'You're going to backwater?'

　That was the first thing he said when he outlined his strategy to his own men.
　Returning to his camp, he gathered his main subordinates and laid out the outline of the operation.
　He explained to the astonished subordinates.

''That's right. This time around, the Regus invasion, we're going to capture it alone with the Eighth Legion.

　Hearing those words, Jiron, the orc's chief of staff, asked back with a puzzled look on his face.

''Oh, uh, sir, what did you say?

This time, the Eighth Army will be the only ones to capture Regus.

　I repeat again.

　Or am I still in a dream?　It sounds like your husband is saying some outrageous things.

Your ears are fine. And this isn't a dream.

　When I said that, Giron's face paled.
　He asked me a question while sweating like a ball of sweat from his green skin.

''Oh, um, there are nearly ten thousand troops stationed in Leasas, yet.

You are.

'Reezus itself is one of the biggest cities on the continent, and its walls are thick.

That's thick.

'And you want me to attack it with a single army?　We're an army of 2,000 men.

'And we're going to do it with only 2,000 people. This is a done deal. The decision can't be reversed now.

Well, that's not an outrageous...

　Giron exclaimed, but it was Günther, the Dwarf King, who asked him instead.

''However, Lord Demon King is also reckless. You are going to disband the army that we have surrounded, and leave everything to Lord Ike to escape. This sounds like he wants us to die.

　Günter said in an accusatory tone.
　It was a rare word for the quiet and rigid Günter, but I deny it.

''No, Günter-dono, this isn't an order from the Demon King. It's a plan that I myself proposed and drew up.

　When the generals heard those words, they were astonished.
　On behalf of the whole group, Günther asked.

''........I see, so you mean to say that Lord Ike has a winning strategy?

Yes.

　I answer immediately.

　Günther hears those words.

Then I have no reason to complain about it. Then I have no reason to complain about it. I think it is only right for an ally to follow it.

　He agreed with me.

　The confusion in the place seemed to subside a bit when the Dwarf King, the senior member of the Eighth Legion and trusted by the other legionaries, said that.

　I was grateful for Günther's full trust.
　To answer his feelings, I explain the details of the plan.

As I told you before, the League of Kings is advancing from both the West and the North.

'I heard about that earlier. They weren't just sitting back and watching Rosalia's civil war; they were looking for a way to get in on the fisherman's game.

　Lilith says regretfully.

''It seems so. Rosalia must have been abandoned from the moment the Demon King's army laid siege to her.'

So they've decided that they don't care if His Majesty Tristan is reinstated or if Eichs' party wins.

Yeah.

They're very cunning.

　'And Lilith is angry,' says Lilith, with a blue streak.

'No, tough, I should say.

　I might do the same if I were in the League of Lords.
　I would no longer see Rosalia as of any use to me, and I would divide and conquer its territory.
　With a little strategic vision and a little bit of coldness, that's what we would conclude.

''It's not that I hadn't thought of that possibility, but I didn't expect them to make a decision so quickly. In that sense, perhaps the Demon King's Army's outlook was naive.''

　I apologized, but they didn't show any signs of anger.

　Günther.

Don't worry about it. War is only as good as the other side. There are things that can't be solved by theoretical thinking.

　He encouraged me to do so.

　Lilith is equally encouraging.

'Yes. It's not something that Ike-sama can apologize for. You should blame the abjectness of the League of Kings for breaking the pact between humans and attacking Rosalia.''

　Lilith snidely stated.

Now, let's go kick the shit out of the Liathas, and by the way, we'll kick the f*cking League of Kings to the curb.

　I continued.

　I was grateful for the thoughtfulness, but I urged her to be calm.

'Well, wait. Well, wait, things are in order. It was the vice of the League of Kings that betrayed the old pact and attacked Rosalia, but there's no point in blaming them now. They will get their due retribution someday, but before that, I want to focus on capturing the immediate future capital first.

''That's the thing, sir, is your husband confident that the Eighth Legion alone will be able to attack Leasas?　To me, it just seems absurd or impossible.

It wouldn't have been possible to do it by ordinary means. That's why I'm going to use the rear entrance this time. Well, it's kind of a strange plan.

　I assured him and decided to outline the plan to my men.
　I point to a map of the vicinity of Reezus, which is spread out on the table.

