Years later, when people looked back on this year, they realized that there had been quite a few unfortunate incidents. Both the Western Continent's Watcher and the prestigious Milt Academy, known for their strongest combat training, suffered unprecedented and possibly irreplaceable losses.
During the invasion of the Demon through the Hell Gate, nearly ten thousand people died, making it the largest single attack by the Demon since the end of the Mythological War, according to statistics. The main city was destroyed during the battle, and the Milt Academy on Heartlake Island was almost completely destroyed, despite their precautions. Prior to the incident, Lucius and Ciella believed that the enemy only consisted of the forces of the Dark Elves and Milanía Brad, and were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the powerful Demon.
Fortunately, more of the city's residents survived, and although there were casualties among the academy's students and teachers during the fight against the Demon, the situation did not escalate to a complete defeat thanks to the timely intervention of a certain demon king. The title of "Watcher" for Milt Academy was once again renowned throughout the continent.
On the other hand, the Temple Church, which often competed with Milt for tasks, extended a helping hand. They provided generous financial, manpower, and material support for the reconstruction of the academy's city. Their lavish assistance almost made people think that they owed Milt a debt. Of course, the Church definitely did not owe any debts. The reason for their enthusiasm was mainly... embarrassment. It was truly embarrassing!
Most members of the Temple Church had this thought after learning about the incident. As the representatives of the Goddess of the Light's will on Earth, they should have been the first to appear on the front lines against the Demon. However, before the holy knight corps could gather from various places and advance, the battle had already ended. If they had just missed it normally, it would be forgivable. The problem was that the Gravina Autonomous Territory was not large, and many holy knights could have arrived before the battle ended, but some bishops in charge of those regions forcibly prevented them from doing so, leaving them only able to stand by. As for the motives behind those bishops' actions... it was impossible for the invasion of the Demon to end so quickly. Instead of engaging in direct combat and losing their own knights, it was better to wait until Milt and the Demon army reached a stalemate before appearing as saviors. They could have the title of heroes without exerting too much effort. Isn't that nice? Unfortunately, this cunning mindset had backfired, and it had led to a series of internal punishment and reforms within the Church as a consequence.
However, as the disaster in the Milt Academy city came to an end, the chaos seemed far from reaching its conclusion.
...
Hundreds of kilometers away from the Gravina Autonomous Territory, along the border between the Milanía Kingdom and the neighboring Maston. The two countries shared a border that stretched for hundreds of kilometers, but thanks to the mountain range located on the border, only about a hundred kilometers needed to be guarded.
Since the early days of Milanía's founding, a defensive line had been constructed after the territory expanded to this area. After years of ups and downs, this eastern fortress had become a well-defended system consisting of three main citadels, numerous small fortresses, sentries, and mounted patrols. Occupying the natural barrier, with the kingdom's elite troops stationed there, it undoubtedly served as the barrier for the eastern part of the kingdom.
That being said, in reality, since the end of the war over a decade ago, the eastern fortress had been relatively calm. Apart from minor skirmishes, most of the time, the border troops of both countries simply monitored each other and maintained their guard. Not a single battle worthy of being called a "war" had occurred.
——Until today.
Outside the western section of the fortress, between two small fortresses, a twelve-member cavalry squad is galloping across the wilderness.
For them, this is just a routine patrol mission. Every day, hundreds of teams like this shuttle back and forth between various fortresses, confirming the inviolability of the hundred-kilometer-long border.
The densification of the defensive lines, which have been continuously improved over the years, has reached a relatively saturated level for each small fortress. The cavalry squad doesn't even need to carry much supplies. Each rider travels alone without a spare horse, armed with a light sword and a bow. They can reach the next fortress by morning gallop.
The expressions on the faces of the cavalrymen are relatively relaxed. Although there has been tension within the kingdom since the New Year celebration, the situation is still under control. War King has already reorganized the expeditionary force and is ready to suppress the rebellion at any time.
As for the border... After two main combat corps were mobilized, Granston drew two reserve corps to make up for the shortfall. Although their combat effectiveness has decreased, the level of alertness has increased. The frequency of patrols like theirs has increased by thirty percent. With the well-established defensive lines built over the years, this place is still an insurmountable barrier for the enemy.
The Mastonian people should also be well aware of this. Their repeated attempts to break through this iron wall have undoubtedly taught them a lesson. So, despite the internal strife in the kingdom having lasted for several months, the defense line still maintains stability.
Hope War King will suppress the rebellion quickly, just like victories in continuous battles over a decade ago. This is what most soldiers are thinking.
After galloping for about an hour, the captain of the cavalry suddenly raised his left hand and made a fist, halting the march of the squad.
"Captain?"
"Don't speak, listen carefully."
The captain's expression was a bit unpleasant, and he gestured for silence again.
All the riders dismounted and held their horses in check, and suddenly the wilderness became quiet. Only the sound of the wind sweeping past and the sound of the captain's military flag fluttering in his hand could be heard.
