While Henwell prepares to put real pressure on Ogiro, redith arrives at the foothold zone and ets Elia and Beethoven.
Elia asks, "Is my lord satisfied with the way we handled things? We have not lost any combat strength at all!"
"The second-phase defensive works in this area have already been built. In three months at most, we will be safe."
"When that ti cos, not just will Ogiro be unable to launch a large-scale attack here, even small-scale infiltration and harassnt will stop."
"After this war ends, Ogiro will have occupied a great deal of new territory, so they will have to shift their defensive focus west."
"In that case, we will be able to buy a great deal of ti. By then, we will slowly connect this place with Saltwater Town."
"With all three of our sides backed by the sea and supported by the fleet, it will be much too difficult for Ogiro to drive us out again!"
redith smiles. "My lord said that after one trip outside, Elia, you ca back with only one ear. How is he supposed to explain that to your wife?"
"Also, my lord said that the foothold zone was always ant to play a temporary containnt role. In the original plan, if the situation beca untenable, this place was to be abandoned."
"Between Saltwater Town and the foothold zone, we only need one place to stand. There is no need to hold both."
"Now more than ten thousand n have lost one ear. This does not match the plan. You can wait for your punishnt. My lord said he will not reward you!"
Elia smiles. "Blood Fox, you know how rare this chance is!"
"If we want to achieve anything, we need to keep building advantages and seize every opportunity fate gives us."
"Peace Haven is our shared cause. My lord is risking his life, and you people from the Military Intelligence Office are also risking yours."
"Since all of us are risking our lives, then as soldiers, paying one ear to achieve a strategic objective is already well worth it."
redith sighs. "Yes. This chance is simply too rare."
"If we miss it, then the next ti we want to carve flesh from Ogiro, we will have to prepare for the price of being bitten back."
"And once this area links up with Saltwater Town, it gives us more than seven thousand square kiloters of land."
"Between farming and fishing, the harvest here can support more than eight hundred thousand residents."
"We can raise at least four standing legions here."
"Whether it is Ogiro or Lumir, neither side will dare to use force against Peace Haven again before they pull us out."
"Likewise, before Peace Haven falls, whichever side attacks this place will have to guard against a counterattack from Peace Haven."
"It may be an enclave, but it happens to stand across from Peace Haven and support it from afar. This is the best outco we could ask for."
"It can buy Peace Haven enough ti to develop and grow until the powers around us begin to fear us."
Elia nods and taps the map. "More than that."
"The position of Tatan City port will beco rather awkward after this. With support from the Western Federation, Lumir is very likely to take the port back."
"This place lies in the bay area. It can not just beco a supply point for Barbosa's fleet, but let us begin building a navy of our own."
"So tell , how could I possibly give up this chance?"
"It is only one ear. In exchange for so many benefits, no matter how I look at it, it is worth it."
"In my view, forget one ear. Even if it cost my life, even if it cost the lives of our entire legion, it would still be worth it."
Blood Fox can only fall silent in agreent, but then she says, "Still, my lord asked to remind you."
"A life is still a life. They are precious beyond asure. Once lost, there is no second chance."
"Land, resources, wealth... those things do not disappear. If you miss them, there will be another opportunity."
Elia nods. "I understand what my lord ans."
"But Blood Fox, you also understand that my lord cares too much about us, and about everyone in Peace Haven."
"As his subordinates, we need to do certain things that he cannot say, and even more so, cannot do."
Blood Fox lets out a soft laugh. "Yes. Sotis my lord is too softhearted, but that is also one of the important reasons we follow him."
"In any case, you had better be careful from now on. My work will now shift toward Holy Lake City."
"There may be so delay in our intelligence on Ogiro, so you need to pay attention to changes in the surrounding situation yourselves."
Ti passes quickly. In the blink of an eye, it is already the autumn harvest.
Over these months, Ogiro and Lumir have fought several major battles.
During this period, Lumir repeatedly urges that Clifford's legions move south and attack in order to relieve pressure on the main battlefield.
But each ti, Clifford withstands the pressure and stalls them.
He knows that the four legions under his command are growing at high speed. The longer he delays, the more elite they will beco.
More importantly, Clifford understands that a rash attack south would only relieve pressure on the front line. It would not bring any qualitative change to the overall war.
He needs the right opportunity.
He must use these already reorganized elite troops at the key mont and in the key position to inflict the greatest possible damage on Ogiro.
A surprise attack can only happen once. He has to make the most of it.
Once that blow is spent and both sides fall back into a stalemate, he will not be able to run straight back to Peace Haven's occupied zone as he did last ti.
However, as Lumir's war situation worsens, Holy Lake City's patience is almost exhausted.
King Semson of Lumir can only make concessions now. With no other choice, he agrees that a broad stretch of northern territory will be temporarily administered by Ika.
Under Western Federation diation, Ika Kingdom cannot continue expanding south.
This also gains the agreent of King Baleqi, and the two sides sign an accord.
Lumir directly transfers five legions from the north to the south. With this fresh force entering the field, the war situation imdiately changes.
In November, on a plain more than a hundred li northwest of Ironwood Fort, both sides launch a major battle.
Each side commits more than ten legions.
The battle line stretches for more than ten kiloters, and more than two hundred thousand people fight through blood for five days.
Blood dyes the nearby rivers red. Corpses lie everywhere, and wounded n wail across the field.
In the end, Ogiro still gains the upper hand.
It is not that Lumir's soldiers fight without courage. It is simply that Ogiro's commanders are more ruthless.
Ogiro sacrifices the Iron Thorn Legion to pin down Lumir's two ace legions, the Lake Sword Legion and the rchant Shield Legion.
From beginning to end, Ogiro's commanders never try to rescue their own ace legion. They simply wait.
They wait until their own ace legion is nearly wiped out, while Lumir's two ace legions are badly mauled and no longer protected by their formations.
Only then does Ogiro send in the Sharp Spear Legion and the Rushing River Legion to harvest the broken field.
Lumir urgently sends the Holy Lake Knights Order to intercept them, but another Ogiro ace legion, the First Guard Legion, leads two standing legions to block them.
They throw human lives into the gap and forcefully buy one hour.
And that one hour is enough for Ogiro's Gloomwood Knights to circle into attack position and charge into the flank of the Holy Lake Knights Order.
To save the Holy Lake Knights Order, Lumir not just sends out its last ace legion, the Light of Fortune Legion, but commits its cavalry cluster.
Then... then everything ends.
With nothing left to restrain them, Ogiro sends out its twenty-thousand-strong cavalry cluster. Split into five smaller clusters and dozens of waves, they sweep across Lumir's defensive line.
A rout begins.
In this battle of ruthless wagers, Ogiro finally wins at a terrible price.
After this battle, Lumir can no longer assemble elite forces capable of stopping Ogiro's advance.
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