Chapter 670 — The Gao Song Conjecture
Blade of Dawn · Page 3 of 5
After a moment of silent thought, Amber finally let out a breath and smiled again. "You have a point... the old royal house is gone. Why should I worry so much?"
It was as though she had set down some burden, and within moments she was back to her usual careless, devil-may-care self. Once this topic was closed, she asked Gao Yang about his next arrangements. "Order in San Sunil has largely stabilized now. The transfer of authority in every quarter and the formation of the new administrative structure are complete. Is it not time you considered your next step?"
"Yes..." Gao Yang leaned back, his fingers drumming on the arm of his chair. "We have lingered in Xuanyuan City long enough."
After a few more taps on the armrest, he turned to Amber. "How go things in the Eastern Reach?"
"The forces sent by Grand Duchess Victoria have joined General Ma Qi. The local nobles of the Eastern Reach are by and large cooperating with the reorganization; they have even scraped together a reserve army and, together with the Cecil Legion, consolidated the defense line at Changfeng Fortress."
"As expected," Gao Yan nodded. "The Eastern Reach nobles are probably the most salvageable among the many rotten nobles of the old Ansul kingdom. They have the full set of old-noble vices, but because they have faced the Typhon threat year in and year out, and because the Loren family has governed them effectively, the local nobles remain clear-headed when confronted with war. Still, the reserve army they scraped together will not be of much use... The true elite of the Eastern Reach were wiped out on the Holy Spirit Plain. Only the garrison corps at Changfeng Fortress can be relied upon for fighting strength; the reserve troops raised elsewhere and the nobles leading them will be little better than ordinary noble household troops. What else?"
Amber sorted through the intelligence she held and continued. "There seems to be no movement on the Typhon border, but Ma Qi worries the other side may be gathering strength in secret. He is now trying to collect intelligence and stay vigilant against a Typhon invasion at all times.
"The White Sand Mining Company has retaken the mines and begun repairing the railway wrecked by that giant deer. Meanwhile, per your orders, the engineering corps continues extending the former eastern line, striving to bring the Iron Throne near Changfeng Fortress by autumn. With an armored train, we need not worry so much about Typhon.
"As for repairs to the Iron Throne... about half a month more. It lost two arsenal cars, and its power spine and shield array suffered overload damage. The damage is quite severe. The two heavy factories in Gelan City and Xuanyao City are working overtime, trying to compress the schedule further."
"Regardless, the Iron Throne must be restored to fighting strength as soon as possible—even if only half a train reaches the border," Gao Che said in a loud voice. "After the war our forces are insufficient. Even with advanced weapons and equipment, the present garrison at Changfeng Fortress may not be able to hold off the Typhonians' full-formed transcendent legions."
Amber frowned. "Do you think the Typhonians really will go to war in this window?"
"They have waited a long time for this chance, but errors and delays in intelligence may yet make them miss it," Gao Dai said. "Royan Augustus is surely watching the war on the Holy Spirit Plain, but it is hard for him to grasp precisely how much we lost in the war—whether ours was a bitter victory or a great one. That directly affects whether he gives the order to attack."