Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100% Accuracy

Chapter 42

I led Airen, now composed, back to the door of the meeting chamber.
Of course, aside from the guards stationed nearby, there was no one else around.

"You’ve been working hard."

At my greeting, the guard flinched in surprise before responding nervously.

"Ah… y-yes! That is to say—"

"I am Swen."

"Yes, Lord Swen. Um… Lord Swen, are you staying to defend the fortress?"

"Yes. Together with General Airen."

"I see…"

The soldier fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. Then, he suddenly bowed deeply toward Airen.

"…General Airen. I will fight to the very end. Thank you… truly, thank you for staying and fighting alongside us."

"…Thank you for staying and fighting with us…"

In the game, soldiers were nothing more than numbers—mere units with set values.
But in this world, now made real, they breathed and lived.
Each of them carried their own small universe.

There was no way they didn’t understand.
They knew they had been thrown into a hopeless battlefield.
Even if it was an order, what had gone through their minds as they watched their superiors flee the fortress?

And suddenly, I understood why this soldier had thanked her.

Airen had always been a commander who stood alongside her soldiers.
She had shared the night watches, carried supplies during marches, and lived by the same rules as them.
Even if Lyn Brans had abandoned her, the soldiers—those at the lowest ranks who bore the weight of Brans’ power—had always respected her.
Because in this world, people were not just data.

Receiving the soldier’s words, Airen responded in a solemn, steady tone.

"Yes. I will fight alongside you all until the end. And I will never allow you to die."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The soldier’s voice rang out with renewed vigor.
It seemed morale had risen.
Well, there was no downside to that, so I saw no need to say anything more.

With that, we entered the meeting chamber.
The empty room welcomed only the two of us.

"They left quickly."

Well, if they wanted to survive, moving fast was the smart choice.
I had no intention of resenting them for it.

"Um… Swen."

"Yes?"

"What should we do now?"

Seeing the worry on her face, a sudden mischievous urge struck me.

"You’re asking me? Lady Airen, didn’t you just tell that soldier you wouldn’t let anyone die?"

I expected her to fluster, to stammer something like, "T-that… Hmm… Are you seriously joking in this situation?"

But—

Her response was different from what I had anticipated.

"I believe in you, Swen."

"…Pardon?"

"I believe in you."

She smiled as she said it.
Sunlight from the window cast a soft glow on her face.

"So I’m not worried. You said we will defend this fortress. You said we will save everyone. And I believe you."

"…"

Feeling strangely embarrassed, I sighed briefly and sat down in one of the empty chairs.

"Well… as you said, we are going to win."

"Do you have a plan?"

A plan.

Right. A plan.

Everything had been moving too fast, but now that I had a moment to think—I did have an idea.

[Hold your position where you can see the enemy.]

The prediction said hold our position. That meant this was the correct course of action.
Which also meant a solution existed.

The problem was—

"Why is holding our position the right answer?"

I knew what the answer was, but I didn’t know why.
Still, I had one thing working in my favor:

I had spent 10,000 hours on this godforsaken strategy game.
And more importantly—

My words were always correct.

With those two advantages, I could find a solution.

I pulled out a rough map I had drawn of the fortress’s surroundings back at Airen’s house.
I had sketched it in my spare time, just in case. And, as expected, it was proving useful.

"What’s that?"

"A map. I need to think through our options. I have a vague idea, but I’m not sure yet."

Most people would probably get annoyed hearing that after all my talk about "earning merit."
But Airen simply nodded without a word and said:

"Alright. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not particularly."

"Then I will check on the wounded. Is that alright?"

"Yes. Actually, that would be very helpful."

I wasn’t going to be holding this fortress alone.
Every soldier inside these walls would fight alongside me.

If Airen, a respected general, openly stood her ground, it would raise the morale of the remaining soldiers.
And given that we had no idea what would happen next, boosting morale could only be beneficial.

"Understood. Swen."

"Hm?"

"If anything happens… call for me at any time. I will come immediately."

She smiled faintly.

Just moments ago, her violet eyes had wavered with uncertainty.
But now, as if she had finally decided on her path, they were clear and unwavering.

As Airen slowly left the chamber, I knew it was time for me to act.

It felt overwhelming, but in the end, I just had to do what I had always done.
Consider every variable.
Eliminate everything that wouldn’t work.

"First, let’s analyze the terrain."

I carefully examined the map.

First—
The chances of winning through direct combat were close to zero.
No, I could safely say they were zero.

Airen was skilled in sieges but average in defensive battles.
Even with her high stats, my own weak military prowess, and only 10,000 soldiers defending a poorly fortified stronghold against an army of 30,000…

The moment they brought siege weapons, we’d have to engage, breaking the prediction’s command to hold our position.
So, combat was not the answer.
If nothing happened, we would definitely lose.

That meant I had to think of something else.

The first possibility that came to mind was a landslide.
This game was notorious for its absurd random encounters.

A locust swarm devastating crops, famine without warning, plagues, earthquakes—
Disasters that barely made sense even within the world’s logic.

A sudden landslide wiping out the enemy forces? That was plausible.

But—

There were no mountains near the fortress.
Only gentle hills and vast plains.
Riding across it would probably feel like cruising down a smooth highway.

"It’s not a landslide."

Even if Serpina’s army had advanced from Chorel Castle, the route had no significant mountain range.
That ruled out this possibility.

The next option—
Something happened within Serpina’s army, forcing them to retreat.

A rebellion.
An assassination attempt on Serpina.

This was more realistic than a natural disaster.

