Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1689 1661. Blitzkrieg

"Fort Mayena has been lost?!"

Foltest's glass was still raised in the air, but the excited expression on his face just now, which was intended to boost morale, turned into a deep doubt.

Even though all those who could sit at the long table of the Royal Council were high-ranking and powerful figures, when the breaking news came, there was still a burst of noisy whispers amid the astonishment.

Duke Heward placed the wine glass on the table, Duke Bronibor's face turned pale, and Archbishop Willemer kept winking at Vernon Roche who was standing beside the throne.

Vernon Roche was an upright man, but having been with the king for so long, it was impossible for him to be tactless or slow-witted.

Immediately, the captain of the blue guards took a few steps forward, and by patting the waiter on the shoulder and greeting him, he was about to pull the waiter who brought the shocking news out of the hall without leaving any trace.

Now is the time for the allies to send reinforcements. Originally, Foltest squeezed the two groups of people into one day to meet and receive them. He wanted to use the two groups of reinforcements to boost morale and show how supported Temeria is, so that the nobles, merchants, citizens, and soldiers can maintain confidence.

It's not that this bad news can't be told, and Foltest is not the kind of person who likes to boast behind closed doors. After all, this is military intelligence, and you can't just cover your ears and pretend you don't hear it.

But at least don’t say it in this situation or at this time!
But just when Vernon Roche was about to pull the person away.

"Let him continue, my Lords."

The Redanian ambassador, who had been silent just now, turned around and looked solemnly at the waiter, then looked at Foltest who was standing there.

"Since Redania has decided to send reinforcements, it means that we believe that it is time to reverse the situation no matter what."

"To be honest, the relationship between your country and ours is not that good. We are both the two most powerful countries in the four northern countries, but there is only the Pontar River between us."

"Every year we have to sink several of each other's tax boats on the river because of arguments about where the so-called 'mid-river line' is."

"But at the moment, Your Majesty," the Redanian ambassador said solemnly, "Queen Hedwig and the other gentlemen believe that if we continue like this, at the pace before the winter truce, perhaps by the end of this year..."

"A country that argues with us about where the center line of the Pontar River is might just become Nilfgaard. This is a threat we cannot accept."

“Since the threat is unacceptable in any case, no matter what difficulties and dangers there are in the process of resolving the threat, they are problems that must be overcome.”

The Redanian ambassador raised his glass to the people at the long table.

"Everyone, Redania will never retreat today. This is the will of Queen Hedwig. So you can discuss military intelligence without any scruples, no matter how unfavorable it is. I believe that Mahakam's dwarf friends also mean the same thing."

"That's right," said Colonel Barclay Ayers, who had a thick and long beard. "We won't back down, that's settled. Well, now that our reinforcements welcome party is over, let's go straight to the military intelligence meeting!"

At this point, Vernon Roche couldn't continue to pull people out.

Foltest also calmed down at this time.

He winked at Vernon Roche, and the captain of the Blue Guards resumed his position beside the throne.

The waiter, who had just breathed a sigh of relief because he was about to be taken out, became even more nervous at this moment.

"Relax, child." The King of Temeria comforted him in a gentle voice, "Come, tell me everything you know. When exactly did the Nilfgaardians set out?"

"Your Majesty, I heard that Nilfgaard's Central Army set out yesterday morning."

"So when did they capture Fort Mayena?"

The waiter looked at the letter in his hand to make sure there was no mistake: "It was yesterday at noon."

"."

Foltest frowned. "Read the date carefully, kid. This is a serious matter!"

The waiter stared at the letter in his hand without saying a word, as if he wanted to see some different message from it.

There was no response, but the action alone was enough to give the answer.

Foltest's eyes widened. "We set out in the morning and broke through the Mayena Fortress by noon that day?!"

Mayena Fortress is the southern gateway of Temeria, and it changed hands once before the truce. Nilfgaard's troops even threatened Maribor, the second largest city in the country, and launched a short siege.

So taking advantage of the truce, Temeria reinforced and replenished the fortress.

We can't expect it to be able to hold off Nilfgaard's huge central army, but it should at least be able to kill the enemy's offensive time, war supplies and combat personnel.

