The next morning, Jack teleported to a city nearest to the marching army. He then chased after them using Pandora.
In a short time, he caught up. Even though he had seen it before, the sight of a one million-strong army was still something to behold.
He had Pandora continue to fly to the head of the army before landing there. The appointed general of the army, Emris, halted the troops' advance once he saw Jack arrive. He ordered a salute. All soldiers followed suit.
Jack saw Armstrong, Elizabeth, Claudius, Salem, and John at the front where the commanders were. Behind them was the carriage that carried the war table.
"At ease!" Jack said to them. They were short on time, so Jack didn't want the army to stop for long. He ordered the army to immediately resume their march and summoned his Runestone of Marching.
The army's march speed had already increased yesterday when Jack used his monarch power, War March. With the added effect of the runestone, the army's march speed increased further.
On the way, Jack spoke to John in detail about what had happened in Hydrurond. John had received reports via messages but that kind of report had limitations. It was always better to talk directly with the person who underwent the experience.
"From what you said, it was clear the enemy was well prepared for this invasion," John said. "However, from the number of casualties the enemies had incurred until now, I don't see how they can easily conquer Messephyria."
"Because of Enroth? I have a feeling Master will have a weapon against that country guardian," Jack said.
"Not only that. If we are to see the enemy's surviving number, Liguritudum has 1,200,000 troops, and Aurebor has 1,500,000 troops. Their combined number doesn't reach three million. Hydrurond has 1,500,000 troops. Yes, they are outnumbered, but they will be playing defense this time. Even if Messephyria is not a proper fortress, breaking through with a force not even twice the defending side is an extremely tall order. I don't see a chance of them winning."
"Isn't that good then?" Jack asked.
"It is good if that is the reality," John said. "But I don't think someone who has been so well-prepared will make such a basic mistake."
"Well, whatever Master's plan is, we need to reach Messephyria as soon as possible so we can do something about it," Jack said.
"I agree. I must say, I bet Master will not expect Hyrdurond to change their view about Themisphere and consider us an ally. Hydrurond might have no chance but to pull their third army back. But if they still consider us an enemy, we still won't be able to enter their territory freely. You have again created a miracle. This might be the tipping point to ruin Master's plan."
"What miracle? I'm just trying my best to show my sincerity," Jack said.
"That act by itself, in our old world or this new one, can be considered a miracle," John replied.
"So, do you have a plan about how we are going to engage them when we arrive?" Jack asked.
"The plan is simple," John said. "When they aren't expecting us, we land a surprise attack on them. Especially targeting and destroying their siege weapons. This will destroy their chance of breaching into Messephyria. Once they lose the capability to break into the capital, we can then slowly wear their armies down. Once their armies are weakened and are forced to retreat, we will then help the Hydrurond military in retaking the conquered settlements."
"What about their supplies? Shouldn't we go after their supply route like what we did during Verremor's invasion?"
"That might be an option at the beginning of the war. But at this moment, many of Hydrurond's settlements should have fallen into the enemy's control already. Those settlements can produce supplies for the enemy. Even though there is a penalty due to the settlements being considered hostage settlements, the output should still be enough to help Liguritudum and Aurebor last for weeks. Even if we cut their supply route from their home countries, it won't affect the war much."
"Sigh…, if only Hydrurond was willing to work with us from the start," Jack lamented. "We could have worked together to target the supply routes."
"Actually, I've asked Jeanny to send players to scout their supply routes. It won't be as easy as during the Verremor's invasion."
"Oh? Why?"
"Both the supply depots built by Liguritudum and Verremor are not the basic ones. They are improved ones that not only have shields but battle capabilities as well. Between the structure's defenses and the garrisoned troops, it will take a longer time for us to take one down. The enemy might have the time to send reinforcements."
"How do they get those improved supply depots?" Jack asked.
"From research," Peniel answered. "Master and Mistress must have invested the research heavily on the military path."
"Research? Are we…?" Jack asked.
"Yes, I have also researched our supply depots. Ours are also improved versions. If you remember the Stone Gargoyle research from the mystic path, we have also learned that tech. We can add these stone gargoyles at our supply depot or settlements. These stone gargoyles will come to life and attack hostile enemies that come into range. But we don't truly need these supply depots, we are going into Hydrurond as allies. As an ally, we can procure supplies from the Hydrurond's settlements we pass through, but we still need to pay for them using the coins from our kingdom coffer."
"That's great to hear," Jack said. If they didn't have to rely on supply routes, they could move more flexibly.
"And just so you know, we spent 200,000 gold coins to start a campaign into a foreign territory," John informed Jack.
"What? Really? Just to march?" Jack asked.
Peniel confirmed, "Yes, every time you mobilize an army outside of Themisphere, you will need to pay coins. The larger the troops, the more coins are needed."
"If we built supply depots, we will need to spend more coins," John added. "But even when we don't build any supply depot, we still need to spend coins when we buy supplies from Hydrurond's settlements, and it won't be cheap."
Jack was dismayed. It turned out there were still many concerns when one marched an army into another country's territory.
Seeing Jack's expression, John said, "War is an expensive affair. It was so in our real world. It is the same in this game world. We will need to think of a solution to increase our kingdom's income if we are to plan more of this oversea campaign in the future."
"When Thereath successfully becomes a megalopolis, one of those solutions might be available," Peniel said.
"Really? What is that solution?" Jack asked.
"Tee-hee. You will see when it happens," Peniel said, which caused Jack to roll his eyes.
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