Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1285 - 1283: Testing the Waters

Stepping over the threshold, Richard walked into the war command room, which was filled with a grave atmosphere.

At this moment, he had already learned that the highest intelligence meeting, which the white-robed staff officer had invited him to attend earlier, was, in essence, a meeting of just two people: him and the army commander.

Hearing his entrance, the young military god Soron Bonaparte, who had just celebrated his thirty-ninth birthday not long ago, turned around, revealing a square and dignified face. His features were well-proportioned, the edges of his cheeks were chiseled like with a knife or axe, and his gray eyes resembled ambers, shining with profound light. His expression was solemn, without any hint of a smile, like an iceberg.

However, Soron did not appear overly cold nor impolite. His gaze briefly met Richard’s, and he immediately nodded lightly as a greeting, then said, "Lord Richard, right?"

"That’s me," Richard replied, "Then you must be General Soron Bonaparte."

"Yes, I am Soron Bonaparte, the commander of this war. You can call me Soron. According to His Majesty’s will, this war requires us both to cooperate in command. Hopefully, our efforts will lead to a good outcome."

Soron spoke courteously for a couple of sentences and, without waiting for Richard to respond, shifted the topic: "Alright, Lord Richard, time is limited, and the situation is urgent. Before you arrived, I already got some understanding of your personality from the imperial intelligence. You are someone who values time, as am I, so let’s not waste time on meaningless courtesies and instead handle military affairs.

You have just arrived at Reef Rock Castle and may not be fully aware of the frontline situation. I can give you a brief overview. Currently, we face two issues: thousands of troops from the Sika Kingdom have tunneled into our borders and are wreaking havoc, causing massive destruction, while tens of thousands of their military forces press down on the borders.

Therefore, we must first address two things in the shortest time possible: one is to use our domestic forces to annihilate the invading Sika Kingdom forces; the second is to find the tunnels they used to penetrate into our borders and completely block them off to prevent future issues. Only after dealing with these can we fully focus on confronting the Sika Kingdom army at the border without being diverted."

Richard nodded.

"Come, take a look." Soron led him to a large sand table on one side, which displayed a miniature map of the entire continent.

Using a long wooden stick, Soron pointed and demonstrated a few times at the Sika Kingdom and Soma Alliance border region, explaining the specific military situations quickly.

After a pause, Soron said solemnly, "Before Lord Richard arrived, I had already drafted a simple plan. Now, I want to share it to discuss with you."

"Look, here is the Sika Kingdom’s army invading our territory." Soron pointed with the stick, "Their main forces are near Moke Forest and have dispatched numerous small units in different directions, causing vast damage.

However, their retreat has been cut off, with armies approaching from both the north and the south. Their only choice is to advance further into the alliance—eastward. My idea is to drive them near Goda City and, taking advantage of the flat land with no undulations, encircle and destroy them."

Soron pointed again on the sand table, this time near a mountainous region: "Besides annihilating the invading Sika Kingdom troops, finding their tunnels is crucial, because if we can’t find them, they’ll appear again next time or the time after.

As for the tunnels, they are likely near the Bloodstone Mountain defense line. After all, they emerged from behind our lines to launch attacks. I think we should capture some Sika Kingdom soldiers in battle to force them to reveal the tunnel locations.

While trying to extract this information, we should also deploy more second-line troops for a wide-area search. Sooner or later, we’ll find them. This search area stretches east to Raz, south to Peno, west to the Bloodstone Mountain defense line, and north to Blue Water Mountain."

As he spoke, Soron pointed repeatedly on the sand table.

Finally, laying down the stick, Soron looked at Richard and asked, "Lord Richard, what do you think?"

What did he think?

Richard felt that his opinion didn’t really matter.

Even though he was supposed to collaborate with Soron to command the war, it was apparent Soron had done all the work. Whether it was due to mistrust or diligence, Richard’s involvement wasn’t necessary, and everything could proceed smoothly if he just nodded and agreed to Soron’s plan.

Perhaps this was the Alliance Emperor’s intention too—to make him the nominal second-in-command or deputy commander of the army, without requiring actual involvement, just a figurehead title.

Was it really like this? What conspiracy lay beneath it all?

Richard’s eyes glimmered slightly as he looked at Soron in front of him, considering testing the waters a bit.

He had mentioned before that he dislikes being kept in the dark. Since the Alliance Emperor and Oscar weren’t telling him the real purpose, why not explore it himself?

After all, exploration has always been about discovering the truth. Finding out the reason for making him a command consultant was simpler in comparison.

First, he wanted to explore whether his words mattered at all.

Was he truly just a titular command consultant, or did his words carry weight?

So, even though he found no issue with Soron’s plan, he spoke up.

"I have a small suggestion, General Soron," Richard said.

"What suggestion, Lord Richard?" Soron looked over.

"Regarding everything else, I think you’ve considered very thoroughly. However, regarding the search range for the tunnels, I think it might be better to expand it slightly," Richard said seriously, picking up the stick and pointing. "It’s best to continue extending northward, say, by five more li."

Soron listened, his eyebrows moved slightly, and he fell silent, as if contemplating Richard’s opinion or expressing dissatisfaction at Richard’s meddling.

The silence lasted about two seconds before Soron finally nodded, "If Lord Richard wishes to expand, then let’s expand it."

Then Soron looked to one side.

On one side were the staff officers in the command room, busy dealing with various data and intelligence. They didn’t participate in the highest intelligence meetings but were responsible for conveying its decisions.

Soron focused on one of them, saying, "Immediately adjust the military plan according to Lord Richard’s remarks, then issue orders for the troops to execute."

"Yes." The staff officer hammered his chest with his right fist in a military salute, glanced at Richard quickly and oddly but didn’t say much more, then went to act.

At this point, Soron looked back at Richard, saying, "Alright, Lord Richard, this concludes the highest intelligence meeting. Thank you for your participation."

"You’re welcome," Richard said, asking, "Is there anything else?"

"Not at the moment." Soron shook his head, "Troop movements and order execution need some time. It’ll be at least until tomorrow when we receive feedback from this plan. You can go back and rest now. Once we have results tomorrow, we will discuss and draft new plans again."

"Alright." Richard nodded, "Then farewell, General Soron."

"Farewell, Lord Richard." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

In the sound of farewells, Richard stepped out of the command room and exited the mansion.