The castle meeting hall in Dawnbreak was much larger than that of Neverwinter, even if a hundred people sat in it, it would not appear crowded.
Across the long table, the attendees were divided into two distinct factions. On one side were the Graycastle executives led by Roland, and on the other were the Dawnbreak nobles and merchant representatives. Compared to the former, who were calm and waiting for the meeting to begin, the latter were visibly restless. Many looked anxious, frequently exchanging glances and whispering to each other, the soft murmur never ceasing.
Clearly, the appearance of the Gods of the Gods had brought them a great shock.
If the spread of fear could not be stopped, the order of neighboring countries could collapse at any time.
Roland knew that he had to stabilize the confidence of his allies before that happened.
According to the reports from the Administrative Office, since Hordford became the new Lord of Dawnbreak, trade between the two sides had reached new heights. Nearly 20% of the metal raw materials and semi-finished products, such as iron, copper, and aluminum, that were transported into Neverwinter came from the neighboring country. And living materials such as leather, fabrics, cured meat, and cheese accounted for more than half.
Although he had also made many efforts in this regard, without the support of Dawnbreak, it would have been almost impossible for Neverwinter to maintain a steady increase in the living standards of its people, given the abnormal population surge.
For this reason alone, he could not simply abandon the Kingdom of Dawnbreak.
What's more, there was the Quinn family, who had behaved impeccably during the alliance period—Roland did not know if there would be another supporter after Hordford. Quinn, but it was unlikely that there would be another link like Andrea. Quinn, who could perfectly connect the two sides.
He quietly looked at each of the nobles on his left, until their whispers gradually subsided, and then he spoke, "Since the outbreak of the war, I have often heard about your contributions in the reports, so I would like to say here first, thank you for your hard work."
A look of surprise could not help but appear on everyone's faces.
But for Roland, these words were not empty.
The First Army alone could not have allowed the North-South artery to operate so quickly. The numerous carriages and porters running on the roads played a crucial role. In this era, nobles mostly went on expeditions in one wave, habitually using plunder to replace supplies. Therefore, few people could understand the great significance of logistics, and it was difficult to realize the contribution they had made to the war.
"Regarding the War of Divine Will, I think everyone is already well aware—as I have repeatedly emphasized, the losing side will be completely exterminated, and there is no possibility of surrender. Therefore, there is no other way to go except to fight to the end."
"As early as four or five years ago, I was preparing for this war, but the human kingdom is not just Graycastle, it needs every living person to participate in it, only in this way can we win the battle of fate. I am very happy to see that you have become a part of the resistance army."
Roland nodded to Barov, who opened a thick notebook and read aloud.
That was part of the logistics record of the First Army, and the contribution ratio made by Dawnbreak in this regard.
He did not intend to persuade these nobles in a lyrical way, what to say about defending the country and sacrificing for mankind, thinking about it, he knew that it would not touch them in any way.
The most straightforward thing was still interests and pressure.
Moreover, the more accurate the description, the more persuasive it was.
He first wanted to make these nobles understand that even if they did not go to the front line, they could make extremely important contributions to the war; secondly, these achievements would be recorded in black and white, and could be exchanged for corresponding rewards after the war. Finally, all nobles who passively resisted the war or attempted to betray humanity would be subject to the most severe punishment—at this crucial moment, Roland had no energy to let them choose for themselves.
Hordford nodded secretly on the side.
With clear priorities and detailed content, the King of Graycastle grasped the key points from the very beginning. Bringing the nobles who did not belong to the army into this event that would surely be recorded in history and passed down for thousands of years would undoubtedly greatly increase their sense of participation. You should know that linking family history with history is also one of the goals pursued by the nobles, and besides, under the other party's explanation, the risks and income do not seem to be too different, at least they will not be treated as abandoned children.
The distribution of benefits is always a difficult problem for superiors.
Several retainers had proposed to him more than once that it was not necessary to do Roland. Wimbledon's instructions to this extent, should be more like the King of Dawnbreak, he always smiled it off.
The King of Graycastle who created cannons, biplanes, and steel ships was certainly worthy of admiration, but that was not the whole reason why he valued the other party so much. The real benefits that the family had obtained were the fundamental reason for his determination to be loyal—in the trade between Dawnbreak and Graycastle, the other party did not take advantage of his strong strength and his daughter Andrea's relationship to seize cheapness at all. On the contrary, every business was paid according to the actual situation, and sometimes even part of the profit was given away, so that everyone involved could get a lot of benefits, which was more important than strength itself.
Andrea should have seen this point, so she suggested it to him.
Compared with the two, the other son, Horn, was really too far behind.
"Your Majesty Roland, but the premise of everything you said is that mankind can win the final victory." After Barov finished his explanation, someone stood up and asked, "The problem is, can Graycastle really defeat the demons? I heard..." He hesitated, "Your army seems to have suffered a defeat in Wolfheart."
"That's right... We all know the power of the First Army," another person echoed with concern, "But this floating land is really too terrible... Once it presses over, we won't even have time to escape, will we?"
Roland picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip of black tea. He knew that the result of the battle in the Impassable Mountains would eventually spread, after all, there were many Wolfheart people familiar with the terrain among the personnel who carried out the subsequent search and rescue. In this ambush battle, more than a thousand soldiers were lost before and after, not only the artillery units, but even the reserve team responsible for the reception suffered heavy losses.
The Sky Knights lost more than forty aircraft in several days of high-intensity support battles, half of which were shot down by the enemy, and half of which were destroyed by mechanical failure and accidents. This was also the reason why Tilly had to postpone the operation.
Fortunately, although the Seagull was hit by Divine Will, both Wendy and Shavi were good at crowd control, and Lightning and Maisie had been guarding not far away, so they quickly rescued all the witches on the plane after the forced landing.
Honestly, Roland's heart was in his throat when he first saw these reports. Judging from the number of troops lost, this was the largest battle in terms of casualties. However, he also agreed with the General Staff's approach—Valkyries only knew the principle of the Gods of the Gods, but did not know the details of the symbionts carried on it. If they did not fight, they would never be able to figure out the enemy's details.
"This failure is because we don't know enough about the floating land," Roland answered frankly, "It seems huge and magnificent, and impeccable, but the fact is not so. Edith, let you explain to everyone next."
"Yes." The Pearl of the North pinned a detailed hand-drawn picture of the Gods of the Gods on the wall and explained it in detail, "According to the observations of the First Army, it is roughly circular, with a diameter of between fifty and sixty kilometers, which is equivalent to the Impassable Mountains. Both the upper part and the vertebral body can launch giant stone spears, with a range of at least fifteen kilometers. This is the key weapon that caught the First Army by surprise, but it also means that once it leaves this distance, it is just a floating island in the sky. We can use this to formulate plans to contain our opponents..."
Fear always arises with the unknown.
People are afraid of perceptual experiences and vague descriptions, but not of a bunch of numbers. Instead of racking your brains to cover up failures, or deceiving everyone with empty words, it is better to make public the information that the First Army has obtained at a great price, so that the participants can eliminate fear from a rational level.
"...Above, this is all the details of the demon floating land." Edith stroked her chest to Roland.
Roland then looked at the Dawnbreak noble who had raised the question, "Finally, I would like to add one point, avoiding the attack range of the stone pillars is only a temporary measure, and completely destroying this fortress floating in the sky is the ultimate goal of the army."
The noble swallowed, "That's an upside-down mountain..."
"Humans are not without such ability, but you have not yet realized it—just like before the plane was manufactured, no one thought that they could fly in the blue sky like a bird..." Roland smiled, "I will let you witness this with your own eyes."