Another Worldly Summons

Chapter 101: Scorching Field

Xayav City, Southern Philades
December 26, 1641

In the northern occupied regions of Southern Philades, countless large and medium-caliber cannons stand tall towards the sky, dozens of surface-to-air assets, and hundreds of Nurzagan soldiers positioned in the corners and on the roofs of the occupied city.

But that's not the most eye-catching - it's the rapidly built stationary launchers in the outskirts of the city. Large engineering equipment is pouring quick cements that immediately solidify within half an hour with the help of magic. These structures are reinforced by runic inscriptions and are being simultaneously built, with some already completed. Annonrials in disguise as S'vam holy knights begin putting in VLS (Vertical Launch System) modules dug into the cemented ground, acting as silos on land for anti-air warfare rather than conventional firing modules for air defense.

This is the massive effort by S'vam's leadership - being undertaken with limited direct support from mainland Annonrial, who are primarily focused on Milishial and the western front of ASEAN. The distance also poses challenges for consistent logistics support. Thus, the strategy involves saturating the entire region with anti-air (AA) defenses to deter any impending air assault by ASEAN and inflict massive casualties, forcing them to hesitate in deploying their air assets. With this, even despite the supposed ASEAN's potentially advanced ground force, the absence of air support would level the playing field against the overwhelming numerical superiority of Nurzaga, Brunswick, and S'vam in ground war in Philades.

They hope that drowning the opposing forces with overwhelming numbers, following a quantity-over-quality approach, would not only help them in pushing the enemy forces further inland but also potentially force them to withdraw from the continent altogether.
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In the heart of the Nurzagan invasion force in the northern regions of Southern Philades, Xayav, a once peaceful idyllic city, its city hall had transformed into the nerve center of operations - a makeshift headquarters commandeered by the Nurzagan military. Outside, soldiers stood with confidence, tall and resolute, eager for awaiting orders that would unleash them forward in the ongoing conquest of southern Philades. Inside, however, an entirely different scene unfolded, with a group of Nurzagan officials sweating over the news they had heard - a grave nightmare, an unforeseen circumstance.

The room echoed with heated exclamations of disbelief and shock. "Is that true?!" A Major's voice boomed, cutting through the heavy atmosphere like a siren. His disbelief was open and readable, written on his furrowed brows and stiff shoulders. It had only been a mere twenty-four hours, yet the news seemed to suggest that the enemy was unexpectedly swift and decisive, something that shouldn't be happening.

A jittery officer stammered out the confirmation, "Ye-yes, sir! The capital is on fire, Regent Deark is dead, along with dozens of cabinet members. The city is still ablaze - the people chose to flee instead of saving the city."

The disbelief in the room reverberated off the walls like a haunting nightmare, a bad dream. Then a Captain, his eyes wide and agape, couldn't fathom the idea. "That's impossible! ASEAN won't attack cities! Attacking the palace might make sense, but the entire city? And indiscriminately!?"

The collective gasps of those present portrayed a mixture of horror and disbelief. In their minds, ASEAN was an opposing force with some semblance of restraint, even in the throes of war with Parpaldia, their predecessor far more brutal and reasonably giving a lot of justification for ASEAN to firebomb their cities without hesitation, yet they showed restraint, only occasional misfires and collateral damage happening but never on a large scale nor intentional. And this time, to openly attack civilian settlements was a breach of a norm, common knowledge that ASEAN shall not attack any civilians - a red line crossed that defied the rules of warfare established by them.