Chapter 1405: Plan II: From the Sky
The nobles who had been admitted to the castle’s conference room were, for the most part, men who had staked their fortunes on the three great families of the City of Glow. Many had grown rich laying road between north and south; others had bought into steam engines and calcined cement when those were still experiments. A majority of them had visited Thorn Town and watched the Aerial Knights drill in person. Hearing the King of Graycastle speak without flinching, the worry began to drain from their faces.
Whatever else might be said, the frank exchange — numbers spoken plainly, information withheld from no one — was unlike anything the nobles of the Kingdom of Dawn ordinarily experienced. There was something in precision that empty assurance could never replicate.
“Then — what is it you need from us?” someone asked.
“Hold the present line,” Roland answered. Straightforward. Unadorned. “A stable Kingdom of Dawn is the greatest contribution you can make to this war.”
“But panic is already spreading. If we resort to enforcement measures, I fear the refugees will react badly—”
“The demons are using the Red Mist to press at the borders, but the situation will not worsen further.” Roland kept his voice level. “Graycastle will do everything in its power to help you stabilize things.”
“King’s City will remit taxes from any territory under threat from the demons, and will provide additional relief as circumstances require.” Horford stepped in, his voice carrying the particular weight of a man prepared to be quoted. “Gentlemen, this is a war that concerns every human being alive. No one escapes it. I, Horford Quinn, swear on the names of my ancestors: whatever the outcome, I will not take one step out of the City of Glow. If the Kingdom of Dawn falls to the demons, this city is my grave.”
The nobles filed out, their anxieties somewhat quieter than when they had entered. The meeting changed shape.
Those who remained were the senior officers of Graycastle.
“Your Majesty — regarding the strike force’s losses, I am prepared to accept full responsibility—” Iron Axe and Edith rose at the same instant. They looked at each other.
Roland shook his head. “No one could have predicted the Deity of Gods’ offensive capabilities.” He let that settle before continuing. “And don’t tell me the General Staff hadn’t considered the possibility of the reserve force taking casualties when you drew up the plan.”
Silence. Neither of them had an answer.
A conventional tactic: small scouting team advances, main force holds. To assume that only the scouting team could suffer losses — to treat the reserve as untouchable by definition — was the kind of lazy thinking Roland had never expected from this staff. And yet the plan had been implemented, which meant they had considered it, and decided the intelligence value outweighed the risk.
“In other words, when you chose to execute the plan, you had already accepted that the significance of the investigation outweighed the danger to both teams. Otherwise you would have cancelled it. I will never measure your successes and failures by casualties alone, even when those casualties are the heaviest the First Army has ever sustained.”
“Your Majesty—”
“But do not forget.” The casual register dropped away; his voice went quiet in the manner that was worse than volume. “Every soldier buried there had a family. Do not let their deaths become figures in a ledger. I want the General Staff to carry that weight every time it votes to execute a plan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Iron Axe and Edith answered as one.
“Good. Now let me hear your thinking on what comes next.”
“Yes.” Edith replaced the map on the wall. “After analysis, the General Staff has identified two probable positions for the floating island following its last turn: the border of Cage Mountain, or the Hermes Plateau. The former would consolidate the capture of the Kingdom of Wolfheart and put pressure on the Kingdom of Dawn simultaneously; the latter would allow the Red Mist to permeate all four kingdoms, with the Impassable Mountain Range providing a continuous ridge-path through the continent. Based on the floating island’s current trajectory as it passes the Kingdom of Dawn’s borders, Hermes Plateau is the more likely destination.”
Roland nodded. “How is the evacuation proceeding?”
“Very smoothly.” Agatha spoke from her end of the table. “Isabella’s leadership is already recognized throughout the Church. Their organization is far more effective than any ordinary civil authority. The full evacuation into the new city should be complete within two or three days.”
“Good.”
“Before the ‘Glory of the Sun’ is ready, we have no means to halt the floating island’s advance.” Edith did not soften this. “Once it occupies the Hermes Plateau, the Red Mist will in all likelihood engulf Silver City and then the Kingdom of Dawn. Without the support of the Witches, we will be fighting from a disadvantage from which we may never recover.”
We have arrived at this point after all.
Roland let the thought pass without giving it a face. He’d known since the obelisk was first raised in Taquila’s Holy City that the enemy would press every advantage. The difference, if the floating island settled on the Hermes Plateau, was one of degree: the Red Mist would swallow Silver City rather than Neverwinter, but the consequences were nearly as catastrophic. Neverwinter’s industrial output was bound inextricably to its Witches — not the core industries like steelmaking, which could survive in the Mist, but the countless smaller efficiencies: Sleeping Spell clearing parasites from hulls, easing fatigue in the workshops, enabling precision work, cultivating the coral reefs that had extended the harbor’s shallow anchorage. Losing those would bleed the city slowly and thoroughly.
