The next morning after the sports meeting, when Roland walked into the reception hall, all the officials who had been waiting for him stood up in unison.
"Sit down." He walked to the main seat, looked around, and said in a loud voice, "I think you already know why I called you here — the war has begun!"
"This is not just about the army. From this moment on, I demand that the managers of every institution and every department in the kingdom have a basic understanding of the situation and the trend of the war and that they should play their role actively to deal with the expedition together!" He said word by word, "Since the establishment of Neverwinter, everyone has made impressive achievements. But in the face of the crisis of the Divine Will, all these achievements are like a pavilion on a floating ice. If we don't conquer the Taquila Ruins, the Red Mist may swallow the whole continent at any time, and then the demons won't be able to stop us. So, this war can only be won, not lost! "
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Barov and the others said in unison.
"Very good." Roland looked at Edith and said, "Next, the General Staff will explain the specific strategic direction."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The Pearl of the Northern Region stood up and said elegantly with her hand on her chest, "Please allow me to explain using the big map."
She walked to Roland's side and knocked on the map of the Western Region on the wall. After many revisions and additions, the map almost included half of the Barbarian No Man's Land, and Neverwinter, which was originally the center of the map, was now a small dot on the edge. Anyone who glanced at it would realize how small the human settlement was, which was one of Roland's original intentions.
He hoped that his ministers and officials would be able to set their sights further, and not be obsessed with the little benefits they had now.
"First of all, we have to make sure that this northern expedition is different from what we've experienced in the past. It will last for a long time," Edith said directly. Edith went straight to the point. "I hope everyone understands that we can't end this battle quickly."
The tactic of concealment used in the Battle of the North Slope was impossible to be used again. The distance between the Misty Forest and the Taquila Ruins was far greater than the distance between the destroyed outpost and the Misty Forest. It would take at least a month to build the railway, so it was impossible for the demons to not notice it.
On the vast Fertile Plains, the enemy had the absolute advantage of mobility. Therefore, Roland had given up the illusion of a surprise attack from the very beginning. He planned to invest his superior forces and fight the demons head-on.
Without a doubt, this would be a battle between spear and shield.
Everyone already knew about this plan, so no one was surprised.
Barov was the only one who asked, "Then do you have an estimated time?"
"It depends on the strength of the demon's counterattack." "The General Staff asked the Taquila witches to run many simulations. Assuming that the scale of the enemy's attack is similar to that of the Battle of the North Slope, we'll be able to put the Longsong Cannons on their faces in three months if they come once a week."
"But they are not fools. It is impossible for them to repeat the same mistakes again and again.
"That's right. I think the demons will soon notice the use of the railway and even the Misty Forest behind us. Of course, we're not unprepared. Because the war is full of variables, I hope the Administrative Office can prepare for the worst and allocate resources. "
"The worst is..." Barov frowned.
"From spring to winter, until the new Months of Demons," Edith answered frankly.
"Doesn't that mean we've failed?" The old director grinned. "That doesn't meet His Majesty's requirements."
"As long as they don't withdraw, the war will not end. It will be a stalemate at most." The Pearl of the Northern Region smiled. "We can continue the war when the snow melts the next year." Seeing the hesitation on the faces of the ministers of the Administrative Office, she added, "But it's unlikely that this will happen. After all, the demons can't reproduce as fast as they can produce bullets. I just want to be prepared."
Barov thought for a moment and said, "In this case, I need to transfer food from other territories as reserves. The Golden Twos have been distributed to all parts of the kingdom. If everything goes well, there should be a lot of harvest this year. If we collect all of them, we can basically meet the needs of the First Army for a year. "
"No problem," Sirius Daly, the Minister of Agriculture, said. "I'll write letters to the City hall later."
"We also need to adjust the work of the Ministry of Chemical Industry," Barov continued. "We need to produce as much gunpowder and explosives as possible."
"We only have so many people, unless we reduce the production of perfume and soap." Kyle Sichi, the Minister of Chemical Industry, spread out his hands.
"Maybe we can rent a group of alchemy apprentices from neighboring countries to support Graycastle..." He looked at Roland. "I heard that the King of Dawn also has several alchemy workshops. Although they are not in the City of Glow, if His Majesty asks, the King of Dawn will do his best to cooperate and won't care about the return date. In addition... the First Army has more than 100 people stationed in the Cage Mountain area. We can also consider alchemists from the Kingdom of Wolfheart and the Kingdom of Everwinter. "
"In principle, no problem." Roland nodded with satisfaction. "Come up with a plan according to your idea."
Roland was very pleased with Edith's performance.
At the beginning of the unification of the kingdom, he had thought that the new political system might need two to three years of running-in before it could play its proper role. After all, changing their mindset was a rather difficult thing to do. Over the past few decades, these people had already gotten used to the mundane rule that all matters of the territory belonged to the suzerains, and that the suzerains did not interfere with each other. Suddenly asking them to open up their sights and view other territories as part of their control was too much for them to bear.
However, he found that he had underestimated the charm of power.
When the power in one's hand suddenly increased several times, even if they did not realize the nature of the change, they would try to use it. Barov was one of the most outstanding ones.
He not only saw the Kingdom of Dawn, but also the possibility of using the army to exert influence and seize resources from further places.
After the discussion, Edith continued, "But it's not enough to directly destroy the demons' encampment. For some reason, we have to eliminate all the enemies as soon as possible. This requires us to cut off the demons' retreat, including the sky and the ground, before the final attack, which only the witches can do. "
"For some... reason?" Barov was puzzled. "Will taking a detour increase the risk for them?"
"Because of the curse." Roland took over the topic. "There's a Senior Demon among the enemies who can cast a magic curse from a distance. The mechanism of its action is not clear, but it's likely to be similar to the church witch Black Veil. If we let it escape, even if the First Army wins, it will be a pyrrhic victory. "
There was a sudden gasp in the hall.
The First Army lost more than 700 people just by eye contact, which was the largest casualty since the establishment of the army. That battle made everyone remember the name Black Veil.
If the demons could also cast a curse through eye contact, then killing them first would be a natural choice.
Roland glanced at Lightning, who had buried her head in her chest at the end of the long table, and could not help but sigh.
He could completely guess her feelings.
She would probably feel extremely guilty for letting her sisters take such a risk for her, even if they had no complaints.
But now, there was no better choice.
Roland stood up from the main seat. "In short, the goal of this expedition is to completely eliminate the threat of the Obelisk before the Battle of Divine Will, and at the same time, weaken the demons' war potential. The operation is codenamed 'Torch'. It is not only the light of hope to destroy the enemies, but also the original Fire of Departure that illuminates the entire Fertile Plains. Please do your best to open up new territory for Graycastle! "
Everyone stood up and bowed with their hands on their chests.
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