470: Chapter 452 Strike First

Domit hung up the communication with Zhang Mu and immediately summoned the Legion Commanders for a meeting.

Of course, it wasn't all of Lake's active Legion Commanders.

Domit's Command Post was established in a secret forest outside the Royal Capital; considering that the Legion Commanders assigned to distant missions could not return in time, only those without military duties who were on leave in the Royal Capital were notified.

When the Legion Commanders received the summons, it was already midnight.

Gathering all the idle Legion Commanders at this hour for a war council clearly meant an emergency had occurred that threatened Lake's safety.

The Legion Commanders simultaneously waved away the maids bringing water basins to help them wash; they hurriedly put on their military uniforms, and without waiting for their servants to prepare carriages, they mounted their steeds and galloped toward the Command Post.

The Legion Commanders' residences were scattered throughout the Royal Capital; they rushed toward the city gates along different streets, met up as expected before the gates, and whipped their horses' rumps to continue their journey.

Half an hour later.

Domit sat at the head of the long table in the middle of the room as the Legion Commanders, their foreheads covered in sweat from their frantic ride, entered and took their seats.

Once there were no more empty seats at the table, Domit scanned the room. "Is everyone here?"

"Yes!"

"Good, the meeting begins."

Domit opened the documents on the table. "Marshal Zhang Mu sent a military order an hour ago."

To the sound of wooden chairs shifting, the Legion Commanders stood up straight, holding their hats in one hand at their waists. "We await the Marshal's orders!"

"Marshal Zhang Mu said he is going out for a while and won't be back for now; all of Lake's affairs are to be decided by me."

After announcing Zhang Mu's order, Domit closed the document. "Sit down, everyone."

Once everyone had sat back down, he analyzed Lake's current situation. "The threats Lake currently faces are mainly concentrated on the eastern and western borders."

"As for the east, I shouldn't need to say much about the situation; you all just returned from there not long ago."

The Third Legion Commander's expression was solemn. "Our army has been monitoring the Gangnuo Empire's movements; they don't seem to show signs of attacking us recently. As for the Kingdoms between Lake and Ganno, I believe the Ninth and Tenth legions stationed at the border are sufficient to handle the task of guarding against them."

The Fifth Legion Commander was equally serious and nodded in agreement. "Factories in various cities are being completed and put into operation, the production of various jeeps and transport trucks is gradually increasing, and the highways connecting the cities are mostly finished."

"If those Kingdoms dare to invade the border, as long as the Ninth and Tenth legions hold out for an hour, reinforcements can successfully reach the front line."

Domit did not respond; he looked at their expressions and then scanned the faces of the other Legion Commanders. "Why are you all... so nervous?"

Everyone looked at each other and finally looked at Domit together, the meaning in their eyes clear—aren't you the most nervous one?

Domit touched his own stiff face and realized he had influenced them. He smiled. "No one has invaded Lake's borders; I just... everyone, relax a bit."

Although he tried to keep his tone soothing and his attitude sincere, everyone had come with the determination to fight to the death against foreign enemies; it wasn't easy to relax immediately, and their bodies remained tense.

Domit scratched his head secretly; this really was...

After thinking for a moment, he planned to chat about something light to ease the atmosphere. "Third Legion Commander."

"Present!" He straightened his back.

"After the second batch of factories started operating, I instructed the person in charge to allocate special vehicles to you. Have you received them?"

The Third Legion Commander, who had mistakenly thought a mission was about to be assigned to him, was clearly stunned to hear about this. "A special vehicle?"

"Oh, someone did come to me and ask what style I wanted."

Domit laughed. "What is your preferred style?"

"I didn't take one."

"Hmm? Why?"

The Third Legion Commander rubbed his thighs with somewhat awkward hands.

"The Allied Forces' cities have been occupied, but they are very unstable. Small groups of the Resistance Army are still roaming and causing trouble within the borders. The Soldiers are running around to suppress them; they need these vehicles more than I do."

The Resistance Army... what a name full of memories.

Domit was lost in thought for a moment, then asked the other Legion Commanders, "What about you all? Same?"

Everyone smiled.

"Wait until no one dares to invade Lake, then assign me a vehicle."

"That's right, automobile production has increased a lot, but it's still far from enough compared to the number of legions; every legion is in dire need of troop carriers."

"Besides, I think riding a horse is quite good, hahaha. Don't laugh at me, everyone. Back when I was growing wheat, I saw noble lords riding tall horses through the village from the fields. It was so majestic; I was really envious."

The one who said this was the Sixth Legion Commander, who was selected when Zhang Mu first recruited among the Farmers.

During his time as a recruit, he fought bravely, being the first to climb out of the trenches in every charge and staying at the rear of the column to provide cover during retreats.

Encountering the plight of scarce supplies during marches, he would distribute his own rations to more seriously injured companions and pluck handfuls of wild grass from the ground to satisfy his hunger.

Doing this for a long time, it was inevitable he would suffer from malnutrition.

Once, when Domit went on a grassroots inspection, he saw his sallow complexion and misunderstood that the legion was withholding the Soldier's meals; in a rage, he summoned the logistics official for questioning.

The other party hurriedly knelt to explain. After learning the truth, Domit was quite moved; he transferred him to his side for day and night training, discovered his remarkable military talent, and reassigned him to the front line for experience.

The Sixth Legion Commander did not disappoint his high expectations either; he led teams to defeat large enemy forces with small numbers multiple times and accurately predicted enemy strategic intentions to save besieged allies.

In a major battle, he even disrupted the enemy formation with a surprise force, making a huge contribution to reducing his side's casualties.

After accumulating sufficient military merits, Domit personally wrote the promotion order, appointing him as the Sixth Legion Commander of Lake.

