Just as Elena's comrades began to discuss the war, Anken Rein entered the final countdown. At the front-line headquarters at the junction of the provinces of Enspan and Siloa, Henry Claflin, Grand Duke of the Golden Lion, the commander-in-chief of Operation Dawn, was making the final tactical arrangements for the more than thirty commanders, deputy commanders, and chiefs of staff from various legions in front of him.

"Let me say one last thing, our Mage Tower Research Institute has fully confirmed one thing, it is impossible for Gastens to unleash magic again. So, the last obstacle to organizing our attack has disappeared, and the last obstacle to washing away the shame of the Imperial army has been completely shattered. In the past six months, we have assembled 14 regiments on the border, a huge contingent of more than 800,000 people, and everyone has been fighting and training day and night, so that they can fight a day later. Today, 600,000 of us are armed with the latest epee steam rifles, and we are all familiar with the techniques of skirmisher combat. And the total number of enemies who can be drawn out to deal with us does not exceed 100,000. Eight people fight one, and we bite the enemy to death with our bites, what is there to be afraid of? ”

Hearing Claflin's words, a low laugh rang out from the audience. Henry Claflin waited for everyone to finish laughing before continuing, "However, although we have an absolute advantage in strength, we cannot underestimate the enemy. The enemy has a team capable of killing targets from a great distance, and the previous fool, Sterling Bosman, died with this weapon because he was too reckless. However, the death of this idiot also has benefits, now we know that the enemy has an ultra-long-range attack weapon, in order to prevent them from killing our officers, this time the logistics department has completely adjusted the uniforms and epaulettes of all legions, so that we look similar to ordinary soldiers, and minimize the probability of being killed by the enemy at a distance. At this point, I know that you are all veterans for many years, and you are not used to the current prostrate military uniform", Claflin reached out and touched his clothes when he said this, "However, although this military uniform cannot highlight the glory and dignity of everyone as a general, it can allow everyone to live, I think, for this, everyone should know how to choose, right?" ”

"That's nature!"

"We still know this!"

"Grand Duke Claflin, let's talk about tactics again."

The more than thirty generals present did not have any arrogance at this time, that was because Henry Claflin standing in front of them was the most famous leader of the Ankenrein military class, and the Claflin family had been inherited for hundreds of years and had never failed in military affairs. They believed that even if the enemy was Gastens who might be able to unleash magic, Claflin would find a way to deal with it.

"The battle plan has been explained before," Claflin shook his head helplessly, "Since you want to hear it, then I'll say it again." ”

He turned around and tapped the map behind him with the long pole in his hand, and on the huge map, the red offensive situation map representing Anken Rein covered two-thirds of Elena's area like a half-full blood moon.

"Judging by our intelligence, Elena has not forgotten about the war in the process of development. Their industrial layout is a typical onion type, and the outermost part is farmland and private factories and small workshops, even if they are occupied and destroyed by us, it will not affect their economy. And between the first, second, and third lines of defense, there are scattered industries from the outside in. Only by successfully destroying their first three lines of defense will it be possible for us to reach their more core industries. At the same time, according to our uncertain information, there may be more than three layers of defense like this, and such as the arsenal, the steam-powered equipment factory, etc., Elena is all placed in the Elena Plains. It can be said that if we can smoothly peel off the skin of this big onion, we can see the enemy's most essential thing, and what we want the most, their factory and technology, in the core of the onion. ”

"If we attack from the north to the south, will we have seven lines of defense?" Someone in the crowd asked a question, and Claflin glanced at it, knowing that it was Jon Wright, the commander of the First Legion who was the main attacker. The issue he mentioned had already been mentioned when he was arranging the battle plan, and it should be mentioned at this time for the sake of emphasizing it again.

"Probably not," Henry Claflin quickly replied to Jon Wright's question, "the enemy's line of defense is most densely located in the east, south and north, and according to the intelligence we have, there should be no line of such strength. The reason why we launched a general offensive from the border between the two provinces this time was also to tear the connection between the enemy's raw material production areas and industrial clusters, and to penetrate into the enemy's interior from weak points. The enemy's 80,000-strong defensive forces are still scattered along the eastern defensive lines of the two provinces, and less than 50,000 should be able to gather in a short time to meet our attack. I think that in this case, as long as we pay attention to protect ourselves and don't be killed by the enemy's ultra-long-range weapons, victory should not be far away. ”

"Whew!!"

Although they are all well-informed generals, everyone's desire for victory is still strong. Claflin finally emphasized, "Ladies and gentlemen, this battle plan is the final battle plan, because transportation and communication are inconvenient, you can decide for yourself the specific combat methods and routes of your respective legions, as long as they meet our requirements, attack our designated targets." Unless there are special circumstances, our General Headquarters will not issue combat orders to you. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope we will meet again in Roswell with the joy of victory! ”

"Bang Bang Bang

The generals applauded enthusiastically, took turns hugging Claflin, and then took their leave. The war will begin the day after tomorrow, and they will rush back to their own corps, assign tasks, and prepare for the offensive. By this time, secrecy was no longer so important, and even if the enemy had learned of their plans, the remaining day would not be enough to give them a response.

Victory, as Henry Claflin said, is beckoning to them.

——————————————

Dada Ewalt pulled his feet out of the muddy ground with great force, frowning at the black-brown dirt on his boots, a little unhappy. His family background is not good, and the boots issued by the army are of good quality, so he originally planned to take care of them carefully and see if he could bring home two pairs, but he didn't expect to encounter such an annoying thing just after entering Elena's territory.

