In Terra, I Have No Books Left to Read

The shouts carried far, but all that could be heard was the whistling wind.

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Chapter 52: Palette Squad

A battle report was transmitted along the communication lines to the Kazimierz expeditionary force's transport ship. This time, however, even Lord Toke couldn't help himself; the whiskers at the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

"What in the world is going on?! How could 5,000 Beastmaster Knights be wiped out without a single survivor! Where is Roman! Have him come see me!"

"Lord Toke, Roman... we haven't found his body yet."

The atmosphere in the conference room was extremely tense. A Knight Errant, bracing himself, stepped forward. "We've analyzed Roman's situation at the time..."

"Why are you stammering, speak!"

"Yes!" The Knight Errant was startled.

"We reviewed all of Roman's recorded orders from yesterday. He said that the area he was responsible for was blocked by a Sarkaz force of about two thousand men. He gathered the surrounding troops, intending to wipe them out in one go."

"The Sarkaz retreated in extreme haste. After we cleared the battlefield, we carefully counted the arrows shot by the Sarkaz and found that the number of enemies Roman described was somewhat inaccurate."

"How many were missing?"

The reporting knight swallowed. "The Sarkaz force that engaged us last night numbered around 50,000."

"50,000? 50,000 moved around the troops, and Roman didn't notice anything?"

Toke's face was full of suspicion. The Knight Errant responsible for the report quickly explained.

"This is a result of our comprehensive calculation based on the time of death of the bodies, the number of arrows on the scene, the time required for a bow or crossbow to fire an arrow, and the ratio of archers. The enemy force was no less than this number!"

Hearing this, Toke no longer doubted. These were people who had fought against Ursus for many years and were highly experienced.

"Fifty thousand... fifty thousand..."

Toke muttered the number, pacing back and forth in the conference room. Suddenly, he stopped abruptly and asked, "What is the maximum mobilization number for the Sarkaz?"

"This... this number might be inaccurate. We don't have the capability to infiltrate Kazdel, but according to some past words from Sarkaz mercenary groups."

He pondered for a moment. "The maximum mobilization force is around 70,000."

"70,000... that means there are only a little over 20,000 Sarkaz troops near Kazdel now, right?"

Toke stood by the viewport, gazing at the end of the desert.

"If there are 50,000 Sarkaz here, then it's not something that a scattered force of 20,000 knights can handle. Order all Beastmaster Knights to withdraw! Withdraw immediately! I need to change the plan!"

Two high-speed transport ships docked at the Kazdel anchorage. A large number of soldiers disembarked, their attire somewhat strange, all wearing an extra layer of cloaks.

These were the soldiers sent out last night.

"Your Majesty, I am honored to present this battle report to you."

An Absolver respectfully approached Theresica with a report. He spoke, "Your thinking was extremely correct. The results completely exceeded the imagination of the Military Committee and myself."

Last night, fearing that the guerrilla forces would be targeted and purged, Theresica immediately dispatched a new unit, which was built according to his initial concept.

They all used cloaks provided by the Absolver, which possessed Originium Arts to conceal their figures. The weapons used were all semi-automatic single-shot crossbows, and they were improved second-generation semi-automatic single-shot crossbows.

Not only was the cocking action replaced by a mechanical structure driven by Originium batteries, but a quick magazine function was also added. Sarkaz artisans imitated the magazines of Sankta firearms, creating a long, flat bolt magazine. It was similar in usage to firearm magazines, inserted from below the crossbow arm, with an internal spring continuously pushing the bolts into the firing position. In combat, the user only needed to pull the trigger and replace the magazine to achieve continuous output.

After receiving equipment from Ursus, this unit also added strike teams that used drones to guide formation mages for long-range magical attacks.

Finally, to deal with this battle, they supplemented a batch of melee combatants wielding weapons like warhammers, forming the Palette Squad that would raid the Kazimierz knights.

The entire unit was selected from the best Sarkaz soldiers. They ate the best food, received the strictest and most complete training, and used the best weapons.

