Standing atop the tall watchtower of Holy Guard City, the adjutant said to Cumberland, who had just arrived, "My lord, look."
Cumberland took out his binoculars, looked at the slowly advancing enemy troops for a moment, and smiled: "A war of attrition, huh?"
The adjutant nodded and said, "That's right. The enemy, with its numerical advantage, plans to launch a three-pronged attack. This time, the twelve kingdoms of the Central Diocese will be responsible for the attack. The enemy force numbers around three thousand, and their attack direction is the East Gate."
"Tell the troops stationed at the east gate to conduct minimal archery and slingshot attacks. Do not deploy any alien soldiers for the time being, and do not use explosives."
The adjutant glanced at Cumberland: "Sir, even if the enemy's attack was probing, such a counterattack is far too weak..."
The latter snorted: "Go and relay the order!"
As his adjutant descended from the watchtower, Cumberland braced his hands on the wooden stakes and silently surveyed the battlefield.
Soon, the secular kingdom's allied forces in the Central Diocese, after carefully avoiding barricades and traps, entered the firing range of the east gate of the Holy Guard City.
The terrified Allied soldiers, after advancing for some time, were suddenly surprised to find that the attacks from above did not seem to be as intense as they had imagined.
After assessing the battlefield situation, the commander of the secular kingdom in the Middle Diocese issued an order to approach the city walls cautiously.
With their loose formation and shields raised, the secular kingdom's army in the Central Diocese finally approached the city walls. Only then did they realize that the defenders' attack had intensified, but it was still not as terrifying as they had anticipated.
When the siege ladders were erected and the allied soldiers climbed them, just meters away from the top of the city wall, the attack from above intensified, and the casualties of the allied forces increased dramatically.
At this moment, the commander of the allied forces of the secular kingdom in the Central Diocese decisively issued the order to retreat.
The first morning of the war ended hastily.
The church alliance's first probing attack yielded results that even they had not anticipated.
The attacking troops managed to pass through the city's firing range with minimal casualties and nearly scaled the city walls.
At the military meeting during lunch, a dozen or so commanders of the church's allied forces gathered together. After a heated discussion, they finally decided to be cautious, since the commander of the defending army was none other than Cumberland, the famous commander who had fought against the barbarian army for thirty years in the history of Silver Ring City.
On the afternoon of the first day of the war, the tactic of attrition warfare continued.
The second wave of attacking forces consisted of the sixteen kingdoms of the Eastern Diocese.
The fighting lasted from 2 p.m. until sunset, and the outcome was no different from that of the morning.
The second wave of allied troops, after suffering minimal casualties, passed through the city's firing range and used siege ladders to scale the walls. This time, however, their results were even better than in the morning; a light infantry squad actually withstood the attack and reached the top of the wall, though they only held out for a few dozen seconds before being driven back. This initial success greatly boosted the morale of the entire allied force.
After a day of fighting, both sides tallied their casualties. The church-led coalition suffered approximately 400 casualties, while the defenders of the Holy Guard suffered approximately 160 casualties.
As evening fell, Cumberland sat by the fire pit on the city wall, eating the baked barley cakes his subordinates brought him, drinking the sweet well water, stroking his chin and gazing into the distance.
Mary stood beside him, listening intently to the sounds of the night wind, and whispered, "It sounds like we're hearing singing and cheering coming from the direction of the enemy camp."
Cumberland said nonchalantly, "Of course. To achieve such great results with such minimal casualties would be cause for celebration for any unit."
Mary looked around: "Are you sure this is alright? The soldiers of Holy Guard City are talking about today's battle. Some people say that this castle won't last long against the army."
Cumberland quickly finished his bread and said to Mary, "If His Majesty were here and saw today's battle, I reckon he would understand what I'm trying to do."
The latter frowned and said, "I am not His Majesty, but you can explain it to me."
Cumberland shook his head: "It's too complicated to explain war. Let's put it this way: tomorrow, the enemy will abandon their strategy of attrition warfare and launch a full-scale offensive."
"A full-scale offensive? Are you sure?"
"You can imagine, with winter approaching, the enemy certainly hopes to end this war as soon as possible, but the solid walls of Holy Guard City have forced them to choose the safest option of attrition warfare. But with today's results, these people will definitely think that the defenders of Holy Guard City are nothing special, and they might even think that the Knights of Twilight and the Holy Guard are at odds, which is why they are in a bad defensive position today."
Cumberland took a swig of water: "So, if I were the commander of the Allied forces, I would take advantage of their high morale and launch a full-scale attack to completely capture Holy Guard City."
Mary asked suspiciously, "Why do you sound like you really want to see the enemy launch a full-scale attack? Shouldn't we take advantage of the fortified city and drag the battle into winter? Wouldn't that be more advantageous for us?"
“Winning a war doesn’t mean victory. You also need to consider the significance of this war within the broader context of the times.” Cumberland stroked his beard and said, “His Majesty is launching a religious reformation, targeting the Church, not the secular kingdoms. The true significance of this battle lies in killing the Church’s direct forces and inciting conflict between the secular kingdoms and the Church to the greatest extent possible.”
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