Mystogan smiled bitterly, his preparation time had been far too short.
But this battle had to be fought, and it had to begin quickly.
It was a struggle for legitimacy.
Since he had taken the central position, he had to bear the standard and act with integrity. Sending letters to establish his rightful claim was something he absolutely had to do.
Fortunately, he still had Marco on his side.
Marco was the true secret weapon, the real game-changer.
If the war took a turn for the worse, Marco could still pull off a stunning reversal.
"Don't worry, I will provide support and act as your safety net."
Marco accepted his role as the "ultimate trump card."
With him present, this battle was certain to be won. Whether he participated directly or indirectly, his impact on the war would be decisive.
Marco was utterly confident in this—his presence here was akin to a nuclear weapon.
This battle would directly sweep away the trash and redundancies of the Edolas Kingdom, making Mystogan's future rule much smoother.
They could even take the opportunity to reshuffle the deck, placing many people in newly vacated positions.
No one could complain about the handling of rebels—it was a legitimate chance to act decisively and make sweeping changes.
For Mystogan, this would likely become a happy dilemma.
After all, he genuinely lacked enough capable and trustworthy people to rely on, and he would inevitably have to promote a new group of nobles.
Soon, the leaders of the "Royal Army" came to meet the two.
They were all familiar faces: Sugarboy and Hughes, of course, had surrendered with remarkable speed.
Mystogan had chosen to trust them, assigning each to command a division.
To Marco's surprise, Erza Knightwalker had also appeared.
Previously, she had been completely withdrawn, but now she was willing to step out and serve under Mystogan.
"Because we are now fighting for the unification of the Edolas Kingdom."
Seeing the confusion on Marco's face, Mystogan quietly explained to him.
This was the reasoning Mystogan had used to persuade Erza Knightwalker. Strangely enough, the girl had bought into it completely.
The previously silent Erza Knightwalker had sprung into action, throwing herself into her work with a burning fury.
It was understandable for Erza Knightwalker to be angry.
As the captain of the Mage Fighting Unit, her main duties, aside from suppressing Magic Guilds, involved attacking other nations and battling their Mage Fighting Units.
She had contributed significantly to the conquest of these territories and could not sit idly by while they were reclaimed.
These lands belonged to the Edolas Kingdom!
"Not bad—she's focusing on the main conflict."
Marco nodded with a smile.
He felt that Erza Knightwalker was simply looking for a way to save face, and this "unification of the Edolas Kingdom" justification was an excellent one, even somewhat noble, making it seem as though she had risen above petty concerns.
Regardless of Erza Knightwalker's reasons for fighting, with the help of several Mage Fighting Unit captains, the "Royal Army's" control and coordination improved significantly.
Years of combat experience had honed the captains' skills, and they were far more seasoned in this regard than Mystogan.
The prince truly had no practical experience in warfare.
They dispersed the elite Magic War Corps soldiers and integrated them into the main army, establishing influence at the grassroots level to ensure their commands would be executed.
Although this meant breaking up an elite unit, it was undoubtedly beneficial for the entire army. At this moment, the collective took priority.
"The royal capital stands at the heart of the kingdom. While vulnerable from all sides, it also allows us to strike in any direction. We'll leave a portion of our forces to defend the capital while leading elite troops to assault the most aggressive enemy front."
Erza Knightwalker's strategy was straightforward and brutal, relying entirely on the "Royal Army's" absolute intelligence advantage.
Currently, the Royal Army indeed held overwhelming intelligence superiority.
Marco's crows flew everywhere, essentially providing a live map of the battlefield, making this plan feasible.
Without sufficient intelligence support, such tactics would leave them vulnerable—crushing one front only to be ambushed from another, exhausting their forces.
Erza Knightwalker wouldn't have adopted this strategy under those circumstances.
"Marco..san, if your intelligence is inaccurate, we'll be in grave danger. The royal capital might even be ambushed."
Gritting her teeth as she spoke to Marco, Erza Knightwalker clearly still carried deep psychological trauma from their past encounters.
She held a standard long spear—her legendary "Ten Commandments Spear" was irrevocably lost.
"Rest assured, my intelligence cannot be wrong." Marco paid no mind to Erza Knightwalker's attitude, responding with absolute confidence.
He activated his full visual field, updating all chess pieces' movements in real-time on the map—a true live satellite view.
Even without direct intervention, Marco's influence on the battlefield was unmatched.
With permanent map hacks active, how could the enemy possibly compete?
"Good! I trust you!" Erza Knightwalker met Marco's gaze, uttered these words, and immediately departed to lead the assault on an enemy force.
Marco's crows would accompany her, providing real-time target locations and directing them to subsequent objectives.
"This kind of warfare has become absurdly simple." Watching the nearly fluid movement of chess pieces on the map, Mystogan felt he could easily command such operations himself.
Wasn't this just leading troops to ambush and surprise attack enemies? They held every possible advantage.
Mystogan could vividly imagine the enemy's confusion during these sudden assaults.
They'd never comprehend how their movements were so precisely anticipated, completely controlled as if under constant surveillance.
Thus, Mystogan watched the chess piece representing Erza Knightwalker continuously advance across the map.
Under Marco's direction, she launched multiple successful assaults, eliminating several vanguard rebel units and temporarily neutralizing the threat from the south.
However, they could only manage this much for the time being due to insufficient military numbers.
While defending the royal capital, they also had to launch attacks in multiple directions, making it impossible to send a single force deep into enemy territory to strike at their stronghold.
Erza Knightwalker had to return for rest and reorganization before heading to confront enemies in other regions.
"But as long as these southern fence-sitters take action, we will gain more manpower and resources to deploy."
Mystogan knew it was his turn to step up. While he hadn't contributed much in combat, he could now make a difference politically.
Relying on intelligence provided by Marco and the military achievements led by Erza Knightwalker, Mystogan embarked on a southern tour, swiftly securing pledges of loyalty from a group of "fence-sitters."
Witnessing the "Royal Army's" astonishing prowess—seemingly blessed by divine aid as they crushed rebel forces one after another—the fence-sitters eagerly offered troops, resources, and supplies, each transforming into loyal servants of the kingdom.
Mystogan paid no mind to their sudden change of allegiance.
He showed neither approval nor disapproval, instead pragmatically accepting their loyalty and sincerity.
With the full support of these southern "fence-sitters," Mystogan directly assigned Hughes to lead a force and thoroughly suppress the rebellion in the south.
Meanwhile, the elite troops led by Erza Knightwalker, after a brief rest, set out once again to carry out surprise attacks in other directions.
Using the same strategy, they had now mastered the approach completely—like seasoned players with an overwhelming advantage, executing their missions with calm confidence and effortless ease.
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