Chapter 85: The Plan

“I suppose so.”

General Newsbeck gave a quiet nod, readily agreeing with my assessment, her expression calm but her eyes sharp with calculation.

“It’s almost frightening how smoothly everything is going. We’ve made it this far without a single real complication.”

“Yes…”

The Lunoa Kingdom’s counteroffensive—beginning with aerial warfare—had advanced with an almost unnatural level of success.

The aircraft and tanks I had helped bring into existence using knowledge from another world were proving overwhelmingly effective on the battlefield. In truth, both were relatively primitive designs, the kind one might have seen in the early stages of the First World War.

But here, in a world where the war had only just begun six months ago, their sudden appearance was nothing short of revolutionary.

They were more than weapons.

They were game changers.

“You’ve prepared something utterly outrageous,” Newsbeck muttered, a faint note of admiration in her voice. “How many do we still have in reserve?”

“Quite a lot, actually,” I replied. “We completed development years ago. Production was carried out in absolute secrecy to prevent other nations from learning of them, so I can’t say we have massive stockpiles—but we have enough to deploy even to the eastern front. And now that we’ve gone public with them, production has ramped up significantly. We’ll be able to maintain a steady supply moving forward.”

“To think you managed to produce so many while keeping them hidden…”

She let out a low breath, almost incredulous.

“Even I wasn’t aware. Not just our enemies—even the Kingdom of Lunoa itself didn’t know.”

“The more people who know, the higher the risk of leaks,” I said with a small shrug.

“…True enough. With fools like that Carland around, it’s better he never knew. Honestly, wasn’t he just a spy for Friez? That level of incompetence is hard to explain otherwise.”

“…Haha.”

I gave a strained laugh.

It would have been easy—natural, even—to agree. But unlike General Newsbeck, I didn’t possess an unshakable position within the military hierarchy. One careless word, overheard by the wrong person, could come back to haunt me.

So I left it at that—a hollow chuckle, nothing more.

“…Two weeks since the offensive began, hm.”

“Yes. The real test starts now.”

The Lunoa army had already pushed to within striking distance of the lost mining region.

Reclaiming it was no longer a distant dream.

But things would not remain so simple.

The Friez army, whose command structure we had shattered earlier, had somehow managed to regroup. This would no longer be a one-sided operation against a disorganized enemy incapable of coordination.

Reinforcements were steadily arriving as well.

From here on, the fighting would only grow harsher.

“…Our supply situation is getting tight too.”

“Yes… The Friez forces made sure of that.”

Every supply relay point in the region—every route, every depot, every warehouse—had been systematically destroyed by the Friez army during their retreat.

As a result, the Lunoa army was now forced into a reckless method of logistics: transporting all supplies by truck from a single major city located further to the rear, distributing them across the vast front line.

I myself had stepped away from aerial operations to focus on rapidly constructing and repairing roads, trying to create routes that trucks could traverse more easily.

But even that had its limits.

Supplying such an enormous front from a single point was… no small challenge.

“…One more push,” Newsbeck murmured, eyes fixed on the map. “Do we press forward as we are… or do we employ some kind of stratagem?”

“Which do you think is better?”

We stood side by side over the map, refining the existing operational plans—adjusting what needed adjusting, discarding what no longer fit the situation.

It was then—

“General Newsbeck, sir!?”

The door burst open.

A messenger stumbled into the office, nearly tripping over himself as he rushed inside. Sweat streamed down his face, his breathing ragged, his expression twisted with panic and fury.

“…!”

A cold unease crept up my spine.

A bad feeling.

A very bad feeling.

“What is it?” Newsbeck asked sharply.

“F-Friez…!? The Kingdom of Friez—this is unforgivable! I can’t believe it… those bastards! Those—!”

The messenger’s words tumbled out in a chaotic rush, his eyes bloodshot, his voice shaking with unrestrained emotion.

“I understand you’re agitated,” Newsbeck said, grabbing him firmly by the shoulder. “Now compose yourself and tell me exactly what happened.”

The force in his voice cut through the man’s panic like a blade.

At last, the messenger steadied—just enough to lock eyes with the general.

“It’s an attack!?” he shouted.

“Frankhalt has been bombarded by magic! The Friez Kingdom didn’t even try to hide it—they burned innocent civilians alive!”

“…What?”

Frankhalt.

The name echoed in my mind like a death knell.

It was the city currently serving as the backbone of the Lunoa army’s supply network.