The time had come.
I looked back at the two soldiers who had been playing along with my madness these past few days.
These soldiers had been beating drums in rhythm with the strange sounds I made.
Even with Commander Irene's orders, being conscripted and forced to do something like this should have been enough to make anyone regret their life choices.
Yet they silently followed all my nonsensical instructions.
"Everyone. Thank you for your hard work until now. All the practice we've done until today has been for this very moment. I ask for your best effort until the end."
"Yes! Understood!"
"We'll follow exactly as we practiced!"
Hearing their responses, I smiled, then turned my head to face the enemies and shouted.
"Now! The enemies are starting to approach. Everyone, get ready!"
"Yes!"
The two soldiers who had been practicing the strange performance with me took their positions at the drums placed on either side of the altar.
"Please do exactly as we practiced. Today is the most important day! Beat as if you're knocking on heaven's door!"
"Understood!"
At my command, the two soldiers raised their drumsticks instead of their usual weapons.
And then—
They began furiously beating the crudely made temporary drums.
As I stood at the altar with drums being beaten on either side, I felt a surge of excitement, as if I really had become some bizarre cult shaman performing a strange ritual.
Yes.
This will work.
According to my prediction, this is the answer.
"Haaaa...ahhh...ahhh!!"
I closed my eyes and made movements that looked like I was gathering energy.
I knew that to any objective third party, all these actions would make me look completely insane.
'If this is going to work, I need to fully commit to being a madman.'
From now on, I would be the man who called down lightning.
To become such a person, I needed to appear completely insane to everyone watching.
If I held back due to embarrassment and didn't fully commit to the performance, it would look like a natural disaster rather than something I summoned.
Besides, putting on such an absurd display was perfect for instilling fear in the enemy.
Right now, I couldn't just be any madman.
I needed to be a standout lunatic, conspicuous even among other madmen!
What could be more insane than claiming to call down lightning?
So.
"Heavens above!!! Hear my voice!!!! Answer me!!!!!"
I shouted toward the sky with a voice much louder than the drumbeats.
But... something was strange.
I could see the enemy troops approaching, and it should be about time now.
But why... weren't any raindrops falling?
* * *
The one who received orders to lead 33,000 troops with siege weapons to destroy the fortress was Julian, a general in Serphina's army.
Initially, his proposal to "attack the fortress" had been rejected, but now his lord had summoned him again, saying the situation had changed.
Though the order was sudden, Julian was far from displeased—in fact, he was quite satisfied.
'I knew I was right.'
Julian, a middle-aged man with brown hair who had been through countless battlefields, smiled with satisfaction at this thought.
Though his intelligence was somewhat lacking, he had enough battle experience that Serphina treated him with a certain level of respect as her vassal.
However, what Julian wanted was something more.
To have an irreplaceable, prominent position in Serphina's army.
It was the desire of any military commander who wanted to achieve merit and advance.
'Capture the fortress, use it as a base, and strike Kelstein Castle once more. I can do it.'
With such grand ambitions, he finally approached the Brands army's fortress when—
"General Julian!"
"What is it?"
An adjutant approached Julian with a serious expression.
"There's... a man on the fortress wall, appears to be from the Brands army, doing something strange..."
"What?"
Julian, mounted on his horse, rode ahead to check the fortress.
An unbelievable scene unfolded before his eyes.
A young white-haired man with all limbs intact was spreading his arms and shouting at the top of his lungs.
The distance was too great to hear exactly what he was shouting, but he seemed to be waving his arms wildly and pointing in their direction.
And on either side of him, soldiers were beating drums instead of standing guard as they should.
'What on earth is that?'
Though startled by this bizarre sight he'd never seen before—
When he thought about it, it was just strange, not something to be wary of.
Looking at the simple facts, there was just one man in the middle shouting loudly and performing a strange dance, with soldiers beating drums on either side.
In a battle they had no chance of winning, instead of focusing on defense, they were wasting time on such nonsense?
If this was some kind of "ritual" meant to summon something...
From Julian's perspective, they couldn't be easier opponents.
'There's no easier enemy than those who rely on religious power on the battlefield.'
God will protect us, God will give us strength...
The sweet rhetoric that religion once offered had lost its appeal since the world entered an age of chaos.
The greatest evidence was that religious preachers who used to be everywhere across the continent had disappeared.
What Julian preferred over relying on religious power on the battlefield was making judgments based on objective numbers.
According to recently obtained information, the available troops in that fortress numbered around 10,000.
With those numbers, they could never defeat 33,000 troops equipped with siege weapons.
