When Elizabeth read the reports, she felt the same way. Logically, she understood why Admiral Aura made the decision that she did. It was also the same reason why Elizabeth ultimately did not protest further. The ones left behind were a necessary sacrifice. Without them, there was no feasible way that the Alzar fleet would survive Admiral Kang's assault. It was simply impossible. However, at the end of the day, sacrifices were sacrifices, no matter how one worded it. People died! This was not the first time she saw the horrors of war… She experienced that firsthand when her family was massacred by the Xingyuu Empire, so she knew exactly what to expect from the Second Great Kingdom War. Except things were different this time, since she could have stopped it before it spiralled out of control. If she demanded a negotiation with the Featherwind Sect right at the beginning, perhaps this would have ended peacefully. Perhaps no one needed to die.
By the time night began to fall, the fleet was close to their second destination. Admiral Aura and General Dennis could tell that their previous landing spot was compromised, which was not too surprising. That large of a foreign military presence in their territory… Although the stationed soldiers did their absolute best to conceal their traces, nothing was ever perfect. And it was not like they were without success because they managed to deceive the empire for almost a full year. It worked until Prime Minister Pon-Wai and the Featherwind Sect coordinated to destroy the encampment. Yet, as they say, man proposes and god disposes. General Illion also understood how unlikely it was that the encampment would survive, so he prepared contingencies in advance.
He left one main outpost with five smaller camps. The main outpost was the former headquarters for General Illion's operations in the Xingyuu Empire and was originally manned by a thousand soldiers until Ludin and Crus dealt with them. The smaller camps though were randomly scattered about the coastline in strategic locations, each having an extremely low headcount of twenty or thirty. They were designed as a last resort, in the event that the main encampment fell. Currently, the Alzar fleet was headed to one of these camps. It was outside of Admiral Aura's original plans, but this was still within her expectations. What she failed to predict was the Featherwind Sect's abrupt 'entrance'.
It took time to find where the camp was. From the waterside, everything looked the same and nightfall was approaching quickly. Once she was believed she was close enough, she took a lantern and used it to flash a secret signal only she knew. Sometimes fast, and sometimes slow, it was a long and complicated code that no one could replicate by luck. After waiting for close to half an hour without a response, everyone grew anxious. If no one replied, then that meant the camp was destroyed. Fortunately, the dark coastline eventually responded with a code of their own. Admiral Aura watched intently and decoded the signal in her head before nodding. She gave the command to disembark there. They were finally in the Xingyuu Empire!
Drawing closer, everyone instantly understood why the Alzar Kingdom set up camp here. It was a gorgeous little cove, built into the side of the cliffs. With the narrow entrance to the cove, one might be convinced it was smaller than it was. However, once they entered, they were blown away. The cove opened massively to form a natural port for the ships! It was deep enough for many of the warships to anchor down without beaching themselves, though the largest ships were forced to anchor just outside. The tall cliffsides and tight entrance made it easily defendable and provided impeccable protection against the elements. Despite the ongoing storms, the waters and winds here were peaceful. Coupled with the pristine verdant waters and long sandy beaches, one could almost forget about the war. It was a natural paradise!
Everyone took smaller boats to sail to the beach, where a handful of Alzar soldiers were waiting. They appeared unkempt and undisciplined to masquerade as ordinary Xingyuu citizens, in case they were discovered. However, their faces were utterly reverential as they paid their strongest respects. While they might have never seen Elizabeth or the others, they knew they were coming. That was one of the benefits of being high-profile. News was spread throughout every corner of the world, notifying everyone, regardless of allegiance! General Dennis walked up and greeted the soldiers.
"I am General Dennis Velt," he said slowly. "You must know why we're here."
The captain stood at attention and replied somberly, "Yes, sir… We can imagine the reason. The main outpost must have fallen, right?"
General Dennis nodded. "We were ambushed by the Xingyuu Empire and suffered heavy losses. Do we have enough space to camp here? And what about supplies, logistics, and reconnaissance? We need detailed information about our surroundings immediately."
Sweating a bit, the captain was embarrassed to say, "I think there should be enough space if we open up an area of the forest further inland, but we haven't investigated enough. Our food and medical supplies are barely sufficient for ourselves, and our reconnaissance hasn't gone very far."
This was expected from a small squadron. They were knee-deep in enemy territory and to make matters worse, they were in uninhabited wilderness. Pushing out to explore the unknown would yield more dangers than benefits. Just five weeks ago, a few soldiers died to a wild boar stampede… Therefore, they reasonably shrunk their scouting range and kept to themselves. Besides a few obvious landmarks and general comments, the map was mostly blank. The general half-expected this, but still grew annoyed. He then chased away the useless captain and assembled his Legion Generals and Brigade Commanders, to divvy up the most important tasks… Establishment of a permanent headquarters, finding a food supply and source of fresh water, extensive reconnaissance of the region, and access to information. Within a few minutes, the entire army hummed with activity as people rushed about everywhere. The camp was gradually being carved out!
"You'll have to pardon our lack of preparation, Your Highness," General Dennis apologized sincerely.
"No, it's fine. Because we were caught off-guard by the Featherwind Sect, I have no qualms with the current situation," Elizabeth said.
"What do you mean by the Featherwind Sect, Your Highness?" he focused on that key term.
Elizabeth looked around. "Where is Admiral Aura? I've been meaning to talk to you two about what I learned from our last battle, and I know that you two also have your own questions."
"Admiral Aura is inspecting the fleet. Let me send someone to call her over. Should I call anyone else, or does Your Highness want this meeting strictly confidential?"
"Until we understand our situation better, it's best to be safe."
"I understand, Your Highness."
Later, they were back onboard the flagship. Since the camp was still under construction, this was the only choice they had. The cloudy night sky and the dim oil lamps offered little illumination for the dark and gloomy room. Meanwhile, Admiral Aura's face was black with wrinkles from stress emerging. It was obvious how bad her mood was from a single glance. In her private company, she would already be cursing up a storm already. Many of the ships required extensive repairs due to the previous battles, which was not normally a problem. They had emergency supplies for this reason, but there was a limit to them. Some ships had their masts destroyed, while others were barely floating. It would take time to thoroughly repair and resupply the fleet for their return voyage to Pelangi Fortress. They still needed to ferry several hundred thousand troops here!
On the other hand, General Dennis was concerned about others matters, but his brows were also locked in permanent displeasure. As the leader of the first vanguard force to touch down in the empire, it was his responsibility to create a suitable headquarters for the soldiers to come. Remember that projected total number of soldiers headed here could be upwards of four hundred thousand! For reference, four hundred thousand could be considered a medium-sized city! To organize and plan everything, especially when there was nothing prepared, made the task that much more complicated. Both the admiral and general were behind schedule, overworked, and exhausted, but they had to come here. Not just because it was the heir apparent summoning them, but because it was related to the Featherwind Sect!
After another lengthy explanation, the two leaders were silently digesting everything. It was a lot to take in. From the concept of Ranks and talking birds to the Featherwind Sect and communication array… It was like a brand-new door was opened before their eyes, exposing them to the vastness of the true world! Much like her friends and any other reasonable person, they did not believe in this nonsense. Who would believe in these fairy tales? It sounded like a child's delusion gone wrong. Regardless, it was the heir apparent who spoke these words, so they could not flat out dismiss her claims and ignore her. Furthermore, her story must have credibility since everyone saw how she stopped the assault. There had to be some truth behind her words.