Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 202: Battle of a New Era

After days of marching, we finally reached a point where the rebel-held fortress came into view.

"They seem to be preparing for a siege," Airen observed, glancing back at me.

"What’s the plan, Swen?"

"Like I said before—we end this in one blow."

"Are you sure?"

I smiled and nodded.

"It’s not something we could have hidden forever anyway."

The existence of mages would inevitably be revealed over time.

Reika was the strongest mage in this world, but she wasn’t the only one.

Besides, the strange feats I had pulled off in the past—like making it seem as though meteors had fallen from the sky—had already spread rumors across the continent that magic was real.

As I had mentioned before, if the truth would eventually come out, we might as well take full advantage of it.

"...Where is Lady Reika?"

Airen turned her head toward Reika, who stood behind me, visibly fidgeting.

"I... I..."

Her voice trembled violently.

Without a word, I reached out and firmly grasped her hand.

"Ah...!"

She flinched in surprise but quickly squeezed my hand back with all her strength.

"I... I’ll do it," she finally said, her voice much stronger than usual.

She wasn’t speaking in the timid, uncertain manner I was used to hearing.

"General Airen, Lord Swen... you both carry the burdens of this era. And Lady Serpina... she risked everything to save you, General Airen. And in turn, you have fought for me and so many others..."

She glanced down at her free hand.

"The food I eat, the clothes I wear, the fact that I’m even alive right now—it’s all because of the sacrifices others have made. If I have the ability to help but simply stand back, doing nothing... then I would be nothing more than a coward using guilt as an excuse."

"..."

Once she used magic, people would die.

Even if some survived with injuries, there would be casualties—many of them.

War had always been that way.

Ten thousand soldiers weren’t just numbers on a battlefield. Each one was a living, breathing world of their own, and all of those worlds would be destroyed.

Until now, Reika had only practiced magic on training dummies or trees.

But this time, she would take lives with her own hands.

For soldiers like Airen and me, it was just another part of war.

But for a civilian like Reika, that weight must have been unbearable.

And yet—she wanted to stand with us.

She wanted to repay Serpina’s kindness.

"...Understood."

Airen, too, must have recognized her resolve, because she gave a silent nod.

"Let’s begin. General Airen, once the spell is cast, charge in immediately."

"Understood."

I slowly unsheathed my rapier.

Reika saw this as her signal and closed her eyes, gathering mana in her hands.

"Haaah...!"

Flames ignited in her pale hands.

She pushed herself to her limit, expanding the fireball to its maximum size.

"...Lord Swen...!"

She sent it toward me.

I calmly raised my rapier and let the fireball hover at its tip.

Just like before.

Reika’s spell clung to my blade, growing even larger.

To be honest...

I hadn’t planned on ending this with my own hands.

But this time was different.

They had endangered Airen.

And that crime would be paid for.

Fueled by my smoldering fury, the fireball swelled even larger than the one I had used to destroy the castle walls before.

"T-That...!"

"Impossible! Magic actually exists...!"

"I told you! That white-haired mage—he was the one who summoned the meteors!"

I heard the murmurs of the soldiers behind me, but I didn’t care.

In fact, I welcomed their misunderstanding.

The more witnesses there were, the greater my influence would become.

"......!!!"

And then—

The moment I felt the flames reach their peak—

Take this.

I thrust my rapier forward.

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The fireball detached from the tip and shot toward the fortress.

BOOOOOOOM!!!!

A fortress’s defenses were nothing compared to a castle’s walls.

It crumbled like sand under the force of the explosion.

Reika and I coordinated, launching additional fireballs into the wreckage.

A red rain fell from the sky.

The once-proud fortress, standing alone on the vast plains, was reduced to rubble under the force of an unnatural power.

At that moment, I finally understood the thoughts of the scientists from the Manhattan Project.

Hadn’t one of them once said, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds?

This wasn’t a nuclear blast, but to the rebels inside that fortress, it must have felt like divine punishment.

Their crime?

Endangering Airen.

And—

Defying Serpina von Eingart.

"...!!"

"CHARGE!!"

"RAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

—Ah.

As Airen’s order rang out, our soldiers roared and stormed forward.

And at that moment—

I realized something.

Perhaps...

