'What do we lack?'
Andesha looked at Rosetta's eyes. In the eyes of Augustus, the ruler of the Norman Empire, he was as deep and calm as a deep pool. His eyes made her realize that she didn't come here to beg for forgiveness or to justify herself. She came here to contribute to the Norman Empire.
Rosetta looked at Andesha quietly.
The Winterwolf Legion was at a disadvantage in this battle at the border, and the Emperor had taken the diplomatic pressure for them. Duke Ferdinand would complete the summary of the experience of the generals together with them. As for now, what the young Wolf General should do was to tell the ruler of the Empire how he should strengthen his army and prepare for the next battle.
"Firstly, communication," Andesha said after a short moment of contemplation.
"Our current communication method is flawed. The Magician Army of Cecil is bringing about a new situation in the war. Their long-range attacks are rich and flexible, and the army can cooperate and counterattack quickly on a very wide battlefield. This means that the speed and extent of changes in various areas of the battlefield will be much faster than before …"
"The communication tower's communication range is very long, and it can cross the battlefield. However, it requires fixed facilities to maintain large-scale magic circles, and can only be used as a means of communication between fortresses. The communication spells of mages are flexible, but the communication range is less than two kilometers, which is not enough for the scale of the upcoming battlefield. Moreover, the casting of communication spells has high requirements, and there are very few middle-ranked mages. Those who can cast communication spells are basically commanders, and they can't be used as relay messengers on the battlefield.
"The magic light spell cast by signal mages is a communication method that cannot be hidden. Although it is useful, it has too many limitations under special circumstances, and we have encountered such 'special circumstances' …"
"Secondly, our command system can't keep up with the structure of our army, especially the role of the advisors. They should have the right to participate in the formulation of tactics, and not just give suggestions. In addition, there is no effective cooperation between the advisors, specifically …"
"Thirdly, we need to upgrade our equipment. Your Majesty, as much as I hate to admit it, we are falling behind the Cecil army in terms of equipment. The Extraordinary army is indeed powerful, but we have more ordinary soldiers. The magic-powered weapons of the Cecil army determine the value of the ordinary soldiers on the battlefield. If a large number of ordinary soldiers fall behind the enemy in terms of weapons and equipment, we will be crushed by the Cecil army on the overall battlefield no matter how much advantage the Extraordinary army has on the battlefield.
"My scouting troop has fought Cecil's scouts many times. Their scouts are just ordinary people, yet they are able to fight against our Shadow Scouts and Mages. It's a very dangerous signal …"
"The last point, and also the one that is most difficult to control, is that our way of thinking, or rather, our handling and understanding of war … is limited."
Andesha's speech slowed down significantly when she reached the last point. Even though she had organized her thoughts beforehand, it was still difficult for her to summarize what she wanted to say. Rosetta? Augustus did not rush her. He only looked at the young general calmly and signaled for her to speak boldly.
With the emperor's silent encouragement, Andesha took a light breath and began to talk about the Typhon army's first and biggest mistake.
"In the beginning, the Cecil army had no advantage at all. At that time, the Longwind defense line could be said to be vulnerable in front of the Winterwolf army, but they relied on deceptive tactics to drag on for half a month, turning the disadvantage into an advantage. This deceptive tactic was not as simple as just putting on a show on the battlefield. In half a month, they carried out fake military movements, built fake fortifications, and even created fake caravans. But what they did was far more than that.
"On the way here, I learned more from my grandfather. The Cecil army even created a fake post-war atmosphere in the Eastern Region. They even used the changes in business orders to numb our Royal Advisor. Your Majesty, this is the most terrifying part."
"Here, war is on the battlefield. But in the eyes of the Cecil army, the frontline is only one part of the war.
"Their markets, their propaganda, their soldiers on the front, the merchants on the side, and even the commoners on the bottom, all of their actions are part of the war. They are operating to achieve the same goal. This is very frightening, Your Majesty."
After Andesha finished her thoughts, Rosetta remained silent for a while. After a dozen seconds, the ruler of the Empire frowned and said in a low voice, "War is not only on the battlefield … You're right, Andesha.
"We were deceived by the Cecil army once. Even now, there are still some nobles who believe that the Cecil army's scheme is just a despicable 'trick'. But the truth is not just that. The Cecil army did not just create a lie, they created an all-encompassing illusion. From the trade orders at the border, to their propaganda within the country, to the military movements on the frontlines, they created a 'curtain' that has no blind spots and completely wrapped us in it. We can only see what they are acting. Even if the spies we planted in the Eastern Region risked their lives to send out so much information, the information they sent out was false. This is very frightening, Andesha, very frightening."
"What's even more frightening is that our current system of local governors can't do the same thing."
Rosetta finished his words quietly. Beside him, Duke Ferdinand glanced at Andesha. Other than shock, there was also a hint of relief in the old duke's eyes.
People would always make mistakes, and the people of the Wendell Family were no exception. But at least Andesha did not let those mistakes affect her judgment as the Wolf General. On the other hand, it was because she had some sort of obsession with the old Ansu Kingdom that she was particularly sensitive to the actions of the Cecil army. That was why she was able to link those actions that seemed to be distributed in different domains and analyze them from a hostile perspective, coming to a conclusion that normal people would not have thought of.
Of course, other than this reason, being stationed at the border for a long time and dealing with the Longwind Stronghold for a long time was also one of the important factors that led to her conclusion.
