Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Snowy Soulmates. Enjoy the 2000-word chapter. I don't own VK, Sega, Ryutaro Nonaka and Shuntaro Tanaka do.
Matias and Minerva rested their eyes, both too exhausted as to what came next. There were plenty of things crossing their minds. Both were thrown off by this logic. If things had gone according to their plans? The empire would be put into disarray long enough for them to relocate their forces.
"The way that they can field this many troops easily?" Matias asked with a raised eyebrow. "This war is a lot more one-sided than I thought it had been," Matias stated while he shook his head and leaned back into his seat.
"I'm going to guess that they cannot replace troops as quickly as you think," Minerva stated while she shook her head. "Their war factories cannot mass produce tanks and guns and such. Not at this type of scale." Minerva added to which she nodded to herself.
"Vinland can and does at the moment," Matias stated, looking at her. "They have a massive industrial base. I doubt the empire was different from that. They can easily conquer the rest of the continent. If there was less industry when it came down to it? they wouldn't be steamrolling the rest of the area." Matias put in as he shook his head.
"You think they can wage endless war when it came down to it?" Minerva stated to which Matias nodded. "Then what do you suggest? We just surrender what we have?" Minerva asked as Matias held up his hands.
"At this moment? Gain a solid foothold on the empire's land." Matias suggested before he put a hand to his temples. "That's why the empire shifted their lines here. The empire doesn't want us to have an anchor in its lines. They can continue to widen it, slowly crushing them before they can crush it." Matias put in before he hummed to himself while he cracked his knuckles.
Minerva looked around the craft while she hummed to herself. She knew for a fact that Matias was speaking from his own experiences. It was clear that as a soldier? He had fought and bled for Vinland when she considered it.
"How are you holding up at the moment?" Matias heard from Minerva before he nodded toward her. "Good if you were that worn down? We might not have a chance of winning." Minerva added as Matias to which he shook his head.
"I cannot believe that the Federation would pick a fight with the biggest dog around," Matias responded while brushing off his uniform. "This war isn't going to be easy. I don't know how to bring down the empire when it comes down to it." Matias added with a sigh.
Minerva was silent. She was well aware of the fact that the federation had dragged them into this war. She was one of the few officers who was off-put by this war being fought by soldiers off their shores. It was also probably apparent that Matias probably knew this just as well.
"Anything on your mind you feel like sharing?" Matias asked while crossing his arms. "It's still a long trip towards the shores from what I remember," Matias stated while he cleared his throat.
Minerva stayed silent for the moment so she could gather her thoughts. This war was just as much on her mind as was everyone in said war. She looked at Matias who waited for her to answer.
'What do I say? He knows more about tactics than I do. The ambush was his idea and it worked well enough to delay them. I don't even know what he's thinking at the moment. Is he thinking about new battle plans? Does he know my feelings on the war?' Minerva mentally asked herself before she cursed herself and started to look around.
Matias hummed to himself as he started to dwell on the next move they made. It had to be a large one if it was to throw off their enemies and allow them to get to a position to counterattack.
If that was rather interesting? He'd think of something at the moment. Matias nodded towards Minerva as he sighed and started to place a hand on his temples.
He sighed to himself while he cleared his throat. There was plenty of time for this war to swing either way which bothered him at the moment. If they were going to be deal with this sort of this power in the world? They needed something that balanced it out and harmed it. The Federation wasn't able to stand toe to toe with the empire in direct combat and that meant they were outmatched in war.
There was simply no damaging something that was this well-equipped and supplied. They weren't a sort of enemy that can be damaged by their methods.
"What do you suggest we do to damage the empire? They outmatched it at the moment." Minerva asked while she rested a hand on her left knee. "They routed their forces at the moment and we don't have any territory in this place," Minerva stated before she raised an eyebrow at her friend.
Matias robbed at his temples before he cleared his throat. Matias sighed before he looked at the woman in question. He wanted to think and this wasn't in the best place.
"The best thing to do when we regroup is finding a base for us to stick around and dig in," Matias stated while he frowned to himself. "Then establish a line in the snow so we make sure to get more supplies when it comes down to it. The longer we deal with the empire? The longer they start damaging the Federation." Matias added before he shook his head.
