***Arc 9 One Who Sent Off, Chapter 206 Difference in Temperature***

The Elsren army, which needed a fundamental review of its strategy to capture Wulfenite, retreated 10 ri from Wulfenite.

They gave up launching large trebuchets and increased the number of small trebuchets.

It couldn’t be helped that it would be destroyed, but if it was only one individual who could do that, then it would be better to increase the number.

The information about who did it was passed on by some who were in the Aleha Sarchenka army previously and a spy who escaped from Wolfenheit with severe wounds, but that didn't solve anything.

She had more power and range than a large crossbow, and that information did not provide any means to deal with the absurd individual who could destroy a large trebuchet from outside its range.

There is no other choice but to resort to violent, numerical means.

“You still look pale, Duke Sarchenka. Don't worry about it. No one thinks it’s your fault.”

"……yes sir"

Meeting in the great tent――the atmosphere was too heavy.

As expected, even Baszler Lukazan also took pity on him.

He completely understands how much effort Vynal Sarchenka put into this.

Aleha Sarchenka, who was popular with the people――After the previous war, various efforts were made to crush this man's younger brother, who was becoming an eyesore, but even so, he had no intention of crushing the Sarchenka family itself.

After the war, he intended to give him appropriate credit and eventually keep him as his protégé.

At least he has finished his purification by preparing that siege weapon.

If that was to have been crushed by a mere individual――Alberinea, even he felt sorry for him.

Moreover, for the past two days, Vynal had been working at a rapid pace on building a small trebuchet.

Whatever the outcome, he would at least try to make it so that the house would not be crushed.

That was the extent of his thinking.

However, the damage it caused to Vynal’s psyche was too great.

Since then, Vynal hadn't been able to eat or even sleep properly.

Siege weapons require careful preparation.

Gathering materials in the workshop, making adjustments repeatedly——huge amounts of gold were poured into preparing siege towers and large trebuchets.

If they disappeared without any results, it was only natural.

He lost several skilled engineers desperately gathered, and the cost invested couldn't be recovered.

“In a few days, we will have enough trebuchets...”

“Ah, I have high hopes for it.”

Fortunately, the engineers and craftsmen he brought were excellent.

Since a siege was likely to take place in the first place, there was some preparation for small trebuchets, so it was not a stalemate.

His only thought was how much achievement he could accomplish with the materials he had and how much he could reduce his losses.

If it were just a trebuchet, other nobles would have prepared for it as well.

All he could do was pray that his own trebuchet wouldn't be targeted.

Baszler asked, looking away from him.

“Is there a problem in the north and south?”

"There's no movement."

Linkara Walkal, vice general of the invasion force, answered.

Although he was nearly 100 years old and could almost be called an old man, he was a general who had spent more time on the battlefield than anyone else.

He has been Baszlar's mentor since childhood, and he had great trust in this man.

“I thought there would be an attack following that, but…”

“There doesn't seem to be any. What do you think?”

"The aim is still an endurance strategy. They won't be able to launch an attack.”

Linkara points to Wulfenite on the map.

"Three-sided siege——it's a similar situation to last time, but the fact that we haven't been able to take Wulfenite is a big factor. You could say it's better than before because Christand is dead and we don't have to worry about the north."

Then, placing his hand on his cleanly shaved chin, he continued.

“Since a short-term decisive battle would be difficult, it would be a good idea to just retreat and cut off the territory and call it a day.”

"Saying uninteresting things as usual. I'm asking about attacking after that."

“If that’s the case, then it will be by brute force.”

Linkara laughed at Baszlar's fed up look.

“First, attacking the northern part is not an option――Arna Imperial State’s army is there. Breaking through that Great Sea of Trees is extremely difficult. This is out.”

In the northeastern part of the Alberan Kingdom, there was a large sea of trees that separated the east and the north.

It was a natural stronghold, and to break through it one would have to be prepared for a lot of blood loss.

After the last battle, the Arna Imperial Army had built a new fort behind the Great Sea of Trees as their base, and it would be difficult to attack it.

"Well, it's the same for them. There shouldn't be any problem with the current 10,000 cavalry archers. They won't attack."

In front of the Arna Imperial Army of 20,000, was the Elsren army of 10,000.

However, it was a single unit composed only of cavalry archers. That was enough to deal with them.

