After completing a series of follow-up arrangements, Heti left Gwen's room with the documents. For a moment, only the slight humming of the ventilation system could be heard in the large study. It was not until an uncoordinated breeze blew from behind that Gwen turned his head slightly and said, "You're late again."
"I've just arrived." Amber's figure emerged from the window. As she walked to the desk, she said casually, "But you and Heti were talking about those things that gave me a headache, so I rested outside the window for a while..."
Gwen glanced at the guy and asked, "How's the investigation going?"
"As you expected, there are Typhon spies among the laborers and craftsmen recruited near the White Sand Hills." Amber's expression became slightly serious. "Their period of infiltration is longer than we imagined. One of the carpenters has even lived in the Eastern Region for 20 years. He escaped from the wilderness with the refugees in the Eastern Region, built a city for the lord, and even joined the army. No one dared to believe that a person who lived there for 20 years could be a Typhon man — until my people caught him secretly using recording magic to collect information about mining machinery."
"... Maryland mentioned in the report that the Typhon people are not ignorant of our magic equipment. In addition to basic common sense, their aerial scouts can even remotely identify the flash when the magic cannon is fired... This can only be done by observing the video data," Gwen said. "The Ansu and Typhon have been confronting each other for decades. It's normal for spies to infiltrate each other. During the six months when we lost control of the Eastern Region, these spies must have taken the opportunity to spread a lot of information."
"It can't be helped. After all, it takes time for us to completely take over the Eastern Region. A short period of chaos is enough for the spies to do a lot of things, not to mention that the Eastern Region has been in chaos for nearly half a year. Then again, our 'National Power Deception Tactic' was completed with the help of these spies, so it's not a loss. "Amber curled her lips." But the spies we've identified must only account for a small part. Who knows how many of them are hiding in the gutters and corners of the Eastern Region. They may have even entered the Plains of the Holy Spirit with a large number of refugees out of control... "
"This is the time for the MI to show its value." Gwen looked at Amber. "Unconventional confrontation will be the norm between Typhon and Cecil in the future. A lot of the pressure will be on your MI staff, but I believe in their ability."
"Don't worry, the people I've trained will never let you down when it comes to stirring up trouble and counter-stirring up trouble." Amber proudly raised the corner of her mouth. She then stepped forward and put a thick stack of documents on Gwen's desk. "Also, this is from Changfeng Stronghold."
Gwen saw Amber holding something in her hand and expected it to be a report. But he did not expect it to be just a report from Changfeng Stronghold. He was shocked. "So thick?!"
Amber: "I didn't expect it either... This is from Maryland and Philip. God knows how much they wrote."
Gwen raised his eyebrows. He lowered his head and flipped open the thick printed document. His eyes swept across the neat letters on it. After a moment, he whispered, "It's a summary of the Palamel incident, as well as suggestions and reports on the strengths and weaknesses of the frontline defense and the Magician Corps."
Amber was stunned for a moment. She curiously approached the desk. "Huh?"
Gwen did not care about Amber's approach. As the director of the MIB, she had the authority to read the document. He just lowered his head and read the words on the report more carefully.
At the beginning of the report, Maryland mentioned the Typhon Empire's Army-level spells and the shortcomings of the traditional defensive fortresses in the face of such opponents.
According to the intelligence collected during the confrontation with Typhon in the Eastern Region, coupled with the information obtained by Maryland's follow-up investigation, Gwen finally had a clearer understanding of the characteristics and power of the 'Extraordinary Army' built by Typhon. It was also the first time he understood the full picture of the so-called 'Army-level spells'.
In short, it was a kind of spell that allowed mass-produced Extraordinary to cast synchronized spells, causing large-scale magic resonance, and superimposing and mutating the basic spell models to form an attack. In essence, it was still a kind of 'spellcasting technique', an extension of traditional Extraordinary skills. But in terms of manifestation, it had completely transcended the framework of the old army. It could even produce power similar to that of the Cecil Magician Corps.
