The morning after the Games, when Roland walked into the reception hall, the officials who had been waiting there stood up in unison.

"Sit down. He walked over to the main seat, looked around, and said aloud, "I think you already know the reason why I have summoned you here—the war has begun!"

"This is not just a matter of the army, from this moment on, I ask the managers of every agency and every department of the Kingdom Administration Department to have a basic understanding of the situation and trend of the war, and actively play their role to deal with this expedition together!" he said word by word, "Since the establishment of Neverwinter, everyone has certainly made proud achievements, but before the crisis of divine will, all this is like a pavilion on the ice floe- If the ruins of Taqira are not taken, the red mist may engulf the entire continent at any time, and then the devil will have no way to stop it. Therefore, this battle can only be won, not defeated!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Barov and the others said in unison.

"Very well," Roland looked at Edith, "and then the General Staff Department will explain the specific strategic direction." ”

"Yes," Northland Pearl said, standing up and gracefully stroking her chest, "allow me to use the big map to explain." ”

She walked over to Roland and tapped on the map of the Westlands on the background wall—after many revisions and additions, the map encompassed almost half of the wild and uninhabited land, and Neverwinter had gone from its original center to an insignificant dot on the edge. Anyone who glances at it will be aware of the small size of human settlements, and this is one of Roland's original intentions.

He hopes that his ministers and officials will look a little further ahead, instead of indulging in the existing interests all day long.

"The first thing to be sure of is that this Northern Expedition is not the same as what we have experienced in the past, and it will last for a long time. "I want you to understand that we can't afford to do this battle quickly. ”

The same occlusion tactics used during the Battle of the Northern Slope must not have been possible a second time - the distance between the Hidden Forest and the ruins of Tachira was much greater than the destroyed outpost, and the laying of the railroad was at least in months, making it impossible for the devil to go unnoticed.

In the vast fertile plains, the enemy has an absolute superiority in mobility, so Roland gave up the illusion of a surprise attack from the beginning, and planned to devote superior forces to face the devil head-on.

There is no doubt that this will be a battle of spear and shield.

It's also something that everyone has known for a long time, so no one is surprised.

Only Barov asked, "So do you have an estimated time?"

"It depends on the strength of the devil's counterattack. Edith said unhurriedly, "The General Staff commissioned the Tachira Witch to conduct several simulations, assuming that each attack of the enemy was similar in scale to the Battle of the Northern Slope, and if we came every other week, we would be able to mount the fortress cannon in the face of the other party within three months." ”

"But they are not fools, and they cannot repeat the mistakes of the past over and over again. ”

"That's right, I think the devil will soon notice the role of the railroad, and even the hidden forest in the rear. Of course, we are not unprepared – precisely because the situation of war is uncertain, I hope that the Executive Office will be able to allocate resources in the worst-case scenario. ”

"The worst scenario is ......," Barov frowned.

"From spring to winter, until a new evil moon comes. Edith replied calmly.

"Isn't that a failure?" said the old steward, "that doesn't meet Your Majesty's requirements. ”

"As long as the troops are not withdrawn, the fighting will not end, at best it will be called a stalemate. Northland Pearl smiled slightly, "Wait until the snow melts in the second year, and then hit again." Seeing the embarrassed faces of the ministers of the Executive Department, she added, "But the possibility of such a situation is not very likely, after all, the devil's reproduction speed is not comparable to the production of bullets, and I am just in case." ”

Barov pondered for a moment, "In that case, I need to mobilize food from other realms as a reserve - the Golden Second Seed has been distributed throughout the kingdom, and if nothing else, there should be a lot of surplus in this year's harvest." If they were all collected, they would basically meet the needs of the First Army for a year. ”

"That's fine," replied the Minister of Agriculture, Seni Daly, "and I'll write to the local councils in a moment." ”

"The work of the Ministry of Chemical Industry also needs to be adjusted," Barov continued, "to produce as much gunpowder and explosives as possible." ”

"That's all there is to manpower, unless we cut the production of perfume and soap. The Minister of Chemicals, Kemo Stow, spread his hands.

"Maybe we can borrow a group of alchemist apprentices from neighboring countries to support the Grey Keep......," he looked at Roland, "I heard that Dawn also has several alchemy workshops, although they are not in Glowlight City, but if His Majesty comes forward, the Lord of Dawn should do his best to cooperate, and it will definitely not be a return period." Other than that...... There are still more than a hundred people in the First Army stationed in the Cage Mountain area, and the alchemists of Wolf Heart and Eternal Winter can also try to think about it?"

"In principle, no problem," Roland nodded with satisfaction, "Let's make a plan according to your ideas." ”

He was really pleased with the performance of the other party.

At the beginning of the unification of the kingdom, he thought that it might take two to three years for the new government to work as it should. After all, it's hard to change your mindset – these people have been accustomed to the secular rule that all territorial matters belong to their lords and that lords don't interfere with each other, and it would be too difficult for them to suddenly ask them to look at other realms as part of what they can drive.

However, he found himself underestimating the charm of power.

When the power in his hands suddenly expands several times, even if he is not aware of the nature of the change, he will try to start using it, and Barov is the one who performs the best.

Not only did he see the Kingdom of Dawn, but he even thought of the possibility of using the army to exert influence and thus grab resources from farther afield.

After everyone had finished their discussion, Edith continued, "But it is not enough to destroy the Devil's Residence head-on, for some reason we must destroy all the enemies as much as possible. This requires us to cut off the Devil's retreat, both in the sky and on the ground, before the final general assault, which only a witch can do. ”

"Certain ...... Why?" Barov wondered, "A detour to the rear would make them much more risky, right?"

"Because of the curse. Roland took over the topic, "There is a high-level devil among the enemies who can cast a magic spell from a distance, and its mechanism of action is not clear, but it is likely to be similar to the Church witch Black Veil. If it were allowed to escape, the First Army would have won a crushing victory. ”

There was a sudden sound of inhalation in the hall.

Killing people by just eye contact, a single shot made the First Army sacrifice more than 700 people, which can be called the largest casualty after the formation of the army, and that battle made everyone remember the name Black Veil.

If the devil can also cast a curse by looking at it, then it is a matter of course to prioritize the determination.

Roland glanced at the lightning bolt at the end of the long table with his head buried in his chest, and couldn't help but sigh to himself.

He could guess the mood of the other party.

Let the sisters take this risk for her sake, even if everyone has no complaints, she will probably feel extremely guilty.

But there is no better option these days.

Roland stood up from his main seat, "All in all, the purpose of this expedition is to completely eliminate the threat of the obelisk before the battle of the Divine Will, and at the same time weaken the war potential of the devil. Codenamed "The Torch", it is both a light of hope to destroy the enemy and a primordial fire that illuminates the entire fertile plain. Please do your best to open up new territory for the Grey Keep!"

Everyone stood up, stroked their chests and bent down.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"