And now. It seems that the enemy just started in the morning, crossed the default armistice line, and then took it at noon! This amount of time is not enough for the follow-up troops to move!
An army of tens of thousands of people is about to set out. The vanguard may leave in the morning, but by the afternoon the follow-up troops may not have finished yet!

In other words, the vanguard alone broke through the Mayena Fortress?

Even before the armistice, the Nilfgaardian army was unstoppable, and this speed was completely abnormal!
"Who is the forward commander?"

Duke Heward asked with a breath of cold air, and the waiter gave a serious answer.

"Menno Cuhoon."

"A famous general." Even the dwarf sighed. "I've heard of his name in the Mahakam Mountains. He's a very famous general! Shouldn't he be the marshal of the entire Central Army Group? Why is he running straight to the front line?"

"No matter how famous he is, can he use his fame to blow up a castle?" Archbishop Willemer was furious. "How was this battle fought? Is there an insider in the castle?"

"I don't know, sir." The waiter looked bitter, as if he was about to cry. "That's all I know. No one escaped from the fortress. This is the battle report sent by Maribo."

"They only said that when they were standing on the top of Maribor, they saw the sky in the direction of the Mayena Fortress in the distance darken for a while, and then the Nilfgaardians were approaching the city!"

"Magic!" Archbishop Willemer said immediately and decisively, "It's the evil magic of the southerners! They were the first to use those evil wizards on a large scale in the last war! They must have new tricks this time! That's why they dared to suddenly start a war!"

"Don't jump to conclusions, Willemer." Foltest interrupted the Archbishop who was about to say something.

"There are many sorcerers in our army now. Especially your colleague Merigold the Fearless. If it is indeed some kind of magic, I believe there is no reason why we cannot deal with it."

Now, after the tempering of the last war, let's not talk about the scattered small countries in the north, but the big countries have already begun to incorporate magic into the combat process.

Commanders who still viewed magic as bad luck and superstition were eliminated, and younger non-commissioned officers who were more accepting of magic began to take over.

In the past, if someone advocated "evil magic", they might have turned a blind eye or even fanned the flames for the sake of social stability.

But isn't this asking for trouble now?

At this time, even if the magic is really weird, we can only say that it is a problem of enemy spells.

"No matter what," Foltest said solemnly in a low voice, "they are breaking through the defense line too fast! We must stop them! Otherwise, with such a fast breakthrough speed, they will be able to break through directly!"

"Gentlemen, we can't wait any longer. Roche, where is General Natalis now? I must go to the battle line with him!"
-
"Maribor was breached after only one day of siege. The army led by Foltest was also defeated and fled in all directions."

Margarita continued to speak to Lan.

"But maybe it's Maripo's luck. This city is the second largest in Temeria. There are many valuable things in it. Even if the city wall is breached, it will take a long time to move them."

"So the residents in the city didn't suffer many casualties, but they were all conscripted as slaves on the spot."

"Menno Cuhoon's army has come up with a new trick this time. According to the defeated soldiers led by Foltest who escaped, their ability to break through without anyone knowing what happened is only one aspect of the problem."

"On the other hand, Menno Kuhoon seems to have improved the Nilfgaardian army. They gave up many capabilities that are normally considered necessary and instead placed great emphasis on mobility."

Lan was on a terrace in the Ensenada Palace, listening calmly to Margarita's description of the increasingly deteriorating war situation.

It wasn't the dean of Aretuza College who sent her here personally, although that wouldn't be a big deal for her. But given the current situation, she couldn't leave the college and its students behind.

In the days following the assassination, this terrace became Lane's solitary resting place.

The witcher is now holding the conical crystal and communicating with Margarita through the magic of long-distance communication.

Just like Dijkstra returned to Novigrad through the portal on the day of the assassination, once the war really breaks out, there is no need to care too much about many things that should have been done in secret.

Margarita's voice coming from the conical crystal was a little stuttering, and her mouth seemed very unfamiliar.

Obviously, some situations and specific descriptions of the war were unfamiliar knowledge to the sorceress. What she said to Lan now was probably just a retelling of what she had memorized, and she herself might not have understood it very well.

But these descriptions were enough for Lan En.

"A breakthrough capability beyond imagination that no one knows how to achieve. Do you want to fight a blitzkrieg with a force that emphasizes mobility?"

"Menno Cuhoon, this guy is really good."

Lan muttered under his breath.

(End of this chapter)