The Alice White House in Efenasburg was still lit by candles. Uniformed servants and officers walked in and out of it.
This was a common sight for many people. Even if it was snowing outside, they would still be busy. This was where Prince Hansbach's frontline command center and logistics department was located.
Every order that was issued from here would be carried out by countless members of the kingdom's army. They would not hesitate even if they had to pay with their lives and fresh blood.
In a lavishly decorated meeting room on the second floor, a dozen generals and the prince were discussing strategy.
"… While my father gave a victory speech during the harvest festival, I'm sure you all know that the truth isn't as encouraging as he said.
The armies of Rimodra, Askilin and Canas are adamant about defending themselves one step at a time. They refuse to engage us in a full-scale battle. Our plan to conquer Rimodra has been foiled. We can't decide the outcome of the duchy in a single battle.
Last month my father wrote me a letter in which he expressed his anxiety about the prospect of war.
Our treasury, which has been built up over the past 20 years, has been mostly emptied.
"In terms of military strength, twelve second-line corps have been formed and sent into the war.
The kingdom still needs to form eight new corps. All the garrison camps have been moved to the frontlines, and the total number of soldiers has reached 1.2 million.
This is a very heavy burden for our kingdom.
In the letter, my royal father asked me if I could end this war as soon as possible so that it wouldn't affect the kingdom's livelihood and future development.
Of course, he doesn't mean for us to stop while we're ahead. He hopes that we can break through the stalemate and complete our pre-war strategy. He wants Rimodra and Askilin to be part of the kingdom's territory and force Nasri and Canas to surrender.
Although we've already accomplished our first small goal by annexing the Sidins Duchy, this victory has been greatly discounted.
"Our spoils are few and far between. All we got was a wasteland. Who knows how much money the kingdom will have to invest to restore the people there.
After we destroyed the Sidins Principality, the enemy sent their Alliance Fleet to bombard two port cities that we had already occupied. They even set fire to the residences, turning half of the two port cities into ashes. They can no longer serve as new bases for our Kingdom Fleet.
On Nubissia, the Shiksan field corps stationed themselves in one of Nasri's colonies and refused to leave, so we couldn't take over Nasri's territory.
"At the same time, we have to exercise restraint in the face of Shiks' provocations. We can only set up defensive positions at the borders of our territory and deploy troops to monitor it.
Port Vebator, a colony of the Nasri Kingdom, has become a base for the pirates. The pirates on Nubissia have become a huge threat to the seven colonies of the Kingdom of Nubissia after receiving sufficient support from Port Vebator.
"Our current predicament is that we can't quickly enough to break through the enemy defences and become a fatal threat to them.
"We can only slowly take down the defences at the frontlines and advance step by step.
"The problem is that the enemy can build two more after we take down one. That puts us in a difficult situation where we have to stall for time and wear down the morale of our soldiers. At the same time, we have to suffer heavy casualties."
Hansbach slammed two documents on the table. "Take a look. This is the comparison. The royal guard is the vanguard and it takes them four to five days to take down a defences. They've paid the price of five to six hundred casualties.
"They've been fighting for three months now and have lost more than half their men. They're running out of steam and need to rest.
"The report says that the soldiers are getting tired of fighting and their morale is low.
"The other document is a report from 1st Ranger Tribe. They successfully conquered Blackmaple Castle with only 27 casualties.
"However, it took them 54 days to force the defenders to surrender.
"I don't know whether to reward them or punish them. They did complete their mission, but it took them far too long.
"If we attack the enemy like they did, I wonder if I'll still be plotting this war even when my grandson is starting a family …"
The generals in the room laughed. The report from 1st Ranger Tribe had shocked most of the officers in command. They wondered if 1st Ranger Tribe had omitted a zero from their casualty list.
However, after checking it over and over again and reading the detailed battle report, it was confirmed that this battle report was true and credible.
Most of the officers in command were in a heated discussion about whether or not 1st Ranger Tribe's tactics should be copied by the frontlines.
Many of the officers felt that 1st Ranger Tribe's tactics weren't good. They took advantage of the fact that there was no time limit to take down Blackmaple Castle and used it to complete the mission with minimal casualties.
In this battle, all the troops were seizing every second to attack the enemy's defensive position, because they knew that the sooner they defeated the enemy, the sooner they would not give the enemy enough time to prepare for a more thorough defense …
If 1st Ranger Tribe wasn't in charge of the remote Pikleit Mountains, they wouldn't have had the time to attack Blackmaple Castle, which was the entrance to the mountain path.
If they swapped places with the royal guard and took four to five days to take down a defensive position, they'd definitely pay a higher price than the royal guard.
This was because they were formed from new recruits, unlike the old soldiers of the Imperial Guard Corps who had rich battle experience and a strong sense of honor in their battle strength.
Prince Hansbach waved his hand to stop the generals from whispering. "While many don't think much of 1st Ranger Tribe's achievements, they still completed the mission and achieved victory with minimal casualties. They should be rewarded accordingly.
