Chapter 195
Chapter 195
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Chapter 5. Tree and Iron
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Watching Via set it down on the table, Judah muttered to himself. The moment his eyes fell on the large sheet of paper, automatically activated, updating a certain area.
'The map checks out.'
Yet something felt crude about it. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't just a feeling—it was genuinely rough. It didn't match the level of culture these people had built. Surprisingly, they seemed to find it sufficient, as red lines were drawn on it with annotations added.
The fact that had updated proved there were no issues with its role or function. Though he judged it crude, the elves were using this map to assess the situation, so Judah held his tongue.
"Is this red line the path the enemies are taking as they advance?"
Via nodded at Judah's question.
"The circles mark the enemy's current positions as last confirmed by our scouts, and the arrow directions are our predictions of their line of advance."
"Hmm."
There were eleven red lines, matching the information he'd gleaned from the knight using Carpediem's hypnosis. The knight hadn't known which path they'd take, but confirming all eleven advances made it irrelevant.
'Something feels off, though.'
Frowning as he traced the red lines' paths, Judah harbored doubts. They differed from the advance routes for Silan that he'd set in the scenario quest before arriving in this world. It could be a misreading due to the map's crudeness, so Judah activated both <Memo> and , placing them side by side in his vision to compare with the elves' findings.
"Got a blue pen?"
"Wait, if you're trying to mark the map, that's a problem. We need it for planning later..."
Planning with a map like this.
Not intending to belittle them, Judah kept his expression neutral.
"I know. That's why I'm asking for a blue one—so it doesn't get confused with the rest. If we're going to trust you, let's trust a little more."
Via hesitated at Judah's request before handing him a quill pen and a blue inkwell from the desk.
"First time using a quill."
He muttered while staring at the pen tip he'd received from her.
In movies, it seemed like you just dipped the nib in ink and wrote. Would that work?
She wouldn't miss that mutter. Via let out a small sigh and silently extended her hand. The meaning was clear: give it back.
"......"
Watching the proffered palm, Judah returned the pen.
"Hand over the ink, too."
"...Yes."
She opened the inkwell's lid and dipped the quill's nib. Up to this point, it matched Judah's knowledge, but then a faint trace of mana emanated from her hand, and the nib sucked up the ink smoothly. Via scribbled on a random scrap of paper on the desk, then nodded.
"Here, try it now."
Taking back the quill, Judah dotted a point. A perfect amount of ink flowed out, satisfying him. He immediately compared it to his invisible and began drawing new lines on the elves' map. Blue lines ran parallel to red ones in places, but not always.
Via watched Judah with intrigued eyes. He was comparing her map to something invisible. With his head bowed, it was hard to see clearly, but his gaze occasionally fixed on empty air—definitely odd.
No mana signature, so not magic. Maybe a special ability. Perhaps even foresight. It sounded absurd, but it could be the power of his fragment. Oblivious to her quiet observation, Judah tilted his head.
"I can't gauge distances on this map, so how long do you think it'd take them to reach this castle at this distance?"
"We don't know their marching speed through the forest, but assuming they're fast, five days."
"...Hmm."
Five days? Five days.
Still a little time left.
"This castle's called Brick, right?"
Judah pointed to the word "Brick" marked in the forest's center on the map. It had a castle sketch, but as mentioned, their map was crude. With other markers, he asked for confirmation.
"Yes."
Comparing it against his <Memo> records of future events and precise , differences emerged. Stroking his chin, Judah frowned.
"Via. I think these two lines should be treated as one."
"Pardon?"
Frowning, she approached and sat in the empty chair beside him. Without emotion, Judah pointed with the quill's tip to two red lines advancing straight toward the castle from below.
"That makes it ten branches, not eleven."
"Yes, exactly. Ten branches. The last one should be up here."
Using the quill, he circled an approximate position and sketched an advance direction. Watching, Via's face stiffened.
"Why do you think that?"
"Which part? Merging the two lines? Or the additional one from this direction?"
"Both."
It was mere speculation based on <Memo>, so he couldn't speak with certainty.
"First, merging the two: their starting positions differ, so they haven't fully converged yet. By their positions, I figure they'll merge tomorrow. Even following your predicted paths, they'd naturally combine, right?"
"......"
"And assuming one more from here: the knight said two combat clans from Calypso are joining this war. If one of the eleven is missing, this direction is the most likely. It's not precise info, but better safe than sorry. Send a scout to check."
