Doran, underground command room.
Boom! More than three hundred airships relentlessly bombarded Doran, pounding the entire city into ruins.
Dirt and sand kept falling through the ceiling of the underground command room as it shook with the explosions.
"Magath, all seven northern districts and twenty provinces have fallen. The only main forces left are your Fifth Army Group and my three divisions. Once we're wiped out, Marley will no longer be able to defend the secondary capital," Augustin told Magath gravely.
Magath felt utterly powerless. The vast empire had lost territory on every front almost overnight. "Augustin, are we going to lose?"
"I have fought for the empire my entire life. I cannot predict whether it will survive, but I will fight for it to the very end. Magath, take your Fifth Army Group and withdraw to Galgada immediately. It's probably already surrounded. You are its only hope of breaking the siege," Augustin said.
"Augustin, don't tell me you..." Magath's expression changed.
"I will go to the front myself and lead my last three divisions in fighting for the empire to the very end." Augustin removed his military cap and saluted Magath.
"Salute General Augustin!" Magath commanded, immediately returning the salute.
Koslow and the staff officers beside him also stood at attention and saluted in unison.
Still saluting, Augustin swept his gaze over everyone and shouted, "Long live Marley!"
"Long live Marley!" everyone roared together.
More than four-fifths of Doran, a city spanning one thousand square kilometers, had been captured by the Anglo-French Allied Forces.
Merryweather, a corps commander of the Anglo-French Allied Forces, raised his binoculars and watched the sprawling ruins in the distance, where soldiers from both sides fought bloodily over a building. "Their attacks are growing weaker. At this rate, we'll take Doran in less than three