Chapter 979 - 978: The Fall

Chapter 979: Chapter 978: The Fall

Typhon has declared war.

Maryland stood in the highest tower room of Longwind Fortress, gazing through the crystal glass window in the direction of the Typhon Empire, his face tense and silent for a long time.

The orders from the imperial capital and the declaration of war from Typhon lay by his side.

A massive vortex had already formed, and whether it was stirred by the gods or the main warmongers of Typhon no longer mattered. The important point was that once such a colossal vortex began to exert its force, all involved seemed to have little choice—perhaps this was truly driven by the fanatical faith in War God gone out of control, but for Cecil’s soldiers, it made no difference; whether commanded by the Emperor or the deities, the enemy was the enemy, and the enemy was in the direction of Winterwolf Fortress.

Intelligence showed that the Winterwolf Fort Defense Line had been undergoing large-scale military movements since last night. A substantial main force was gathering, and even the Black Flag Combat Mage Regiment of Bitter Winter Castle was moving towards the border. Moreover, there were internal reports from Typhon indicating that several reserve regiments might have also received orders from Aldernon. Although this last piece of intelligence was vague, it was sufficient to indirectly confirm Typhon’s war intentions.

Now, Cecil’s advantage lay in the speed of their military operations.

Maryland lowered his head. On the table in front of him was spread the tactical map of the Longwind-Winterhold Region, with Winterhold Castle prominently located in the central buffer zone of the area. Beside this fortress symbolizing peace between the two nations, several blue flags bearing the Cecil mark were planted on the map.

...

Next to Winterhold Castle in the open field, a mechanized unit composed of hundreds of various tanks, multifunctional infantry fighting vehicles, and transport vehicles stood in the cold wind. The blue and gold flag of Cecil fluttered high in the winter sky. This fortress, originally jointly garrisoned by both nations, had now completely fallen into Cecil’s hands. The few Typhon people originally in the fortress offered little resistance and became prisoners of war—now their flag had been thrown to the ground, and they themselves... probably hadn’t yet understood what had happened.

Inside an armored command vehicle, Sir Philip exhaled gently, his expression gradually becoming solemn and resolute.

A staff officer entered the command vehicle, bringing with him the cold air from outside. He quickly approached Sir Philip, quietly inquiring, "General, the next step..."

"Launch a lightning assault on Winterwolf Fortress before dusk—heavy artillery attack, grouped advancement, spare no ammunition. Our task is to destroy their border defense core before Typhon’s main force completes its movement and gathering—as for concrete actions, execute according to the second plan finalized earlier."

"Yes, General!"

In the cold wind, the surging power of the Magic-Powered Engines was unleashed one after another. Bearings rotated, connecting rods operated, and tracks crushed the barren and hard ground. One war vehicle after another emitted a low roar, beginning to move in the direction of the Typhon Defense Line.

...

The Cecil Clan has arrived.

Several magical flares rose in the northwestern hilly region, and within a few minutes, flames and explosions began to flash from that direction. After a brief delay, a faint rumbling could be heard from the direction of Winterwolf Fortress, making the soldiers slightly tense, and darkening Andresha’s expression.

The young Wolf General left the window and returned to the long table where a large tactical map was laid out. She then looked at a senior officer in the castle: "Our mobile forces set at Small Triangle Slope have engaged with the Cecils."

The officer, having just lifted his gaze from the tactical map, looked into Andresha’s eyes, his expression quite serious: "It’s quite a distance from Winterhold Castle to Small Triangle Slope. A fast marching knights corps would take two hours to arrive—Cecil’s speed is faster than we imagined."

"They primarily use vehicles for movement—various vehicles," Andresha looked at her subordinates, "they are not only transport but also weapons and strong fortresses."

"According to existing intelligence, unless the knights’ forces pre-charge and use the combined shield and thermal cone power to destruct Cecil’s ’Steel Advancement Tactics’ in one go, any conventional forces will face major disadvantages in direct confrontation with those vehicles—on another hand, mechanized combat mage units can counter the vehicles with flexible tactics and long-range attacks, but it’s merely resistance without obvious advantage. We need to..."

Just then, a sudden rush of footsteps came from outside, followed by the voice of a messenger that interrupted the officer’s speech: "General! Count Palin Winterhold and the Black Flag Mage Corps have arrived! The Count is right outside."

Andresha immediately raised her head: "Quickly, let Count Winterhold in!"

Accompanied by a steady and powerful gait, Count Palin Winterhold, dressed in a deep blue starry robe and wearing a gem short staff and a black spellbook at his waist, stepped into the room. Upon seeing this familiar elder, Andresha visibly showed a relieved expression, getting up to greet him: "Count Winterhold—we’ve been waiting for you."

