Chapter 494 – Strategy Meeting in the Deep Sea

The room we were led to by Queen Eldorene contained a round table.

What was particularly noteworthy was that the water had been drained from the corridor beyond the door all the way to this hall. Perhaps they had used magic to drain the water as a gesture of welcome when receiving reinforcements from Verdgar in the palace.

All the furniture appeared to be made of stone. Well, wooden chairs and tables probably couldn’t be placed underwater. The surfaces of the round table and chairs were coated with the same material as the building materials, suggesting this hall was normally underwater as well.

It could be said to be the perfect place for a strategy meeting. Once everyone had taken their seats, Queen Eldorene began to speak.

“I am Eldorene, ruler of the sea country… Grantios. First, I wish to express my deep gratitude for the noble intentions, faith, and bond with the surface world shown by the brave warriors who have come to assist us from above.”

Saying this, Queen Eldorene, who was using a Humanization Spell, stood up and bowed. It was a gesture following surface world etiquette.

“Before we begin the strategy meeting—though modest, we have prepared a banquet to celebrate our welcome and friendship. While the ingredients we usually consume are one thing, the cooking methods as they are might not quite suit those from the surface world. Please rest assured on that matter.”

Hmm. As for dishes that can be made underwater… perhaps sashimi and such? A savory aroma was also drifting in, so it seemed they had drained the water to prepare surface world dishes by boiling and grilling, waiting for our arrival.

Soon, court ladies began bringing food into the hall. As expected, it was entirely seafood. Boiled fish, grilled fish, shellfish, shrimp, octopus, squid. Many were familiar as ingredients.

“I would like to serve food to those who remained on the Sirius later as well.”

“Shall we have them come here in shifts?”

“Then I shall send a messenger to the ship to arrange that.”

Queen Eldorene smiled at my words, nodded, and replied as such.

Well then, first comes the dinner before the strategy meeting.

Given they were surface world dishes, I got the impression they had thoroughly researched the seasoning and such. They were skilled at bringing out the characteristics of each ingredient, which felt fitting for a sea country.

Between Queen Eldorene’s earlier actions and this food… it seemed they had knowledge about how to receive guests from the surface world. Perhaps there was a time in the past when they had more actively interacted with the surface.

In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed the served dishes. Looking around at everyone’s expressions, they seemed to be responding well too.

As the dinner settled down and the plates carrying the food were cleared away, the relaxed atmosphere gradually tightened.

“Now then… shall we move on to the strategy meeting?”

Queen Eldorene, having judged the timing appropriate, looked around at everyone as she spoke. No objections were raised. This time, seabed maps were brought into the hall. They were the same ones Queen Eldorene had been looking at in her room earlier.

With Rovisa and the other Water Guardians, Marion and the other Siren representatives, plus Weltes and the other Fishfolk military officers joining, the strategy meeting began.

Maps… though they were actually three-dimensional models made of stone. Colored paint had been applied, making the coastline easy to understand. Several maps were combined and placed in the center of the round table, allowing us to see a wide area of the seabed from around Aianos to relatively distant regions.

“I recognize these islands and coastline around this area.”

“Hmm. Indeed, this is the Duke’s territory.”

When Duke Driscoll pointed out familiar terrain in one corner of the map, Grand Duke Debonnis nodded.

For us, it might be easier to understand the positional relationships using the land as reference.

“Indeed. This is where we are now—Aianos.”

Pointing to a valley between mountains spreading across the seabed, Queen Eldorene spoke.

“Aianos is a relatively new location historically,” added Rovisa. Queen Eldorene nodded.

“Indeed. It didn’t even exist when the Sea King ran wild. Therefore, it’s convenient for hiding from them.”

I see. So that’s why it was chosen. Well, there were probably other factors considered too, like capacity, convenience, and geographical advantages.

“And—the City of the Sea, Grantios, is here.”

Weltes pointed.

It was northeast of Aianos. The City of the Sea, which also gave the country its name—Grantios.

I had guessed from the words about sealing the Sea King in a sea rift… but indeed, it was a place with a deep trench.

What becomes important here is probably the positional relationship between Grantios and Aianos.

Between Aianos and Grantios, flat plains spread across the seabed, suggesting Queen Eldorene and her forces had chosen locations where they could easily deploy troops.

So abandoning Grantios was likely temporary to avoid exposure to contamination, and they were definitely planning to recapture it.

“As for me… this area concerns me,” said Auria, pointing to rugged terrain beside the plains.

“…Indeed, if the Sea King were to place ambush troops against enemies approaching from the southwest, that area would be easy to hide in.”

