Snowfrost City, the lord's castle, the war hall.
Constance stood in front of a huge battle sand table, and beside her was Grand Duke Owen, who had just received a new round of data from Rheia. Around the sand table were Hao Ren's group of four, as well as Charlemagne and his sister. Other than that, there was no one else in the hall.
The frontline commanders were still in the south, and it was impossible for them to rush back to participate in this informal meeting. And Constance had used her telepathic link to be in two places at the same time, and had taken on the task of exchanging information between the two places.
"The main battle zone is here." Constance bent down as she pointed at the sand table with her rapier. That was the edge of the northern lands of ice, the border between the six northern provinces and the empire's central region. There were no mountains there, and the terrain was mostly hills and small plains, and it was not an advantageous zone for either side. "The Army of the North has already built fortifications in these areas, but our advance has been met with great resistance. Our frontline has even retreated recently. At first, we relied on surprise attacks to gain the upper hand, but after we broke into the central region, we encountered the frenzied counterattacks of the Ebon Blade and the imperial army, and now there is the constant appearance of the mutated monster army. To be honest, the situation is not looking good. "
"The good news is that the Knights of the Ebon Blade cannot focus all their attention on us." Grand Duke Owen pointed at the south of the sand table, "Count Naaem has already used Graymountain as a base to respond to us, and the empire has no choice but to send a portion of the knights to the south to deal with Graymountain's army."
"A pincer attack from the north and the south, it sounds great, but the real situation is not easy at all." Constance said solemnly, "The mutated Knights of the Ebon Blade are far stronger than expected, and the normal soldiers have to rely on numbers to hold them back, and the only ones who can face them head-on are the Knights of the Broken Blade, but the Knights of the Broken Blade are far fewer than the Knights of the Ebon Blade. With the difference in quality and quantity, it is not easy for us to stand firm, let alone attack the imperial capital. "
"And there are new reports that the mutated monsters have appeared among the normal soldiers of the imperial army," Grand Duke Owen added.
"The mutation is no longer limited to the Ebon Blade Knights …" Vivian frowned. "It's spreading to normal humans …"
"In every cycle, the Annihilation would always corrupt the most powerful leader, and turn his kingdom into its own minions …" Rheia crossed her arms, "So His Majesty Berentine is the Annihilation's vessel this time, and as long as we take him down, the problem will be solved, right?"
Constance looked up and said coldly, "Did you not hear? Our current situation is such that we can't take a single step forward. Indeed, as you said, we can win if we take down the Imperial Capital, but we can't even enter the central region. "
"The White City Federation can provide support," Charlemagne suddenly said. "Despite the World Scar, the White City Federation has the largest civilian airship fleet, which can be used as a temporary troop transport. We have contacted my father, and he is willing to help."
It seemed like after a night of contemplation, Charlemagne and Awenna had made up their minds.
Hao Ren waited for Charlemagne to finish, and seeing Constance start to think, he broke the silence, "Don't be in a rush to come up with a battle plan. After seeing the forces from the Basilica of the World Tree, I think you will have a new idea."
"The forces of the Basilica of the World Tree?" Constance looked at Hao Ren with a puzzled look, "You have mentioned them before, and confirmed that the reinforcements will be here soon. But where are they? And when will they appear before me? "
Hao Ren picked up the MDT and looked up with a smile, "The timing is just right. They are here, but they need an open space to land."
"Is it the airship fleet?" Constance had a look of realization, "The upper platform of Snowfrost City …"
"No, much bigger than the airships, and even bigger than your upper platform." Hao Ren waved his hand, "… Forget it, I have thought that there is no place for them to land in this city. I will let them land on the plains outside the city, and you will come with me to meet them. What do you think? "
Constance and Duke Owen looked at each other, but they did not dwell on the issue, and nodded at the same time.
"And one more thing …" Hao Ren added, "How are the people of Snowfrost City … mentally?"
Constance had no idea what the baffling question meant, but she guessed that the army brought by the mysterious Basilica of the World Tree would have a shocking image, and it was completely understandable: the heritors had inherited ancient knowledge from a certain era, and these things with several generations of technological difference were often terrifying to the common folk, just like how the Gorgon fighters of the old era were seen as "demons" by the people of the present.