After that, Rosetta learned a lot of things from Andesha. Not only did he learn about the changes in the situation at the border, but he also learned about the operations of the few armies at the border, as well as the progress of the border trade. During this process, he even invited the two Wolf Generals of the Wendell Family to have lunch in his parlor. The long conversation only ended when the giant sun gradually approached the horizon.
Andesha had just returned from the border today. Although she was not afraid of this little bit of fatigue as a high-grade Extraordinary, Rosetta still let her go home and rest first to recharge her energy for tomorrow's meeting. Duke Ferdinand, on the other hand, was left behind to continue the discussion.
"Andesha is indeed a very sensitive child," Rosetta said faintly when only the two of them were left in the room. "She can always notice things that are beneath the surface."
Ferdinand lowered his head. "But her rashness this time almost ruined our plans, Your Majesty."
"The shortcoming of youth can be made up for with time, but sensitivity is hard to train," Rosetta said calmly. "She mentioned the 'illusion' created by the Cecil Empire, but this is actually the difference in national control between the Cecil Empire and us. What do you think about this?"
"… Forgive me for being blunt, Your Majesty. In my opinion, at least at the current stage, the Cecil Empire is a new country, and their control over more than half of the country is not stronger than ours. Our regional chief system has been implemented for more than ten years, but not long ago, they were still relying on the suzerain's oath to maintain the integrity of the country," Duke Ferdinand said directly. "But if this continues, it's only a matter of time before they surpass us in this aspect."
At this point, the old duke paused for a moment before continuing, "As for this time, rather than saying that they were able to create such a large-scale scam in various aspects, it's more accurate to say that it's showing how effective the propaganda tools they have are.
"A week after the Battle of the Holy Spirit Plains ended, the news of the complete victory of the Cecil Army and the stable transfer of the royal authority was sent to all the nobles in the Eastern Region through newspapers. The commoners were ill-informed and knew nothing about what happened in the Holy Spirit Plains. Thus, the newspapers became the only reliable source of information, and the local nobles and merchants fought to pass them on. Thus … we believed the propaganda in their newspapers.
"Your Majesty, Typhon also has newspapers now, but as far as I know, it's only something that the upper-class wealthy citizens are qualified to read. It should have been more effective, but this effect has been wasted.
"Cecil's people taught us a lesson in this aspect. The lessons aren't free, so we have to learn properly."
After hearing Ferdinand's words, Emperor Rosetta smiled and said, "That's true. The lessons this time aren't cheap at all …"
As he said that, he walked behind the desk and said, "It's time to write a letter to Emperor Cecil. He has lowered the purchase price of the textiles by 30% in the new order. Now, let's see if we can use some pen and paper to reduce this tuition fee a little."
Ferdinand smiled and said, "Very soon, there will be people in the Parliament who will think that we are lowering our heads to Cecil."
Rosetta replied with an ancient proverb from Typhon, "If you want to climb a mountain, you have to lower your head and hasten on your journey."
…
Cecil Empire, the eastern region of the Holy Spirit Plains, around Solin Castle.
The huge sun had gradually set, leaving only half of the huge solar disk hanging on the horizon. The light object with mysterious wood grains and glorious corona scattered an orange-red glow on the ground. The glow spread out among the clouds, forming a blood-red sunset.
The red clouds covered the sky, crossing the entire horizon from east to west. Beside Solin Castle, which had been destroyed by the flames of war, a temporary sentry tower stood silently in the setting sun. The sentry stood at the top of the sentry tower vigilantly, looking in the direction of the plains to the west of the castle.
The plains that had been burned by the flames of war were filled with bomb craters. There was also a strange belt mixed with burn marks and bright flowers that extended from afar, brushing past Solin Castle to the east. Around Solin Castle, several sentry towers could be seen standing tall, looking out for each other. There were also tents and simple houses scattered around the sentry towers. Military vehicles and patrolling soldiers were moving around this area, looking like they were closely monitoring it.
The sentry stretched his slightly sore neck and shoulders, but his gaze was still fixed on the area that was being closely monitored.
He knew that this was the place where the terrifying "Man-made God" came out. There was a huge crack that led to the depths of the ground, and below it was the dark nest of the All Ends Society. It was filled with dangerous traps and magical creations that had gone out of control. The soldiers had cleared the wandering crystal cluster giants, but they were helpless against the underground nest.
The higher-ups did not have extra manpower and energy to deal with the dark nest left behind by the All Ends Society, so they could only send people to seal off this area. The sentry tower near the west wall of Solin Castle was part of the entire blockade.
When it was time for the scheduled report, the sentry turned on the magic terminal beside him. He looked at the plains in the distance and said, "Command post, this is the first sentry tower. Everything in the target area is …"
The sentry suddenly stopped. He stared at the beginning of the path of flowers and burn marks. His tone suddenly became serious. "Wait a minute, there's a situation …"
There was movement coming from the direction of the plains. Large plumes of smoke and dust rose from the direction of the fissure, and something seemed to be rising from the smoke and dust. The top of the nearby sentry towers lit up with flashing red lights, and the soldiers in the camp quickly gathered.
The voice of the command post came from the magic terminal. "Sentry tower one, reply, what's going on?"
"Something is rising from the crack …" The sentry was shocked as his eyes widened. "It's … It's like a vine … or a tree?"
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