I Noticed That It Was an Academy After 10 Years

201. That’s Not How War Works (7)

A small number cannot reverse a war.

Yes.

That is correct.

No matter how strong a human being is, there are limits.

But…

It would be a different story if that ‘human’ had the strength of a tactical weapon.

For example, a wizard who turns the wilderness into an inferno with a single spell, a fighter who blows away dozens of monsters with a single punch, or a swordsman who cuts an entire group of monsters in half with a single swing of his sword.

“We won!”

“Hurray!”

The cheers of soldiers who are happy to have survived fill the fortress.

In this fortress, is the joy of surviving greater than the sorrow of losing a comrade? Seeing the subtly different reactions from each fortress, I looked down from the repaired castle walls at the corpses that colored the wilderness.

“You look like you’re worried.”

“Don’t you think he’s retreating more obediently than you thought?”

Harpas didn’t show up, since he was always the type to lead from behind and observe, but it was strange that there was no change in tactics while the four of us were clearing most of the second line of defense.

And there is one more thing that bothers me.

I said, kicking this type of monster.

“I didn’t know such a monster existed.”

“I’m seeing these guys for the first time too.”

If Kalintz, who often exterminated monsters, doesn’t know, should we assume that no one knows? I carefully squatted down and observed the corpse of the strange creature.

The appearance was simple. As seen in the crack before, the head is replaced by a mass of tentacles. As far as I know, there was no such monster in the original work. It feels somewhat similar to the guys I saw in the crack…

“It’s a monster I’ve never heard of… I don’t know what’s going on.”

“That’s right.”

What is certain is that something I don’t know intervened in the original work.

No, is this the ‘true ending’?

Perhaps the world of the true ending is vanilla, which means that a third force that did not appear in the original work will appear. A conclusion that can be reached just by combining the information gathered so far.

The problem is, what on earth are the third forces doing?

I don’t know the purpose, I don’t know the size of the force, and I don’t know who the superiors are.

The only thing that is certain is that Harpas is on the line with them, either indirectly or directly.

Why would Harpas, a proud devil, especially a high-ranking devil, cooperate with them? The devils’ purpose was to make this world their own, so it might have something to do with that.

…Why do demons want to eat this land in the first place?

Without a large-scale ceremony, you can’t manifest properly, and even if you do, you can’t fully use your power like in the centipede’s hometown, and you have to fight with the gods.

Isn’t it enough to just enjoy favors in their own area?

I’m a high-ranking devil in name, but can’t I live by whining?

My head hurts from the sudden question that rose. I’ll think about it later. It’s hard to make a plausible inference with just a little bit of information.

But why is it so quiet in Lue?

I tapped Lue, who has been quiet these days, with her finger.

[…What’s going on?]

“It’s because it’s so quiet.”

[Uh, well…I feel like I miss something…]

Feeling nostalgic?

“What does that mean?”

[Um, I’m not sure. Just because I felt that way?]

…If I think about it, I can’t deny the possibility that Rue is connected to the third force. She is a demon of a type I have never seen before, and she also has an ego, and crucially, this guy was discovered in a place where tentacle monsters roam.

“What are you talking about?”

Oh, since no one else can hear Lue’s story, she has to tell it.

“I was talking to my grimoire for a moment.”

“Hmm… Were you able to talk to the grimoire?”

“That’s what my grimoire says.”

“I see.”

Kalintz didn’t make any special comments and just moved on. Since he was unfamiliar with magic to begin with, he seemed to have thought, ‘It could be possible.’

“Then how about we go back quickly? “I have to move to the next fortress.”

“I guess I’ll have to be busy moving again.”

“Still, the end is slowly in sight. “Once we restore the second line of defense, we will be able to go on the offensive as soon as reinforcements arrive.”

“I hope so.”

Carlinz’s face was dark as he answered my words. Is she worried about how much blood will flow?

“Are you worried?”

“I’m worried. How much blood will flow and whether this is just the beginning.”

“But what can we do? We have no choice but to fight. “As we wait for victory to come at the end.”

“…It would be an honor if I could contribute to the victory.”

With those words, the old man, who was once the strongest knight, put his sword into its sheath his his.

————————

“Archbishop Pierre. “I never thought I would see you again like this.”

“I never thought we would meet again like this.”

Did they know each other? I tilted my head to see the former commander of the Imperial Knights of Calinz and Archbishop Pierre shaking hands with happy faces. In fact, both were NPCs that didn’t have much of a role in the original work, so I didn’t know anything about them.

