Five days later..."Is that Your Highness?"
"Yes, this is a piece of news that just arrived at the headquarters. We"re still in the process of confirming the number, but there are at least 600 people."
"The garrison at the Gust Castle has taken them in. They"ll travel to Neverwinter by land after they recover from the trip."
"No, this is our obligation."
"Thank you. Please take a good rest."
Edith hung up the phone after she delivered the report.
As the most advanced communication tool, wind-up telephones had become indispensable to the General Staff. However, due to the limited data transmission, the service in the Cage Mountain area was only available to the encampment of the Aerial Knights outside Thorn Town.
Edith saw an amazed Lance Kant, her third brother, as she turned around.
"What"s the matter?"
Unlike the way she treated her second brother, Cole, Edith directly hired Lance to work for the General Staff in her official capacity after the latter pa.s.sed the elementary education exam. As her third brother had an exuberant and audacious personality, she thought it would be better to keep an eye on him.
Another reason was that Edith enjoyed seeing him deflated like a punctured balloon upon a failure.
"Ah... nothing. I was just surprised that you"d be so respectful to another person, sister," Lance said as he walked up to Edith while holding a stack of doc.u.ments. "You"ve never even been so polite to father."
"I thought you"d become a little smarter after you grew up," Edith said indifferently. "I don"t need such formalities when talking to father because I know he doesn"t care. But Tilly Wimbledon is His Majesty"s sister. If she says something about me behind my back to her brother, what do you think will happen to the House of Kant?"
"But I feel that His Majesty... doesn"t care about that either..."
"Because he"s a man, so sometimes, it works even better when you take the initative."
"Er... I don"t quite understand..."
"To understand people is always the hardest part. It"s perfectly normal that you don"t follow," Edith said while shrugging. "Even if you"re extremely talented, you can"t gain the final victory if you don"t understand people."
"Could you teach me, sister?" Lance asked hopefully.
"Naturally," Edith replied while casting the latter a glance with some interest. "However, it"d be more effective to learn on the go than just taking the lectures. Cole actually does pretty well in that. Do you want to give it a shot?"
Lance felt a coldness prevail him as he thought of Cole"s act of demeanor at home. He swallowed hard and said, "Well... I think I"d hold off on that."
Edith replied casually, "It"s up to you."
Lance instantly switched the subject as if he had just been exonerated from a horrible crime. He said, "By the way, did you call Her Highness to tell her that the refugees have arrived safely?"
Edith confirmed with a nod, "Her Highness asked the General Staff to take care of this matter, so I must report to her in a timely fas.h.i.+on."
The whole rescue operation exceeded everybody"s expectations. Not only had the Aerial Knights reached the battlefield 200 kilometers away within less than two hours, but they had saved a great number of refugees and crushed the demons as well.
That was right. This was not just an ordinary hunt. From the information they obtained, the refugees were probably a bait the demons used to lure the army. The troop coming after was the real deal.
What if the First Army had really sent their force to support the refugees?
Due to the harsh weather and the long distance, the army must ride light and swift. The demons, on the other hand, would have awaited an exhausted troop as a hunter awaited his prey. Once the two parties clashed, the rescue team would have found themselves not only being outnumbered but also surrounded by a group of Devilbeasts.
Even if the army retreated immediately, they would have to travel nearly 100 kilometers in the snow. How many soldiers would survive this trip? Perhaps, not a single one.
This was the demons" first tentative attack after the First Army reduced their force.
Even if the First Army had turned a blind eye on the refugees or completely overlooked the demons to the north of the Gust Castle, there was nothing to lose for the demons.
The demons had probably noticed that the Graycastle men were completely different than the soldiers in the Kingdom of Wolfheart and the Kingdom of Everwinter. Killing tons of local civilians would make no difference to the outcome of the Battle of Divine Will. However, they could weaken the human race if they managed to exterminate a rescue team.
Nevertheless, the Aerial Knights had caught them totally offguard.
