Before Earl Stanley could finish, a legion commander from the Raine Kingdom immediately stepped forward and said, "But Lord Stanley, at least five or six hundred thousand East Sea Alliance troops are gathered along this extensive defensive line, with at least another two or three hundred thousand civilian laborers supporting them. That is practically a million-strong army, more than enough to pack this entire line.
"I don't see how we can break through it with our current forces."
Earl Stanley was not angered by the interruption and patiently continued his explanation. "You're right. The enemy does have a great many defenders. Whenever we attack, the East Sea Alliance can muster tens of thousands of troops to stop us.
"But that only works while they have troops available to deploy. If we keep attacking Stone Mountain City, what will they do?"
The legion commander followed his reasoning. "Then they'll make Stone Mountain City the focus of their defenses and concentrate their troops there."
Earl Stanley nodded. "Exactly. We'll use our assault on Stone Mountain City as bait to draw their armies there.
"Once the enemy lets its guard down and no longer has enough reserves, we'll launch a surprise attack from another direction. Can't we force a breakthrough before their armies have time to react?"
Everyone exchanged glances, feeling that Earl Stanley had made it sound far too simple. Besides, wouldn't making Stone Mountain City their primary target play right into the East Sea Alliance's hands?
The East Sea Alliance had turned Stone Mountain City into a truly formidable fortress. Reportedly, its original walls had been heightened and widened, and they had even mobilized a hundred thousand civilian laborers to build new walls around the perimeter.
Putting serious pressure on Stone Mountain City would be extremely difficult.
Seeing the worry on