Chapter 251 : The Lighthouse of the World, War Mobilization

Mitia's gentle voice echoed continuously across the central square, through every street and alley, and into every household. Countless people proudly straightened their backs. Every single one of those achievements had been built with their own contributions. They all shared in that honor.

"Beyond the sea, there are tens of millions of imperial soldiers watching us like hungry wolves. Some of them are already on the verge of landing on our homeland. In the past century, we have never faced a situation like this."

"I'm sorry, comrades. We cannot even promise our children that they will be safe, because we have reached our most perilous hour!"

"We must once again prove ourselves. We must prove that we can defend our nation and protect everything we have created. We must survive this storm of war!"

Mitia's heavy tone gripped the hearts of countless people, and soon an indescribable fury rose within them. Many elderly citizens could no longer hold back and began cursing in anger.

"We shall fight in Suria! We shall fight in Ernesto! We shall fight in the skies, upon the seas, and in every place our feet can reach! We shall defend our great Motherland at any cost!"

【Fight!!!】

【Fight!!!】

"So, comrades, give the nation your greatest support. We shall rise in resistance! We shall never surrender! Even if imperialism's White Terror condemns us to a fate worse than death, we will fight to the very end!"

"As long as we continue fighting, the sun will still rise tomorrow, and Seris..."

"...will become the lighthouse of the world!"

【Long live the Motherland!!!】

【Long live the Empress!!!】

Thunderous cheers erupted across every corner of the Subcontinent before converging into one overwhelming roar. Their common enemy erased the subtle barriers that had long existed among the Alliance's many races, replacing them with a united hatred toward their foe.

Like a powder keg whose fuse had finally been lit, anyone who dared approach would ultimately be blown to pieces.

The Witch Clan Chief closed the communication window and looked at the Witchlings around her, whose flushed faces were filled with excitement and eagerness.

Her crimson lips parted slightly, as though she wanted to say something, yet stopped herself.

In the end, she said nothing and merely sighed inwardly.

She could hardly blame them.

Wasn't she feeling the same stirring in her heart?

It was the kind of feeling where, even if the road ahead led only to death, she would still descend into hell without the slightest hesitation.

When Labrand's battered fleet finally returned to the Alliance harbor after a long and exhausting voyage, an even larger fleet had already been waiting for them.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Labrand learned that this was a newly reinforced fleet transferred from the other side of the Alliance, consisting of two battleships and forty cruisers.

This was the final reinforcement of the new-generation warships. Even if construction proceeded at full speed, the second batch of battleships would not be launched for at least another eight months.

However, according to rumors from the shipyards, the Alliance had delegated cruiser construction technology to civilian shipyards. Meanwhile, instead of building more Dreadnought-class Battleships, the military's large shipyards had begun constructing an entirely new class of gigantic warships on their newly completed super-large slipways.

At the same time, every major airship construction dock throughout the Alliance had received blueprints for a new generation of airships. Their technical specifications were revolutionary, featuring diameters ranging from 800 to 1,200 meters.

Their design consisted of a parallel configuration with one large rigid airship in the center and two smaller soft-envelope airships on either side.

The upper half of the central rigid airship was hollow and left open at the top. Half of the rigid shell merely served as the supporting framework connecting the two side airships. Helium was stored only in the lower gas cells, while the upper section had been replaced by an armored runway.

There was no doubt that this was a brand-new airship developed specifically as an aerial aircraft carrier. The two half-gasbags beneath stabilized the center of gravity, while the upper platform served as a mobile runway for parking, launching, and recovering aircraft.

Clearly, the Alliance was no longer satisfied with the limited combat radius of its fighters and had begun seeking a new solution.

Following Mitia's official declaration, the Seris Alliance began charging headlong toward becoming a full-fledged military-industrial complex.

A vast number of new weapons programs were approved, while laboratory-level black technologies underwent around-the-clock research in an effort to develop mass-production methods as quickly as possible.

At the same time, civilian factories underwent coordinated technological upgrades. Factories that had previously manufactured civilian tractors and other machinery began producing small batches of tanks for technical validation.

Workshops that once manufactured various handicrafts sealed away their original production lines and switched to manufacturing bullets. Factories that had produced construction materials likewise converted their facilities to manufacture artillery shells and rockets.

An endless stream of military contracts flooded into civilian factories of every kind. Every moment, large numbers of three-wheeled motorcycles, transport trucks, and infantry fighting vehicles rolled off production lines at automobile manufacturing plants.

Every railway locomotive underwent conversion into a weapons platform. Police officers and security personnel received increasingly rigorous standardized military training to complete the transition from police to military duties, while retired police officers rehired by each state assumed responsibility for maintaining urban security.

Before the Allied Nations could arrive,

Seris rapidly expanded its armed forces into a multilayered national defense system.

The first line consisted of an enlarged regular army formed by combining active-duty and recalled veterans.

The second line consisted of Special Police, regular police, security forces, and reserve units.

The third line consisted of mobilized soldiers aged twenty to forty-five, all of whom had completed compulsory military training.

Veterans over the age of forty-five served as reserve manpower for the entire military, while youths between fourteen and twenty formed the Youth Army and likewise served as reserve personnel.

"Among the three main theaters, Ernesto's defensive line is the one most likely to be breached. On the Suria front, the Allied advance has been suppressed by our Air Force, while the Western Front... is the true key to this war."

"There are very few regions capable of sustaining supplies for such a massive Allied expeditionary force. The Port City of Bared in the Kingdom of Ixia and the Mosseradel Harbor in the Kingdom of Pue Lent are the only inland river transportation hubs directly connected to the interior."

"According to the General Staff Department's plan, we will dispatch the First Reinforced Army to launch the main offensive against the coastal states of the Kingdom of Pue Lent. After capturing Gurlaig State, they will construct permanent fortifications on-site to pin down the Allied forces around Mosseradel Harbor."

"Within the Western Army Group of two million troops organized into one hundred and twenty divisions, thirty-five divisions will be assigned to Donis Port and Manarazani State to guard against threats from the Shansha direction."

"The main force of seventy divisions will be stationed in Odrinsar State, the closest state on the Subcontinent to the Kingdom of Cabansia. Meanwhile, fifteen divisions, together with coastal artillery positions and submarine forces, will be deployed at Tagra Port City to sever the maritime supply route to Bared Port."

One of the generals present raised his hand.

"On what basis does the General Staff believe the Allied forces will land through Cabansia? Do we have intelligence supporting this?"

The staff officer at the podium nodded.

"The intelligence has actually been available from the very beginning. Everyone has already seen it—it came from the naval battle off Mosseradel."

"The fact that Mosseradel came under an aerial assault led by two Saint-level dragons already demonstrates how much importance the Allies attach to that region. It is the closest navigable inland river route under enemy control capable of accommodating large vessels."

"Having more people isn't always an advantage."

"Only sea transport routes of this scale can support the enormous logistical demands of the Allied armies. Maintaining overland transport for millions of troops across tens of thousands of kilometers would be difficult even for us."

"And aside from Mosseradel and Shansha, the next closest route is Bared Port, four thousand kilometers away. As long as our fleet firmly blocks the passage from Bared into the inland sea, they will have no choice but to land through Cabansia."

"Cabansia's vast coastline allows transport ships from every nation to bypass our fleet and supply their armies. Their commander will never abandon such an advantage."

"What if our fleet fails to hold the inland strait?"

"A landing in Cabansia is inevitable. But whether Cabansia becomes the main landing point or merely a secondary front will depend on how the war unfolds."

"All I can do now is place my hopes in the abilities of all my esteemed colleagues."