Allocation

Seeing that everyone had taken their seats, the King of Terra cleared his throat, then raised a hand to Hogul. Hogul nodded in understanding and stood up.

At Hogul's clap, the guards stepped forward and placed the maps in their hands before Ronan and the others. The maps were marked with all kinds of symbols. Ronan awkwardly realized that he could barely understand them, so he could only give Mario a look.

Mario understood at once. He helplessly shook his head, then nodded at Ronan to show that he got it.

"What lies before you is a map of Terra's territory, marked with the current battle situation, defensive deployments, and the locations of the enemy's main forces.

As you can see, Terra City was built by the sea, but our territory contains more than just Terra City. Extending inland, there are four satellite cities, along with dozens of small villages and forts.

Taiwei One, in the far south, was seized in the initial surprise attack. Caught off guard, most of the thousand soldiers defending the city were killed or captured. The loss of Taiwei One immediately cost us control of nearly one-fifth of our territory.

The enemy has left roughly a thousand troops behind to garrison Taiwei One, but their main force is nearby, and the city has ample supplies. We cannot retake it in the short term.

Therefore, our main objective at present is to hold the remaining satellite cities. Once all of them fall, Terra will lose its only means of contact with the outside world, because the port will surely be lost as well. At that point, no matter how easy Terra City is to defend or how much grain it has stored, it will be meaningless."

When Hogul said that the main strategy was defense, Ronan noticed Prince Gaogen give a scornful snort. Hogul merely glanced at him, paid it no mind, and continued his explanation.

"Our army currently has three thousand professional soldiers and six thousand temporarily recruited militia. The enemy has five thousand Valantis slave legionnaires, two thousand professional soldiers, and six thousand Eredar troops. Even when all of your country's reinforcements arrive, our numbers will only barely match theirs.

Eredar and Valantis can still draw soldiers from within their territories, but they can pull out at most another two thousand. If they leave too few defenders behind, the Seljuh and Slovak will teach them the pain of having their home base attacked.

For our next deployment, I intend to station our main forces at Fortress Two and Fortress Three. Each will receive one thousand core troops and two thousand militia. Terra City must also retain a certain number of defenders to guard against enemy raids and emergencies. Therefore, I hope that you will defend Taiwei Four. We will leave one thousand militia and sufficient supplies there. As for the surrounding villages, we can only have their residents withdraw into the city.

The current strategy is defense. The enemy's supply line is long, and the alliance between Valantis and Eredar is not stable. The Eredar are notorious for breaking their word, while the Valantis are mostly greedy merchants.

If they fail to take us after a long siege, conflict will inevitably arise between them. Once all of your country's reinforcements arrive, it will be time to reclaim our lost land and perhaps even launch a counteroffensive.

Valantis and Eredar came in fierce and determined. If you had not arrived in time, we might have been forced to abandon another satellite city due to our lack of strength."

Ronan frowned after hearing this. It was far too passive, but since they could not defeat the enemy on the open battlefield, this was their only option.

However, this would severely test the defenders' resolve and strength. The enemy could concentrate its forces on attacking one city first, while the satellite cities of Terra were not close together. If they tried to support one another, they could easily be baited into being defeated one by one.

After explaining the strategy, the King of Terra coughed and said,

"I trust that you all understand now. Having come from so far away, you must be hungry. I had the kitchens prepare a meal. Please enjoy Terra's food and wine!"

With that, he beckoned to a guard in the corner, who immediately turned and walked toward the rear of the palace.

"Father!" Prince Gaogen stood up, just about to say something, when the King of Terra stopped him with a gesture. He could only sit back down unhappily. He had always believed that Taiwei One should be retaken first.

More importantly, he believed that as the heir to the throne, he should have more say in matters, rather than listening to an old marshal who was practically in the grave and adopting such a humiliating turtle-shell strategy that damaged Terra's prestige.

The King of Terra smiled helplessly. He had fathered this son late in life and doted on him greatly. Yet this son had been instilled with too much patriotic ideology since childhood, making him overly proud of his status as a prince and somewhat blindly confident in Terra's strength.

It was already difficult to correct his beliefs through lectures. Only a crushing defeat could wake him up. But Terra was in the midst of a crisis, and the King of Terra did not dare let him act recklessly. He could not afford to gamble.

The maidservants brought out plate after plate of food: roast suckling pig, roasted chicken, long loaves of bread brushed with honey, creamy radish soup, and more. Most importantly, Ronan spotted a dish resembling rice. Having eaten rice for more than twenty years in his previous life, he felt a little nostalgic. He had not expected Slovak to grow rice as well.

The moment he smelled the aroma, Ronan could barely stand it. His empty stomach urged him to stuff food into it.

But the King of Terra had not yet picked up his knife, so Ronan could only endure. More importantly, Mario was staring at him intently, using a fierce glare to tell Ronan not to embarrass himself.

"Haha, everyone, begin eating!" The King of Terra laughed heartily, reached out to grab a roasted chicken, tore off a drumstick, and started eating. He still carried some of the bold spirit of his youth.

The moment Ronan heard those words, he immediately stretched out his already impatient hands. He directly took a plate of food that looked like curry rice and placed it before himself, then cut off some pork, put it on his plate, and began chewing in large mouthfuls.

The maidservants continued bringing food out from the kitchens. At the same time, they brought out large barrels of beer and wooden mugs, filling one for everyone present.

"This is Terra's most famous dark beer. Everyone, let us raise a toast together. May your fortunes in battle flourish!"

"May our fortunes in battle flourish!" Ronan and the others were swept up by the King of Terra's enthusiasm. Even Prince Gaogen, who had been sulking before, raised his cup and drank deeply.

"Terra will prevail!" The King of Terra raised his cup and shouted again.

"Terra will prevail!" The people below raised their cups in response.

More than an hour later, the banquet ended. Ronan was stuffed and sprawled in his chair, rubbing his round belly. He had eaten so much that his eight-pack had been stretched into one solid slab.

The maidservants cleared the mess of cups and plates from the tables. After the meal, the King of Terra also invited them to stay in the palace, saying that maidservants would later prepare hot water and attend to their baths.

Ronan immediately imagined quite a few steamy scenes, but Rexa refused the King of Terra's offer. He said they still needed to properly prepare the troops and would depart for Taiwei Four tomorrow.

Ronan could only let Mario drag him away with a disappointed expression. Back at the camp, he took a quick wash in the public bathhouse, then went to sleep in tears on a cold wooden bed with no pretty girls, fulfilling in his dreams the dreams that had gone unfulfilled tonight.

In his dream, he... Ten thousand words omitted here!