Chapter 389: Cheap Psychological Warfare (2) |
“Lee Ki-Young will head to the capital. I’m sure of it,” Jin Cheong said.
“Really?” I[1] asked.
“He’s a fraud, but he has guts. You would probably understand him better if I said that he knows when to throw the dice. He’ll probably pass through Dawan’s frontline and join the Red Mercenaries in Laios. If he gets lucky, he’ll make a plan to enter the heart of the Republic with the Mercenary Queen. Considering the supplies they have left in Laios, he’s probably thinking that they could reach the capital with those supplies. It’ll be cutting it close, though,” he replied.
“It’s possible, but I just can’t understand why he decided to tell us,” I commented.
“It’s because he probably knows…” said Jin Cheong.
“What…”
“He had probably already caught on to the fact that we’re benefiting from the other fronts by using Castle Rock as bait. That’s why he wants us to pull back the soldiers at Castle Rock. He made that worthless performance give some breathing room to Castle Rock, and we should be happy about it. Since he had done something ridiculous, then Castle Rock’s situation mustn’t be that good,” he explained.
“In that case, will you…”
“The main force will remain at Castle Rock. Rather than doing what the enemy wants us to do, we need to suffocate them as much as we can. Of course, I’ll form a force with a minimum number of soldiers so that we can delay their march to the capital and also make them consume as much of their supplies as possible. It’ll delay our plans a bit, but I’m sure we have plenty of time,” he said.
We just had to maintain pressure on Castle Rock while immediately going to war against the enemy forces heading for our capital. Once they were sufficiently isolated, then they would have to ration the meager supplies they had, and they would die slowly. It was a reasonable plan to execute, but it didn’t mean that there weren’t any risks.
‘What if the enemy didn’t head for the capital?’
If Lee Ki-Young and his army didn’t for the Republic’s capital, then our forces at Castle Rock would be in an awkward situation.
We still hadn’t discussed how we should divide the soldiers, but one-fifth—no, even if we invest one-seventh of the soldiers somewhere else, it wouldn’t be a huge risk for us to take. Basically, we were playing a cheap trick by saying that we would use rock only to end up using scissors instead. A few words could sway the entire army, but the commander looked as confident in his decision. However, he wasn’t simply confident.
Naturally, I started talking, “Commander.”
“Please speak,” he said.
“How many soldiers are you planning on sending to the capital?” I asked.
“One-sixth of the entire army,” he replied.
“That’s…”
“We’ll also support them with a large number of supplies. The fight at the capital will last a lot longer than the fight at Castle Rock,” he added.
“I’m… not questioning your decision, but if the enemy doesn’t head for the capital…” I said.
“Even if they don’t, we can still conquer Castle Rock. With the forces we currently have there, it will be more than enough for us to hold out for a long time,” he answered.
“How…” I started.
‘Can you be so certain?’
However, I couldn’t ask it in the end.
“You’re wondering how I’m so sure, am I right?” He pointed out.
“I-I’m sorry, Commander,” I apologized.
“The answer is pretty simple,” he started.
“What do you…”
“I received a message. A very helpful message,” he said.
***
“Why are you asking me again when you already know the answer, Miss Yevkarina? We’re going to abandon Castle Rock and head to the Republic’s capital,” Lee Ki-Young said.
“Are you… serious?” I[2] questioned.
“Who knows? Am I lying, or am I being serious? What do you think?” he asked.
If I could blast his smiling face with magic, I was sure I would have already done it hundreds of times. Up until now, I never considered myself to be hot-tempered until I met Lee Ki-Young. It was infuriating how he teased and provoked me, and I was sure he knew that as well. I turned my head away and looked elsewhere, but then I saw him leaning his face closer to me.
“Hm, I haven’t actually decided on my answer yet, Miss Karina,” Lee Ki-Young started.
“What?” I asked.
“Honestly, I found the answer when I released that video. The performance was just a cheap mind game I showed, just in case. I can’t say that our current army is weak, but I want to win while conserving power as much as possible. Obviously, I don’t want to needlessly shed blood because everyone here is a comrade who stood up for us,” he answered.
“Are you saying you sent that video just in case?” I questioned.
“I just wanted to see their reactions,” he replied.
“That’s… a stupid idea. Making your move after seeing their reaction…”
“I know that it’s dumb to make a move after the Republican troops at the Castle Rock front line made their move. I know it very well. We’re moving a large army. It’s not some small detachment dispatched for a special mission. Moving two steps slower than the enemy is a dumb thing to do, but that’s not what I meant when I said I wanted to see their reactions,” he explained.
“Is that artifact…” I pointed out.
“I didn’t plant a bug. The video of us getting along has been completely disposed of the moment the artifact exploded. If I could peek into that place from here from the start, then I wouldn’t have done something so troublesome as this. Ugh. It would be nice if I had a device like that,” he replied.
“Then…”
“I’m not sure if you’ve caught on already, Miss Yevkarina, but I wanted to see your reaction rather than the demon summoner’s reaction,” he said.
“...”
“Well, I’m not sure of this, but smart people would usually manage to find a way out even in desperate situations,” he added.