When dealing with nomadic cavalry, it was often more convenient to organize them as a single unit rather than incorporating them into an army.

Nomads who were used to living with sheep and horses.

If you arranged for food and gave them free rein, they could use their mobility to control vast plains.

The enemy will be lured in by them, their forces will be whittled down by attacks while on the march, and if they attack, they will be crushed without being able to fight properly.

And, of course, it is hard to imagine that they would launch an attack, as the other side should understand this.

"The South is Garhka. He is a dangerous opponent if you fight him properly, but if you don't take the provocations and avoid a decisive battle, there’s nothing to worry about."

They had 30,000 men and 5,000 cavalry archers.

If the enemies leave the city and attack, they could lure them in and cut them off from the rear.

The enemy was an opponent that could be handled as long as they learned from their previous mistakes and avoided a decisive battle.

"At least for now, there are no issues with the north or south. And it's difficult for them to attack from the north or south too. The focus of this battle is how to capture Wulfenite with our current forces..."

Wulfenite exists in the northern part of Alberan——located between the Kurail Mountains that extend from the Dragon's Maw and the Calbyas Mountains in the south, at the midpoint between them.

Two central armies behind Wulfenite plugged the gaps between the north and south, making a forcible breakthrough difficult.

Aiming at one of the armies would inevitably lead the enemy to attack from Wolfenheit.

Not only would they be targeted from the flank, but even if they succeeded in breaking through, their rear communication lines would be cut off.

They had to somehow deal with Wulfenite to advance.

"That's what everyone wants to hear, Linkara. Now that Gulshan has been defeated, we can't take such a long-term plan. We're looking for a way to achieve decisive results."

Baszlar said.

Especially in the south, Garhka——the loss of 35,000 troops, which was unnecessary, was painful.

The enemy had 30,000 led by Nozan Verreich in the Wolfenheit, and 40,000 with the two central forces slightly to the rear, for a total of 70,000.

In contrast, theirs was 100,000.

The advantage was still there, but it was no longer as overwhelming as it was before.

“First of all, the attack on Wulfenite would have to be put off.”

"Attach 50,000 to Wulfenite 30,000, using that as a shield to break through on one wing. Swiftly eliminate the 20,000 front-line enemies with the other 50,000. The enemy's remaining one wing——how the 20,000 will move is a big question, but even taking into account the 20,000 enemy reinforcements coming from the flanks, the maximum is 50,000 to 40,000, so the advantage is still ours.”

The fortified city of Wulfenite cannot be attacked with 50,000 troops.

However, it was possible to siege the city and stick to it with a force of 50,000 men.

In the meantime, they were to break through the enemy's central army, overrun the royal city area, and isolate Wulfenite.

In any case, in this situation, Alberan definitely did not have the strength to spare.

If only they could break through, albeit forcefully——a strategy that would have been an easier choice had it not been for the 35,000 troops stuck to Gurkha in the south.

However, Nozan Verreich barricaded himself in Wulfenite, as if he was coordinating with Garhka in the south.

"However, the enemy is Nozan Verreich. No matter whether you acknowledge him or not, he is an excellent general. Considering their delaying tactic and gradual retreat——especially observing how they withdrew to Wulfenite after we deployed forces to the south, it is likely that he had anticipated that. It would be wise to assume that they had made corresponding preparations."

The generals, who were only thinking about conquering Wulfenite, looked impressed, but their eyebrows furrowed at those words.

Bazlar placed a hand on his chin and looked at Linkara.

“However, even with that in mind, you think it doesn’t seem that bad?”

“Yes. But I have a lot of concerns considering the circumstances under which Gulshan was defeated. I hear that Gulshan was defeated against Alberinea and Garhka even with twice as many troops. It is easy to consider Gulshan dumb, but don’t underestimate this."

Linkara replied.

"Elkar, Kilrea, Zalvaag, and Orugan. These are the names of sufficiently powerful generals. Aside from Kilrea, they have crossed paths with the Holy Empire several times. At least you should know that they are not incompetent generals."

“...Fumu”

“Alberinea, who overwhelmed Gulshan's greatest force, should not be thought of as just a great general. In fact, this army of 100,000 was defeated by a single individual, and were forced to turn our backs and retreat when the siege weapons were destroyed."

There was a slight murmur at those words.

This army was led by the Archduke of the Holy Empire, Bazlar Lukazan.