"Don't worry, the nerves of the northerners are thicker than you think," Duke Owen laughed heartily, and after Rheia's second treatment, he was clearly in better spirits than before, "And we have been dealing with all sorts of 'ancient relics', what else do you think can affect us?"
Hao Ren did not explain further, and just smiled and nodded, "That would be for the best."
Soon, they arrived at the western wall of Snowfrost City, and with them were a few officers and secretaries that Duke Owen had urgently gathered.
There was a platform that poked out of the wall, and it faced the endless snowfield outside the city.
Hao Ren said that the troops from the Basilica of the World Tree would land on the snowfield, and Constance thought that this platform was the best place to meet them. They could see the situation on the plains from here, and there was a separate lift nearby that could quickly send the people on the platform to the western gate of the fortress city.
On the other hand, Duke Owen had sent an order to the soldiers of the Army of the North stationed in Snowfrost City, letting them know that special reinforcements were arriving in the city, and they should be prepared in advance to prevent unnecessary unrest in the city.
There was no doubt that the reinforcements brought by Hao Ren were quite sudden for Snowfrost City, and under normal circumstances, a country would not allow a military force outside of their own country to land in their own base camp, but Constance did not show any resistance to the matter.
Because in the face of the Turn of the Eras, none of this mattered.
The heritors were natural allies, and all the rules of the mortal world had to give way to this principle. At least at this moment, Constance still firmly believed that Hao Ren and his party were 'heritors', and this belief had undoubtedly saved them a lot of trouble.
The sky above the snowfield was clear, and under the divine barrier, the sky appeared to be crystal clear. The clouds were thin today, and even the Gorgon Dimension Rift above Snowfrost City seemed to have shrunk a little. For the northerners, this was a rare good day.
And it was in this rare clear sky that a huge shadow suddenly appeared.
The shadow suddenly appeared in the sky, as if some behemoth was approaching a transparent curtain, casting a rectangular shadow, and then the blurry shadow quickly enlarged, solidified, and gradually revealed hard lines and more details. Constance and Duke Owen looked up in shock, and soon they realized that it was definitely not an 'airship'.
An airship could not fly that high, nor could it be that large.
It was like a mountain falling from the sky!
Three massive black starships pierced through the divine barrier over L 'Haronne. Their armor was thick and sturdy, and their surface had black crystal wings that looked like sails, while their rear was spewing out surging energy particles. Around the starships were countless escort aircrafts circling around like bees, forming a dazzling trail of light in the air.
A strange rumbling sound resounded throughout the plains.
The northern soldiers on the platform watched in shock as the aircrafts that were larger than the Gorgon Lord slowly descended from the sky. The smaller escort aircrafts continued to circle in the air, while the three giant ships hovered just a few meters above the ground.
Following that, a series of openings opened on the giant ships, and humanoid creatures that looked like giants walked out.
It was the fully-armed guardian giant army.
"In the central regions, while the corruption has begun to spread, there are still many civilians who have not been corrupted who have yet to escape. We cannot bomb those areas directly from the air, so the best solution is an overwhelming ground force." Hao Ren seemed to be talking to himself, but also to Constance, "Letting these giants go against the original Ebon Blade knights may be overkill, but once the knights mutate into the mad monsters … for the guardian giants, the war will be back on track."
Constance and the rest of the northern soldiers were shocked by the giant army on the plains, but Rheia frowned when she saw the three ships and the number of escorts they brought. She gently tugged on Hao Ren's sleeve, "Didn't you mobilize an entire fleet of battleships? Why are there only three? Also, where are the armed drones that you summoned? "
Hao Ren said softly, "They are to deal with another war … I'll tell you what Nolan found out later."
"These are the Basilica of the World Tree's …" Constance's voice interrupted the hushed conversation between Hao Ren and Rheia, and the usually calm princess could no longer control the change in her expression. She looked at the three starships on the plains (in fact, the three starships were so huge that they almost covered the entire west side of Snowfrost City, and from this distance, it was almost impossible to see where the farthest ship was), "Are those giants your soldiers?"
"Strictly speaking, it's her private army." Hao Ren pointed at Rheia, "Look, I've said it before, don't be in a rush to come up with a battle plan …"
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