Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 236: Retreat to the Border, and What Follows (1)

After capturing Hisphil Castle, Yuri spent her time making as many preparations as possible with Anima.

Contrary to her worries, however, nothing significant happened, and time passed peacefully.

Just in case, they did nothing but strengthened their vigilance and waited for a while longer, but still, several days went by without incident.

Then, little by little, scouts began to return with reports.

The reports they brought back were different from what she had expected.

"Are you saying there aren't any troops in Zelin Castle either?"

"Yes. And that's not all. According to the scouts, a large-scale migration took place in Zelin Castle not long ago."

"Really... I don't understand what's going on. Are you certain?"

"How could I lie to my lord?"

As she looked at the soldier kneeling before her, Yuri made a light gesture with her hand.

"Alright, I understand. Tell the scouts they can take a good rest."

"Yes, my lord!"

After the soldier left, Yuri slowly approached the lord’s chair and turned to Anima, who had been standing silently by her side.

"What do you think, Anima?"

"One thing is certain."

"And what’s that?"

"Serpina has completely abandoned the border territories, including Hisphil Castle."

"If that's the case, do you have any guesses as to why?"

At Yuri’s question, Anima gave a bitter smile and shook her head.

"If I had any, I would have explained them first."

"I figured as much."

Perhaps noticing the slight disappointment in Yuri’s voice, Anima quickly added a few more words.

"But honestly, it would have been strange if they had cared about Zelin Castle after already abandoning Hisphil Castle."

Now that they had reclaimed Hisphil Castle, taking Zelin Castle wouldn't be difficult from their position.

If Serpina had abandoned Hisphil Castle so easily only to dig in at Zelin Castle—where defense would be even harder—it would have been an even more irrational decision.

"I've been thinking about it, and maybe something happened in the northern continent."

"Something happened?"

"Yeah. Maybe they don’t have the luxury to divert forces to the border right now."

After days of contemplation, this was the only rational conclusion Anima could come up with to explain the current situation.

Something must have happened in the north, preventing Serpina from focusing on the border.

They pulled out their forces and abandoned their territories because they had no other choice.

The northern continent had been plagued by ongoing rebellions as a result of Serpina’s tyranny.

Not long ago, there had even been an uproar over a mage appearing during a crackdown on rebels.

So perhaps they decided to abandon the territory entirely while also crippling its productivity—by forcibly relocating its people to the north.

That was the best possible explanation Anima could come up with.

It was a bit unsettling.

But there wasn’t enough information to think of anything else, and the last thing Yuri wanted was to waste time overthinking and let a golden opportunity slip away.

Sometimes, the simplest answer was the correct one.

No—more often than not, that was the case.

The world was, after all, fairly straightforward.

With that in mind, Yuri quickly organized her thoughts and briefed Anima.

After listening to the explanation, Yuri nodded and asked a question.

"If that’s the case, then we can occupy the territory without any worries, right?"

"Yes. We should move quickly."

If Serpina truly had other concerns, then this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.

If the enemy had abandoned their lands, all they had to do was seize them.

"Send word to Epinnel and Hernandorf. Have them advance on Zelin Castle immediately. And..."

"And?"

"I’m thinking of calling Emma here. What do you think?"

Emma was currently in the capital, Valharat Castle, overseeing their existing territories.

"Having Emma would definitely be helpful... but shouldn’t we leave at least one person in the capital?"

"No. If Serpina really has abandoned the border territories, then we need to mobilize our forces as quickly as possible. Leaving someone like Emma behind for city defense would be a waste.

We can entrust territory management to Melei or Veliel instead."

"Hmm... Alright. I’ll go with your decision, Yuri."

Yuri quickly summoned a nearby soldier.

"Head to Valharat Castle and deliver my message. Tell them I need Emma here.

You can take any horse from the stables—just get there as fast as possible."

"Understood!"

As the soldier departed, Anima, with eyes filled with resolve, spoke up.

"Yuri. Let’s move first. We've already wasted too much time being cautious of traps. We can’t afford to delay any longer.

Next is Zelin Castle! Let’s raise the flag of Aishus across the central continent!"

"...Yeah!"

And so, their conquest of the central continent—

The decision they had made from the start, to invade Serpina’s forces—

Was beginning to look like the right answer.

At least, for now.

***

After successfully reclaiming Zelin Castle, appointing an appropriate lord, and securing its administration...

