novelraw Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Chapter 58. Sylvia’s Response
Questions exploded one after another in Logaris’s mind, only to be forcibly suppressed and sorted into categories for analysis.
“Lilith!” he called toward the door.
“I’m here, Boss!” Lilith immediately poked her head in from the next room.
“Keep an eye on that bard.”
As Logaris put on his coat, he gave the order coldly.
“From this moment on, the laboratory is under lockdown.”
“Without my permission, no one is allowed to enter or leave.”
“Remember, do not let him escape, and do not let him die.”
With that, he did not linger for even a moment.
He strode out of the laboratory, leaving behind a bewildered Lilith.
At the same time.
Inside the Duke’s Manor, in the strategic command room.
A massive sand table map occupied the center of the room, accurately reproducing every inch of the Northern Territory’s mountains and rivers.
Sylvia stood alone in front of it.
The morning light streamed through the windows and fell across her body, yet it could not warm her cold armor, nor could it soften the resolve on her face.
Her silver-gray eyes were fixed firmly on the red-marked region that represented the Demi-Human Empire.
There was no fear.
There was no panic.
On her face, there was only a calm as cold as the winter wind, and an edge as sharp as a blade about to leave its sheath.
War?
Then let it come.
Anyone who wanted to take a bite out of her territory had better be prepared to shatter all their teeth.
In the Council Chamber of the Duke’s Manor, the air was so heavy it felt as though water could be wrung from it.
When Logaris pushed open the door, that was the scene he saw.
A huge sand table map occupied the center of the room.
The mountains and rivers of the Northern Territory had been precisely miniaturized upon it.
General Victor, with his full head of silver hair, Grayson the finance officer with his grim expression, and several core officers all stood around the sand table.
Every face clearly reflected the same conclusion.
Something was very wrong.
Dressed in a neat military uniform, Sylvia stood at the very front of the sand table.
She held a long command pointer in her hand.
Her silver-gray eyes were locked on the region representing the Demi-Human Empire, where dense clusters of red flags symbolizing armies had been planted.
Those arrows pointed straight at the heart of the Northern Territory without the slightest attempt at concealment.
“You’re here.”
Sylvia did not turn around.
Her voice was steady, but Logaris could hear the storm hidden beneath that steadiness.
“The situation is worse than we expected?”
Logaris walked to her side, his gaze sweeping over the sand table.
The old general Victor let out a sigh and took the initiative to explain.
“Professor West, please look here.”
He pointed with a thick finger toward a narrow passage on the map.
“The main force of the Demi-Human Empire, more than forty thousand strong, is gathering near the Black Forest defensive line according to our intelligence.”
“One detail is worth noting.”
“The Demi-Human Empire’s First Legion, ‘Heavenblade,’ was originally also moving southward, but for some unknown reason, it halted midway.”
“Even so, the remaining two legions still place tremendous pressure on us in our current state.”
“If they intend to launch a large-scale invasion, Fierce Gale Valley is their only option.”
“The terrain there is narrow and easy to defend but difficult to attack, so it has always been the focus of our conventional defense.”
General Victor paused, then shifted his tone, the worry on his face growing even heavier.
“But that is under normal circumstances.”
“The Demi-Human Empire’s ‘Storm’ Legion contains a great number of elite troops skilled in mountain warfare.”
“My greatest concern is that they will split off smaller units and send them directly across this vast stretch of the Dragon Mountain Range.”
“They could then infiltrate from the flank and form an encirclement against our main force.”
“The Dragon Mountain Range stretches for hundreds of kilometers.”
“It is simply unrealistic to seal it off with conventional troops.”
Grayson added from the side, “The manpower and material cost of that would directly crush the finances that have only just begun to recover.”
All eyes turned toward Sylvia, waiting for her decision.
War was not a game.
Every decision made here concerned the survival of the Northern Territory and the lives of countless soldiers.
The command room fell silent.
Only the heavy sound of breathing remained.
Logaris noticed that Sylvia’s fingertips were lightly tapping the command pointer, producing a precise and rhythmic sound.
