Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100% Accuracy

"Who is the ruler with the highest likelihood of unifying the Garland continent?"
No matter who you asked, only one name would come up.

The legitimacy of her imperial bloodline.
The vast territory she secured by conquering the northern regions of the continent.
An endless pool of talented subordinates.

Tyrant Serpina von Eingart.
Both the storytellers at taverns and the common folk working their trades would name her as the one destined to unify the continent.

And if not her? If Serpina failed to achieve unification, who was next in line with the highest chance?

That person would be none other than Lyn Brans, the leader of the Brans family and a woman of extraordinary talent.

With her long, flowing blue hair and refined beauty, Lyn naturally inspired admiration in anyone meeting her for the first time.
Her army had control over the fertile central lands of the continent and was rapidly growing by absorbing smaller nations daily.

In terms of population, ambition, and territory, the Brans Army was unquestionably poised to dominate the central region of the continent.

At that very moment, Lyn Brans, seated on her throne with a somewhat bored expression, was receiving a report from one of her subordinates.

"Commander, we have successfully secured victory in the Tyrandi campaign and liberated Tyrandi from the Walnut Army."

"Oh? Good work, brother♡"

It seemed they had finally dealt with the Walnut Army, with whom they had clashed several times recently.
Lyn smiled in satisfaction and addressed the kneeling man—her second brother, Carlints.

"How many prisoners did we capture?"

"We apprehended five prisoners in total. Please decide their fate. Guards!"

"Yes, sir!"

At his command, soldiers brought forward five prisoners, their hands bound, and forced them to kneel before her.
Among them was Walnut Castra, the leader of the now-defeated army.

"Hmm…"

"Let’s see."

Lyn inspected the prisoners slowly.
Among them, there was one capable individual who had successfully countered her forces in the past.

"Listen up, everyone! Among these prisoners is the general who once captured Haizel Castle. What was his name again…? Ah, yes, Gurupa. Who’s Gurupa?"

"…I am Gurupa," a long-haired man replied, lifting his head.

Lyn looked at him, her expression turning sultry.

"Oh my, so it’s you? The one who caused me so much trouble. Haha♡ I thought no one around here would dare attack my territory first, but you’ve got some guts, don’t you?"

Gurupa remained silent.
Lyn, however, seemed to enjoy his defiance, laughing heartily as she stood and approached him.

Using two fingers, she lifted his chin, locking eyes with him.

"So, what do you think? Would you like to serve me? I’m very, very generous to those who prove useful. Trust me, working under me is far more rewarding than sticking with someone like Walnut. Hmm?"

"…Kill me," Gurupa said, summoning what little strength he had left to deliver his response without breaking eye contact.

Lyn’s amused smile faded, and her expression turned icy.

"Hmph. So you won’t serve me, huh?"

She pushed Gurupa roughly, causing him to collapse to the ground. Then, turning to a soldier nearby, she gave her command.@@novelbin@@

"Take him away and execute him."

"Yes, ma’am!"

The soldier grabbed Gurupa and began dragging him away. Everyone present understood that his destination would be the execution grounds.
Even the remaining prisoners, who watched the scene with wide-open eyes, realized this fact.

"How boring. I don’t understand why he’d refuse me. I could have offered him such an interesting future compared to that outdated old man."

Lyn sighed briefly before turning her attention back to the remaining prisoners.

"Aside from Walnut, I’ll ask the rest of you once. Will you serve me or not?"

Unlike her earlier proposition to Gurupa, this one carried no enthusiasm.
It was more of a casual offer, as though she couldn’t care less about their decision but would make use of them if they agreed.

Having witnessed Gurupa being dragged off to his execution, the remaining prisoners immediately bowed their heads and answered in unison.

"We surrender!"
"From today, we will serve Lyn Brans!"
"P-Please spare us! If you let us live, we’ll be utterly loyal!"

Lyn’s cold gaze fell on the overly submissive man who had spoken last.

"Hey."

"Eek…!! P-Please, please, spare me…!"

"…Sigh."

Lyn let out a long sigh, then turned to her soldier.

"Take him away and release him."

"Yes, ma’am!"

"R-Release me?!"

The man looked up at Lyn, surprised, and asked hesitantly.

"Yes, you’re free. I’m letting you go. I don’t want to waste wages on someone like you."

Her words, while pragmatic, were undeniably humiliating.
Yet the man, overwhelmed by the fact that his life had been spared, repeatedly bowed his head to the ground, thanking her profusely.

"Thank you, thank you…! I’ll never forget your mercy!"

"Yeah, yeah. Off you go. Guards, take him out."

"Yes, ma’am! This way."

Even as he was being led away, the freed man continued to cry and express his gratitude, though Lyn clearly wasn’t listening.

She turned to the remaining two prisoners with a slight smile.

"As for the rest of you, you’ll work for the Brans Army from now on. Got it?"

"Yes, ma’am! Understood!"
"We’ll obey your orders!"

Though she had gained two capable subordinates, Lyn didn’t seem particularly thrilled.
The most promising prize had slipped away, and the rest were nothing more than mediocre at best.

"Ah, right," Lyn said as if suddenly remembering, turning her attention to Walnut.

"Anything you’d like to say, Mr. Walnut?"

"…If you spare my life, I’ll do everything I can to assist you," said the elderly, bald man, trembling slightly.

Despite his current status as a prisoner, Lyn addressed him with some degree of respect, perhaps out of recognition for his former status as a leader.

