Hearing Sky's (Yudel's) words, Lilith (Lilianna) also relaxed and smiled brightly, "It's really you. That's a relief. Otherwise, playing this role-playing copy by myself would have been a bit nerve-wracking. The levels of the people in this copy world are ridiculously high."
As she spoke, Lilith (Lilianna) walked over to a table and sat down without any reservations, completely dropping the saintly and solemn demeanor of a Holy Maiden, "I'm exhausted. With just a word from you, the Holy King, we had to march at double speed. As the Holy Maiden, not only did I have to travel, but I also had to cast Holy Light spells along the way to reduce the fatigue of the soldiers. It's been killing me."
Sky (Yudel), already familiar with Lilianna's personality and knowing she was exaggerating, couldn't help but laugh, "Like me, you've just crossed over. The rapid march these past few days wasn't exactly your doing. Alright, no more joking around. The system assigned me the task of defeating the army of the Blackwater Empire to lift the siege on Deerfield city. 50,000 against 300,000, and the Blackwater Empire's army has been the invincible force across the Pan continent for a century. This battle won't be easy. What's your mission?"
"My main system task is to assist the Holy King in defeating the Blackwater Empire's army and lifting the siege on Deerfield city. The information in my memory fragments tells me, my dear Holy King, that your combat power is off the charts. All I need to do is give you a Holy Light blessing, and then I can sit back and enjoy watching you slaughter left and right," Lilith (Lilianna) said with a giggle.
Sky (Yudel) moved to sit beside Lilith (Lilianna) at the table, sighing, "It's not that simple. From the memory information I've received, the combat power of the Blackwater Empire's army should be higher than that of the Firefeather Kingdom's army. Moreover, the opposing commander and several high-ranking officers are all of level 7 or 6 in strength. Whether it's the number of troops, combat power, or the number of top powerhouses, we are at a disadvantage.
Our only advantages are two-fold. First, the morale of the entire Firefeather army is currently sky-high, almost reaching a fanatical level, thanks to your planning, Holy Maiden, which helped elevate me to a godly status by slaying Bakker.
Second, after several days of rapid marching, we've secretly crossed the Deerfield river and made our way near the enemy's supply lines from behind, allowing us to catch them by surprise."
Lilith (Lilianna) sat up straight, her expression serious, "There's a third advantage: your personal combat power as the Holy King." She pointed to her head with her slender, fair right hand, "The memory fragments I've received contain a lot of interesting information. This war is not as simple as it seems."
"What do you mean?" Sky (Yudel) sensed there was more to her words.
Lilith (Lilianna) flicked her bangs and said, "This war might seem like a mundane conflict between mortals, but it's actually a contest between gods."
"Oh? Do elaborate," Sky (Yudel) prompted.
Lilith (Lilianna) blinked, "You don't seem very surprised."
Sky (Yudel) replied calmly, "There were hints in the mission description, but from the memory fragments I have, it seems Yudel, the Holy King, hasn't realized this yet. It seems this character is brave, strong, fearless, and incredibly powerful in combat, but when it comes to the bigger picture and politics, he barely passes. The Holy Light Church elevating such a character to the height of Holy King must have some bigger scheme in mind."
"Ah, you're quite sharp. That's an impressive insight. I hadn't noticed you were so knowledgeable before," Lilith (Lilianna) said with interest.
Sky (Yudel) chuckled, "Because I'm a professional."
"Ah?" Lilith (Lilianna) opened her beautiful eyes wide, puzzled.
"In reality, I majored in history in college, studying various political struggles, schemes, and intrigues in history every day. Would you say I'm professional?" Sky (Yudel) chuckled again.
"Oh, then what do you think the Holy Light Church, or rather, the god behind the church, is really planning?" Lilith (Lilianna) asked, smiling.
"Are they betting on Firefeather Kingdom and Yudel, the powerhouse, planning to infiltrate the church's influence further north and west as the war progresses?" Sky (Yudel) speculated.
Lilith (Lilianna) shook her head with a smile, "No."
"Then what's the real plan?" Sky (Yudel) inquired.
"Using a phrase from our goddess Schiso 007, 'The domain of gods is not for mortals to pry into,'" Lilith (Lilianna) said.
"She used that line because she didn't want to directly answer my question, right?" Sky (Yudel) recalled a previous scene in the goddess's divine realm.
Lilith (Lilianna) said with a smile in her eyes, "I'm using that line right now because I don't want to directly answer your question."
