Mobilization

That Maneshs ally had been groundlessly invaded by Cordova was immediately brought to the royal palace via various routes.

Two army corps of twenty-four thousand and a supply convoy have moved.

Perhaps, the Cordova army would invade the country. The allied forces could mobilize ten thousand troops at most.

Alone, an ogre had the same war potential as ten trained soldiers. If even one hundred of them came, they would very likely gain a considerable increase to their forces.

It was Serge. As a future staff officer candidate, Guinevere had him sit in.

That Serge timidly raised his hand.

Urged on, Serge continued.

Right then, the generals stopped moving.

They mustnt let Carla do it.

(Political reasons? I dont understand the details, but its probably bad to use it in a war. I somehow get it.)

(Well, we wouldnt die even with that though.)

Even if she was very talented, even Ria might find being hunted by assassins year-round being unpleasant.

More importantly, I want you to take charge of logistical operations.[]

How many days worth of provisions and horse fodder would you be able to move for ten thousand infantry?

A secretary calculated it on a piece of paper. It was an amount that Serge would be able to handle with his ability.

The attending generals stared in shock. After Guinevere, who also stared momentarily, recovered, she let out a joyful laugh.

Spreading information about this childs magic is strictly prohibited. You have a duty of confidentiality.

Just, the person himself was a little late in understanding it.

Ria also comprehended just how great Serges ability was.

As the nominal supreme commander, Ria would appear directly.

The one who would take practical command of their forces would be the generals, lead by Carla.

With the corps commander leading the army corps, the supply corps would be attached to the army corps. The general would lead more than two army corps.

But this time, three generalsCarla includedwere assigned to Ria. Since the tentative command order was put in place, that wasnt a problem either.

But really, an armys march is slow

Since we dont need to match the speed that cargo would move at, this is considerably fast.

The army was marching forward on a one-week journey that would have taken three days had they gone their fasted.

Being able to march faster than the enemies expectations could allow them to choose the battlefield in a war.

Cordovas army held absolute confidence in itself on the battlefield.

Still, we can win with you here.

Anyhow, Ria had the Divine Protection of the War God Gift. From the position of taking command of a battle, it would demonstrate its absolute potency.

Isnt it overwhelming? Mine army.[]

Ria immediately slammed her fists down.

Maneshs army had set up camp on a slightly elevated hill.

Ria was making a long spear inside the command tent. It was just so that Carla and Serge could see it.

The cavalry will be a bit of a pain

Carla asked the question out of curiosity, so Ria told her about when she battled alongside the village.

If Carla was there, she could have annihilated the enemys backbone with offensive magic from a distance.

With their army using this high ground, the enemy will attempt to encircle them.

It was essential that they avoided being encircled so that they wouldnt be attacked from every direction.

On the afternoon of that day, a force of three hundred beastkin joined them.

Then in the evening, the ogre army arrived and merged with them. They numbered two thousand.

For their destructive power, it exceeded even that of cavalrymen. Two thousand elite ogre troops.

Such an interesting thing, I cant just leave it to the young ones.

Baring his fangs, he laughed.

That night, officers gathered in the tent.

Since a strategy that goes too far into the details is bound to fail, I give a rough explanation.

Disregarding the fine details, does anyone have any questions so far?

I think the strategy is adequate, but be that as it may, your highness, did you study military tactics in your native country?

That is, she often saw programs on public broadcasting from her previous life.

Even so, she found it to be somewhat relevant now.

The strategy meeting finished without any interruptions. The faces of the officers who returned from the tent were filled with a sense of victory.

The general that commanded the whole army as well as the staff officers thought that they couldnt win. Carelessness and pride leads to imprudence. However, for people in the position of directly commanding soldiers, it was necessary to have faith that they would definitely win.

Remaining behind in the tent, Carla spoke spontaneously.

You didnt hear about it from Guinevere?

Guineveres Dragon Eyes were sure to be able to see all of Rias Gifts.

(I see. If she were to just talk about the information she obtained, other people would find her eerie. Apart from childhood, has she just been using the information herself now?)

(What a scheming woman. In a good way, of course.)

About her Gift, and the conversation with Valis. And the story of her previous life.

When this ends, maybe Ill tell you. Itll take a while to explain. And

While laughing with a bit of embarrassment, Ria spoke.

No, I understand. Riana-sama.

Ria. Dont use -sama.

(Fumu. Thats probably true too.)

Other than on the battlefield, call me And when were alone on the battlefield, call me Ria.

I understand, Ria.

(Ooh.)

(That. So good.)

Ria rapidly drew near Carla, drawing her lips to her ears. Naturally, Carlas lips also neared Rias ears.

(Fuoooooh.)

But just in time, she gripped Carlas shoulders with both of her hands. As though she was presenting herself for a kiss.

Tomorrow will be the decisive battle. Lets rest early.

Leaving Carla behind in a stupor, Ria departed from the tent.

But in the end, the fight didnt happen.

Well, Cordova will do it.

Ria said that lightly.

Cordovas army had few in it that were able to immediately enter battle after nearing the enemy. First they would look to scout out the state of affairs, build a strong camp, and examine their strategy. It was their combat procedure done by the manual.

Therefore, Ria decided to strengthen their encampment.

Right, they dont need to be that deep. The holes would remove the horses mobility, so dig a ton of them around here on the map.

The combined armys soldiers werent reserve soldiers. They were comprised of volunteers and mercenaries. She was using them as military engineers.

Of course. In short, its good as long as they cant move together with the infantry that act as the enemys main war potential.

Along with that, by momentarily weakening the cavalrys charge, they could take advantage of them there.

For keeping morale up, there was one challenge.

Ogres, which were natural-born soldiers, had many hot-blooded people that seemed like they would rush out and attack at any moment. Stopping that from happening was Rias job.

General soldiers turned to Carla for solace. With this number of people, there were people whose physical conditions that would worsen even if they did nothing, so Carla would cure them.

The saint knight has become the saint of holy woman of the battlefield. Ria, whose strength ended useless questions, rivaled that as her charisma transmitted through the soldiers.

All things considered, their troops are well regulated.

Their sentries didnt look away. Their duties were being perfectly carried out.

Although Carla seemed calm on the outside, this was her first time in a war. In truth she was thinking about a variety of things.

No, the side that has to go on a long expedition is at a disadvantage if it turns into a war of attrition, but I wonder why they dont attack.

Right. Although their supply lines definitely stretch on maybe it should be expected considering Cordovas reputation for its supply train?

Although the two were speaking relatively peacefully, thinking about it from the enemys point of view, Ria realized it.

Right, if they didnt know about the megalithic amount of goods Serge held, when they scouted out their supplies, they thought it was better to turn it into a war of attrition.

Rias ideal development would be to finish the battle in one go.

For the time being, lets increase the smoke from cooking rice. Well not show them that we still have a lot to go.

Then, the tenth day passed.

The beastkin tribes forces were immediately sent out to scout what happened.

What army did it?

Attacking in the middle of the night, overcoming their defenses and burning their supplies, there werent many with those skills.

They were hostile towards Cordova, and moreover if those two didnt feel the need to go easy, they could probably destroy an entire base with just their fighting power alone.

The officers ran toward their units in a hurry.

Finally. Its finally time to start this fun war.