A Person in Terra, Out of Books Chapter 41

"Ah, apologies for the wait, everyone. Discussing matters with those old fuddy-duddies took quite some time. I'll be direct now."

After an hour in the side hall, Theresica finally emerged. However, as everyone present had business with him, no one dared to say anything.

He sat down and stated, "For Kazdel to intervene in the war, there is a primary prerequisite."

"What prerequisite?" Weirdleaf asked.

"We request that you all provide a joint statement. Sarkaz does not wish to bear any future fabricated stigmas."

"No problem."

Everyone nodded. This was a minor matter.

Theresica continued, "Next is the timing of intervention. Sarkaz's official attack will commence after the Witch King is killed in Kazimierz."

"Why?" Russell asked, and Lady Sicilia beside her also grew tense.

"Once Sarkaz intervenes, if it leads the war situation to develop favorably for Siracusa, will the Witch King not move to support Siracusa?"

Theresica spoke, "I dare not gamble on whether Kazimierz can stop the Witch King and execute the assassination as currently planned."

"..."

Suddenly, two pairs of eyes turned towards Russell. They belonged to Lady Sicilia and the Caprini. After a moment of stalemate, she could only say, "Agreed."

Although she was currently sitting in Kazdel's council hall with Vitt, Kazimierz and Ursus were still maintaining a military standoff. If they didn't quickly resolve the current overly assertive Leithanien and free up some troops, Kazimierz could face another invasion from Ursus at any moment.

"Well, that's good. But Lady Sicilia, you don't need to worry. It's not that we're dragging our feet; mobilizing troops itself takes time."

Theresica explained to Lady Sicilia, "While waiting for Kazimierz, Kazdel will not be idle. We will deploy all our airships to assist refugees affected by the war in Siracusa, evacuating them to safe zones and preventing casualties... As long as people are alive, everything is possible."

Next was Vitt. Noticing Theresica's gaze, he spoke proactively, "Your Majesty, if you need anything, please speak directly. Ursus is open to you."

"The previous war had too many casualties, and we can't fill the gaps here, so..."

"The first batch of 100 Wendigos has been prepared, all of them the finest young adults. They will reach Kazdel within three days and return to their homeland from here."

"Ah, that's wonderful."

Vitt and Theresica both smiled. Long live Ursus-Kazdel friendship! Russell, meanwhile, turned her head away in annoyance.

Finally, it was the turn of the Caprini. Theresica showed no pleasant expression towards him.

"I recognize Lady Sicilia's credibility, but I do not trust you Leithanians."

This left the old Caprini stunned, looking around helplessly for assistance. At this moment, Weirdleaf stood up.

"Leithanien can sign an agreement, and I will personally act as a witness..."

"You also mediated the conflict between me and Kazimierz."

Theresica did not buy it. He said, "I need someone to guarantee for Leithanien, so I don't have to chase you down later."

"Laterano can."

Theresica glanced at Weirdleaf.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then, the deal is made."

Theresica stood up, "Within 24 hours, Kazdel will mobilize all usable airships and enter Siracusa. I ask Lady Sicilia to coordinate the various matters of personnel management then."

Chapter 84: Combat Group

The next morning, under Theresica's command, Zeppelin dispatched all airships belonging to Kazdel, a total of 13.

They crossed the border and flew towards Siracusa. Two of them landed in Volscian City; their mission was to temporarily evacuate all teachers from Kazdel Polytechnic University to prevent any unnecessary danger. The remaining 11 were to carry a battalion to Palermo City in Siracusa.

Leithanien's forces attacking Siracusa comprised half of their national strength, totaling 200,000 men. They had two main attack directions. One route was blocked by Laterano's Papal Knights. However, the remaining half continued their advance, their path leading directly to Palermo City.

The battalion dispatched by Theresica was meant to take over the collapsed administrative work in Palermo City and assist the local population in evacuating as quickly as possible.

Near Kazdel's border, the National Planning Committee had already begun constructing temporary camps to receive refugees from the war in Siracusa. They had experience with similar refugee resettlement in coastal areas, making this task familiar to them.

Civilian work proceeded smoothly, but the actual intervention in the war was not so easy.

"Your Majesty, Siracusa's civilian facilities are abundant, and the cities are highly developed everywhere. If our troops engage in combat within them, there's a high probability of direct clashes with Leithanians."

"Initially, we will surely win; our equipment and physical condition are superior to theirs. However, once casualties occur, the outcome will reverse. In streets or indoors, in such confined spaces, if a Leithanian Arts User detonates an Infected individual, it would be devastating for us."

