira.” (Ivan)
“What?! M-m-me as the decoy?!” (Elpheira)
“No. Me.” (Ivan)
“Huh…?”
Ivan took out a map and threw it to Elpheira. It was a military map obtained directly from the Counterintelligence Command.
Elpheira glanced over the map once and asked quietly.
“While it might feel strange for me to say this, would it be wise to give a military map to an elf…?” (Elpheira)
“Anyway, the intelligence agency probably already has a copy of the Tylesse military map. It’s not that valuable of a secret.” (Ivan)
“…Even if you say you trust empty words… So what should I do?”
“From now on, we’ll have to create a spell.”
Ivan leaned in beside Elpheira, placing a finger on the map she held in her hand.
“This map isn’t very precise. So, just use it as a reference, and follow my instructions exactly.” (Ivan)
“So you mean to move while quantitatively calculating the distance traveled?” (Elpheira)
“Exactly.”
“It doesn’t seem like a difficult spell.”
Ivan began drawing crooked lines from one corner of the map. Sometimes bending, sometimes making gentle turns.
“From Piercour, heading northwest at 120 degrees, 2km. Then, pass through the 27th crossroad and continue 5km towards Roshval. If you find the railway, don’t stop, pass through to Tiribue, 9km away…”
Ivan’s explanation flowed smoothly like water. Kind and clear, as if retracing a path they had always known, even though describing one’s homeland in such a way would be impossible. The party stared blankly at Ivan’s face.
“…Then, leaving the road from Lozane to Sobar on the left, continue for 9km. Once you reach the southern road of Saint Mathilde, run all the way to Vansung at full speed. Got it?”
“9km from Lozane to Sobar… Yes, yes. I remember everything.”
“In this task, scouting will be solely your responsibility. If you take the wrong path, the entire party will perish. Can you handle it?”
“If I say I can’t, you won’t force me, right?”
“Choose another way, and Oscar will die instead.”
“Wow, look at this guy threatening.”
Elpheira grumbled with her ears twitching.
“Alright. Graykencos naturally have good memories. You know?”
“I do.”
Your father was like that too. Ivan chuckled and gently patted Elpheira’s head.
“…?!”
“!!!”
The entire party looked at Ivan in astonishment for a moment. Even Elpheira was taken aback, her ears almost standing on end.
Meeting their gaze, Ivan turned his head in the direction they were headed.
“What about you, uncle?!”
“A decoy.”
“Isn’t it… too dangerous?”
“I have a better chance surviving when I’m in danger.”
“Ugh…”
Angle by angle, Ivan’s voice drifted away from the opposite direction of the party. Isabelle shouted after him as he left.
“Just wait! Seriously! We’ll catch up soon enough, so don’t say such things again!”
“Keep your hopes up.”
“Just a moment! Sir Yermov! Do you have any advice for us after we arrive in Saint Mathilde?”
“If there’s something deemed necessary, don’t hesitate to do it.”
In the manner of true Hero Party.
The voice was scattered in the wind. Ivan’s figure gradually disappeared at the fork in the mountain path.
The party watched his back for a moment before picking up the pace. The road ahead was long, and there wasn’t much time left to reach Saint Mathilde.
It was too late to fail now, too late to give up, with so many lives at stake.
It was time to act like true adventurers.
*
A great agent never plans an operation for just one objective. A campaign on a specific front typically consists of the grand strategy of a legion, essential objectives, and auxiliary goals to achieve them.
Therefore, Ivan increased the speed of his horse and scanned his surroundings.
In these mountains, there were countless spies planted. No matter where he went, it would be difficult to escape the enemy’s gaze. Especially with such a conspicuous group.
So, the task was simple: minimize the pressure focused on those kids.
For that, he devised the route himself. If they broke through in a straight line, they would inevitably be pursued, so they had to pass through the border areas of territories belonging to staunch royalists or lords who were not loyal to Jean Beltoir.