It might sound ridiculous—Two rebellions in a row?—but my predictions had never been wrong.
Something had to happen.

But—

One phrase kept bothering me.

My Intelligence 100 brain had not simply said, Hold your position.
It had said—

"Hold your position where you can see the enemy."

Predictions were never arbitrary.
Every word mattered.

"If Serpina’s army was simply going to retreat, why would I need to be somewhere visible?"

If that were the case, wouldn’t the prediction have just said Hold your position?
That thought made me dismiss the internal rebellion theory.

With that gone, only one possibility remained.

"…A natural disaster is coming."

I didn’t know which disaster—
But something catastrophic was about to strike Serpina’s army.

Even if the probability was low, even if it seemed unlikely—
The only remaining possibility had to be the truth.

"A disaster will strike, and Serpina’s forces will be forced to retreat."

The most probable scenario? Lightning.

If the sky darkened when they approached, I could almost guarantee it.

Earthquakes were common in this world, but staying inside the fortress wouldn’t be the right call if that was the case.

Still—one question remained.

"Why do I need to be seen?"

If a disaster was going to happen, why couldn’t I just stay inside?

My mind pieced everything together.

A sudden natural disaster.
The need for visibility.

"…!!!!"

Bang!

Without thinking, I slammed my palm against the table.

"I… need to make it look like I caused the disaster?"

If the enemy soldiers believed that I had summoned the catastrophe, rather than it being a mere accident—
That was the only reason the prediction had specified, Hold your position where you can see the enemy.

With this realization, I had to reassess something I had previously discarded.
What if I combined the idea of "something happened in Serpina's camp that forced them to retreat" with "I need to be visible to the enemy"?

Even if I stood atop the fortress walls, even if the enemy retreated, the cause of their retreat would be clear.
No one would believe that I had forced them back through my own power.
If their retreat was caused by something tangible, they wouldn’t attribute it to me.
And if me being visible had no meaning, then it wouldn’t have appeared in the prediction at all.

That meant—this wasn’t about an internal problem within Serpina’s forces.
It was something simpler: a natural disaster was about to occur.

That had to be the answer.

But that still didn’t resolve everything.
One final question remained.

"Why do I need to make it look like I summoned the disaster?"
"Why is that the most efficient course of action?"

As I pieced everything together, the answer was surprisingly simple.

"Because if the invading army believes I caused the disaster… they will flee."

For example, if lightning struck—
Yes, it would cause casualties.
But they wouldn’t necessarily stop advancing.

In the game, a lightning strike could instantly kill several thousand, and in unlucky cases, even ten thousand.
If the same logic applied here, the enemy would take damage but still have troops left to fight.
And they still had siege weapons.

But—

If they believed it wasn’t just a natural disaster—
If they thought I had deliberately summoned it—
If they feared that more lightning would strike them down again—

Would they still advance?
Would they willingly fight against an unknown, supernatural force?

As this realization struck me, my tangled thoughts suddenly became clear.

"This is it."

I slapped my knee.

Yes.

This was why we were going to win.

The meaning behind "Hold your position where you can see the enemy"—
It was this.

But.

Something still felt… incomplete.

So, I ran a simulation in my mind—this time, from our army’s perspective.

A new recruit in the Brans Army had unleashed a seemingly magical power and repelled the enemy.
It wasn’t just a rumor.
Too many people had witnessed it firsthand.

The soldiers in the fortress—Airen included—would be living proof.

And if I were a third party within the Brans Army, hearing this story, what would I think?

"That new recruit is incredible."
"Unbelievable."
"He achieved a remarkable victory."

…"Achieved a remarkable victory?"

That was when I remembered something I had momentarily set aside.

I, Swen, had disobeyed my lord’s orders.
Whether it was for Airen’s sake or for my own survival, I had ignored Lyn Brans’ command to retreat.

No matter my intentions, I had gone against my superior’s will.

But.

What if a commander she had discarded ended up securing an overwhelming victory?
What if people started believing I had acted for Carlints’ sake?

Many commanders already saw Carlints as a key figure.
Unlike Airen, Carlints was directly related to Lyn Brans by blood.

If my actions could be interpreted as benefiting him—
Then, in the eyes of the Brans Army, they were not acts of defiance.
They were acts of loyalty.

And if word spread that I had achieved this victory,
If it was framed as a victory for the Brans Army—
No matter how much Lyn Brans disliked me, she wouldn’t be able to punish me.

And at that thought—

I couldn’t help but laugh.

"…Pfft—hahaha!"

Of course.

This was why my Intelligence 100 mind had predicted:

"Hold your position where you can see the enemy."

I laughed like a madman in the empty meeting room.
But it didn’t matter.

Compared to the insanity of what I was about to do—
This was nothing.

I stood up, took a deep breath, and exhaled three times.

"…Alright. Let’s go."

It was time to perform a miracle.

***

Finding Airen among the wounded soldiers was not difficult.

I approached her.

"Lady Airen."

"Swen. Have you come to a decision?"

"Yes. And I have a task that requires your assistance. Would that be alright?"

At my words, Airen nodded without hesitation.

"Of course. Right now, Swen, you are my superior. What do you need?"

"Good. Because what I’m about to ask is completely ridiculous."

"…Excuse me?"

"Gather as many bricks as possible."

"Bricks? I suppose there are some left over from the fortress construction, but… why do you need them?"

I turned to her, speaking in an unwavering tone—
A tone of absolute certainty.

And with an expression that suggested I knew everything, I declared:

"The heavens are stirring. We will build an altar to communicate with the sky."