I returned to the tent.
Lise still followed behind me with quick, short steps.
Hic. Hic.
As more people gathered, her trembling started again, though it was better than before.
When I entered the tent, Heinrich and the other knights all turned to look at me at once.
"Young Master. Please give the order to withdraw. We must return to the duchy immediately to report the situation and bring back a proper army."
The knights around him nodded.
Everyone shared the same thought.
It was only natural.
I had thought the same thing until five minutes ago.
But now it was different.
"We can win."
I spoke calmly.
The tent fell silent in an instant.
Heinrich's eyes widened.
"...What did you say?"
"We can defeat the orcs."
I repeated myself clearly, word by word.
"Y-Young Master."
One knight spoke urgently.
"There are 500 orcs. We only have 65 men. This is... this is reckless."
"It's not reckless."
I shook my head.
"There's a way. But I need to confirm something."
Heinrich stared at me intently.
His eyes held a mixture of doubt and concern.
It was a natural reaction when a ten-year-old child suddenly claimed we could win.
"Bring all the villagers here."
"...Pardon?"
"All the villagers. I need their help."
Heinrich hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"...Understood."
He gestured to one of his subordinate knights, who left the tent.
Before long, the villagers began gathering one by one.
The village chief, the blacksmith, farmers, women—everyone.
About half of the village's roughly 500 residents gathered in the clearing in front of the tent.
"What is the matter, Young Master?"
The village chief asked with an anxious expression.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"I heard there's a gorge north of this village."
"...A gorge?"
The village chief tilted his head.
"To the north... a gorge..."
He looked around at the other villagers.
But most of them shook their heads.
"I'm not sure."
"This is the first I've heard of it."
As expected.
Just as Lise had said, most of the villagers didn't know about it.
"Does anyone know? I'm talking about a gorge deep in the forest to the north of the village."
I asked again.
The people only looked at each other's faces.
Silence flowed.
Then.
"Th-there is one."
A trembling voice came from the back.
People turned their heads.
A man cautiously stepped forward.
He was middle-aged.
His left arm was missing.
The scar looked as if it had been cleanly severed from the shoulder.
"Hans... uncle..."
A very small voice came from behind me.
It was Lise.
Her voice was even smaller and more trembling than usual.
Not a "hic," not a "yoo," just pure trembling in her voice.
The man called Hans turned his head to look at Lise.
His eyes widened.
"L-Lise...?"
The man's voice trembled.
"Is it really... Lise?"
"...Y-yes..."
Lise nodded.
He took a step forward, then stopped when he saw Lise's eyepatch.
"You... you're alive..."
Hans's voice couldn't continue.
He lowered his head and covered his face with his remaining hand.
I watched the scene for a moment, then spoke quietly.
"Hans."
"...Yes, yes. Sir."
"Tell me about the gorge. In detail."
"The gorge is... deep in the forest north of the village. When I was young... I used to play there with the other village children."
"How high?"
"About... 100 meters, I think. Maybe even more..."
It matched what Lise had said.
"How wide?"
"It's narrow. Really narrow. Five adults... no, if they squeeze together, maybe ten people could fit, but to pass through comfortably, only three or four at most."
All the information matched what Lise had told me.
"How far is it from the village to the gorge?"
"About... an hour's walk. The forest path is a bit rough, but..."
"Can orcs pass through?"
"...Yes. It's wide enough. The orcs... came through that path back then too."
Hans's voice trembled briefly.
The memory must have come back to him.
I didn't ask any more questions.
I had obtained all the information I needed.
The gorge was real.
Lise's words were true.
And that gorge...
Could become Bowangpo.
I looked around the tent.
Heinrich and the other knights, soldiers, and villagers.
Everyone was looking at me.
Eyes filled with a mixture of anxiety and expectation.
I spoke calmly.
"We can win. I'm certain of it."
"Young Master... I understand there's a gorge. But with just that..."
Heinrich spoke carefully.
"Right. That alone won't win the battle. I need help. The villagers, knights, soldiers. I need everyone's help."
"What... what are you planning to do?"
The village chief asked in a trembling voice.
I was silent for a moment.
I organized the plan in my head.
The Battle of Bowangpo.
Zhuge Liang's fire attack.
"We'll lure the orcs into the gorge."
**
"Lay down the straw! On the gorge floor!"
A soldier shouted to the villagers.
"The knights need to ride horses to lure them... so the horses won't get hurt, so their hooves won't slip!"
The villagers began moving in a rush.
They carried intact straw bundles to the gorge, spread them on the ground, and cleared away stones.
The knights also removed their armor and sweated alongside them.
It was a strange feeling.
Those people, believing and following the words of a ten-year-old child like that.
Of course, I was a noble, but... I was just an illegitimate child, a bookworm kid who couldn't use swordsmanship or magic.
But anyway, since they had expectations, I had to win.
Sir Heinrich approached my side.
"Young Master, will this method really work?"
His voice still carried doubt.
It was natural.
I nodded.
"Have you studied military strategy?"
"...I learned a little. At the academy."
"Then you know. You shouldn't carelessly send troops into a place like a gorge."
Heinrich nodded.
"Of course. It's good terrain for an ambush. What fool would..."
He stopped speaking.
And stared at my face.
"Don't tell me..."
"That's right."
I smirked.
"Orcs are fools."
Orcs are stronger than humans.
This doesn't just refer to physical strength.
Of course, they're strong. But there was something even more frightening than that.
The orcs' greatest advantage above all else—it was their reproductive ability.
They don't reproduce like humans, or like other animals where males and females meet.
