Inside Carnford Army's council chamber, more than a dozen generals were discussing the coming spring offensive.
Roland stood before the map, waving the Command Baton.
"First, an overview of the enemy situation. According to the latest news brought back by the contact ship the Intelligence Bureau sent out at all costs before the ice had fully thawed, the Saurons were hardly resting easy last winter while we fought Harald's main force here. Their old neighbor to the west, the Kingdom of Vilaya, seized the chance to stab them viciously in the back!"
The Command Baton swept across a vast region. "Vilaya's army launched a surprise attack on Sauron's lightly defended southwestern border, seizing at least seven frontier fortresses and vast tracts of pastureland. After Harald's main force retreated in defeat to Frosgard, he urgently redeployed roughly three thousand troops for a counterattack and drove the Vilayans out of the main passages. Yet several key fortresses remain in Vilayan hands. More importantly, King Vilaya has formally sent us a request for aid through secret channels, hoping to strike Sauron from east and west alongside us."
This was an unexpected boon. The enemy of one's enemy might not become a steadfast friend, but at the very least, they could serve as a useful chess piece—tying down Harald's precious troops and attention.
The Command Baton moved back to the Carnford front, sliding along the long line of confrontation. "As for the Sauron army directly facing us, after the battle beneath Carnford City, its core regular troops—the ones that could truly be called elite—are estimated to have fallen to around twenty thousand."
"Even if Harald spares no cost and launches a nationwide mobilization, the field army he can scrape together in the short term, optimistically speaking, will not exceed fifty thousand. And most of