I Am Being Mistaken for a Genius Strategist

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Empire. Cabinet meeting held in the system.

Today’s attendees were the Minister of War, the Minister of Magic, and the Minister of Finance.

Originally, the Chief of Staff, being the head of the general staff, was also supposed to attend, but he was currently on the battlefield.

Thus, it was decided to substitute his absence with a virtual attendance via the Magical Communication Device.

“Chief of Staff. Could you repeat that once more?”

The Minister of Magic, who could be considered the most senior among those present, spoke up.

It was evident that there was quite an embarrassment in his voice.

[ I request that a wizard be assigned to each Transportation Unit. They should all be adept in detection magic. ]

“What, by detection magic, how far are we talking here?”

[ At least over three thousand paces. The appropriate distance is one where we can confirm and prepare for the enemy’s ambush in advance. ]

A distance sufficient to confirm and prepare for the enemy’s ambush in advance?

To achieve that, the Chief of Staff, Kael, mentioned an appropriate distance of five thousand paces (about 3.5km).

That’s an enormous distance. Not impossible, but quite challenging for any wizard.

That implies they need wizards with quite a high level of skill…

“Are you planning to assign all of them to the Transportation Units?”

[ Not just the Transportation Units, but we require personnel to be organized into a separately operated Mobile Strike Force as well. ]

“….”

At this point, even the Minister of War seemed to be taking hints from the Minister of Magic.

They understood the wartime situation. They knew that all personnel and material resources must be mobilized.

However, the existence of wizards holds utmost importance among those human resources.

They are powerful and useful, but need to be protected, and each time they’re deployed, it drains an enormous amount of money.

Having a separate Magical Corps is not just to keep the same individuals in the same place.

It makes management easier, and during operations, protection and support are greatly facilitated.

The Magical Corps is always accompanied by the Imperial Legion, ensuring safety, of course.

But for the Transportation Units, no matter how you look at it, they are a step below the seasoned soldiers of the Imperial Legion.

Especially since they don’t know when the enemy might strike. Putting in precious wizards, not just a few but dozens—no, hundreds—seems wasteful.

[ I understand what you three ministers are worried about. ]

On the other side of the communication device, Kael continued with a gentle smile.

[ However, if we do not preemptively crush the Dedorant’s Transportation Unit, we will inevitably face greater losses. The burden we have to bear due to my request is much better than thinking of the future. ]

“I won’t outright oppose it. Chief of Staff. I, too, know how important supply and transportation are—even as someone unfamiliar with war. But to handle such high-level detection magic, they must be individuals who have trained in magic for at least five years. That’s the minimum. Ideally, they should be individuals who have practiced magic for seven to eight years.”

If by any chance, just by losing a few wizards, it would equate to losing three thousand seasoned Imperial Legion soldiers.

All lives may be equal in worth, but what about the cost of cultivating those lives?

It was only natural that the three ministers couldn’t hide their discomfort, being officials of the Empire.

[ I’ve thought ahead about that aspect. ]

“What do you mean, you’ve thought ahead?”

[ There are numerous legion soldiers who have been injured and withdrawn in the past. Additionally, there are a few surviving members from the 9th and 13th Legions. I plan to use them to strengthen the level of the Transportation Units. ]

“Combat capability will definitely increase.”

[ It won’t just be a simple increase in numbers; there will be a clear enhancement of combat power, so even if the burden on the Transportation Units increases, it will still be manageable. Furthermore, they’ll be able to adequately support the deployed wizards. ]

Wizards and legion soldiers have long synchronized their efforts.

The Minister of Magic had nothing further to say on that front and simply nodded.

[ As I mentioned, if we do not clear the rear quickly, it will ultimately be unfavorable for our forces in various ways. It may seem like an excessive act or a gamble, but looking back, it’s the best method to avoid the most anticipated damage with the least amount of loss. ]

The voice coming through the communication device was powerful. Confidence and conviction were clearly evident.

That alone gave it considerable persuasive strength, and the one speaking was none other than Kael Clausewitz.

He has been the key figure leading the Empire to victory without a single defeat or failure.

Even the senior Minister of Magic and the Minister of Finance, ranked among the top three in the government,

found themselves feeling somewhat smaller in front of Kael.

“It’s obvious, but the utilization of wizards doesn’t only involve the human resources of wizards. Chief of Staff, corresponding material resources are also essential. You’re aware of that, right?”

