Stein Rays's Move (1): An Unusual Tactic

“Rays-sama's Great Expedition”

In the near future, the battle Rays-sama would launch would come to be known by that name in later generations.

Let me tell you about the history I know.

At Haksha, the southern front had been pushed back, and at the Zetta Plain, though the battle had ended in a bloody draw, our country, Rudek, had suffered enormous losses.

It's the nature of beasts to target the weak. Seeing Rudek's plight, the Empire had suddenly begun turning its attention from Tsanadefol toward us.

At this rate, Rudek would slowly but surely be driven into a corner.

Amid all this, the extraordinary strategist's last-ditch plan to turn things around was this Great Expedition.

The target was Golber, which had been pushed back. The reason a campaign against a neighboring country was given the name “Great Expedition” lay in how unusual the plan was.

“We would pass through Reflea Holy Nation territory and pour into Golber from the north.”

Having a large force enter another country's territory was unwelcome even between allies, unless that country had requested it.

By the standards of the continent, this was no ordinary strategy.

But Rays-sama pulled it off.

He drove the still-not-fully-recovered soldiers of the Tenth Knight Order onward, taking a detour through Reflea north of Rudek and attacking from the border between Reflea and Golber.

For Golber, it was a strike from completely outside their expectations. Their lightly defended border with Reflea descended into chaos.

The turmoil spread into northern Golber, and before they could mount an adequate defense, the Tenth Knight Order was able to advance rapidly.

As a result, Golber was forced to withdraw from the north, including the Zetta Plain.

With this great victory, Rays-sama not only seized control of northern Golber, but also made a powerful show of force to the Empire, turning the tide of war back to even—or better.

No one could have predicted that it would be the last victory before the royal capital went up in flames.

For me, there were far too many unknowns in this Great Expedition, and honestly, I didn't want it to happen.

But the other day, Rays-sama sent me a draft of the plan, and I realized this was a battle we couldn't avoid.

If things went as they had in history, it would be a great victory, but there were three major reasons I was concerned.

First, there was Reflea and the First Knight Order.

I'd only just learned this myself, but apparently the plan had been devised quite early on, and a proposal had been made to Reflea through the First Knight Order.

To give you an idea of how early, it was shortly after the alliance with Reflea had been established.

But Reflea hadn't given them a favorable answer. That was only natural from a common-sense perspective.

The relationship between Reflea and Golber had also played a part. Reflea had originally been reluctant to fight Golber, and wanted to limit its cooperation to opposing the Empire.

Then why had Reflea suddenly given its permission?

In the history I know, a few records remain suggesting that Rays-sama threatened Reflea, saying, “If you don't cooperate, Rudek will surrender to the Empire.” However, we don't know if that was actually true.

In this version of history, I doubt Rays-sama threatened them. Rudek currently had the upper hand against Golber, after all. It wasn't a situation where we needed to gamble on a dramatic reversal.

On top of that, due to the Golber king's purge—which could only be called an act of madness—even the hero Est Rodelight was no longer in this world. One more push could bring Golber to ruin.

Even so, the expedition wasn't without risk. If we faced each other head-on at Zetta again, we would have to expect considerable casualties.

A surprise attack from Reflea's side would likely bring fewer casualties and greater results.

At this point, Reflea had apparently decided to abandon Golber and earn Rudek's favor. That seemed to be the prevailing view among its leadership.

But I saw things a little differently.

Hadn't Reflea permitted us to pass through its territory in the original history to draw Rays-sama and the Tenth Knight Order away from the royal capital? Given what happened afterward, that explanation made sense.

The plan was to keep the Tenth Knight Order in Golber territory while the royal capital was attacked.

But it hadn't gone well. Rays-sama had won far more quickly and decisively than they expected.

It must have been a miscalculation for Reflea, but it hadn't been a waste. After the Zetta Plain, the Tenth Knight Order suffered heavy losses in exchange for victory in the Great Expedition as well.

Though the attempt to draw them away had failed, wasn't the night the royal capital burned the moment they saw the weakened Tenth Knight Order as an opportunity and invaded?

If so, then it was entirely possible Reflea had the same goal this time. In fact, it was the only explanation I could think of.

I didn't know what Reflea or the First Knight Order might do while we were on the expedition... but I'd taken some precautions. The highway to Geadland, the relay boxes... If anything happened in the royal capital, the surrounding Knight Orders should be able to respond faster.

Besides, the Sixth Knight Order was here now, too. Even with the Tenth Knight Order away, the royal capital shouldn't go up in flames so easily.

If we wrapped up the expedition quickly and returned to the royal capital, we should be able to manage. Probably.

Next, I was concerned about the timing of this Great Expedition.

In the history I know, Reflea didn't grant permission until a little later, shortly before the royal capital went up in flames. In other words, this was happening too early compared to history.

What did that mean? The worst-case scenario was that Reflea and the First Knight Order might be planning their rebellion earlier. Since I wanted to put as many measures in place as possible, that was the least desirable outcome.

And lastly, I don't know much about this battle.

That's because there are no records of it in the future I know. Of course, I know what people would have heard about it. But that's all. Proper records take time to compile.

Rudek fell not long after the Great Expedition.

In other words, no detailed records were ever put together, and most of the materials that were still being compiled went up in flames.

I couldn't fight with the foresight I'd had until now.

It might be a battle we could win, but for the reasons I mentioned, this was a campaign I couldn't welcome.

But if “that time” was coming sooner, then it didn't matter whether I welcomed it or not. We had no choice but to fight. If the expedition was unavoidable, I had to think of a way to return to Rudek sooner.

There was one thing I'd decided.

When this battle was over, I would...

tell Rays-sama everything I knew.