"As I said at the beginning, this battle will be fought solely by my Eighth Army.

What will the rest of the Legion do in the meantime?

'The Demon King's main army and Cephiro's army will move north and stall the League of Lords. I don't know how far we can go, but that should buy us some time.

What about the Fourth and Fifth Corps?

'It's reinforcements to the west. We have the First and Second Corps in the west right now, but that's not enough to get us out of our minds.

So you're saying that we are literally the only Eighth Legion left in Reezus.

'Exactly. But don't get discouraged, I, on the other hand, see this as an opportunity.

　It was Günther who responded to my words.
　He asks me with a serious look on his face.



'You change the way you look at things. No, I should say change your perspective. It's true that this looks like a crisis to us Demon King's army, but I suspect the same is true for the enemy, and that's why I've planned this operation.

I don't understand. Can you explain it to me more clearly?

　Giron said, and Lilith said the same to the right.
　I've decided to explain it to them in plain English.

"The enemy is not the League of Kings, but Eichs' faction. "The enemy is not the Lords Alliance, but Eichs' faction.

　The first person to notice my plan after hearing those words was, surprisingly, Alistair.

　She said, "I understand! I said, and he explained what I was thinking instead.

'This betrayal was not only unaccounted for by us, but also by Eichis. Which means that Eichs must deal with this situation as soon as possible.

　I'm a woman in white and silver armor.
"Your answer.
　He added more detail in his compliments.

That means that this Eichs guy has to make a move under the circumstances. "That means that Eichs must make a move under the circumstances. Otherwise, we'll be left with a lot of money.

''Yes, if they continue to be holed up in Reezus like turtles, not only the local nobles from the north and west, but also the nobles who remain within Reezus Castle will voice their suspicions. Some of the nobles might switch sides to the League of Lords, and some of them might even surrender to the demon race.

If that happens, there will be no national seal, no royal rights, no shit. Even the impregnable Reezus would perish from within.

　I assure you.
　Günther is convinced when he hears those words.

I see," he says. So Eichs has no choice but to strike out.

It's impossible for an army to take on tens of thousands of people who can be holed up in the impregnable Leathernecks, but my army alone can deal with 10,000 or so who come out of the castle. That's why I said this is an opportunity to do the opposite.

That may be true. Is that why Lord Ike said he would take a stand against us?

　'Yes,' he replied to Günther's question, and pointed his finger at the picture map again.

''I will move the Eighth Legion's camp here. We'll be against the river, but this is the terrain that the enemy will find it easiest to attack,''

Oh, so that's where you lure the enemy army in and make them disappear.

　Günther admires me as he strokes his magnificent beard, but I deny it.

'No, you won't be able to disappear,'

Why?

　He asks briefly.

'The man who leads the army of Leasas is General Ein God. I met him inside the castle of Reezus, and he was quite a man. I don't expect you to easily defeat such a great general. And moreover, the enemy soldiers have turned into trapped rats. I thought they would attack us to the death.

So the war will be a stalemate, then?

No.

　And I deny it.

'Perhaps, sir, but our army may be pushed to the riverbank and we may lose heavily. We'll have to be prepared for that much.

　Tension built up around him.
　I could hear the sound of my subordinates spitting raw.

''We, the Eighth Legion, may lose, is that what Ike-sama is saying?

　Lilith asked on behalf of me, and I responded to her question by saying

'Yeah, I hope you're prepared for that too. This operation is a gamble. If you lose that gamble, you could be wiped out.

　I replied simply.

　All around them were silent, as if they were shivering again, but one of them was smiling.

　She was alone, smiling wryly.
　Of course, she was Lilith.
　I had guessed why Lilith was smiling, but I dared to ask her.

　Or maybe I wanted her to verbalize those words and blast myself.

'Lilith, do you think you can win this war?'

　Succubus Lilith replies with a big smile.

'Did Ike-sama ever lose after using that word, even once?

No.

　--but this time I don't know.

　I wanted to continue to do so, but I didn't say it. I lightly stroked Lilith's silver hair instead of the Goddess of Victory.

　Her silver hair was as smooth as if it had been spun in silver.
　After all the praise this girl had given me, I've never lost.
　Now I had to bet on that law.
　That's how bold and fearless the strategy I'm about to undertake is.