The Master and the Strategist — Part Two
Meanwhile, in the camp commanded by the peacock beastman strategist.
With a fresh army arrayed before them, tension naturally ran high — yet they did not entertain thoughts of defeat. They had a strategist who had already brought them many victories. And rather than attempting anything new, they had simply layered additional traps onto the same defensive formation. Frankly, they were so confident they felt invincible, bordering on arrogance.
It was only natural that the peacock, who bore the burden of overall command, remained relaxed. She delegated the long-range observation to her kind — a race that could see great distances without even a telescope — and, covering her mouth with a fan, she began playing a game of chess by herself.
"Oh, they're coming."
"Calm yourself. Let us first see how this so-called master general of the orcs makes his move."
They had prepared their camp tightly and laid traps as a precaution, since they could not know what tactics the enemy would employ. The first steps were always the slowest, the moment that demanded the most caution.
—Uoooooo!!
"They've begun."
Even from a distance from the battlefield, the orcs' war cries could be heard — the master general's army was on the move. And the first tactic he revealed was—
—Aaagh!
—A trap…!
"L-Lumina-sama, they're just charging straight in?"
"Well, they're probably probing to see what we have. No need to get too excited."
Lumina's prediction had been correct. The enemy general, unfamiliar with the traps and the terrain, was simply dipping a toe in to test the waters. The fact that they had sprung a trap on their own men rather than the enemy spoke to the demonic race's barbarism — but if she had been in his position, she would have done the same. After all, experiencing something firsthand was always easier for gauging the situation than merely observing it.
There was nothing particularly surprising about this. Even if he was called a master general of the Demon Realm, he was still operating by Demon Realm standards.
Just treat him like an ordinary general, of course with a bit more caution…
It was no different from what she was already doing, but caution never hurt. There was no downside to being careful.
Orc Camp
"How is it?"
"Ugh… There are too many traps."
Several arrows were already embedded in the back of an orc who prided himself on his toughness. He wasn't nearly dead, but wounded soldiers with broken bones and various injuries were emerging in droves.
They had laid down incredibly creative traps in every direction. Even orcs who could normally push through with sheer durability found it difficult to advance properly.
And even if they managed to push deep inside, once night fell, the nocturnal beastmen would emerge and render all their hard-won progress meaningless.
"Hmm…"
Gornakh had to think this through. Others called him a master general, but in his own mind, he was just a single soldier. To be honest, he only employed common-sense tactics — he had never really thought beyond that or tried anything more elaborate.
"Now that I think about it, shouldn't the beastmen be showing up on a battlefield like this?"
"They've already suffered one complete annihilation and are calling in reinforcements from another direction."
"Haah…"
So there were already plenty of guys who had charged in and gotten properly wrecked. And the forest battlefield's most important force — the beastmen — had all been wiped out.
"Those damn bird-brained bastards."
"Though the bird-brain on the other side is commanding quite well, actually."
Even if "bird-brain" was a metaphorical insult, the one on the other side was a literal bird-brain who was commanding excellently. How could they have been annihilated by their own kind on their own home turf, the forest?
"Is the peacock from the original royal family of the beastmen?"
"Yes. The rebel faction is the one aligned with the Demon Realm."
They were currently split roughly in half, but the Beast Kingdom founded by the beastmen was still considerable in size. As a nation that spanned the territory between the Demon King's domain and the Human Realm, it had wielded significant influence. Some even claimed that the long war had begun with a civil war between beastmen who pledged loyalty to the Demon King and those who did not.
Still, since the original royal family had deep roots, the talented people probably sided with them.
"More importantly, is the peacock from a high-ranking clan?"
He had assumed that most high-ranking beastmen possessed considerable martial strength. The wolf race, known for their physical power and perfect leadership abilities, were said to be the royal family.
But a peacock?
"Well, there are always exceptional individuals among any race, aren't there?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Gornakh realized too late that the subordinate was including himself in that statement, and promptly rapped him on the head.
"No movement?"
