I told the elven General, "Please take care of the battle here," and returned to the mountain path we had come from.
(Well, it's been a whole day since our march and both the north and south sides of Fortress LaPolca have begun to move firmly.)
I had a better grasp of the situation around me because of E-rank Bird.
First of all, to the south of the Fortress LaPolca, magical beasts were coming out of the cities, which had been intentionally abandoned and occupied by the Demon King's army, and they were forming a mass. This was probably to use the outer wall of the fortress to pincer the elven army attacking from the south from behind.
And to the north of the fortress, the magical beasts that were within the range of the day's gathering had already entered the fortress. On top of that, an even wider range of magical beasts were gathering.
The north and south would reach Fortress LaPolca in a few days.
(They're acting fast as usual. But the Demons need to come to the front.)
Ellie was still hiding in a large building inside the Fortress LaPolca, but there was still no conversation or atmosphere that the three Demons were about to come to the front.
"The Demon King's army is moving fast as usual. So far, though, they've stayed within our expectations."
"Yes."
While walking along the mountain path, I informed my friends of the situation.
(Oh, there it is. It's a long way back, but it's just right, isn't it?)
"Cecile, Formar, keep an eye on our surroundings. If you see any flying bats, shoot them down."
""All right.""
(Okay, Mogusuke. You're up!)
I summoned a G-rank Beast, which was about the size of a medium-sized dog and had the appearance of a mole.
Although it couldn't speak, it seemed somewhat happy that its role had arrived.
"You want it to dig but Allen, the ground here is pretty hard."
I had told my friends that I would dig a tunnel in the ground to create a passage and capture the Fortress LaPolca.
I kept my mouth shut to the elves until the last minute, because if the information leaked out, we would fail.
(Is the ground hard?)
There was almost no soil or humus on this mountain, and the surface was rocky and very hard. Kurena wondered if it was possible to dig a tunnel in such hard soil.
"Moguske, [Dig]."
"..."
G-rank Beast looked at me for a moment, and then used its special skill [Dig] and tried to dig up the bedrock near the designated large rock. However, it couldn't dig the rocky soil because it was too hard.
Even Mogusuke's awakening skill [Burrow] had no effect.
"Look, it can't. Allen."
"Kurena, Mogusuke's speciality is digging. There's nothing written in the Grimoire about its limitations. Don't take the liberty of narrowing down the effects of your skill."
"What?"
After saying that, I strengthened Mogusuke. The claws on its hands grew larger, and its [Attack] increased by 1000. Mogusuke began to dig with tremendous force.
Mogusuke used its awakening skill [Burrow] and accelerated the pace of digging. I used and again and again to increase the speed of digging the tunnel.
"Awesome."
"Don't assume you can't do something that isn't written down. If you do so, you'll never be able to do it."
"Yeah."
When I said that much, Kurena seemed to understand what I was talking about.
Nowhere did it say that activating her Extra Skill [Limit Break] only allowed her to use normal attacks. She was the one limiting herself.
"Well, I will start by doing what's written first."
Dogora, the only one in the party who hadn't been able to use his Extra Skill, muttered.
"You're right. First of all, you have to know the 'reason'. After that, it's important to look for 'room for growth'."
"Reason and room to grow?"
When I was at the Academy, I preached to everyone about skills, levels and status.
This was because knowing those theories would have helped them become stronger in the most efficient way.
However, if they stayed within those rules, their growth would stop there. It was important to always look for room for growth that was not written in the rules. There is always room for growth when you question the rules.
"Dogora. This is what Moguske is capable of. It can dig. First, you need to know what you're capable of."
"What am I capable of?"
Dogora then stared at Allen back as he looked at Mogusuke.
After that, I continued to let Mogusuke dig, sometimes letting B-rank Fish to check its position. After the day's battle, I knew where the magical beasts would gather in the fortress. Since I also knew the formation of the Demon King's army during the siege, I had an idea of where to go out of the fortress.
Then Mogusuke dug a hole sufficiently deep and stopped when it was almost through the fortress.
