Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 216: The Lunarian Army Reveals Itself to the Continent Once More (2)

If there was only one more presence beside her, everything Lunarian was doing would suddenly make sense.

It wasn’t Tifa, Cain, or any of the other armed figures following her... If something else, some ghost-like presence, clung to her side, then it wouldn’t be surprising that she was coming up with such eerily sinister plans.

"I underestimated her."

The plan to use Metz to incite her, and to eliminate him if that didn’t work, was based on the assumption that Lunarian was, at her core, a person similar to Karelia.

If it were Karelia, she would uphold her faithfulness to the end, even if she were being deceived. That was why Vanessa had expected Luna to act the same way. Even if Metz betrayed them in the final moments, Vanessa had assumed he would still carry out his duty with unwavering determination.

With that thought, Vanessa closed her eyes and cleared her mind.

"This isn’t what’s important right now."

No matter what kind of person Luna was, no matter what kind of presence lurked beside her—none of that mattered in the current situation.

What mattered was that she had seized Tepello Castle, an incredibly valuable piece of land.

And that the Karelia Army had lost all the war supplies they had painstakingly stockpiled for so long.

The situation had become extremely unfavorable, but even so, a fundamental difference in scale remained.

In the end, the enemy had only taken a single territory.

The Ohana forces were somewhat concerning, but the Roland and Hesna armies to the north were too occupied with internal checks and their own friction with the central continent to fully focus on this situation.

"I have no choice but to proceed with additional conscription and respond swiftly."

Because of the strict enforcement of military law, she had hesitated to push her own policies, out of concern for public sentiment among the territory’s citizens. But now, it felt like a lifeline that there were still young men left to conscript.

As for resources, if the worst came to pass...

"I might have to resort to forced confiscation."

Until now, the Karelia Army had purchased all of its military provisions through taxation.

Not just the Karelia Army—most nations procured their supplies this way.

Of course, they could simply plunder the territory, but doing so would shatter public trust, turning a united nation into a fragmented mess at risk of internal rebellion.

Even so, letting the country collapse because they lacked food to feed their soldiers would be even worse.

"Once the situation stabilizes and Karelia rules over everything, public sentiment will naturally settle again. It’s just one territory... Just one."

Having organized her thoughts, Karelia turned to her lord, who had sunk to their knees in despair, and spoke in a solemn tone.

"My lord, we may have to take a detour. We may have to break our convictions. Will that be acceptable?"

"Break my convictions? What do you mean...?"

"We will proceed with additional conscription. Fortunately, aside from the minimum garrison forces required to defend the castle, we still have thirty thousand troops remaining. However, in the worst-case scenario, Luna’s forces may form a temporary ceasefire with the Ohana Army and deploy ninety thousand troops against us at once. We cannot ignore this possibility. In response, we must prepare an even more overwhelming force."

"......."

That figure of thirty thousand had barely been preserved only because Vanessa had insisted, "We need at least thirty thousand in reserve."

Now that things had reached this point, even Karelia could no longer deny her reasoning.

"And... Alongside conscription, in order to expand our war supplies, I believe a decisive action must be taken."

"A decisive action...?"

"Yes."

Karelia stared blankly into Vanessa’s eyes...

Then, realizing what she meant, her expression twisted into one of horror.

"Surely... You’re not suggesting we plunder the citizens?"

"......."

Vanessa remained silent, but her silence was as good as confirmation.

It was the most realistic and, ultimately, the only way to replenish their war supplies.

And the moment Karelia heard those words—

Vanessa immediately braced herself, knowing what would come next.

She closed her eyes tightly, recalling why she had chosen to follow Karelia in the first place.

To Vanessa, Karelia was someone who shone too brightly to survive in this ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ chaotic era.

She genuinely cared for the people of her land, never committed injustice even when no one was watching, and had never spoken a single falsehood.

She valued every soldier and citizen as equals, and she truly empathized with the suffering of the weak.

It was precisely because Vanessa had admired those qualities that she had dedicated herself to the dream of a world where Karelia would reign as the unifying sovereign.

But—

"That... is unacceptable."

The very righteousness that Vanessa had once admired—

"No matter what happens, I will never plunder the wealth of my citizens at will. I may have no choice when it comes to conscription... but plundering them? Even with a blade to my throat, I will never allow it!"

—was now dragging the Karelia Army rapidly into ruin.

***

Karelia had stationed all the troops she could gather at the borders—but she had not taken any decisive action yet.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that she could not act first.

With most of the available military provisions now in Luna’s hands, mobilizing a large army carelessly would only become a burden.

The plan to use—or rather, not use—the Ohana Army was nearly identical to what Violet had predicted.

In truth, anyone with even a modicum of strategic thinking would realize that this was the best move available.

