Chapter 22

was a strategy game.

To be more precise, it was a grand strategy action RPG simulation management sandbox territory building game.

You might wonder why the genre was so complicated, but this was the game developer's official designation.

Anyway, you could just assume it contained elements from all sorts of game genres.

And as befitting a strategy game, naturally had a system for recruiting and nurturing unit types.

The developers considered this part so important that there were over dozens of unique unit types appearing in the game.

However, game development was ultimately done by people.

Balance was never easy to achieve, and the more one tried to adjust it, the more it tended to break.

「Retired Snow Elf: User Reviews

─ This post has been deleted.

─ you sons of bitches you call this balance……

─ please nerf please nerf please nerf

─ This post has been deleted.

─ if you bring this to multi i'm banning you;;」

Oops.

They made it, and it turned out to be too OP.

The developers belatedly realized their mistake and implemented possession limits and performance patches, but...

The angry sentiment of the people did not subside, and even after being hit with the nerf beam, the Retired Snow Elves were still powerful.

Besides, now that Leon had entered the game world, it didn't matter anyway.

***

“Report! The Snow Elf unit has struck the aqueduct and is retreating!”

“The rebel unit that was resisting at Swan Square has been annihilated!”

“General Valens, who had been remaining neutral, has offered to join us. How should I respond?”

The Retired Snow Elves were rampaging across the battlefield.

As expected of former Royal Guards, they sought out and attacked the enemy on their own without orders, and retreated swiftly if they sensed danger.

Since they moved on their own, it couldn't be more convenient.

It was like I was the only one auto-hunting in a game.

Suddenly, I recalled the early days when the game was released.

Back then, a strategy of building a heretical empire by spamming Retired Snow Elf units was briefly popular.

Of course, that was absolutely impossible with the number of people I had now.

For now, small-scale guerrilla warfare was the limit.

In the game, stamina was limitless, but not here.

I remember that in , it was soon blocked by a possession limit patch.

“Hey! You had such a good card and you were hiding it? You wicked bastard! You sly bastard! You heinous bastard!”

Belius could not hide his admiration for the connections I possessed.

He was so impressed that he grabbed me by the collar and shook me.

If Theo hadn't stopped him from the side, I would have surely been choked to death.

“You saw me with the Snow Elves in the first place, didn't you?”

“Come to think of it, you did bring Snow Elves with you when you came to Modera Fortress. I don't know why I forgot that.”

“Leaving a reserve force is a basic principle, isn't it? Besides, who knew how the situation would turn out?”

“Still, you should have told me!”

Although Belius spoke like that, he couldn't hide his delight.

This was because while the Retired Snow Elves were buying time with guerrilla warfare, the central army commanded by Belius had earned time to reorganize.

It was worth borrowing them from Zeta.

Nevertheless, one thing was disappointing: Isak wasn't collapsing even with these attacks.

He was a truly tenacious bastard.

He's still holding on?

It was a point where I could see just how formidable Isak's underlying strength was.

Belius, oblivious to my thoughts, spoke.

“Now it's time to counterattack! Isak, I'll definitely catch that bastard this time.”

“It would be better to be wary of our surroundings.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Since a direct approach isn't working, Isak will use other means. Besides, he'll be thinking he has to pay back the hit he took.”

Belius looked puzzled by my words.

He seemed to think I was worrying about something strange.

But what I was worried about wasn't the battle.

It was the schemes happening behind the scenes.

“By now, Isak must have realized that our forces are solely dependent on Belius. Besides, we're fighting amongst Imperial forces right now, and with the fire, it's difficult to distinguish friend from foe.”

“So he'll try to slit my throat, taking advantage of the confusion?”

“It's not an impossible scenario. Without Belius, the chances of winning go up. If it were me, I'd do the same.”

In fact, I was certain an assassination attempt would occur.

It wasn't just a guess; that was Isak's usual way of doing things.

First of all, Isak was skilled in various conspiracies and stratagems, and the number of commanders on our side was not just meager, but practically non-existent.

Even if I were Isak, it was worth trying to exploit a weakness at least once, hoping for a bit of luck.

However, Belius's reaction was lukewarm.

“Why do you think it's me?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The target could be you, not me.”

I hadn't thought of that.

“……Why?”

“The one who ruined Isak's important plan wasn't me, but you. If it were me, I think I'd aim for you before me.”

“……”

He's right?

I moved my lips for a while but ultimately couldn't find a rebuttal.

In , Isak always showed a cool-headed demeanor, but this was reality, not a game.

He might get swept up by his emotions and think that he must kill me before he goes.

Perhaps the person in real danger was myself.

“……”

No.

The Isak I knew would never commit such a foolish act.

He would undoubtedly target Belius.

Pretending not to have heard, I gave an instruction to Theo.

“Theo, if anyone gets close to me or Belius, you keep a close eye on them.”

“Understood.”

This was the meaning of the saying, "let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth."

Even the brilliant strategist Jesus knew the danger of a decapitation strike.

Belius found my reaction amusing and said with a hearty laugh.

“Don't worry. I'll end this fight before that happens.”

Just then, a messenger came running from the front.

He was clearly wearing central army armor, so Belius's guards let him through.

The corners of Belius's mouth drew an arc.

“I wonder what news that friend brings. Shall we make a bet?”

“No thanks to the bet, I just hope it's news that Isak is dead.”

While I was grumbling, the messenger approached Belius and slowed his pace.

“Report! Where is Commander Belius?”

“Right here. What is it?”

“Reporting on enemy troop movements! The enemy is moving from in front of Sophia Cathedral to Peace Avenue.”

“Why so suddenly?”

“That is……”

The messenger's words trailed off as he lowered his head.

Just as everyone was looking on with curiosity.

