"I'm all ears."
Cornelia stood aside and gazed at Xiao Ran. Xiao Ran didn't reply immediately. Instead, he once again scrutinized the map on the table.
The current situation wasn't too good for the 19th District. The entire defensive line had been completely surrounded by the military forces of the EU and the local resistance. In terms of terrain, there weren't many natural defensive barriers. In other words, there weren't any mountains or cliffs on the defensive line. They could only rely on rivers, forests, some relatively special terrain, or simply dug trenches for defense.
Such defensive measures might work against the armed forces of this world, but against the participants, they weren't very useful. It wasn't that the defensive line was meaningless against the participants, but with the current strength of the Empire in this world, any defensive line was useless. If it was the Burning Legion who established the defensive line … No, if it was the Burning Legion, there was no need to establish a defensive line at all.
In other words, the defensive line of the 19th District could only be used against the local forces of this world. The attack of the two participant legions actually relied on the participants of the Scarlet Knights. However, the fact that the Scarlet Knights were able to contend against the two other legions and ensure that the 19th District didn't collapse quickly had already exceeded Xiao Ran's understanding of the Scarlet Knights.
In the current situation, no matter how strong the defensive line was, it was meaningless for Cornelia. What she needed was a way to break the encirclement that was on the verge of collapse. Xiao Ran had the power to break the encirclement, but the key was that Xiao Ran couldn't spend too much time here. Once Xiao Ran broke the encirclement, the situation would return to the same state after Xiao Ran left. It might even be worse than before.
Besides, breaking the encirclement wasn't about gaining a local advantage on such a vast land. A victory in a single battle was meaningless. The problem had to be solved from the root as a whole.
With the current strength of the 19th District, it could be said that they couldn't advance, but they couldn't give up on the 19th District and choose to retreat. This situation was indeed a little difficult for the Empire. In fact, for the Empire, choosing to withdraw from the 19th District was the best choice. They didn't want to waste their strength in meaningless places. If the 19th District was thrown to the EU and the local forces at the same time, the participant legions of both sides would naturally have some conflicts because of the ownership of the 19th District.
After all, the EU was a huge alliance. The local forces had the possibility of joining the EU and becoming one of the participating countries. This was equivalent to giving the 19th District to the EU.
"The situation is more troublesome than I thought." Xiao Ran remained silent. Cornelia curled the corner of her mouth and said to Xiao Ran....... what? can't think of a better solution? "...
. "It's not that I don't have a better solution. It's just that I'm not sure if Her Highness Cornelia can keep the advantage after I leave." Xiao Ran glanced at Cornelia and said, "Now the most difficult problem facing the 19th District is that it has to face both the EU, which is equally powerful, and the local forces who have the highest support in the EU. The local forces and the EU are already in an alliance. The EU is mainly responsible for suppressing the 19th District, while the local forces launch surprise attacks on us. We have to be careful of both the front and the back, and we don't have enough strength in front of the enemy."
"If we withdraw from the 19th District, the local forces may choose to join the EU, which can ensure their independence. But if we continue to persist, we will only turn this place into a meat grinder. The situation is indeed more troublesome than I thought at the beginning. More importantly, even if we want to defend, we don't have the geographical advantage to build a suitable defensive line."
Cornelia's expression didn't change much after hearing Xiao Ran's words, but her subordinates showed disdain on their faces. A Knight of the Round Table who had never been on the battlefield was not worthy of their sincere respect.
Xiao Ran didn't care about what those people thought. He continued to say to Cornelia, "Since it's impossible to retreat, the only thing we can do is to attack. We have to take the initiative to suppress the enemy and gain more advantages. I was just thinking that even if we take the initiative to attack and gain these advantages, it doesn't mean that you can hold on to them, because it's more likely that the EU will retaliate more fiercely."
Cornelia looked at the map on the table and asked, "Then where are you going to attack? How many troops do you need? What's your plan?"
"There are times when planning is not necessary," he said. Xiao Ran raised his hand, walked to the table, and gently tapped it. "The target of the attack is here. As for the troops, it's not necessary at all."
"But after I start the attack, I need you to gather your troops and attack in this direction. I will hold the rear while you break through the encirclement. It's better to break one finger than to injure all five. As long as one of the two forces surrounding the 19th section is completely suppressed and eliminated, I believe the 19th section will have an easier time in the future. But if there is any retaliation later, it will depend on whether Your Highness Cornelia has the ability to deal with it."
Cornelia looked at the place Xiao Ran was pointing at, and a look of astonishment flashed in her eyes. She didn't even dare to think about where Xiao Ran was pointing at. It was a city that crossed the 19th section's defensive line and went deep into the territory occupied by the EU and the local forces. It was a city, a city that was once occupied by the Empire but lost. It was also the most important core of the area occupied by the resistance forces, their headquarters.