"Oh my, really? It’s delightful to hear that the esteemed Mr. Walnut is willing to help us♡"

Lyn smiled faintly, but her expression soon hardened, and her tone dropped.

"But no."

"…W-What do you mean…?"

Lyn tilted her head slightly, casting a disdainful gaze at Walnut.
Her eyes, as if looking at an insect, were filled with unmasked contempt.
It was a stark contrast to the look she had given the man earlier who, despite her humiliating words, had thanked her for sparing his life.

Her expression toward Walnut wasn’t just one of pity or indifference—it was one of utter derision, as if she were regarding something even more worthless than garbage.

"You. You’re a leader, aren’t you? How pathetic is it for a leader to beg for their life? What kind of example are you setting? You can’t even compare to Gurupa, who died to uphold loyalty to you. What are you trying to prove?"

"T-that’s… Gurupa acted on his own—"

"Shut your mouth. Your stench is unbearable. Do you know why a piece of trash like you managed to recapture Haizel Castle, even if only for a moment? It was because of Gurupa. And you don’t even realize that. What made you think you were fit to lead an army?"

Lyn shifted her gaze to the soldier standing beside her.
He immediately understood her unspoken command to drag Walnut to the execution grounds.

"This way!"

"W-wait… Lady Lyn Brans! Spare me! Please, show mercy…!"

Walnut continued to cry out pitifully, but Lyn ignored him entirely. With elegant strides, she returned to her throne and sat down gracefully.

"Ugh. The fact that someone like that managed to humiliate me… What a disgrace."

Once the prisoners were dealt with, Carlints, who had been kneeling this entire time, cautiously spoke.

"Commander, what are your plans moving forward?"

"Hmm? Same as always. We’ll strike the neighboring small states and expand our territory. We need to stabilize the central region as quickly as possible to stand a chance against Serpina’s forces in the north. Oh, by the way, what happened to the spy we sent to Zeilant?"

"The spy has returned. Just as before, Lunarian Iniang still occupies the city, with roughly 3,000 soldiers under her command. She is accompanied by three generals."

"Three? Wasn’t it two last time? An old man and that… carnivorous woman, wasn’t it?"

"Yes, that was the report last time. However, the spy frequently observed a young man with white hair accompanying Lunarian. It seems she has recruited a new general."

"Hmm? A new general for the crumbling Lunarian army? Are you sure it wasn’t just some boy toy she’s keeping around?"

"We cannot say for certain."

"Hmm."

Lyn felt unenthusiastic.
The battle with the Walnut Army had been exciting because she’d been eager to recruit Gurupa.
In contrast, defeating Lunarian’s forces would only yield the small city of Zeilant.

Her interest in Luna’s subordinates was similarly lackluster.

"Still, what can you do? The more bothersome tasks should be dealt with quickly."

Lyn turned to Carlints.

"Brother, Chel is currently in the south, isn’t he?"

"Yes, that’s correct."

Chel Brans.
The eldest of the Brans siblings and a man widely recognized as the strongest swordsman in their ranks.

"Hmm… Can you handle this on your own, Carlints?"

Carlints lowered his head in response.

"Of course. If you entrust this task to me, I’ll bring back Zeilant. The negotiations are already complete."

Negotiations? Lyn felt it was unnecessary, but she trusted Carlints to handle things properly.
She nodded in approval.

"Very well. I’ll assign you an appropriate number of troops. Let’s get this over with quickly."

"Understood!"

With the Lunarian army and five other factions still standing, Lyn needed to subjugate them all to claim complete control over the central continent.
She was slightly concerned about the Aestar Army, her likely final opponent due to its location, but she felt confident she could handle it.

After all, she was Lyn Brans.

"I’m the one who will unify this continent."

Her smile was radiant, elegant, and full of noble grace.

Meanwhile, Luna and Swen, after hearing the messenger’s report, rushed back to the castle at Zeilant.
Inside the castle, Tifa and Kane were already gathered, having received the same news.

"You’re here?! You’ve heard, right? The Brans Army is advancing on us!"

"…Yes, I’ve heard. Who’s leading them?"

"Most likely Carlints Brans. Witnesses report seeing him assembling an expeditionary force in the village."

Hearing Kane’s words, Luna’s expression darkened.

"Carlints Brans… He’s no easy opponent."

Carlints Brans. Of course, I knew that name.

In the game, when playing as the Brans Army, there were two generals who always took the lead in battles: Carlints Brans and Chel Brans, the older brothers of Lyn Brans.
While Carlints wasn’t as exceptional as Chel, he was a calm and calculated S-rank general, unlike Chel’s more reckless nature. He was also less susceptible to tricks, making him a formidable opponent.

Even I had preferred using Carlints over Chel for his reliability.

“Should we abandon the village and flee?”

Despite raising morale with all the money we had distributed, it was hard to see how we could win this fight.

Carlints alone would bring more than five subordinate commanders, while we had only four people in total, including myself.
The number of soldiers on their side was more than double ours—a hopeless disparity.

"Swen, what should we do?"

Luna sought my advice, her tone serious.

Thankfully, my Intelligence was 100. If they followed my strategy, things should somehow work out.

With that somewhat naive thought in mind, I processed Luna’s question in my head.

And then—

"…Huh?"

The answer my Intelligence produced was—

[Appoint Kane as the vanguard and confront the enemy. This is the optimal strategy for the current situation.]

Once again, an absurd answer had emerged.