Sedimentation Bay, Kingdom of Wolfheart.
Iron Axe soon heard of the victory of this counter-ambush.
He immediately sent a messenger to express his appreciation and encouragement to the Fishball Squad, asking them to temporarily return to safety and wait for the arrival of the reinforcements.
Although the Fishball Squad had defeated the allied forces of the old nobles, their unflinching performance and their willpower were excellent examples of propaganda. Compared to continuing to rescue the refugees, it was obviously more meaningful for them to publicize their deeds, especially when the First Army was withdrawing.
Not long ago, he received two pieces of bad news. First, the soldiers lurking in the Red Mist reported that the nobles had taken over the demons' job.
According to the report, the Knight from many families of the Kingdom of Everwinter was intercepting the refugees. As the same kind, their coercion and temptation were undoubtedly much more effective than that of the foreign races. The First Army would take a great risk in entering the Red Mist area. Most of the time, they could only rescue the refugees from the periphery. As a result, the number of people at the evacuation points had decreased to varying degrees.
Second, the demons had once again intensified their attacks on the First Army. This was a complete battle report. First, a sentry post had observed a large number of Devilbeasts flying out of the Red Mist area from the southeast and heading towards Archduke Island. Then, the island's garrison had made preparations for defense and had cut off sea transportation.
But unexpectedly, the group of Devilbeasts suddenly disappeared in the airspace between two observation posts. When they reappeared, they were already on top of an evacuation team. The team had also received the news that the Devilbeasts were heading east and was working overtime to evacuate the people. As a result, they were exposed to the demons without any cover.
Although the team put up a great resistance, they were still completely annihilated. There was still no complete statistical report, but according to the reinforcement team, nearly 2,000 refugees were killed in the attack and the army had lost at least 100 people.
Such a heavy loss forced Iron Axe to make a decision to withdraw the battle line.
The two pieces of bad news could be said to be a chain reaction. The General Staff had considered the possibility of the nobles' betrayal, but they did not expect it to happen so quickly. The big families of the Kingdom of Everwinter had been fighting for nearly two years without a new king. Now, they were "united" under the will of the demons, which was quite ironic.
The current situation was very obvious. The Great Migration Phase was coming to an end, and the First Army needed to accumulate strength to defend the border area covered by the Red Mist.
Currently, about 5,000 soldiers had arrived at the Cage Mountain and the Sedimentation Bay, which was less than one-sixth of the total number of soldiers. Since he did not know how many soldiers the demons could mobilize, he could not afford to lose any more soldiers before he figured out the enemy's situation.
What worried Iron Axe the most was that when the First Army had limited transportation and insufficient troops, the demons would concentrate their army to attack the nodes that had yet to be defended. In that case, the First Army would be caught in a dilemma where it would be impossible to defend or rescue them.
After all, in the Kingdom of Wolfheart, there were no "mobile fortresses" like armored trains that they could rely on.
"Sir." At this time, a guard walked into the mansion's study. "The ship of Lady Edith Kant, the Minister of the General Staff, has just arrived at the port."
"Oh?" Iron Axe raised his eyebrows. He was just thinking of someone to share his worries with, and now the person to share his worries had come by herself. "Coincidentally, I'm free. I'll go to the port to pick her up."
…
At the port, Iron Axe saw the Pearl of the Northern Region surrounded by the members of the General Staff. All of them looked liberated and seemed to have completely forgotten the horrible experience she had when they were tortured by her.
It had only been about a year since she became the minister, but she had already won the respect and approval of the staff.
Iron Axe thought of the nobles in the Kingdom of Everwinter and the Kingdom of Wolfheart, and then looked at the former daughter of a duke. He could not help but sigh inwardly.
"Commander-in-chief." Edith also saw Iron Axe. She put her hand on her chest and saluted. "Long time no see. I hope my subordinates didn't cause you any trouble."
"They've all fulfilled their responsibilities in the line of duty." Iron Axe returned a military salute. They were basically equal in status, so there was no misunderstanding between them. In other words, apart from His Majesty and Lady Silvermoon, Edith was the only person he was willing to talk to.
"In other words, they didn't give you any surprises?" Edith shrugged and turned to look at the staff. "It seems that you haven't performed well recently."
Iron Axe could not help but smile. This Pearl of the Northern Region was still as unforgiving as before. "It's not a bad thing if we can win the war steadily."
Edith did not pursue the matter further. Instead, she changed the topic. "By the way, this time I came with a new weapon developed by His Majesty according to the frontline intelligence. Are you interested in taking a look?"
Iron Axe's eyes immediately lit up. "Of course. Please lead the way."
They came to the heavily guarded loading area, which had been isolated by the garrison. Huge wooden boxes were being lowered from the ships and neatly placed in a corner of the yard.
Many of the boxes had been opened, revealing the weapons wrapped in oiled paper.
Iron Axe's attention was quickly drawn to a small cannon.
"Good choice," Edith said with a smile. "This 75mm cannon is the most expensive firearm in this shipment. His Majesty hopes to use it to fill the firepower gap between the mortars and the Longsong Cannons. It doesn't need a witch to transport it. It can be assembled on four wheels and can be pulled by a horse or two people. The cannonballs can also be carried by people. "
"This reminds me of the original front-mounted field artillery." Iron Axe nodded. He immediately understood the use of this portable weapon. Compared with the short-range anti-demon grenades and mortars, the new cannon was obviously more suitable to deal with the thick-skinned Spider Demons. Even if they did not have time to set up artillery positions, the frontline soldiers would not be helpless against the Spider Demons.
"As for the new rifle over there, it's a semi-automatic weapon," Edith introduced as they walked. Edith explained as they walked. "The results of the test were pretty good. Two or three guns can achieve the same effect as a heavy machine gun. You must be familiar with the person who came up with this idea. He's Van 'er, the commander of the Artillery Battalion. Although the official product has been improved by His Majesty, it's still called the Van 'er Rifle. "
"But it's only a temporary substitute. I heard that the real automatic weapon is currently in the trial production stage. When the finished product comes out, it'll be shipped here immediately."
"The one on the far side is the new anti-demon grenade. Its caliber is much larger than the previous one. I think the Ministry of Chemical Industry has improved the propellant..."
The visitors gradually dispersed. When they walked all the way to the edge of the yard, only Iron Axe and Iron Axe were left.
"What's wrong? Is the war not going well?" Edith suddenly asked.
Iron Axe was startled. Only then did he realize that it was not a coincidence that Edith had brought him here alone.
"You saw it?"
"If not, you wouldn't have come to the dock to welcome me."
"I can't hide it from you." Iron Axe exhaled and told Edith about the recent bad news and what he was worried about. "Before the transportation channel is opened, it'll take us several months to gather all the troops and ammunition here. However, the demons may launch an attack from somewhere at any time. Even if Miss Sylvie, Lightning, and Maggie are here, they won't be able to monitor such a wide front. The war is imminent, but I know so little about the enemy. This is not a good sign. "
"I see." Edith pondered for a moment. "As for the transportation channel... I can't do anything about it. But in terms of intelligence, it may not be so difficult."
"You have an idea?"
"Sort of. You only think about using the First Army to solve the problem. That's why it's so tricky. " The Pearl of the Northern Region said slowly. "The demons seem to be killing many birds with one stone by driving the nobles to serve them, but it also creates an opportunity for us. As long as the demons don't wipe out every city, we can plant a large number of eyes in the belly of the enemy! "
Iron Axe seemed to realize something. "These eyes aren't soldiers of the First Army..."
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