The cold wind of the early morning lashed against the heraldic banners arranged along the outer walls of the central palace, creating a sparse sound of whiplashes against the dark sky. We walked in silence across the elevated stone bridge that connected the administrative wings to the court's great military pavilion. Our heavy leather boots struck the stone floor in unison, a firm echo that mingled with the discreet clinking of the steel buckles holding our armor in place. The group operated under a cold tension; the calm of the domestic preparations had been locked behind the gates of the mansion.
As soon as the immense bronze doors of the pavilion were opened by the royal guards, we were struck by a wave of warmth and deep voices. The space was monumental, supported by pillars of gray granite that rose to a vaulted ceiling decorated with frescoes of ancient battles. At the center of the hall, a monumental circular table made of rustic oak held the unified map of all the provinces of the continent. Around it, the highest leadership of the United Nations Alliance displayed faces marked by exhaustion and military urgency.
The King of Humans presided over the table in the central section, flanked by monarchs from neighboring kingdoms, veteran generals with armor covered in marks of battle, and the main clerical representatives of the surface. Our arrival changed the dynamics of the hall. The side conversations immediately ceased, and dozens of eyes focused on our formation. We took our positions in the eastern quadrant of the table, with Elara opening the logistical record books directly over the tactical map, while Scarlett and Vespera flanked my position with sharpened vigilance.
"Gentlemen," began the King of Humans, raising his hand to formally open the proceedings of the Second General Council. "The urgency of this summons stems from the partial collapse of our advanced defenses in the northern province. The intelligence reports collected over the last six hours confirm that the Demon King's army has begun a siege movement that threatens to isolate our main troop redistribution routes."
A field marshal from an allied kingdom, wearing a heavy red cloak, stepped forward and pointed toward three claw-shaped markings approaching the Iron Mountain Range. "The enemy attacks are becoming more frequent and brutal with every passing hour. We are not dealing with isolated scouts alone; the demonic forces have deployed long-range runic catapults that fire projectiles coated in plague fire. Two of our forward fortresses have already lost direct contact with headquarters."
"The infantry losses are not the only problem," Elara intervened, pointing toward the logistical base we had mapped before entering the hall. "The Alliance's grain stocks in these three peripheral provinces have been reduced by half due to the surgical sabotage. If we do not inject healing resources and concentrated food supplies into these defensive lines within the next forty-eight hours, the northern barrier will collapse purely from starvation among the combat divisions."
A murmur of concern spread among the generals on the opposite side of the table. It was at that moment that I signaled for Liriel to advance with the technical documentation we had developed at the mansion using the extract from the marine lands.
"We will not be defeated by logistics," I declared, keeping my voice firm and clear so that it echoed throughout the granite pavilion. "I consolidated productive control of the Fish-Men Kingdom during our stay. We brought bales of algae with high nutritional retention and hundreds of boxes containing mana-stabilizing potions based on abyssal healing corals. This material is already being processed in the mansion's laboratories and will provide instant regeneration support for our troops under Liriel's direct command."
The representative of the Orthodox clergy adjusted his runic glasses, examining the explanatory notes delivered by Liriel's assistant. "These biological reconstitution rates are divine... If these potions are applied at the front, we can reduce the mortality rate in the field hospitals to less than five percent."
"The logistical solution is designed," Scarlett interrupted, crossing her arms and fixing her brown eyes on the veteran generals. "But the potions will not distribute themselves. The military escort for these carts will have to cut through the blockade that the demons' elite squads have established along the secondary trails. This requires a radical change in our traditional counteroffensive plans."
The King of Humans nodded, observing the overlapping data we had proposed on the central map. "Lord Takumi is correct in his aggressive approach. The court's old siege manuals are useless against the speed the enemy is imposing. In light of this, I propose to the Council the unification of command over the vanguard divisions under Takumi's direct leadership."
The monarch's proposal sparked an intense debate among the traditional generals, with some nobles expressing hesitation about handing control of the royal troops to a leader who operated outside the classical monarchical standards. However, the weight of our practical results and the technical precision of our interventions silenced the objections one by one. Lyannis and Rai'kanna watched the discussions from the rear with restrained smiles, knowing that our squad's authority did not depend on noble titles, but rather on strength and tactical competence.
After hours of exhausting debates and adjustments to the mobilization axes, the unified orders were finally signed by all the monarchs of the coalition. The plan was established: our division would take over the advanced escort of the medical supplies, forcing its way through the enemy lines to restore the lifeline between the capital and the besieged forts of the Iron Mountain Range.
The meeting was concluded as the first rays of a gray morning began to pass through the high stained-glass windows of the central palace, casting long shadows across the stone floor. The generals and kings hurriedly gathered their maps, rushing to dispatch the messengers who would carry the new movement directives to all the northern provinces. The atmosphere in the military pavilion had changed irreversibly; the phase of theoretical speculation and political planning was over.
I walked toward the outer balcony of the council hall, watching the frantic movement of the first royal troops beginning to form up in the fortress's inner courtyard, adjusting their spears and shields under the command of the sergeants. I felt the dense flow of mana that we had refined beneath the ocean circulating perfectly through my internal channels, bringing a sharp sense of focus and clarity. I realized, with complete clarity, that the bureaucratic responsibilities had been left behind and that the time for the great battles on the surface was inevitably about to begin.