Take the Iron River Knight Regiment as an example. The Typhon Empire trained thousands of Extraordinary from a young age and only let them master the basic skills of the Knight's Charge, Focus Aura, Protection Aura, and so on. After a lot of practice, these skills became the breathing instinct of these Extraordinary. Coupled with the further stabilization and 'resonance' of the Ratio Crystal worn by each Knight, the entire Iron River Knight Regiment could create a powerful 'resonance domain' during battle. This resonance domain was the Iron River Knight Regiment's Army-level combat skill (spell).
Within the resonance domain, mana would envelop the entire Knight Regiment, and create a massive unstable energy field known as the 'Thermal Spine' along the path of attack. From the description, Gwen believed that it could be a terrifying sea of plasma. The Iron River Knight Regiment could directly crash that mass of plasma onto the fortress's shield, and if it were a smaller fortress, the entire shield would have been overloaded and extinguished in an instant.
Similarly, the Typhon Empire's mage corps could also cast similar spells. As a specialized spellcasting unit, their attack methods were more varied. When two armies faced each other, they could bombard a large area, and when attacking fortresses, they could jointly create massive thunderstorms or focused energy similar to the Rainbow Cannon.
In front of such an army of Extraordinaires, the traditional fortress with sealed defenses was extremely fragile.
The earliest experimental Extraordinary legion of the Typhon Empire was formed a few years ago. At that time, the one guarding Longwind Fortress was Silas Loren Loren. At that time, the resonance technology and army training of the Typhon Empire were not yet perfect, causing their intention to fight to be exposed during the charging phase. At that time, Duke Typhon Empire made a prompt decision and relied on dozens of Knight Regiment to charge according to specific waves, coupled with a large number of mages continuously casting long-range magic to interrupt the action of the Typhon Empire. The battle record of that battle was still kept in the archive room of Longwind Fortress.
Just like how the two Rainbow Cannons broke the shield of Firmrock Fortress, the Extraordinary legion of Typhon Empire of the same era was also shaking the status of traditional fortresses.
Back on Earth, the classical castles had to give up under such circumstances.
However, in this world, due to the existence of shield technology and the Magic Net technology, large-scale fortresses that could accommodate a large number of infrastructure would not be easily withdrawn from the battlefield. After all, in the face of forces other than 'superweapons' and natural disasters such as the Great Mana Tide, fortresses with shields and self-sustaining capabilities were still indispensable. On the other hand, as long as the shield technology was further developed, even in the face of Extraordinary legions or magic cannons, traditional fortresses could still regain their importance.
Under this premise, Maryland proposed to Gwen his plan to modify the defense of Longwind Fortress in the report.
The first step was to preserve the series of positions built during the 'deceptive operation', and complete them into continuous military outposts as roads were built and supplies gaps were filled. Each outpost would be equipped with sufficient long-range firepower, forming a main defense line together with Longwind Fortress through a crossfire net. At the same time, each military outpost would also be equipped with alert, resupply, and backup communication lines to ensure that the defense line would have a smooth flow of information, quick reaction, and strong survivability.
The second step was to use the advantage of the unobstructed roads between military outposts to ensure several mobile units. It was to prevent the Typhon Knight Corps from finding a loophole in the defense line and bypassing fixed fortifications to harass the rear. Longwind Fortress had similar cavalry patrols to deal with Typhon's' detours', but without military outposts to replenish them, their effectiveness was limited and could only deal with the Typhon troops. But now, the Typhon had been constantly developing, their legion of Extraordinary individuals reaching a sizeable scale. More importantly, they had mastered the technology of arcane vehicles, and could achieve a breakthrough in the mobility of their troops at any time. Therefore, it was necessary to set up defenses at the border in advance.
As for the third step, Maryland's suggestion surprised even Gwen.
The former Monolith proposed to build a 'railway defense belt'.
