Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 243: Retreat to the Border, and What Follows (8)

"...Anima?!"

Yuri rushed toward Anima, who lay gasping for breath on her bed.

"Y-Yuri... D-don’t come closer."

"What the hell is going on?! Are you okay?!"

"I’m... I’m fine..."

Cough. Cough.

A violent fit of coughing seized Anima, and with it—bright red blood splattered onto her sheets.

Yuri’s eyes widened in horror.

"This... This is—!"

"Don’t worry about it... I’ve just been overworking myself lately. If I just rest for a few days, I’ll be fine. Y-you shouldn’t waste time worrying about me..."

"What the hell are you saying?!"

"It’s a crucial time... We can’t let Chel make another move before we do... We have to act first—"

Cough! Cough!

"Enough! We’re returning to the capital. Stay here and wait for me."

As Yuri turned to leave, Anima weakly grabbed her sleeve with what little strength she had left.

"No... If we delay here, we’re just giving Chel more time... If we don’t act, we’ll be dishonoring Ern’s memory..."

"Anima."

Yuri locked eyes with her.

Her gaze was steadier than ever.

"I won’t lose you too."

"Yuri..."

"...Wait here. I’ll be back soon."

Yuri gently laid Anima back down before swiftly leaving the room.

***

Mirage Castle – Aishus Army Territory

Once a fortress of Chel’s Army, Mirage Castle was now under Aishus Army’s control.

After having Anima admitted for medical care, Yuri found herself hearing something she had never expected.

"A plague...?"

"Yes, my lord. Based on the symptoms, it seems the disease began spreading about a week ago. The symptoms match those exhibited by Strategist Anima almost exactly. At this point... it’s reasonable to consider it an epidemic."

"Tell me everything."

"We cannot yet determine its infectious rate or its mortality risk, but if the symptoms are this similar across multiple cases, calling it a plague is not unreasonable.

Currently, within our territory, we have identified twenty cases, including Lady Anima..."

"......"

Yuri clenched her jaw, resisting the urge to snap at the doctor.

She wanted to demand why no one had reported this sooner—

But she held back.

Because she knew the truth.

Ever since Ern’s death, she had ignored everything except war.

She had pushed the army into relentless marches and forced them into siege after siege, determined to eradicate Chel’s Army.

And in doing so, she had neglected everything /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ else.

"While we can’t confirm if it’s truly an epidemic yet," the doctor continued cautiously, "I strongly advise that you maintain your distance from Lady Anima for the time being."

Of course.

If it was indeed a plague, and she fell sick as well...

Then she really wouldn’t be able to face Anima again.

"But why...?"

Yuri muttered to herself, gripping her arms tightly.

"Why now...? Why...?"

"Well... I cannot say for certain, but..."

The doctor hesitated, breaking into a cold sweat.

"With all the ongoing wars in the central continent, countless bodies have been left unburied... If sanitation was neglected, that could have... contributed to the spread..."

"...What?"

"No! I-I’m not saying the war itself is to blame, my lord!"

So it had come to this.

A plague—

Born from the countless corpses left to rot in the wake of war.

"...Are you sure?"

"N-no! I cannot be certain. This is merely a hypothesis—nothing more! We don’t even know if it is truly an epidemic yet—"

"......"

Yuri didn’t respond.

Instead, she turned away and left the hospital in silence.

Stepping outside, she took a deep breath—

Then slowly looked up at the sky.

"Ern..."

She hadn’t even avenged him yet.

She had expected the war to take longer than planned, but...

Aishus Army was still stronger than Chel’s Army.

Victory had been only a matter of time.

Just a little further, just a little more, and she could have impaled Chel’s head on a pike.

And now—

"I won’t be stopped here!"

Yuri lowered her gaze, closed her eyes, and...

For the first time in years—

She prayed.

After the massacre at the Academy, she had sworn to never rely on gods again.

She had vowed to only trust her comrades.

But now, with no options left—

She found herself pleading to an uncertain deity.

A ruler—stripped of all religious support, with only a handful of priests remaining in this war-torn land—

Now stood praying to the heavens.

Even to her, the image of herself looked ridiculous.

Yet still, she clung to the silent hope.

"Please... let it pass without incident."

"Let this not be a true epidemic."

"Let this not be a great plague."

If Aishus Army was truly destined to unify the continent, then perhaps—

Perhaps her prayer would be answered.

But...

She was not one of the chosen.

And those who were not chosen could never defy an absolute prophecy.

Without knowing it—

Yuri was praying in vain.

***

Of course—Yuri’s wish would not be granted.

"More than 300 infected...?"

At the news that arrived within just one day, Yuri’s expression shattered.

"Yes. It would be best to acknowledge this as a confirmed epidemic."

"What about a cure?"

