Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100% Accuracy

Chapter 22

Lyn Brans bringing such an enormous army to attack this place.

If I was the reason behind it, then everything fit together perfectly.

They were after me.

Which meant that once they secured their objective—me— they wouldn’t concern themselves with a minor lord fleeing into obscurity somewhere on the continent.

Why was I the target?

Honestly, saying this myself was beyond embarrassing—but if I looked at it as objectively as possible—

Lyn Brans must have been deeply impressed by our meeting during the last negotiations.

Among all the rulers, she was uniquely obsessed with acquiring talented individuals.

The idea that she wanted to take a promising strategist serving a minor nation under her command made perfect sense.

There was another piece of evidence—

The sheer overkill of mobilizing 81,000 troops just to take this castle.

She clearly held me in high regard, and she likely assumed I might pull off another miraculous scheme—so she brought overwhelming force to ensure I had no opportunity to turn the tide.

Unfortunately for her, the only thing I could do was produce 100% accurate predictions—nothing more, nothing less.

In short—

My next course of action was clear.

"Get everyone to flee the castle—then remain behind alone and surrender."

Lunarian’s Army would cease to exist—for now.

But that wouldn’t be the end.

As long as we all survived, we could rise again.

In the game, restoring a lost nation was a simple process, but in this world, I had no idea what that entailed.

Still—being alive and unable to act was far better than being dead and out of options.

"There’s probably a better way."

A more brilliant plan.

A strategy that would outmaneuver everyone.

If my Intelligence stat of 100 actually let me come up with such things, that would have been ideal—but it didn’t.

All I could do was produce perfect answers to the questions I asked.

So, at the very least—

This was the best plan I could come up with right now.

"Alright."

With this, the three predictions had finally formed a coherent picture.

There was no guarantee that this was the right answer.

But with the enemy closing in, I didn’t have the luxury of waiting around to think.

"Everyone."

I finally broke the silence, looking around at my gathered allies.

I could feel their collective anticipation—

Every single member of Lunarian’s Army was waiting for my words.

Slowly, I began to lay out my plan.

"We will lose this battle. But that’s fine. Losing a battle does not mean losing the war.

This is a war for the future—and for the sake of that future, we must retreat for now."

"But there’s nowhere to retreat to, is there?"

"Attacking another minor nation wouldn’t be realistic, either."

Gustav and Aaron voiced their concerns, and I nodded.

"Correct. We have no escape route.

And since we signed non-aggression pacts, attacking another state would be a poor choice.

However, if we fight Brans head-on, we will be utterly destroyed.

But—"

I paused.

"If we abandon the concept of being a 'nation,' a path will reveal itself."

"……Th-Then…!"

Luna seemed to realize something, her voice trembling.

And I had no choice but to confirm the cruel reality for her.

"This is where our army's journey ends. For now."

"What do you mean, 'ends'?"

"We will surrender to Lyn Brans' army."

"!!!"

Tifa's eyes widened in shock—then filled with rage.

She slammed her axe into the ground and shouted at me.

"Are you serious?! Didn’t you join us because you believed in Luna?! If we surrender, that bitch Lyn won’t let Luna live!"

"I agree with Tifa."

"Wh-What…?!"

"I said we would surrender.

I never said we would cease to exist."

I turned to meet Luna’s gaze directly.

"My lady. Take Tifa and Cain and flee."

"……What?"

"Your destination is the south.

Go to the Karelia Army.

Their ruler, Makana Karelia, is a benevolent leader.

She will shelter you and our allies—and when the time comes, she will not stand in the way of your ambitions."

Makana Karelia.

If this game had a 'lawful good' character, she was it.

A truly virtuous ruler who genuinely desired peace.

Luna shared a similar ideal—but I had only discovered that after coming to this world.

In the game, Makana Karelia was the one who filled that role.

Having played for 10,000 hours, I could say with absolute certainty—

Karelia’s lands were the safest place for Luna to hide.

Karelia was located in the southernmost part of the continent.

The southern region had a delicate balance of power—

And whether they liked it or not, Brans’ forces were partially blocked by another state—making it a relatively secure place to take refuge.

"If you remain in hiding, an opportunity will come.

For the sake of our future, we must preserve our lives."

"Swen… B-But…"

Luna hesitated, her voice unsteady—

And at that moment, an unexpected voice interrupted.

"Would you mind speaking with me for a moment?"

I turned toward the source of the voice.

It was Cain.

His face was more serious than I had ever seen before.

For the first time—

I felt like I was truly facing the real Cain Nerkis—

Not the old noble hiding behind an alias, desperately struggling to survive.

"Swen.

When you told me to lead 1,800 soldiers into battle, I could have questioned you—demanded an explanation.

But I didn’t.

I had no reason to oppose my lady’s will, and honestly… even if Lunarian’s Army was wiped out, I could have easily found a way to survive under Brans or another ruler."

I remained silent, listening carefully.

"When I think back, so many unbelievable things have happened these past few months.

Following your orders, we made money appear out of nowhere.

We won battles that should have been unwinnable.

Two mercenary groups pledged allegiance to us.

Even now, I still have no idea what kind of power you have.

But—"

My impression of Cain had always been vague.

A presence that blended into the background.

But now—

His sunken black eyes shone brighter than ever.

