Mage? Magic Engineer!

Rorschach had a wealth of information on hand: intelligence from Valois, reports from the Empire, and even correspondence to and from Istani.

He asked Andre, who was beside him, "Has the Senate passed the wartime bill?"

Andre nodded. "It went smoothly in all three districts."

The representatives who had attended the special session of the Empire Council had returned to Bayern not long ago, and now they were terrified. The Empire had initiated a total mobilization, posturing as if it were about to take complete control of the Southern States.

At this time, Bayern’s three districts showed signs of uniting once more. When the districts were first created, each had been eager to roll out its own local regulations. Now, under pressure from the Empire, they were banding together again. Bayern’s strategy for survival against the Empire was identical to how the Special Zone had bought its autonomy from the Royal Family years ago: they hoped to provide the Empire with sufficient industrial goods and other support in exchange for relative self-governance.

Through the mediation of the retired Prime Minister, William II reluctantly agreed to the three districts’ request.

To satisfy the Empire’s appetite, all factories began operating at full capacity. Workshops outside the Special Zone canceled all worker holidays and continuously extended work hours. The Special Zone, in addition to deploying Mechanical Bodies to aid production, took the lead by recruiting women into munitions factories to produce bullets and artillery shells—a move that was soon emulated elsewhere.

Bayern’s railways were officially connected to the Empire’s, and train after train of soldiers in gray uniforms were deployed to the eastern front.

In a closed-door meeting of the Special Zone’s Autonomous Committee, Rorschach warned, "From now on, the intensity of this war will surpass that of any previous campaign."

"Until this summer, the fighting has been concentrated and localized, and the forces committed by either side were nowhere near their national limits."

"Over the past year, both the Republic and the Empire have developed the capacity for full-scale national mobilization."

"Valois has completed its national transformation. Though Valuva remains in turmoil, they have established absolute authority over their regions through terror and can now mobilize the entire nation’s strength to fight the Empire."

"Meanwhile, the Empire—specifically the Imperial Capital—has exploited the Southern States’ fear of the Republic to revoke most of their autonomy. By constructing the Helmut Defense Line, it has unified its north-south logistics and infrastructure, allowing it to fully leverage its military and economic superiority."

In other words, by leveraging the "state of emergency," the two major continental powers had swept away many internal obstacles and finally possessed the material and institutional capacity for total war.

Other powers, previously unable to influence the situation, had spent the last year in uneasy turmoil. Now, they were finally ready to enter the fray and stir the pot.

After the destruction of the Shadow City, a major, undisclosed event shook the Istani Royal Family. The Twelve Knight Orders fractured; some sided with the Parliament and reached a compromise with the Gray Elves to keep El Island within their sphere of influence.

The negotiations during that time, translated into plain language, probably went something like: ’Um... can we still be together? Please give us another chance?’

Originally, the Gray Elves had wanted to sever all ties with that lot and were bent on harsh retaliation against the main island. However, the "Goddess of Victory," Silsa—who had led the invasion of the main island—spoke out, hoping to prevent an endless cycle of mutual slaughter. After bringing victory to the Gray Elves on El Island, she then brought peace. The "Istani and El Federation Republic" was established.

’Of course,’ Rorschach thought, ’it’s not like some Holy Mother figure could just show up and unite both sides with her maternal grace. The reality is likely that Istani’s overseas colonies took in the exiled Royal Family, inherited the navy’s elite, and put enough pressure on both the main island and El Island.’

’Those colonies aren’t truly loyal monarchists; they’re just using this as an excuse to weaken their colonial ties to the homeland and pay less in tea and sugar taxes.’

The two factions were now in sharp opposition. The Empire had long coveted the overseas colonies and promised to help the Istani Royal Family restore their rule—what deals were struck in the process remains unknown. In response, the Yi-Ai Federation, fearing an Imperial invasion of their main island, resolutely chose to launch a preemptive strike alongside its "Brother Republics."

Meanwhile, at the southernmost end of the continent, the Order Church’s patience with the Republic had reached its limit.

After the "Seraph Calamity," the power of the Divine Benefactors was dealt a heavy blow, leaving the Church’s assets within Valois territory without their formidable protection.

The National Salvation Committee chose to cooperate with the Mages. They reclaimed many functions the Church had once performed, such as marriage and household registration. Moreover, they split the Church’s wealth fifty-fifty with the Mages and nationalized all Church lands, auctioning them off to replenish the treasury.

The Southern Countries, equally fearful of Valois’s intent to propagate "Sister Republics," formed a coalition army at the Pope’s call. They showed every intention of waging another holy war.

"These newly involved powers are variables, but in truth, the gap between them and the two major nations is too great for them to be feared." With the schism between the Istani main island and its overseas colonies, neither faction on its own was more than a bit player on the continental stage. The crucial factor was that the main island possessed immense industrial output, which could support Valois and compensate for the Republic’s weakness against the Empire. Meanwhile, the Empire could continue sourcing raw materials from overseas.

The variable presented by the southern, Church-led coalition hinged on whether it could link up with the Empire’s eastern armies. Otherwise, it was debatable whether they could even defeat the National Guard’s garrisons. Unfortunately for the Church, the intelligence Rorschach had obtained from the Empire Army indicated that the eastern front had no intention of moving south. This meant the coalition was likely just cannon fodder, meant to pin down the National Guard’s southern army.

After all, the armies of the Empire, Valois, and Bayern had already evolved to the next generation of warfare. Anyone else who wanted a seat at the table would first have to pay a steep price in blood.

"Then what about us...?" The committee members from the Special Zone were most concerned about this. What action should the Special Zone, and by extension all of Bayern, take?

"I was originally going to discuss this with the representatives from the other two districts, but there’s no harm in us getting on the same page ahead of time." Rorschach tapped the table. "Our principle is... ’Sneak into the village, and not a single shot!’"

Huh? The committee members had evidently never seen that classic film and couldn’t understand what Rorschach meant.

He had no choice but to explain Bayern’s plan in detail. "It looks like the Empire is about to make significant gains on the eastern front. By leveraging the great defense line, their army can execute a grand encirclement of the National Guard forces deployed in the northeast. Any attempt to break out—whether toward the defense line or the Empire’s main force—will result in catastrophic losses for the Guard."

"To achieve this, the Empire’s eastern army must complete the encirclement as quickly as possible. This means they won’t be able to effectively occupy the territory they conquer. And it just so happens that this newly-vacated occupied zone borders Bayern and is rich in coal and iron..."

The director of the Steel Factory was the first to understand. "You’re saying we can take control of the occupied zones on the Empire’s behalf."

"Exactly. Let them handle the main Valois forces. As for us... since we’re obligated to supply the Empire’s war machine, we shouldn’t be expected to work for free, should we?"

"But let’s be clear: we are not going there to fight a counter-insurgency war. We will let the Valois people continue to administer their own territory. There’s no need to fear a major uprising, because the Empire Army will have already disarmed the region."

"We will only control the transportation lines and mineral resources, and we must ensure we don’t disrupt the local economy or social order."

Despite this soft-handed approach, resistance forces were bound to form in the occupied zone over time. However, Rorschach never intended for Bayern to occupy Valois territory long-term. Bayern’s military strength was to be preserved as much as possible, ready to be unleashed with full force on the eve of the final showdown between the two great powers.

After joining the Elder Council, Rorschach’s access to high-level intelligence had risen to a new tier, giving him the confidence that he could see the "script" for the events to come.