第１９４掘：侵攻目標の説明と攻略方法の立案
**Dungeon 194: Explaining the Invasion Objective and Formulating a Strategy**
**Side: Yuki**
We took our seats, ready to listen to Hivia’s briefing.
"Now, I apologize for the delay due to my own circumstances. I will keep this as brief as possible. Please, feel free to ask if anything is unclear."
Hivia announced this as she drew a simplified map on the whiteboard, marking our base and three triangles. Those were clearly the targets for our conquest.
"As you can see, this is where we have established our current base. The three triangles above are the enemy strongholds and our objectives."
Well, they certainly chose a troublesome spot to deploy. While it might be for defensive purposes, our position was right in the center of those targets, as if we were being surrounded. The distance was manageable, but this wasn't a formation for an offensive; it was a position designed to hold this base and prevent the enemy from pushing through to the rear.
That meant the enemy was likely already aware of our location.
"Our current positioning was meant to protect the city of Fail, which we carved out from Enaria. You see, Her Highness had to return to clean up after the nobles. We thought we had lost a fight against a powerful mercenary group, only to return with those same mercenaries as our allies. It has been a turbulent five months. Thanks to that, the enemy has used that time to gather troops at these three locations and solidify their defenses."
Hivia spoke of the past few months with a pained expression. It would have been fine if it had just been a matter of cleaning up after the nobles, but they had been forced to retreat, had to hide that fact, and then were summoned by their home country. It must have been a stomach-churning situation for both Marly and Hivia. Furthermore, halting the Enarian invasion was a massive headache for everyone involved.
"If I recall, when we met at the city of Fail, it had already been occupied for three months, right? But it’s not like you haven't been attacking at all during that time?"
"Yes. At that time, we were already launching an offensive against this central fortress, but we were forced to retreat because our greatest fighting force was absent. The enemy suffered significant losses, so they lacked the time to pursue us or launch a recapture operation, but..."
"So, they had enough time to finish their defensive preparations."
"Exactly. Five months is enough time to repair broken defenses and bring in reinforcements."
"By the way, are the targets to the left and right the same type of fortress as the center?"
"No, they are different. To our right is a city, much like Fail. It’s roughly the same size and lacks any particularly important industries. The one to the left is also a city, but it has three times the population of Fail. While its defensive fortifications are inferior to the central fortress, it is governed by one of Enaria’s most prominent lords, so we cannot act recklessly."
"In other words, the city similar to Fail has low strategic value, and if we take it, we’d have to divert troops to defend it. As for the one with the talented lord and large population, we want to avoid it because it would take too long to pacify. So, the best option is to take down the enemy’s defensive hub—the central fortress—and wait for both cities to surrender voluntarily?"
"That is the plan, provided we have the time."
"Ah, I see. Because Marly was recalled and things got chaotic, that option is off the table?"
"Yes. The fortress defenses have been reinforced, and both cities have received a fair number of mercenaries and reinforcements from other towns. We have two Magic Sword users, and... while I’m not sure how effective they will be in actual combat, we have a mercenary unit that overwhelmed those very Magic Sword users. However, our total strength is 25,000. In contrast, the enemy currently has 30,000 in the fortress, 7,000 in the city of Betan, and 4,000 in the city of Sweit. And these are just the current numbers. We expect them to increase further."
Plus, they have the advantage of defending from their own bases. They’ve had time to prepare, so their defenses are airtight. This is a pain.
"And while they have been purely defensive until now, once they gather a certain number of troops, they will likely strike out to crush us and take back Fail."
"So, we don't have much time for this campaign."
"Yes. If we drag this out any longer, the possibility of defeat becomes much higher than the possibility of success."
Oh boy. If this fails, the Magic Sword users we rescued will be punished. And with the situation in Zilba already deteriorating, that would be a disaster now that we’ve secured their cooperation.
"Hardships are nothing new to us. We are here now, and the enemy is nothing to worry about."
"Yes. I believe we should take the fortress in one fell swoop and urge both cities to surrender."