"During these months, I saw something I never expected—

The happiness of our people, who had spent their lives suffering as the most unfortunate citizens of the continent."

He exhaled deeply.

"And in seeing that, I realized—I no longer care about simply hiding in some corner of the world.

I want to witness Lady Lunarian take this continent, this world, this empire, for herself."

Then—

His gaze sharpened, turning toward me with suspicion.

"To be blunt—I don’t believe you."

"……"

"I think you’re just making up an excuse to betray us and bring this castle, its gold, and its soldiers to Lyn Brans."

"……"

"For someone with your talents—sticking with a minor nation is a waste.

Wouldn’t defecting to Brans be a far better choice for your own future?

Tell me, Swen—am I wrong?"

"…Is that true…?"

Tifa’s voice wavered in disbelief—

And before I could say a word—

Luna stepped forward, defending me.

"T-That’s not possible! Swen isn’t like that! Swen…!"

I raised my hand slightly to stop her.

"My lady.

If you will allow it—

I will explain everything myself."

She didn’t say a word after hearing what I said.

But it wasn’t difficult to tell that her silence was a sign of agreement.

Cain watched the situation for a moment before fixing his gaze on me and speaking.

"Rebuilding a fallen nation is no easy feat. It could take years, or even decades. And right now, there isn’t even a suitable land to claim as a foothold. In such circumstances, you want us to abandon our country, surrender, and flee?"

"That’s right."

"I’m sorry, but this isn’t the same as when you ordered me to oversee the castle’s repairs or assigned Tifa to manage commerce in the markets. Those were tasks I could trust you with, without question. But this is different.

If you want to convince me, you’d better present solid evidence. Otherwise, I will remain in the castle and fight to the end. I refuse to accept surrender without even putting up a fight against Brans' army in the name of ‘the future.’"

Evidence.

Evidence, huh.

Honestly, if I had actual evidence, I wouldn’t be struggling this much in the first place.

The two absolute truths I had obtained from my predictions were:

"Lunarian’s Army will avoid destruction if I leave."
And—
"Lunarian Iniang will become the ruler who unites the continent."

My entire plan was based on logical deductions drawn from these two fixed facts.

But if I told Cain, "I have 100 Intelligence, so my predictions are always correct," there was no way he would believe me.

So how should I convince him?

I had to take a different approach.

What was Cain most suspicious of?

He probably believed that I was offering up this castle to Brans in exchange for a high-ranking position in their army.

That’s the weak point I need to exploit.

I unsheathed the blade of my tongue.

"Cain, to summarize your claim—you believe that I am offering up Zeilant’s gold, soldiers, and territory to Brans in order to gain merit and secure a comfortable position under their rule. Is that correct?"

"That’s right."

"Take it all."

My firm declaration drew everyone’s attention.

"…What did you say?"

I met their gazes and spoke clearly.

"Take all the gold stored within the castle.

As for the soldiers—aside from the small force necessary for escape, divide them evenly between the Chilean Mercenary Corps and the Raven Mercenary Corps."

Gustav and Aaron, who had been silently observing, were startled by my sudden proposition.

"Huh?"

"Are you saying our forces would become part of the mercenary corps?"

"Exactly."

That was my answer.

In the game, when a faction surrendered, its soldiers would automatically be absorbed by the occupying army.

Since this world followed some of the game’s rules, it was highly likely the same would happen here.

However, mercenaries were independent forces—they wouldn’t be absorbed into Brans’ army even if we surrendered.

So the best option was to transfer our soldiers into the mercenary corps and have them retreat separately.

Mercenaries would never betray a faction they had allied with—unless triggered by a special event.

Even in the game, mercenaries never betrayed first, though players could betray them. Some even used this loophole for exploit strategies.

Since my Intelligence 100 rule applied strictly, it was reasonable to assume that other mechanics followed similar logic.

And since Lunarian’s unification was a predetermined future, these mercenaries would become valuable assets when that time came.

"This would leave Zeilant with zero soldiers and zero gold—a completely worthless piece of land.

Unless the castle itself was as strategically important as Kelstein Castle, it would have no significant value.

Cain, what do you think? Is Zeilant such a place?"

"Th-This place…"

Cain couldn’t answer.

Of course not—Zeilant was worthless.

No exceptional talents were born here.

The land wasn’t particularly fertile.

There were no unique resources or special industries.

And the population wasn’t even that high.

"If I truly wanted to curry favor with Brans, wouldn’t I be scheming to leverage the gold and troops for some grand plan?"

"Well… before we even get to that…"

Cain’s expression changed.

I could sense a faint shift in his wariness.

"If you surrender in an empty castle, won’t that provoke the ruler’s wrath? Wouldn’t that be considered an insult to the occupying army?"

Huh?

That’s all?

In the game, it was completely normal to flee with all the gold, provisions, and troops when things looked grim.

Because there was no way to hand them over.

But apparently, in this world, such actions were considered a grave insult.

Well… I suppose if I were an occupying army, I’d be pissed too if I walked into an empty castle.

"If you fled with them, that would be one thing.

But staying behind in an abandoned castle and greeting the occupying army?

That’s practically a suicidal act."

Hearing that, I immediately realized.

This is my chance.

Right now, to Cain—I must look like a man gambling his life against Lyn Brans.

He couldn’t possibly see me as a traitor.

That’s exactly what I need to use.

I slowly opened my mouth and spoke.