682 Eleanor’s talent Part 1 (1/2)
”That was a great speech!” Nicholas exclaimed. He was afraid to appear suspicious, so he did not dare give any suggestions to Saleen. Upon hearing Eleanor's plan Nicholas could not contain his excitement any longer. Such an arrangement would allow Saleen to wield all the power in his hands. Unless all the armies ganged up to rebel against Saleen these armies would only be his warring tools.
Eleanor smiled, then continued, ”Ten main camps might seem extravagant. Metatrin City will have sixty-thousand troops, while the western and eastern towns will each get twenty-thousand troops. No one will be guarding the broken-edged pass or controlling the northern lands.”
”The main camps are used for campaigns, we cannot only rely on the demons. The demons are going to occupy the enemy's city and if demons are stationed there as well, then this city will turn into hell already. This is just an expedient plan. Eventually, Metatrin City will have to be defended by the palace's swordsmen camp and the temple army. Now, I will talk about the military plan for the short term…”
Speaking, Eleanor took out a magic map, laying it on the table.
”The west of Metatrin City can definitely control the broken-edged barrier. After the broken-edged barrier is constructed, its defense won't be lower than that of Metatrin City. In the future, if people want to attack us, they will have to do so via the northern face or the sea. If there are more than two magical towers at the broken-edged barrier, then twenty-thousand soldiers will be required. Including twenty-thousand auxiliary troops, the broken-edged barrier can surely be defended properly.”
”But I feel that, since the broken-edged barrier and western town are about one-hundred miles from each other, they can reinforce each other. Why don't we withdraw the main army and let the spirit army take its place? We can make use of the fact that spirits wouldn't get fatigued, they can defend the barrier all the way. If we are in a war of attrition, who will possess more magic nuclei than us?” Eleanor explained calmly, then she pointed to the northern part of the map and said, ”There are many rivers in the north which will freeze during winter. It will not be possible for the enemy to use the water potential to build coastal castles during winter though. It will be impossible for the enemy to charge directly into Metatrin City. Be that as it may, the northern area is relatively wider. We should station our main forces one-thousand miles away and build a larger city there. This city will be used to refine metals and protect the neighboring mines.”
Eleanor swiftly pointed out some locations which could accommodate a city. In the blink of an eye she had separated the lands belonging to Saleen's nobles into many parts. Eleanor's plan to allocate the military forces was very logical, it had quickly assigned all the forces which could be assembled to a few vital defensive sites. Eleanor had even drafted a plan to organize the defenses within Metatrin City.
Towards the later part of the discussion, Eleanor began talking about the issue of equipment after she finished delegating missions to the army.
Eleanor took out a few hundred drawings, placed them on the table, then said, ”These are the military equipment which I can come up with. Sir has a certain quantity of purplish-gold sea urchins, these urchins are natural space equipment and they do not require a mage's control. The smallest urchin has a volume of about five cubic yards, while the largest has a volume of a few dozen cubic yards. Other than these special materials, we can also imitate the magic crates used in transportation. Our army's demand for logistical support will be the smallest ever.”
Eleanor began elaborating on the weapons she had designed, some weapons were unique to the elvish plane.
”Eleanor, do you wish to lead some troops?” Saleen could not help but ask, he had fully recognized Eleanor's capabilities.
”No way,” Eleanor refused.
Saleen did not wish to force her, so he said, ”Then you shall be my minister for military affairs. I will assign sufficient assistants to you, you won't have to do many things personally. Most of the time, you will study magic with me.”
”Okay then.” Eleanor nodded her head helplessly, she knew that Saleen would surely delegate more tasks to her after she had provided so many useful suggestions. ”Luckily I am an elf. Even though I am not a sorcerer, I will have a long life. Maybe it's because of this reason that elves will never be more passionate and crazier than humans towards the cultivation of magic.”
Everyone joined in the discussion to consider the conceivability of Eleanor's drawings.
A replica of a magic war chariot was a conceivable goal. In an army, if there were no magic war chariots, a mage's battle duration would be greatly shortened. A mage's effect on an army would be extraordinary only when they could cast spells from a magic war chariot. Mages could be easily assaulted by the enemy otherwise. A long range bow could easily kill a low grade mage.
If a low grade mage was hidden in a magic war chariot, the magic war chariot could not be destroyed by trebuchets, unless it was struck by an ancient magic cannon.
Everyone was very interested in the human-carrying fly puppet designed by Eleanor.
At the moment, even Alchemy City did not possess very good human-carrying flying puppets. Saleen had seen those puppets before, they were huge and could be brought down easily. They could hardly fly in harsh environments.
The flying puppet designed by Eleanor only had a length of eight yards, while its wingspan was around six yards. One puppet could carry one heavy infantryman. For the time being, only Saleen could mass produce such a puppet because its material was thundercloud wood.
The winged skeleton had hauled up a large quantity of this material. This plant grown in the giant plane was harder than the best steel. It was tough and was unafraid of water, fire, or lightning. This plant could grow into the clouds back in the giant plane, it was a very common species.