"The empire probably flanked our forces," Minerva stated to which her friend nodded. "And the rest of the bases at the moment will either be cut off… Or they will. They're not though at the moment. There's a lot at stake if they find any documents." Minerva stated before she frowned to herself before she rolled her eyes.
"There's plenty of time for things to change in this war." Matias said as he shook his head."What happens next will be plenty dangerous to the rest of the planet. The empire is strong." Minerva added before she crossed her arms while she nodded to her friend.
Still? He didn't want to debate when it came down to it. He was well aware of his plan when it came down to it. He was a soldier which still meant dealing with the plan of the enemy and the rest of the soldiers all around the continent despite his lack of progress towards this goal. He had far too time to honestly plan how to defeat an entire empire and he wasn't one to simply throw soldiers away without a decent plan or goal.
He ran his hands into his snow-coated hood while he crossed his legs. He sighed to himself as Minerva while he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Being an officer honestly isn't the best thing to be at the moment," Matias said while he frowned at her. "Honestly? I rather not be an officer at times if it meant being forced to do a lot of hard choices." Matias added with a roll of his eyes.
He was not one to mince words and he was aware Minerva and he had rather been offered. Minerva was someone who wished to explain the details and consider all the details. He was someone who acted at the moment and adapted to those details as they came. She honestly didn't seem to be a commander for a while. He wasn't at all going to blame her for her lack of combat experience.
"This isn't going to be an easy battle going ahead. Trust me, I've seen battles as to how this was." Matias said before he took a deep breath. "This was honestly not at all what I expected it to be when it comes to it," Matias stated while he crossed his arms as he did so.
"And yet someone needs a leader at the moment," Minerva stated while she was rather interested. "If there's no leader in the ranks? Then the army will collapse into nothing and slowly eat itself at the second. The soldiers we battled for example? They still need a leader to handle their orders. It isn't as if they simply do what comes naturally." Minerva stated to which Matias held his hand into the air.
"With all due respect? They do. We train them to battle and we both are well aware of the fact there's no real plan in combat. We battle or we die." Matias stated as he pondered to himself. "While he frowned to himself I don't know what the best thing to do at the moment and that's part of being a soldier. Battle, wait to see who dies in combat." Matias stated while nodding towards the pilot.
"Perhaps," Minerva stated while she prepared to do next. "There's almost no direction in battle. Yet? We still need to stop soldiers from dying in droves. If we don't? soldiers will die left in right when it comes down to it." Minerva added while she frowned to herself.
He was interested in what to do next as he frowned. This hadn't been the way he wished it to be and it showed on his face as the craft continued on its path. He was not one to simply ignore a challenge and it showed on his face. There was simply too little on his mind for him to fathom how to beat the empire properly. They had all they needed to win and it seemed to show on his face since he tapped a finger on the tip of his chin.
"The Empire isn't going to let their siege go until all enemy troops are destroyed," Matias said while he tapped on his arms to ease the cold from his bones. "What the best option is to stop them is simple. We need to find a way to the capital. Once the head of the empire is destroyed or lost? They will not be able to properly hold their own. The problem is both finding a way to flank them and a way to properly hold the capital once we get there." Matias stated while he sighed and a breath of cold air seemed to seep from his lips.
Minerva nodded at this. There was simply too much on the line for either side to dawdle and it showed in their steps. Their movements had to be precise. The Federation needed more muscle than it had on hand and it was an all too clear sign war of attrition did not appear to help anything.
"And what happens if we don't find a way around this?" Minerva questioned to which Matias seemed to raise an eyebrow.
"If that happens? We really can't expect any help from the Federation and we're dead in a few weeks. They own the land." Matias said while he crossed his arms across his chest. "The empire is almost unstoppable in a ground war as is Vinland. If we were closer to them? They wouldn't dare openly threaten the lands since the logistics meant we'd be able to hammer them to pieces easily. The empire seems to be aware of the fact that it isn't easy to send and equipped dozens of hundreds of soldiers for combat across the seas. It will be a while before we're able to send more reinforcements and they're aware the war will be lost by then." Matias stated before rubbing at his temples.
Author notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be delayed at the time. The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show more of Matias and Minerva talking and setting up the villain and will be 900-6500 words at the time. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!