Seventeen, Unthinkable Invasion

  Seventeen, Unthinkable Invasion

  Today's second update, continue to ask for votes, please give Lao Lao Wang a little motivation. Also, those who are recruited as dragon suits, please send character cards.

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  "Is this true?"

  "How is this possible?!"

  "Must be Morel Solerton talking nonsense again!"

  "Winter is coming to Emond's Field, this is simply collective suicide!"

  "But if they really landed successfully, with their strength on that side, it's probably very hard to defend..."

  ……

  The people present were discussing it, but the tone was not too tense, on the contrary, there were many who were gloating. On the one hand, they seriously doubted the accuracy of this intelligence, and on the other hand, it had nothing to do with them, so they could just watch the highest leader's joke - the power and dignity of the war zone commander are built up by actual military strength and brilliant achievements. At present, Saon's military strength and achievements are still far from making him a household name in New Elysium.

  "Everyone, quiet down," said Major Nohm, who was the palest of them all, but still carried out his duty as the commanding officer. "The situation is not very clear yet, Charlotte, you come and tell everyone."

  Charlotte, equally pale-faced, bowed to the politicians present and reported the confession she had just obtained. "Through interrogation of Mor Solaiton and several other captives, we can basically confirm that a large-scale elven army will attack Emon Port within a month, with a possible number exceeding 10,000!"

  "Are you certain, Colonel Sutton? Might this not be a ruse by Mor to distract us while his cohorts create an opportunity?" Zena's face was grim, for the war was about to take place in her home state and as the new Speaker of the Sobel Assembly, she had full responsibility for the safety of her district. Her concern over possible elven invasion even exceeded that of Norm.

  "I also wish it weren't true, but the fact is," Charlotte said painfully. "I've already had Taylor use the memory extraction spell on several captives, and the information we got from them is basically consistent - a fleet of elven ships carrying tens of thousands of elven troops is preparing to set sail from Yongju Island and will soon attack Emon Port around New Year's Day."

  In the small conference room, a huge noise broke out again. General Norm said thoughtfully, "So, Mor Solerton wanted to move Gray Castle to Emon last night to meet with this army too? Do you have any further intelligence?"

  Charlotte hesitated for a moment, then called over Phryne, who was actually in charge of the interrogation. However, Phryne couldn't provide any more accurate information either, because Mole Soliton had only been ordered to create as much chaos as possible on the eve of the fairy army's landing, and the kidnapping of officials and theft of confidential documents were entirely his own initiative with the local fairy intelligence organization head. Of course, there was no way to obtain more precise intelligence on troop strength, time, location, and tactics.

  "It seems that there is indeed such a thing, from a strategic point of view, attacking Emon can be coordinated with the Elven army in North Harbor and Northern State to break through our lines from behind. But the question is, how will the Elves land on Emon?" Zena, the Speaker, furrowed her brow and expressed the doubts of many people, "Emon is not an ice-free port, and even the entire New Masobray State and the southern New Shamas State do not have an ice-free port. I really can't imagine what kind of army can land in a frozen harbor!"

  Indeed, the fact that the spirits chose to land at Emon Harbor, which had already been frozen, was the most unbelievable point for everyone. Even someone who knew nothing about military affairs would know that this was basically an impossible task, and with current technology, its success rate is roughly the same as the probability of Missra transforming into a man.

  To know that landing operations are a high-tech activity, even in a well-equipped and well-supported home port, the embarkation and disembarkation of tens of thousands of troops will take several days. If it is in an open field without port facilities, the time required will be extended to half a month or even a month. Landing operations are not just about sending soldiers ashore, but also about unloading large quantities of weapons, ammunition, supplies, and even horses from deep holds, transporting them one by one with small boats - in this world where navigation is still in the sailing era, there will be no hovercraft and landing craft.

  In another world's First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese army spent a full 12 days to transport an entire division to Huayuankou on the Liaodong Peninsula. This was achieved with the use of steam-powered ships and without any resistance from the defending forces. If having a powerful navy allows for easy landing operations anywhere, then why did the British never directly land on mainland France during the Napoleonic Wars?

