Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1297 - 1295: Purpose?

Various pieces of intelligence flew into the command room of Reef Rock Castle like snowflakes. All the staff officers and civil servants barely had time to breathe, frantically processing the information, and then handing the results over to Soron and Richard for decisions.

"Sir, the Black Blood Army’s attack was thwarted and is currently in a standoff with the enemy, needing support from follow-up forces."

"Sir, the three Magic Knight Battalions we dispatched have pre-emptively destroyed the target Magic Cavalry Battalion, with a casualty rate of twenty percent."

"Sir, the Colson Corps has found a weak point in the enemy’s defenses and is making a deep advance."

"Sir, General Lawrence has fallen. We’ve recovered his body, but over fifty percent of his forces have been lost, morale is extremely low, and the unit structure is nearly unsustainable..."

"Sir..."

"..."

Thinking, constantly thinking, then making decisions.

Every decision concerns hundreds or thousands of lives, but here, it’s merely a simple calculation.

"Order the Black Blood Army to hold on for half an hour to buy time for reinforcements."

"Order the three Magic Knight Battalions to retreat and assist the Black Blood Army after reorganizing."

"Order the Colson Corps to establish a defensive line after advancing an appropriate distance and hold the area. With support from follow-up forces, aim to cut through the Sika people’s defensive line."

"Order Lawrence’s Army to withdraw from the battle order, dispatch the reserve Blood Blade Corps to take their place, and have the Second Allied Army Seventh Corps prepare to break through in one hour."

"Order..."

Time passed swiftly, with offense or defense constantly changing on the border.

After an entire night’s effort and paying the price of heavy casualties in three corps, a breakthrough was finally made on the northern segment of the battlefield, at the position initially attacked by the Colson Corps. The balance of the war shifted towards the Soma Alliance.

Then, to consolidate the gains at all costs, to defend against the Sika Kingdom’s counterattack.

After spending another whole day, the advantage became irreversible. The border of the Sika Kingdom was nearly completely broken through, and the Sika Kingdom began to retreat, leaving behind countless corpses.

The war finally seemed to end...

But it did not.

The Sika Kingdom’s army is not foolish. Even if the defensive line was broken, it is not a total rout; it is an orderly retreat with a deliberate rear guard.

After suffering certain losses, the Sika Kingdom’s army successfully retreated to the second defensive line to counter the Soma Alliance’s attack once more.

The Soma Alliance had no effective means against this either, and after a brief reorganization, launched another attack.

The grand battle began once again.

When the blood stained the endless ground, the Sika Kingdom’s second defensive line was breached.

Then came the third line, the fourth line.

When it reached the collapse of the fifth and final defensive line, the Sika Kingdom’s army officially declared defeat, having to abandon large areas of territory and retreat inland, attempting to trade territory to gain an opportunity for counterattacks.

The war really did seem to reach an end...

Yet it did not.

After a tough breakthrough of five lines, the Sika Kingdom’s army retreated, and the Soma Alliance pursued. This was the time to finally reap the rewards after a hard effort.

It was like arduously exploring ruins to the very end, finally opening a treasure chest filled with riches. Instead of resting well, it was about figuring out how to take the treasures out.

In the command room, instead of rest, it became busier than before. Various orders were issued, striving to cause the Sika Kingdom’s army the greatest losses, aiming for the fastest occupation of abandoned military cities, strongholds, and fortresses...

Charge! Charge! Charge!

This continued for five days, until finally, finally... finally, it came to an end.

The Sika Kingdom’s army suffered nearly half in casualties—two combined corps were annihilated, and after abandoning a large swath of territory, they retreated deep into the nation’s borders, almost unreachable for further pursuits.

Meanwhile, the Soma Alliance’s prolonged high-intensity operations pushed both the frontline troops and logistics forces to their limits. Continued forced pursuit would not only be ineffective but would also likely result in significant losses if the enemy counteracted.

Thus, the Soma Alliance began to formally regroup, digest the occupied territories, and consolidate forces to prepare for the second offensive.

In the command room, Richard had time to rest.

The Supreme Commander Soron Bonaparte hadn’t slept for days and nights, his eyes almost entirely bloodshot. Upon receiving the final military report, confirming that the situation was completely under control, he exhaled deeply and turned to Richard.

"Lord Richard, we can rest for a few days now."

"Ugh..." Richard replied, not wanting to converse with Soron at that moment, because he responded with just one word previously, only to be busy for five consecutive days. Talking to someone like Soron required caution.

"The success of this war owes a great deal to Lord Richard," Soron continued, "When you first arrived at Reef Rock Castle, I really thought you were just here to supervise, wishing only that you wouldn’t cause trouble. I never expected that Lord Richard came with the intention to help, and showed considerable insight in command. I wouldn’t dare say that we couldn’t win without Lord Richard in this war, but without you, achieving the current situation would have been much harder."

The words were pleasing enough... but it was of no use... Richard listened to Soron’s words and muddled a vague response, not directly engaging: "Ugh..."

"I must request commendation for Lord Richard after this war, so the Emperor can reward you. But for now, Lord Richard, you must be tired, so go and get some good rest."

"Alright, goodbye!" Richard waved his hand to bid farewell and swiftly walked out of the command room, not giving the other party a chance to stop him.

...

Outside, who knew when it had become bright, it was noon, the sunlight extremely glaring.

Walking under the sunlight, Richard couldn’t help but feel a bit disoriented, really starting to question life after these tiring days.

Honestly, there were other times equally exhausting, possibly more so, but it was always for himself. Now, what was this for?

Richard pondered, taking a deep breath. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Let’s sort out the thoughts properly.

He went to Shaya because of an invitation from the black-faced old man Oscar, and also wanted to use the connections to borrow books from the Alliance’s Royal Library to decipher the Balta text.

But Oscar informed him that borrowing books from the Royal Library was not so easy, derailing his plan. However, Oscar offered to provide some initially, and to avoid owing a favor, Richard provided information about the location of the Colorful Rings from Bi Bi.

Unbeknownst to what happened subsequently, the Sika Kingdom caused friction on the border, provoking the Soma Alliance to launch a national war. At this point, Oscar stepped in, offering access to Royal Library books, even in duplicates, on the condition that Richard would serve as a Command Consultant to lead the army to victory.

He made it clear at the time that he lacked command experience, fearing inability to assist. Oscar, however, reassured him that he could hold a position without obligation, as others would handle affairs, and if he wanted to help, he could mobilize the army as well.

In other words, he had the authority without any obligation.

This obviously didn’t make sense. To understand Oscar’s and the Alliance Emperor’s true intentions, upon arriving at Reef Rock Castle, he conducted tests to see if it was indeed as Oscar stated, genuinely granting him such rights.

Who could have guessed, while testing, he ended up involving himself—rights were indeed verified, and obligations followed—he was kept busy by Soron day and night for a week, completing the boundary defense breakthrough battle.

Was this the real purpose of Oscar and the Alliance Emperor?