Moreover, it wasn't just a castle but a fortress. When attacking a fortress, with this difference in troop numbers, victory was assured for his army no matter what.
'What a madman.'
Yes.
That's how lightly he thought of it.
Capturing the fortress was just a step in the process; what really mattered was Kelstein Castle.
If he succeeded in recapturing Kelstein Castle using this fortress as a base, he would catch Serphina's eye.
And that would lead to advancement. It was essentially his opinion that had helped Serphina's army with their desired central advance.
He was getting older. Though he was a warrior who felt at ease on the battlefield, he couldn't risk his life forever.
Now he wanted to step back and watch his family prosper.
"What should we do?"
"Not worth our attention."
Hearing his adjutant's question, Julian muttered in a resolute tone, then turned his head and shouted in a very loud voice.
"Everyone! You've worked hard marching here, but nothing is more precious to us than time! Prepare to capture the fortress as quickly as possible! Tell those in charge of the siege weapons to get ready as well!"
"Yes!"
At Julian's command, soldiers began charging toward the fortress one by one.
A precarious situation.
Until this moment, Julian was confident in his victory.
No, it didn't even feel like a victory. This was literally just a process.
* * *
And to give a taste of their own medicine to those who thought this was just a process...
I continued to shout at the top of my lungs while striking impressive poses.
"Heavens!!!!!"
'Soon the raindrops will fall! Definitely!'
I didn't know when lightning would strike.
However, in the game, lightning only struck when it was raining—so first, it needed to rain.
But no matter how long I waited, there was no sign of rain.
The sky was clearly churning, full of dark clouds... yet strangely, not even a small raindrop was falling.
I muttered to myself as if to calm down.
'Don't be anxious!'
Right now, my performance was being watched by the enemy troops, our fortress soldiers, and Irene beside me.
Setting Irene aside, the soldiers following her orders to hold the fortress were probably starting to feel uneasy.
If I showed any signs of anxiety here, it would be disastrous in many ways.
"Haaaah!!!!"
I tried to change the atmosphere with an impressive battle cry.
But.
The sky remained completely silent.
It was about time for rain to pour down to set up the perfect timing for lightning, but there was still no sign of it.
'No!'
I couldn't be wrong.
Natural disaster. And making it look like I was using a natural disaster. This had to be the answer.
Intelligence 100's prediction. 10,000 hours of gameplay experience.
Reasoning based on that.
Weren't all signs pointing to this being correct?
'It's okay! The rain will definitely come! If it were an earthquake, it wouldn't make sense to stay in the fortress! It has to be lightning!'
I whispered to myself while continuing to make impressive movements and shouting.
Meanwhile, the battle cries of Serphina's soldiers began to grow louder, piercing through the noisy drumbeats.
The siege weapons were almost ready to begin their attack.
If one of those catapult stones flew toward the wall I was standing on, I could die on the spot.
It's okay.
If that were the case, the prediction to "hold the fortress where the enemy can see" wouldn't have appeared.
At the point where my life was endangered, that answer wouldn't be the most efficient solution.
Besides, if it were about suddenly retreating, it wouldn't matter whether the enemy could see us or not.
It had been like this before.
In a situation where anyone would say negotiations with Lynn had failed, a messenger had burst in.
As soon as our troops arrived at Kelstein Castle, a rebellion broke out at Cherien Castle.
Everything had gone according to my predictions.
But why did I feel so anxious now?
Why was I... thinking that I might have made a wrong judgment for the first time?
Because not even a raindrop was falling, let alone lightning?
Because nothing was happening no matter how long I waited?
"Haaaaaaah!!!!"
I let out an even louder, meaningless battle cry.
'No!'
No.
I shouldn't doubt myself.
Believe.
I am right.
My words are absolutely correct.
Because my intelligence is 100!
"Heavens!!!!!!!!"
And.
Finally, only then.
"W-wait?!"
"What? What's happening?!"
I heard soldiers exclaiming in surprise and confusion.
"Th-that...!"
Even Irene beside me was too shocked to speak.
The sky was just churning, not particularly looking like lightning would strike?
But somehow... I thought I saw a shadow fall strangely over where Serphina's army was gathered.
'...Huh?'
Only then did I notice something strange.
Slowly raising my head... I looked up at the sky I had been calling to so desperately.
Yes.
Looking at the sky, I realized I had failed in my perfect reasoning for the first time.
No lightning was striking.
What "the real event" predicted by my intelligence 100 brain was-------
A massive meteor falling to the ground.