"I hope I haven’t missed anything," Count Winterhold nodded, "I heard the Cecil Clan has already begun the attack."

"Yes, they’ve started the attack, and I fear it won’t be long before they reach the Winterwolf Fort Defense Line," Andresha honestly stated, "our mobile forces set in the Small Triangle Slope area have already made contact with them."

Palin Winterhold acknowledged with a nod, then asked, "Besides Black Flag, which other troops have already arrived?"

"The National Knights Group Seventeen and Twenty-Two from the Brown Valley direction arrived at Winterwolf Fortress before noon, and then there’s your Black Flag Mage Corps—the remaining forces are still on their way and likely won’t arrive until this time tomorrow at the earliest."

"Then the Cecil Clan will certainly strive to launch a strong attack on Winterwolf Fortress before dusk today, to preemptively dismantle this defense line," Palin Winterhold immediately said, "Winterwolf Fortress is the only gateway into the Empire from the northwest direction, and the Cecil Clan wouldn’t want it to become a resistant stone..."

A few officers in the room couldn’t resist discussing quietly among themselves for a moment, however, the room soon fell silent again.

Forcing and destroying a sturdy fortress with barriers and enchanted walls in one day was almost unimaginable in the previous order of warfare, yet everyone here was no ignorant rustic. Every one of them had studied the various information from Cecil, so they knew well—the Cecil Clan had not only done it but succeeded more than once.

Andresha quickly went through a series of scenario exercises in her mind, meanwhile sighing and furrowing her brow: "All of this is far beyond expectations; our preparations are insufficient..."

"This exceeds not only our expectations—I’m convinced it’s the same for the Cecil Clan as well," Count Winterhold calmly stated, "This is a war for which no one is fully prepared. Everyone is at the same starting line; once the vortex forms, everyone will find it hard to resist being drawn in, so we can afford to be careful and serious, but there’s no need to be overly pessimistic."

Andresha exhaled and nodded: "Indeed. The Cecil Clan comes on strongly, but..."

She abruptly fell silent, as if noticing something. The officers in the room, momentarily at a loss for what was happening, exchanged glances, but quickly caught on. They made everyone stay quiet, and in the silence, Andresha and her adjutant, holding their breath and focusing, listened carefully to the sounds from outside.

The explosions from the direction of Small Triangle Slope were rapidly becoming sparse.

"Less than half an hour," the adjutant beside her commented grimly, "faster than we anticipated..."

An officer couldn’t help but mutter softly, "If we had the Iron River Knights and the priest Clergy, combined with the strategic magic of the Combat Mage Regiment, we could stave off the enemy’s offensive from the northwest direction..."

Andresha glanced at this officer, then withdrew her gaze: "We no longer have the Iron River Knights nor the priest Clergy—only the main forces of the Winterwolf Knights and three reinforcements, as well as this fortress. Ladies and gentlemen, think about how to deal with those of the Cecil Clan on this basis, face reality."

Andresha maintained a stern expression and an uncompromising tone, seemingly unshaken, yet as someone familiar with her, Count Palin Winterhold could sense the young Wolf General’s deep-seated frustration and regret within.

But he couldn’t think of any words of comfort, knowing that probably most people here shared a similar feeling, even he himself was far from optimistic at this moment.

And this oppression didn’t come from those of the Cecil Clan, nor was it born of fear of battle—the Empire’s soldiers have never feared war; what truly shakes them is the overcast future of Typhon.

The deviant Sect of the God of War, the out-of-control ace Knights, the hidden contamination lurking nearby that could erupt at any moment, these things are deliberately left undiscussed in such places, but every person knows they are crushingly real, and many officers, having accessed deeper levels of intel, harbor an even more terrifying worry—

The Iron River Knights have lost control under mental corruption, and they are followers of the War God...so could one who is also a follower of the War God or has been in touch with its faith kind of suddenly fall into madness? Even...are the things I’m thinking about and the tactics I’m deploying really from my own free will right now?

The Empire’s soldiers are human too—these terrifying pressures inexorably shake everyone’s morale.

"We have placed large-scale Arcane Reactive Force Fields on the western side of the defense line," after a brief silence, Andresha suddenly broke it, "these are targeted traps developed considering various characteristics of the Magic-Powered Engine and Magic Web Baseplate, and they should be quite effective—if successful in blocking the enemy’s advance, the strategic spell strikes from the Black Flag Mage Corps should have a greater effect."

Palin Winterhold raised an eyebrow: "Arcane Reactive Force Field? That’s a research achievement from the Royal Mage Association...you’ve managed to make it practical?"

"Barely usable," Andresha nodded, "mainly due to insufficient setup time, but it can still have a certain effect..."

