Grau's Opening Move

"What kind of magic did you use?"

The day after we repelled the Imperial Army's fierce assault.

The Imperial Army had suddenly withdrawn to its camp, and as I watched them from the castle walls, Alois asked me about it.

"Which occasion are you referring to?"

"Yesterday. To be honest, I never thought we would be able to hold out."

"Heh... If a young lord steps forward himself to give orders, anyone would be motivated."

"That was your instruction too. I understand that it was effective, but I don't think it could have held back ten thousand enemy soldiers."

"You really want to give my magic all the credit, don't you?"

"I only want to know the truth."

That made me fall silent for a moment.

I could tell him, but giving the answer away for free felt like a waste.

"Hmm... Then I'll pose it as a question. What kind of magic do you think I used?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking..."

"Asking others is important. But before that, it is also important to think for yourself. Use your head. What was so impressive about us?"

I said it as though I were admonishing a student.

Alois obediently began thinking in earnest. He was probably retracing his memories and searching for what had led to our victory the previous day.

Then Alois raised two fingers, looking a little unsure of himself.

"I can think of two factors."

"Let's hear them."

"First, the enemy soldiers were weaker than expected. Second, our soldiers were stronger than expected, perhaps?"

"So your answer is that I strengthened our side and weakened the enemy—that I used those two spells?"

"Yes... I believe so."

He did not seem entirely confident.

Alois nodded for the moment, and I began to reveal the truth to him.

"Half right, half wrong."

"So one of them is correct?"

"Yes. I used magic to keep our men's minds from being affected by the madness of battle. Because of that, everyone stayed calm even when facing the enemy, watched their opponents carefully, brought them down, and listened closely to my orders. That was the only magic I used."

The important thing was staying calm.

That was an enormous advantage in battle. Ordinarily, unless a person has exceptional self-confidence, they cannot remain calm when facing an enemy. That is even more true for amateurs who have never fought before.

Armies train their soldiers rigorously so that they can remain calm even in such situations.

My magic had elevated amateur soldiers to the level of seasoned veterans.

"That's all? Then why was the enemy so weak...?"

"The day before, an enormous flame was fired from the gate and burned a thousand elite soldiers. Given the accounts of the survivors and their injuries, fear was inevitable. They would wonder if something might happen when they approached the gate. They might think their plans for today had already been anticipated. Such doubts make it impossible to remain calm. The Imperial soldiers are well trained, but they are not all warriors capable of defeating a thousand men single-handedly. Once they lose their composure, they are not much of a threat."

"Something like that...?"

"Life-and-death struggles can be decided by something as simple as that. A castle assault already favors the defenders. If doubts arise among those trying to take it by force, the outcome is obvious."

"So you defeated the enemy's surprise attack with a strategy designed to exploit that?"

"More or less. If they attack according to standard tactics, it is easy to prepare countermeasures. Standard tactics are simple, but that simplicity creates fear in the soldiers. If they cling to tactics the enemy has already seen through, they will be the ones to die. And the Imperial commander issued orders according to standard tactics. Doubts arose, their composure was lost, and their actions became clumsy. The soldiers and knights here did not let that opening pass. That's all there was to it."

If all we had to do was endure for one day, that was enough.

Once we endured, the enemy would judge us a formidable opponent.

That left them with few ways to break through quickly.

"Then you've already made your next move, haven't you?"

"Why do you think that?"

"By defeating the surprise attack force, you instilled fear in the enemy and gained an advantage in yesterday's battle. If so, you must have laid the groundwork during that battle as well."

"You're putting your head to good use. But you still have a long way to go."

"What do you mean?"

"It wasn't yesterday that I laid the groundwork."

The day we annihilated the surprise attack force.

I had already made my next move then.

"You laid the groundwork even before yesterday!?"

Alois was startled and tried to ask me about it, but then suddenly caught on and began thinking for himself.

His earnest reaction was endearing, so I placed a hand on his head.

"You were fighting for your life yesterday, so you probably didn't notice. But you've already seen it."