"......"
"Since I'm sharing, a few more of your predicted paths seem off. This one on the far left... I wouldn't head for this castle; I'd go for the World Tree. While I'm at it, most of your predictions are wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Not calling you stupid—don't misunderstand. Absolutely not. It's just... these routes seem drawn for the ideal scenario. If you've killed or driven off every human approaching the forest so far, it's normal they wouldn't know the forest's layout or your castles' positions, right?"
Unknown castle locations, yet most of an eleven-pronged force passes through it? Unlikely. Plenty of paths without converging on the castle just to split again. Plus, per <Memo>, three prongs converge here, besiege, and quickly capture it.
"And honestly, this castle isn't that large or in an impregnable spot by human standards. Sure, its presence versus absence is huge, and without siege weapons they'd struggle... but do they even need to take it?"
The elf forest was mostly vast plains. Few hills or mountains, and negligible strategic spots. This castle was just a wall. Meaning, 30,000 of 210,000 troops could pin it down easily.
"Just leave enough to threaten the castle and send the rest elsewhere. Or, if they mass here as you predict, sheer numbers will overrun it immediately."
Glancing at her beside him, her face had paled—had she not considered this? Judah shrugged.
"Well, this is just the worst-case assumption—not worth such a grim face."
"No. You might be right; we could have been too complacent."
Via bit her lip, staring holes into the map. But staring wouldn't yield solutions. As she said, elves had lived complacently. Was it ignorance of surviving thanks to the fragment [Lusen Ardahan] that fell from the sky a century ago with Perlnirn? Or over-reliance on it? All they'd done was build castles and train guardians for the elf queen and World Tree.
'...Come to think of it, elf forces barely exceed 30,000?'
Judah frowned. 10,000 guarded the World Tree; the rest 20,000 scattered across castles and villages. Even scraping them together was laughably short against 210,000.
Hoping the numbers were wrong, but this world followed the game's story. Judah had twisted fates elsewhere, but elf forest impact was minimal, so numbers likely accurate.
'This is seriously dire.'
Judah swallowed. He hadn't seen 210,000 himself, so it felt unreal too. But unlike him, Via had witnessed the human invasion a century ago and bore immense pressure to protect the forest and elves. Yet she seemed relaxed. No—clueless on countermeasures.
"If it's not rude, may I ask about your forces?"
"No. As you said, that would be impolite; hard to share."
"Then, how do you plan to handle this?"
"Well..."
Her hesitation widened Judah's eyes in surprise.
"Wait. Surely you've at least proposed some plan?"
"......"
"Seriously? What are you banking on for this complacency? You being Sword Saint? Or you and other spirit sword wielders? Or the Lord's fragment?"
Her silence drew a hollow laugh from him.
'Did I set the elves this pathetic?'
...Ah, yeah. I did. That's why in the scenario, they lose part of the forest and get enslaved.
Of course, not just patheticness. Three main defeat reasons.
First: Greedily defending vast areas with few numbers.
Second: Greatest asset, Sword Saint Via, tied down by the man called Spear Star.
Third: Trusted [Lusen Ardahan] neutralized by Langritsa battle clans joining from Calypso.
Once defeated, elves crumbled, losing most of the forest and retreating to the World Tree. Then player joins, repels Spear Star with Sword Saint, rallies late, survives.
If Judah hadn't come.
If he'd followed Jeanne and Wolfram's offer in Urun to skip rescuing elves and head to Byron Empire, elves might've followed scenario: pushed to World Tree or extinct. Plausible. Judah chuckled in disbelief.
"Really, dense or dumb? Or am I misunderstanding?"
========== Author's Note ==========
1) Ugh, trying to write the parts I only planned out, and hours aren't enough. Trembling.
Reflecting on my lacking skills...
2)
Q1. Curious how far the story's progressed! If Judah's level hits 50 or even 100 max, maybe 1/5 or 1/4? How much done??
A. No idea. For real! It'll end when I write it, right?
Q2. Talking next work would explode comments and recs.
A. No time or energy for next work... hasn't even ended yet.
Q3. Does explaining why this chapter's "Tree and Iron" spoil? If not, could you note in next afterword?
A. Don't overthink chapter titles I jotted. Just slapped on catchy ones. Tree = Elves, Iron = Humans. Like that.