"… We can use Longwind Fortress as the core to build several railways in the north and south direction, connecting all military outposts and border garrisons. We can have multiple armed trains running on the tracks to ensure that we have mobile firepower to support any point on the border at any moment. The Typhon's legion of Extraordinary individuals is a great threat to fixed fortresses, but the effect on mobile armed trains will be greatly reduced.
"Considering the high cost of building the Iron Throne, it is not practical to build a series of Iron Thrones at the border. We can build simpler armed trains — we can use the body of a mine, reduce the number of armory sections and transport sections, cancel the fortress-level heavy cannons, and use arcane missile turrets and small fragmentation howitzers as the main weapons. Because the Typhon's army is still mainly composed of 'people', the simple armed trains are enough to cause damage to people.
"The charging track itself is the carrier of the Magic Net, and the process of building the track is equivalent to completing the laying of the Magic Net at the border. And because the track itself has a shield, it can further ensure the safety of communication at the defense line."
Gwen slowly put down the report in his hand and sighed softly. "… We have found a treasure in Monolith Fortress."
Amber did not know much about war, but at least she could understand what was mentioned in the report after following Gwen for a few years. After a few simulations in her mind, the MIB chief's eyes slowly widened. "Oh my god … If this thing is really built, the Typhon's people will charge the defense line … Is this the so-called 'ultimate defense line'?"
"There is no ultimate strategy in the world. The art of war is always developing in attack and defense. The Typhon may one day find a way to resist the mobile defense network, but more advanced defensive concepts will always appear." Gwen shook his head and looked back at the report. "But at least for now, in the face of the current enemy, Maryland has come up with the most suitable plan."
Maryland's plan had almost reached the limit of what Cecil's engineering and technical ability could achieve while retaining the role of the fortress. The traditional Longwind Fortress was still an important structure of the defense line, but it had become an important node instead of the only core. It was more responsible for the role of the command center, logistics center, and frontline industrial center. The mobile defense network built with modern transportation and communication conditions could further magnify the advantage of the magician army to make up for the lack of troops at the border of Cecil.
What was more commendable was that Maryland had considered cost-saving in the process. He noticed that the Iron Throne had too much firepower when facing infantry units, and the simplified armed train he proposed would greatly reduce the financial pressure of the Cecil Empire.
After all, it would cost money to rebuild, renovate, and construct every part of the country. If Gawain were to start building seven or eight Iron Thrones at this time, Heidi would probably jump off the bank of the White Water River …
Of course, even with this optimization, the mobile defense plan proposed by Maryland still required a high cost to realize. But Gwen was very clear about one thing: everything could be saved, except for education and national defense.
The former determined the height of a country after a hundred years, and the latter determined whether a country could survive a hundred years.
Gwen turned a page. There was more to the thick report.
At the back, he saw Philip's full report on the night of terror at Palamel Heights, as well as several pages of lessons learned.
"… Due to inexperience, our army was unable to fully utilize the Iron Throne. The successful evacuation of Typhon's forces could have been avoided, but we missed the opportunity.
"There were problems with the coordination between the armored train and the fixed land base, as well as problems with the sharing of intelligence with the Changfeng Defense Line. As a result, the several observation posts in Palamel Heights were unable to send intelligence to the Iron Throne in time. Although the observation posts did not discover the whereabouts of Typhon's forces, the situation of poor intelligence did exist.
"Our army's reconnaissance methods in bad weather were insufficient. Typhon's forces could discover the Iron Throne, but our observers did not discover Typhon's reconnaissance. The traditional Griffin Knight could hardly take to the air in bad weather. Eagle Eye, Binoculars, and other means were greatly affected by the weather.
"… It is recommended to develop an observation device with the effect of detecting life. It is recommended to add a 'Mana Monitoring Tower' function to the Iron Throne, as well as to sense any supernatural units or traps lurking nearby.
"We need aerial reconnaissance methods other than the Griffin Knight as a supplement. The current Griffin Knight's load capacity has reached its limit. It can't carry more protective equipment to deal with extreme weather, nor can it carry more weapons. The only self-defense equipment it has is unable to fight against Typhon's forces."
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