A sharp blade suddenly shot out from the messenger's hand.

“Die, Belius! You traitor!”

The messenger shouted and rushed at Belius.

Belius's eyes widened as he belatedly realized the assassination attempt.

When faced with an unexpected action, the body freezes.

That was exactly what was happening now.

Belius, in particular, being older, had slightly slower reflexes than others, and even his guards were some distance away from him.

But not everyone had missed the messenger.

“Theo!”

“I'm on it.”

Theo responded to my shout.

Because I had given him a heads-up, Theo had not taken his eyes off the messenger.

So he grasped the situation faster than anyone else.

Theo, drawing his axe, swung it towards the messenger.

Before the messenger could stab Belius, Theo had split the assassin's head in half with his axe.

Crack!

With the sound of a skull shattering, blood scattered.

Blood rained down before my eyes, but I didn't bat an eyelid.

The reason was simple.

「Trait Activated: Heart of Iron and Blood If you don't want to be a coward, a time will come when you must get used to blood.」

Come to think of it, this narration feels like it's talking to me.

Could there be a person behind it?

If there really is a person, please wave a carrot.

Naturally, the narration did not reply, and instead of waiting for an answer, I wiped the blood splattered on my cheek with my finger.

This is why Heart of Iron and Blood is so important.

If you get startled and can't react in time, the character you've painstakingly raised will be gone in vain.

“……”

Belius still had a dazed expression.

I was worried he might have been greatly shocked by the assassination attempt.

At his age, one could die from mental shock alone.

Fortunately, Belius did not clutch his heart and collapse or anything of the sort.

Normally, after experiencing something like this, one would shrink back, but Belius, on the contrary, bared his teeth and laughed.

“I was this close to going to church for the last rites. I'm alive thanks to you. Thank you.”

“It was a close call. You admit it, right?”

“Yes. Isak really tried to kill me. But how on earth did you know he would do this?”

“Isn't it a fact known to the whole world that Duke Isak is insidious?”

Belius was making a face like, ‘Really? I didn't know that.’

What do you mean you don't know.

You were almost killed just now.

It seems he's even forgotten who ruined his career.

“Anyway, be careful. You never know when or where you'll be hit.”

Hmm, I recall being done in by Isak while playing the game back in the day.

I died so, so many times.

Just thinking about it makes me shiver.

Right now, it might seem like Isak is being defeated ridiculously, but he's not originally an opponent this easy to deal with.

He just underestimated me and got hit unexpectedly.

If Isak had been in his right mind, he would have been the one toying with me.

Fortunately, this time, I knew Isak's habits well and also had a bodyguard like Theo, so I was able to prepare safely.

“In any case, looking at how things are going, Isak seems to have no intention of backing down.”

“He has a lot at stake too, so it can't be helped.”

Attempting an assassination here could only be interpreted as a sign that he intended to see this through to the very end.

Conversely, it also meant that he was that cornered.

But the problem was that at this rate, the entire Imperial Capital was about to burn down.

I looked at the massive flames that had swallowed the Imperial Capital.

No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like it would be extinguished easily.

In that case…….

“I think I need to meet Isak.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“We need to talk first.”

I did not wish for the Imperial Capital to turn to ashes.

And that would be the same for Isak as well.

***

“The assassination failed?”

Isak looked at the reporting subordinate with a grim expression.

“Yes, he succeeded in disguising himself and approaching the vicinity, but perhaps he made a wrong judgment on the spot, or perhaps.”

“Keep it simple.”

“……It is said that due to a problem in communication, he attacked Belius instead of Leon.”

“Things have taken a strange turn. Did he succeed in escaping?”

“No. He was killed on the spot by a bodyguard.”

“Hmm.”

The thought of his subordinate who died after failing the assassination left a bitter taste in Isak's mouth.

Assassination was, by its nature, a life-risking endeavor.

It wasn't strange for things to go wrong, but the loss of a competent subordinate and the failure to achieve his goal was regrettable.

Leon's assessment of Isak as insidious and inscrutable was not wrong.

But it was also true that he valued talented people.

He was the type of open-minded person who would embrace even an opponent he had a bad relationship with, as long as they were capable.

It wasn't for nothing that he had tried to win over Belius (if Leon knew, he would have accused Isak of having an ego so massive he had no conscience).

Anyway, with the assassination having failed, it was difficult for Isak to remain as cool-headed as before.

All his plans had been thrown into disarray after an uncalculated person had intervened.

‘Leon, that damned bastard. To think he was hiding himself so well. But what on earth is he thinking? Why is he going this far?’

A visitor came to Isak, who was lost in thought.

It was Patriarch Daniel.

“Duke Isak. You were here.”

“Patriarch Daniel……?”

Although Isak was the type who would definitely get a T in an MBTI test, he couldn't help but be flustered at the sight of Daniel.

Daniel was covered in dust, as if he had just been in the middle of a battlefield.

His voice was hoarse from shouting so much, and the holy icon (Icon) he held in his hand was riddled with holes.

Daniel belatedly noticed the holes and flinched.

“Oh, dear God. There are holes in the holy icon. Those pagans who know no manners. How dare they commit such a blasphemous act against Him.”

“Patriarch, you are of advanced age, please do not overexert yourself.”

“Save your pointless words. I am merely doing what must be done. I'll have to get the holy icon repaired later.”

Isak guessed that Daniel had come because he had something to say.

“What is it?”

“We've received a message from the other side.”

There was only one place that could be referred to as ‘the other side’ right now.

Isak listened intently to Daniel's words.

“Are they surrendering?”

“No, not at all. Do you really think those mediocre and snake-like bastards would do that?”

“Then for what reason?”

“They want to negotiate.”

Isak's expression contorted as if he had heard something he shouldn't have.

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