"What? Do you have anything to say about that?" Caspian asked Macy, who was spacing out.
Macy froze for a moment before blushing. She said apologetically, "No, nothing. I'll complete my mission."
"You sure?" Caspian asked.
This was the first time Macy had spaced out during such an important meeting. Her mission was very important, and Caspian did not want anything to be amiss.
"I'm sure!" Macy nodded emphatically.
Caspian stopped worrying once he noticed the determination burning in Macy's gaze.
Right at this moment, they heard rapid footsteps coming from outside. Macy's and Caspian's gazes met. They reached the same conclusion—Sylvia was here.
Everyone glanced in the direction of the sound, and sure enough, Sylvia was walking briskly toward them. She took huge steps at a time.
Sylvia had been carrying out a mission somewhere else, but Caspian had summoned her over to the cave anyway. It was because he was used to her presence and also because he found it easy to make use of her—a general who had already been working with him for a long time.
With such a large-scale operation ahead of him, Caspian thought of Sylvia almost immediately.
"Lord Caspian! I'm not late, am I?" Sylvia asked hurriedly the moment she entered the cave.
"The meeting has already ended. What are you even here for?" Macy asked sarcastically.
"It's fine if you want to be impolite to me under normal circumstances, but we're fighting a war now. Have a clear idea about where you stand, at least." Sylvia was a general officer, after all. Of course, she would be annoyed upon hearing Macy's sharp remarks.
"Fine, fine, you're a general officer, after all. I have to complete my mission, so I won't spend more time talking to you." Macy saluted Caspian and Dax before turning to leave.
"Look at her, Lord Caspian! She's so impolite!" Sylvia said, enraged.
"Sylvia, you'll be the front line leader starting from today. You'll lead a squad that will station itself near Mount Dracelaris!"
"Yes, Lord Caspian!" Sylvia answered.
Caspian asked, "Champion Santos, how many people can the air raid shelter at the foot of Mount Dracelaris accommodate at most?"
"The shelter is huge, Lord Caspian. It can accommodate three to four hundred thousand soldiers with no problem," Dax said.
"We have about a million soldiers in total, so they'll have to split up before surrounding the enemy together!" Caspian formulated strategies as he spoke, pointing out several key locations on the map.
"You'll be the chief commander for this battle, Champion Santos!" Caspian said to Dax.
"No, no, Lord Caspian. The chief commander can be no one but you! I'll just be the deputy commander," Dax said somewhat fearfully.
"Don't refuse the position. This is West Aridlands, which is your territory. Also, most of the people here are your subordinates, so you can deploy them more effectively than me," Caspian said indifferently.
"You're the Diatoranian God of War, Lord Caspian. Everyone will surely listen to you if you're to be the chief commander. I'll just support you from the side," Dax said respectfully.
He respected Caspian from the bottom of his heart. He would not be listening to Caspian's orders otherwise.
"Let's do it this way. You'll be chief commander in name, but I'll command in secret. You can pass the power back to me when the King officially reinstates me to my original position," Caspian said without mincing his words.
…
In the capital of Filren, Byron was caught in a dilemma. They had announced an attack aimed at Diatoran, but nothing had been done in the past two days. This had enraged many Filrenian soldiers.
Filren was flooded by complaints aimed at Byron at this moment.
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