Less Than Eight Minutes

The sun had risen, but the sky was already blood red, with swirling dark clouds, lightning flashing and thunder roaring. The celestial phenomena within a radius of dozens of miles were shrouded in an aura of danger and terror.

This means that the elemental concentrations in this area have become drastically unbalanced.

The Elf Expeditionary Force's headquarters had moved to a location 30 kilometers away from Danfeng Lucerne. Even here, the rumbling sounds from the front lines could still be heard. The winds of war blew from afar, reaching this place and bringing with them a pungent, acrid smell. Everywhere there were messengers shouting orders and busy officers.

Lord of the Expeditionary Force, the wise and valiant Lord of Dawnlight, Xierfankai Le, stared at the war sand table for a long time. His advisors were scattered around him, some whispering among themselves, others deep in thought.

In accordance with the orders and plans of the parliament, the expeditionary force launched a massive decapitation operation today, intending to take Danfeng Lucerne in one battle and bring this war to a close.

The reasons for resuming war are sufficient and just.

Taking advantage of the truce, the evil and cruel Goth People betrayed their promise and launched surprise attacks on the unsuspecting elven armies and cities. Although the Twilight Moon soldiers put up a valiant resistance, they were caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties. A retaliatory action must be taken, and this despicable act will be severely punished.

Blood debts must be repaid with blood.

Thus, under the orders of Lord Xierfankai Le, the supreme commander of the expeditionary force, the expeditionary force launched a justifiable and legitimate revenge operation.

The army's morale was high, and they carried out all orders without question.

Now, beneath the walls of Danfeng Lucerne, a brutal and fierce siege has already begun. For the glory of the Twilight Moon, the elven warriors will seize this historic and glorious Goth city, rightfully securing yet another destined great victory.

This is how it should be.

Soldiers must obey orders; bravery, perseverance, and loyalty are duties they must uphold. To defeat powerful enemies for the nation, to achieve victory after victory, and to acquire more wealth, land, and subjects for the Queen—this is the oath of every Elven soldier, Xierfankai Le is one of them.

He had assumed that he would carry out orders and fight bravely, as always, without any hesitation.

But this time the situation is different.

Danfeng Lucerne is Goth's oldest and longest-established great city, with extremely strong defenses, and it also concentrates the most powerful and refined forces of the country since its wars.

In the commander-in-chief's battle plan, attacking this city should be the final part of the Goth War, completely wiping out the resistance forces and support potential in various places, then gathering all the expeditionary forces, concentrating as many mages and heavy magical artifacts as possible, and then launching a massive bombing campaign against Danfeng Lucerne.

Plague, fire, hail, lightning, earthquake... by any means necessary, without restraint or patience.

Use divisive tactics, bribery, instigation, persuasion to surrender, incitement, burning of granaries, spreading rumors, let Danfeng Lucerne descend into chaos, starve them, incite them, drive them mad... A direct assault is the last resort, only in this way can a perfect victory be achieved at the lowest possible cost.

This is his plan.

The best option is to persuade Goth Goethe to surrender voluntarily. The second best option is to let the city descend into chaos and destroy itself. A direct assault is the last and worst option.

This is the best option, the most reasonable choice, and the wisest decision.

But now, the renowned Lord of Dawnlight has finally painfully realized one thing: war is a continuation of politics, and is naturally subject to politics, especially to foolish politicians.

If, a dozen days ago, the Queen and the Council still respected his judgment and command as a renowned general of Twilight Moon and did not hinder him too much, now, the Council's will has interfered with the course of the war.

The decapitation strike was launched hastily. Although many military deceptions were used to cover it up, the army that launched the attack was not fully prepared, and much of its heavy equipment was not yet in place.

Even more critically, Danfeng Lucerne seemed to have been prepared all along.

Upon discovering this, Xierfankai Le immediately reported to the parliament, requesting an investigation into whether there had been any intelligence leaks or even espionage. However, this was merely a belated attempt to salvage the situation, as Goth People was already prepared and he had to fight this battle well despite being in a passive position.

But parliamentary intervention is not limited to this.

Three large air force squadrons, powerful heavy magical artifacts, mighty Dragon Knight, hundreds of aerial combat mages... the aid promised by the council arrived on time.

This elite and powerful force is enough to completely dominate the skies, giving the expeditionary force a huge air advantage, and can even dive down to attack Danfeng Lucerne from the air, causing great chaos.

This reinforcement force will greatly accelerate the siege.

Lord of Dawnlight, with his extensive battlefield experience, was confident in this.

However, Parliament strictly forbade the army from being deployed to the battlefield immediately.

The explanation given was that they could not allow any damage or take any risks before they could play a real role, because their mission was not to conquer the city.

So what is their real mission?

Xierfankai Le's gaze fell upon the sand table in front of him.

The entire Goth was laid out before him, with three different colored flags intertwined.

