[City of Akash]
The next day, after the feast, the officers of the army gathered once again in the Grand Hall. This time, to discuss strategies for the war.
Lui Marcus sat near the front of the long table, between the Sword Saint and the Baron. ?nlike the other officers of the army who looked well-rested, he'd hardly slept last night. He still had several questions regarding the identity of his brother and the so-called Master. If the Master existed at all.
He simply could not accept that a non-combatant like his brother could become so proficient in magic and the sword in such a short period of time. And that Master of Lark's. Who was he? Why did such a person remain anonymous until now? If the student was a mere reflection of the Master, then that person was surely someone at the peak of magic and the sword.
He still had a lot of questions, which would have to wait for now, probably until the end of this war.
"After the arrival of the First, Yorkshaire, and the Marcus Army yesterday," said Lark with a large map hanging on the wall behind him, "we now have twenty-five thousand soldiers under our command."
"It's still nothing compared to the sixty thousand soldiers of the Empire," said Argus, the Lord of Yorkshaire City. "And there's also the elite unit led by General Alvaren. The Magic Knights. They alone are enough to crush the Baron's army."
Baron Zacharia turned grim but did not deny his defeat regardless.
With his usual gruff voice, he said, "I agree. We'll need to defeat that unit first, if we want to even step foot inside Yorkshaire. Each of them are capable of enhancing their bodies using mana. I'm afraid that the low-ranking knights of our Kingdom aren't a match for them at all."
Lark had heard that the reason the Sword Saint and Lui Marcus lost the battle was due to them. It seemed that even they weren't able to win when surrounded by more than a dozen Magic Knights.
General Rizel alone was already a pain to deal with, but now he learned that there were hundreds of knights capable of body-enhancement magic under General Alvaren's command. The Empire was really not sparing them any room to breathe by sending those two monsters of the old era.
"A defensive battle is the ideal with our difference in number," said Lark. He raised one finger. "But with yesterday's addition of eleven thousand soldiers, we only have a month left before we run out of rations."
Some of the officers looked down in embarrassment after this remark. Their rations had been burned down by General Alvaren, and they'd no choice but to rely on the City of Akash to feed their soldiers.
"I'm not blaming anyone," said Lark. "And I'm truly glad that more reinforcements have arrived. But we should throw the idea of a defensive battle to win this battle out of the window. Even if we manage to hold out to a siege for a more than a month, we'll only die of starvation afterwards."
"So you're suggesting we attack the City of Yorkshaire?" Lord Argus surmised.
"Yes," nodded Lark. "And the garrisons of the Empire stationed in the mountains."
Lark pinned several wooden pieces onto the map. "A total of eight garrisons are spread in the Yorkshaire Mountain Range. These also serve as communication relays and supply lines for the Empire. We should prioritize these eight areas before we even start a siege at Yorkshaire. It'll be pointless, otherwise."
Lord Argus stroked his beard. "The Yorkshaire Mountain Range is vast. How did you discover these eight garrisons of the Empire, if I may ask?"
"I'm pretty sure everyone still remembers the eagle I used before."
Lark held out a crystal. Images of the sky started appearing on it. "I've been using more than a dozen surveillance birds to monitor the enemies all this time. I've combed through the entire mountain range and I'm sure that there are only eight garrisons stationed there at the moment, and that each of them is connected with one other, acting as a supply line."
The officers gawked at the vision crystal on Lark's hands. Everyone here knew the significance of such artifact. The number of strategies they could employ had suddenly increased with such a thing on their side.
"Of these eight garrisons, only three of them hold significance," said Lark. "The rest are simple relay points and would immediately collapse if those three are captured by the Kingdom."
Lark pointed at three wooden pieces representing the three garrisons. "For this task, I'll be needing the help of the Yorkshaire Army."
Lord Argus looked conflicted. "I only have less than a thousand soldiers under my command now. Eight hundred and five to be exact.
Although you've said that only three out of those eight garrisons held significance, we would still need to attack those three at the same time for this plan to work. The other garrisons will ask for reinforcements otherwise, and the entire plan will go down the drain. Splitting my soldiers into three groups…" "You'll be assisted by the soldiers from the Third Army," said Lark.
"And for each unit, I'll be lending out three Blackstone Knights."
"You don't understand," Lord Argus said shaking his head, "the mountains of Yorkshaire are a death trap. A lot of people die on them each year, their bodies never found, buried by the snow. Even the Empire took decades before they found a way to overcome it. These Blackstone Knights of yours will simply hinder my soldiers."
