Chapter 24 — Unexpected battle (4)

‘This bastard again?’

‘What now?’

The adjutants that were seated roundly turn to look at one place.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you while you are resting.”

Roan bent his head and approached them.

Gale, that was quenching his thirst, smiled faintly and nodded.

“Right. What happened?”

“I have something to tell you.”

At those words, Gale put down his water sac and sat properly.

The adjutants also started to gather.

‘Right. Let’s listen what he has to say now.’

A fierce vigor appears in the eyes of the adjutants.

Roan stood firmly and looked at Gale’s eyes fixedly.

It was stately but not conceited.

“We have to go to rescue the three troops that chose to charge.”

“Mmm.”

‘It seems like he’s certain that the three troops are in danger.’

He slowly turned to look at Roan’s eyes.

Eyes that weren’t shaking at the least.

‘In the first place, he opposed to charging through saying that there would be more monsters over there.’

If that was true, the three troops that chose to charge through were like a rabbit in a tigers cave.

Then, Kennis’s voice was heard.

“Saying that we have to rescue the three troops means that they are in danger, right?”

“That’s right.”

A reply without hesitation.

“How can you be so sure?”

It was a question pressing for an answer, but he wasn’t talking as if he was ignoring him as before.

‘Because there’s something he showed us, I can’t just ignore him.’

When he first said that they had to pierce through the ogre army, he thought that it was a crazy thing.

‘But just like he said, there were no monsters behind them.’

Although they lost 200 and more soldiers, but many more survived.

Not a bad result taking into account that they fell in an almost perfect ambush.

It meant that Roan’s decision wasn’t a bluff at all.

‘Being conceited is one thing, and skills is another thing.’

He didn’t like that a greenhorn ignored orders and ranks and acted by his own.

But his those actions weren’t bluffs but real skills, he couldn’t just ignore him.

He recognized what he had to.

Kennis, that roamed the battlefield for many years as an adjutant of rose troop, was that kind of soldier.

Roan took in a deep breath.

“We shook off the ogres, orcs and goblins that were chasing us. Then, where would those guys go?”

His finger points to the north.

“They are going to catch the three troops. Because that’s the main force.”

“Mmm.”

Kennis and the other adjutants sigh in amazement.

‘It’s true that they didn’t look like chasing us that fiercely.’

‘At one moment, they had fallen back.’

‘It seemed like they were returning to Int forest.’

Then, Gale’s voice was heard.

“Fine. Let’s take into that all you said is true. Even so, our force is only 600. What will these many soldiers do? I think that it would be better to return quickly to our camp and request for help.”

At those words, many adjutants nod.

Roan shook his head with a frozen expression.

“Meanwhile, the three troops will be annihilated.”

“Mmm.”

Gale shuts his mouth.

Then, one of the adjutants that was at the back said sullen words.

“Even so, we can’t die along them.”

Rescuing the three troops in this situation was the same as suicide.

Roan smiled faintly and shook his head.

“I have a method.”

And Ian’s strategy that later on would be called as a genius strategist.

He looked at Gale and asked carefully.

“May I look at the military map.”

“Military map?”

Gale wondered for a moment and made eye signs to Dosen.

Dosen nodded slightly and took out a large paper roll from his chest.

Swuush.

The rolled piece of paper got unfold and the map showed itself.

‘I did expect it, but it’s more of a mess than what I thought.’

Roan let out a small sigh.

It was embarrassing to call map to the thing in front of him.

‘I have to wait 10 more years for the detailed map of the kingdom to come out.’

And of course, that was also one of Ian Philip’s piece of work.

Roan held back his regret and pointed to one side of the map with the tip of his finger.

“This is our current location. And………”

The finger gets a bit higher.

The three troops that chose to charge will be around here. They would probably be receiving the attacks of the monsters.”

His finger gets down again.

“And this river is Prely river. It’s wide but a shallow river.”

Gale and the adjutants that were listening to the explanation all nodded.

Because they also knew well about Prely river.

‘And especially now that it’s spring, it’s so shallow that it only reaches to the tigh of a grown man.’

Roan looked at Gale and the adjutants and continued saying.

“We have to do an inundation tactic.”

At that moment, everyone frowns.

“Inundation?”

At the words that were asking back, there were many doubts.

‘He wants to use an inundation tactic in Prely river right now?’

‘It seems like he isn’t in his right mind.’

Distrusting faces.

But Roan’s face was still confident.

His finger points Prely river and follows to the right.

Point.

The tip of his finger stops.

“This place has the answer.”

*****

Dududududu.

Horse steps that shake the earth.

Roan hit the horse and took in a deep breath.

‘The reason Ian Phillips is amazing isn’t only because he makes wondrous tactics.’

There were many reasons as to why Ian was called as the outstanding genius strategist, but the biggest reason was on the point that he knew the importance of information better than anyone else.

He ran an information organization in Rinse kingdom for the first time.

‘Before that, you gave money to an information guild or thieves guild. That was all.’

Ian took and analyzed even the little bit of informations other wouldn’t hold any regard.

Because of that, he could gather a massive amount of information better than anyone else and with this information, he made the most effective and efficient strategies.

‘It’s also the same for Int’s forest battle.’

Ian focused on the information that nobody that analyzed Int forest’s battle knew, or even if they knew they didn’t hold it in any regard.

‘Temporary reservoir.’

The farmers in Pedian’s plain made a temporary reservoir in Prely’s river for when winter ended.

They were gathering water in case they lacked water at spring, when it started they yearly farming.

Because of that every spring, Prely river was really shallow compared to it’s width.

‘We are exploding that reservoir.’

That was what Ian thought and the tactic Roan was going to do.

Roan hit the horse and looks to the west.

The place where the temporary reservoir was located.

‘By now, the squad members may also have reached.’

The rose troop were currently divided in two.

The squad Gale lead went to the temporary reservoir to explode the bank.

And the squad Kennis and Roan were leading were running towards the three troops.

‘It would be bad if our allies also get swept on the inundation tactic.’

Roan calmly gripped the reins.

“Adjutant Kennis.”

“Huh?”

Kennis, that was running at the front, looks back.

Roan points to the earth with his finger.

“We will have to leave some archers here.”

At those words, Kennis nods and does a hand sign.

One of the soldiers left the ranks and protected the place.

Roan left archers at moments while running to the west.

When they were running without stop and were about to pass a hill.

Cheng! Checheng! Cheng!

Metal clashing could be heard.

“Kill!”

“Don’t get pushed back!”

“If you do, we die!”

Continued by the yells.

At that moment, Roan’s face contorts.

‘How so?’

A face he couldn’t believe it.

Roan quickly hit the horse’s stomach and lowered his posture.

The horse runs like a feather and stand at the peak.

He saw the battlefield with his eyes.

“How are the three troops here?”

An unexpected situation.

Then, Kennis approached him and asked.

“According to your guess, shouldn’t our allies be at the other side of the river? But……”

The three troops had already passed the river and were pressed to the south.

Roan bit his lower lip.

‘It’s different.’

Originally, the three allied troops should be fighting the monsters at the northern part of the river.

An unexpected battle again.

‘It’s certainly different. But……’

Roan glared at the battlefield with sharp eyes.

His head spins so fast noises could be heard.

End

Translator: Subak