Although he was an adjutant commander, his words were too harsh.

Bazlar looked slightly displeased, but laughed.

"Quite. It's not funny, but it's the truth."

He said this in a deep, deep voice.

“In other words, your anxiety is whether or not it will be possible to contain 30,000 Wulfenite with 50,000, right?”

"That's possible too. However, I think...Elderant in the west are already at a disadvantage or have been defeated."

“...Hooh.”

Baszler smiled at those words.

“Kuku, it came out big.”

"Unlike Your Excellency, I'm a worrier."

Linkara continues, ‘That's an assumption from a pessimistic view though’.

He was smiling, but his eyes were serious, making his deep wrinkles even deeper.

"The Alberinea army that defeated Gulshan headed west. So far, there was no doubt based on the information and situation from the south. However, Alberinea, who was supposed to be leading it, is here."

Linkara moistened his tongue with black bean tea and continued.

"After the battle with Gulshan, they came here through the royal capital——normally that's what I would think. However, Gulshan's defeat was much too abrupt. There is also a strong possibility that Alberinea dealt a severe blow to Elderant and then proceeded toward us on her own.”

"...I see. If your fears are correct, there is a strong possibility that an army-sized follow up will appear."

"Yes. If that were the case, the enemy's rear 40,000 would avoid a decisive battle and wait for the arrival of the main body of the Alberinea army, which is heading towards us from the west, before launching a counterattack."

Linkara said that there was a great deal of uncertainty about a forced breakthrough.

“If my predictions are correct, those reinforcements will appear from the west in a week or two. If I were to assume the worst, it would be four or five days.”

While saying this, Linkara thought of the geography of Alberan.

Alberinea arrived two days before the siege engines were destroyed.

Thinking of the worst to worst, if the army were to cross the center of the royal capital in the shortest distance and head this way, the distance would be ten days.

If you were to transfer to a fast horse and go ahead as an individual, it would take about 4 days.

“Regardless of how Alberinea did it, she tamed a Suiko and made her a mount. I don't know how fast it is, but let's assume that she used a fast horse. If Alberinea were to take the lead and head towards us at the same time as the Elderant army was defeated, it would probably be around there.”

"I see. I understand your concerns. ...First one, you said that, right?"

“Yes, it would be foolish to assume the worst and become too timid, but if that worst-case scenario were to occur with this strategy, we could even lose. If it becomes 90,000 to 100,000, the numerical advantage will fade.''

Linkara drank the black bean tea and declared.

“We should make use of our advantages.”

“...advantages?”

"It's cavalry archers, Your Excellency. With 14,000 cavalry archers, which is not needed for the siege, we penetrated the gap between the enemy and entered the royal capital area. While threatening the rear line of communication and targeting enemy forces located behind Wulfenite from behind, depending on the situation, it can also hold back reinforcements. ...In the meantime, we will take all the remaining troops and capture Wulfenite at once.''

If it’s the cavalry archers alone, there was no risk they would be caught by the enemy army, which was mainly infantry.

It seems that the outer periphery of Alberan was able to evacuate residents and prevent looting, but if they were in the royal capital area, they could attack villages and cover their logistics with local procurement.

“The burden on them will be heavy, too. We cannot take a long time. The attack on Wulfenite will take a lot of effort, and we will have to be prepared to lose a lot of blood, but even so, with 85,000 troops, it should be possible to capture 30,000 Wolfenheit.”

Baszlar thought for a moment, and a beastly smile appeared on his masculine face.

"It's certainly a very aggressive plan for you...but it's not bad. A siege that involves crushing a lot of flesh and blood and getting over the castle walls."

"...Personally, I think it's the height of stupidity, a foolish plan among foolish plans."

Linkara said with some reluctance.

One should not engage in short-term sieges unless you have adequate equipment.

The price for the large trebuchets and siege towers was tens of thousands of soldiers and their lives.

“As I said, I think it would be better to cut off the territory here and accept it as a war result.”

"You're the only one who thinks so, Linkara. Putting aside if we take the rich southeast, there isn't enough pie to carve in the east alone. Are you planning on starting a civil war?"

Baszlar turned his attention to the generals——the nobles.

Linkara's words were probably true for a military man.

However, this man takes the noble society too lightly.

It's because of the delicious pir that the men who gather here spared their own money and prepared soldiers and equipment.

