━━━
【Turn 1 Start】
━━━
[Battlefield Briefing]
The Messenger of the Northern Grand Duke has issued orders.
“Assault the command unit of the Demon Army across the blizzard’s white zone.”
(Command Deadline: Until turn 10)
You are the commander of the Snowfield Knights, [Jaidas].
The Snowfield Knights are waiting for your command.
━━━
Choose or input this turn’s command.
[Move][Station][Scout][Messenger][Observe][Attack][Strategy][Special]
You chose [Move].
━━━
Jaidas began the operation to implement the military order with a glum face.
“I didn’t choose the Snowfield Knights for this.”
If the overall commander were the professor’s assistant Grachio, he would have rejected such a reckless assault request as akin to a suicide squad and disappeared without a word.
Just waiting it out until the war ends, helping only just enough to prevent the forces from collapsing, wouldn’t that be the best way to maintain your position and dispatch your rivals?
‘How can I do such a thing against the Northern Grand Duke!’
But what if the commander was the Northern Grand Duke?
It wouldn’t be strange to be identified as a traitor for refusing to carry out a military order or immediately get a stamp of being a defector.
Even worse, there are many units in this battlefield significantly stronger than the Snowfield Knights.
━━━
Snowfield Knights (20 Knights, 80 Apprentice Knights), Frontline Risk Level: 6
━━━
Golgotha Beheading Unit (50 Beheaders), Frontline Risk Level: 6
White Mage Corps (20 Magicians, 40 Apprentice Magicians), Frontline Risk Level: 8
Apnonia Pilgrimage Unit (35 Pilgrims), Frontline Risk Level: 9
━━━
Although the unit size is small, the Golgotha Beheading Unit, united under the faith of the Benevolent Deity, and the Apnonia Pilgrimage Unit, along with the renowned White Mage Corps led by field magician Irene, are formidable.
If any of the three appears before the Snowfield Knights, you could expect to fail the exam at lightning speed.
“Don’t worry, Lord Jaidas. This time, we are with you.”
“Unlike that first evaluation where we fought Oknodie and Hestia one-on-two, this time we have significantly more units under our command!”
If there’s one consolation, it’s that Jaidas’ reputation isn’t too shabby in this lecture.
Unlike Oknodie, who only solidifies connections with the top tier, Jaidas doesn’t neglect any network.
Impressed by his attitude of reaching out to the weak, the lower-class students promised to confuse the enemy in time for Jaidas’ assault.
━━━
【Turn 4 Start】
━━━
[Battlefield Briefing]
The messenger of the observation unit in the white zone arrived.
“The whiteout phenomenon caused by the blizzard in the white zone occurs every 5 turns.”
The messenger of the Snow Leopard Cavalry arrived.
“I will make an appearance right in front of the enemy on turn 8 and draw aggro.”
…
The messenger of the Hunter Archers arrived.
“We will ambush the retreat route and conduct a barrage on the pursuing enemies.”
The messenger of the white zone forces arrived.
“We will establish offensive operations to coincide with the Snowfield Knights’ retreat.”
━━━
It wasn’t even that they agreed on a starting point.
The lower-class students who started nearby cheering for Jaidas resulted in this.
– Oh no, damn it Oknodie, you bad guy! Why are you not guarding the mountain and instead staging a protest on the rooftops against our team?!
– Isn’t the purpose to breach the dam? What on earth does that mean, Oknodie… The enemy is not just soaking our lines, but our own positions are flooded too…
– Where did the command unit of Oknodie go? Is that automatic attack magic stick just hitting the retreat book by itself? Are we done for…?
The countless victims outraged by Oknodie’s ruthless trolling!
In contrast, all the lower-class students supported Jaidas, who expressed his hostility toward Oknodie.
“You can’t win a war by just being good alone. Given we can’t run away, I’ll prove our strength through the power of friendship and unity!”
━━━
【Turn 10 Start】
━━━
[Combat Briefing]
The assault operation crossing the blizzard’s white zone has commenced.
The enemy formation extended widely as they were tracking the [Snow Leopard Cavalry] that appeared in front.
The gap of the escort units guarding the Demon Army’s command unit was also wide.
The power of the charge and the speed at which it penetrated were exceptional.
“You arrogant humans. Did you think that assassinating our commander would halt our advance? Let me show you a fact you overlooked.”
The snow mounds piled at the demon’s feet dispersed instantly beyond 10 meters.
“Demons are ranked by the degree of dark mana they possess. The title of demon commander is given to the strongest entity in this unit. You are challenging the strongest enemy!”
The strength of the demon commander is formidable.
You must quickly decide whether to take the risk and duel, use the knights as sacrifices, or avoid the assassination and pass by.
━━━
Choose or input this turn’s command.
[Duel][Sacrificial Lamb][Avoid Maneuver]
Countdown: 10 seconds.
━━━
Jaidas made a logical choice.
━━━
[Sacrificial Lamb]
“Knights, the victory or failure of this battle in the white zone depends on our efforts. Make opportunities with your lives!”