The elves are green, the Goth are blue, and their respective armies and occupied territories are all the same color. Each occupies half of Goth, which is the current stalemate.

The third color is red.

There was only a solitary area, or even just a single army.

However, it is the most noteworthy variable and force in the course of the war so far.

The war ended, the war continued, military mobilization, parliamentary schemes, hastily launched decapitation strikes, parliamentary intervention—all the new plans revolved around this color.

Or rather, it revolves around a certain person.

This person's name is Kang De.

With the strength of the expeditionary force, Goth could have been easily defeated. All the additional arrangements, backup plans, and strategies that have been put in place are simply because of this man's appearance.

The powerful air force and heavy magical artifacts dispatched by the council were all prepared for him.

The resumption of war, apart from the decapitation strike force advancing into Danfeng Lucerne, and all military operations and war plans along the Danfeng Lucerne - Valentan line, seemingly in response to the full-scale resumption of war, were actually preparations for that Cathayan.

The troops, defenses, and diversionary tactics along the way.

It was to hinder him, test him, and wear him down.

The fact that the invincible, world-leading Elven army had gone to such lengths for a single human was both absurd and alarming to Xierfankai Le.

Clearly, the mysterious Cathayan was his greatest enemy in this war.

The five Dragon Banner Warband were wiped out in an instant. Although he did not witness the horrific scene firsthand, he could glean a glimpse of their power from countless intelligence reports and descriptions.

Today, tens of thousands of troops will gather beneath the walls of Danfeng Lucerne, with even more troops in the surrounding areas ready to be deployed at any time. He is the supreme commander of this massive army, and if he fails to handle the situation properly, these enthusiastic and brave young men will die meaninglessly, just like the tens of thousands of comrades outside Valentan.

This will become a new victory and honor for the Cathayan.

This became a new shame and wound for the Dusk Moon Dynasty.

He absolutely cannot let this happen.

"You have no idea how many elves have been preparing for your arrival, preparing to hunt you... Kang De, the Cathayan."

Lord of Dawnlight gazed at the sand table and murmured, "Victory will always belong to us..."

Just then, footsteps sounded outside, and his deputy chief of staff strode in, holding a intelligence report, "Commander, the messenger has brought the latest battlefield intelligence!"

The young officer took a deep breath. "... Intelligence comes from Goth East!"

The advisors who were exchanging words, the advisors who remained silent, and all the elves raised their heads.

The military tent was eerily quiet.

Xierfankai Le handed over his seal and said calmly, "Read it."

The deputy chief of staff took the seal and stamped it onto the intelligence's lacquer cover. It shone brightly, and the specially made lacquer automatically peeled off. The officer glanced at the intelligence on it, a look of shock flashing across his face.

"Commander..." He composed himself, glancing at the time, "About forty minutes ago, the auxiliary forces of the Sawada satellite state in the Halin District suffered a crushing defeat. The entire organization was routed, and the morale of the defeated and routed troops has completely collapsed. They are utterly unable to rally their remaining forces and are fleeing aimlessly. The garrison of Bulen City seized the opportunity to launch an attack, offering no resistance whatsoever..."

Xierfankai Le remained expressionless, seemingly unconcerned about the defeat. He gazed at the sand table and murmured, "So, he chose Halin District..."

Then, the Commander glanced at the still-dazed staff. After speaking, he looked at the staff again.

The elves, as if waking from a dream, began to analyze and record their next strategic response.

The satellite army of the Sawada satellite state is only a second- or third-rate army in terms of both combat courage and equipment level. Its only commendable qualities are loyalty and brutality, which are Element of a dog.

Loyal to the elves, cruel to Goth, suitable for garrisoning and suppression.

And His Excellency the Commander did not expect them to hold out for long.

They were simply allowed to attack Bulen City in the Halin District under the pretext of massacring the city, and to have their own fun after the city fell. If they could attract Kang De's attention, distract him to some extent, and test some of his combat methods, then they would have fulfilled their due value.

If we can expend one of Kang De's devastating attacks, then we can award the Sawada satellite nation a prize. Even if the entire army is wiped out, it will still be considered a contribution to Twilight Moon.

The commander casually remarked, "I recall this auxiliary legion consisted of eight thousand men, including two thousand one thousand Sawada crossbowmen, one thousand desert hunters, four thousand spearmen, an elite cavalry unit, and our Officer Training Corps... How long did they hold out?"

The deputy chief of staff did not answer immediately; he checked the intelligence again, then looked up.

"... I'm afraid it won't take more than eight minutes."

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PS1: First update, 3000 words.

PS1: After thinking about it, I decided to skip the details of this battle and just show off in the post-battle report. After all, there's not much to write about Transformers carrying 7.62mm homemade guns and small-caliber grenade launchers made in the Golden Triangle fighting against a second- or third-rate army of the Elf vassals... Let's save the detailed descriptions for the big scenes.