Reincarnation into the Barrier Master

"Have you come up with any good ideas for ......?"

After the visit to the Karza castle, we immediately returned to the main camp of the Safanid army. During the hour or so that we were there, we did not see any movement in the main camp, and we could barely make out the faces of some of the staff members that we had not seen earlier.

Among them, there was one man who was in a state of tatters.

He was seated farthest from the Commander-in-Chief. He must have been dissatisfied with something. He was moving his right leg impatiently.

The commander-in-chief did not care about him, but was trying to bring his staff members to me.

"Mister Kenshin, let me introduce you. The Seyfund Imperial Army ......

I interrupted the commander-in-chief by raising my right hand. He looked stunned for a moment, but then he immediately had a look of bitterness on his face.

"What about over there?"

"......"

"What about over there?"

I kept my right hand raised, my eyes on the man in the tattered armor, my mouth open. In other words, I was completely ignoring the Commander-in-Chief, but my gut instinct told me that I should listen to him.

"...... would be impolite, wouldn't it?"

"I don't think we have time for that . ...... over there?"

The Commander-in-Chief gave a small click of his tongue. I looked away from him, but I could hear the sound. He must be very angry.

But from my point of view, this move of the Commander-in-Chief is hard to understand. The enemy will arrive in about half a day. Whether we intercept or retreat, we must be fully prepared. There are at least 20,000 troops sitting here. Then it will take several hours to complete the preparations. I am sure that Matkal, Lafayence, and Knogen will have thought of their positions while I was gone, and will be ready to move at any moment.

Unfortunately, the soldiers are resting and undressing in front of me. If I were to call them out right now, it would take at least an hour for them to be fully prepared. From there, it will take a few hours to move out and set up camp. In the meantime, the soldiers must be fed. Everything would be too slow.

Just as I was thinking about this, the man who had been shaking his head stood up and came running toward me. He got down on one knee in front of me and bowed.

"I am Captain Holm, garrison commander of Karza Castle.

"Mr. Holm, I presume. I am Kenshin from Agartha.

"From Agartha?　What ...... reinforcements, thank you!

No, we are not reinforcements. We're just lending you our wisdom.

"How do you like that?" ....... No, we are grateful to have a man from Agartha on our side. Thank you!

His eyes were straight and honest. He was quick-witted. He must be well-liked by his subordinates because of his good-natured atmosphere. Otherwise, he would have been able to defend a 5,000-strong army with a 1,000-strong army, no matter how strong his castle is. It is obvious that this man is better than the commander-in-chief when it comes to military qualities and command abilities.

"Mr. Sarma just took us on a tour of the Khaza Castle. It is a magnificent castle.

Yes. Thanks to you, we have managed to hold out so far.

"But I heard that Elsmo's army of 20,000 is closing in on us. The enemy will have the advantage in numbers, won't they?　Do you have any ideas?

Yes. Yes.

He urges me to go to where there is a wooden board propped up behind the seat where the commander-in-chief sits. The commander-in-chief and other staff members walk up behind me. There was a map of the area around the castle of Khaza.

"The enemy is 20,000 strong, but fortunately we are in a mountainous area. We are outnumbered, but we have the advantage of location. We must move the army led by the Commander-in-Chief to the front of this castle as soon as possible. Then the castle will be well defended.

His plan is in line with mine. If we can do that, the river will act as a moat and our defenses will be much stronger. When they come across the river, we will hit them. ....... It may be a long war, but it would serve its purpose of rescuing Castle Khaza well enough. However, one of the staff members interrupted his opinion.

"Holm!　You are asking the Commander-in-Chief to go to the front!"

No, that's your job, I think, but I'll keep my mouth shut. Holm, on the other hand, showed no hesitation in taking a stand against the bureaucrat.

"If you don't like it, then you can have the 10,000 troops currently posted at the back of the mountain, led by Raunescu, attack NONO's army at Mount Rinen. We are outnumbered. If we can hold Mount Rinen, even if 20,000 of El Salvador's army arrive, they will not be able to enter our country easily.

A perfectly honest opinion. I nodded my head in agreement. I wondered what the first 10,000 troops were doing. In fact, I wonder if they had immediately held the mountains on the other side of the river, they would not have been in such a panic. At that moment, the Commander-in-Chief opened his mouth.

"I'm well aware of that."

"......"

If you know what you're doing, why don't you do it already? As I was muttering this in my mind, he made a surprising remark.

"If you do that, there will be casualties in our army.

What?""Huh?""

...... I couldn't help but hum with Holm. He said, "What are you talking about?　He has a look on his face as if to say, "I'm sorry, I can't help it. I am sure I have the same expression on my face.

"Commander-in-Chief, you are too lazy to wear out your own generals. Is that what you say?"

Holm's face is flushed. He is clearly angry. The commander-in-chief sniffs at him and opens his mouth, giving him a cold look.

Minimize our losses. That is the order of His Majesty.

"Nonsense!　The enemy is already close by!　We will lose a battle we could win if we wait too long!　The Lord Commander-in-Chief came to reinforce you, didn't he?　You came to rescue Karza Castle, didn't you?　If you are thinking of your own losses, you will not be able to fight!　What is this army of 20,000 men for?

"Holm!　Will you shut up!　That's too much language!"

One of the staff members shouts at the top of his lungs, spitting in the air. The commander-in-chief quieted them both by raising his right hand.

"Holm, I understand your feelings. But your orders are absolute. That is why we have accepted the messenger ...... from Agartha.

"......"

Holm is staring at me with his terrible eyes. No, I don't want him staring at me. .......

"Well then, let's see what Kenshin-dono has in store for us.

The commander-in-chief talks to me with a cool face. I wonder how this man can be so relaxed. Unless he has some kind of a plan to save the day, it doesn't seem to be anything like that. It is obviously fatal that he does not have the ability to detect the imminent danger of the Karza Castle.

"Well, it's ...... difficult, isn't it? ......"

"Huh."

The Commander-in-Chief's expression changed to one of obvious contempt for me. He sniffed again and turned his attention to Holm, who was standing by his side.

"Holm, return to Castle Khaza."

"......"

"You will attract as much of Elsmo's 20,000 troops as you can. When the enemy is tired of attacking, we will make a full attack.

"What?　You've got to be kidding me. ......"

"It's funny as a joke, but under the circumstances, it's not funny at all.

At my words, the commander-in-chief looked at me again. I could see the look of hatred in his eyes.