Louis woke to a faint tremor, sat up in bed, and walked to the porthole. He raised a hand and twisted open the shutter. Beyond the thick, round window, the darkness of night had yet to fully fade.
The sea was so calm that there were almost no waves. Only the occasional flying fish leaped from the water in the distance, leaving a brief silver streak before darkness swallowed it again.
The ship was sailing away from the continental battlefield.
The campaign against the Holy Eastern Empire no longer required his personal oversight.
He had handed frontline command entirely to Lambert and Gray.
The former handled order and the takeover, while the latter handled the advance and the mop-up. Each had his own duties, with no overlap and no need for repeated confirmation.
Louis was here because something more important awaited him.
He withdrew his gaze, walked to the washbasin, and splashed cold water on his face. His drowsiness quickly faded.
Louis raised his head and casually waved a hand at the air.
A pale blue screen unfolded across his vision.
[Daily Intelligence Update complete] [1: Red Tide's First Legion and Second Legion completed their encirclement of the Holy Eastern Empire's capital late last night.]
Louis merely glanced at it. "As expected."
The report offered him almost no useful information.
The pace of the entire campaign, its advance routes, and its milestones had all been worked out by him personally before being handed to Gray to execute.
If Red Tide's regular army, equipped with demon marrow rifles, Steam Tanks, and Demon Explosive Bombs, encountered any surprises against a disorganized, poorly armed religious force, that could only mean something was wrong with the command structure itself.
He was more concerned about the efficiency of the subsequent takeover.
"Move a