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Volume 3, Chapter 4 – The Fire Hidden In The Blizzard, Part 6

The surviving commanders were gathered in a tent in the center of the main camp. They were called together urgently, and all of them had a question mark on their faces. They would be caught in a storm of tyranny if they didn’t withdraw quickly. All of them were restless, perhaps because they were panicked.

Then, Hiro arrives with Claudia. The unit commanders stood up in unison and saluted.

“I apologize for having you gather at such short notice.”

Claudia returned the salute and sat down on a chair prepared for her.

“And here is Hiro Schwartz von Grantz, the Fourth Prince of the Grantz Empire, who will be assisting me as my military advisor.”

The commanders rolled their eyes in surprise but gradually began to tense up as if they understood the situation.

With a calm face, Hiro brushed aside the impassive gaze of the commanders and placed the maps and documents on the desk before bowing lightly. Then he sat down next to Claudia.

“Please make yourself comfortable.”

He pointed his hand at the chairs provided for the commanders and urged them to sit down, which they did.

(I guess everything is fine.)

It’s not that they trust him, but there’s no mockery, and they seem to be listening to Hiro with an open mind, although there’s a lot of reserves involved.

“The first thing that needs to be mentioned is that we have to suspend the retreat. If we allow the rebel army to wreak any more havoc, the reconstruction of the south will be difficult. That’s why we’ve decided to intercept the Crown Prince Fraus.”

Although they didn’t say it out loud due to Claudia’s presence, the commanders’ expressions showed their dissatisfaction. Hiro, deciding that he should first ease their anxiety and frustration, took a small breath and announced his intentions.

“The situation is not good, but we still have a chance to win. In order to save the people under fire and avenge the dead soldiers and officers, we must rise again.”

Hiro’s words, full of confidence, brought a little light back into the commanders’ eyes. Above all, the words of the descendant of the “God of War,” who was said to be unbeatable, resonated with them more than anything else.

However, Hiro felt a little disappointed. It would have been better to have someone with a rebellious spirit to smooth things over. However, since they had lost so badly, it was probably inevitable that they would become deflated. First of all, he should get them motivated again.

“Then I want to ask you what you want to do in the future. If there is anyone who wants to suggest your own plan, please speak up and let me know.”

“Um… Hiro-sama must have some kind of plan, right?”

Claudia interjected in a frightened manner.

Hiro gave a slight nod and said generously.

“Of course, I have several things in mind. But first, I want to hear the opinions of the people here.”

Hiro’s words were met with a look of surprise from the commanders. It’s understandable. There is no way that they would be able to speak positively when asked if they had a plan.

“…Why is that?”

Hiro let out an exasperated sigh, feeling terribly disappointed that there were some who didn’t want to speak up. In other words, they were planning to follow Hiro’s commands from the beginning.

“I don’t need a commander who simply follows along without being able to express their own opinions.”

The heroes of tomorrow may be here today. For the future, therefore, it is necessary to find and nurture their seeds. If there is even one more talented person, more people will be saved.

“There is no need to be hesitant due to some grand title, such as “royal family” or “descendant of the god of war. If you have a good opinion, I will consider it.”

What worries him is fear. If there are people who look to their superiors, their judgment will be clouded, and more people will die in battle. If things go badly, the result will be a defeat. The fate of the nation may even depend on the destruction of a single unit.

Therefore, attrition is unnecessary in war. They should be removed as soon as possible.

“T-then, will you please listen to my opinion?”

In the quiet tent, a stern voice of a commander sounded weakly.

Hiro smiled. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t an excellent opinion.

“I will allow you to speak.”

“Thank you very much.”

The stern commander stood up. He was nervous and had a lot of sweat on his forehead.

“I think we should take advantage of our geographical advantage and launch a surprise attack, since we are outnumbered.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

And another commander with a thin face interrupted.

“The enemy keeps staying in the same place. They probably know the geography by sending out scouts in the vicinity. Even if we can get behind them, there is a high probability that they are aware of us.”

“But we are outnumbered. There is no way to win except by surprise. Are you saying that we should fight them head-on? I can only imagine a total annihilation.”

“That’s not what I’m saying. We should try to catch them off guard before we surprise them.”

“And how do we do that?”

The stern commander asked, and the thin-faced commander fell silent. The other commander, unable to see this, began to place pieces on a map on the desk.

“How about this? Divide the army in two, use the first army as a diversion from the front, and the second army from behind, then we can launch a pincer attack.”

“Wait. The enemy is more numerous than us. Then they will destroy us individually, and we will be annihilated.”

It didn’t take long for everyone to join in the discussion. As the atmosphere began to heat up, the military discussion became more heated. However, the conversation remained on a parallel track.

None of the opinions were conclusive. Hiro decided to bring the discussion to a close.

“I understand what you’re saying. Let’s just calm down and drink some water.”

Not wanting to ignore Hiro, the commanders let out a ragged breath and took their seats. When he saw that everyone was seated, Hiro left his seat. The commanders also hurriedly tried to get up.

“I want you to stay where you are and listen to what I have to say.”

The commanders sat back down with quizzical expressions on their faces. Hiro looked around at the faces of the people and then gently began to speak.

“As a descendant of a former ally, I’m glad to see that everyone was thinking about the country and devising a plan.”

After uttering the Fourth Prince’s words, Hiro spoke with an exaggerated gesture.

“All of the suggestions are excellent, and none of them should be discarded. That’s why I’ve made up my mind.”

Someone clears their throat. Someone gulped and thought, “My plan might be adopted.” If that plan is successful, it will surely leave a mark in the history of the Levering Kingdom. Everyone was looking at Hiro, forgetting even to breathe.

“Let’s adopt all of your plans.”

Naturally ― everyone was taken aback. They looked as if they couldn’t understand what Hiro was talking about.

Hiro, who had anticipated this reaction, smiled slightly.

“None of these moves are bad. Besides, we can’t treat everyone’s feelings for the country so disrespectfully.”

No one would be downhearted just because their opinion was not reflected. However, Hiro was aiming for unity by adopting everyone’s plan. He wanted to use the power of the whole force to defeat the opponent, not the power of the individual.

“I’ll fix what’s wrong. Use the odd; use the positive. Play with the enemy and go for the victory.”

Suppose the rebel army hadn’t laid a hand on the people. In that case, they might have been able to get away with it peacefully because of Princess Claudia. However, the enemy used the vilest and vicious means.

It was something that could not be overlooked and could not be forgiven.

“It is better to hunt them down slowly so that they can understand us. We have to let them know firsthand who they’re dealing with.”

With his hands on either side of the desk, he let out a breath of boiling anger. Hiro looked around at the commanders. In the depths of their eyes, a fierce fire raged.

“――We will surely give them despair.”

Everyone trembled at the murderous spirit that seeped into his words.