After having Count Palin Winterhold temporarily go to rest, Andresha exhaled a long breath, feeling slightly relieved, but just by a bit.

"We still can’t establish contact with those of the Cecil Clan?" She suddenly turned her head to look at the adjutant who had followed her for many years.

"All attempts have failed," the adjutant immediately straightened his body and solemnly replied, "We attempted to call the backup line of Longwind Fortress with a communication Tower, but there was no response. We even sent out three waves of messengers, none of whom returned alive—it seems the Cecil Clan has been completely enraged, and they probably won’t negotiate with us until there’s a decisive outcome."

"Damn it..." Andresha gritted her teeth, "Have their brains also become confused..."

The adjutant glanced worriedly at his commander, hesitated for a moment, then spoke despite himself, "General, do you still think this war can be stopped? We have practically engaged in combat...with all due respect, I believe trying to contact the Cecil Clan or explain the misunderstanding at this point is futile..."

"But this should never have happened!" Andresha stared at her adjutant, striving to keep her tone calm, "This war is harmful and unhelpful to the Empire, harmful and unhelpful to everyone; only those polluted madmen find some false satisfaction in it—listen, attempt to contact them again, this is an order."

Meeting Andresha’s gaze, the adjutant eventually lowered his head after two seconds to accept the order: "Yes, General, I’ll head to the communication Tower again."

The adjutant left, and Andresha remained there, burdened with an increasingly heavy heart, facing the disaster gradually encroaching.

As time passed, more and more information began to amass before her.

The intel gathered at the risk of death by the scouts and gryphon Troops in the sky—it was through these reports that the Steel Advancement tactics of the Cecil Clan were finally laid bare before the defenders of Winterwolf Fortress, illustrating the performance of those war vehicles, the combat styles of the Cecil Clan, and the comparison of combat capability and tactics between the two sides...

And arriving together with the intel, was the ever-advancing Steel Legion.

Before the sun set, the last sentinel tower set at the western border of Winterwolf Fortress visually spotted the army of the Cecil Clan—armored war vehicles advanced from the plains, their tracks easily tearing through the defenses of the outpost amidst the roar of cannons. Meanwhile, soldiers who had evacuated just in time brought the message that Winterwolf Fortress would be within the enemy’s firing range in ten minutes.

This was the last piece of intel.

Simultaneously, the adjutant brought the last piece of bad news—there was still no response to Winterwolf Fortress’s contact from the direction of Longwind Fortress.

Andresha stood on the tall, sturdy walls, the energy shields above the fortress gradually increasing in charge level. The enchanted walls under her feet resonated with Magic Power, with slight tremors emanating occasionally from some stone bricks, yet none of these ever-increasing levels of defense could bring her peace.

Many things can only be understood when faced directly, far more profoundly than any amount of prior exercises—Andresha clearly saw the shortcomings of the Typhon army.

The magic guide technology of the Cecil Clan has changed this era, and change means that everything must adapt—this includes the lifestyle of human beings as well as everything on the battlefield.

The Typhon Empire lagged behind, and this delay manifested on the battlefield as their army lacking sufficient units to match the new weapons of the Cecil Clan on equal footing.

In the face of those steel vehicles called "tanks," the Empire’s Iron River Knights were absent, and the priest Clergy were no longer available, leaving the recently upgraded combat Mage troops to rely on Magic-guided Vehicles to fight, yet the latter has a severe quantitative shortfall. In this new battlefield, they were far less experienced than the Cecil’s Army that had gone through civil wars and godly calamities.

After a thorough comparison, Andresha finally realized that when Cecil Clan’s war vehicles enter the battlefield, she couldn’t find many types of troops under her command to step out of Winterwolf Fortress and engage the enemy head-on in the open field!

From Winterhold Castle to Winterwolf Fortress, the sequential failures of multiple mobile units along the way had fully demonstrated this point.

In fact, even if the Iron River Knights and priest Clergy were present, this predicament of having "no troops to use" wouldn’t see much improvement. The reason is simple: The Iron River Knights and priests are both the elites among Typhon’s elites, rare trump cards trained with difficulty, yet Cecil’s Army...are all mass-producible machines and rapidly trainable ordinary people!

Until today, Andresha had encountered data from various intel about the training speed and the pros and cons of Cecil’s military’s magic weapons, thinking about how they are a type of force that’s easy to mass-produce, easy to train, quickly forming up, and rapidly growing. She had suggested many reforms to the imperial capital concerning this aspect, but now she finally realized that her imagination...was ultimately somewhat limited.

On the distant western battlefield, there was a faint smoke and spark of magic shining, unreal and ambiguous amidst the setting sun’s rays.

Today, Andresha finally realized what she missed that rainy night on the Palamere Highlands.