Perhaps the reason I was so angry wasn’t just because of Airen.

***

The rest of the battle was anticlimactically one-sided.

The ten thousand rebels, after experiencing a single magical attack, lost their morale and collapsed into a disorganized rabble.

It was no surprise.

Anyone who directly witnessed supernatural power would find their will to fight crumbling.

Of course, I wasn’t just standing idly by. I continued working in tandem with Reika, using magic to assist Airen until Reika’s mana was completely depleted.

According to her, mana was far more abundant in the northern continent compared to the central regions.

Her remarkable endurance must have stemmed from this mana-rich environment.

For us, this was a significant advantage.

For the rebels... it was nothing short of a catastrophe.

Unlike any battle they had ever fought, they now found themselves under attack from ice and fire—forces they had no way to counter.

Perhaps, in those final moments, they regretted their foolish rebellion.

This is enough.

Perhaps it wasn’t enough to fully repay Airen for saving me...

But at the very least, I hoped this battle would lift some of the burden from her shoulders.

She had been the one most tormented by the fact that Serpina was injured saving her.

"The fortress has collapsed! Move in and finish them off!"

Before I realized it, the battle had reached its final phase.

Airen would handle the rest.

My role here was finished.

And then—

"...Lord Swen."

Reika slowly approached me.

"Are you alright, Lady Reika?"

"Yes. I... I’m alright."

I gently took her hand.

She immediately tightened her grip in response.

She... wasn’t trembling.

Despite the cold sweat on her forehead, she stood firm.

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"I want to help everyone... with my abilities... I want to support you, Lord Swen, and as many people as I can. So... I’m alright."

"...You’ve done well."

"Lord Swen."

Reika turned to face me directly.

"I’m not going to hide anymore."

"...What?"

"For the peace of the continent. For General Airen. And... for my master. I want to do what I can."

Reika, who had always been timid, always unsure, always avoiding direct eye contact—

Now, she looked at me with more determination than I had ever seen.

Her pink eyes burned as if they could ignite at any moment.

I easily understood what she meant.

"But... are you sure?"

"There’s no point in hiding anymore... and I don’t think I need to. This is simply the flow of history. ...Father told me long ago that this moment would come."

"Lady Reika..."

"So... I won’t hide anymore. I will use this power. I may be inexperienced and lacking now, but... if I’m with you, Lord Swen... I’m certain I can make a difference!"

She meant it.

I nodded slowly.

"I understand."

"..."

We stood in silence, gazing at the ruined fortress.

From now on, warfare on this continent would change drastically.

Even the most experienced generals would struggle to adjust to this unprecedented new variable—magic.

Brilliant tacticians would be forced to rethink their strategies in a battlefield where magic existed.

With time, more mages would emerge, and eventually, people would not only grow accustomed to them but also develop countermeasures.

Magic was undoubtedly powerful, but it did not make one an all-powerful god capable of wiping out every enemy alone.

However, at least for now—

Reika and I stood at the center of this turning point.

I closed my eyes, recalling the name of the scenario in which Reika had first appeared.

[The Battle of a New Era.]

I could still vividly remember the description beneath it.

"With the emergence of a pink-haired mage, warfare on the continent has forever changed. Choose your sovereign wisely and lead them to victory in this new battlefield!"

This scenario had unfolded far earlier than it had in the game—

But regardless, Reika Nighhardt had finally made her mark on history.

A girl with pink hair and pink eyes, who loved making cakes, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) who struggled with self-worth, yet yearned to help others.

And the first mage in recorded history.

From this day forward, a new era will begin.

Like it or not, the clock of history was turning.

***

Three thousand versus ten thousand.

By the numbers, it should have been an overwhelming disadvantage.

But in the end, Airen—one of the greatest specialists in siege warfare—led our three thousand troops to a flawless victory, completely wiping out the foolish rebels who had openly declared themselves to be behind Serpina’s assassination attempt.

This battle would be remembered as the first recorded battle where a mage played a direct role on the front lines.

Unlike the battle at the northern fortress of Kelstein, where my ritual had sparked debates over whether or not magic truly existed, this time, there was no doubt.

Magic had finally made its debut on the battlefield.

And now—

The only thing left was to deal with the surviving rebels.