Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 228: The Chance to Prevent This

A few days before the Aishus Army began its movements.

Lyn Brans, ruler of the now-fractured Brans Army, sat upon her throne, listening to a report from Parfalle—a report she could hardly believe.

"The leader of the rebels within the Karelia Army... is Lunarian?"

"...Yes, Your Majesty."

"And the one who publicly declared support for her... was Kyle von Eingart?"

Regardless of the actual circumstances, the world saw this rebellion as Kyle von Eingart’s doing, not Lunarian’s.

After all, Lunarian was an unknown name, an obscure noble of no significance, whereas Kyle von Eingart was one of the last remaining members of the Eingart bloodline, the same lineage as Serpina herself.

But Lyn knew the truth.

She was one of the few lords—perhaps the only one left on the continent—who truly understood who Lunarian was.

She was... Swen’s first master.

Before anyone else, it was Lunarian who had recognized Swen—the nameless gem that no one else had noticed.

And yet... the one who had first seen his brilliance had not been Lyn.

"...How could this be..."

The woman who had debuted in the grandest manner, under the protection of the royal family, was none other than Lunarian.

That single fact was a blade piercing straight ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ through Lyn’s heart.

Lyn slumped into her throne, utterly drained.

What unsettled her most wasn’t just Lunarian’s presence...

"Should I organize a pursuit force?"

"A pursuit...?"

"Yes. Leaving Lunarian alive may prove troublesome."

But only that child had ever said such things to her before.

"No. There’s no need to pursue. The prey is already here."

"But Your Majesty, the only one left in the capital is him. That would mean Lunarian is still on the run. We should send forces to capture her—if you allow me a small detachment, I will ensure she is caught as soon as possible—"

"Why do you keep giving me orders? I said there’s no need to pursue. Are you disobeying me? You looking for an excuse to spill some blood today? Want me to start with yours?"

"...My apologies, Your Majesty."

Airen had been right.

Lunarian was a dangerous woman.

She was never someone Lyn should have underestimated.

She had seen it, she had realized the truth, and that’s why she had warned Lyn.

But instead of listening, instead of even considering why Airen had given such a warning—

She had hated her.

Hated her so much that she had ignored her words.

"...Hhk... Hhic..."

Lyn had thought she was over it.

But again, tears streamed down her face.

"Parfalle... Why...? Why didn’t I see it?" frёewebηovel.cѳm

"Your Majesty..."

"Why did I ignore Airen’s warning?"

That moment had been the turning point.

The fact that Lunarian had emerged into the world in such a grand debut was the proof.

Managing to launch a rebellion in Karelia, a faction known for its unshakable loyalty, was already an impressive feat.

But now... as if perfectly orchestrated, Kyle von Eingart had attached himself to her as her closest ally.

No, even before that...

She had been Swen’s first master.

Lyn knew it.

The Lunarian Army would not go down easily.

If she still dreamed of uniting the continent, if that dream had not yet faded...

Then the greatest threat after Serpina would be Lunarian.

Lyn was no fool—she could read the tides of history.

There had been a chance.

A chance to prevent all of this.

If she had only listened to Airen back then.

Then, suddenly, her thoughts flashed to the magician who had recently appeared in the northern continent.

If I hadn’t dismissed Airen...

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Then she wouldn’t have lost Airen, the most loyal general she ever had.

Then maybe Swen would have stayed with Brans Army.

Now that Lunarian’s forces had resurfaced, it was impossible to rule out the possibility that Swen might have left anyway...

But at the very least, things would not have crumbled to this point—where her nation had split into three.

Even if a magician had appeared, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Because Swen himself was like a magician, a man capable of performing miracles on the battlefield.

"Why... why did I...?"

"Your Majesty..."

Parfalle stepped forward and gently grasped Lyn’s trembling hand.

"You must be strong, Your Majesty."

"I know... I know... But..."

Now she understood.

Now she knew just how foolish she had been.

From being the undisputed ruler of the central continent—Serpina’s only true rival—

To losing territory after territory, to failing to control her own siblings, to allowing her nation to fracture into three...

No one else was to blame.

"It’s all my fault... Everything... Because I was a fool."

"And yet, we are still here. Is that not proof enough that we can move forward?"

"Parfalle..."

"It will be fine. We will rebuild, slowly but surely. You have done it once before, Your Majesty—you can do it again."

