Young Master's PoV: Woke Up As A Villain In A Game One Day

Chapter 453: Strategy Discussion [II]

So…

That was embarrassing.

After Juliana joined us, we got her up to speed and moved forward with our discussion.

“Do you have an opening move in mind?” Michael asked me. “You know, considering we are playing a sloppy life-sized version of chess.”

“Oh, sure,” I pointed my chin toward the model of the three bridges connecting our side to Thalia’s over the central river. “Here’s the plan. You and Alexia and Kang will each lead a charge on one of these three causeways tomorrow at noon. You’ll retrieve the supply crates and then destroy the bridges.”

The silence that followed was deafening. And confused. And doubtful.

Michael and Alexia both were far too powerful to be confined to strictly one sector. And Kang, as my best scout, obviously needed to be mobile as well.

While the Medallions would have been safe in their hands, I needed them to roam freely as Pawns.

Because of the rules, Pawns had absolute freedom of movement on our own side of the river. If they weren’t tied down by an Officer’s Medallion, they could sprint from the left flank to the right flank to assist, reinforce weak points, or, in this case, execute a highly coordinated demolition job.

They knew that, too.

So the confusion didn’t stem from my troop allocation, but rather from the batshit crazy opening move itself.

I was suggesting madness.

“Wait, destroy them? All three bridges?” Ray was the first to find his voice.

“Why?” Michael picked up, just as shocked as everyone else. “If you destroy the bridges on day one, the supply crates will fall—”

“In the river for the rest of the war,” I finished for him. “I know. That’s the plan.”

Another silence. This one was laced with the realization that I had truly lost my mind.

“Okay. And do you also know how much harder it is to fight in water than on land?” Alexia quipped. “Because there are problems like — oh, I don’t know — having zero leverage, massive drag, buoyancy issues, and breathing limitations?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “I know how liquid density works, Alexia. Thanks.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

I ignored the ginger gremlin.

At that cue, Juliana tilted her head slightly. “You want to eliminate all reliable routes between the two sides.”

“Yes,” came my honest response.

“But still, why?” Michael pressed. “We definitely have the stronger side. We will win in a direct confrontation.”

“If,” I emphasized, “we can even force them in a direct confrontation. This stupid game is designed with rules and restrictions to specifically prevent a head-on clash of power until things have a chance to even out. They have strategic geniuses in their corner like Alice and my sister herself.” I omitted Casey’s name for now. “They will never engage in a fair fight and we cannot beat them in mind games. So what do you do when you’re forced to play a game of chess against a grandmaster?”

Michael thought for a moment, then made a helpless gesture. “You surrender?”

“No, you idiot,” I deadpanned. “You throw away the board, take out your knife, and stab them in the throat.”

“…I definitely don’t like chess,” Alexia mumbled, shrinking in her chair.

I huffed. “The point is that I’ll create so much chaos and introduce so many variables that they won’t be able to calculate their own next move, let alone mine.”

No one looked entirely convinced, but Juliana specifically didn’t shy away from voicing her opinion.

“Be that as it may,” she said, “but I just completed a rough estimation of our forces. We seem to have around four hundred and fifty Cadets in our ranks. Your sister should have somewhere between three hundred and fifty to four hundred as well. The difference in number is good for us, but our problem is with the quality. We have many Cadets with innate abilities that should help us dominate the land and skies. But naval prowess is where we are severely lacking. This was going to be my main concern coming into this meeting.”

She tapped one finger against the edge of the table and continued, her tone assessing. “If we destroy the bridges, we entirely eliminate our ability to contest the supply drops.”

I bobbed my head. “I know.”

She stared at me, then, thinking I still wasn’t following her because I was dumb, tried rephrasing. “If the water is our battlefield, we are willingly choosing the terrain where they have the advantage.”

“I know.”

Juliana scowled. “Then why? You know they even have Ivan, right?”

“Wait, who?” Michael’s ears perked up. “Who’s Ivan?”

“He used to be this meek little thing, but while I was looking away, he apparently made it into the top rankings,” the white-haired girl explained, her gaze coming back to find me. “From what I hear, he is unmatched in underwater warfare among the first-years. We won’t be able to get those supplies without losing dozens of our best Cadets if we challenge him in his own element.”

I gave her an unimpressed look. “Juli, I can’t overstate it. I know. I’ve already thought of everything you’re telling me.”

My Shadow looked like she was about to say something, before a realization seemed to wash over her. She closed her eyes, disappointed at failing to read my intentions earlier. “Oh. You’re going to turtle up.”

“Yes! Finally.”

“Wait, I don’t understand,” Ray spoke up.

Good thing he did.

I smiled at him like a butcher would smile at a pig. “Oh, we can’t have that. Because you’ll be important for the next part of the plan. From day two, you and a platoon of Cadets will be tasked with destroying the supply crates before they even hit the water.”

Ray’s jaw dropped. “You want me to… what?”

“Blow them up in mid-air,” I said, my smile sharpening. “Or shred them. Or melt them. I don’t care about the method, Ray. Just make sure whatever is inside those crates is completely unsalvageable by the time they reach the riverbed.”

Yeah, that was my plan.

Either she would have to pour all her resources into procuring the supplies, in which case I would do everything in my power to make it a living hell, or she would ignore the crates entirely and focus on launching a hungry invasion to end the war quickly.

In either scenario, the pressure was on her.

Of course, that didn’t mean it would be smooth sailing for us either.

Rationing food for an army of superpowered teenagers in the middle of a simulated rainforest was surely going to be a nightmare.

But after witnessing the fanatic masochism of my soldiers earlier, I figured they could take it.