[ Of course, Minister of Finance Your Excellency. ]

“The war is dragging on. The Empire’s victory is paramount, but equally, the ministry’s existence is to care for the lives within the Empire. I feel sorry for questioning the Chief of Staff’s decisions time and again.”

Kael immediately waved his hands, saying absolutely not.

Who would think of this as a form of check? This is precisely what the Ministry of Finance ought to do.

Soldiers fighting on the battlefield should be treated with boundless generosity and mercy.

However, those commanding soldiers in battle must be met with a stern standard.

That way, a sense of responsibility emerges, leading to one’s own judgment being reconsidered more than once.

“Minister of Magic. If the Chief of Staff is making such demands, it seems that securing the capability of this supply will be the crucial key in determining the outcome of this war.”

“I completely agree, Minister of Finance. Then, I shall first gather wizards that meet the Chief of Staff’s request to the best of my ability. It won’t be easy, but this is the Empire. It won’t be impossible.”

After a bit more time for agreement, the new Transportation Unit finally came into existence.

A combination that other nations would dare not dream of. An utterly nonsensical personnel composition.

Soldiers who should be in the regular legion now mixed in with the core of the Magical Corps.

At this point, it could be considered a special task force rather than just a simple Transportation Unit.

In terms of combat power, they easily surpassed the capabilities of a single company.

With the new Transportation Unit now deployed, Kael began planning the next step.

“I will create a separate Mobile Strike Force. Their sole purpose will be to immediately deploy and chase down any enemies once the Transportation Unit detects their approach and requests support.”

“If they try to flee into the woods, I will allow burning the entire forest down. If they enter difficult terrain and don’t come out, we’ll wait and catch them anyway.”

“The urgency lies with them. In the end, they’ll have to come out. The moment they stick their heads out of their holes, we’ll snatch them up and break their backs.”

While projecting an immense force forward, they also poured in an equivalent strength in the rear.

The Dedorants had initially expected the Empire to be too focused on the front to care about the rear.

But the opposite became true, leading the Empire to draw the Dedorants into their own rear.

“Now, let’s wait. I feel that good news will be coming soon.”

*

Gasp, gasp!

A Dedorant soldier, barely escaping, quickens his steps.

In these past two weeks, they had attacked the Empire’s Transportation Units and achieved relatively good results.

Though they had a few failures, they had undeniably caused enough problems for the enemy’s supplies.

This was as far as the Dedorant Command and their expectations went.

If they could sustain this just a bit longer, their attacks on the front would begin to weaken little by little.

If they could capitalize on that opening and push the Empire back, it would be nothing short of perfect.

Yet, suddenly, the situation started to change drastically just yesterday.

Initially, everything flowed the same way. The Empire’s Transportation Units once again entered an ambush zone.

The enemies were trying to change their route somehow, but those supplies had a predetermined path.

And given terrain advantage, there was no shortage of support on their side.

But somehow, the previously moving party suddenly came to a halt.

It seemed they were doing something for a moment before starting to move very slowly.

By the time he realized something was amiss, the Imperial Army was already racing toward their position.

Even from quite a distance, they seemed to be acutely aware of this ambush.

They knew precisely where the ambush was set!

It was as if they were aware of their entire deployment and ambushing situation!

‘I must contact other units and make them aware of this.’

He ran tirelessly, again and again. For the Dedorant. For the Deo Ethnicity.

But what appeared in front of him was the grinning face of the Imperial Mobile Strike Force.

It looked as though they had already gone through a search-and-destroy operation, covered in blood and gore.

“Will you surrender? Or will you sacrifice your life for the glory of the Deo Ethnicity?”

The Imperial squad leader’s question was heavily laced with mockery.

It didn’t seem they were seriously asking for surrender. It appeared they had no intention of extracting information from him.

At that moment, the Dedorant soldier realized. Ah, they were already right above us.

“…AAAH!!!”

He thought, if he could just take down one of them before going down himself, perhaps it would help the Dedorants.

However, as he charged forward, an arrow struck him down before he could make a move.

“Cough…”

Seeing that, the Imperial squad leader scoffed, calling him a ‘foolish Dedorant bastard.’

For one, they were all the same. Did they think that just by charging in, they would fight alongside them to protect their honor?

With experienced soldiers like that being wasted, it seemed that the Dedorants’ fate would soon be sealed.