Under the sound of the wind and the fluttering flag, there was also a deep, resonant, and rhythmic sound.
Whoo! Whoo!
Coming from the northeast, the sound grew louder and closer, gradually overpowering the sound of the wind, growing from indistinct to clear.
On the ground, countless tiny pieces of gravel began to rhythmically jump with the sound.
The cavalry captain immediately dismounted, inserted the flag into the saddle, and bent down to listen attentively with his ear to the ground. After a moment, he stood up and mounted his horse again.
"From three directions, with over ten thousand in each, heavy footsteps, good equipment, it must be the Mastonian regular army."
The cavalry captain, who had participated in the defense of the country eighteen years ago, made his judgment.
Upon hearing this news, there was a moment of low conversation among the cavalry squad, but it quickly quieted down.
"Quiet down! What's there to panic about? They're all a bunch of defeated underlings!" one of the veterans in the squad, who had also participated in the war eighteen years ago, laughed and cursed a few words, quickly relieving the tension and calming the rest of the slightly disoriented cavalry.
"Listen up, everyone!"
The cavalry captain glanced at his comrades, and he had already made up his mind. "Disperse immediately, set off alone, each person notify a nearby fortress. Make sure to deliver the message back at the fastest speed. I will only explain the mission once, make sure you all understand!"
"Yes, sir!"
Not just this cavalry squad that discovered the enemy. More patrol teams quickly relayed the message, which eventually gathered on the desk of General Yang Xi, located in the central fortress.
The topographic map on the wall was marked with countless red strokes, and the intelligence reports sent back by several patrol teams showed five arrows pointing to the central fortress where Yang Xi was stationed.
Each arrow represents a division of the Maston Army, with a reported strength of over ten thousand soldiers. It is highly likely that these divisions have been assembled for a long period of time.
Maston's military organization is similar to Milanía's, with each division consisting of around twenty thousand soldiers. In other words, a hundred thousand troops are aggressively advancing towards the eastern fortress.
Yang Xi's heart was not filled with surprise. The Iron Wall Battalion, one of the main combat divisions, has sided with Brad. The Crimson Spear, another main combat division, has been sent to suppress the rebellion. This means that the fortress is currently at its weakest in terms of defense.
What is more important is that as a high-ranking officer in the military, Yang Xi is aware of more information than lower-ranking officers and soldiers. For instance, Princess Silver War Maiden's Holy Rank has temporarily dropped due to the aftermath of the battle in the city of magitech technology. It is because of this knowledge that he has ordered an increase in alert levels despite the calm situation.
It seems that news of the princess losing her Holy Rank has already spread. Maston no longer has any reservations and has straightforwardly launched their invasion.
All enemy forces that have been discovered so far are attacking head-on, directly towards the central fortress. Their objective is clearly to breach this stronghold and then divide and conquer the remaining two fortresses on both sides.
In terms of paper strength, the central fortress is garrisoned by three divisions, with one of them being a reserve division that has been activated. It is apparent that the Maston army outnumber Yang Xi's forces. However, relying on the comprehensive fortifications and various equipment of the fortress, Yang Xi is confident that he can make the enemy crash against his walls.
Especially those dozens of Italian cannons that Tiran has modified within the fortress walls. Since witnessing their performance during testing, Yang Xi has been eagerly anticipating their performance on the battlefield.
"General, following your orders, all front-line watchtowers have been evacuated, and a total of 2,109 soldiers have been redeployed to the central fortress."
Outside the door, the adjutant reports loudly.
"In addition, the enemy's advance forces have entered our line of sight."
With these words, Yang Xi's gaze becomes sharp. He takes his sword down from the wall, grabs the helmet on the table, and strides out of the room. After passing through a corridor less than ten meters long, he arrives at the east gate facing the enemy.
Milanía soldiers on the fortress walls are already in position. In the compartments inside the fortress walls, dozens of cannon barrels point towards the Maston army that has entered their line of sight and has started constructing their camp beyond the maximum firing range of the cannons.
"Heh, it's been a while since I've seen a scene like this. How nostalgic," Yang Xi's eyes reveal a hint of longing, followed by a slight smirk.
The nostalgia is for the time when warriors charged forward with swords and arrows rained down from the sky. The smirk is because it seems like the enemy is still stuck in that era.
"So, you truly believe that these cannonballs, which are not much different in distance, cannot reach you? What a pity."
As a weapon that has only appeared in the past few decades, cannons have rarely been seen on the battlefield due to their slow loading speed, cost, and susceptibility to damage.
Even with a large amount of gunpowder, the maximum range guaranteed within the limits of the cannon barrel's material endurance is only a few hundred meters, so the Maston army should theoretically be safe.
But these are not the cannons from that era.
Yang Xi can't help but chuckle. If Aya were by his side at this moment, she would probably notice that the imposing general is currently laughing in a remarkably similar way to the princess.
They both have no sense of propriety.
Absolutely no sense of propriety.
