The Strongest Dull Prince’s Secret Battle for the Throne

After observing the withdrawal of the enemy Dragon Knights, Leo held a war council inside the castle.

“How do you see it? Marquis Greisner.”

“It might be a trap. Or perhaps they are simply replacing their troops because their reinforcements just arrived.”

“So you see it like that too huh.”

“The Dragon Knights can rush back to the frontline immediately even if they are a little far away. If we use this opportunity to attack then I think we can expect the enemy to counterattack.”

“……how many of them withdrew from the frontline?”

“The report estimated around 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers, Your Highness.”

“….That’s a lot.”

Leo was stuck.

If they withdrew only their injured soldiers then it would make sense but the number of Dragon Knights and troops that withdrew from the frontline is too large.

He couldn’t understand their intention at all.

Marquis Greisner suspects that this is an enemy’s trap but if it really is a trap then their way of doing it is too obvious.

Using this timing to go on an offensive wouldn’t be reckless for them either.

Leo doesn’t think that the Dragon Prince would misread his opponent’s ability like that.

It is all too unnatural.

“What do you think? Katrina.”

Among those who participated in the war council, only Katrina has a difficult expression on her face.

Thinking that she might notice the unnaturalness of this situation, Leo asked for her opinion.

“If we think about it normally then this might certainly be a trap. However,  we estimated the number of their reinforcements to be around 10,000. To withdraw 8,000 troops with that amount of reinforcements is too unnatural. If this is truly a trap then I think that it is too crude to be the Dragon Prince’s work.”

“I think so as well. He wasn’t someone optimistic enough to think that we would not leave the castle when the Dragon Knights are away from the frontline. Still, this might actually be a show he put on for us.”

“Perhaps he aims to confuse us?”

“But Katrina, what do they stand to gain by deploying a confusion tactic now? With 10,000 reinforcements added to their number, their siege is perfect. Even if 8,000 of them withdrew, they would still have 2,000 more soldiers than before. The one who should deploy such tactics should be us, no?”

“Yes, Otou-sama. I am confused about that as well. I still can’t wrap my head around why they would do this.”

Since they have the upper hand, they don’t need to go that far to confuse their enemy.

Leo’s goal here is to earn time but there is no reason for William to panic either. Right now, he couldn’t understand the reason behind the enemy’s movement.

If it is not about time then it must be about their supply.

However.

“The reinforcements that just arrived had a lot of carriages with them. Their supply situation should be good enough.”

“They have both time and supply. Then why would they resort to a trick………”

Leo ponders on it and completely shuts out all the sounds around him.

As he dives into his thoughts to find the reason behind William’s action, one thing stood out.

Why would he do something that would not provide a clear result when it is unnecessary? The answer is that it is in some way necessary.

Then what necessitated such a large-scale troops withdrawal?

He has no problem with time and supply.

Even so, he exaggeratedly put on a show for them to see his movement—–

“His withdrawal is real……..”

“Meaning?”

“The enemy Dragon Knights have actually withdrawn. Perhaps alongside thousands of troops. That’s why he exaggerated his withdrawal to confuse us.”

“Even so, it doesn’t change the fact that the enemy still has the advantage though?”

“That’s right. This withdrawal shouldn’t affect their superiority. But they still resorted to a trick like this. In other words, the enemy’s internal working is worse than we think.”

“……..Not only the Dragon Knights but the Dragon Prince himself also withdrew?”

“If we think of it like that then it makes sense. If the commander changes, they wouldn’t want to be attacked while their chain of command is in chaos.”

Leo looks at the map on his desk.

Among the pieces placed on it, Leo points to the large piece on the enemy side.

“Who is the commander of the enemy’s reinforcements?”

“We still couldn’t confirm yet, Your Highness.”

“Look into it. If it is as I expected then this might be our biggest opportunity to strike.”

William’s weakness in this battle is that he is a prince of another country.

This is Gordon’s rebellion. If William plays too much role, it would be hard to tell the real leader of their faction.

Even if Gordon can tolerate that, the others won’t.

Until now they may not raise any complaint but recently William has committed blunders of losing a portion of his supply and allowing Leo’s side to transport supply in from the outside.

It is not just William’s responsibility alone but there is a good chance that someone on the enemy side is taking advantage of it.

“Gordon is not here. So the commander that has a high enough rank for the generals to follow would be either Conrad or Henrick.”