Five knights dashed forward, disregarding death.
As the demon commander’s counterattack soaked the ground with their blood, your spear you threw pierced his heart.
━━━
The coordinated operations of numerous units hinge on this battle of the white zone.
Any failure is unacceptable, so achieving maximum merit with minimal sacrifice is not just a choice, it’s a necessity for victory.
━━━
【Turn 13 Start】
The Messenger of the Northern Grand Duke transmitted orders.
“The trap zone of the Hidden Crevasse has been breached due to the betrayal of the traitors. Retreat quickly before the entire defensive line collapses.”
(Command Deadline: Until turn 17)
You can claim you didn’t receive the orders due to the lack of the messenger.
The opportunity to expand your achievements appears before your eyes.
━━━
Choose or input this turn’s command.
[Move][Station][Scout][Messenger][Observe][Attack][Strategy][Special]
You chose [Move – Retreat].
━━━
Jaidas rushed across the battlefield in a frenzy.
Sacrificing twenty apprentice knights to overtake the advancing self-destructing demonic minions.
Five knights were sacrificed again to explode the self-destructive minions in the plains.
Again, soldiers fell to fight off demonic beasts spreading destruction, and although there were 100 members in the Snowfield Knights, not even 30 remained.
“We stopped it! It’s our victory!”
“Wowww!”
Still, they did it.
They successfully made the greatest contributions without being backstabbed by Oknodie.
Everyone couldn’t hide their pride in the results achieved by repeatedly making the best choices.
“Wait a minute. Oknodie chose the pilgrimage unit.”
“What about that? He always chooses the hardest battlefields, so he must have died long ago.”
“What if he didn’t die? What if he turned into a demon and is now fighting in this wrecked state?”
People jeered at their classmate’s ominous comments.
“Go ahead and jinx the exam, why don’t you.”
“Stop messing with the vibe and stay alert!”
Jaidas also tried to suppress the ominous feeling and continued to [Station] in the Capital.
The Snowfield Knights, who made significant contributions but lost many members, could enjoy recuperation in the Capital while waiting for the remaining turns to end.
They could relish the rewards for their significant contributions while keeping a safe eye on whatever tricks Oknodie may attempt.
━━━
【Turn 33 Start】
A messenger returned.
“The Apnonia Pilgrimage Unit has advanced to the [Seismic Zone of Noise Count] but has gone silent.”
Your rivals that you were concerned about most likely faced defeat.
Even if they claimed to have survived or achieved merits, they could not surpass your accomplishments by eliminating two of the three demonic forces.
━━━
But for some reason.
A chilling feeling lingered in your chest as if a dagger was stuck.
Oknodie isn’t the type to fall easily.
Distrust clung tightly to everyone as they remained vigilant until the end.
Thanks to this, they detected it just in time.
━━━
【Turn 35 Start】
“It has been detected that the messengers have been poisoned by dark mana!”
The statements of the messengers who had been conveying news to you have begun to be thoroughly reviewed.
The observation unit personally sent by the Northern Grand Duke delivered shocking news.
“The Demon Army is rushing towards the Capital at full speed in the shortest distance.”
“How many are there?”
“35.”
“…Just that?”
“It’s not just that. All 35 are demons consisting solely of demons!!”
All commanders of the units stationed in the Capital could only be left speechless in shock.
━━━
[Retreat]
You began to retreat without looking back.
The correctness of that choice would soon reveal itself.
Bombs fell on the Capital.
Screams echoed endlessly.
“What will happen to the North now?”
You could not answer the apprentice knight’s question.
The honor of the Snowfield Knights has fallen to the ground.
━━━
Finally, when it reached turn 40.
Jaidas, who fled without looking back, could barely obtain a survival reward.
However, those who survived and all those killed by the suddenly appearing Demon Army were equally stunned by the cataclysmic disaster.
“How could we handle the demon army with three demons handling one force each on three invasion routes?”
“Is this crazy?”
“What’s with this difficulty? Is there even a way to stop this?”
“Oknodie didn’t get through for no reason.”
“Wow… We should never go to the North.”
The fear of the demonic clan only grew endlessly among the students.
The Northern Grand Duke did not blame them.
To him, it was indeed a disaster.
However, there was a difference in perception.
The students saw this situation as a natural disaster.
To him, it was undoubtedly a disaster caused by human failure.
“You… what in the world are you doing to the Apnonia Pilgrimage Unit that believes in the Benevolent Deity? Aren’t you afraid of blaspheming the god?”
The students were taken aback.
Oknodie feigned ignorance.
“What do you mean?”
The Northern Grand Duke pointed out the shocking fact that surprised everyone.
“The 35 demons attacking the Capital perfectly match the number of the Apnonia Pilgrimage Unit. Are you going to pretend that’s just a coincidence?”
Jaidas, who thought he would no longer be surprised by Oknodie’s malice, felt that the Dark Princess’ evil exceeded human imagination.
A divine unit resistant to dark mana.
Oknodie had committed the heinous act of corrupting every single one of those sacred units into demons!
