Chapter 979 — The Slide
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 5
The officer was just pulling his gaze away from the tactical map. He looked into An Luo's eyes, his expression very serious: "It is no short distance from Treaty Castle to Little Triangle Slope—even a knight order marching at high speed would need two hours to arrive. The Cecilians are faster than we imagined."
"They move mainly by war machine—all kinds of war machines," An Luo said, looking at her subordinate. "They are carriers, weapons, and sturdy fortresses all at once."
"According to current intelligence, unless a knight force pre-charges its energy and, with the combined power of joint shields and thermal cones, breaks the Cecilians' 'steel advance tactic' in a single blow, regular troops will find themselves at a severe disadvantage in any frontal engagement with those war machines. On the other hand, mechanized battle mage units can fight those machines through flexible tactics and long-range attacks—but only fight them; there is no clear advantage. We need—"
Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the door, and the voice of a messenger followed, cutting off the officer mid-sentence: "General! The Count of Winterfort and the Black Flag Mage Corps have arrived! The Count is outside right now."
An Luo looked up at once: "Bring the Count of Winterfort in immediately!"
Amid steady, powerful footsteps, Count Palin Winterfort stepped into the room, clad in a deep blue robe of stars, a gem-tipped short staff and a black grimoire at his waist. At the sight of this familiar elder, An Luo visibly relaxed, and she rose to meet him: "Count Winterfort—we have been waiting for you."
"I hope I have not missed anything," Count Winterfort said with a nod. "I hear the Cecilians have begun their attack."
"Yes, the attack has begun, and I fear they will reach the Winterwolf defense line before long," An Luo said frankly. "Our mobile troops at Little Triangle Slope have already made contact with them."
Palin Winterfort gave a low "mm," then asked, "Apart from the Black Flag, which other units are in position?"
"The Seventeenth and Twenty-Second National Knight Regiments from Brow Valley arrived at Winterwolf Fortress before noon, and then there is your Black Flag Mage Corps—the remaining units are still on the road; the earliest of them likely will not arrive until this time tomorrow."
"Then the Cecilians will certainly try to storm Winterwolf Fortress before dusk today, to collapse this defense line in advance," Palin Winterfort said at once. "Winterwolf Fortress is the only gateway into the empire from the northwest. The Cecilians will not want to see it become a hard stone in their path…"
A few officers in the room could not help exchanging a few words in low voices, but the room soon fell silent again.
To storm and destroy a fortified stronghold with shields and enchanted walls within a single day and night was almost unthinkable under the old order of war. Yet the people sitting here were no ignorant country folk; every one of them had studied the various intelligence reports coming out of Cecil, and so they knew full well—the Cecilians had not only done it before, they had succeeded more than once.
A series of plans and simulations flashed swiftly through An Luo's mind, and she could not help frowning as she sighed: "All of this is too far beyond expectation. Our preparations are insufficient…"
"It is not only beyond our expectations—I believe it is the same for the Cecilians," Palin Winterfort said mildly. "This is a war no one was prepared for. Everyone stands on the same starting line. Once the vortex takes shape, everyone will be drawn in, whether they will it or not. So we may be cautious and serious, but there is no need to be so pessimistic."
An Luo exhaled and nodded: "That is true. The Cecilians come with great force, but…"