Chapter 1068 - A Torch Run (1/2)
Chapter 1068: A Torch Run
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN The next morning after the sports meeting, Roland entered the parlor and met the officials who were waiting there. They all rose as Roland came in.
“Please take a seat,” said Roland as he seated himself in the host chair. He surveyed the room before speaking solemnly, “You’ve probably all learnt about the reason for this meeting. I now declare that the war has officially begun!”
“This isn’t something you just throw onto the armies. As of this moment, I require every governmental body and every department director of the Administrative Office to have a basic understanding of the war as well as the future political and military trend. I require every one of you to work hard and fight this prolonged battle together!” The whip was in Roland’s voice. “We’ve had many great achievements since the establishment of Neverwinter. However, nothing would last if we lose the Battle of Divine Will. If we fail to take the Taquila ruins, the Red Mist will spread throughout the whole continent in no time. By then, nothing would be able to stop the demons. Therefore, we must win. We lose, we fail!”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Barov and the others shouted in a chorus.
“Very well.” Roland then turned to Edith and said, “Now the General Staff will talk about the detailed tactics and strategies.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the Pearl of the Northern Region replied as she stood up. She placed her hand on her chest gracefully and continued, “I’ll have to use the big map for my presentation.”
She walked to Roland and tapped the map of the Western Region on the wall behind her. After numerous amendments and additions, the map portrayed more than half of the inhabited Barbarian Land, and Neverwinter had become a tiny dot on the edge of the map rather than in its center. Anybody who looked at the map would soon realize how small a thing a man was. This was also one of Roland’s primary goals while drafting the map.
He wanted his ministers and officials to understand the littleness of human beings and thus focus on the long-term goal instead of immediate gains.
Edith went straight to the point. “First of all, we need you all to know that this upcoming battle will be different from any of the ones we’ve had in the past. I want everybody to understand that this will be a prolonged war.”
The vision blocking tactic used in the battle at the North Slope would not work anymore. Since the Taquila ruins were much farther from the Misty Forest than the destroyed outpost, it would take months to build the railways there. As such, the demons would definitely notice what they were doing.
As the demons had an absolute positional advantage on the vast continent, Roland decided to take the advantage of his military strength and have a direct fight with the demons instead of launching a surprise attack.
Beyond a doubt, this was going to be a battle between the attacking and the defending.
Nobody was surprised at Edith’s proposal, as they had all known the plan beforehand.
Only Barov raised a question. “How long do you estimate this war will take?”
“That depends on how fierce the counterattack is,” Edith answered nonchalantly. “The General Staff has asked the Taquila witches to conduct several maneuvers. Suppose the demons fight in the same way they did during the Battle of North Slope and attack us once a week, we would be able to slam the Longsong Cannons in their faces within three months.”
“But they aren’t stupid, and they certainly won’t make the same mistake over and over again.”
“Exactly. I anticipate that the demons would soon realize what the railways are used for. Perhaps, they would even detect the railways at the rear of Misty Forest. But we are also taking precautions. Since there are a lot of variables in a battle, I hope the Administrative Office will allocate the resources based on the worst possible scenario.”
“And the worst scenario is…?” asked Barov as he drew his brows together.
“From spring all the way to winter, until the arrival of the Months of Demons,” said Edith flatly.
“Then doesn’t that mean we’ve failed already?” Barov the chief grimaced. “This doesn’t meet His Majesty’s requirement.”
“As long as we don’t retreat, the battle isn’t over. We are just deadlocked.” The Pearl of the Northern Region smiled faintly. “The battle will continue after the snow melts.” Seeing all the directors from the Administrative Office look a bit apprehensive, Edith comforted them, “But this is highly unlikely, for we produce bullets way faster than the demons reproduce themselves. This is just the worst scenario.”
Barov said meditatively, “In that case, I’ll need to collect food from all the other regions of the country for a war reserve stock. As Golden Twos are currently grown in all parts of the kingdom, I believe there will be a lot of excesses this year. These excesses would sustain the First Army for a year.”