Reincarnated Aristocrat Chapter 177: War Council

Support the translator on lazytranslations.com

　“What are our chances of winning?”

　The peace negotiations had failed and there was no choice but to win the war.

　Once again I asked Mireille and Russell if there was a chance.

“If we take into account the possibility that Clan-sama will come back later to reinforce us with the main army, we can win this battle as long as we buy enough time. If that’s the case, I can’t say that we’ll lose for sure…” (Russell)

　Russell said this, but he has an uneasy expression. He seemed to be worried about something.

　Mireille then explains what Russell is concerned about.

“The plan of patiently waiting is not a sure thing, that’s for sure. We don’t know when the Clan’s main force will be ready to reinforce us. It’s not unlikely that we’ll be trapped for a long time. And since they are sending a few reinforcements to Canale, there is no doubt that they are losing strength. I don’t think Beltud is going to be brought down, though.” (Mireille)

“It is true that… not knowing when reinforcements will arrive will affect the morale of the soldiers…”

“The more time we wait, the less likely we are to get reinforcements. The longer it takes, the more soldiers will be sacrificed, and there is a risk of considerable damage in Canale County as well.” (Russell)

　I’d like to keep the casualties as low as possible.

　If the battle drags on, there is a risk that the enemy forces will leave the Khmer Fort and invade Canale County.

　If that happens, Canale will be utterly devastated.

　I want to avoid that at all costs.

“I want to avoid damage in the county as much as possible. Is there any chance that we can repel them with our current forces?”

　After all, the best thing to do would be to repel them with the existing forces.

　It was the most straightforward ending.

　If we can defeat the enemy soldiers with minimal damage to our troops, we might be able to launch a raid against the Alcantes and take credit for it.

　However, the fact is that we are greatly outnumbered.

　Enemy soldiers are also seriously coming to conquer Canale, and half-baked tactics will not bridge the gap.

“If we fight normally, winning is impossible.”

“That’s a fact.” (Mireille)

　Mireille just casually stated the obvious.

　Russell explains how to win, instead of Mireille.

“There are several ways to overturn an inferior position, but not many of them are practical. For example, one way is to convince an enemy general to turn on them, but this can only be done by laying the groundwork long in advance. No. It’s a hand that can no longer be used. Even if you use tactics to overturn an inferior position, there is still too much of a gap between the two sides, so even if things go well at first and you win, you will eventually be overwhelmed.” (Russell)

“Then what should we do?”

“I think it’s best to have Shadow move and overturn this unfavorable position.” (Russell)

　Russell continued with his idea.

“The enemy may be numerous, but they need food to move their troops, and ether to power their mages. If we can destroy the enemy’s provisions, we can achieve a major reduction in their strength. Shadow is very skilled, and I’m sure they’ll do well.” (Russell)

　Targeting the supplies?

　It is true that cutting down the ether will reduce the power of the enemy mages. If that’s the case, the fear will be reduced by half.

　If we can cut down on the provisions, we can make the enemy hesitant to fight.

　As Russell says, Shadows is capable. I’m sure they’ll get some results.

“But no matter what, we can’t possibly destroy all of the enemy’s supplies. Will that be enough to win?” (Mireille)

“It’s difficult to lose all of the enemy’s supplies, but if we can eliminate a significant amount, we will be able to defend ourselves even though we are greatly outnumbered. Especially when it comes to attacking castles, magic is a must nowadays, and as long as the ether is low, this fort might not fall.” (Russell)

　But Mireille spoke up with a reluctant expression.

“I don’t know. I wish this castle was more fortified, but to be honest, it’s not very good. For a stronghold on the border of a state, I’m not sure about its defensive capabilities.” (Mireille)

　Indeed, this Fort Khmer is not that defensible.

　Historically speaking, the Khmer Fort used to be called the Iron Wall, but with the passage of time, it has become obsolete due to deterioration and the development of magic, and now its defensive capabilities are not that high.

　It seems that Lemail, the former head of Canale County, didn’t make much progress in renovating the fort.

　To be honest, the economic situation in Canale is not that great, so maybe he couldn’t afford to renovate the fort, which would have been a massive undertaking.

　It is difficult to fortify the castle now.

“Well, if the enemy’s ether is reduced, it will definitely give us an advantage in both field battles and sieges. However, if that’s all it is, it’s not enough and we need some kind of counter-measures.”

“What do you think, Teacher?” (Russell)

　Russell asks.

“Nothing.” (Mireille)

“Nothing!?” (Russell)

　You don’t?

　You sounded like you had something in mind, so I thought you had already come up with a strategy.

“If I could come up with a strategy like that, I wouldn’t have any trouble.” (Mireille)

“But in the battle before… you seemed to have come up with a plan without any difficulty.” (Russell)

“It was a simple battle because most of the time we had the better troops. The castle was solid, though. In addition,” (Mireille)

　Even from Mireille, this battle, where we have a significantly disadvantageous military strength, will be a difficult situation.

“I’m with you, boy, and I’m against stalling time. I don’t like the idea of prolonging the war where we cannot fight back.  We should do something to give that big army a run for their money.” (Mireille)

　It was a very passionate reason.

　After she said that, Mireille started to yawn.

“I’m getting sleepy thinking about it. Let’s go to bed.” (Mireille)

　Then she tried to leave the room.

　I was surprised to hear her say something like that because it sounded like she was about to seriously think of a plan.

“What? You’re going to sleep? I thought you were getting motivated!”

“You can’t come up with any good ideas when you’re sleepy.” (Mireille)

“That’s true, but at this critical moment?! I mean, it’s in the middle of the day!”

“People sleep at night and day.” (Mireille)

　Mireille yawned and left the room, probably heading for her bedroom.

“What a my-pace kind of person…”

“No, no. I will have to do my best to figure it out…” (Russell)

　Russell began to think with an anxious look on his face.

“Fufufu, Mireille is still an interesting person.” (Lithia)

　Lithia, who was with us, said with a smile.

“But she is also a reliable person. She’s not panicking at all in this situation, and she believes that we can do something about it.” (Lithia)

　I was as anxious as Russell, but when I heard Lithia’s words, I felt a little better.

　Indeed, Mireille is not panicking yet. I guess she thinks that eventually, it will work out.

　Like Mireille who kept to herself, Lithia also wasn’t anxious, looking just as reliable.

“I also think we should contact Shadow before we start thinking of a plan.” (Lithia)

“That’s right, that’s right. I’ll send them the instructions as soon as I can.”

　I was going to ask Shadow to help me with the strategy, but I almost forgot.

　Lithia has helped me a lot.

“We should give instructions to Shadow, but we also need to give instructions to Ritsu-san. Anyway, for now, let’s ask him to buy us as much time as possible.” (Russell)

“That’s right.”

　I give instructions to Ritsu and Shadow.

　Shadow is responsible for gathering information. Not everyone was doing it. However, Ben remained as the intermediary, so I asked him to go tell them about the change in instructions.

　Ben is very quick to pass on information, so I’m sure he’ll get it to Femme in the next few days.

　I wrote a letter instructing Ritsu to buy time and try to maintain the situation, and I sent it to the battlefield.

Support the translator on lazytranslations.com