Alice in the Land of Steam

Coincidentally, there is also a battle map in Ling's office, which is even more detailed than the one used by Major General Andre, because it covers all the information of both sides, the known, the knowable, and the unknown, what the rebels know but the 17th Legion does not know, what the 17th Legion knows but the rebels do not know... As long as they can be recorded on paper, they will eventually appear on this map.

This was thanks to the hard work and patience of a certain Princess Beman. Although it might not be appropriate to say this, her delicate little hands were originally only suitable for holding a quill pen to write, and even turning the soil for the violets in the garden had to be done by the stone guards. But now she has learned to draw maps with charcoal, compass and ruler, regaining the skills she learned in the palace courses many years ago.

Thanks to her, Linger even knew the content of the letter of help sent by the 17th Legion to the Nidhogg earlier than the Allied Navy Command. Since the outbreak of the war, he asked Olvera to regularly collect intelligence on both sides of the enemy, and he sorted and summarized it himself. With the help of this unimaginable intelligence genius, Yunjing Sky Island became the real intelligence department of the rebels. Countless precious intelligence was continuously sent to the front line, providing important reference for the rebels' decision-making and actions.

The only people who knew about this cooperation were Grayhill Eagle and Regina. Besides them, even Mitch and Kadora only knew a little bit, which made it even more mysterious in the eyes of outsiders. It was said that General Fransander had inquired about the source of the Liberation Front's intelligence more than once, and some people who liked to make groundless accusations swore that this was the secret power of the Borg family, and even seriously linked it to the destroyed Church of the Night, saying that another meaning of the Defender was the Judge, and that the predecessor of the Borg family was the Inquisition of the Church of the Night.

Having a rich imagination is a good thing. It saved Linger a lot of trouble and also added a lot of prestige to Carson Borg. At least the cooperation between the Liberation Front and the Kingdom Army is no longer just a one-sided benefit, but a mutual complement. The core of this alliance is very fragile, so it can only be consolidated with external factors. The closer the cooperation between the two sides, the easier the road to victory.

The situation seems to be good, but is it really so?

Linger looked at the battle map nailed to the wall. The blocks of color and dense lines on it were all drawn by the young man himself according to the battle reports sent from the front. If it weren't for this war, the young man really didn't know that he had a talent in this area. After conquering the Iron City of Bad Ain, the rebels launched a fierce offensive against the occupied areas of the 17th Legion. Due to the active response of the Gray Hill people, they naturally achieved considerable results in the fields and villages where the enemy's garrison was weak. In terms of important strategic goals, they also conquered the "New Sprout City" Miver and the Long Lake Fortress, which was an exciting victory.

From the choice of attack targets and the changes in the battle lines, it is not difficult to see that General Franshande's battle plan is to gradually erode the enemy's peripheral forces, compress them into a limited range, and finally win the battle when the enemy has no way to retreat. From the geographical location, the final battle site is obviously here, adjacent to the largest city in the Evernight Forest: Gray Hill City Suare, the political and economic center of the Ansus region, and the hometown of the Gray Hill Eagle.

The Ash Guerrillas set out on a journey with ideals and beliefs in mind. After going around in circles, will they eventually return to the starting point?
Coincidentally, the commander of the 17th Legion seemed to have similar ideas, so he took the initiative to give up the unimportant strategic targets in the periphery and chose to concentrate his forces in the major hub cities and shrink his defense. According to the report of the garrison personnel left in the Black Forest by the Ash Guerrillas, in just this week, no less than three troops withdrew from their original defense areas and retreated into the city of Suare. It is hard to imagine how much the defense force of the City of Ash Hill will expand when the day of the decisive battle comes.

This is a solid shield, while the rebels are a sharp spear. Who will win or lose when the contradictions collide? Linger's inclination is naturally the latter. This is not only an emotional inclination, but also a rational judgment. Compared with the rebels who fought on the home ground and won the hearts of the people, the 17th Legion was blocked by the Ansers Mountains and had no airships to provide transportation. The outcome was already determined. It can even be said that the fate of the Ansers region was not determined by the desperate battle between the enemy and us, but by another battlefield far away.

When the situation on the central battlefield eased, the Axis Powers had the spare energy to consolidate the colonial power, and the 17th Army could also get continuous support from the camp. Not to mention the uprising army formed by the Northern Army and the Liberation Front, what was there to fear even if they faced the entire Noah Kingdom? But when the situation on the central battlefield fell into a tense situation, the fragility of the coalition forces as a military alliance was reflected. With intrigues and hesitation, what kind of support could such a seemingly united but actually divided camp provide?

Although it is true that I feel sorry for Grayhill Eagle, Regina, Mitch and Kadora, and the efforts of many people, the fate of the Ansus region is in the hands of many people, but not in my own hands. And now, another person who holds its fate is about to take the stage.

Looking at the intelligence rewritten by Olvera and the request for support made by Major General Andre, commander of the 17th Legion, to the Nidhogg in an extremely respectful and flattering tone, the young man sighed silently.

The Axis Powers, as a military alliance composed of many countries, has been able to maintain its existence to this day, apart from the fragile interest connection, entirely relying on the Crusaders, a unique army. At any time, any place, and any situation, it can take the overall situation into consideration, or even be said to be the only army that can only take the overall situation into consideration. This is the only army in history.

What's the big picture?

For the Crusaders and the coalition of religious orders behind them, ensuring that the war proceeds smoothly is the overall situation.

Therefore, Ling was 100% confident that the Allied Naval Command would agree to Major General Andre's request for assistance and send a so-called "intervention force" to the Ansers area.

This will lead to serious consequences, which the rebels cannot afford given the current situation.

We have to find a way.