However, I've decided to delay it for a while. Since it took them 54 days to conquer Black Maple Castle, I'll give out their rewards after 54 days … "
The generals roared with laughter and praised, "Your Highness is wise."
It was just a harmless joke to stall for time and express their dissatisfaction with the Ranger Camp taking so long to complete the mission.
Fortunately, it was in a remote corner of the Pikleit Mountains and didn't affect the bigger picture.
If the royal guard at the frontlines did the same, the kingdom would have to pay a hefty price.
The treasury was already half empty. The daily expenditure of a million troops on the two frontlines was astronomical. No one could bear to see the war drag on.
"Back to business," Prince Hansbach said, "Bluefeather has completed its reconstruction mission, and the last two second-line legions have completed their training.
The Ministry of the Army is having a huge dispute over the deployment of the three corps. They've come up with two plans and sent them to us at the frontline for us to decide which one will win the war faster. "
Two attendants brought over a large stack of documents and distributed them to the generals present.
After everyone had read through the documents, Prince Hansbach said, "Is everyone clear? The senior officers from the Ministry of the Army did not come up with any new suggestions. Just as we discussed last time, one is to replace the Royal Guard and continue the attack. Let the Royal Guard rest and replenish their forces, and when Bluefeather's offense is exhausted, let the Royal Guard take over.
We'll use this strategy to crush all resistance in front of us until we win.
There's nothing new about this strategy. We all know that even if we win this way, we'll still suffer a lot of casualties and delay time. We won't be able to win the war in one fell swoop.
At the same time, we'll give the enemy enough time to pack up and leave. We'll be left in a mess, just like the ruined Sidins Principality.
Another suggestion is to deploy Bluefeather and the two second-rate corps on Gryphon's side and force Nasri to surrender.
Of course, we also know that this is just wishful thinking on the part of the army. Nasri isn't like Rimodra or Askilin. They're the only country that can rival our kingdom in Lance, and they still have a lot of stamina to back them up.
While we've attacked them on the western front and the southern border of Sidins Principality and wiped out three of their corps, two of which were their standing corps, the current situation is a stalemate.
But the current situation was that both fronts were in a stalemate. The Kingdom of Nasri had stabilized their internal situation and was continuously recruiting new corps. Red Dragon and Gryphon Corps, with two second-line corps each, were ready to defend even though they were still on the offensive.
We all know that Nasri's situation isn't something that can be resolved with just three more corps.
My personal opinion is that we stick to our original strategy and deal with Rimodra, Askilin, and Canas first. After that, we remove Nasri's claws and teeth. Then, we gather our forces and deal a fatal blow to Nasri. We might even be able to wipe them out. "
The generals wanted to stand up and salute, but Hansbach stopped them. "I hope you all think carefully about where to deploy Bluefeather and the two second-rate corps for the best results. I hope we can force the enemy to come out of their turtle shell and fight us head-on to decide the fate of the eastern part of the continent."
Everyone frowned and thought hard. A major-general stood up and asked, "Your Highness, is there any progress on the sea route?"
His plan was to use the sea route to get Bluefeather and the other two corps to land in enemy territory under the escort of Dreadnaught.
However, the prince's reply disappointed him. "Don't count on the sea route. The enemy's Allied Fleet is frantically searching for Dreadnaught at sea. They're waiting for an opportunity to enter the kingdom's waters to add fuel to the fire.
Dreadnaught can't protect itself at the moment, so the kingdom has already sent the newly formed Storm to the eastern seas to provide support. They even reduced the size of the transport fleet heading to Nubissia.
Thinking back to the battle plan the navy came up with, it was laughable. They actually thought that a war wouldn't affect the situation at sea and that the enemy Allied Fleet wouldn't attack us. They even dreamed of accepting the enemy's fleet peacefully.
Now that I think about it, how stupid must they be to come up with such a plan? I really want to go back to the royal capital and see if the navy minister's face is swollen.
Haha. "
Another skinny, sickly looking major general stood up and coughed. He walked to the large map hanging on the wall and said, "Your Highness, I have an idea. Perhaps we can launch a surprise attack from here and head straight for the Askilin Duchy's hinterland. We can outflank the enemy's retreat."
He pointed to a place on the map with the name Pikleit Mountains. "As we all know, the Pikleit Mountains are vast, connecting the Canas Plains and the three southern prefectures of Askilin.
However, there aren't any roads connecting the two. The three duchies wanted to build a national highway together, but they gave up on the idea due to the difficult terrain.
"That's why the enemy didn't deploy a large number of troops here after we invaded Rimodra. They believed that the Pikleit Mountains couldn't accommodate their armies, so there was no need to defend them.
"When I received news that 1st Ranger Tribe had taken Blackmaple Castle, I looked into the castle's information and found that it was set up to prevent smugglers from Askilin and Canas.
Since there's smuggling, there must be a road. I also looked into the information and found that there are indeed small roads leading to the two duchies.
If we let Bluefeather and the other two corps pass through the Pikleit Mountains and appear in the enemy's hinterland, we should be able to catch them off guard. "