The Holy Land, Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle.
The former "dwelling of the gods" had now become territory occupied by the Revolutionary Army.
Monkey D. Dragon, commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Army, stood at one end of a long table.
He wore a dark green cloak, and the tattoo on his face looked particularly stark in the flickering candlelight.
With both hands braced on the edge of the table, he gazed steadily at the core area of Pangaea Castle on the map.
His brow furrowed slightly as he studied the markings for the Flower Room and the heavily fortified defensive perimeter around it, considering where to break through next.
Standing beside him, visibly agitated and even somewhat irritable,
was none other than the Revolutionary Army's chief of staff and second-in-command, the "Flame Emperor," Sabo.
Sabo's blond hair was somewhat disheveled. He had clearly only recently rotated off the front line.
He held a rough set of Casualty Statistics and a Supply Consumption Report, but his attention was nowhere near either document.
"Mr. Dragon, I still have to say this!" Sabo's voice brimmed with anger and bewilderment he could no longer suppress.
He pointed at the front line the Revolutionary Army was struggling to hold on the map.
"The Navy... that bastard Gern is just using us to do his dirty work! As cannon fodder!"
He grew more agitated as he spoke. "They said we would attack the Holy Land together, but what happened?
"From our assault landing and breakthrough of the outer defenses,
"to the bloody fighting now, inch by inch through Pangaea Castle against the Holy Knights and the remaining defenders,
"where has their Navy been?
"Apart from that idiot Koby turning up at the start with a token handful of liaison personnel and some vague intelligence,
"where are their main