Olive and Mist said this, pushing for an assault on the central fortress.
"The two Magic Sword users are saying that, but how much time do you think we actually have for this?"
"…Well. If we take too long, the city forces might move to our rear, or ignore us entirely and head for Fail. Though, the chance of them heading for Fail is slim. They have their own defensive units, and even if they sent the same force, the chances of them taking the city are low. If we retreat and launch a pursuit from the rear, they could be wiped out."
"So, they won't take that risk because it’s a perfect opportunity for us to crush their main force?"
"Yes. If they were going to take such a gamble, they would have attacked after Lady Marly left. Considering all that, the minimum time we have is three days; one week is the absolute limit."
"…A week is, as expected, quite tight."
"It is… very difficult."
Olive and Mist looked troubled, clearly realizing the severity of the situation. However, the concern about us being surrounded and wiped out is unnecessary—at least, not for our mercenary unit. Still, taking a fully fortified fortress in three to seven days is normally impossible. I wish I had some genius strategist here to say, "The time is now!"
"Well, you've heard the situation. How would you move, Yuki?"
Marly, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.
"Hmm. Given the situation, we have no choice but to take the fortress and use it to threaten the cities into surrendering."
"Even with your power?"
"No, if we really wanted to, I could take all three locations simultaneously."
"““What!?””"
Well, our individual combat power is on a different level, and more importantly, we don't need to wipe out their entire army. We just need to neutralize the commanders, lords, or leaders at each of the three targets using small squads. We’ll eliminate anyone who resists, of course. Attacking with a massive army is a struggle, but infiltrating with a small squad is easy.
"But it wouldn't be good if it were credited to us. You guys know you’re on the edge, right?"
"““Ugh.””"
Exactly. The reason we can't use that strategy is that it would clearly be our achievement. My reputation might go up, but it wouldn't help the Magic Sword users who would be entering the city after a bloodless surrender. This is a method that won't work for the three who need to restore their honor on this battlefield. If we were their direct subordinates, it would be fine to give the credit to our superiors, but unfortunately, King Zilba and the other bigwigs see us as an independent unit.
"So, we anticipate being surrounded, finish the fortress assault within three days, and then use the fortress as bait to either annihilate the city armies that come to surround us or force their surrender."
"There’s no way it will fall in three days that easily..."
"Ah, we’ll handle that part. You guys can handle the head-on fight once the gates are open, right?"
"That… once the gates are gone, the enemy’s formations will be meaningless. It would be a guaranteed victory the moment we break in. Furthermore, even if they have the numbers, we have three Magic Sword users. At that point, there’s almost no chance of us losing."
"But if you take the credit for opening the gates, won't it be less beneficial for us, even if we are the first to step into the fortress?"
Mist was worried about the credit, but it’s meaningless if everyone doesn't recognize it as our collective achievement.
"It’s fine. It just needs to not look like it was our doing. Olive, Mist—you’ve experienced it, haven't you? That feeling of everything just blowing away before you knew what happened?"
"D-don't tell me..."
"Are you going to do *that*?"
"No, I’m going to use that in combination with something else to blow the gates open in one shot."
"“?”"
Marly and Hivia tilted their heads, but the others seemed to understand my intent. Yes, I’ll use a barrage of mortars for long-range suppression to silence their defensive mechanisms, and for the sturdy walls and gates, I’ll use a certain weapon I’ve been keeping hidden to literally blast them open in one go, making the fortress walls meaningless.
I also want to test how the enemy reacts to this weapon and see how effective it is in operation. I only have two of them, but since I can carry them in my Item Box, the logistics are vastly superior to anything on Earth. The operating costs are ridiculously high, but I’ll leave that to Britt and the others to worry about. My job will be to bow my head to my wives—I mean, Seraria, and our accountants Eris and Ratz—to explain the expenses.
Hmm, honestly, won't this be over in a day, not three?
I’ll just hope the enemy puts up a surprisingly good fight.
Finally, the modern weaponry is moving out. Under the guise of an "operational test," let’s see how long that fortress can hold out!