Regarding the frontline situation, Tieaxe had deduced it with Edith hundreds of times.
And the conclusion was that before the personnel and equipment were fully in place, the First Army would hardly be able to take the initiative and could only focus on defense; even if the entire army was present, it had to operate flexibly and try to find an opportunity to annihilate the enemy's main force with one blow. Once dragged into a protracted battle in the Red Mist Zone, the situation would become extremely unfavorable.
"According to intelligence from Taqila, the Red Mist from the obelisk will eventually spread to most of the Wolfheart region," Tieaxe pointed to the red arc on the map, "so our defense line will be longer than ever. Considering the early warning and preparation time, there are four cities near the arc that are suitable as current defense strongholds—they are Goldstone Ridge, Windhowl Fortress, Fine Sand City, and Sunken Pond Bay from east to west."
These four cities formed a broken line across the Wolfheart, echoing the future Red Mist Zone.
"However, the First Army does not have enough troops to defend all four places at the same time, so it can only carry out key defenses. And the most important strongholds are undoubtedly Sunken Pond Bay and Fine Sand City—they support each other and are located at the vertex of the Red Mist Zone, less than fifty kilometers away from the enemy's front line. If they fall, the devils will have the opportunity to directly threaten Cage Mountain."
"Especially Sunken Pond Bay." Dawn added, "It is the closest port in the Wolfheart region to Cage Mountain, and now 30% of Neverwinter City's supplies need to be transported through it. Losing Sunken Pond Bay means that the assembly speed will be greatly delayed, and the consequences will be disastrous."
"No need to put it so euphemistically," Edith said generously, "If the devils take Sunken Pond Bay now, then we have already lost half of the Divine Will Battle. Fortunately, the enemy may also be having manpower problems—after all, building an obelisk on the spine of the continent and wanting to keep the transportation smooth is not an easy task."
Probably only the Pearl of the North dared to directly say the word "defeat" in such a meeting. Tieaxe coughed twice helplessly, "In short, let's assume that the devils are also encountering the same difficulties as us and are currently busy opening up a 'shortcut' in the mountains. Of course, whatever the real reason, the First Army cannot miss this opportunity—at least before the north-south artery is connected, both cities must not be lost."
He paused and then said, "Currently, there are 3,000 troops stationed in Sunken Pond Bay and Fine Sand City, and trenches and permanent fortifications are also under construction. In addition, I have also arranged a reserve team of 1,000 people behind the two cities to support the front line at any time. But this is still not safe enough. I hope Sylvie xiaojie can provide reconnaissance and early warning for Sunken Pond Bay as in the past, while Lightning and Maggie xiaojie will be responsible for the other city."
"I understand."
"No problem."
"Coo!"
The three responded at the same time.
"As for Goldstone Ridge and Windhowl Fortress, I have arranged a team of 500 people to guard each, but these two cities are far away from the Red Mist Zone, and the possibility of the devils launching a surprise attack is small. Even if there is one, it must be mainly terror beasts." Tieaxe saluted Tilly, "So I would also like to ask Her Royal Highness the Princess to be responsible for the aerial vigilance in this area."
Tilly nodded, "Don't worry, the aerial knights are born to fight terror beasts."
"Finally, there is Duke Island." Tieaxe pointed to a large island on the east side of the map, "Although it will eventually be shrouded in the Red Mist, it still has extremely high strategic value. Not being connected to the land means it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Mad Demons need to cross a strait of two or three kilometers to land on the island. As for whether those Spider Demons have the ability to cross the river is another question. Flying terror beasts can come and go freely, but their ability to attack fortifications is limited and they cannot cause too much trouble to bunkers and other fortifications."
"As long as Duke Island is in our hands, Sunken Pond Bay below it will be much safer. Similarly, it can also serve as a dagger across the enemy's waist—if artillery is set up in the city, it can completely cover the entire beachhead and the land within ten kilometers."
"But that is always the Red Mist Zone..." Agatha worried.
"The staff has also considered this point," the Pearl of the North took over the topic, "so the number of defenders on the island is set at 500. Even if the devils launch a desperate attack that is difficult to defend, Sunken Pond Bay can send a fleet to evacuate at the first time. There is currently no evidence that the enemy also has a
powerful fleet at sea."
"Um... can I make a point?" Wendy said.
"Please speak."
"I stayed in the Old Holy City Monastery for more than ten years, so I remember that whether in Wolfheart or Everwinter, there are several roads leading directly to the Hermes Plateau. Especially the latter, most of which are located between the Desperate Mountains. Is it possible for the devils to use these mountain trails to raid Hermes? After all, there are Divine Stone mines stored there."
Wendy's words caused a burst of discussion.
There is no doubt that once the devils erect obelisks in the center of the four kingdoms, it will be more fatal than the strongholds in the Fertile Plains. The Red Mist pouring down from the plateau will engulf the last corner of the continent, and humans will have nowhere to hide.
"There is indeed this possibility, but it is not easy to achieve." Edith's tone contained a hint of approval, "First of all, regardless of the past two Battles of Divine Will, the devils can only build one obelisk at a time, the distance does not allow them to dispatch a large number of troops to cross the Desperate Mountains and go to the Hermes Plateau. These mountain trails are not hidden, and a few reconnaissance outposts can monitor them all. Once the operation is exposed, the enemy will fall into an extremely passive situation."
"Therefore, even if the devils want to attack New Holy City, they can only act in the manner of elite small teams, like their past sneak attacks on the Misty Forest. Even if these people reach Hermes, they cannot quickly establish an obelisk. Moreover, Coldwind Ridge is only a stone's throw away from the plateau, so their chances of erecting an obelisk under Graycastle's nose are slim."
"So the staff had already considered it," Wendy breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm relieved now."
"The frontline deployment of the First Army is roughly like this," Tieaxe concluded, "and we are trying to find out the whereabouts of the devils. To be honest, due to the lack of intelligence and manpower, the First Army has been extremely passive recently. Seeing your appearance, I am truly sincerely happy. With your help, these problems can finally be more or less compensated. When the army is fully prepared and the intelligence is sufficient, it will be the time for us to launch a counterattack!"
Next was the specific allocation of the witches.
For example, Leaf stayed in Cage Mountain and, together with Lotus, transformed this border mountain full of traps.
Andrea and Shavi and others went to Sunken Pond Bay. For combat witches, wherever the front line is, there are their figures.
Hummingbird and Molly joined the logistics team, which made the loading and unloading efficiency of the harbor dock suddenly increase.
Echo even took on the role of goodwill ambassador, using her singing to revive the morale of the soldiers.
In this busy and tense preparation work, autumn came to an end.
On the first day of the arrival of early winter, the sun did not rise as usual, and scattered snowflakes floated in the sky.
The first Month of the Demons after the appearance of the Divine Will arrived.