Royal Road of the Extra Scribe

100

The 20,000-strong Crossing army stormed in recklessly.

Haneman, who was positioned in the rear of the army, furrowed his brow as if unable to comprehend.

“Now they want to turn the tide and repel us?”

It was a foolish move. If they were going to do that, they should have chosen a better terrain beforehand. In the current situation where the troops were gathered in one place, even fighting on the plains was reckless.

“It must be to buy time for a retreat.”

It was the wisdom of a strategist.

“Perhaps some units are delaying time to avoid being encircled.”

“No, look closely. Even the troops in the rear have turned the tables. There’s no sign of them heading towards the mountains.”

“T-then…”

“Yes, they are determined to finish us off here.”

The movements of the Crossing army now seemed as though they could annihilate themselves within a day.

Haneman shouted in anger, “So this was their plan from the beginning. They underestimated us greatly! Look! Spare none of them!”

The Western army moved in unison. Hundreds of officers moved swiftly, commanding the troops to confront the invading forces from Crossing.

The only tactical mistake made here was one.

They were too close from the start in their aggressive approach to nip at the enemy’s tail.

If there had been enough distance, they could have used cavalry to flank the attacking enemy or infantry to trip them up, but due to the closeness, they couldn’t execute such maneuvers and had to engage in combat.

But even that was trivial.

It wouldn’t cause significant damage to the kingdom.

The problem was that the enemy’s strength that charged in was beyond imagination.

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

Thud! Soldiers being swept away.

As Anton and Jurass stood at the forefront, it was difficult to stop their momentum. Their combat powers were 99 and 98, respectively. They were top-notch warriors that even Fisher Partin would find challenging to handle.

They were not alone.

Second General Creeper Noluck, Third General Patty Hurt, and Fifth General Kisler Fonte were also present.

Except for the Fourth General, who was directly under the king, all the core generals of the Crossing army were in the assault force.

It was a kind of buster call. Hence, their power was undoubtedly formidable. It was to the extent that a tactical loophole was momentarily exposed.

Nevertheless, with a force of 20,000 troops, they pushed back the 130,000.

“Surround them! Hold them down!”

“Encircle them!”

Soldiers were forming a tactical encirclement.

Then, Jurass turned his head, looked around, and made a strange move.

“Huff, haaa…!”

He staggered as if intoxicated, exhaling a breath.

Then he said, “It’s over there…!”

Jurass changed direction and infiltrated into an entirely unexpected place. Without any suspicion, the other officers followed him.

The place Jurass chose seemed superficially like a trap. An apparent tactical error.

It lived in an unbelievable form.

When pierced, the encirclement broke down, and the enemy forces fell into disarray.

With the chaos erupting, Juras went even more berserk. His movements were unconventional, yet they brought about absolute effectiveness. It was as if that was the hidden answer.

“I can’t believe it…”

Alz, watching from afar, muttered in amazement.

“Could it be that he was instinctual?”

Instinctual. The word sounds that way, but in reality, it doesn’t mean waging war solely on instinct. It’s not about receiving divine inspiration; such a thing is impossible.

Being instinctual ultimately refers to the creativity an individual possesses.

Some exhibit it through acquired experiences, while others are born with it as an innate talent.

Juras was a combination of both.

He had mastered acquired war experience and knowledge of tactics to the highest degree, along with innate creativity.

So, he navigated through any trap without falling into it, seeking only the correct answers. This wasn’t merely an instinctual move but a perfect harmony of instinct and reason.

Yet, that doesn’t mean he had no weaknesses.

A fatal flaw of the instinctual warrior.

He couldn’t lead a large number of troops.

Hence, Juras led only 20,000 troops. Even then, other capable officers and subordinates were with him, leading the troops.

Otherwise, the soldiers couldn’t keep up with Juras’ ever-changing movements.

“To entrust troops to me meant that.”

Alz grabbed the command post and shouted,

“If that’s the case, the enemy’s response is obvious… Everyone, move!”

Alz began to command the remaining 80,000 troops of Crossing.

He effectively handled the enemy by exploiting the openings made by Juras in a textbook manner.

The collaboration of instinctual Juras and methodical Alz.

Juras made the moves, and Alz ruthlessly executed them.

This formidable combination started to mercilessly dismantle the Western Alliance.

* * *

“W-What in the…!”

Hanneman couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

Such insane offensive power was unheard of even in the Western Alliance.

He felt as if he was facing the god of war.

Invincible. Describing Juras and Alz’s combination that way was apt.

“Lehila’s infantry is crushed! The commander of Lehila’s infantry has fallen in battle!”

“The enemy’s main force is devouring our vanguard! There’s no escape route!”

“Vanguard’s units are in disarray! Please issue orders!”

In the chaotic situation, a strategist hastily speaks out.

“What about a retreat? The enemies are in a supply shortage. If we retreat and buy time, we can turn the situation around.”

“No! That would expose us to excessive losses!”