Rosemary furrowed her brow while examining the terrain, and both the Grand Duke and Duke nodded.

Auria… being the head of the Adventurer Guild, she must have experience with large-scale monster subjugations, hence her comment.

“We also see this nearby area as problematic. When attacking the City of the Sea from the southwest, placing troops here to strike the enemy army’s rear as they pass through would be standard tactics.”

“However, attacking from other directions appears to involve many locations that would make fighting more difficult.”

“Even if we can swim above them, there are many narrow paths and terrain suitable for ambushes, making it hard to utilize our numerical advantage even if we try to crush the ambush troops… Hmm. Quite fitting for the City of the Sea, I suppose.”

The Grand Duke and Duke made grim faces while looking at the terrain around Grantios.

“I suppose we can’t just pass over them while ignoring the possibility of hidden enemies and pincer attacks. Interception would likely come from Grantios too.”

“Indeed. We cannot ignore the enemy soldiers likely hiding there. However, attacking across the seabed is difficult because we cannot rely on numbers due to the terrain.”

Queen Eldorene nodded at my words.

While military operations underwater have some different aspects, ignoring terrain seems to be similarly impossible.

“Then… what about detouring this way?”

“That area might look good just considering the terrain, but it’s a sea forest—densely grown with long seaweed.”

Ah. That would be convenient for placing ambush troops.

So then… attacking from Aianos would indeed be the best strategy.

Considering that the shark men, who are the Sea King’s Subordinates, haven’t returned, the Sea King will probably deploy ambush troops in the area Auria pointed out before sending out scouts in this direction.

“…Then, what about attacking directly from this direction, crushing the ambush troops as we advance?”

What I indicated was a route that slightly circled around the plains and headed straight through the area where the ambush troops were hiding. Since eyes were on me, I continued with supplementary explanation.

“With the Sirius at the center, we advance from above while hiding our presence with Light Magic. If we search the seabed with Life Detection—”

“You mean we can destroy the hiding forces one by one while striking the flank of the enemy troops likely deployed on the plains?”

“Yes.”

I nodded at the Grand Duke’s words.

“Oh… Interesting. If we can detect the enemy’s position without them noticing, then the ambush troops would merely be dispersing their forces.”

“From the scale of the scout teams likely coming to Aianos and the ambush troops they’ve placed, we should be able to roughly estimate the enemy’s overall size,” said Elliot. Elliot was originally from Silvatoria’s Magic Knight Order, so such calculations would be his specialty.

“Indeed. At present, the enemy troops aren’t being reinforced, so the estimates shouldn’t be too far off.”

“Um… The existence of the Sirius probably isn’t in their calculations… If we do this well, we might be able to create a situation where we can launch simultaneous attacks from both the front and flank of the enemy troops deployed on the plains?”

Prince Helfried spoke. At his words, Rosemary glanced briefly at Helfried but said nothing, quietly closing her eyes. Probably meaning the strategy wasn’t wrong.

“Then what about us forming teams and advancing in coordination from the front? Attacks from two directions would certainly increase effectiveness.”

When one of the military officers spoke, they nodded in agreement.

Right. The ambush troops would exert maximum effectiveness after enemies coming from the front pass through and combat begins with the forces deployed on the plains. If we advance troops from the front after crushing the ambush troops, it could become an opportunity to launch a surprise attack instead.

To make the surprise attack successful, we would need to either eliminate the ambush side’s messengers or achieve an advance speed fast enough that even if messengers escape, it wouldn’t matter. But even if the surprise attack fails, the enemy main force would still be forced to respond to attacks from two directions.

If we can repel the Sea King’s Subordinates… then it becomes a matter of capturing the City of the Sea.

“This might be good. Let’s proceed with that as our basic strategy. Is there anything else we should consider?”

“I heard the weapon problem has been somewhat resolved… but there’s a physical ability difference… a power gap between the Sea King’s Subordinates and each of us. Though it’s frustrating to admit as military officers, if we think calmly, we must factor that in too.Meaning we shouldn’t apply normal military strength difference calculations to determine advantage and disadvantage.

So then, about how many of our troops would be needed to have at least a fifty-fifty chance against the Subordinates? Using that shark man’s power as reference, and looking at the average skill level of Queen Eldorene’s troops, we might be able to estimate the approximate combat power ratio.

Well, let’s proceed with the strategy meeting while considering various possibilities—not just our assumed conventional tactics, but also unexpected strategies the enemy might employ based on their nature, and potential impacts on the sea surface and land…