"Seen it?"

"Yes—you saw what we lacked in yesterday's battle."

After hearing my hint, Alois desperately racked his brain.

Something was missing—something that had been missing since yesterday. It was the kind of deficiency we should normally have noticed, and it was ours.

Alois tilted his head and hummed.

But then he realized something, and his eyes widened.

Had he figured it out?

"Well?"

"Yesterday... we never met Jordan-san even once..."

I smiled at that answer.

Then I patted his head with the hand resting on it, to show him he had done well.

"Once you've encountered a formidable enemy, you can no longer act as you did before. They will come up with some kind of strategy and try to break through our defenses with all their might. That will be our greatest opening. If we launch a surprise attack at that moment, we can scatter even a large army. But the enemy will be on guard as well. They are probably already watching us. If we send out a separate unit, they will notice immediately."

"So that's why you sent them outside when we defeated the enemy's surprise attack force!? A hundred men!?"

"Vogt is an excellent knight commander. He handled things skillfully so that they wouldn't notice. Even if our thousand became nine hundred, it would not look like a significant difference to the enemy. The balance of power hasn't changed either, since we annihilated that thousand-man unit."

"You were doing all that...? Then you're going to launch a surprise attack?"

"Yes, but it won't be an ordinary surprise attack."

If we left a hundred men outside the city, there was even a chance they would be discovered.

That was why I instructed them to keep themselves hidden.

I designated the surrounding villages as their hiding places.

Jordan-san was well connected and naturally had many acquaintances in the villages near Gels.

With the villagers' cooperation, the hundred men blended into the local communities near Gels.

"Why do you think the enemy has been so quiet?"

"Because they're preparing to take the city."

"That's right. But they have constraints. One is time. The other is the pretext that they are merely a reconnaissance unit. Because of that, they cannot request reinforcements or summon powerful mages. That is fatal for an enemy seeking a quick victory. Their remaining options are to take the city through some unconventional strategy or develop weapons."

"Develop weapons? You mean build siege weapons?"

"They can make up the manpower by mobilizing soldiers. A simple siege weapon alone would make a siege much easier, and our resistance has probably told them that we have no mages here. They have no reason not to build a massive siege weapon."

But that would be their blind spot.

Their desire to take the city quickly would inevitably make them choose a bad move.

"And if they want to build a huge, complicated siege weapon, they will need plenty of manpower. In circumstances like this, the Imperial Army scatters money among the surrounding villages and hires laborers."

"Don't tell me..."

"Our hundred men are already inside the enemy's territory. Of course, that alone isn't a threat from their perspective. I only instructed them to comply if the Imperial Army asked them for labor. At most, they could cause some minor trouble. But what if I went there?"

"But if the enemy has been watching us this whole time..."

"That doesn't matter to me. I am free to go wherever I want."

"Ah..."

"To the enemy, it will look as though I appeared out of nowhere. Of course, I won't tell them I used magic. Then we'll seize their provisions and siege weapons. That will be the end of it. The enemy will have no choice but to withdraw. Even if they break through here, they cannot advance any farther, and without siege weapons, they won't make it in time."

After explaining what would happen next, I looked at Alois.

He was still a child, but he was a lord.

I had to explain this to him.

"I will leave once that surprise attack is over. I'll deal with anyone who might cause you trouble, so don't worry. But you will have to work hard after that."

"I understand... We did fight the Imperial Army, after all."

"You are acting alongside the Imperial envoy for now, but rely on Prince Leonart. Once Duke Kruger has fallen and the hostages' safety has been confirmed, go apologize to the Emperor immediately. There is room for leniency, and the Emperor is not foolish enough to condemn a young lord who held back ten thousand Imperial soldiers. You probably won't receive much punishment."

"Understood... I will follow your instructions."

"Good. Then we should head down soon. The wind is getting cold."

"When will we depart?"

"That's a secret."

With that, I gave Alois one last pat on the head, and the two of us descended from the castle walls.