"Ah, there is."
"Right. By now, he's probably come up with some idea."
To be honest, even if she were in their position, she wasn't sure there was a clear way to break through.
Is he just going to keep charging?
"I don't know if he's stupid or just has too many soldiers to waste."
Lumina, who had been idly fiddling with a single peacock feather in her hand, couldn't quite grasp the orc's intentions. More precisely, she was struggling to figure them out. She suspected there was something else going on.
"Ah, and I've brought a bit more information about that orc."
"What is it?"
"I think we can get a rough idea of the situation with the women in the Flower Garden."
She began examining the contents written on an unexpectedly large amount of paper.
"C-Could this actually be true?"
Lumina dropped the peacock feather from her hand, reacting with visible fluster.
From the smallest… to the largest of objects.
As she read through the written information, she found herself unconsciously drawing her legs together.
The enemy of women.
According to the described information, he was taming the beauties he had captured.
The thing beastmen hate most is the word "tame."
Yet there was no other adequate substitute for the term. In the most literal sense, the captured beauties were being trained to his tastes — and sexually, with meticulous precision.
"That gives me one more reason to defend diligently."
No matter how vile and wicked he was, those things only applied if one was caught. In other words, if you weren't caught, it didn't matter.
Still, it was unsettling. She was unsettled enough to break out in a cold sweat.
"Let me loosen up my body a bit."
"Understood."
The peacock headed toward the bath, and her dog-beastman maid followed.
"If only I were a dog-beastman like you, I could go out and inspect the battlefield myself."
"No, you are beautiful."
The peacock was magnificent. But among beastmen, peacocks were on the weaker side. No matter how much the times had changed, beastman society still valued martial strength above all. So bird-beastmen, who were relatively weak in strength, were considered non-mainstream.
Among the existing bird-beastmen, she was rated relatively highly for her splendor — but she still couldn't compare to the mainstream races.
If she could trade her magnificence for martial strength, Lumina would have done it immediately.
"If it weren't for the current king, I wouldn't even be here, so I should be grateful."
She said it carefully, then added:
"So I must guard even more diligently."
With that, she rose from the tub to wash her body.
"Let me wash your back."
"Thank you."
The dog-beastman maid glanced at Lumina's back.
To be honest, is it a lie for someone so beautiful to say things like that?
Conversely, the dog-beastman found the claim to be a lie. The magnificent tail feathers, the curves of her body — beautiful even from behind. Even the slight feathers at the corners of her eyes added to her unique splendor.
Perhaps by divine intention to prevent her from being overly flashy, her eyes were squinted — and that restraint made the excessive magnificence harmonious instead.
"What are you doing? Come out of the warm bath, I'm getting cold."
"Ah, understood."
Unaware of such feelings, she envied her maids even as they envied her — lamenting her own body.
And so, several useless allies were consumed.
The enemy certainly thinks so, at least.
He hoped they would look down on his intelligence with that arrogant gaze.
"Lord Gornakh, is this our first operation?"
"Yes. But don't get your hopes up too high."
He had been testing the waters and gathering experience. And since he had deliberately limited the assaults to a moderate level, they would certainly let their guard down.
By now, the beastmen reinforcements should have arrived — time to try the prepared strategy.
It wasn't a strategy no one could have imagined. But it wasn't a flimsy, vulnerable tactic either.
Even if she was called a strategist, she was a frail woman who had never directly commanded a battlefield. And he was an orc who had led from the front lines. Now was the time to show the difference.
To be honest, more than that…
"And, the information about taming beastmen… you know, that sort of thing. I've brought that as well."
"Good work."
It was a bit of a pickle, but he couldn't help but be happy at the thought of getting such beauties into his hands. So he should prepare a training plan tailored to beastmen in advance.
Of course, if they lost, nothing of that would matter.
—Everyone, move according to plan!
—Yes!!!
With a thunderous war cry, the first properly organized advance began.
No one knew whether the beastman strategist's defenses would crumble in one fell swoop under the orc's command.