Cornelia immediately looked at Xiao Ran and frowned. "You want to attack here? Alone?! "
"I can do it alone." Xiao Ran nodded gently. "Destroying this place will make the Empire suffer more hatred from the locals, but it will also relieve a lot of pressure. Without the help of this force, the EU will have to face the Empire's army in many more difficult places. With the structure of the EU, I'm afraid they won't be willing to bear such pressure. They will also take into consideration the destruction of the local resistance forces and make more cautious decisions. This will give the 19th section some breathing room for a while, but once the breathing room is over, the 19th section is likely to face an even more terrifying attack from the EU. It may even trigger an early decisive battle."
"After all, there seems to be an organization similar to the Scarlet Knights on the EU side, and the Resistance Army also has the support of a similar organization. Once they start to act, it will be a thunderous strike. I'm afraid that the 19th District will face a more difficult situation than it is now. Without a powerful force that can decide and change the situation, the 19th District will not be able to defend itself. Of course, the right to decide is in your hands, Your Highness Cornelia."
Cornelia furrowed her brows as she pondered over the true meaning of Xiao Ran's words. However, she didn't believe that Xiao Ran had the ability to take down the main camp of the resistance all by himself. Therefore, Cornelia was actually considering the possibility of launching an assault with a military force of a certain scale.
This military force of course included her Freikorps, Xiao Ran, Luciano, and Monica, the three Knights of the Round Table, as well as a part of the Scarlet Knights. However, she didn't know if Xiao Ran had the ability to do it alone. As long as Xiao Ran stayed in the 19th section for a long time, or even made Xiao Ran the governor of the 19th section, the 19th section would no longer be troubled by these so-called troubles. The core problem of the 19th section was that there was no powerful force to hold the fort, so it was difficult to deter the enemy.
Sometimes, a powerful force could really play a decisive role in a war, and this was the truth in almost every world.
Cornelia didn't say anything, and neither did Xiao Ran. He just looked at the map on the table and continued to analyze the current situation of the 19th section. No matter how he looked at it, the method he just proposed was the only way to solve the current situation. Once the battle was successful, one of the two forces that formed the encirclement, the resistance forces, would completely collapse. In the end, the EU would have to invest more military force to maintain the encirclement, but in this way, the EU wouldn't be able to continue to suppress the 19th section for a short period of time.
But this would only give the 19th section a short respite. The participant army that had joined the local forces would definitely launch a retaliatory attack, and it wouldn't make much of a difference whether this army would join the EU or rebuild the local resistance forces. In the end, they would still belong to the EU, and in the end, the two participant armies that had appeared on the surface would become a real alliance.
After a long time, Cornelia finally said, "This is equivalent to drinking poison to quench thirst. All the pressure and conflicts we have to bear now will be delayed until later. Once they erupt, the situation will only be more difficult than now. The good thing is that we have to face two forces instead of one."
Xiao Ran looked at Cornelia without saying a word. In fact, the benefits of doing this weren't just what Cornelia had said. They would have the most critical time to rest and recuperate. Moreover, the only enemy they would have to face would be the EU. As for the resistance forces, even if they were to stand up again, they wouldn't be able to cause as much trouble as they were now. Even if the remnants of the resistance forces joined the EU and the participant army joined the EU, they would only be able to weaken the original two enemies a little and become one.
But at that time, from a strategic point of view, the military operations only needed to involve one aspect to trigger the entire EU. As for the changes in the scale of the operation, there wouldn't be much of a change. But now, the 19th section needed some time to breathe. As long as the new aircraft were fully equipped, the situation would naturally be a lot more relaxed. But by then, everything would have nothing to do with Cornelia.
And this was only the first half of the plan. If the second half was included, the pressure on the 19th section would become even less. But Xiao Ran wouldn't be so kind as to share the second half of the plan, because once he did, the problem of implementing the second half of the plan would ultimately fall into his hands.
As for whether Cornelia wanted to continue with the plan or not, it had nothing to do with Xiao Ran. By then, Cornelia would be embarrassed and have no right to ask Xiao Ran to continue with the second half of the plan. After all, Cornelia was a prideful person, and she wouldn't necessarily ask for help.
Cornelia looked at Xiao Ran and said, "I need to think about it, but from a general point of view, this plan is feasible. As for whether we have the ability to implement it, we also need to think about it carefully."
"But I need to remind you." Xiao Ran said calmly, "I wasn't boasting when I said that I would occupy or destroy this place alone. So you don't need to consider how much manpower to attack this place. Since I said so, I am confident that I can do it. It's just a base camp of the Resistance Army. Even if it has a military force that isn't inferior to this base, it's just a matter of time for me to destroy it."
Xiao Ran turned to Monica and Luziano and said, "The situation in the 19th section isn't very good now. Since Her Majesty asked us to come here, perhaps she wants us to help the 19th section. For the time being, the two of you should cooperate with Her Highness Cornelia."
Monica and Luziano nodded repeatedly. Xiao Ran turned to Cornelia again and said, "If there's anything I can help with, please let me know. Even if Your Highness Cornelia didn't say so, I was prepared to take action because I still need a suitable battlefield to test the Soul Slayer. If there's a battle, please inform me."
Cornelia looked deeply into Xiao Ran's eyes and said, "I will."
"Oh, by the way, as a Knight of the Round Table, I think I have the right to act independently. Please forgive me if I don't inform Your Highness Cornelia of my next move."
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