Over the course of seven weeks, all of Victor's invasion force had been gathered outside the port of Hannover.
Victor held a dinner party the night before departure. It was for the commanders to catch up and receive proper briefings on the plan. The leader of the army would be Field Marshal Wellesley; his rank and experience made him the ideal candidate to lead. Field Marshal Schwarzenberg was an option, but Victor did not want to deprive the continent of Simbar of his leadership.
Field Marshal Wellesley would be in command of 8 other Corps besides his own. In this army was 1st Corps under General Rapp, 2nd Corps under General Bertrand, 4th Corps under Marshal Lefebvre, 5th Corps under General Hill, 7th Corps under General Gimborn, 8th Corps under General Kamensky, 13th Corps under General Picton, and 14th Corps under General Lasalle.
Victor was fortunate to seize a lot of transport ships during the war against the Kingdom of Gu. He could transport this army all in one hit, rather than having Grand Admiral Nelson do two trips. Grand Admiral Nelson would lead the main fleet of 20 Ships Of The Line, 45 Third-Rate Ships, and 10 Rocket Ships to protect the transport ships.
The dinner party was nothing fancy; it was just an opportunity for everyone to learn of the objectives and the purpose behind this invasion. It was also a good time to introduce the future Princess of Luxenberg, Isabella. She was graciously escorted by her husband-to-be, Anton. The two had been spending time together, even trying to converse without the assistance of a translator.
While the commanders were chatting away, Victor tapped a fork against his glass to get their attention. "Gentlemen, tomorrow we set forth on another conquest. This time we sail to support our allies in Zandar. With our assistance, we shall support them against the usurping villains that have caused this war to last for two decades."
The room erupted with soft applause; everyone was keen to prove to the world once again why they were the most powerful military on the planet. Victor gestured for Field Marshal Wellesley to come and deliver the plan to the room. He promptly cleared his voice before addressing his subordinates and the other guests.
"Listen well, men, we will be sailing to the port city of Sinolla, and we will briefly stay there before heading to the centre of the continent. We will split into three groups and assist the Green Visconte's army. With the addition of our forces, we aim to secure the capital swiftly and begin purging the southern nobles that rose up in favour of Lorenzo Visconte."
No applause followed, only firm nods and serious looks. Each commander was visualising the plan and how they would command their men. The one struggle that they all came up with was the language barrier. If they were going to cooperate with the Green Visconte's Army, they needed to be able to communicate efficiently.
There were not a lot of combat translators who could assist them in this matter. All that Victor could do was assign one combat translator to each corps, but they certainly would not be enough, especially if some of them died or were incapacitated.
The only way Victor could easily remedy this was by using summons from the system; however, Victor was not thrilled with the idea of summoned Zandarian soldiers. If there were soldiers in his army who were Zandarian, it might send the wrong message to Alphonse Visconte.
If Victor had soldiers who were native to the continent, it could be seen as him setting some groundworks to steal the continent from right under his nose. There was no way Victor wanted to risk starting another war. With all this in mind, Victor would have to wait and react when they arrived in Zandar. There was no point in spending hours contemplating potential scenarios.
Victor spent his final night with his wife and kids, enjoying their company before he would be deprived of it. There was no telling how long the war would be. Optimistically, it could take under 9 months, but war is unpredictable and could take triple the amount of time.
Instead of fretting about how long he would be away for, Victor made sure to nestle his head into his pillow and get some well-deserved sleep. He would be at sea for slightly over 2 months, enjoying the luxuries of a nice bed, and a quiet room would be essential for him, as he would more than likely forget it within a week.
On the morning of departure, there were many heartfelt cries and goodbyes, not just for Victor, but for many soldiers and sailors. Women wept and threw flowers as their sons, brothers, fathers and husbands loaded up onto the ships. Clarisse and her two daughters were no exception; they cried as Victor rode off from the palace towards the port.
Sailors in patched trousers and striped shirts darted along ratlines to furl sails and lash down spars; the scent of pitch and oak filled every breath. Midshipmen barked orders to secure powder kegs below, and gunners ran out iron shot across gleaming decks, their heavy boots sending echoes over the bulwarks.
As the fleet began to slip from its moorings and turn toward the open sea, the city behind them faded into the haze. Cannon muzzles peered from their decks like patient watchers. Flags flew, proud and defiant. Below deck, the men settled into the dark bellies of the ships, clutching letters, rosaries, or nothing at all.
The tide and wind bore them out to sea. The clatter of hooves and murmur of voices faded, replaced by the steady slap of waves against timbers and the rhythmic creak of rigging—a rolling promise of long marches to come, on land and across the deep.
The Luxenberg Army had finally departed from Hannover. What was on the horizon was a new challenge to face. Victor and his army would not be coming as invaders, but as friends to support Alphonse Visconte in his life quest to secure his throne.
With favourable winds, the Luxenberg Army arrived at Sinolla after being at sea for two months.