The land that had begun spring ploughing was soft and fertile, and the peasants who cultivated it apparently took care of it with all their energy and strength, and one by one the ridges stretched straight into the distance, and then were cut off by horizontal furrows, like squares made by skilled craftsmen, and arranged on the land. And behind Dada Ewalt, the dense crowd of soldiers in Ankenrein's red uniforms trudged through it, and at their feet, the land lost its tranquility and beauty, leaving all the soldiers with black memories.

"It's been a day, except for stepping on mud is stepping on mud, what about the enemy?"

Beside Dada Evolt was a soldier of the 3rd Company of the 3rd Regiment of the 2nd Division of the 1st Army of the National Salvation Army, Francisco Ali, who came from the same small town as Dada Evolt, and the two became close friends in the army, and talked almost nothing.

"I don't know...... I heard that the Fourth Division could take the hard road, and I really envied them. ”

Dada Ewalt whispered, then took a few steps and walked to the side of an armored combat vehicle stuck in the mud. This four-wheeled, two-large shield-shaped tall iron plate with a large shield protruding from the front and a device using the Chaoyang steam engine from Elena was called the Steam Shield Chariot by Dada, and the official code name was the Shield Chariot. According to the plan of the Legion's higher-ups, these steam shields would cover the soldiers from attacking under enemy fire after the battle began, providing basic protection for the soldiers. At the same time, due to the use of steam power, this armored combat vehicle can also be loaded with thicker armor, which is basically equivalent to the defense capability of three or four layers of plate armor, which is difficult to destroy even with Anken Rein's Thundering Steam Rifle.

It's just that the plan is beautiful, but the reality is not so good. Because of the large number of troops invested in the same small area, the only two roads connecting the provinces of Siloam and Engspan could no longer meet the needs of such an army, and in order to maintain military pressure, the commander decided to march in full force, so the soldiers left the road and entered the land on both sides of the road. They went from two long red dragons to eight red waves that were linked to each other, and they were firmly attacking forward.

"Come, push!"

Seeing Dada coming, the company commander Bob Collier, who was already organizing people to help, hurriedly waved his hand, Dada nodded, and together with Francisco, put his hand on the frame of the shield chariot. This kind of mobile defense facility is good for everything, but the passability is too poor, and it is difficult to continue to move forward when encountering this kind of slightly softer land. Dada followed the push and thought that it had been a day since his troops marched into Elena, why hadn't the enemy reacted yet?

"Poof—"

A sound of Dada's familiar watermelon, which seemed to be ripe, was broken, Dada's whole body trembled, and he subconsciously looked at his company commander, but found that the company commander was touching his head in some panic. He and Dada glanced at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not me."

As he said this, Bob Collier's hand was still shaking, and that was his fear, like a shadow.

Dada stood up, looked left and right, and sure enough, he saw a commotion not far away.

"It's a person from the first company, and it's estimated that it's the deputy company commander."

“……”

Bob Collier didn't speak, he clapped his hands and shouted.

"Come on, Lao Tzu is not dead, keep pushing!"

The soldiers, who had just been a little panicked, saw that Bob had calmed down, and they all cast longing glances. They no longer paid attention to the panicked company, shouted the trumpet together, and pushed out the shield chariot that was stuck in the mud.

Dada finally used some strength to push the steam shield out. His description was inaccurate, and although he had not encountered a large force since entering Elena, the enemy's long-range rifles had not stopped. For a day, Dada had seen three company commanders and a regimental commander get their heads blown out in front of him. These people are able to shoot from great distances, which can neither be predicted nor tracked. And the desire to fight with the soldiers with Dada has also become more powerless and fragile with the disappearance of this life.

"I said, how the hell did these people find out about the officers? Everyone is now wearing the same clothes and there are no epaulettes, how can they tell the difference? ”

Francisco Ali walked to Dada's side with a shallow foot and lowered his voice, "I heard that some people are lost again, how about it, do you want to ......?"

"If you get lost, you won't have any money", Dada shook his head and objected to Francisco's suggestion, "They killed all officers, and it has nothing to do with us, I'm going to keep fighting, at least to see if the enemy can unleash magic." ”

"Well, it's up to you. I'll take a look again, if I do it twice, I'll definitely find a chance to run, this is too scary. ”

Francisco was still playing with his waist as he spoke, as if someone was aiming at him from a distance. Dada reached out and nudged him, then straightened up, shook his shoulders, and moved the somewhat loose steam backpack up his back to make himself more comfortable. At the end of the day, his steam pack had already been refilled with water once, and he still hadn't encountered an enemy. And judging from Dada's feeling, the time to add water next time is not far away.

"Look, what's that?"

Francisco, who had been bent over, didn't know when he stood up straight, and in front of him, where his finger pointed, a gray line appeared in Dada's field of vision.

"That...... Is it the enemy? ”

Dada put his hand on the pergola, looked at it, and was a little uncertain. Seeing that gray line, he was even a little relieved. Finally, I finally met the enemy.

"Bang-bang-"

Two long drums sounded, and the team stopped. The enemy is already visible to the naked eye, and it is obviously not safe to use marching columns again. Company Commander Bob Collier shouted two words in place and fell silent. After a while, I remembered three more rapid drum beats.

"Separate, offensive formation!"

The message of the drum was clear, and Bob didn't hesitate any longer, he waved his hand and led the team forward. Dada struggled to recall the essentials of his training, maintaining basic consistency with the warriors around him, and advancing through the muddy ground. Behind him, the familiar sound of the steam engine of the steam shield sounded.

"It seems that we are really going to fight!"

Francisco bent over and trotted past Dada, the steam backpack on his back swaying, and Dada was a little dizzy to watch. He was stunned for a second, and then ran along.

Yes, there is going to be a war, there is no time to hesitate.