Sky (Yudel) was taken aback, "Why won't you tell me? We crossed into this copy world together; we should be teammates. And don't forget, in this world, I'm technically your superior. Aren't you afraid I'll make things difficult for you later?"
"I just don't want to tell you. And our main mission right now is to win the battle ahead. Not telling you won't affect your completion of this system task," Lilith (Lilianna) said. "Besides, knowing you, I don't think you'd do something like making things difficult for me."
"That's not necessarily true," Sky (Yudel) said.
"If you dare, I'll go to goddess 007 and complain that you're trying to take advantage of your position to harass me, your female subordinate."
"That's playing dirty," Sky (Yudel) said.
"Playing dirty is a woman's privilege," Lilith (Lilianna) declared.
As they were talking, the heavy curtain of the central military tent was lifted, and Xavier walked in with a large tray, "Holy King, Holy Maiden, please have breakfast."
The two stopped their previous conversation, sat up straight, and maintained their demeanor as Xavier placed the simple military dry food, flatbread, and meat soup on the table before them.
Just as Xavier was about to step back outside, Sky (Yudel) stopped him, "Hold on. You've been nagging me these past few days, saying that although our surprise crossing of the river and attack has a high chance of success, without a series of follow-up strategic deployments, even if we can catch the enemy by surprise at first, we might eventually be dragged down by the problems of military strength and supply by the Blackwater Empire's army. Now that the Holy Maiden is here, use the sand table to demonstrate your ideas."
Xavier was startled, blurting out, "Didn't the Holy King say yesterday that my words were demoralizing, and if I kept it up, I'd be subjected to military law?"
Sky (Yudel) coughed, "Did I? What I meant yesterday was that our Firefeather soldiers are brave and fearless, and we will surely win this battle. This doesn't conflict with running through our tactics several more times before the battle. Go ahead and simulate the potential changes on the battlefield following our surprise attack."
After a moment of stupefaction, feeling today's Holy King seemed different, Xavier didn't hesitate to proceed since he was asked to simulate.
Approaching the sand table, which was a magical artifact crafted by a cultivator-cum-artificer that could simulate battlefield scenarios based on the user's will and pre-inputted information, Xavier took control with excitement. His demeanor changed completely, from a mere guard to a confident and ambitious commander.
"Holy King, Holy Maiden, please observe," Xavier pointed to a red dot on the sand table projection, "This is our current position, behind the main force of the Blackwater army and their main supply line. Our current tactical thought is to attack their supply line, draw some of their forces back for rescue, and then ambush them along the way, hoping to achieve the best outcome.
Since we've arrived here through a rapid march and quietly crossed the Deerfield river, the Blackwater army likely hasn't received any intelligence about us nor understands our combat strength, so this initial sneak attack is very likely to succeed.
The key lies in how many of the enemy's rescue troops we can ambush after successfully attacking the supply line. If we send too few troops for the sneak attack, it won't draw enough enemy forces for rescue. If we send too many, we won't be able to consume the enemy's reinforcements quickly, leading us into a stalemate, exposing all our weaknesses.
We came here on a rapid march with limited supplies and material, and being absolutely outnumbered, we can only aim for a quick victory. Once entangled by the enemy, we'll have no chance of winning.
Moreover, there's a significant potential crisis. Please look at our current camp's location. To avoid the enemy scouts, we've set up camp by the Deerfield river. This is a major tactical mistake; if surrounded by the enemy with superior forces, relying on a few makeshift ferries for retreat would be extremely difficult. We might be completely annihilated.
So, while it seems we have a high chance of winning the first battle, the situation is actually very precarious. Unless we can eliminate a large number of the enemy's forces in the first sneak attack and ambush.
However... the Holy King's personal combat power is a significant advantage for us. Moreover, after observing the combat strength of the newly joined Firefeather army units, the Werewolf Cavalry and Demon Hunter Corps, both are ace forces on the battlefield. If we can create some special situations, perhaps we really can achieve victory against the odds."
"What special situations are you referring to?" Sky (Yudel) inquired.
"Your Majesty, look, there's a force on this battlefield that hasn't truly joined the fight yet," Xavier pointed in a direction on the sand table.
"Are you talking about those allied forces that claim to come to Flyswallow Kingdom's aid but are actually just watching from the sidelines?" Sky (Yudel) asked.
"Yes, those allied forces' commanders have been intimidated by the Blackwater army. Their current mentality is to wait and see. If we can break the myth of the Blackwater army's invincibility and establish a clear advantage on the battlefield, they might join the fight. I have an idea..." Xavier began to elaborate enthusiastically.
