When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

Chapter 1333: Chapter 1251: Engineering Offensive

"Understood." Alexei quickly recorded in his notebook.

"We’ve covered the broader direction, are you clear about the smaller direction?" Horn stretched lazily and stood up, asking casually before leaving.

He always respected the opinions of frontline officers because they were the ones conducting on-site investigations and were directly affected by the outcomes.

However, he didn’t hold out much hope, as not every officer had insights to offer.

Putting away his notebook, Alexei nodded seriously: "I was about to discuss this with you because my offensive needs your help."

Horn, who was about to descend the rock, became interested and turned around: "Where do you want to attack? What kind of help do you need?"

"Thick Bull Castle, I need a clockwork crane and an engineering corps."

Thick Bull Castle itself wasn’t in a crucial location; it was situated less than a hundred miles north of a grouping of fortresses, with no Vampire Army stationed there, only the Servant Army.

Furthermore, the tactical significance of that position was not crucial, nor was it strategically important, it was an area that didn’t attract military interest.

Capturing this place seemed to offer neither benefits nor drawbacks, even appearing to stretch the battle lines.

"Why attack Thick Bull Castle?"

Horn nearly couldn’t hold back after hearing the name.

Perhaps it was because of Norn’s unique naming conventions based on local products, so names like these were everywhere.

The southern castles all had names like Fresh Shrimp Castle, Codfish Castle, and Herring Castle.

The northern castles had names like Cheese Castle, Fat Cow Castle, and Thick Bull Castle.

Alexei didn’t notice the fleeting smile on Horn’s face and began explaining earnestly.

"Your Majesty, please hear me out..."

The normal route to attack Bacon Castle had been his previous path, attacking Salted Meat Castle first then proceeding to Bacon Castle.

But each time, after capturing Salted Meat Castle, there was an issue: an inability to continue the assault on Bacon Castle.

Bacon Castle was in a commanding position and could quickly deploy reinforcements via water routes.

Meanwhile, the roads to Salted Meat Castle were in terrible condition, and although there was a river nearby, it wasn’t navigable, with supplies having to be transported by land.

The logistics disparity was too significant, allowing the vampires to maintain an advantage.

If the Norn Restoration Army had tens of thousands of soldiers, they could certainly push through.

However, they didn’t, and deploying such a large force would likely provoke a counterattack from the Royal Court, potentially triggering a major battle.

So unless the Holy Alliance had planned for a large-scale battle, it’s unlikely they could push through directly.

"...Therefore, breaking through by land is difficult, so I want to approach from the water." Alexei steadied himself and spoke.

"If I recall, the Senye River where Bacon Castle is located isn’t under our control either upstream or downstream, right?" Horn questioned in return.

"Correct, and that’s why we need to attack Thick Bull Castle, which is near the Saff River."

"Can the Saff River connect to the Senye River?" Horn immediately turned to ask the mapping officer beside him.

The mapping officer, caught off guard by Horn’s sudden quiz, stumbled for a moment before finally saying: "They are not connected, Your Majesty. This section of the Senye River flows southwest, while the Saff River near Thick Bull Castle flows southwest, takes a turn, and flows directly south..."

Before the mapping officer could finish, Alexei interjected: "Eighty years ago, the Saff River used to flow into the Senye River. It changed course due to an earthquake and flood, which redirected it south."

Growing increasingly excited, Alexei’s teeth were trembling slightly.

He knelt over the rock, pulling a folded, slightly faded map from his notebook and spreading it out on the gray stone.

Seeing Alexei’s passion, Horn felt it wouldn’t be right to do nothing, so he crouched down, casting a concerned look towards Alexei.

Tapping his ink-stained knuckle on a spot on the map, Alexei could no longer hold back his excitement.

"Your Majesty, please look, if we capture Thick Bull Castle, we clear out the old river channel here and construct a dam.

We don’t need a dam that is too high or too strong; a temporary weir is enough. Then, we dig a channel less than 500 meters long.

Water flows downward, and the river water will be guided into the old channel to merge with the Senye River.

Then we can use Thick Bull Castle as a logistics hub to directly attack Bacon Castle."

