[Raul POV]
120,000 troops and 800 warships are ready in the City of Tusculum. Currently, I am accompanying Elena as her Aide to attend the strategy meeting for our forces' next assault on the capital of the Venetian Republic, Florentia.
Because of its location, surrounded by the ocean, the Island of Florentia will be a target that is quite difficult to conquer. However, with the magical capabilities of the Aragon Empire, I believe they will be able to win the fight—provided that Demigod does not emerge.
"Raul, what are you daydreaming about?" Elena asked, seeing me standing still. "Come on, let's go inside quickly; it seems we are a bit late."
I nodded at Elena's words. The two of us entered the meeting room. It appeared that many people had already gathered there. Elena then sat in her chair while I stood right beside her.
A moment later, Marshal Salazar entered the room along with his aide, who carried a map. The aide then mounted the map onto a board so we could view the information regarding Florentia Island.
"Lords and Ladies, tomorrow we will sail toward Florentia Island to conquer the capital of the Venetian Republic," Marshal Salazar said, looking at us all. "Reinforcements have arrived, and 800 ships have just finished being built to carry the troops there."
800 ships is quite a large armada. If I recall correctly from the intelligence reports, the Alliance fleet only consists of 300 ships. All of them are warships owned by the Venetian Republic. It seems they have all been equipped with cannons, which will give them an advantage if fighting at sea.
"However, conquering that island will not be easy. The defenses at their harbor are very strong," the Marshal continued. "There will be many casualties on our side in the effort to conquer the harbor area later. Therefore, we must devise a good strategy to minimize casualties during the assault."
After Marshal Salazar said that, his gaze—and the gaze of everyone present in the room—suddenly turned toward Elena. The blonde-haired woman's face looked shocked and confused by the situation.
"Princess Elena, do you have a suggestion for the upcoming assault, as you did before?" Marshal Salazar asked respectfully.
I suppose it is only natural that everyone has begun to respect Elena. Previously, she proposed the tunnel-making tactic that I had suggested to her. Because of that tactic, we gained an advantage during the Battle of Tusculum last month. That is why everyone's eyes were fixed on Elena. They wanted to know if she had another brilliant tactic for this assault. Furthermore, Elena had amazed everyone with the ability of one of the Profound Codices she possesses, earning her the nickname "Goddess of War."
Elena then stood up and said, "I think we can send a special team to dive into the sea and enter the harbor area by passing through the sewers of Florentia City."
Elena voiced the plan I had shared with her before the meeting began. Sewage lines are usually discharged into the sea. These channels function to absorb and channel rainwater so it does not flood the city when the rainy season arrives.
"That is an excellent suggestion, Princess Elena," said Marshal Salazar, who then bowed his head as an expression of respect. "Does everyone agree with the suggestion from our Princess?"
"Of course."
"The enemy certainly won't expect us to use their own facilities to infiltrate the harbor area."
"As expected of Princess Elena, she has great ideas in battle."
Everyone there praised Elena for her suggestion. This time, Elena's influence within the Aragon Imperial Military has grown quite large. This will help us during the upcoming election. The blonde-haired woman sat back down and looked at me with a somber expression.
It seemed Elena was still uncomfortable with this method. She did not want to steal the credit for my service in thinking up the tactics I created to win the battle. I could only ignore her dissatisfied gaze. Elena is far too honest regarding this matter.
The meeting then continued to discuss the formation of the fleet that would sail to Florentia Island. Each of the right and left wings would be occupied by 200 ships, while the center position would be held by 400 ships. Elena and I would be in the left-wing formation, ensuring we would not be part of the force attacking the harbor area of Florentia City directly.
The meeting concluded as night fell.
The next morning, all the troops gathered at the port of Tusculum. I was in the line of troops led by Elena. Marshal Salazar was seen ascending the podium, intended to give words of encouragement before we sailed to launch the attack on the capital of the Venetian Republic.
"Fellow Warriors of Aragon!" the Marshal shouted, forcing our attention on him. "You have fought very well in this war. Many of our comrades have fallen, but their sacrifices will not be in vain! Thanks to the battle we won yesterday, we are finally just one step away from winning this war! We only have to sail and conquer the enemy's capital to bring glory back to our beloved Land of Aragon!"
The Marshal then pumped his fist into the air and shouted, "GLORY TO THE EMPIRE!"
"GLORY TO THE EMPIRE!"
"GLORY TO THE EMPIRE!"
Everyone followed the Marshal's cry. The morale of the troops appeared to be high, and they were impatient to engage in this decisive battle. If the Empire wins this battle, there will no longer be any country threatening their dominance on this continent. Conversely, if they lose, it will make them appear weak in the eyes of the world, and other nations will no longer fear the power of the Aragon Empire.
***
[Siena POV]
More than a month has passed since our defeat at the Battle of Tusculum. It was a defeat that placed the Alliance in a poor position in this war. Since that battle, there has been no significant movement from the Empire. They seem to prefer recovering their strength before conducting the next major operation.
"Mr. Antonio, how many have we managed to recruit this month?" my father asked the Minister of Defense.
Currently, we are holding a meeting regarding the preparations for the upcoming offensive operation by the Empire. According to our spies, the Imperial forces have received at least 40,000 new troops within this one-month period. We also predict that this is their final wave of reinforcements.
"Only about 25,000, Mr. President," Mr. Antonio answered. "Even with this many new recruits, their quality is very poor because those we recruited are civilians who are holding weapons for the first time."
To be honest, our recruitment effort this time is a desperate measure. After two rounds of recruitment, there are no more people with combat experience left in this country. All that remains are the poor and the unemployed who enlisted as additional troops just to get money to survive.
