Chapter 625 — The Relief Plan

"I see... a giant dragon..." Gao Yang trailed off, nodding slightly. "So the Wilde family has established contact with your kind..."

"I serve Victoria by my own will," the black dragon said at once, with a touch of curiosity. "You... do not seem surprised when facing a dragon?"

"I have dealt with dragons before," Gao Yang said casually, then took the opportunity to ask, "But the dragons I have met seem somewhat different from you. Forgive my asking—if you find it offensive or taboo, you need not answer—are you a young dragon?"

He remembered that this black-haired maid's human form had appeared quite mature, which was why he was especially curious about her dragon form; and this was a good opportunity to learn about dragons, and since the other party had need of him at this moment, she surely would not turn on him over one simple question.

He noticed that Maggie showed a moment's hesitation before this question, and within that hesitation there perhaps lurked tension and irritation, as though this simple question had touched upon a domain she did not wish to answer; but she spoke anyway, her tone somewhat hesitant: "It is... an illness..."

"Very well, I understand," Gao Yang vaguely guessed the situation and cut in at once. "Forgive me, madam, the fault was mine for asking."

Then he glanced at Maggie's current form and changed the subject: "Madam, can you take human form? It might make our conversation more convenient."

The black dragon lowered her neck slightly: "I can—please step back a little."

Several commanders, including Gao You, along with Amber and the others who had come out to watch the spectacle, immediately fell back. At the center of the clearing, the black dragon flexed its wings and tail, and with a surge of powerful magic and a sudden whirlwind, its entire body was enveloped in a writhing curtain of light—

Watching that curtain of light contract and shift, Gao Yang could not help but recall a saying: most transformation spells in this world originate with the dragon race...

Black-haired and black-eyed, dressed in a maid's gown with two longswords hanging at her waist, Maggie stepped out from the light.

Among the crowd, Amber could not resist muttering to Philip: "You know, I've always wondered—when these transformation types shift shape, where exactly do their clothes and belongings go..."

The young and forthright knight was clearly not quite attuned to the rhythm of this head of intelligence, and froze for a moment: "...Why does your mind work in such strange directions?"

"Thank you most sincerely for your aid," said Maggie in her human form, coming before Gao Yang and bowing deeply—but then she could not help asking, "When will your army..."

"My legion's main force will reach the war zone by evening, and we can launch the attack overnight—but before that, we must devise an effective plan of assault," Gao Yang cut off the dragon in human shape, raising a hand toward the barracks nearby that served as headquarters. "Please come with me. I need to understand the situation in the north first."

Maggie followed Gao Yang and several Cecil officers into the command post, where the first thing she saw was an exquisitely detailed map hung upon the wooden wall of the barracks.

On that finely wrought map she saw the Giantwood Pass marked with numerous tactical symbols, crisscrossing arrows, lines indicating enemy positions and the division of the war zones, and one after another numbers and shorthand marks that even she could not decipher.

Though nominally only a maid, Maggie grasped in an instant what this map meant: it meant the Cecilians' mastery of the battlefield, a manner of waging war that no one had ever achieved before!

For a moment she even wanted to turn her head away, for the information laid out on that map was simply too much—enough to tip the balance of the war—but she quickly realized that Gao Yang had brought her here precisely to see this map.

Gao You spoke up from beside them: "Mark it for us—where Victoria is, where the enemy is, roughly how many they are, the state of their main defensive line—if you know it."

Maggie nodded, stepped forward, and pointed to the location of Giantstone City: "Victoria and the Mountain Corps are trapped in the castle district...

"The enemy has completely surrounded Giantstone City. There are no gaps on the ground. Their numbers... a conservative estimate puts them above fifty thousand, and that number can rise at any time, because they have a steady stream of troops to draw upon—any setback in the assault will certainly bring reinforcements...

"Here is Red Maple City, on the east bank of the Gorgon River—that is the monsters' main stronghold...

"When I flew over, I saw the monsters dividing off a portion of their forces and moving south..."

Gao Yang listened carefully as Maggie laid out her intelligence point by point, continually assembling and weighing it, while nearby Philip and several staff officers discussed in rapid, hushed voices, working out possible lines of attack.

"How much longer do you think Victoria can hold?" Gao Yang asked suddenly.

Maggie's tone was heavy: "They were relying on the power of the blizzard barrier to hold out, and could have lasted three more days. Then Victoria deliberately withdrew the blizzard and chose to meet the enemy head-on. Relying on the walls of the castle district and the soldiers' fighting, they might last only two days... No—that is the Mountain Corps. They will surely hold one day longer! Even without the blizzard, they can last three days!"

Gao Yang sighed faintly in his heart.

Rather than clinging to life for three days behind a safe barrier, the soldiers of the Northern Front had chosen to fight for three days and then meet death with generosity...

"I have already lost a day on the road..." Maggie added.

On the other side, Philip and the staff officers had reached some conclusions; one of them came to Gao Yang's side and whispered a few words in his ear.

Gao Yang raised his head and looked at Maggie: "My lady, I fear we cannot reach Giantstone City within two days."

The black-haired maid's eyes flew wide in an instant, but before despair could show on her face, Gao Yang had already continued:

"But we need only one day to reach Red Maple—and then we shall blow it flat."

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