Members of the Military Committee, after collecting combat reports from the Foreign Legion and Leithanian armed Infected, conducted a simulation and discovered this unfavorable issue.

If they don't fight in urban areas, they would have to face Leithanien's superior forces in the open field.

Theresica looked towards the Minister of Army Logistics. For a long time, Sarkaz's army had no logistics. Although he had re-established the logistics department, the people within it had no experience.

Previously, supplying materials for troops fighting Kazimierz was an exercise conducted at their doorstep. Afterward, Theresica tasked them with construction materials for Lungmen and essential living supplies for workers, and only then did this logistics department gradually begin to show some competence. Now, a more severe test had arrived.

"Minister of Logistics."

"Your Majesty."

"Our deployment of troops into Siracusa for combat will be a long-range operation. How many troops can you guarantee stable supply of materials for?"

Theresica looked at him. Fighting was really about logistics.

"Your Majesty... about 6,000 people!"

Theresica sighed faintly. Six thousand people wouldn't be able to handle Leithanien's Arts User corps in the field, so they'd have to fight in the city.

But how could they deal with Leithanien's unreasonable Infected bombs in the city? As soon as the Sarkaz took down an Infected, those life-disregarding bastards from Leithanien would detonate them directly!

Although Wendigos could withstand such explosions, they would be injured and infected after multiple consecutive blasts. Moreover, sending them to fight in such an environment right after their return would definitely breed resentment.

'Ah, what should I do?'

Theresica couldn't help but scratch his head. How could it be that after a fierce battle, the corpses weren't in front of him? Unless their side kept retreating while fighting, but that would be a defeat...

'Wait, why do we have to fight them head-on?'

A thought suddenly popped into Theresica's mind.

"We'll fight the Leithaniens in the city."

"Then Your Majesty, which unit should we send?" someone from the Military Committee asked.

"None of the current units are suitable. They are not suited for fighting Leithaniens in the city."

Seeing the confused look on the faces of the Military Committee members, Theresica said, "I want to establish a new organizational structure – an operational group. This won't be a permanent unit structure, but a temporary tactical unit specialized for specific missions according to task requirements."

"Since we can't engage in close combat with the Leithaniens, we won't get close to them. We'll draw archers, mages, and artillery to form the Siracusa Expeditionary Operational Group."

The members of the Military Committee were shocked. There had never been a unit structure on Terra without any melee soldiers!

"Your Majesty! This is too risky!"

"The material for the semi-automatic crossbows is also quite hard, isn't it?"

Theresica didn't answer. Instead, he looked at Carter, who was in charge of the arsenal. He pondered for a moment and nodded.

"Very well, then let's add mounts for bayonets to the semi-automatic crossbows."

"Your Majesty, this is still too radical."

"If we don't do this, do you have any other ideas?"

Silence fell again. Theresica spoke directly, "The Palette Squad, plus 1,500 archers and 2,500 Arts Users drawn from the First and Second Divisions, along with 200 mortars and their operators."

Seeing that the formal order had been issued, the members of the Military Committee could only accept it. The arsenal began urgently modifying the individual crossbows, adding bayonets.

The personnel requested by Theresica were also transferred from their original units to join this temporary operational group. Considering that this was a purely long-range combat unit, he gathered the officers of various levels and forcefully instilled in them some modern Earth military tactics, so that they could maximize their advantages.

In Leithanien's homeland, an uneasy atmosphere permeated the entire country. Everyone was whispering curses at the Witch King, blaming him for indirectly causing their loved ones to become Infected and then be sent to the front lines!

This growing murmur of discontent made even the nobles in the high towers, who were indifferent to what was happening outside, feel that something big was about to happen.

In Kazimierz, Russell paid a late-night visit to the Nearl Family. The content of their conversation was highly classified.

In the southern deserts of Ursus, a team of extremely tall figures was marching through the sand. They wore armor with the Ursus insignia removed, and their halberds gleamed in the sunlight. Desert bandits who happened to pass by took one look and were so terrified they fled for their lives.

These were the Wendigo troops! What were these terrifying beings doing here! Weren't they always stationed on the ice fields?!

In places unseen by the Witch King, various small changes were occurring across Terra. They were accumulating their strength, and when they converged, they would trigger a huge surprise, delivering a significant shock to the Witch King.

Chapter 85: Evacuation

Leithanien's Arts User corps was approaching!

The residents of Palermo had endured another night of fear and trembling, huddled in their homes, caught between a rock and a hard place. They wanted to stay, but they were ordinary people. How could they fight Leithanien's mages? But if they left, where could they go? They weren't the wealthy individuals with families; those people had already fled. They only had this one house.