Fortunately, steam engines, internal combustion engines, and Magic Cube Power Units all function in the Red Mist. That remains the single largest trump card we hold.
“It appears we will be fighting under Red Mist conditions for some time before we can destroy the Deity of Gods.” His gaze moved across the room. “Which brings me to the reason I am here today, and to some welcome news. The ‘Glory of the Sun’ has reached its finalized design. A further round of tests will begin shortly. If they succeed—” he let the pause do its work “—the floating island will never see the Red Mist reach the Kingdom of Dawn.”
The faces around the table came alive.
“Truly?”
“That is excellent—”
Roland permitted himself a smile. “So: the agenda for how we deliver the decisive strike can now be moved forward.”
The afternoon’s discussion resolved into a rough plan.
Given the Deity of Gods’ singular nature, the First Army’s options were limited. Two approaches survived the cuts. The first: plant a detonator in advance and destroy the floating island’s core from below. The second: deliver a bomb from above and obliterate the obelisk in a single strike. Every other method proposed could not inflict the necessary damage.
The first approach had a clean implementation that needed no bomber, but the outcome was unguaranteed. The Hermes Plateau was broad. No one knew precisely where the Deity of Gods would rest; even a modest deviation in placement would neutralize the blast. Beyond that, whether the Glory of the Sun could convert the Red Mist waterfall into a column of superheated flame remained an open question — and the further the floating island was from the ground, the less certain the result. With Lucia’s refined uranium supply limited, the plan was ruled out.
The air-drop approach presented two technical hurdles. But if both were cleared, the bomb would detonate at the closest possible range to the Red Mist Lake, producing maximum effect.
“Then we plan around this conclusion.” Roland brought his hand down flat on the table. “Simultaneously, we run the air-drop practice runs and the bomb tests in parallel. What the demons did to us at the Impassable Mountain Range — we will have our answer for it.”
“As you command, Your Majesty.” The room answered him together.
Chapter 1405 - Plan II: From the Sky
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The nobles who were able to enter the Castle’s conference room were basically the supporters of the three families in the City of Glow, many of whom participated in the construction of the road connecting the north and the south and struck it rich from the introduction of the steam engines and production of calcined cement. A majority of them had been to Thorn Town and witnessed the Aerial Knight’s training first hand. After hearing how confident the King of Graycastle was, the worries on their faces finally lessened.
Regardless, the open and frank meeting that discussed numbers and information was a rare experience for the nobles of the Kingdom of Dawn. Compared to false and empty assurance, the precise discourse was even more convincing.
“Then… what do we need to do?” someone asked.
“Maintain the current situation.” Roland answered straightforwardly, “A stable Kingdom of Dawn will be the greatest help to the war efforts.”
“But panic has begun spreading. If we were to adopt any enforcement measures, I am afraid that it might instead backfire with regards to the refugees…”
“That is because the demons are making use of the Red Mist to infiltrate the borders, but this situation will no longer worsen.” Roland consoled, “Graycastle will do its utmost to assist all of you in stabilizing the situation.”
“King’s City will relieve the tax from territories that have received threats from the demons, and also provide assistance according to the
circumstances.” Horford stepped in. “Everyone, this is a war that concerns all mankind, no one can avoid it. I, Horford Quinn, solemnly vow on my ancestors’ name, that regardless of the outcome, I will not take even a step out of the City of Glow! If the Kingdom of Dawn is destroyed by the demons, then this shall be my grave!”
…
After gaining their guarantees, the somewhat appeased nobles left the room, and the meeting quickly moved into its second phase.
Aside from the King of the Dawn, the remaining people were the higher-ups of Graycastle.
“Your Majesty, with regards to the strike force from before, I am willing to shoulder all responsibility—” Iron Axe and Edith stood up at the same time, only to look at each other in surprise.
“No one could have anticipated what offensive methods the Deity of Gods have.” Roland shook his head. “Don’t tell me that you had never considered the possibility of the reserve force suffering an attack, to the point of being destroyed when you guys formulated the plan.”
“…” The two could only remain silent.
It was a conventional tactic to send a small team to execute the investigation with the main force stationary, but to believe oneself infallible and think that any loss would only be limited to the small scouting team was a foolish mindset. He believed that the General Staff would never have made such a low level mistake.
“In other words, at the moment you chose to implement the plan, you have tacitly agreed the significance of investigation far outweighed the risks involving the two teams. Otherwise, the plan would have never been implemented. Relax, I will never use casualties to determine your successes and failures, even if it truly was the First Army’s largest loss.”
