Rebirth in a Ruined Nation! The Life of a New Strategist Starting From Now - Chapter 97

Zetta Great War (12) – The Second Day – The Instigators

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Translator & Editor: Nisarah

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The night raid on the second day concluded when Loderite’s army withdrew around midnight.

Despite our victory, many soldiers collapsed due to exhaustion from the night raid.

With another battle looming tomorrow, everyone, except tonight’s watchmen, returned to their rooms, exhausted.

I struggled too, being second only to Rufa or possibly the worst in stamina.

I couldn’t relax because if I did, I might end up falling asleep. Luzel, Frein, Rufa, and I stared at the east gate. Diku stood by, ready to open it.

Silence prevailed as we awaited our comrade’s return.

After what felt like a long time, a silhouette approached the east gate.

That stature, it was Wickhharlt! “Diku!” I called, and the gate opened slightly for Wickharlt to enter.

“Sorry for being late. I took a detour to avoid being followed,” Wickharlt said, looking healthy. 

“Whoa!” Relieved, I almost collapsed. Diku caught me, while Rufa ran past me and hugged Wickharlt.

“How did it go? You did it, right?” Luzel asked, and Wickharlt nodded.

“I promised to open the gate the day after tomorrow and informed him about Loderite.”

Before leaving, I instructed Wickharlt not to mention Loderite until the last minute. This way, Zegabain would trust him a bit before learning about Loderite.

“As you instructed, I told Zegabain that if he confronts Loderite carelessly, Loderite might betray him. I asked him to keep Loderite’s information confidential, offering to testify against Loderite after reaching Gorber.”

“You did a perfect job, Wickharlt!” I praised him sincerely.

“Thank you,” Wickharlt replied with a refreshing smile.

Amidst the peaceful atmosphere, another man slipped through the gate and asked with a playful tone, “Hey, you’re not going to welcome me?”

Although he was wearing the Gorber soldier’s uniform, there was no mistake that he was Sazabi, the other ‘poisoned arrow’ that I released to the Gorber camp.

“My bad. Thanks for your hard work too, Sazabi. So, how was it?”

Sazabi exaggeratedly spread his arms and cheerfully explained, “Of course, I did a perfect job! By tomorrow, every single Gorber’s soldier will know about the rumor I spread!”

“You don’t need to go that far…it’s fine as long as the rumor reaches Loderite.”

Back at the military council, when I said I also wanted to make a certain rumor to reach Loderite’s ear, Sazabi immediately offered himself for the job, saying, “I can do it. Spreading rumors is kind of my specialty.”

Sazabi, one of the so-called King’s secretaries (which I was pretty sure was a front for this country’s intelligence agency) took a Gorber’s soldier’s uniform from a dead Gorber’s soldier and left the Fortress with Wickharlt.

The two men did their job perfectly. If the plan failed, that meant my assumption was wrong so I would gladly take all the blame.

“Now, we wait for the enemy’s move.”

As dawn broke, I looked at the disappearing stars.

***

“Zegabain! We need to talk!”

On the morning of the third day, Zegabain was woken up by a shout outside his tent.

“Please stop, he’s resting!” Zegabain heard his subordinate trying to stop the intruder. “Shut up! That’s also what you said last night! If you keep getting in my way, I’ll kill you!”

What a short-tempered man. So the commotion last night was caused by him.

As much as Zegabain wanted to ignore him, he didn’t want Loderite to kill his subordinate.

“What’s happening so early?” Zegabain asked.

“Loderite-sama wanted to see you, sir,” his subordinate answered with a troubled expression on his face.

As expected.

“Let him in and prepare a glass of hot tea.”

“Oh, hot tea! Give me one too.” Loderite said as he walked into Zegabain’s tent.

Zegabain frowned at Loderite’s words and added, “Prepare two glasses.”

Hmmph. How could a traitor act so brazen?

The rumor Zegabain heard last night from Wickharlt was about Loderite.

“Loderite is working together with Rudek. Loderite is leaking military information to the Rudek Kingdom in exchange for gaining military exploits.”

Wickharlt reported seeing a possible messenger from Gorber talking to the 4th Division’s knight last night. Only Loderite’s army attacked the fortress at night, and the night raid was also something Loderite did on his own, so, the Gorber’s soldier Wickharlt saw last night was likely a soldier of Loderite’s army.

If Loderite was indeed colluding with Rudek, then his many military achievements despite his incompetence could be explained. The fact that Gorber’s territory didn’t increase much despite Loderite’s numerous successful military campaigns only deepened Zegabain’s suspicion.

In addition, if Loderite was leaking information to the Rudek Kingdom, then it made sense that in a battlefield where Loderite was present, a Gorber general always failed.

The more Zegabain thought, the more his suspicion about Loderite grew.

However, after barging into Zegabain’s tent, Loderite accused him of a ridiculous thing.

“Zegabain! I don’t want to believe it, but are you colluding with our enemy!?”

“What do you mean? Loderite, even if it’s you, depending on your explanation, I won’t let you off!”

“I heard someone saw an enemy soldier entering your tent last night!”

Did what happened yesterday get leaked somewhere? Zegabain clicked his tongue inwardly. He couldn’t let Loderite know about Wickharlt. If Zegabain let Loderite know about Wickharlt, then Loderite would definitely pass the information to the Rudek people.

“I’ll ask you again. What do you mean? Who saw something like that and when?”

“Urgh…about that…I don’t know…”

As expected, Loderite didn’t bother to confirm the facts before confronting Zegabain.

“Don’t be fooled by random rumors. Right, since you’re here, I have a suggestion about our strategy moving forward.”

Unease spread through Gorbel’s camp.

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