Lord of the Sky City-Chapter 844 - 826: Imperial Marshal

The Allied Forces’ grand strategy is extremely thorough, but even the best strategy requires someone to execute it to succeed. Thus, the heavy responsibility of commanding the troops to attack the Kalhan Region fell upon Marshal Mannstein of the Kafka Empire.

Mannstein, the foremost figure of the Kafka Empire’s military, known as the God of the Imperial Army, has lived a life entrenched in military service for over forty years since the age of twenty. His abilities, experience, and reputation are unmatched in the Empire, making him the natural choice to oversee the assault on the Kalhan Region.

Leading more than seven or eight Sky Cities into the Kalhan Region, Mannstein gathered all key generals and City Lords at Gulie City to formulate the strategic plan.

"The terrain of the Kalhan Plains is unfavorable for ground battles. Therefore, our ensuing objective is to conduct a large-scale sweep across the region, eliminate as many of the demons’ active forces as possible, and prepare for the occupation and defense of the cities."

In the grand meeting hall, Marshal Mannstein stood before a strategic map. Among the seated participants were generals and City Lords—each one fixated on him, carefully listening to each word he spoke.

"To achieve this goal, I will divide the forces into three groups, each led by..."

Following this, Mannstein began issuing orders, adjusting the troops based on pre-established plans. Once the military meeting concluded, the army began moving swiftly and efficiently.

According to the Allied Forces’ military command, the greatest difficulty in occupying the Kalhan Region lies not in launching the attack but in defending the cities after capturing them. With the Allied Forces’ air superiority, seizing the cities within the Kalhan Region is not a problem. However, once the cities are occupied, the Allied Forces must station troops within them, or it won’t take long for demons to reappear in those cities.

But as soon as the Allied Forces station troops within the cities, ground confrontations with the demons are inevitable—this is the most troublesome part.

The Kalhan Region is a sprawling plain. The cities within the plains are isolated fortresses standing in grassy fields. Once the Allied Forces take up residence, they will face the demons’ relentless counterattacks from all directions. Every city would face the same struggles. Thus, occupying the cities of the Kalhan Region is not the hard part—keeping them under control is the real challenge.

Marshal Mannstein’s strategy is to first perform a sweeping operation against the demons, eliminating their active forces to the greatest extent possible before moving to occupy the cities.

This approach should make both occupation and defense relatively easier.

Some might ask, "Aren’t the demons’ numbers endless? Even if the entire Kalhan Region is cleared, won’t new demons emerge soon after? Wouldn’t the Allied Forces still face immense defensive pressure?"

It’s true—the demons will reappear no matter how many are killed. However, if the Kalhan Region’s demons can temporarily be eradicated, even if new demons do show up later, the Allied Forces would gain a breathing period. During this time, the occupied cities could be repaired and fortified, thus significantly reducing the defensive pressure when demons inevitably return.

And so, under Mannstein’s command, the forces set out.

...

...

"What? Three cities have been captured?"

In Thunderhawk City, Rocky turned sharply to Liliya, his brow tightly furrowed as he asked, "Are you certain?" freёweɓnovel.com

"That’s what the intelligence reports say."

Waving the intelligence report in her hand, Liliya explained that these updates were provided by the Shadow Alliance’s intelligence network.

Rocky frowned and turned back to the sand table, where he placed three small flags onto the three cities within the Kalhan Region.

These three cities were the ones occupied by Marshal Mannstein’s forces. Previously, he divided his armies into three groups, each capturing one city. On the surface, this was not unusual. However, what baffled Rocky immensely was that the cities captured by Mannstein were not on the outskirts of the Kalhan Region but in its interior, essentially located at the very heart of the area.

That was too strange—or rather, such a move seemed utterly disastrous!

Rocky, unaware of Goodley’s tactics, understood that if Mannstein had occupied cities on the edges of the Kalhan Region, it would imply an intention to gradually push deeper into the plains. This strategy, though not particularly innovative or sophisticated, was at least sound.

But what was Mannstein thinking, taking cities in the heart of the Kalhan Region?

The Kalhan Region is an expansive plain. Cities in its interior are completely isolated. Occupying them would be akin to placing all forces into the demons’ grasp. The three cities would face endless assaults by the demons!

As the Empire’s Marshal, how could Mannstein make such a disastrous decision? Was he planning to mire his armies in a protracted war of attrition against the demons?

Rocky stared at the sand table, his furrowed brow deepening. He couldn’t fathom the reasoning behind Mannstein’s actions. It was too flawed—this renowned veteran Marshal’s strategy was simply too flawed. Why would the celebrated Marshal Mannstein make such a dreadful choice?

"Have there been any updates from Karina and Berg recently? Do you know where they are right now? Are they with the main forces heading to the Kalhan Region?"

Unable to deduce Mannstein’s reasoning after much thought, Rocky decided to brush it aside and instead inquired about Karina and Berg.

"We just contacted them last week. Don’t worry—they didn’t join the main forces."

"Berg’s Lingyu City, being a trade city, has already confirmed it will continue supporting the Marta Region and likely won’t see combat in the future."

"As for Karina, she participated in the Marta City campaign and frequently deployed during the attempts to secure the Marta Region. Right now, she’s resting and recuperating. After her adjustment, she will be assigned new tasks."

Because Karina and Berg had been involved in major battles and were stationed at the frontlines, they maintained consistent communication with Rocky. As such, Liliya was very familiar with their whereabouts.

Upon hearing this, Rocky exhaled in relief. While he wasn’t particularly concerned about others, he cared deeply for the safety of these two close friends. After all, given his current circumstances, these two were the only people he could trust completely. When he learned of Mannstein’s actions, his first thought was to ensure Karina and Berg weren’t negatively affected by the Marshal’s potential blunder.

Fortunately, both were away from the battlefield, sparing Rocky further worry. Even so, he remained highly interested in the battles unfolding in the Kalhan Region and continuously monitored the reports from the frontlines over the following days.

As it turned out—just as he expected—after Mannstein captured the three cities, his forces quickly fell into a drawn-out tug-of-war against the demons...!