“If it weren’t for Prince Carlintz’s cooperation, how much damage would have been suffered by now…”

“Hmm.”

“Haha, it was possible thanks to the cooperation of Merlin and Geren. And…Quartz hardness.”

But are the eyes asking ‘Why are you here?’

Oh, I was Karina’s escort driver. I had been moving around so much that I was confused about my position her, but I managed to open my mouth.

“I have come to subdue Harpas.”

“What? Harpas? “I guess I heard wrong, right?”

“Isn’t he a very energetic guy? In all my life, I’ve never seen a guy set out to catch a devil!”

“If it weren’t for this guy, he would have been looking at his granddaughter by now.”

“I guess I was showing off in the principal’s office too.”

The old people looked at me with satisfied eyes.

It feels burdensome to look at me like that. I was just planning to recruit powerful NPCs I knew and attack Harpas. In terms of simple power, there are three power levels that are roughly similar to Lenny.

“It seems like he’s become a great person while I’m not even looking at him.”

“It just so happened that it happened that way. More than that, it is important now to restore the secondary defense line and advance as quickly as possible.”

“What are you talking about? “Advance?”

Didn’t they even think about switching to an offensive? Well, the expeditionary force was blocked by those monsters and the only thing they could do was to defend themselves, so it was only natural. So I had to express my opinion even more strongly.

When there is a momentary gap in the enemy’s power, that is an opportunity to restore the first line of defense. We had to drive the enemies completely to the western edge and find Harpas. If you leave Harpas alone, he will only be manipulated.

…And. To end Harpas, all available means had to be mobilized.

In order to catch Harpas, which is stronger than the original, you have to gather more power than all the buffs the protagonist has received. If Karina had been fine, the difficulty level would have been much lower… But I can’t hope for that.

“We cannot win this war if we do not subdue Harpas.”

I explained step by step the story I heard from the Phoenix. The only explanation was that Harpas had become stronger, but as soon as I created the phoenix flame in my palm, the atmosphere in the conference room became even more serious.

“Harpas… Isn’t he a being that only defeated the first saint and her companions?”

“I have to catch such a devil…”

“There is no choice.”

If we don’t catch it, the empire and everything else will be devastated. You should do a soul team fight or a stab in the back when your strength is as high as possible.

Write. Isn’t there some way to stab him in the back?

“It’s a mountain beyond a mountain.”

“Still, I have to try it! “I wonder how strong the devil is!”

“Let’s put that problem aside for now and think about how to restore the power lines.”

We stopped talking and huddled around the large map spread out on the conference room table. The map, which seemed to be a large enlargement of the western part of the empire, had a red line drawn.

“This is the second line of defense now. “I understand that it is a difficult situation to defend because it is wider than the first line of defense.”

The line that Archbishop Pierre drew was a wavy line. It is a natural fortress because it is located next to a canyon, but it is spread out so widely that it is not easy to move around.

“We came up from the southern tip to here, restoring the defense line. Since this is the last fortress, we have suffered significant losses.”

“It’s good to hear that, but the problem is that the military is too small. In addition, the western region has a small population due to the harsh environment, and the quality of the soldiers is not that great.”

“Hmm. How many troops did you bring from Kalonism?”

To the question asked by Carlinz, who was familiar with such matters, Archbishop Pierre answered immediately.

“Around 3,000.”

“The number of monsters we caught was approximately 5,000. Considering those who will be stationed at the first line of defense, the remaining army could number well over 10,000.”

“Whether it’s 10,000 or 100,000, wouldn’t it be enough to just destroy them!”

“Don’t be ignorant. Tsk tsk. “If it were that easy, I wouldn’t have brought you here.”

“What? “This Bisil!”

“Relax, Geren. “Aren’t you in a meeting right now?”

“Has there been any news of reinforcements coming from the empire?”

“It wasn’t there.”

“So that means we may have to get through this crisis with only Calonian forces and Western forces.”

Damn imperial army b*stard.

“The problem is attracting them.”

“No, I can solve that. They left signal stones at each fortress they passed through. It seems like the evacuation of civilians has been completed by now…”

“What does that mean?”

“It is possible to gather troops to restore the first line of defense. The problem is… We have to wage a siege. “No matter how many monsters you face, it won’t be an easy fight.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.”

Everyone looked at me when I said that.

I looked around at the people looking at me for a moment, then opened my mouth.

“It’s easier to break something than to build it.”