"That is better than nothing at all," said Father, trying to think optimistically. "Marshal Auros, General Melisandru, do you really have no more troops to help win our war?"
Father then looked at the representatives from the two countries allied with us. Since the defeat in the Battle of Tusculum, the attitudes of the two representatives from our allied nations have begun to change unnaturally.
"President Luciano, our country no longer has any troops at all to deploy in this war," General Melisandru replied. "Of the 40,000 troops we brought, only about 20,000 remain. If we force additional troops here, there will be no one to guard the Kingdom of Draconia if a major threat arises there."
Despite that, I believe they could have sent 10,000 troops if they wanted to. However, it seems they do not want to suffer even greater losses from this war.
"5,000 additional troops will arrive from the Greco Republic, President Luciano," said Marshal Aulus. "However, they will arrive the day after tomorrow at the earliest."
"Thank you, Marshal. We greatly appreciate all available assistance," Father replied with a nod of his head.
With these additional reinforcements, the total strength of the alliance forces now numbers 70,000. This number is far fewer than the Imperial forces, which are estimated to reach 120,000 in their upcoming assault.
"Then, how will we face the next attack from the Imperial forces, Gentlemen?" Father asked, looking at all the military officials in the room. "We know the Empire certainly wants to conquer the Capital of Florentia to end this war, don't we? But, even though their strength is much greater, we must not give up and must find a way to defeat them."
Father is right. Even though our troop numbers are only half those of the Empire, we can utilize the strategic advantage of being the defenders in the upcoming battle. There are two directions we can take to counter the Imperial forces.
The first is a naval battle. We can utilize the Venetian Nation's superiority in sailing to outmaneuver the Imperial sailors, which will give us an advantage in battle despite our smaller numbers. The second is a battle on the coast of the island, specifically at the harbor of Florentia. We will move the cannons there and block the Imperial troops attempting to dock and disembark. Aside from the harbor and the western beach, there is no other place the Empire can use to land troops easily.
"I propose we conduct the battle at the Florentia harbor," General Melisandru said. "We will have the advantage while they are trying to land on this island."
"I agree with General Melisandru's proposal," I said, intending to add something to our strategy. "We must also position our fleet on the western and eastern sides of this island. When the Imperial Fleet makes contact with our forces at the harbor, we will sail out and surround them from both directions."
This two-pronged attack is meant to relieve the pressure on our troops guarding the harbor from the onslaught of the Imperial forces.
"That is a very good maneuver, Major Siena," Marshal Auros said. "However, I heard that the Empire also has tricks and brilliant tactics to bypass defenses, as seen during the battle for the Fortress City of Regium. For that, we must be careful if they try to pull something."
That is very true; at that time, our defenses were easily breached because of their Animagus, who devastated the troops guarding the city walls. We must be wary of aerial drops like they performed before.
After discussing the strategy, we also talked about the evacuation of the residents. They will be temporarily moved to the northern part of the island, which is likely to be the safest place during the battle.
The next morning, I heard news that the Imperial fleet had sailed from Tusculum toward this island. I then hurried to the harbor area. On the city streets, many citizens could still be seen flocking to leave this area, which would be the main focus of the battle. They had known about our defeat at the Battle of Tusculum for a long time. Their expressions looked resigned and full of hope.
Upon arriving at the harbor, I saw that the area was already filled with troops prepared at their posts. Additionally, we had raised the harbor chains to block the Imperial Fleet from entering the dock area. I approached the remaining Cavalier Squad in the harbor square. All of them appeared to be lined up, waiting for directions from me.
Only the junior members remain of the squad I formed after Raul de Garcia slaughtered all the senior members in those mountains. In this battle, there will certainly be many casualties, as this is a decisive battle that could end the war.
"You will be in the rear line for this battle."
Hearing my words, all the members looked shocked. Ezio then raised his hand, seemingly objecting to my decision.
"Captain, isn't this a very important battle? Why are you positioning us so far back?" Ezio asked in a heavy voice.
All the members had the same confused faces as Ezio. It seemed they wanted to risk everything in this battle.
"We will surely win this battle," I replied, looking at all the members. "If not, then this country will end, and the Venetian Nation will become the same nation it was in our predecessors' time—frequently harassed and discriminated against."
"If so, then why did the Captain put us at the very back of the defensive line?" Ezio asked again.
"Because whether we win or lose, there will certainly be casualties in a battle—including myself."
Hearing my answer, all the members bowed their heads.
"You are the future of this country. If we lose this war, I want you to continue the struggle of those of us who have fallen and not submit to the oppression of the Aragon Nation."
Everyone straightened their heads again; some were even crying. I suppose it is natural because they are still young and do not yet have the power to make a change. I think I would have the same attitude if I had no magic and could not do anything to change the future of my country.
After watching the Cavalier Squad leave the harbor area, I then went toward the defensive walls of this place. A total of 30,000 people will guard the harbor area. Meanwhile, the remaining 40,000 troops will be on the fleet to participate in attacking both wings of the Aragon Imperial Fleet formation later.
Upon arriving at the top of the wall, it could be seen that the soldiers had already prepared their respective rifles. Dozens of cannons were also ready to be fired from up here. At this moment, it is already late afternoon. I looked toward the horizon using Eagle Eye magic.
Faintly, a long line of ships could be seen heading this way.
They will arrive soon, won't they?
— TENG! TENG! TENG! TENG!
The sound of bells rang loudly, serving as an alarm once the enemy's position was known.
"Prepare at your respective posts! The enemy has been spotted on the horizon! I repeat, the enemy has been spotted on the horizon!" the lighthouse guard warned of the enemy's arrival.
Everyone became alert upon hearing the loud ringing of the bells. The harbor chains were also raised to prevent the enemy from entering the dock area and landing troops.
The battle... is about to begin...