To ensure that Jean Beltoir, the Count, couldn’t dare to mobilize a large-scale military force without justification. That was all that was needed. They should be able to handle a small pursuit party. They had to be able to.
It wasn’t feasible for him to personally take care of everything in every situation.
“Keep pushing a little harder.”
Patting the neck of the hot-blooded horse, Ivan lowered his body and stared straight ahead.
To minimize the pressure on the adventuring party, it was necessary to divert the attention of the Counts.
More than the Hero Party. He had to become a more irritating presence than Jill Ber by the enemies.
And conveniently, he understood their grand strategy. He also understood the essential objectives for it. If these two were combined with an understanding of the military map, it wouldn’t be difficult to grasp their tactical outline and auxiliary goals.
It was almost like reverse engineering. If the goal is clear, and if the resources I have are clear, what would I do? Through such thinking, he could deduce their range of actions.
Then he could know what the enemy desired most.
And if he was a trained agent, he should be able to accomplish what the enemy hated the most. To crush their most desired goal, to behave in the most annoying manner, thereby guiding them to the point where they couldn’t ignore him.
In Krasilov, the decoy opens up the prey.
*
“The vanguard of the demons crossing the Bernini Mountains for invasion has three main routes.”
To pass through the eastern front, they couldn’t assemble more than one legion. Any more would be inappropriate for infiltration, and the primary troops of the enemy, the Taurs, were creatures with very high basic calorie needs.
Assuming that their supplies were obtained only through plunder, their total numbers wouldn’t exceed two thousand.
If such a force were divided and utilized, even if the god of strategy arrived, they wouldn’t be able to surpass a few territories. The end of the offensive would come too quickly.
The demons worshipped only strength. This meant that unless the command was nearby, they couldn’t control individual soldiers who acted independently.
The demons would definitely come as a single warband. Such an assembly couldn’t erase its tracks.
“When the demons attack and burn down the surrounding territories, Count Guillaume will come to their rescue and gain support from the royalists.”
He would exploit that operation. Faster than the demons, more cunning than the demons. By imitating the demons’ tactics, he would seize what the demons desired before they could.
He would defend the territories from the threat of the demons. Gain support from the royalists and consolidate the minimum military strength.
Through this, he could achieve three things.
First, disrupt Count Guillaume’s plan.
Second, he could strike Étienne’s legion from behind.
Third, by raising an army near Count Jean Beltoir’s territory, he could bind the demons’ legion and attention.
Gradually undermining the plans of the three Counts from the outside.
“There will be no more than 15 destroyed territories.”
It should be possible to achieve Eugene’s quest at the same time. If the demon guerrilla’s offensive proceeds as planned, Count Guillaume won’t move until at least seven territories are burning.
A skilled agent never formulates a strategy for only one goal.
“It’s something I’ve done before.”
It’s not difficult to do something twice if you’ve done it once before.
Ultimately, the task is simply to break the demon vanguard and instigate potential allied territories.
It’s nothing more than a series of straightforward tasks akin to the extermination unit’s routine.
*
Ivan brushed his hands over the broken trees and torn earth haphazardly.
Having spent two days scouring the expected path of the demons, his horse was already exhausted.
Ivan took out a nutrition bar from his pocket and chewed it. The familiar smell, the familiar surroundings.
The scent of demons was thick in the air not far away.
After two days of searching for the demon’s traces in the Bernini Mountains, this was the final expected infiltration point.
“It’s been two days.”
Considering the operation began with the arrival of the wyverns, they were about two days behind the demons.
When the infiltration team consisting solely of Taurs began successfully raiding unarmed territories, how many villages would have burned down within two days?
This could be quantified.
“Five.”
If targeting rural areas with populations of 100 to 500, to sustain a warband of this size, they would have had to burn at least five villages.
Taurs are carnivorous beasts.
The demons eat humans. Quite happily.
Ivan had seen that sight before. It was common in those days.
He closed his mouth, gripping his pistol, and began to descend the mountain.