“If the enemy’s commander changed from the Dragon Prince to an inexperienced prince…….I think that the enemy will lose a significant amount of their strength.”

“If the enemy’s commander has really changed, will we use this opportunity to launch an offensive?”

When that question was raised by Katrina, Leo shakes his head.

The situation may seem to be in Leo’s favor but this is just one side of the coin.

If he misread the situation, they will be the ones who got lured out instead.

“If the commander of their reinforcements is really Henrick then we will attack. But if it is Conrad we will not move. It is almost certain that it will be a trap after all.”

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

“Henrick has a lot of pride. It is likely for him to collide with Prince William. But Conrad is different. He always does things properly and won’t be putting himself at risk by fighting against a strong opponent without the chance of winning. That’s why if it is Conrad who leads the reinforcements, it is likely that it will be a trap.”

Leo said so why remembering the faint smile on Conrad’s face.

He is the one who is most similar to Al among the princes. That is Leo’s impression of Conrad. For Leo, that impression is the highest evaluation that he can give to anyone.

“We should be wary of Prince Conrad? I have not heard much good reputation about him though…….”

“Remember this well. It is those who have a bad reputation among the Imperial Family that you should be especially wary of.”

Whether it be Traugott or Al, their reputation is the worst.

However, reputation doesn’t equate to real ability.

Leo gets that same feeling from Conrad.

“Then we will focus on reconnaissance. Since the Dragon Knights are absent, conducting reconnaissance from the sky should be easy.”

“I leave it to you. Try not to get noticed as much as possible.”

“That will take time. Are you sure, Your Highness?”

“I don’t mind. If Prince William really went so far as to confuse us then the new commander must be unreliable. If that is the case then it is almost certain that it’s Henrick. And if it is Henrick then we will have plenty of opportunities to strike.”

“However, Prince Henrick has absorbed some of Princess Zandra’s former subordinates. There might be a unit of mages gathering around him.”

“They will not become a threat. If Henrick was in cahoot with his mother and sister then it would be one thing but he distanced himself from them because of their bad reputations. We have no need to be wary of Henrick’s ability on the battlefield.”

Declaring so, Leo turned his gaze back to the map.

The only thoughts in his head are how to break through the enemy’s encirclement.

For Leo, Henrick was not someone that he has to be vigilant about.

Henrick, who had studied both academic and arts of war is quite an excellent individual. However, since he has nothing that he specialized in, he never stood out.

His balance might be good but he is not skilled.

If he kept learning then he might be able to be a jack of all trades but he did not reach that level.

Henrick himself is aware of that.

That’s why he saw Leo as his rival.

After all, they are of the same lineage.

However, Leo has elevated himself to the level where he could do everything at an excellent level.

For Leo, what he is wary about are those who excel in one specialized field.

To him, a half-baked jack of all trades like Henrick is the easiest opponent.

“Since his position is not secured, he wanted some credits of his own huh…….”

It is because of their advantage that they have enough leeway to fight each other for credit.

However, the status quo of this battle will soon change.

An experienced general would know how much credit they can claim on the frontline. After all, if they ended up losing, there would be nothing left to claim.

However, Henrick doesn’t have a sense of that yet.

“It is obvious that someone like Henrick is incompatible with Prince William though……”

Gordon might not be able to recognize that.

Leo understands him.

For Gordon, William is his ally and best friend. He wouldn’t expect Henrick to go against him. 

However, the people around Gordon should notice that.

“It seems that the other side is not so united huh……..”

While thinking about the struggle William has to go through, Leo sighs.

Gordon’s side may not be solidly united but the Empire is not either.

A good proof of that is the fact that Eric, who should be someone that is very skilled at negotiating with the Sokal empire, still couldn’t conclude the alliance yet.

Not long ago, a giant monster appeared in the Sokal empire and caused large-scale damage to their land.

Allying itself with the Empire, for the time being, is not a bad deal for Sokal either.

The reason why the negotiation is still not finished yet even though their interests are aligned means that it is intentionally delayed.

Leo predicts that the negotiation will not conclude until he is defeated.

However, that is within his expectations.

After all, the reinforcements he is expecting are not the Eastern Border Defense Force led by Lize.

“Now……let’s think up some plans for a counterattack.”

Saying so, Leo started moving the pieces on the map.

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