The decisive battle was set to take place the next day.
It was almost dusk and both armies decided to end the battle for the day.
My friends and I gathered the Generals after dark. The curtain was put up and a bonfire was lit.
While everyone was staring at the simple model of the Fortress LaPolca and its north-south limit, I talked about our attack on it.
"I see, so that was your plan. I didn't think you were planning to take down Fortress LaPolca in two days."
"Yes, General Lucidral. We had been unsure if we could even try this plan, but after today's battle I am sure that we can.
While the Demon King's army was moving very fast, that time I kept quiet so that the whole operation couldn't leak out.
The Generals knew that I wouldn't tell them my plans until the last minute. And they knew that Sophie, their Princess, had been informed of the plan to some extent.
The Queen and her Generals moved 50,000 troops without forcing Sophie to learn of the full plan, as long as she did not object to it.
"If this mission fails, there will be no future for Rosenheim."
"That's right. So I would like to leave the final decision to the Generals."
"Ugh."
Coming to the front lines from Nest City, Lucidral was the supreme General of the northernmost fortress.
Defeated and injured beyond combat himself, he had dropped back to Nest City.
By the grace of God, he had made a full recovery and returned to the front lines.
"I'll tell you about the north-south movement of Fortress LaPolca."
Confirming the movements by evening, I said that in three more days, reinforcements would arrive at the fortress from the north and the Demon King's army from the south would attack.
"It will be a tough fight."
"This war has been tough from the start. But as far as I'm concerned, it's also where we should push ourselves."
There was also a way to fight the Demon King's army in a long-term battle while cutting down the number of Demon beasts in a straightforward manner.
As for the pincer attack from the Demon King's army from the south, we could return to the mountain road and fight them while defending ourselves. Furthermore, reinforcements from Tiamo were still available.
However, in a long war, we would not have been able to compete with 4 million reserve troops.
(I never thought they'd be moving 4 million reserve magical beast units all at once. Do they want Rosenheim that badly?)
I was able to find out that the Demon King's army would be attacking Nest City with an army of 3 million from the north by land and 1 million from the south by ocean, using Ellie that had infiltrated Fortress LaPolca.
We didn't have much leisure time. We had to capture Fortress LaPolca fast.
I shared the movements of these reserve units of the Demon King's Army with the Generals.
"Haha, we are totally cornered in this situation, but we have no choice. Master Allen."
"Yes."
"We'll follow Master Allen's plan. Tomorrow, we will capture Fortress LaPolca."
"Thank you, sir. Now, let me tell you the detailed strategy. First, the placement and infiltration route of the Demon King's army. ..."
Me and my friends and the Generals coordinated our plans late into the night. The General knew about the characteristics and strengths and weaknesses of the elven troops better than I did.
And the next morning came.
(Hmmm... I'd say we defeated 10,000 magical beasts.)
When I woke up, I checked the results of the night raid that my summons had conducted.
My summons had been attacking the fortress all the time. Even while I was discussing the strategy with the Generals.
While I was awake, I sent out reinforcements based on the damage, but while I was asleep, if they got defeated, no reinforcements would arrive.
As I was getting ready, the soldiers, who had woken up much earlier than me, were already starting to form their ranks.
"Well then, Master Allen, I look forward to working with you."
One of the Generals greeted me.
"I look forward to working with you too. Let's leave on time."
"Yes."
The General said he wanted us to take our time getting ready. I knew everyone had been fighting for Rosenheim, even cutting down on their sleep so I decided not to rush them.
I finished my breakfast with my friends, talking about the last collaboration.
(Was this how the sun was positioned?)
Check the position of the sun and confirm the exact time with the magic tool.
"Then today is the day we take back Fortress LaPolca!"
""Oh!""
Tens of thousands of troops began to leave at the same time as the day before.
However, 5,000 or so elves remained waiting at the departure point.
A General was organizing their ranks.
They were a separate unit that was going to work with us.
This was how Allen and his friends entered the second day of their attack on Fortress LaPolca.