The eastern part of Alberan was once Elsren's territory——it wasn't particularly bad land, and it was a passing grade in terms of recovering lost land.

However, that alone was not enough to cover the costs of the previous and current wars.

The story might have been different if they had taken the rich southeastern part of Alberan, but they couldn't end it here.

Many nobles would go bankrupt like Sarchenka.

Unlike Alberan, this was a fatal problem in the Holy Empire, where the nobles had their own territory and power.

Depending on the situation, it could cause a mass rebellion among the desperate nobles.

In order to prevent this from happening, the Lukazan house had no choice but to take care of it, and the huge loss caused by this was great for the Lukazan house itself.

Furthermore, Baszlar was the one who made the Curia declare a holy war.

If he smeared dirt on their face a second time, no matter how well he worked, his house would be a few generations away from becoming emperor.

In many ways, ending it here was not an option.

"As I said earlier, the main purpose is to capture Wulfenite. Kalud, your role is important."

"Yes sir. Leave it to me."

The nomadic tribes they brought——their supreme commander.

The Grand Chieftain Ranu Khalud smiled on his thin face and saluted.

"That's just how great your achievements will be. Plus considering your contributions thus far, I will make an appeal to His Majesty the Emperor to grant you some limited autonomy."

“My gratitude. ... I'm sure to live up to your expectations.”

And he narrowed his eyes more at those words.

The Verreich army and the commanders of each corps were lined up in the conference room, and sitting next to Nozan Verreich was a silver-haired girl.

She was a beautiful girl who didn't fit in this room.

“Woof Woof”

“...What is it?”

She furrowed her brow and called.

Responding to her was Grunmeld Varcas, with a deep scar on his cheek——expressing doubt in his fierce appearance, he turned his gaze toward the girl, Krische Alberinea Christand.

"So, Bald Glasses.”

“......., Yes ma’am.”

Wearing glasses on his bald head——looking nervous and tired, Saladin Garcalon responded.

Before he could exercise his right to choose, his name had become established.

“And Skeleton, the commander of the Argand army, nickname is Meow Meow… Krische thought about it but…Krische perhaps did something rude.”

“...rude, meaning?”

Saladin asked, looking at Grunmeld.

Grunmeld nodded.

Perhaps she finally realized that the nickname she gave was a rude , noisy thing——there was a slight hope in their eyes.

Strangely, everyone around felt a strange tension, gazing at the girl's youthful beauty.

"...For some reason, General Verreich, who Krische had been indebted to a lot, is left out."

But of course, Krische never realized her mistake.

She had already solidified in her mind that the nickname she thought of was wonderful.

“Among the Gotoushu-sama’s three subordinates, Krische feels like it’s disrespectful to only call General Verreich by General Verreich. On top of that, giving nicknames only to General Verreich’s subordinates…”

Everyone was speechless at Krische who was worrying about things that no one else cared about.

For once, she had a serious expression on her face.

Her face showed a very apologetic look.

"......, Your feelings are enough, Krische-sama. I always feel that Krische-sama cares for me properly."

——It finally came huh.

As he smiled at her beauty, returning the answer with a refreshing tone, a complex emotion swirled within him.

It starts with the Bald Eagle centurion and Skeleton.

After hearing that Grunmeld is Woof Woof, and even Kolkis were named Meow Meow in her mind, plus the newly added Bald Glasses, He understood her intention.

All of them were nicknames that sounded like insults and he didn't think they were very enviable, but even so, when it came to this point, he felt rather a strange sense of alienation.

She was a genius that could not be measured by common sense, and was an absolute force that could not be rivaled on the battlefield, however her temperament was infinitely kind and pure.

Everyone knows that there was no malice in these names, but rather a strong sense of affection.

——However, to her, he alone was General Verreich.

After all, the feeling that welled up in his chest was something that was difficult to express.

He didn’t envy them by any means, but it's still somehow painful——that was the kind of dilemma Nozan Verreich, who has intimidated many of his enemies and allies, found himself in.

What Nozan and the others were going to do from now on was a tactical meeting.

Although the basic policy was decided every day, it was an important meeting.

It would have been very easy for Nozan to cut her off at this point and said, ‘Let's start the meeting, Krische-sama’.

Right now, right at this moment he could do that.

However, was it really okay to do that——was it okay to deny her innocent kindness of wanting to be close by giving him a nickname?

