novelzi Chapter 228 – Preparing for The Long Haul
Chapter 228 – Preparing for The Long Haul
Kassandora looked over the port of Nanbasa as she sighed. Uriamel would come from the ocean, that she knew. They had a massive production capacity, as they did back in the Great War, that she knew. The people of that land could breathe in both air and in water, that she knew. And that was all she knew. There was nothing else which she could say, everything else would be merely speculation or conjecture. Would they have ships? Or would they swim? Would animals carry them? There was another issue with fighting Uriamel. Back then, they had merely served as the manufacturing base for the White Pantheon. To counter what the Dwarves could produce. Kassandora had not actually seem them field an army, even though she knew they were capable of one. Uriamel would come from the ocean, and that was all she knew.
Kassandora sighed as she straightened her back. The wind carried her crimson hair like a cape, and she pulled her black coat close around her. Iliyal was behind her, as were the generals Sokolowski, Zalewski and Ekkerson. The three humans, although all four were technically the same rank, Iliyal led them simply by virtue of his seniority. Such hierarchies were impossible to contain, so there was no point to even try and fight against their natural formations.
So Kassandora looked out over the ports. They could be fortified. In fact, would on them would start today. That was a blessing the knew machinery gave her. There was no need to build tall walls to stop the mass of men armed with melee, not when a single squad armed with machine guns could mow down as many as ammunition allowed for. If she put up walls now, then all they would do is serve as a shield for her opponents. “How long do you think we’ll have?” Kassandora asked. She knew the answer already, she was simply killing time as her mind finished formulising the plan. If they survived here, then she could actually start worrying about Epa. Arascus had said that was his side of the war until she would be able to take over.
“It could be today, it could be a year from now.” Iliyal said. “Anything else is purely speculation.”
“Which one would you bet on?” Kassandora asked, personally, she was expecting Uriamel forces to suddenly start crossing the horizon any moment now.
“Today.” Iliyal replied flatly. “Under the logic that Allasaria has been gone for so long, the most efficient route for her to take would be Uriamel, then Pichqasuyu, then Alanktyda, then return to the Pantheon. I would say they’ve been preparing for the past eleven months.”
“I see absolutely no reason to disagree with that.” Kassandora said idly as one of the giant container ships blew its massive horn. It started to slowly pull up its anchor, a massive chain of steel, each link as wide as Kassandora was tall. The cranes began to turn away, one of the bridges disconnected, men began calmly walking away as they worked and trucks and forklifts swarmed past them to the next ship. That steel colossus was already waiting. “This is what we’ll do.” She took a deep breath, and prepared to list off all the ways to prepare. “Firstly, the Reclamation War will be put on the backburner, we will tell the public that we are preparing for a naval invasion, but we’ll keep on burning the Jungle.”
Kassandora continued. “The further we manage to push it, the more of a time buffer we have in Uriamel’s invasion. The Jungle cannot be allowed to reclaim the new resource extraction sights, nor cut them off logistically.” So actually, now that she thought, they should push the Lemurs further.
Kassandora looked out over the deep blue ocean in the distance. It was a picturesque blue in the sunlight, with dozens of heavy tankers and container ships waiting to enter Nanbasa’s port. “We’re approaching hard terrain in the Jungle, aren’t we?” She knew the answer already. Sokolowski stepped in to reply.
“We start flying daily sorties with KAF.” Kassandora said. “Mount cameras on the undersides, as powerful as you can get, and fly high as to avoid the Jungle’s call. But record the terrain. We start on more bombings too.” The Goddess of War finished and Sokolowski saluted to show he would relay the order.
Kassandora took a deep breath as she looked out over the port, then turned to look in the other direction. “Nanbasa will be held obviously, I will have a meeting with Arascus, to see what other cities will need to be defended.”
“Iniri will start work on coastal walls.” Kassandora said as Sokolowski started writing down the order. Iliyal moved to fall in with the three men and another gust of wind swept in to blow five black coats.
“What she will build, we will then reinforce with concrete.” Kassandora said, another gust of wind blew her hair as she stood her four generals on that pier. “And steel, whatever you can think off, contact Mikhail Alash if you need help.”
Kassandora turned and looked back at the city. Uriamel would come from the ocean and that was all she knew, but that was all she needed to know. “Sokolowski, this is your job, you will move the industry further west.” It had been done in the past, so it shall be done now. The man looked at her in befuddlement for a moment and the Goddess of War sighed. Maybe she should explain this to him.
“Iliyal.” Kassandora started pointing to various districts in Nanbasa. “You are on city garrisons. Pull men from the Reclamation War as you need to, with Clerics and sorcerers. However many you need, whoever you need. Just fill them in, multiple layers in each city. Use the civilian infrastructure as needed. Take over homes, but make sure you don’t upset the populace too much.” She finished, Iliyal would know what she had in mind. Assigning Divines would then be her responsibility.
“And then…” Kassandora said as she turned back to look at the ocean. And what then? It was all she could do frankly, the war would be won based on whether Epa would win its conflict or not. They had no real way of harming Uriamel as things stood right now. “And then we wait for the long haul.”