CH 502

C502: Operation / Yuki

The Central Area Army commanded by myself, Rosetta, and Arjain was advancing on Fort Manoni, a strategic point, to attack the Kingdom of Lacia, a large country adjacent to the south of the Elysian Empire.

Compared to the Elysian Empire’s Central Area Army, which had 50,000 magicrafts, the Lacian Army defending the Manoni Fortress was outnumbered by 12,000 magicrafts, 300 battleship-class ride carriers, and 300,000 soldiers, but they were showing fierce resistance, taking advantage of the fortress’ defensive capabilities and the advantage of its terrain.

“The first thing we should do is to hit the group of guns to the northeast,” he said. ”That would make it easier to attack the fortress headquarters in the center.”

A large number of enemy artillery pieces had been installed in the northeast of the fortress. As we were suffering from that bombardment, Arjain made such a proposal. However, Rosetta looked at the current situation and pointed out the difficulty of the operation.

“It’s true, but the countless artillery pieces are all set up on top of the mountain, so destroying them will be a challenge. Moreover, the canyon below the group of guns is like a fissure, and the army cannot move as it wishes, so it will be difficult to capture it all at once with a large army.”

“Yes, and it is reported that there is a powerful magicraft unit positioned in the northeast, so it won’t be easy.”

The Central Area Army’s chief of staff, Horostoi, also agrees with Rosetta’s point of view and although I had no intention of voicing my opinion, I couldn’t help but say this.

“How about taking a small group of elite troops to the top of the mountain and destroying the weapons? If we carefully select magicrafts that are capable of climbing the cliff, we can take a route to avoid the powerful enemy forces.”

“That’s a good idea. If we do it in the dark, the success rate will be even higher.”

“However, there are only a limited number of magicrafts that can climb the cliff. Can’t we use a flying squadron?”

Rosetta offers an alternative to Arjain, who immediately agrees.

“The flying squadron, which makes a loud noise when flying, will be noticed immediately and will be targeted by enemy anti-magicraft artillery.”

The unfamiliar term “anti-magicraft artillery” is explained to me by Horostoi.

“It is a weapon used against flying magicrafts. At present, only our country, the Kingdom of Lacia, and Raddle Company possess flying units and anti-magicraft artillery.”

Apparently, it is a cutting-edge weapon. It is true that I have seen flying magicrafts a few times, but the overall number seems to be small.

After that, talk of attacking the Manoni Fortress continued, and as a result, the operation to destroy the artillery with my small, elite force was officially adopted. However, it was difficult to select magicrafts that could climb the cliff lightly, and in the end, I, Rosetta, and Arjain joined that unit.

There were some concerns about the three commanders acting in a separate unit, but it was agreed that there would be no full-scale attack from the Lacian army, which was on the defensive at the fortress.