“……...”

Suddenly, all eyes in the room were focused on Nozan.

How would Nozan really refuse it, or what kind of nickname would he be given?

Everyone felt a strong interest in it.

If he refuses at this point, he might leave a haze in everyone's hearts that could not be removed.

——Before the important battle ahead.

What kind of nickname was she thinking of giving to him?

Nozan himself would be lying if he said he had no interest in it.

He had no memory of being given a nickname.

It was an indescribable temptation.

He didn’t want a nickname. But he was interested.

And he realized that he was not alone in this, it was the consensus in this place——Nozan couldn’t stop her from speaking.

Krische was staring at Nozan’s face from the side, her eyebrows furrowed and her hand on her chin with an unusually serious look on her face.

The jewel-like purple color had no smile at all——as if she was an artist.

No one would have thought that such extremely childish names as Woof Woof, Skeleton, Bald Glasses would come out of her mouth.

"Krische, Regalave-san... ah, um, it's the Holy Spirit. Krische was thinking of giving him the nickname Flap Flap. His name is a bit long."

Even against the Holy Spirit Mana (True Name) she was still ridiculous.

"I-I see..."

"Yes. Regalave-san is a big lizard-like creature with wings, and he can create a small storm just by flapping his wings."

That was a very frightening statement.

Unless one was a person for whom the Holy Spirit allowed to use their Mana (True Name), it would be extremely disrespectful——if she were just an individual and the times were different, she would be sentenced to death.

No one could even retort it.

“Krische thought it was a very good nickname, but when Krische asked Lira-san and Chief Alkierence and Kreisharana people they said please stop and..."

No doubt everyone here would have also stopped her if they had been there.

She seemed really reluctant, which was natural.

"General Verreich has a nondescript, hmm...not a fun...uninteresting face? Uh, well, Krische couldn't think of anything at the moment, but there are many feathers on the armor, so Krische thought something like that would be good."

"...I, I see”

Although when he was young, he was sometimes called feminine, that face had never been insulted before.

The fact that he was called an uninteresting face so easily made even Nozan feel a little shaken in his heart.

It would have been better if it were an interesting face, but that, too, had its difficulties.

“Is that… I mean, so it’s Flap Flap?”

"No, that's not good. Regalave-san’s wings have a grand feeling of 'Flap Flap’. General Verreich is at best more like Fwap Fwap or Flutter Flutter...hmm, Krische thinks it's like from around here."

Krische pointed to the area above her head. What was really going to come down there?

He felt like he was being belittled, but anyone would be when compared to a dragon.

Nozan silently accepted that there was no malicious intent.

"Yeah, it seems to be going in that direction after all. It might have arrived."

"*inhale*..."

Everyone had a serious face and their consciousness turned to Krische.

——But what echoed there was the sound of a bell.

"Messenger! Coming in!"

A messenger ran down the hallway and entered the room.

"The enemy army has moved! A single formation of cavalry, probably numbering 10,000, is moving to the south!"

"......, What about other movements?"

“As far as what was seen earlier, there was no major movement from the main body of the enemy!”

"Okay. Is that all?"

"Yes sir!"

When Nozan raised his hand, the messenger saluted and left the room.

"Even though it’s just a little bit more...muuu."

He immediately saw Krische, but she was standing up with a pout on her lips and dissatisfied.

"It's probably the movement we expected. It's probably a solo cavalry operation aimed at disrupting the rear."

"R-right..."

And Krische looked at Nozan.

The rare seriousness she had shown earlier disappeared, and a look saying it’s bothersome appeared on her face.

“Then, although it cannot be said to be certain, there is a high possibility that the enemy army will launch an all-out attack on this Wulfenite as soon as they are ready. They probably thought that the Krische army would come rushing through the royal capital? ‘General Verreich’, Krische will take a look outside first.”

Krische said that quickly and *tote tote*, she trotted out of the conference room.

There was an indescribable atmosphere in the conference room where she left, and everyone was looking at Nozan with indescribable looks.

Northern cleared his throat and announced in a serious voice, ‘Saladin’.

"I don't think they're going to attack yet, but just to be sure, check the eastern wall. If there's no problem, you can leave it to the adjutant. ...I'll continue the meeting."

“...Yes sir”

Saladin followed Krische out the door.

All that was left in the conference room was a vague, iffy atmosphere.