Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100% Accuracy

Chapter 44

It was time.

I turned to the two soldiers who had endured this madness with me over the past few days.

They had followed along, matching my nonsense with steady drumbeats.

Even though they had been conscripted and likely had moments of existential crisis over why their duty involved drumming on makeshift instruments while their commander ranted at the sky—
They had never once questioned it.

They had obeyed.

"Everyone. You’ve worked hard until now. Everything we’ve practiced, all the preparation—it’s all for this moment. I trust you to see it through to the end."

"Yes, sir!"
"We’ll follow exactly as rehearsed!"

At their responses, I smiled and turned toward the approaching enemy.

"Alright! The enemy is upon us. Prepare yourselves!"

"Understood!"

The two soldiers, who had trained with me in this bizarre ritual, positioned themselves on either side of the altar, each sitting before a drum.

"Just follow what we practiced. Today is the most important performance of your lives. Strike the drums as if you’re knocking on the gates of the heavens themselves!"

"Yes, sir!"

They raised their drumsticks—
Not weapons, but instruments—
And began hammering away at the crude, makeshift drums.

With them flanking me, beating out an ominous rhythm, I must have looked like some crazed cult leader summoning an ancient deity.

Good.

This was perfect.

"Haaaah… Aaaaaah… AAAAAHHH!!!"

I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply as if gathering my energy.

I knew how insane I looked.

But—

"If I’m going to pull this off, I need to be the most insane person anyone has ever seen."

I wasn’t just predicting a lightning strike.

I was summoning it.

That was the image I needed to project.

If I didn’t fully commit, people might believe it was just a natural occurrence.

That wouldn’t be enough.

Serpina’s soldiers had to fear me.

If I wanted them to think I was the one calling down divine wrath—

Then I had to be an unquestionable lunatic.

An absolute madman.

A messiah of destruction.

Because what kind of person declares they will summon lightning—
And actually stands there waiting for it?

So—

"HEAVENS!!! HEAR MY VOICE!!! RESPOND TO ME!!!!"

I screamed louder than the drums, louder than the approaching army—

And then…

Nothing.

The enemy was closing in.

The storm was thick above us.

It was the right time.

So then—

Why wasn’t the rain falling yet?

***

It was General Julian of Serpina’s army who had been tasked with leading 33,000 troops and siege weapons to crush the fortress.

Previously, his suggestion to attack had been dismissed.

But now, the situation had changed.

His lord had summoned him once again.

The sudden orders didn’t bother him. In fact, Julian was rather pleased.

‘I knew it. I was right all along.’

Julian, a battle-hardened middle-aged man with brown hair, smirked in satisfaction.

He wasn’t the brightest strategist, but his extensive experience in war had earned him a degree of favor from Serpina.

However, Julian’s ambitions reached beyond simple favor.

He wanted an irreplaceable position within Serpina’s army.

A commander with undeniable value.

A warrior who would rise through merit alone.

‘We’ll seize the fortress, establish it as a forward base, and use it to launch a second assault on Kelstein Castle. I can do this.’

With that ambition in mind, he led his forces toward the Brans-held fortress.

Then—

"General Julian!"

"What is it?"

A lieutenant rushed to him, looking unusually serious.

"Sir… there is a man atop the fortress wall, performing… something strange."

"What?"

Julian rode forward, taking the lead.

And what he saw—

Was beyond absurd.

A young, white-haired man stood atop the fortress walls, arms stretched wide, screaming at the sky.

It was hard to hear him clearly from this distance, but he seemed to be wildly flailing his arms—almost as if he was pointing directly at them.

And beside him—

Two soldiers sat before makeshift drums, hammering away at them as if part of some bizarre ritual.

"What the hell…?"

Julian was baffled.

It was an utterly ridiculous sight.

But… was it threatening?

No.

If he looked at it objectively—

It was just a man shouting.

A pair of soldiers playing drums.

Instead of preparing to defend their doomed fortress, they were wasting time with this nonsense?

Julian scoffed.

If this was meant to be some kind of ritual, it only made the enemy easier to deal with.

‘Nothing’s easier to defeat than soldiers relying on superstition.’

He had fought men who clung to faith in war.

"The gods will protect us."
"The divine will grant us strength."

Foolish words.

Ever since war had consumed the continent, such beliefs had faded.