Instead, they reproduce through spores.
Spores naturally released from an orc's body fall to the ground and take root.
And over the course of about a year, they grow into adult orcs.
Their breeding cycle is much shorter than humans', and there's no need for males and females to meet.
When war breaks out? Spores emerge from the corpses of dead orcs.
The more intense the battle, the more orcs die, the more the next generation of orcs actually increases.
Unless the areas where orc spores are scattered are artificially eliminated, their numbers grow uncontrollably.
From a human perspective, it was a nightmarish system.
When I first encountered this information while reading books, I had wondered.
How did humans survive with such a species existing?
A race with overwhelming reproductive ability, excellent combat power, and that multiplies more the more they die.
There was no way humans could win fighting against such beings.
In fact, looking at history books, there were far more records of human defeats in wars against orcs than victories.
Nevertheless.
The reason human territory is wider than orc territory.
There are probably many reasons for that.
Humans have magic, knights, castle walls, and organizational ability.
But if I had to pick the biggest reason.
Those bastards were stupid.
The sun was setting.
On the hills on both sides of the gorge, 55 troops were hiding, holding their breath in ambush.
Five knights, fifty soldiers.
Everyone was camouflaged with branches and grass, hiding behind rocks and in tree shadows.
Someone's body shook as they tried to suppress a cough.
The air was heavy.
Straw was laid on the gorge floor.
Carefully spread so the horses wouldn't get hurt, so their hooves wouldn't slip.
The straw evenly spread across the entire narrow gorge passage looked like a golden carpet.
Bathed in the sunset light and gradually turning red, the sight was strangely beautiful.
Except for the fact that this place would soon become hell.
And on top of the cliffs on both sides of the gorge, dry wood and hay were piled up like mountains.
Things the villagers had carried all day long.
Not just the men, but women, even elderly people had stepped forward to carry them. On their backs, in handcarts, armfuls at a time.
"If we can protect our village."
"We should at least do this much."
Oil-soaked rags were also tied here and there.
Preparation for starting the fire.
When the wind blew, the smell of oil stung the nose. Acrid, sharp, and anxious.
I crouched behind a rock at the top of the hill, looking down at the gorge entrance.
From here, I could see the entire gorge at a glance.
The narrow, long passage.
The steep cliffs on both sides.
And the flammable materials piled on top of them.
It was a perfect trap.
At least in theory.
But this is reality.
Battles in novels and battles in reality were different.
In novels, everything flows according to plan. The enemy falls into the trap like fools, and allies execute the operation perfectly.
But reality?
There were too many variables.
What if the orcs don't enter the gorge?
What if the fire doesn't catch properly?
What if, what if, what if...
My palms were sweating.
My heart was beating fast.
Whether it was because of this ten-year-old body, or because I was naturally timid.
Or maybe both.
Calm down. Calm down.
I took a deep breath.
In my past life, I loved games.
Strategy simulations, historical games, war games.
I moved thousands, tens of thousands of troops on the screen and fought battles.
If I lost, I could just reload.
But now...
There's no save file. If we lose here, it's over. I die, Lise dies, the knights, soldiers, and villagers all die.
There's no reset button.
"Young Master..."
A small voice was heard.
When I turned my head, Lise was crouching next to me.
Hic. Hic.
The trembling started again.
Worse than before.
Her hand was gripping her sword tightly.
The sheathed sword trembled faintly.
"Mm?"
I tried to make my voice as calm as possible.
Lise asked while staring north.
"Was Zhuge Liang... scared at first tooo?"
I looked at Lise.
Cold sweat flowing beneath her eyepatch.
A pale face.
Trembling hands.
But she didn't run away.
She was by my side.
"...He must have been scared."
I answered honestly.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Zhuge Liang was human too. When he first went into battle, he must have been scared."
Lise turned her head to look at me.
Her gray eyes stared straight at me.
"But... Zhuge Liang was a genius. He calculated everything, knew everything, never made mistakes..."
"That's because it's a story. The real Zhuge Liang must have made mistakes too. There must have been times when plans went wrong, and many things he didn't expect."
"I see..."
Lise murmured softly.
And then.
Ruuuuumble—
The ground began to shake from the north.
At first it was faint.
Like thunder rumbling in the distance.
But it gradually grew closer.
Ruuuumble. Thud. Thud. Thud-thud-thud—
Vibrations transmitted through the ground beneath my feet.
It was the sound of hundreds of orcs running simultaneously.
"They're coming..."
Someone muttered in a trembling voice.
The soldiers lowered their bodies even more.
The knights also held their breath.
I stared at the gorge entrance.
In the darkness. The sound of hoofbeats growing clearer.
And the roars chasing after them.
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Kruaaaaa!"
The cries of orcs.
Ear-splitting, sharp and rough sounds.
Finally.
From a distance, a single horse burst out. A knight was riding it.
Behind it, a second, then a third horse rushed out.
The horses ran as if gliding over the straw laid on the gorge floor.
The sound of hoofbeats rang out lightly.
The knights quickly passed through the gorge.
They escaped to the other side of the gorge.
"According to plan!!"
A soldier next to me signaled with hand gestures.
The soldiers hiding on the hill lowered their bodies even more.
Ruuuuuuumble!
The orcs appeared.
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Kruoooo!"
The first orc revealed itself at the gorge entrance.
It was massive.
It looked over 2 meters tall.
Green skin with protruding fangs.
In its arms, thick as logs, it held a crudely made axe.
Behind it, a second, a third.
Ten.
Twenty.
Fifty.
Orcs poured out endlessly.