"We don’t have anything conclusive yet... A number of herbalists are working together to formulate a treatment based on past plagues. Please give us some time. Also, I strongly recommend that we establish separate quarantine wards."

Yuri accepted the proposal and followed the physicians’ advice as best she could.

But in an era like this—once a plague had spread, there was little hope of stopping it.

The only small mercy was that this was not only Aishus Army’s problem.

And, compared to the plagues recorded in history, the infection rate appeared to be significantly lower.

At first, the disease spread at an alarming rate, infecting up to 2,000–3,000 people in mere days.

But once it was recognized as a plague and quarantine measures were implemented, the increase in infections visibly slowed.

Most crucially—Yuri, despite having been in close contact with Anima, had not fallen ill.

And as previously stated—plagues had no borders.

Chel’s Army, too, began reporting infections within their territories, forcing them to halt their continued offensives.

This meant that—at least for now—the spread of the disease could be contained.

But that did not mean that things were looking hopeful.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Aishus Army, already weakened from the relentless war against Chel, was now suffering catastrophic losses.

"The soldiers... they’re the ones being infected the most?"

"It’s just a trend we’ve observed, but... from what we’ve heard, Chel’s Army is experiencing the same."

Whether it was due to the strain of prolonged warfare or just an unfortunate coincidence, the disease was disproportionately affecting the soldiers.

More of them were falling sick than the common citizens.

After the physician withdrew, Epinnel, who had been serving as interim strategist in Anima’s place, cautiously opened her mouth.

"I heard there are cases in Kalints Army too."

"...Is that so?"

"Yeah. That probably means... we won’t be able to do anything for a while. No war, no conscription, no governance."

Yuri’s face hardened.

"What about Anima?"

"Still the same. The physicians have been prioritizing her treatment, trying out every possible remedy, but... there’s been no improvement at all."

Epinnel let out a deep sigh, pressing a hand to her forehead.

"Yuri... do you think we can win this? Can we really... avenge Ern?"

For once—

The always optimistic Epinnel sounded uncertain.

"Maybe... we should just abandon the territory and return to Valharat Castle while we still can. If this goes on much longer, our entire military foundation could collapse."

"But... we haven’t avenged Ern."

"I know that. I’m not saying we should end the war against Chel. I’m just saying we should retreat for now. It’s not like Chel’s Army can do anything either, not with the plague spreading among them too."

"But the way back home... it goes through Chel’s territory."

"Then we just take it."

"How?"

"......."

Epinnel fell silent.

She had spoken recklessly, without an actual strategy.

A heavy silence followed before she finally let out a long, weary sigh.

"If Anima were here, she probably could’ve come up with something."

Yuri clenched her fists.

"Then, at the very least—"

And then—

She froze.

Her eyes widened in shock.

"...Yuri?"

Epinnel frowned, noticing Yuri’s sudden, stunned expression.

"What’s wrong?!"

"...Nothing. I just... I think I’m a little tired. I’ll think about what you said. Epinnel—could you check on the quarantine ward for me? You can switch shifts with Emma."

"...Alright."

Epinnel hesitated—clearly sensing something was off—but didn’t press further.

She silently turned and left.

And Yuri—as if her strength had suddenly left her—

Leaned heavily against the nearby wall.

"I was about to say..."

She replayed her own words in her mind.

—"Then, at the very least, could you just shut up for a second?"

"What was I about to say... to Epinnel?"

Tears spilled from Yuri’s eyes.

Even if she hadn’t actually said it out loud, the fact that she had even thought it—toward Epinnel, one of her dearest comrades—was already shocking enough.

"Calm down, Yuri. You can’t take out your frustrations... on your comrades. On your family."

She had already lost Ern.

Anima was critically ill.

Her army—her long-cherished force, painstakingly built up for the sake of a grand ambition—was falling apart.

And yet... she hadn’t even managed to achieve her revenge.

Though she had never voiced it aloud, Yuri, too, had been pushed to her limit.

But even so—lashing out at Epinnel would have been unforgivable.

She bit her tongue.

For a moment, she considered biting down hard, punishing herself for the anger welling up inside.

But... that too, would have been nothing more than an act of petty self-destruction.

"Think positively, Yuri. The plague is dangerous, but its infection rate is low. No one has died yet. If we just hold on, things will eventually settle. Revenge—we can prepare for it then. Chel’s Army... isn’t any better off than we are."

With that thought—she managed to pull herself together.

For now.

And then—a few days later.

The first death was reported.

A young soldier.

He had suffered from coughing and high fever, until eventually—he stopped breathing altogether.

His body was cremated immediately.

Or rather—it was burned in a hurry.

Not even given a proper funeral.

Because his corpse had carried the disease.

And that—was only the beginning.

As more and more reports came in—

It became undeniably clear.

—This plague—

Might not be highly contagious.

But it was most certainly... deadly.