Frankly speaking, from Vanessa’s perspective, dealing with the Ohana forces was far more preferable to confronting Lunarian. At the very least, they weren’t a truly threatening presence.

A few days later, additional conscription began within the Karelia Army.

With all physically capable men already conscripted, this time, the draft extended even to those unfit for war—young boys who had yet to shed their childish features, elderly men too frail to properly wield a sword. No one was spared.

Naturally, dissatisfaction spread among the citizens of the territory.

But—if they didn’t somehow replenish their troop numbers now, they would only find themselves at a disadvantage in the long run. There was no alternative.

The problem, however, was that Karelia truly refused to resort to resource confiscation.

Even though they had managed to scrape together more soldiers, they couldn’t deploy them without the means to feed them.

There was still a long time before the next harvest, and with no additional resource supply in sight, the Karelia Army found itself trapped in an impossible predicament.

They couldn't even sustain the existing troops, much less the new recruits.

There’s a saying—

If you’re going to do something, do it completely, without hesitation. And if you’re not, don’t even touch it at all.

Unfortunately, Karelia had done neither.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

She had refused to plunder the people, holding fast to her convictions, yet under Vanessa’s advice, she had still forced through conscription.

How could such an indecisive stance possibly work in their favor?

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

In this situation, Vanessa found herself unable to push her lord any further.

If she did, if she truly pressed her with all her might, the carefully constructed image of "Sovereign Karelia" that Vanessa had painstakingly built would crumble.

Karelia was, by nature, a gentle person.

If Vanessa forced the issue, she would eventually give in and follow.

Karelia was fully aware that her absolute authority had been established through Vanessa’s ruthless hierarchy. If Vanessa pushed with the resolve to stake everything, she would yield.

But—

Vanessa spent hours, hours, trying to devise a solution to break through this stalemate.

A way to push forward without damaging Karelia’s stature.

There was... only one.

...My life.

In the end, she could bear everything herself and die.

If she did that, then forced conscription, plundering—perhaps even more—would be possible while preserving Karelia’s reputation.

Vanessa could still vividly recall the first time she met Karelia.

She had been convinced—only Karelia could heal the continent shattered by the tyranny of the Eingart imperial family.

Humans were beings who would one day die regardless.

If the Karelia Army were to collapse, Vanessa would lose the reason that kept her moving forward.

If she was going to throw away her life anyway, then she should at least make sure it was used in the most efficient way possible.

And so—

If, just as the religious figures of the old, prosperous continent had once lamented, the entity known as "God" truly existed—

If, despite being unsuited for an era like this, Karelia was still striving to achieve a grand cause for everyone’s sake—

Then surely, a path to break through this crisis would present itself.

"What... did you just say?"

A few days later.

Vanessa, summoned urgently, rushed to the audience chamber—only to find herself frozen in place, her pupils contracting.

Karelia let out a deep sigh before speaking.

"You remember him too, don’t you? That man, Cain... It turns out he was of imperial blood all along."

"That’s...!"

"His real name is Kyle von Eingart."

A surviving member of the imperial family—one they had all assumed was completely wiped out, save for Serpina—had appeared.

That alone would have profound meaning for the citizens scattered across the continent, those who still longed for the days of the empire’s former prosperity.

And yet—

That man—

The one who had been standing by Luna’s side all this time, advising her in silence—

That man was Kyle von Eingart.

How?

How could this be happening?

It was as if they had walked into a rigged game from the very start, nothing more than prey caught in a carefully laid trap.

It felt like—

Like God... was smiling upon Luna instead of Karelia.

"And, before the eyes of all... He made a declaration."

Karelia’s voice was steady—but there was an unmistakable tremor beneath it.

"He announced that he acknowledges Lunarian as the rightful heir to lead this continent."

Vanessa nearly lost her balance.

She barely managed to keep herself upright.

No. Stay calm. Think.

But then—

"Vanessa..."

"...Yes."

"I did not summon you here... just to tell you this news."

Something was off.

Vanessa turned to look at her lord.

And—

She saw it.

Karelia’s emerald eyes were trembling.

Trembling as if she had just realized something truly, irreversibly wrong had happened.

"...Tell me the truth, Vanessa. Is there anything else... that I don’t know about?"

—Ah.

The moment she heard those words, Vanessa clenched her eyes shut.

Karelia’s voice reached her again—this time, nearly colorless with shock.

"At the very moment Kyle made his declaration, the Metz who betrayed us also spoke up."

Karelia’s face was completely drained of blood as she asked, once more—

"Was what he said... true?"

"......."

Bit by bit.

Slowly, but surely.

Everything Karelia had spent so long building—

—was crumbling like a sandcastle under the tide.