These troops are not expendable but the main army.

If this army suffers, the strength to resist the Bekabia occupation will vanish.

In other words, it means this expedition will end in failure.

“There must be a way! Think of something quickly!”

“W-well then. What’s important right now isn’t the enemy forces advancing into Senjin, but rather the main enemy forces supporting them from behind!”

The unit under the command of Alz.

Alz was not only supporting the rear to prevent Jurass from being surrounded but also continuously deploying reinforcements to ensure Jurass’s forces didn’t lose strength.

As a result, Jurass’s forces continued to display their might without rest.

“According to the spy who was inside the enemy lines, Wade from the Bekabia camp has moved to the main base in Crossing. It’s likely that Wade is the one commanding that area.”

“The mercenary who killed Lexite…!”

Haneman recalled Jemuto’s warning at that moment.

Be cautious of Jurass, but also of Wade.

The situation Jemuto had feared was unfolding exactly as he had anticipated.

“If we take out Wade commanding the main base, the enemy will lose momentum. So, I suggest we deploy all the Oryong units to Senjin to entangle the enemy there first, and then strike the main base in Crossing from behind.”

“That sounds good.”

Haneman deployed all the Oryong units to entangle Jurass. Fisher Partin may have died, but the other four remained unharmed.

While they blocked Jurass, the rest of the troops aimed for where Alz was.

“This alone won’t be enough! Look, relay this message to Tunkai immediately!”

A rapidly unfolding situation.

General Randen Crow, who was facing off against Bekabia, looked at Jurass’s army as if he had seen something unbelievable.

“What in the world is that…?”

He knew Jurass used to be a mercenary. But this kind of battle tactic…?

“They’ve been hiding it well.”

It was partly due to Crossing controlling information, but fundamentally, Jurass’s sudden attack on Senjin had left the enemy clueless about what was happening.

“This is dangerous. It’s uncontrollable.”

At that moment, a messenger sent by Haneman arrived.

“This is Haneman’s command! Immediately target the flank of the Crossing main force and aim for the enemy commander!”

“Damn! Being assigned such a cruel role…!”

But he knew there was no other way.

Only the highly skilled Tunkai cavalry could execute this operation.

“Subordinate! Quickly organize a force of 4,000 troops! Convert them all to cavalry!”

“Are you planning to go yourself, General?”

“I have to.”

“You need to be careful. The opponent is said to be that Wade.”

“Even so, there’s no other way. Prepare it now!”

“Yes!”

Randen approached his horse. A man stood in his way, preventing him from moving forward.

“If that’s the case, let me handle it, Randen.”

“Ash!”

“You can’t afford to be in danger right now. This damn Krauss Forkner guy is gone, now is the time for you to take control. If you get captured or killed here, you’ll be nothing but a pawn.”

“Your death would also be a big issue. I can’t let you go.”

“Don’t worry. I have confidence in protecting my own life.”

Beside Ash stood a woman with a spear in hand.

“Ash, I will protect. Randen, entrust it to us.”

“Risitea, even you…! Haven’t you heard who the opponent is? It’s Wade. Even if it’s you guys…”

“Are you planning something out of fear of the enemy? There’s no time to hesitate, Randen. Give the order quickly!”

“…Fine. But remember one thing. If it’s deemed dangerous, get out immediately!”

“Understood. Then let’s go, Ash!”

Ash and Risitea, leading four thousand cavalry, pierced through the side of the Crossing headquarters.

As if waiting, the Crossing army employed tactics to narrow the entrance for the cavalry.

By narrowing the entrance, the foremost cavalry could continue advancing, but those following behind would be slowed to a crawl.

In this situation, the cavalry at the front had to make a choice.

Would they break through to the Alz headquarters, even with fewer reinforcements, or would they detour to regroup.

“This suffocating maneuver, is this Wade’s doing…! But still…”

Ash displayed an excellent maneuver.

Rather than advancing the midline cavalry, he split them into two, maneuvering them to both sides.

“Risitea! I leave that side to you!”

“Got it!”

They quickly maneuvered the troops to infiltrate Alz’s headquarters from the flank. While the vanguard cavalry was wiped out by Alz’s tactics, Ash and Risitea, taking advantage of the time bought by them, infiltrated from both sides.

The total number of infiltrated cavalry was 300.

‘This should be enough!’

Regardless of Wade’s guards, with this number of cavalry, they could crush the enemy.

And so, Ash and Risitea charged towards Alz’s headquarters.

But it was empty.

“What…!?”

The headquarters was deserted. There was no sign of Alz.

“It can’t be! The command of the soldiers clearly originated from here…!”

Moreover, the Crossing soldiers had defended this place with their lives.

“Ash!”

Risitea pointed around and shouted.

Suddenly, the Crossing soldiers had turned around, surrounding themselves.

“Was it a trap…!!”

Realizing this, Ash.

At that moment, the location where Alz was turned out to be somewhere he had never imagined.