The whole battle became somewhat similar to the one at the Northbound Slope a year ago. Both the demons and the First Army made judgements that they believed to be in the best interests of their own party, but the result was completely different.
Even if Tilly had not discovered the troop hiding in the forest at the rear, the outcome of the battle would not have changed.
The fleet all returned safely, and the refugees survived the hunt. It was indeed a major victory.
"The Aerial Knights are so amazing..." Lance sighed. "They not only killed dozens of Mad Demons but also got themselves out of the battle while being besieged. Even the Blessed Army of the Union couldn"t do that, right?"
"Yes, they"re wonderful."
Edith sighed deeply and c.o.c.ked her legs onto the desk while swivelling in the chair, looking a little dejected.
A bit surprised, Lance said, "You don"t look very happy."
"I"m not unhappy, but I feel... that the General Staff has become somewhat useless now."
"Huh?" Lance"s eyes were wide open.
"The four planes could repel more than 200 demons. What if the First Army has 100 or 1,000 of "Fires of Heaven"?" Edith said with a faint smile. "In that case, we simply need to send the Aerial Knights where in need. Military tactics and strategies would be simply unnecessary. Everybody can command the Aerial Knights. If that happens, what"s the point in keeping the General Staff?"
In fact, the first time Edith had seen this type of automatic flying machine, she had foreseen its great military potential. She had indeed discussed a lot with Roland regarding the application of the air force. She had even founded a research group within the General Staff to specifically study the Aerial Knights, in an attempt to maximize their power.
However, when the Aerial Knights really revealed their strength in a real battle, Edith felt somehow regretful.
The overpowering force that the Aerial Knights presented made military strategies less important. Before knights had been replaced, military tactics and formations used to be two major parts of a war. Now, they were much simplified. Since the Aerial Knights could see the entire battlefield clearly from above and possessed immense power, they could literally take over the whole battle.
In other words, they would see every move of the enemies in the sky while the demons could see nothing. The demons were groping in the dark without the ability to fight back or develop any countermeasures.
Furthermore, this was just the beginning. The "Fire of Heaven" was just a very crude model, like the original flintlock that was later transformed into more powerful and advanced Mark I.
"Then... we can go back to the City of Evernight," Lance answered quietly.
"It"s probably too late now," Edith said smilingly. "I"ve offended so many people to come this far. Do you think those people will let us go?"
Edith knew very well that if Roland became the ruler of this continent, nothing like this would happen. However, she had to think about the worst scenario because foul languages could always hurt people.
"I"ll... protect you," Lance said while biting his lip.
"With what? With your current social status and official capacity? If you can"t become a leader, you"d better save these empty promises," Edith snapped, a hint of callous pleasure in her tone. "Otherwise, it"d only be worse. For example, your enemy will probably humiliate me right in front you — "
Edith broke off.
Soon they heard footsteps outside the door, and Ferlin Eltek entered.
"Your ladys.h.i.+p, you"re here..."
"What"s the matter? Any news?"
"I wish," Morning Light said, looking troubled. "I just checked the supply list for the Aerial Knights. Perhaps, we have to adjust the logistics."
"Yes?"
"You probably don"t know that they used thousands of bullets in the past few days, not including those consumed in the real battle," Ferlin said agitatedly. "There are only 20 or 30 of them, but they request more ammunition than 10 Gun Battalion units put altogether! Not to mention that we have to supply them fuels and spare parts of the planes. If the number of the students doubles or triples, what should the logistics department do? Your ladys.h.i.+p?"
Lance suddenly found that the languid air his sister had presented just a a moment ago was gone.
Edith rose to her feet and replied casually, "You have to figure that out. You must make sure that the Aerial Knights have enough supplies." She then turned to Lance and said, "What are you doing here?"
"Yes?" Lance was still in a sort of daze.
"Come to the intelligence room with me. It isn"t time to take a break yet," Edith said while swinging her sheet of hair in a trenchant manner and walked out of the room.