When everything is the best, the results naturally won't be bad.

From the Absolver's expression, Theresica could already tell the outcome. However, after personally reading the report, he was also a little surprised.

This unit, with only 500 men, had cooperated with over two thousand Sarkaz troops to attack 5,000 Kazimierz Beastmaster Knights and had annihilated them all!

The Sarkaz losses were less than two hundred men, with only a little over ten of them being soldiers from this unit. Their deaths were due to friendly fire from mages and accidental impacts from charging pack animals.

"Your Majesty, such battle results are rarely achieved even by Lord Theresis."

A Shapeshifter entered at this moment. With standard etiquette, he bowed to Theresica and said, "Your Majesty, the Kazimierz people have made a move."

"What did they do?"

"The commander of the Kazimierz forces, Toke, has ordered a division of forces."

The Shapeshifter drew a straight line on the map pointing directly at Kazdel.

"He ordered the Beastmaster Knights to escort a large amount of supplies from Leithanien into the troops, and then built a camp on the desert. My kin reported that he ordered all transport pack animals and charging pack animals to be assembled into a temporary force composed of Beastmaster Knights and Beastmaster Infantry Knights, which will likely depart today."

"How many people are they, and how long will it take to get here?"

"Approximately 30,000 Beastmaster Knights and 20,000 Infantry Knights, led by Toke himself. They should have already departed. It will take about two more days to charge all the way here."

The Shapeshifter's words made Theresica's eyes widen. A force of 50,000 mounted units was charging directly at them?!

He immediately wanted to intercept them, but after considering it, he found it impossible. Intercepting pure infantry against pure cavalry without a numerical advantage would simply be sending them to their deaths in batches.

So, they could only fight a battle here?

"Are there any movements from the Kazimierz forces in the desert?"

"They plan to hold their ground and tie down our forces."

The Shapeshifter chuckled at this, "They estimate we deployed 50,000 troops last night."

"Order all guerrilla units to put on a show together and intimidate those ninety thousand-plus. Absolutely do not let them follow. As for Lord Toke, if he wants to come here, let him."

Theresica took a deep breath and made his decision, "Forty-five thousand against one hundred fifty thousand, now it's thirty thousand against fifty thousand... Heh... We will win! We definitely will!"

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Chapter 53: Shift in Offense and Defense

In the desert, the dust kicked up by the large caravan of beasts surged forward like a tide. Despite his advanced age, Lord Toke rode at the forefront on a beast.

"Lord Toke, isn't it too dangerous for us to advance so deep alone?"

"Dangerous? No, child, I feel we're becoming safer and safer!"

Seeing the puzzled look in the eyes of the younger generation beside him, Lord Toke explained, "The main force of the Sarkaz is currently in the desert, leaving Kazdel's defenses empty. It would be best if we could raid them, and even if we can't, we'll have a numerical advantage."

"But the Sarkaz are very troublesome, can we handle them?"

He worried slightly, "We only brought five days' worth of food."

"Yes, we have the capability."

Lord Toke said confidently, "What makes the Sarkaz troublesome is their initiative. We are the sole and clear target in the desert, passively waiting for their attack."

"This logic also applies to Kazdel. When we attacked the demons' only settlement, they had neither a speed advantage nor a numerical advantage, and they wouldn't have time to reinforce. So, they could only wait for our attack. Now, we are the ones with the initiative."

At this moment, the offense and defense had switched.

Theresica couldn't evade the enemy's attack like the guerrilla forces; he had to fight a decisive battle here. He called the Absolver aside and had him conduct an experiment on the impact beasts captured on the front lines according to his ideas, then received a report.

Following that, an emergency military meeting was convened. After some discussion, the attendees were expanded to all Sarkaz officers above squad leader rank, and the meeting venue was moved to the military camp.

Having done what he could, Theresica went for a stroll on the streets. It was already late at night.

Workers in Kazdel's civilian production sector, or those in other industries, were starting to get off work or rotate shifts. The streets were momentarily filled with many pedestrians, but they were simply heading somewhere, not aimlessly wandering like in a commercial district.

