Chapter 326

As I observed the gathered faces in the meeting room, I waited for the meeting to begin.

About five minutes later, Duke Pailoon finally arrived, swinging the meeting room door wide open and striding in confidently.

He must have changed clothes, as he was now dressed in a neat academy uniform with a fur cloak draped over his shoulders.

“Seems like everyone’s here,” he said.

The seated attendees all stood up and saluted the Duke.

Duke Pailoon nodded, walked across the room, and plopped down in the seat at the far end.

He seemed really angry.

His usually menacing, mafia-boss-like face now looked downright terrifying, like a mafia boss who had just received news of his child’s death.

“Let us pay our respects to the noble warriors who gave their lives to protect the north. Under normal circumstances, we should prioritize discussing grand funeral arrangements and compensation for their families… but it’s still too early to mourn. Not until we slaughter every last one of those beasts that brought down the northern wall. Don’t you agree?”

The northern knights nodded in agreement with the Duke’s words.

“Your words are wise!”

“None of us will rest until we’ve avenged them!”

It was more like he had already decided the answer and was just asking for show.

In front of the Duke, who looked like he couldn’t wait to blow the beastmen’s heads off, no one was foolish enough to suggest that post-war measures should come first.

“Good. It seems we’re all on the same page. Then let’s begin the strategy meeting. Take your seats.”

Everyone except one knight who had entered with the Duke sat down.

Is that guy some kind of aide? He doesn’t look particularly skilled.

Then again, thinking back, Shane, who was Ludwig’s aide, wasn’t a master-level knight either.

I guess it’s the same here. A knight’s combat skills and their administrative abilities as a close aide are two different things.

I turned my gaze back to the Duke.

The seated attendees were also looking at Duke Pailoon, waiting for their lord to speak.

“……”

It felt like I had stepped into the middle of a crime syndicate discussing a drug deal.

Unlike outsiders like me or Milia, most of the northern-born knights had menacing looks, just like Valdemar.

Well, living in this cold land and constantly clashing with beasts would naturally make anyone look fierce.

Freide has a decent face, but her personality makes up for it in ferocity.

Still, I found these rugged faces more trustworthy than some smooth-faced pretty boys.

They all looked like they could easily take down a beastman.

—

Soon, the strategy meeting began.

The content of the meeting wasn’t much different from what I had expected.

The knight who seemed to be the Duke’s aide started by listing our casualties and the estimated enemy forces. Duke Pailoon and the knights then discussed how the beastmen would likely act and how we should respond.

The beastmen had also suffered significant losses, but compared to our casualties, a considerable number of them had survived.

Around eight hundred hybrid warriors, nearly three hundred purebloods, and six great warriors.

Most of them were injured by silver-plated weapons, but… wounds caused by silver could easily regenerate given enough time, unless they were sustained mid-battle.

Even the severely injured great warriors would recover enough to fight again in four or five days.

Thus, the knights’ opinions were divided.

The aggressive faction argued that we should pursue and annihilate them before they could recover, while the cautious faction insisted we should wait for reinforcements, given our own heavy losses.

Both sides had valid points, so the meeting kept going in circles.

“We should form a pursuit force and chase them down immediately! The longer we wait, the stronger the beasts become!”

“That’s exactly why we need to be cautious. We don’t know how long it will take to track down the beastmen. If we rush into a pursuit, we might end up facing fully recovered beastmen with insufficient forces. Reinforcements will arrive in five days. Are you saying we should all go to our deaths because we can’t wait five days?”

Two knights, seemingly representing each faction, argued back and forth.

At first glance, the cautious knight seemed to have the right idea, but his argument had one critical flaw.

“That’s assuming the beasts will wait quietly for those five days. If it were me, I’d retreat to the Sky Mountains, replenish my warriors, and then come back.”

Another knight pointed out that flaw accurately.

If we waited for reinforcements as the cautious faction suggested, we would indeed have the upper hand in terms of strength. That much was certain.

…If the beastmen decided to fight us head-on, that is.

The beastmen weren’t fools. They wouldn’t engage us in a direct fight when the difference in strength was obvious.

They’d probably hide in the Sky Mountains and wage guerrilla warfare as soon as they saw our numbers.

If it were anyone else, maybe, but if Ryurik came at us like that, we’d have no counter.

