Free Web NovelChapter 185: The Devouring Plan
When the news spread across the frontier, the Thalric army attacking the Grand Concord border was left dumbfounded.
The Grand Concord troops resisting them were equally stunned.
Three thousand men destroyed one hundred thousand?
Surely the report had to be false.
Even if those one hundred thousand were pigs, it would take three thousand men more than three days and nights to catch them all.
Annihilating an army of that size sounded impossible.
The Grand Concord frontier forces refused to believe it. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Then the Thalric army withdrew.
They fled as though their lives depended on it and never once looked back.
Only then did the Grand Concord frontier troops realize how serious the situation might be.
A chill ran through them.
Could Newhaven truly have destroyed an army of one hundred thousand with only three thousand soldiers?
They could not understand it.
What kind of battle could produce such a result?
Before long, Grand Concord agents sent into Thalric confirmed that the news was real.
Newhaven had indeed fought the Thalric army.
The battle had even taken place within Thalric territory.
The Thalric forces had never made it beyond their own borders.
Their army of one hundred thousand had been shattered halfway to Newhaven.
They had not been completely wiped out, but the difference was negligible.
No one knew exactly how many troops Newhaven had deployed.
According to the Thalric soldiers who fled back, they had never even seen Newhaven’s army before more than half their force was gone.
Afterward, they were pursued dozens of li into Thalric territory.
The army of one hundred thousand had failed to harm even a single hair on Newhaven’s head.
Most had been killed or wounded along the road.
Only a few thousand eventually escaped.
Even Caldris, their commander, had died.
It was beyond belief.
Had the defeated soldiers not said it themselves, the Grand Concord agents would never have believed that such a massive army could disappear without even seeing the enemy.
Thunder and fire. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
That was all the survivors would speak of.
After that, they refused to remember anything more.
Every one of them had been terrified beyond reason.
The mere mention of thunder and fire made them tremble.
The Grand Concord frontier commanders finally understood.
No wonder the Thalric army had retreated in such panic.
They must have feared that Newhaven would march against them next, forcing them to abandon the attack on the Grand Concord Dynasty.
Once the details were confirmed, the frontier army immediately sent the intelligence to the imperial court.
Yet even though Thalric had withdrawn, the Grand Concord soldiers felt more frightened than before.
Compared with facing Newhaven, they would rather keep fighting Thalric.
"What do we do if Newhaven finishes with Thalric and turns its army against the Grand Concord Dynasty?"
After all, Newhaven’s victory had been terrifying.
They had once believed the Thalric people were already fierce enough.
Now they had discovered an enemy even more ruthless and powerful.
No one answered.
The frontier commander could not answer either.
He was afraid as well.
Unfortunately, the very thing they feared soon happened.
In Newhaven, Caelum convened a military council.
Several senior commanders who also held council seats presented different operational plans.
Caelum made the final decision and signed his name on the chosen document.
He handed the plan to one of the army commanders.
"Then begin the operation."
Every council member rose at once.
Their expressions were solemn, their eyes sharp, and their presence carried the edge of drawn steel.
In perfect unison, they saluted Caelum by striking their right fists against their hearts.
"For Newhaven!"
"For the Leader!"
Not long after the First Army returned, the Third Army through the Tenth Army all began moving.
They split into three routes, crossed the Grand Concord frontier, and marched south toward Prosperity Crown.
The Artillery Army accompanied them.
Military trucks carried vast quantities of ammunition and every type of artillery needed to strike military targets along the way.
Newhaven had developed too far for the construction of Rovaryn alone to solve its problems.
Only a continued expansion of industrial production could meet its needs.
That left outward conquest as the only choice.
Rather than spend years building more cities from nothing, it was far better to take the Grand Concord Dynasty directly.
Its population and resources could then be used to drive Newhaven’s industrial and technological growth.
As for Thalric, it could remain wherever it pleased.
Aside from a few mineral deposits, that barren land could support little beyond livestock.
It had yet to reveal any resources or minerals Newhaven urgently needed.
Caelum had no interest in dealing with it.
That day, military trucks streamed endlessly along Newhaven’s roads.
Five airships drifted overhead, casting enormous shadows across the ground.
Their presence alone carried a suffocating pressure.
"How can this be?"
A merchant held a newspaper in one hand and looked up at the massive shapes in the sky.
Cold sweat covered him, and his hand began to shake.
"Newhaven has declared war on the Grand Concord Dynasty!"
A gust of wind tore the newspaper from his hand and carried it into the air.
Across the front page was the Newhaven Council’s declaration of war against the Grand Concord Dynasty.
"For Newhaven!"
"For the Leader!"
Students from the academies shouted at the top of their lungs.
Traveling merchants had never studied in Newhaven’s academies.
They could not understand why these students, who called themselves the New Youth, showed such fierce loyalty and devotion to the Leader.
Thalric had only just sent an army against Newhaven.
Yet Newhaven had turned around and declared war on the Grand Concord Dynasty.
No one had expected such a development.
Others might not understand the strength of Newhaven’s military, but the academy students could make a reasonable guess.
"Newhaven will win this war!"
A deep drone rolled through the air.
Beneath the airships, rows of propeller bombers flew toward the front loaded with ammunition and supplies.
The thunder of their engines seemed to strike everyone in the chest.
Those watching felt their hearts pound.
This was the first time they had seen Newhaven’s warplanes deployed.
It was also the first time so many had appeared at once.
These machines belonged to another age.
The shock they inspired was almost impossible to describe.
Grand Concord spies within Newhaven turned pale and trembled at the sight.
How could the Grand Concord Dynasty possibly defeat an enemy that could freely command the sky?
One Leader airship might have been tolerable.
As Caelum’s personal vessel, it was unlikely to be sent to the battlefield.
But now the sky was filled with airships and aircraft.
The fighting had not even begun, yet the sight alone was enough to crush an enemy’s courage.
When the spies brought out carrier pigeons to send the news back to the Grand Concord Dynasty, they looked up at the airships and planes and felt the absurdity of it all.
Could the Grand Concord Dynasty truly fight this war?
Before the pigeons even reached Prosperity Crown, Newhaven’s armies had already won victory after victory.
The three advancing forces moved forward together and captured more than twenty major towns and three cities in a single sweep.
Their speed was astonishing.
Once the nearby Grand Concord frontier army of three hundred thousand reacted, it immediately rushed to surround the three Newhaven forces.
Their goal was to halt Newhaven’s advance.
Several days later, a Grand Concord army of thirty thousand reached a position thirty li from the right flank of Newhaven’s Tenth Army.
Then it refused to move even one step closer.
Instead, it stopped and waited for the other frontier forces to arrive.
