Chapter 1441 - 1350: Final Battle Plan

Chapter 1441: Chapter 1350: Final Battle Plan

Imperial Calendar, December 18, 1463, it was a clear winter day.

A group of middle-aged and elderly people arrived at Blue Mill Village; to be precise, they were Holy Alliance officers.

Since they were fighting outside, they naturally couldn’t dress in formal attire every day like the Royal Court’s Angel Envoy, but instead wore simple military uniforms.

Turn-up sleeve jacket, leather belt, neat jodhpurs, and tall leather boots.

Looking at it from Horn’s perspective, these uniforms have touched upon the edge of his hometown’s 18th-century military attire, and this military fashion is gradually spreading among civilians.

At least until now, the Holy Alliance has always been a military-first nation.

With the impending war, villagers of Blue Mill Village fled one after another to mountain shelters.

The area was requisitioned as the front-line command post for this last battle.

A huge blackboard stood against the wall, with a group of stern-faced Battle Commanders and Senior Pastors passing small notes under the church benches.

Only when Jeanne roared like an angry lioness, "Enough is enough," did it stop this group of defiant officers’ actions.

These frontline commanders hardly respected the consultants who wouldn’t be at the forefront.

Despite the pressure, the young consultants were still explaining the current war situation to them.

In the past half month, the three Holy Alliance armies completed the whole process from discovering enemy loopholes to pursuing Serafe.

Regrettably, after a week of pursuit, the Holy Alliance did not manage to block Serafe.

If they could truly stop her in the canyon, waiting for the Wolf Woman to arrive, there wouldn’t be the need for this uncertain life or death battle.

However, this was just a thought for Horn; even if blocked in the valley, Serafe could still fly away if she saw the situation being bad.

Unless the Wolf Woman could teleport directly, it would always be too late no matter what.

Since it’s too late, there’s nothing left but to fight.

"In summary, if the Royal Court’s army wants to attack southward, there are only three possible routes they can take."

Petier, the Chief of Staff, held up three fingers, while Bernardo picked up a pencil to mark the map.

Looking at the markings on the map, the Battle Commanders whispered among themselves for a while, but someone raised a hand to interrupt and ask: "Have the attack routes been verified by Deep Sea?"

"Unfortunately," Horn said, "We’ve lost contact with Deep Sea after entering the Winter Embrace Valley for the pursuit battle, so in this battle, everyone has to fight hard without shortcuts."

To be exact, it was to ensure Lakunio’s safety that Horn actively disconnected.

After all, Serafe is now rigorously inspecting Deep Sea, and accidental exposure would be disastrous.

He believes that the role Deep Sea can play in his position is much larger than just passing intelligence.

The Battle Commanders’ expressions became a lot more serious, and Dass indicated for Petier to continue speaking.

"Route one: go through Rooster Castle, split forces and wait for reinforcements, stretch the front line, and make a bypass for encirclement."

"Route two: go through the eastern line of villages, replenish troops, occupy favorable terrain, defend first then attack, cut off our army’s retreat path."

"Route three: directly cross Mud Ditch River southward to face our main forces."

Looking at the three routes on the map, the Battle Commanders and Battle Army Commanders all nodded.

Instead, a cautious voice came from the corner: "I’m wondering, what if they head north?"

They turned their heads to find it was Grand Duke Saranto of Falan’s military observation corps.

It must be said, although Grand Duke Saranto lost Charlie’s trust due to the Castle Hyacinth event, he is relatively capable among the less capable individuals.

Thus, Charlie specifically sent him to the Holy Alliance army to observe and train, hoping he would soon become like Duke Qazi.

When not taking the lead, Grand Duke Saranto indeed has a good mind, and this question was spot on.

Heading north is indeed an issue many Battle Commanders are considering; there are nearly fifty Battle Commanders and Senior Pastors present.

Though they manage frontline operations, it certainly doesn’t mean they know nothing about strategic matters.

The Holy Alliance military system demands Battle Commanders to understand strategic directions at the Battle Army level, and Corps Commanders to grasp strategic directions at the Battle Command level, to allow for adaptability during emergencies.

This skill isn’t something you can rush; it requires both military academy theory and practice.

Although Serafe and the imperial lords all mimicked the Holy Alliance to reform their military system, this irreplaceable talent reserve is the moat of the Holy Alliance’s military system combat effectiveness.

Northern departure cannot be ignored as a direction, as Horn directly said: "If the opponent heads north, we just have to follow and pursue."

These words silenced the room.

Everyone understood what this meant; it was equivalent to the initiative falling into the hands of the Royal Court.

The Royal Court could fight if they wanted and wouldn’t if they didn’t, they could even choose their preferred battlefield.

Although the Holy Alliance is stronger, the Royal Court’s army is not bad either; didn’t they almost cause the Western Battle Army to collapse recently?

Such a relatively small disparity can be completely compensated for by terrain or weather, and by that time, the battlefield wouldn’t look good.

Especially as Horn still needs to besiege Serafe, there might be another occasion to fill the fight with soldiers’ lives like before.

Horn is already somewhat afraid of sacrificing soldiers’ lives unless there’s no other choice.

"Why the insistence on pursuit?" Grand Duke Saranto asked baffled, "If they escape, let them escape; can’t we seize the opportunity to storm Eagle’s Claw Bay or the Windmill Land?"

"Ah, we Holy Alliance have exclusive intelligence assessment; this time we can only pursue and not confront." Horn explained with a wry smile.

Who knows how long Serafe has left to live? If she suddenly dies, it would be truly appalling.

Thus, the Holy Alliance practically has to perform like dancing with shackles this time.

Grand Duke Saranto pursed his lips. What exclusive intelligence; presumably they just want it all settled in one go.

It must be said, the Holy Alliance Pope’s centralization is much stronger than the King of Falan’s.

Now it appears, the Holy Alliance army differs from the Kingdom army primarily in experience.

As for the Holy Alliance’s exceptional morale and conviction, it doesn’t require completing those religious reforms and establishing Military Chaplain systems.

Grand Duke Saranto believes Falan soldiers’ morale and conviction can fully substitute with money.

Look at the Royal Court; doesn’t it rely on money and spoils?

Though still a bit inferior, isn’t it essentially fighting without knowing the purpose?

In this regard, Saranto believes well-trained soldiers fighting without knowing why are absolutely stronger than poorly trained but purpose-driven soldiers.

"If the enemy retreats north, pursuit is indubitable; if they attack south, then we must plan early." Horn tapped the table, "Before you lies a stack of plans; you may take a look."

This plan is actually the consultants’ strategic plan, deploying multi-layered vanguard and rear guard forces based on route possibilities and threat levels.

Then, considering road conditions, each battle group’s state, marching speed, geography, and weather, a comprehensive maneuver and stationing plan was devised.

This plan essentially assures fast mutual support regardless of any route chosen.

This is essentially a dynamic planning issue, and the consultants’ target is finding an effective local optimal solution.

The Holy Alliance’s unique military report system enables consultants to roughly understand every aspect of a battle group, allowing for such plans to exist.

"But what if Serafe’s team heads north..."

"We can try a method; Jeska has already instructed someone to handle it." Jeanne interrupted, "Whether it’ll be clear..."

"Your Eminence." Jeanne’s words were cut off; the curtain was lifted, and a messenger walked in and whispered in Horn’s ear.

"Ha." Horn suddenly clapped his palm and laughed, "I was worried; turns out they delivered themselves!"