“...”
“I thought you were definitely going to send them a message, and I was right. Shall we watch the video again? I think we should slowly review the video that you and I recorded. Your fingers and eyes…” he started.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Your fingers, eyes, and legs,” he continued.
- 33 years old… Yev… karina.
“Take a look at your fingers here,” he pointed.
- That’s a bit surprising. How long have you been here?
- Seven years.
“And your pinky finger here,” he said.
- Firstly, I want to tell you that I have Miss Yevkarina with me. Isn’t that right?
“Take a look at your eyes here. I don’t think it’s Morse Code, so I don’t know what kind of code this is, but that’s not important because I’m sure it’s a code or signal used by the Republicans. It could also be a demon language used between demon summoners and demon servants, so as someone chosen by the light, I have no idea what it means. One thing I’m certain of is that you were trying to send a message to the demon summoner,” Lee Ki-Young explained.
“You’re imagining things. If you’re trying to get information from me, then you… picked the wrong person. I didn’t send any kind of message,” I told him.
“Hm, you may feel that way. You were acting like your usual self, and if you just wanted that moment to pass, you could’ve just done that. However, Miss Yevkarina, my eyes are pretty good. It’s a little better than most people, and I have good observation skills as well. I saw you keep sending messages to the demon summoner, so it seems like you haven’t been fully purified just yet,” he said.
“Nonsense,” I said.
“You think so? We can check to see if it really is nonsense. It will take some time to decipher the codes you sent, and I honestly feel like there’s no need to decipher them. Ah! I’m pretty sure about this part. Let me rewind it real quick,” he continued.
- I’m not a fraud. I know all of this is difficult to understand, demon summoner. However, I don’t compromise in situations like this. The one who needs to get out of the way when we meet is you. I have already warned you that I’m going to charge into the heart of the Republic, and you’re going to be there. You’re going to send troops to stop me, and you’ll have no choice but to pull your troops away from Castle Rock.
“Your fingers here as well. Shall we watch it again?”
- I don’t compromise in situations like this.
“You kind of flinched there, Miss Yevkarina. Let’s watch it again…” He pointed out.
- I don’t compromise in situations like this.
“I’ve heard this a lot from somewhere. I recall saying the same thing to you. To be honest, this sentence is one of the values that made me who I am today. Didn’t I say this line about five times already?” he asked.
“...”
“Convincing someone to think that they’re a certain person is a harder task than you think, Miss Yevkarina. You have to put on a useless show, and you also need to behave in a way that fits that particular situation. Now, let me ask you this—what kind of person do you think I am, Miss Yevkarina? I hope you see me as someone who doesn’t compromise. I’ve reminded you about that many times now—Cough! Excuse me. I’ll say it again,” he continued.
“...”
“I showed you many times the kind of person I am, but if the message you sent to the demon summoner just now was a message of denial, then I’ll be kind of sad,” he added.
- I don’t compromise in situations like this.
“Your finger here might be saying that there’s definitely a possibility or that it’s worth thinking about. Perhaps Lee Ki-Young is heading for the capital, or perhaps he doesn’t compromise. What do you think about my assumption? It sounds convincing, right?” he asked.
“You’re wrong. You’re completely off,” I replied.
“No, I’m not wrong. I’m not good at interpreting, but I’m sure my assumption is correct. Right now, I’m sure that scum, Jin Cheong, is having a meeting and thanks to your message, he believes we’re heading for the capital. Isn’t it nice to have a reliable friend like you?” he commented.
“Think what you what, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. You’re just nitpicking at useless things. I-It’s stupid of you to think that me moving my finger will make the Republic move their entire army to Castle Rock. I didn’t send them a message, and it’s also ridiculous for them to move the army based on a mere assumption. It’s nothing but a gamble,” I told him.
“I appreciate your nice advice, but I’m not doing this by solely relying on your words, Miss Yevkarina. I believe in the demon summoner, Jin Cheong. I believe he caught on to the signal you sent him during that short message and that he trusts you. Undying friendship! That’s what I believe in. Nice!” he exclaimed.
“You’re being ridiculous…” I commented.
“I’ll be the judge of that, Miss Yevkarina. Now, I’ll ask you again. I’ve told you again and again that I don’t compromise, so in this situation, what do you think I’ll do next? Will I not compromise and invade the capital? Or will I do the opposite?” he questioned.
“...”
“For you, is Lee Ki-Young an honest person who always keeps his word, or is he a bastard who never fulfills his promises and is always ready to abandon his principles?” he asked.
“...”
“The answer is… the latter! Lee Ki-Young is a bastard who always goes back on his word, and I’m always willing to compromise as well, Miss Yevkarina. Woof! Woof, woof! Woof!Hahahaha! Let’s go! To Castle Rock!” he started barking and shouting.
“...”
“Let’s gooooo to Castle Rock! Woof! Woof! Woof!”
“B-Bastard,” I cursed.
“Do you really think that I’m doing this because I wanted to? There are times when people have to abandon their principles, Miss Yevkarina,” he said.
1. Katia’s POV ☜
2. Yevkarina’s POV ☜
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