  Moreover, all sorts of accidents that occur during the landing will delay the progress of the landing work. A storm, an enemy fleet attack, or a strong counterattack by the shore-based defenders are enough to put the landing fleet in a desperate situation when it is most vulnerable. Therefore, in war, wise commanders generally do not choose high-risk amphibious operations, but instead choose to transport troops to their own ports or strongholds and then launch an attack overland. Generally speaking, only when one's side has complete control of the sea and the enemy's defenses are empty can a direct landing be attempted.

  Of course, the current New Niderale's naval power is not worth mentioning, and the land-based military strength can be described as "empty". A fleet of tens of thousands of elite troops covering a port to land, the defending army would find it difficult to block them on the beach. But if they choose to land at Emon Port in December, that would be a big problem!

  The location of New Toulouse is relatively far north compared to the mainland, with the edge of the northern state directly adjacent to a massive ice sheet covering the entire polar region. In addition, the humid climate and numerous rivers flowing into the sea result in lower salinity near the coast. Every winter, nearly half of New Toulouse's coastline is covered by large areas of floating ice. The northernmost port, North Pole Port, has a navigation period of less than five months per year. Emon Port is slightly better, but it also enters the freezing period at the end of November and does not thaw until early March of the following year. All ports in New Shamash State, south of New Masovia State, are frozen in winter, and only when heading further south to southern New Komir State do unfrozen ports begin to appear. In any case, Emon Port is absolutely under thick ice cover around the New Year.

  If landing on a desolate beach without a port is just a relatively difficult task, then landing in an already frozen enemy port is simply a legendary adventure story comparable to "Brave Warriors Fighting Evil Dragons" in children's books. These poor soldiers must carefully drive their ships through the terrifying floating ice and even more frightening icebergs. Then, before the ship's bottom is crushed by the ice layer, they have to get on the fragile ice surface and push heavy artillery and supplies forward on the slippery ice. Along the way, there are always unlucky guys falling into ice caves and crevices, being swallowed up by the sea, or freezing to death in the wind and snow. If they are discovered by enemy forces on the shore, just one barrage of cannon fire can shatter the ice surface under their feet, causing them to die in groups in the sub-zero seawater. This is no longer a task for an army, but a mission that can only be accomplished by a team of high-level wizards and holy warriors!

  So, can magic solve this problem? Obviously it's basically impossible. Although there are also things in magic that change the climate, such as the Red Robe Mages of Sel who are accustomed to using magic to regulate precipitation and ensure agricultural production. But implementing these magics requires a long time and astonishing expenses, even for a great arcanist, he can't melt large glaciers in an extremely short period of time without harming his own fleet, I believe it's also very difficult for him to do so.

  If you really want to change the climate in a very short time, it's probably only possible for divine incarnations, demigods or chosen ones. However, this is not the old base of the gods on the continent of Ferren, but the new continent across the ocean. The power of the gods may be unobstructed between planes, but it cannot overcome the vast distance in the main material plane. Any priest of the Ferren pantheon outside of Ferren will be weakened to a certain extent, and the higher the level, the more severe the weakening. Low-level priests on the new continent may not be much different from those on Ferren, but when a divine incarnation comes to the new continent, its strength is at most equivalent to that of an 18th-level wizard.

  If a deity were to directly intervene on the New Continent - whether it be the northern continent of Manas or the southern continent of Mazca - it would essentially be suicidal. There was once an elven deity who did just that during the Elven Army's conquest of Mazca, and as a result, both he and his divine kingdom mysteriously vanished, as if they had never existed in the first place. It's likely that the resistance to divine power transmission was too great, similar to how an electrical overload can burn out a transformer, erasing the deity from existence...

  Fili couldn't fathom how the elves had landed in the already frozen Emmon's Port, but knowledge from later times told him that the infamous massacre "Bloodied New Year" was about to occur in this winter's Emmon and should be related to this elven invasion. He racked his brains trying to recall the battle process, but only remembered many famous reports and declarations condemning the elves' atrocities. After great effort, he finally thought of something.

  "Also according to Mor-thiran's memory, the commander of this sprite expedition force seems to be a woman named Sophia Lirien. What is her relationship with Idriel Lirien?" Fili spoke out the only useful information he remembered in Mor's name.

  As soon as the words were spoken, the room's temperature seemed to drop suddenly to freezing point, and everyone who was in a heated discussion stopped all movement, frozen in place in a very comical form. After a long time, General Norm finally spoke up with a trembling voice, "Sophia? Lithuania? That 'Ghost Rose'? She... she's actually still alive!"