"I know,"
Christos sighed.
"But judging from the Consortium's current performance, they were clearly better prepared than we were. They're exploiting the gap in preparation time, and that isn't a problem that can be easily resolved in the short term. Our allies have their own internal factions as well, and there are interests tying each faction together."
He turned around and looked at the general behind him. "So how much longer can Rank City hold?"
"Probably only another day or two," the general said, looking at Christos.
"According to the latest intelligence, all reinforcements are engaged in bitter fighting. Most of them have been intercepted halfway there.
"The Federation and the Consortium Alliance have deployed at least two central divisions and at least three reinforced Mercenary Groups. Rank City is only a small city. They clearly intend to take Rank City and cut off the connection between us."
At this point, he paused slightly and sighed. "The commander on the other side is formidable too."
"That isn't surprising," Christos said with a smile. "After all, the Consortium has spent so many years cultivating highly capable talent. If they couldn't make such brilliant decisions, I'd instead suspect them of plotting some other scheme."
He walked back to the electronic map projection and looked at a crucial blue node in the lower right corner.
That node was being engulfed by a dense red glow.
It divided the blue territory into roughly three sections.
If that node was occupied by the red glow, the blue territory would be completely severed.
Christos took a deep breath, pulled his gaze away, and looked toward the northwest corner of the map. At the edge of the map, a patch of blue light was flickering violently.
"How is Wente City doing?" he asked.
"Wente City is in