Lyn wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

"I know. I don’t have the right to wallow in self-pity... But today... just for today... it’s too much. I... I’m so tired..."

"Your Majesty..."

Parfalle said nothing more.

She simply watched over Lyn in silence.

At first, she had simply wanted to ensure Lyn’s success—to prove that her choice to follow her had been the right one.

But at some point...

That had changed.

Now, she truly wanted to stand beside her.

And Parfalle was not alone.

All those who had remained with Lyn—who had chosen her instead of Carlints or Chel—

They all still dreamed of Brans Army’s second rise.

Lyn had lost Airen, the most faithful warrior she ever had.

And only after losing her did she finally awaken.

She thought that all her actions now were nothing but desperate struggle.

Yet ironically, more and more, she found truly loyal people gathering around her—people just as devoted as Airen once was.

***

As usual, upon arriving at Eingart Castle, I was greeted with rather interesting news from Serpina.

"The Aishus Army?"

"We’ve received reports of troop deployments along our border."

"So, they've finally begun to move."

It wasn’t unexpected. In fact, I had been wondering why they hadn’t made a move sooner.

The long period of silence meant one thing—they had been fortifying their internal affairs, training their soldiers, and expanding their forces.

In a time of chaos, peace never lasted long.

It was once again time for war.

"Swen, what do you think?"

"You’re asking about the Aishus Army’s target, correct?"

"Fufufu... I do enjoy how you understand me without needing me to explain, Swen."

"That’s because it’s the only logical question to ask right now, isn’t it?"

With that, I turned my attention to the map.

The Aishus Army was bordered by two factions: Serpina’s Army and Hesna’s Army.

But honestly, this wasn’t even a question worth deliberating.

"Gather our forces and station them at the border, my lord."

"You believe the Aishus Army is coming for us, then?"

"Yes."

Serpina tilted her head, amused.

"To be so certain without even a moment of hesitation... I know well of your abilities, but I’d still like to hear your reasoning."

"There’s no need to use my ability for this. I only need to ask you one question."

I turned to face her, my voice unwavering.

"If the Aishus Army mobilized and attacked Hesna, what would you do?"

At my words, Serpina’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.

That alone confirmed it.

She wouldn’t even hesitate.

If Yuri were to make such a foolish decision...

"...I see. I asked a foolish question."

Serpina would immediately invade the heart of the Aishus Army’s territory.

Until now, she had been restrained only by internal rebellions, assassination attempts, and political instability.

But now that the opportunity had come knocking, she wouldn’t let it slip away.

"If Yuri fails to read the flow of the battlefield, then she will simply be eliminated. If she understands it, then she will choose war against us."

"A war, huh... Perhaps it’s not such a bad time for one."

The last rebellion had already been crushed.

Serpina had demonstrated overwhelming strength using what many now called “magic”.

Jenna had been actively traveling the lands, stabilizing the people's sentiments.

The reports from generals like Irian suggested that everything within our military was proceeding without issue.

By all accounts, another internal rebellion occurring at this very moment was highly unlikely.

Of course, Serpina had an unnatural tendency to attract misfortune, as if the entire world was working against her—

But she had recently marched into the central continent, and things had gone relatively smoothly.

There was no need to pessimistically assume disaster would strike again so soon.

"Still, there’s no reason not to use your ability, is there?"

Serpina smiled as she looked at me.

Among all the rulers and generals, she was the one who best understood how to utilize my talent.

"Should we begin preparations for war against the Aishus Army?"

I closed my eyes for a moment, assuming the posture of deep thought—

And entered the question:

[Should we prepare for war against the Aishus Army?]

[Yes.]

"As expected."

There was no need to think about it.

As I had predicted, Yuri had chosen to point her sword toward us.

"It seems our assumptions were correct, my lord."

"So it would seem."

Serpina rose from her throne and turned to face me.

"In that case, I intend to mobilize our forces immediately and station them at the border. What do you think?"

Once again, I entered the question as it was.

[Is deploying troops to the border against the Aishus Army the most efficient strategy?]

And then—

[No.]

"...?"

It had been a while since I had felt this way.

That strange feeling—

The discrepancy between my logical conclusion and the answer given by my ability.

"...What kind of nonsense is this now?"

Once again—

I found myself at odds with my own conclusion.