She was thinking.
Her gaze swept across the flags on the sand table that represented the vast disparity in strength between the enemy and their own side, while calculations raced through her mind.
A direct clash was the worst option.
The Demi-Human Empire’s forces were several times larger than the Northern Territory’s defenders, while her true trump card, the Heart of Winter Industrial Park, would still need at least three more months before it could begin preliminary production and achieve large-scale weapons output.
The enemy had forty thousand soldiers.
The Northern Territory’s standing forces numbered only twenty thousand.
Even if the noble coalition armies were added in as little more than padding, their total still would not exceed thirty thousand.
The gap was simply too great.
That meant the strategic objective of this campaign should be repelling the enemy, not annihilating them.
In other words, they had to make the invaders want to retreat.
As long as they could endure these three months, the Northern Territory’s military strength would enter a stage of explosive growth.
Sylvia moved the pointer in her hand, tracing an arc across the sand table before precisely tapping three positions in Fierce Gale Valley.
“Here.”
“First Sky Pass.”
“At its narrowest point, it is less than fifty meters wide, with cliffs on both sides.”
“Deploy two battalions of rune heavy crossbowmen there, supported by battlefield mages, and bring the Explosive Crystals provided by Logaris.”
“I do not care what methods you use.”
“I want this place turned into a meat grinder.”
“Here.”
“Echo Bay.”
“It is a natural ring-shaped valley that can be used to avoid attacks.”
“The enemy vanguard will definitely camp here to rest.”
“Set up chained trap spellworks there in advance.”
“And here.”
“Dryriver Bed.”
“Because it remains frozen year-round and the terrain is flat, it looks like a perfect shortcut.”
“But that in itself is the trap.”
“Before the war begins, the engineering corps will bury large quantities of Explosive Crystals along the mountain walls on both sides of the riverbed.”
“When the enemy’s main force enters the gorge, detonate them all at once!”
“I want an artificial avalanche that buries both men and horses completely beneath that frozen river!”
Her speech was rapid, but every word was crisp and clear.
Every order carried unquestionable authority.
Her sharp and decisive commands instantly transformed the oppressive atmosphere of the Council Chamber into something keen and deadly.
Understanding dawned across the tense faces of the officers.
General Victor in particular, a veteran who had defended the Northern Territory for half his life, showed a flash of approval in his eyes.
He did not dismiss these tactics simply because they were classic battlefield examples.
On the contrary, he felt invigorated by Sylvia’s ability to identify the critical points so quickly and precisely, then link them into a complete chain of slaughter.
Before Sylvia could finish, General Victor stepped forward and picked up the thread in a steady, forceful voice.
“Your Highness has thought this through thoroughly.”
“As for the avalanche plan at Dryriver Bed, I suggest mixing the Explosive Crystals with the alchemical agent ‘Frostshatter.’”
“That way, it will not only trigger an avalanche, but also instantly make the frozen riverbed brittle, sending the enemy plunging into the abyss together with the ice beneath their feet.”
“We still have a great deal of that reagent left in our warehouses.”
Sylvia nodded in approval.
Victor’s addition was exactly what she had in mind.
Her silver-gray eyes swept across the room as she prepared to continue issuing orders.
“Report—!”
A courier rushed into the chamber.
The matter was so urgent that he even forgot to salute.
“Your Highness!”
“An urgent letter… an urgent letter from the royal capital!”
He presented a tightly sealed letter with both hands.
Stamped into the wax was the emblem of the Kingdom Council.
Sylvia tore open the seal and drew out the parchment inside.
After only a single glance, a mocking smile appeared on her face.
“How interesting.”
She casually handed the parchment to Logaris beside her.
Logaris took it and frowned as well after reading it.
It was an order from the Kingdom Council.
Led by Herman, the Minister of Justice of the Northern Territory, a group of nobles had jointly filed an impeachment against Sylvia.
They accused her of abusing her authority in the Northern Territory, executing nobles without authorization, and disrupting the kingdom’s tax system.
They ordered her to depart immediately for the royal capital and submit to questioning before the council.