……

Ten minutes later, Lingge appeared at the edge of the school playground. This was an area specially designated for children to exercise. In addition to the playground for running and doing exercises, there were also two wind flower courts. At this time, it was physical education time. Xinuo, a physical education teacher, was teaching students how to play wind flower ball in the court. These children who grew up in the East Continent may have never heard of this sport, and they didn't know that their teacher was actually one of the players who came closest to the Yamit Trophy in the history of wind flower ball, but it didn't prevent them from learning with great interest. It is worth mentioning that a golden-haired maid also mixed into this group and was wandering around the court, promoting the glorious achievements of the Scarlet End Demon King to everyone she met. But when the other party expressed admiration and wanted to compete with the Demon King, she avoided the topic and refused to agree. As soon as he saw the sly look, Lingge knew that this scumbag maid was definitely looking for a weak opponent. After all, the famous saying that trampled on the spirit of sports, "The strong must severely humiliate the weak", came from her mouth.

As expected of the devil, he was so evil. Lingge decided to go find Saint Shallia and tell her that Alice had gone out to play before she finished writing her confession. Although he had no evidence, evidence was not needed for such a thing. Anyone would know that she had not finished writing. Considering her limited education, Saint Shallia was particularly lenient with her and gave her a two-week deadline, but the golden-haired maid didn't take it seriously at all, probably because she thought that "it's not a deadline until the last second."

Alice, who was waving her racket in the court, suddenly felt a chill running up her spine, causing her to shudder. She looked around suspiciously, but found nothing suspicious, and ultimately could only attribute it to her being too sensitive.

Little did she know that Linger had quietly left her sight and found Xinuo who was teaching students. The latter actually noticed the young man's arrival early, but did not respond immediately. Instead, she gestured to Linger to wait outside the court for a while, and then she continued to explain the key points and precautions of serving to the students. Only after they remembered them firmly did she wave her hand and let them practice freely.

As the ballpark was filled with the song "The Century Battle between the Crimson End Demon King and the Deep Blue Galaxy Overlord," and the children were excitedly discussing the Deep Blue Galaxy Overlord, who was about the same age as them but had already mastered the legendary "Heavenly Way Batting Method" and was considered the pride of the wind and flower ball world, Shino walked up to Linger and smiled at the young man who had been waiting for a long time: "Sorry to have kept you waiting, Linger."

"It's okay." Ling Ge shook his head gently: "I should be the one to apologize for interrupting your class."

"I think they're eager for me to finish my talk sooner." Xino looked at the energetic students in the stadium, laughed again, and asked, "By the way, what could have made you want to disrupt the order of the class and come to me?"

Xino knew that the young man in front of him paid the most attention to classroom order. Even the feared troublemakers in the school, such as Alice, Leticia, and Gloria (White Night personality), had to be trembling and obedient like quails in his class. This might be due to his personality, but it might also be related to the young man's aura. He was born to be a teacher - if not a pastor.

Lingge had no idea what Xino was thinking. He took out the information from his arms, handed it to the girl, and motioned her to read it first.

Xino raised his eyebrows slightly, took the information, read it carefully, folded it again, and returned it to Lingge. Then, a thoughtful look appeared on his face: "It seems that the situation is not good."

This is a fact that can be seen with the naked eye. Even if it cannot be seen, it should be known after reading the content of this intelligence. Xinuo believes that Ling Ge’s visit to her is definitely not as simple as simply telling her intelligence, so she simply asked directly: "What are you going to do, Ling Ge?"

Logically, one should ask the rebels what they plan to do, but Xino knows in his heart that it is meaningless because there is no plan in this regard in the rebels' plan.

On the one hand, the rebels had no navy, and their air force only had the Mountain Falcon Knights under the command of the Earl of the North, which was far from sufficient. Therefore, even if they had anticipated this situation in advance, it would have been difficult to intercept them; on the other hand, in General Fransander's expectation, although the support of the Crusaders would definitely arrive, it should come later, at least until the rebels and the 17th Legion had been fighting for a while and both sides were in a stalemate. He didn't expect that the commander of the 17th Legion had no intention of fighting him at all. The war had just begun, and there had not even been a few direct confrontations. He issued an order to shrink the defense without hesitation, and sent a request for support to the Allied Navy Command without hesitation, as decisive as if he had already foreseen his defeat.

If the support of the Crusaders had arrived later, General Fransander would have been able to capture most of the Ansers region. By then, even if the enemy reinforcements arrived, it would not have been able to change the overall situation. But it is not possible now. Right now, the rebels' strength, momentum and reputation are still weak and cannot withstand this heavy blow.

Being decisive is an excellent quality for a commander, but few people can do it. At least, in Xino's impression, even some famous generals and commanders who have left their names in history books would make mistakes due to a moment of hesitation and end up with a regrettable ending. In this sense, the commander of the 17th Legion, the unknown Major General Andre, is indeed a talent.

"The Kingdom also has a navy."

Ling briefly stated his thoughts: "If the Crusader reinforcements want to enter the Ansas region, they can only take the route of Josi Beach-Guna River-Ansas River. Among them, the section of the Guna River to the estuary is controlled by the Kingdom Navy. I guess the old king will not sit idly by and watch the Crusader intervene in the situation in the Ansas region. If the Kingdom Navy can intercept the Crusader outside the estuary, everyone will be happy; but if not..."

In fact, no is the most likely outcome. Whether in terms of personnel quality, equipment level or ship size, the Kingdom Navy lags far behind the Crusader Navy. Although it is said that there is a demigod-level ghost ship powered by a holy relic in the Kingdom Navy, but... I am afraid it is still difficult to match the Crusader Army's steel giant ships.

"When that happens," Linger looked at the smiling knight girl in front of him with a complicated look, "I'll have to ask you to help, Xino." (End of this chapter)