At this point, everything was progressing incredibly smoothly.

However.

"...Huh?"

The first sign that something was going wrong appeared when they dispatched forces to invade Alkanwood Castle, one of Serpina’s border territories located northwest of Zelin Castle.

According to the scouts, they had seen nothing but a white flag fluttering above the castle.

"That is..."

At the frontlines, Epinnel looked up at the tower of Alkanwood Castle and confirmed the flag waving above it.

It wasn’t white.

The flag was sky blue, marked with a brown X.

A sky-blue flag was something she was very familiar with—the banner of Brans Army.

But this... this was not the Brans Army’s flag.

Not long ago, the Brans Army, once considered the second-greatest power on the continent, had fractured into three separate factions.

The Brans Army led by Lyn still used a sky-blue flag.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The Brans Army under Carlints, who had seized Anel Castle and all the prime territories, flew a sky-blue flag with a yellow cross.

And finally, the Brans Army commanded by Chel—the faction that boasted the strongest generals—

"...Chel Brans?"

The flag waving above Alkanwood Castle belonged to Chel’s forces.

***

A few days earlier.

Inside the royal castle of Highzel, the temporary capital of Chel’s forces.

"Damn it!"

Bang!

Chel furiously hurled the helmet in his hand.

Crash!

The helmet, made of solid metal, split apart as it struck the floor.

"How the hell have we still not taken Anel Castle?!"

"Th-the thing is... they've been concentrating an overwhelming amount of resources into its defense, and, my lord, you are well aware of Anel Castle’s fortifications..."

"...Haa."

The plan had been perfect.

He would seize Anel Castle from his foolish younger brother, capture Lyn, and establish himself as the true heir to the Brans legacy.

At some point, Lyn Brans had become so far gone that she was no longer the wise younger sister he once knew. He had followed her because she was worthy of being followed, but that was no longer the case.

As for Carlints—he had always been nothing more than an inferior, an unworthy scion °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° of House Brans.

This was his moment to finally prove that their father had been wrong all along.

"...Leave."

"B-but, my lord—"

"It would be in your best interest to stay out of my sight. I might just kill you. ...And I don’t want to do that."

"...!!"

"Leave. Now."

The commander who had delivered the third consecutive report of failure did not dare utter another word.

With his head bowed low in shame, he hurriedly retreated from the royal chamber.

Capturing Lyn Brans and claiming the legitimacy of the Brans Army was one thing.

But wasting time and depleting his forces, unable to subdue even that idiot Carlints...

The very situation itself was an unbearable humiliation to Chel, whose pride was second to none.

'I can’t just take the field myself.' ƒreewebɳovel.com

He wanted to go personally, but his body was not what it once was—no longer the fearsome warrior once hailed as the greatest swordsman of Brans.

Ruling came with endless responsibilities, and the stress of dealing with uncooperative subordinates made it impossible to devote entire days to training.

Like a blade that dulled from disuse, Chel’s body had gradually lost the instincts of a warrior.

He regretted not being able to fight on the frontlines, but he understood—

A ruler constantly taking the vanguard wasn’t ideal.

'This is infuriating.'

Day after day, he wasted time, unable to crush the younger brother he had always dismissed as pathetic.

Then, one day—

"Are you certain about this?"

"Yes. My lord, how could I lie to you?"

A scout who had been patrolling the eastern front returned with unexpected news.

Serpina’s army was withdrawing its forces from the border.

"...What do you think, Daltrick?"

"Well..."

Daltrick, who had once served as the lord of Joque Castle and now held the position of chief strategist in Chel’s army, lowered his head and spoke hesitantly.

"There must be some disturbance in the northern continent."

"A disturbance?"

"Otherwise, they wouldn’t be pulling back their forces."

Daltrick was a competent figure, considered one of the more talented minds in the Brans Army, but objectively, he was still an ordinary man.

He reached his conclusion quickly, without much deliberation.

Chel did not demand further explanation.

After all, what other reason could there be for abandoning territory?

'...In that case...'

Could this be an opportunity?

Instead of wasting time on the frustrating siege of Anel Castle, he could expand his domain.

In this world, territorial control directly correlated with national power.

If he played his cards right, he could surpass his siblings in a completely different way.

"Summon everyone, Daltrick."

"What do you plan to do?"

"We depart immediately. Ah, and..."

A rare, confident grin spread across Chel’s face.

"This time, I’ll be leading the charge myself."