“Your Majesty…”
“But don’t forget.” At this point, Roland retracted his carefree expression and his tone of speech became serious. “All the soldiers have their own families as well; never treat their sacrifice as mere numbers on paper. I hope that the General Staff will remember this every time it comes to an agreement to execute a plan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Iron Axe and Edith answered in unison.
“Then, let’s hear your thoughts on the matters after the battle.”
“Yes.” The Pearl of the Northern Region switched out a new map. “After our analysis, the General Staff believes that there are two possible locations for the floating island after its last turn, the border of Cage Mountain or the Hermes Plateau. The former location will ensure the capture of the Kingdom of Wolfheart and threaten the Kingdom of Dawn at the same time; the latter will ensure the spread of the Red Mist to the four kingdoms, and the Impassable Mountain Range will form a connecting path to the ridge of the continent. But with the floating island passing the Kingdom of Dawn’s borders and according to its current trajectory, Hermes Plateau is the most probable location.”
Roland nodded. “How’s the evacuation situation like over there?”
“Very smooth.” Agatha replied, “Isabella is already hailed as the leader of the Church. Them taking charge is far more effective than typical citizens. It is estimated that they will all evacuate out to the new city in two or three days.”
“That’s great.”
“Before the ‘Glory of the Sun’ is completed, we are unable to stop the advancement of the floating island.” Edith carried on. “Once it occupies Hermes Plateau, the Red Mist will most probably pervade through Silver City, and the Kingdom of Dawn will most probably be engulfed. If we lose the support of the Witches, we will definitely be placed in a passive position.”
We have reached this point after all.
Roland sighed inwardly, since the erection of the obelisk in Taquila’s Holy City would pose a large threat to the entire human kingdom, not to mention it being inserted right in their faces.
The largest difference would be that the erection of the obelisk in Taquila would bring direct harm to Neverwinter, while the erection of the obelisk on the Hermes Plateau would only cover Silver City. Once the Red Mist infiltrated their only industrial zone, the consequences would be too horrible to even consider. Graycastle’s strength was increasing at a rapid rate and was inevitably linked to the Witches. In Neverwinter, the Sleeping Spell had already integrated into the various parts of the city’s development, such as clearing away the parasites on the ships, alleviating the worker’s fatigue, assisting in precision works, and the planting of coral reefs to expand the shallow areas, etc… Although the steelmaking and other core industries did not require Witches, the substantial reduction of efficiency would become unavoidable.
Fortunately, be it the steam engines, internal combustion engines or Magic Cube Power Unit sources, they could all work in the Red Mist, which was humanity’s biggest trump card against the enemy.
“It seems like before we destroy the Deity of Gods, we will be fighting against the enemy in the Red Mist for a period of time.” His gaze swept through the entire crowd. “Aside from me being here today, I bring some good news. The ‘Glory of the Sun’ has completed its finalized design, and another round of tests will be set in motion soon. If we are successful, the floating island will not live to see the Red Mist devour the Kingdom of Dawn!”
Everyone’s face lit up.
“Really?”
That’s great!”
Roland revealed a smile as well. “So, the agenda of how the decisive strike will be accomplished can now be brought forward.”
…
After an entire afternoon of discussion, the rough plan was essentially determined.
Due to the Deity of Gods’ uniqueness, the First Army did not have too many choices. Either they buried a detonator in advance to destroy the floating island’s core from the bottom, or to have it dropped from above and destroy the obelisk in one shot. Aside from that, the other proposed methods were all limited in terms of causing actual damage to the Deity of Gods.
The former’s advantage was its simple implementation without the requirement of a bomber, but its effect could not be guaranteed— Hermes Plateau was large and broad, no one knew where the Deity of Gods would eventually stop. If the location deviated by even a slight margin, the explosion’s effects would be greatly reduced.
Furthermore, whether the Glory of the Sun could turn the Red Mist waterfall into a high-temperature fiery column was still a question. The further the floating island was to the ground, the more uncertain the results. Additionally, in consideration of the limited amounts of refined uranium Lucia had produced, this plan was ultimately overruled.
The air drop plan posed two difficulties in terms of technique and implementation. But as long as the two conditions were met, the bomb would definitely explode at a location close to the Red Mist Lake, which would ensure the maximum result.
“In that case, we will draw up a plan based on this conclusion.” Roland slammed his hand down on the table. “Aside from that, we will conduct the air drop dummy runs and the bomb test at the same time. We will get payback for what the demons did to us!”
“As you command, Your Majesty!” everyone bowed and answered in unison.