Chapter 283.

It was the morning after the battle at the great wall in the Dresden territory. The soldiers who suffered yesterday were all resting, except for those guarding the wall. Meanwhile, because we had to mobilize immediately tomorrow, the chief of staff and I had to make plans and couldnt take a break.

As I was checking various documents, I was surprised to see how many people were on the prisoner list. "There are so many prisoners?

The number of prisoners reached nearly 20,000. Considering that the enemy vanguard contained close to 60,000 soldiers, this meant that nearly a third of the vanguard was captured.

"Of course, theres wounded from the left and the central forces, but because they surrendered when we surrounded them at the end, theres a lot of prisoners. However, since many managed to run away, I think we need to be careful, said the chief of staff.

I nodded. "But were fortunate that most of the enemy commanders are either dead or captured and can't bring the defeated together."

The chief of staff grinned and bobbed his head. "That's true."

"By the way, the feudal lords backs will break trying to feed and keep the prisoners alive."

The chief of staff smiled at my joke. Luckily, thats not our concern."

The chief of staff also had an evil side. Since we were leaving tomorrow, we didn't have to care about how many prisoners there were. In reality, we were just throwing the work onto others, but thats none of my business.

I smiled the same way as the chief of staff, put the documents in one corner, and laid a map on the desk, saying, "Since we destroyed the enemy vanguard well ahead of the deadline we set, I think we have plenty of time to aim for Shellen Fortress."

The chief of staff nodded and agreed with me. "If we capture the fortress, not only will it be easier to confront the enemy in the future, but if we join up with the main force, well be in a position where we might even be able to target the capital."

It was almost impossible to advance to the capital with just the vanguard alone. Therefore, the chief of staff's remarks also suggested that we should consider waiting for General Orphina to join up with the main force.

I shook my head when I noticed the chief of staff's intentions. "No. Theres a high likelihood that the outcome of this war will be determined at Shellen Fortress."

The chief of staff looked at the map intensely and asked, "What makes you think that? If we take the fortress and stall the enemy's main army, we can work with our main force to cleave a way forward."

The chief of staff spoke, pointing to the gateway to the enemy capital beyond the fortress as he continued, "I think the current imperial army has enough power to reach here. I thought this would be the place to determine the outcome of this war, but it seems you dont think the same.

The chief of staffs opinion was absolutely right. If this was a war between just the imperial army and the enemy, as the chief of staff said, it would have turned into a full-fledged battle with the enemy. However, the story was different if the great madosas entered the war.

"When we confront the enemys main force at Shellan Fortress, either the enemys forces, our own, or both of us will be annihilated. I think it will be one of those three."

"It's not that one will be defeated, but annihilated? And its also possible that both sides are destroyed?" The chief of staff had a hard time understanding and looked at me.

With the chief of staff and I being the only people in the tent, I put soundproofing magic up to prevent any information from leaking out before saying, "Only Chief of Staff-nim should know this. If this becomes known, morale will be at its worst. Oh, and obviously, I'll tell the Head Commander-nim."

"What is it that would make morale plummet to its lowest?"

I smiled bitterly. "It's highly likely that a great madosa will be participating in this war."

"What!" The chief of staff jumped to his feet in shock, and he exclaimed, "That, that's ridiculous. That kind of monster is participating?!

"Please calm down."

The chief of staffs face turned blue at my words. "Do I look like I can calm down right now?! There's no way 50,000 troops can stop a monster like a great madosa!"

I sighed at the overly agitated chief of staff. This is why I didn't want to mention it. It wasnt for nothing that Arpen, a great madosa, was called Glacial Devil. Great madosas were treated as a source of despair by their enemies just from existing.

"What can we do if the Chief of Staff-nim loses his reason? I said.

The chief of staff sat down again, rubbing his face with complicated thoughts. "Yes, the Chief of Staff must not lose their composure at any time. So, since you said the probability of participation is high, how much do you think it is? And if one is to participate, who do you think it would be?"

"Theres around a 90 percent chance itll be the Curse Specialist and about 30 percent for the Magic Kingdoms Spatial Specialist."

Of course, the Elemental Specialist and Alchemy Specialist were allied with the emp