Ramel was alone in his office on the ground floor of the castle. He sat behind a huge square table and worked with a magic wall lamp. The room was large, and a faded map hung on the wall. It was full of red and black markings.
No one would have thought that the commander of the most powerful army in the southern front of the Empire of the Unsetting Sun, Ramel Kevin, who commanded two hundred thousand soldiers, was sitting in this inconspicuous, dilapidated castle. His task was to defend an extremely long coastline that stretched for nearly a thousand kilometers, from the embankment of Balaloran, across the entire Fernan Province, all the way to the southern coast of the Unsetting Sun on the Red Dragon Peninsula.
Ramel and his main force, the Surfer Legion, were concentrated in Blackrock City. This was the narrowest part of the Howling Strait, and also the place where the enemy was most likely to launch a landing attack.
The old general took a sip of the strong tea and continued to write in the order, "Every effort must be made to complete the construction of the obstacles. The enemy must pay a very high price before it is possible to land at low tide … All spellcasters are to do their best. A completion report must be submitted to the headquarters in two days."
What he wanted to do was met with a lot of resistance in the Empire. Many nobles believed that war would not break out in the south. The northerners would not be able to bypass Airadia and attack the southern coast of the Empire. Moreover, the Empire of the Unsetting Sun had officially become allies with the Deep Sea Kingdom. With the separation of the sea tribes, it would be even more difficult for Blackwing to cross the sea to launch a surprise attack.
These voices of resistance converged into a powerful voice in the kingdom. Fortunately, Emperor Enrique was of the same opinion as Ramel. He still remembered that day when Enrique stood in front of the huge map spread out on the table and threw an unforgettable tantrum for five minutes —
The Imperator hammered the map with his clenched fist as he roared at the old nobles, "Blackwing might attack here … here … here … and here … and anywhere else in sight. Have you old fogeys lost your minds after living like a prince for such a long time?
How can you use human thinking to predict the thoughts of monsters? "
"Don't count on the Deep Sea Kingdom. The demonic fish hate us more than Blackwing. Once the dragon promises them more benefits, they will soon change sides."
After everyone had left, Enraged met with him alone. "You must do this, Ramel. You are the one I trust. I entrust you with the land of the south bank and the lives of my soldiers. Don't let me down."
— —
After writing down the order, Ramel got up and opened the windows of the castle. Outside the window was a beautiful bed of roses, but it was now unrecognizable. Not long before dawn, a brief storm came from the Howling Strait. It swept through Blackrock City and quickly left, leaving behind only broken rose branches and petals.
"Good morning, General." His adjutant, Xiao Koumen, said, "We are ready to depart."
Outside, in the quiet Blackrock Town, the bells of the Petrov Church were ringing "Praise the Sun". Every chime was exceptionally bright in the wind. It was time to go to the beach for an inspection. It was six in the morning.
According to General Ramel's orders, the Southern Front Army erected heavy anti-landing obstacles on every possible landing spot along the coastline that stretched for thousands of miles. These obstacles included jagged iron nets, sharp tridents, and heavy iron stakes. The soldiers pushed them into the shallows or underwater. Along with these obstacles were extremely lethal magic traps. These ominous objects would explode immediately upon contact.
Not only that, but Ramel had also ordered for traps to be set up on the beaches, reefs, ravines, and small roads leading inland. Spells of all kinds, from destructive lightning that could blow up a dragon, all the way to the nearly undetectable poisonous fog of madness.
Now, the entire coastline was set up with 600,000 of these magic traps. He planned to set up another 400,000 in two days.
Overlooking the coastline from behind the dense forest of traps and obstacles were the soldiers of the Southern Front Army. They waited in the forts, bunkers, and trenches. Every magic cannon that the Southern Front Army could collect was aimed at the sand from above. According to calculations, the firepower could be intersected. The reason why they were aimed at the sand instead of the sea was to give the enemy a powerful close-range shot.
Ramel had prepared a bloody welcome ceremony for the enemy. In the history of the Airadia War, no one had ever set up such a large and deadly defensive formation.
"General, will this place really be attacked?" Ramel's assistant, Xiao, stood with him at the highest point of the coastline and looked down.
In order to complete Ramel's plan, the Empire had sent tens of thousands of slaves, farmers, and laborers to the south coast. They worked day and night to build the fortifications, and many mortals died of exhaustion from the heavy work.
The spellcasters did not have it easy either. Erecting a barrier that spanned thousands of miles in a short period of time required an astonishing number of spells. Ramel had used up all of his spellcasters, so much so that there was not a single mage holding a wand in the Fernan, Polo, and Bossa provinces. Even some of the royal mages had been mobilized for the construction of the south coast's defensive line.
"I'm not sure if Blackwing's monsters will come ashore here."
Ramel shook his head. "But the Emperor's decision is undoubtedly correct. Only by stationing ourselves here can we ensure the safety of the Empire's rear, allowing Lyon and his Daybreak Army to focus on battle.
Otherwise, once those monsters attack and break through the defensive line and land on the south coast, it will cause an unstoppable disaster. When that happens, I'm afraid that no one in Airadia can drive them out. "
"I heard that General Stedt had some differences with you and had a very unpleasant argument in the council?" Xiao whispered.
"That idiot."
Ramel replied nonchalantly. "Stedt believes that the initial landing cannot be stopped. If there is a need to build a defensive line, it should be outside the range of Blackwing's ships. Otherwise, our troops will be suppressed to the point of being unable to move."
"Stedt's plan is to withdraw the troops from the beach and wait for the monsters to land before launching an attack.
His reasoning is that Blackwing has just landed and will inevitably be careless. Without a complete supply line, they are at their weakest right now.
Do you think so too, Xiao? "
"I don't dare to guess what the generals are thinking," the assistant said.
"But I do know that the Blackwing Empire's naval fleet is advanced and powerful. If we want to hide outside the range of their cannons, we have to set up a defensive line inland."
The old general smiled. His smile was gentle, but it was filled with undisguised mockery. "That's why the outcome of the war will be decided on these beaches. The South Coast Army isn't the Daybreak Army. Once the monsters establish a foothold and construct a teleportation circle, the end of the South Coast will come."
"We only have one chance to stop the enemy, and that is when they are still in the water and trying to land."
"The main defensive line is here."
Ramel pointed his sword at his feet, his voice like a heavy hammer forging steel. "All of our forces must be deployed by the beach. Believe me, Xiao, the first twenty-four hours of the invasion will be decisive. Whether it is for us or Blackwing, that day will be the most crucial day."