It’s not like I could spend my entire life stationed near the northern wall.

[What a waste of time. Both sides are just going in circles, repeating the same arguments with no sign of a conclusion. I’m so bored I could fall asleep.]

‘Isn’t that what strategy meetings are all about? Making one decision…’

Thousands of lives are at stake, so reaching a conclusion won’t be easy.

Maybe it won’t even end with just thousands.

Defeat always brings more sacrifices than just the troops. Especially in wars against external enemies.

[Typical of a Westerner to be indecisive. Just follow the strong, and if things go wrong, let them and their followers take responsibility with their lives. Simple as that.]

‘Typical of an Easterner to be barbaric. Being strong doesn’t mean you have good judgment. How many strong fools are out there?’

[You’re not wrong. You’re living proof of that.]

This woman has always treated me like some kind of strong idiot…

Who’s calling who an idiot, really?

Isn’t it better than a woman who names her technique something like “Heavenly Demon’s Descent”?

[So, charging into danger or waiting cautiously for an opportunity… which do you think is the right choice?]

Hersela suddenly changed the subject.

Me?

Well, of course…

‘Do you know what lesson I learned from hanging out with Leopold?’

[That if you stick too close to a man, you’ll be called his mistress?]

…No, not that.

I was momentarily speechless at the unexpected answer.

Lately, things have been so chaotic that I’d forgotten about that rumor, but she had to go and point it out. Her sarcasm was on another level.

‘Hesitation is defeat. To beat the enemy, you have to move a step ahead. Look at what happened when we gave Isabella time by being cautious. Because of her, the empire is still a mess, isn’t it?’

When you think about it, this massive invasion is also the result of Isabella starting a civil war and bringing in outside forces.

If we had taken her down before she destroyed the Imperial Palace, the civil war wouldn’t have happened. And the Suin wouldn’t have dared to challenge the empire.

[Hmm. As expected of my intellect. Even a foolish soul can grow wiser bit by bit…!]

…If you’re going to compliment me like that, don’t bother.

—-

“What do you think, Count Median?”

Huh, what?

The arrow of debate suddenly shot toward me.

…I was too busy chatting with Hersela to catch what was being discussed.

“What do I think…? About what? Could you be more specific?”

“Ah, my apologies. Between pursuit and waiting, which do you think has a higher chance of success? I’d like to hear your esteemed opinion, Count, since you’ve faced the Suin King directly.”

…Isn’t that something you should decide? Don’t push the responsibility onto an outsider like me.

That’s why I’ve been staying quiet and just listening.

But since you asked, I guess I’ll answer.

“Well… I don’t know what will happen if we pursue, but if we waste time here, we’ll lose. That’s for sure.”

The room erupted in murmurs at such a decisive statement.

Valdemar’s brow twitched slightly. Whether it was agreement or annoyance, I couldn’t tell.

That guy’s expression is impossible to read.

“Do you have any basis for such confidence?”

A knight who advocated for caution retorted.

Of course, I have a basis. A very solid one.

“How are you going to stop the Suin if they hole up in the mountains and hit-and-run? The East is in chaos, and the West is restless. I can’t stay here forever.”

“That’s…”

I cut off the knight who was about to argue. I didn’t need to hear it.

He’d probably say something like, “We have nearly ten masters here, so we can hold them off.” Nonsense.

Even if all ten of them were wielding Jin’s sword, they’d be digested in Ryurik’s stomach within thirty minutes.

“All the masters gathered here combined still can’t match me. Do you think you can take on Ryurik with that kind of strength? That’s why we’ll lose.”

It was an arrogant statement, but it was the truth.

Thanks to Durandal’s power, even before reaching the level of a hero, I could take on ten master-level monsters. And now, I’m several times stronger than I was back then.

“How dare you speak so arrogantly! Even if you are the empire’s greatest swordsman…!”

“Should I show you? How many seconds it would take for me to cut you down right here? Sadly, it wouldn’t even take five seconds.”

So stop yelling. It just makes you look weak.

The knights fell silent. They wanted to argue but had no grounds to do so. It’s the truth.

If you’re so upset, why don’t you try reaching the level of a hero?

…Honestly, I wish they would.

I can’t be running around the entire empire all by myself.