The religious zealots who once preached of divine salvation had all but disappeared.

Julian believed in facts.

He made decisions based on numbers.

And by the numbers—

The fortress had, at most, 10,000 troops.

His forces outnumbered them three to one.

With his siege weapons, the walls would crumble in hours.

"What a lunatic."

The battle wasn’t even a battle.

It was a mere process.

Once the fortress fell, they would march on Kelstein Castle.

That was the real goal.

Seizing Kelstein Castle would put him in Serpina’s good graces.

And that would mean promotion.

Recognition.

He was getting old.

He had once thrived in war, but he couldn’t fight forever.

Soon, it would be time to step back—
To secure his family’s future.

"Orders, sir?"

"Ignore him."

Julian didn’t hesitate.

"He’s not worth our attention."

He turned to his men and roared—

"We’ve come this far, and we won’t waste time! Speed is everything—take the fortress as quickly as possible! All siege crews, prepare for assault!"

"Yes, sir!"

At his command, soldiers surged forward.

The siege had begun.

It was over.

Or rather—

It should have been.

***

And so, to strike a blow against those who believed this was nothing more than a process—

I continued to scream at the sky and strike grand, theatrical poses.

"HEAVENS!!!!"

‘Any second now, the rain will fall! It has to!’

I didn’t know exactly when the lightning would strike.

But in the game, lightning only fell when it rained.

First came the rain—then the lightning.

And yet…

Despite the sky being heavy with dark clouds—

Not a single raindrop had fallen.

I clenched my fists.

‘Stay calm!’

The enemy was watching.

Our soldiers were watching.

And beside me—

I could feel that even Irene was watching.

She had believed in me.

She had trusted me.

But the soldiers—

The ones following her orders to hold this fortress—

They had to be feeling uneasy by now.

And if I showed even a hint of doubt—

Everything would fall apart.

"HAAAAA!!"

I roared, trying to shift the tension.

But—

The sky remained silent.

This should’ve been the moment when the rain poured down.

And yet—nothing.

‘No! That’s impossible!’

I couldn’t be wrong.

A natural disaster.

A divine catastrophe.

And me, standing at its center—making it seem like I had caused it.

That was the answer.

That was the only answer.

100 Intelligence.
10,000 hours of gameplay.

All my experience.

All my reasoning.

Everything pointed to this being the correct move.

‘It has to be! There’s no way I’m wrong! The disaster has to be lightning! It can’t be an earthquake, or we wouldn’t have been told to stay in the fortress! It has to be lightning!’

I gritted my teeth and continued my performance.

The enemy’s war cries were growing louder, drowning out the pounding drums beside me.

Siege weapons were ready.

The catapults were in position.

And once the first boulders were launched—

The walls would crumble.

If one of those stones hit me—

I would die.

But if that were really going to happen—

Then the prediction wouldn't have said "hold the fortress where the enemy can see you."

It would’ve been "escape."

Or "evacuate."

If the enemy was just going to retreat on their own—

Then it wouldn’t have mattered where I stood.

I had trusted my predictions before.

And they had never once been wrong.

When negotiations with Lyn seemed doomed—messengers arrived.
When our forces reached Kelstein—Cherien Castle rebelled.

Everything had always fallen into place.

So why—

Why was I feeling this uneasy?

Why was this the first time I doubted myself?

Was it because not a single drop of rain had fallen?

Was it because nothing was happening?

"HAAAAAA!!!"

I screamed louder.

‘No!’

I couldn’t let doubt creep in.

I had to believe.

I was right.

I was always right.

I had 100 Intelligence.

"HEAVENS!!!"

And then—

Finally—

"W-Wait!!!"
"What’s that?! What the hell is that?!"

I heard the panicked voices of the soldiers.

"T-That…!"

Even beside me—Irene, who had stayed calm through everything—

Was stunned.

The sky—

It was still clouded over.

And yet—

A deep, eerie shadow was forming over the battlefield.

‘…Huh?’

I finally sensed something was off.

Slowly—

I tilted my head back.

And I looked up—

At the sky I had been screaming at all this time.

And then—

I realized—

For the first time—

That I had completely miscalculated.

There was no lightning.

No storm.

The disaster my 100 Intelligence had predicted—

Was not a lightning strike.

It was—

A massive meteor.

Falling straight toward the battlefield.