Theresica, in disguise, walked among them, not sensing much of a war atmosphere. Most Sarkaz were chatting calmly with their companions.

"Does Your Majesty find it strange?" Shining asked.

"A little."

Theresica looked around. A Sarkaz like him, standing still and lost in thought, seemed rather out of place.

"Hasn't the news of the Kazimierz knights advancing towards Kazdel been conveyed to everyone?"

"Everyone knew on the day war was declared. However, for the Sarkaz, war has long been deeply ingrained in everyone's hearts. Instead, the nearly one year of peaceful life has made them a bit unaccustomed to it," Shining said. "Kazdel is the only home for the Sarkaz. Even if enemies come, we have nowhere else to go."

Theresica didn't speak; he continued forward in silence.

Compared to a year ago, the urban area of Kazdel had greatly improved. The collapsed ruins were gone, and new buildings had been erected on them. Dilapidated houses had also been repaired, no longer empty. Occasional laughter could be heard from within. The air also carried a faint scent of food, likely from a family supplementing their nutrition.

The entire urban area now exuded a much stronger sense of life.

"Detected administrator account login. Do you have any commands?"

A unique tone sounded in his ear. Theresica realized that Ptilopsis had just emerged from a house. The bandages on her head had been removed, revealing the distinctive feathers of a Liberi.

"How was your work today?"

"Process entered today. Remaining: 0."

Uh... that probably means completed.

"Since bringing you here, I haven't had a chance to check in. How are you? Are you getting used to it?"

Theresica smiled sheepishly. Ptilopsis replied, "System operating normally during the runtime period. No missing components."

Uh... does that mean she's doing well?

Theresica looked her over and said, "Kazdel is likely to go to war in the next few days. Do you know that?"

"I know."

"It will probably become very dangerous here then. You are not Sarkaz, there's no need for you to stay here."

"Do you wish to log out?"

"Uh... it's not that serious. Just consider it paid leave and go back to Columbia for a visit, if I can still settle the bill later."

After hearing Theresica's words, Ptilopsis fell silent, then she took out a piece of paper.

"I want to find a new job. Can you sign my internship report?"

"Of course."

Theresica was taken aback for a moment, then nodded with a smile. Kazdel's inability to retain people was its own failing.

He took the paper from Ptilopsis, but upon looking at it, he saw it was blank, with not a single word written on it.

"This is..."

"It's a joke, please don't worry."

Ptilopsis said in a normal sentence, "I am very satisfied with my life here."

"Really? This is actually a joke."

Theresica looked at her, unsure whether to laugh or cry. Ptilopsis had said this in such a flat tone that it was hard to believe it was meant as a joke.

Then, Ptilopsis suddenly collapsed. If Shining, who was nearby, hadn't reacted quickly, she would have hit her head again.

"Hey! Don't make jokes like that!"

Theresica was shocked, but Ptilopsis didn't respond, only the sound of her steady breathing could be heard.

"She fell asleep," Shining said.

Ugh... I almost forgot, she has this habit of suddenly falling asleep.

"Take her to Warfarin's place, it's getting late."

Theresica returned to the royal residence on his own. A peaceful night passed. While eating breakfast, he listened to his subordinates report on various situations.

The area around Kazdel was already filled with reconnaissance personnel. As soon as the trace of a Kazimierz Knight was detected, they would use the communication system to report back.

All army personnel were in position, equipment had been fully distributed, and an inspection was conducted, with all problematic items replaced.

The military factory continued production, the temporary hospital had been set up, and all necessary medical supplies were fully stocked.

All residents in the city were at their posts, with no one reported missing.

Everything that could be done had been done. Theresica felt an unexpected calm, with no sense of tension. There was nothing left for him to do, and he found himself with free time.

He reopened his game console and began to entertain himself as he had in the past, then ate, played a little more, and took a nap before continuing.

In the evening, he invited Mudrock for dinner. Throughout the meal, not a single word was spoken about the war; they only chatted about some embarrassing past incidents.