The Fifth Legion Commander, sitting next to the Sixth Legion Commander, nudged him with his elbow. "It seems like all the young men from your village have come to join the army. What about the elderly at home?"

"Military families receive subsidies; they are quite generous and enough to live on." After saying that, he seemed to remember something and said to Domit, "Sir, speaking of this..."

"I heard from my father that there are many situations similar to our village. Many villages within Lake's borders have been abandoned. If this continues, no one will be left to farm the fields."

Domit gave him an appreciative look. "No need to worry about this. Marshal Zhang Mu has long considered it, and Princess Avril is already drafting an administrative decree to solve it."

Hearing this, everyone felt relieved.

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased significantly, Domit brought the topic back on track. "The current situation is as you know; the eastern border won't see an outbreak of war for the time being. Even if the Empire attacks, we can handle it."

"So, the main reason I summoned you here is for the western border."

"The western border..." The Seventh Legion Commander frowned, recalled the local environment, and said hesitantly, "Over there... isn't that the Silent Forest?"

"I remember high-level magical beasts are densely distributed in the forest. Even if the Kingdom's legions wanted to cross it, they would suffer heavy casualties. Uh, what enemies are over there?"

Domit had not revealed the news of the Silent Forest's illusory nature to any of the Legion Commanders except for the Third and Eighth legions guarding Gur City against the Kingdom, hence the question.

At this moment, the Silent Forest was about to disappear completely, and the Kingdom's troops were stationed at the border, ready to strike boldly at any time.

Domit intended to mobilize the legions to strike first, so he naturally had to inform everyone of the situation.

After the explanation, the Legion Commanders were all very surprised.

"Such a large forest, just gone like that?"

"No wonder the Third and Eighth Legion Commanders went to station there. I was wondering what there was to guard in a forest."

"I'm more concerned about whether the magical beasts in the forest will disappear as well. If not, the magical beasts might charge at our defense line."

"Is the Kingdom deploying heavy troops at the border also because they're worried about this?"

"The possibility cannot be ruled out."

Domit tapped the table, and everyone stopped their discussion to look at him.

He said, "No matter what the Kingdom's plans are, as long as the conditions for an attack exist, we cannot ignore them."

"Moreover, the Kingdom and Lake are old enemies. An outbreak of war is inevitable; the only difference is whether it's sooner or later. I've decided to mobilize the main legions to take the initiative and attack. What do you think?"

The reasons Domit gave were sufficient. Lake was a heretic, the common enemy of all nations on the continent, and the Kingdom was among them. A battle between the two sides was inevitable—a fight to the death.

Since war between the two sides was unavoidable, it was better to take advantage of the current lack of movement from the enemy countries in the east and seize the opportunity to quickly eliminate the Kingdom, so as to avoid being attacked by the Kingdom later when Lake might be too overwhelmed by a multi-front assault.

The Legion Commanders all expressed their agreement.

"I agree."

"Me too."

"Same here."

With the high-level consensus reached, Domit spoke of another concern. "The Kingdoms in the east aren't invading Lake, perhaps not because they don't want to, but because the destruction of the Allied Forces has forced them to be cautious."

"If we pull away the main legions to join the war against the Kingdom, they definitely won't let this precious opportunity slip by."

"Therefore, I plan to recruit in the Allied Forces' regions and train several new recruit legions as a backup. If they really do attack, the new recruit legions should be enough to hold out until we deal with the Kingdom."

The Sixth Legion Commander asked, "Sir, you emphasized the Allied Forces' regions. Are you worried about risks in the source of the troops?"

"Yes." Domit responded with a frown. "I haven't gone for a field inspection. You all are more familiar with that area; tell me about the local people's attitude toward Lake."

The Fifth Legion Commander said, "Hah, most Kingdoms are the same. A Kingdom belongs to the nobles, not to the people."

"I thought so too at first, but... the Resistance Army in that area that can't be wiped out no matter how hard we try has made me waver a bit," Domit said, shaking his head.

"Your concern is not without reason. Once the remnants of the Allied Forces blend into the legions, it will be difficult to find them."

"Putting all the new recruits in one legion... that won't work either; the threat would be even greater."

"Recruit in Lake?"

The Sixth Legion Commander waved his hand. "Lake has already gone through several rounds of recruitment. If we recruit more, it will provoke public resentment."

The Second Legion Commander slapped his thigh. "If you ask me, it's simple. Form separate legions with the Soldiers recruited from the Allied Forces' regions, and then station them near the Ninth Legion's camp, with the Ninth Legion responsible for monitoring them."

"You don't trust them, yet you expect them to offer their loyalty? Can such Soldiers even go to the front line?"

"Then I'm out of ideas."

While the Legion Commanders were clamoring, the Sixth Legion Commander, who had been deep in thought, suddenly asked, "The Kingdom is just one Kingdom, and its overall strength is much weaker than the Allied Forces. Do we really need to pull out all our main legions?"

Domit explained, "The situation is a bit different. The Kingdom's cohesion is very strong, and not a single Saint-level has fled."

"Aren't we able to deal with Saint-levels?" The Fifth Legion Commander recalled that team that appeared and disappeared mysteriously on the battlefield.

"Only in fixed-point ambushes. Saint-levels move at high speed; they can't catch up."

The Sixth Legion Commander understood. "We need to assemble a sufficient number of legions to lure the Saint-levels out and create opportunities for them to be killed?"

"Yes."

To tempt a Saint-level's greed, at least five or more legions must be gathered.

But mobilizing more than five legions to attack the Kingdom would leave the defensive strength of the eastern border too weak. If hit by a sudden attack from a large army, there would be a risk of the defenses being breached. The problem returned to the starting point: insufficient troops.