"In that case, won’t the vampires be prepared?" The mapping officer, still feeling embarrassed from earlier, couldn’t help but question.

"No, because normally, an entire engineering project would take about a year and a half, and even if we start, they won’t react quickly."

"No, are the vampires idiots? Does this project really take a year and a half?"

"No." Horn interrupted the mapping officer’s questioning, "You think a year and a half is too slow, but to them, this pace seems normal."

More accurately, in the Holy Alliance, thanks to the clockwork cranes and improved civil engineering capabilities developed in recent years, overall efficiency is two to three times higher than contemporary engineering can achieve.

In the eyes of the vampires, it takes a year and a half, but for the Holy Alliance, it takes only 4 to 6 months.

Alexei continued: "You could even say, currently the Royal Court’s main force isn’t at Fat Cow Castle, but at Salted Meat Castle, leaving Bacon Castle relatively undefended..."

"Where did you get this information?" the intelligence officer beside couldn’t help but interrupt.

Without even sparing him a glance, Alexei said: "...The intelligence came from the Wildman Tribe, and I have spies within the Royal Court’s Servant Army."

After pausing his explanation, Alexei looked at Horn with great expectation: "What do you think?"

If Bacon Castle is relatively undefended and can be successfully assaulted, it might actually be captured.

Capturing Bacon Castle would provide the capability to threaten Golden Gate Castle and even split the Royal Court’s northern army in two, making it difficult for them to support each other.

Even if the assault on Bacon Castle fails, it doesn’t matter.

With Thick Bull Castle functioning as a logistics center, the Royal Court’s army would have to deploy a substantial force to defend against potential attacks from both Salted Meat Castle and Thick Bull Castle.

One way or another, this would create an opportunity on the northern front.

As such, the Northern Army will certainly attempt to reclaim this critical point, and then it enters the phase of siege warfare that Horn is familiar with, advancing bit by bit.

Anyway, my ramparts are more defensible, my logistics are more efficient, and I can outlast them; so let’s see who can endure longer.

Horn could engage in this attrition over a year.

Not to mention, the southern army and the Central Army might need to support the northern army, especially since parts of the northern army are on their way to attack Changge City.

Currently, the Dawn and New Gemstone Federations control the Narran River route, forcing them to take a longer route there.

Once the Vampire Army gathers in the north, the Fourth Air Alliance from the Falan and Narran River directions will strike.

Once they gather in the south, the Fourth Air Alliance from Shattered Stone Plain and southern Norn directions will strike.

The plan is to disrupt their movements back and forth!

If forces are evenly distributed, then fine, we’ll just engage in an internal cycle of economic attrition.

Ultimately, time is on the Holy Alliance’s side – the longer it drags on, the more the Holy Alliance can prepare something major.

For instance, once the railway covers the Thousand River Valley and Ethereal Towers are established in every city, the vampires will be in real trouble.

"Not bad, quite impressive." Horn appreciatively looked at Alexei, "I’ll send waterworks scholars over for assessment and design..."

"No need." Alexei waved his hand, and a nearby Centaur immediately handed him a parcel wrapped in oiled paper.

Opening the parcel, Horn took a good look and found a fully designed engineering plan.

"If you have doubts, you can have scholars take this plan for on-site investigation."

Seeing Horn’s enquiring gaze, Alexei straightened his chest: "Please believe me, I’m a full-scholarship graduate of the water engineering department at Holy Machinery Court University, ranked second in my final project, Your Majesty."

After pondering for a moment again, Horn laughed heartily: "All right, I’ll order the engineering corps to move here. When do you think you’ll complete it?"

Just as Alexei was about to speak, a flicker of snow-dust caught his eye, with a messenger rush approaching rapidly.

He wisely stepped aside to let the messenger deliver his message.

"Urgent military information transmitted from the signal station at Silver Bay City, Your Majesty." the messenger spoke, handing over a scroll.

Urgent military information?

Slightly furrowing his brow, Horn opened the scroll and began reading the slip of paper inside.

But after reading just a few words, he uncharacteristically burst into a curse:

"These Norn Castle Great Monarchs, what, do they all have their brains located in their rear ends?!"

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