No matter how dangerous it was, the Leithaniens had not yet appeared, but hunger was already setting in.

Old people and women gradually appeared on the deserted streets, walking sparsely. There was no sound on the streets; everyone had lost the interest in their usual chit-chat.

But just then, the sound of neat marching boots approached from afar. The residents of Palermo quickly stood on both sides of the road. They looked at the Sarkaz army marching in formation with confused expressions.

"Why are the Fiends here?"

"They're probably not here to fight us. Look, they can't even be bothered to acknowledge us, nor are they taking our things."

"I remember Lady Sicilia saying she had a cooperative relationship with the Sarkaz, right? Maybe they're here to help us fight the Leithaniens!"

"Nonsense, as if there's such a good thing..."

The unit assigned to take over here was the Second Division, Third Regiment, First Battalion. After carefully checking the names on the map and the signs along the road, Woken breathed a long sigh of relief.

It was his first time marching on foreign soil, and he had arrived by airship, landing nearby. This rapid change in environment made him extremely uncomfortable.

"Battalion Commander, we've contacted Kazdel. His Majesty is online."

Leveraging the excellent civilian communication facilities within Siracusa, the Sarkaz troops in Palermo unexpectedly maintained contact with Kazdel. Upon hearing the communication soldier's words, Woken quickly stood at attention before taking the microphone.

"Your Majesty, I have entered Palermo... I will complete the mission as soon as possible... As you command!"

Without wasting any more words, after a brief transmission, the call was hung up. Woken handed the microphone back to the communication soldier and then said.

"Order all squads to take over their respective posts with Lady Sicilia's authorization documents, according to the plan."

"Yes!"

A voice soon sounded from the broadcast station, speaking in stilted Siracusan: "We have been assigned by Lady Sicilia to come here and take over municipal management. We ask everyone to comply with our arrangements. We will assist everyone in leaving here for a safe rear area."

The citizens looked at each other. The owners of this city had fled. Could these foreigners really help them?

Can they?

The Sarkaz who came here didn't know it themselves; they were following the evacuation manual issued by the National Planning Committee, gradually implementing each directive.

They stormed the tightly shut municipal center of Palermo, dragging out over 20 municipal personnel who were unable to escape. None of them were locals, nor did they have personal land vehicles; their idea of hiding here was probably quite simple.

The Sarkaz had no inclination to deal with such matters. Once blades were at their throats, the paralyzed municipal system resumed operation, and then extended downwards level by level. Within three hours, all administrative positions in Palermo had personnel online.

Through the municipal system, Woken clearly learned that Palermo had a total population of over 70,000. This figure was quickly reported upwards.

To build trust and clear obstacles for the subsequent evacuation, Woken ordered his troops to open Palermo's private family granaries, moving out all remaining provisions to distribute to the citizens, allowing them to comply with commands with peace of mind.

Because they were unfamiliar with the area, some of the original municipal personnel had to assist on the side. However, what Woken didn't expect was that one municipal official would secretly stash away a cartload of the distributed grain.

To think there was still corruption in a situation like this!

"There's no time to deal with these matters. The Leithanians will arrive here in about four days."

Woken casually beheaded the man with a single strike, and the distribution of supplies continued. By this method, the Sarkaz quickly won the trust of Palermo's residents. Afterward, the Sarkaz began to divide the entire city into districts and prohibited unauthorized movement.

At the same time, a new broadcast played throughout the city.

"Residents of District A1, please prepare your winter cold-weather clothing within 30 minutes and be ready for evacuation. You may only carry essential personal identification documents. Children may bring one lightweight toy."

A massive airship landed in a designated open area. Not only residents of District A1 but also people from adjacent districts came out to watch. They were astonished to discover that the Sarkaz were genuinely helping them evacuate.

This immediately ignited the survival instincts of many, and a large number of people wanted to sneak into District A1. As a result, more than half of the people in District A1 hadn't boarded yet, but the airship was already full.

"No unauthorized entry into other districts! We will ensure all of you are evacuated!"

The Sarkaz shouted repeatedly, but it was to no avail. The residents of Palermo stormed the human wall formed by the Sarkaz troops, their eyes now fixed solely on the airship. The residents of District A1 who had not boarded the airship watched the slowly ascending airship and hurled curses.

[Bang—]

Seeing the situation becoming increasingly chaotic and on the verge of collapse, Woken fired an Originium Art into the air. The piercing explosion finally stopped the unruly crowd.