The middle portion of the mountain was covered in snow, the slopes were steep and the rocks were sharp. This was the reason why the Yorkshaire Army, before their defeat, was uncontested in the mountains.
The Empire who were used to fighting on flat land simply weren't a match for them at all. ?ot until the Magic Knights who could use body-enhancement magic arrived and overturned the tide of the battle.
"Worry not," Lark dismissed the worries of Argus. "My Blackstone Knights can surely keep up with your men. I can guarantee that. As for the soldiers of the Third Army, just think of them as porters. I'm sure they'll also come handy once the fight breaks out."
"After we've taken care of these garrisons on the mountains," said the Sword Saint. "What's next? Even if we capture those garrisons, if the Empire decides to play a defensive battle, it'll be impossible for us to reclaim the City of Yorkshaire in just a month's time."
"?o, it should be possible." Lark took the large wooden piece representing the soldiers stationed in Akash and pinned it next to Yorkshaire City. "Especially now that we've got an additional eleven thousand men as a helping hand. We can hasten the production of those towers, the balloons, and the bombs."
"Three weeks," said Lark. "We only need to hold out in this city for three weeks until we've completed the movable towers. Several dozen mana bombs should be enough to smoke those guys out of that city if needed. And seven towers should be enough to act as a shield for our army."
The towers Lark had been developing were unlike the ones he built in Lion City. These towers did not need kalrane stones to function, instead they sucked in the ambient mana and used it to fuel its magic. It was far more powerful, movable, but at the same time costed more money and time to build.
Lark felt uncomfortable recreating these towers in this era, where magic was undeveloped, but he had no choice but to rely on them to tilt the tides of war. Their enemy was simply too numerous and powerful for normal methods to overcome.
Murmurs filled the Grand Hall as the officers discussed the proposed plan. Lui Marcus, who remained silent until now, spoke, "Brother, how powerful are these so-called towers? I've heard of the might of the magic towers of Wizzert City. And I've seen one of them in action. Are you saying that these towers of yours are as powerful as those?"
Lark shook his head. "?o. The towers in Wizzert are mere imitations. What we'll be using is the real deal. Probably three to four times more powerful than the ones at Wizzert City."
Hearing this, the entire Grand Hall broke into uproar. The claim of Lark was simply preposterous.
"L-Lies!" One of the officers could not accept Lark's statement.
"How could it be possible to create a tower much more powerful than the ones at Wizzert? And you call their towers mere imitations!"
"Calm down, Captain Abago. Surely the Commander of the Third Army has his reasons for his claims. Maybe his Master is the one behind the invention of these towers?"
"I agree with the captain. I don't know the origin of that Master, but even for him, it should be impossible to create a magic tower three to four times more powerful than the ones in Wizzert!"
"Just because you've never seen it, it means it's impossible." Lark sighed. He remembered the shield towers in the Magic Empire capable of blocking the fire breath of a dragon. "Even if you have your doubts, I humbly ask that you let your soldiers cooperate with the creation of towers.
Time is of essence and we need to win this war before our rations run out."
The entire room burst into a heated discussion once again. This time, Lark did not interrupt them and let them argue with each other to their heart's content. After some time, the buzzes, murmurs, and shouts eventually died down.
They came to the consensus that it would probably be better to do as Lark suggested. A defensive battle for three weeks was necessary for them to complete these so-called towers. And even if the towers weren't as powerful as Lark claimed them to be, everyone in this room was certain of the potency of the mana bombs.
"So in the end, we'll be abandoning this city and attacking with our entire army three weeks from now, huh?" said the Baron. He still remembered the defensive structures he saw on the way here and found it regrettable to leave those things behind.
"A half-assed attack will bite us in the back," said Lark. "It'll be all or nothing. And besides, if we—" Lark stopped in the middle of his speech as he noticed something peculiar in the vision crystal. His surveillance birds noticed an army approaching the city through the burned forest.
"We have guests," said Lark. He showed the vision crystal to everyone.
He willed the birds to come closer, revealing the image of hundreds of soldiers clad in plate armor. On their shoulders was an unknown crest.
"The Alvaren Army," said Baron Zacharia. Everyone held their breath hearing this. "They tracked us all the way here?"
"Those Magic Knights belong to this army, right?" said Lark. "How many of them?"
"All of them," Baron Zacharia spat through gritted teeth. Even the Sword Saint and Lui Marcus were stiff.
"The five hundred-strong army coming this way," said the Baron, "all of them are Magic Knights."
The unit that defeated the Sword Saint, the Marcus Army, and the First Army had arrived at Akash City.