Kapitel 155: -152- Onward, to Orleans
The next morning, at dawn.
As the silhouettes of wyverns appeared once again in the sky, the camp stationed at the edge of the forest had already been fully evacuated.
Led by Gilles, the elite French forces were now hiding within the woods. They avoided the wyverns' patrols in the sky, gathering together to discuss their next course of action.
"Originally, with our strength, it would be impossible to deal with the 'Dragon Witch' and her wyvern horde," Gilles said, kneeling on one knee. He glanced at Rozen and Mash, positioned on his left and right respectively, and spoke in a lowered voice.
"But now, since you possess the power to combat those creatures, we can organize an effective battle."
How exactly would they do that?
It was quite simple.
"I propose we march on Orleans."
"March on Orleans?" Mash seemed somewhat surprised, not expecting Gilles to suggest this plan.
Rozen also frowned and voiced his objections.
"Not to sound critical, Marshal Gilles, but perhaps you're overestimating us," Rozen said, "It's true that we have the strength to handle wyverns, but that's only effective against a limited number. If we attempt to directly march on the enemy's stronghold, don't you think that's too reckless?"
Perhaps, facing a dozen or twenty wyverns wouldn't be much for Mash with Rozen's support.
However, even if Mash had such power, it would be futile against an army of hundreds or thousands of wyverns.
Moreover, Orleans was the 'Dragon Witch's' stronghold, and the wyverns there wouldn't be in short supply. There might even be true dragon species among them.
Facing such numbers, even with Mash's abilities, the best she could do was protect Rozen with exceptional defensive measures and retreat, rather than attempting a straightforward victory.
If there were top-tier Servants with high-level anti-army Noble Phantasms on their side, they could possibly defeat the wyverns in one fell swoop. But for now, they lacked the means to deal with such a large number of wyverns at once.
Rushing into the enemy's stronghold would be reckless, especially considering that the enemy was not just wyverns – there was the mysterious 'Dragon Witch,' and even the possibility of Lev lurking nearby.
Given this situation, Rozen had never thought that taking Orleans, recovering the Holy Grail, and restoring the Singularity would be so simple.
Hence, Rozen had to voice his dissent against Gilles' proposal.
Gilles wasn't surprised by the objection.
"I understand your concerns," Gilles said calmly, "However, marching on Orleans at this moment has only advantages and no disadvantages for us."
With that, Gilles proceeded to reveal all the information he had gathered.
"First, the 'Dragon Witch' doesn't stay in Orleans all the time."
According to intelligence gathered from various French military units, the 'Dragon Witch' wasn't merely summoning wyverns to attack France. At dawn, she would lead her wyvern legions to ransack intact cities across the country, returning to Orleans only after destroying a city or sometimes even attacking multiple cities in a single day.
Therefore, at this moment, she had likely left Orleans with her wyvern legions and wasn't present there.
"Secondly, it's highly unlikely that she has anticipated our ability to combat wyverns. She doesn't keep many wyverns at her base, according to our reconnaissance teams. The number of wyverns guarding Orleans is limited. With your combat abilities and our support, capturing Orleans shouldn't be difficult."
Gilles had carefully thought this through.
In this way, capturing Orleans with the combined forces present on the scene wasn't an impossible task.
However...
"If that's the case, what's the point of capturing Orleans?" Rozen countered, "Our goal is to defeat the 'Dragon Witch,' isn't it? Not merely to reclaim a city?"
What use was there in recapturing just one city?
"The 'Dragon Witch' could easily relocate her base and continue summoning wyverns to ravage France, or even concentrate her forces and attack us. Exposing ourselves and getting caught in such a situation would be suicidal."
Clearly, Rozen wasn't entirely in favor of Gilles' proposed strategy.
But Gilles simply smiled.
"Of course, I'm well aware that our ultimate goal is to defeat the 'Dragon Witch'," Gilles said, "However, let's put aside how challenging it is to confront the 'Dragon Witch' herself. Consider her wyvern horde; even you admit it's impossible to handle them all. If we really intend to take on the 'Dragon Witch,' shouldn't we first eliminate the threat of the wyverns?"
This argument made sense.
Imagine, if the 'Dragon Witch' was a Servant, then Mash would need to exert all her effort to defeat her.
When facing a Servant, the logical approach was to send another Servant in response – it was a basic tactical principle.
Moreover, if Rozen and Mash were to concentrate on fighting the 'Dragon Witch,' but had to deal with a large group of wyverns harassing them at the same time, or even the 'Dragon Witch' remotely commanding the wyvern legion, what could they do?
So, if they intended to deal with the 'Dragon Witch,' there were only two options.
"Either we eliminate the wyvern threat first, or we gather enough strength to directly break through the wyvern horde," Gilles continued.
"Unfortunately, we don't have sufficient forces," he added.
In that case, there was only one choice left.
That was to neutralize the wyvern threat first.
This was the reasoning behind Gilles' proposal to capture Orleans.
"Based on our investigation, all the wyverns fly out from Orleans. They don't reproduce themselves," Gilles stated, his intention quite clear – he suggested that the secret behind the wyverns' birth might lie in Orleans.
"After all, Jeanne never tamed dragons during her lifetime,"
Gilles said in a low voice, confirming Rozen's speculation from the previous night.
Upon hearing Gilles' words, Mash leaned in and whispered something into Rozen's ear.
"Is it possible that the Holy Grail isn't with the 'Dragon Witch,' but rather placed in Orleans as the source of magic to summon the wyverns?"
Ultimately, the so-called Holy Grail was nearly an inexhaustible source of magic, and the prerequisite for realizing miracles was having an ample supply of magic.
Given this, even if the Holy Grail were placed in Orleans, on a summoning magic circle, to be used as a source of magic, it wasn't an impossible scenario.
"...I see."
Rozen pondered for a moment and then nodded.
"Let's attack Orleans!"
Upon hearing this, Gilles also nodded firmly.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein