Deploy the 6th and 7th Divisions for combat operations immediately!

Upon hearing this, Director Yizhong wore a fleeting, disdainful smirk at the corner of his lips, yet offered no further retort. A shadow of helplessness crossed his face, as though he had already resigned himself to the decision in his heart.

He knew all too well that the Dynasty must prevail in this conflict, or the consequences would be utterly unthinkable.

With the financial hurdle cleared, the Army Minister turned to the Navy Minister. "Lord Navy Minister, I must ask you to deploy the navy's transport capacity to assist us in ferrying two divisions to the front lines." There was a touch of urgency in his voice. "Without naval assistance, launching an amphibious landing will be exceedingly difficult."

A mild expression softened the Navy Minister's features, signaling a willingness to cooperate. "Rest assured, I shall set about arranging this mission immediately," he replied. His tone was serene, casting aside the bitter rivalry between the army and navy at this critical juncture.

Despite the persistent competition and direct friction between the two military branches, at this moment they displayed a united front and seamless collaboration in the face of a shared objective. Especially when weighed against the grand strategy of the Dynasty, both sides could clearly distinguish priorities and strive together for the collective interests of the realm.

Just as the meeting was drawing to a close, a secretary from the Director's residence hurried into the room, his sudden appearance shattering the quietude of the conference chamber.

He whispered urgently into Director Yizhong's ear, every syllable seemingly pregnant with urgency and gravity.

Hearing this, Director Yizhong's expression turned instantly grim. The sudden transformation drew the eyes of everyone present, and the atmosphere in the room tightened abruptly.

None could help but wonder what manner of news could cause the normally poised Director to lose his composure so completely.

"Baka! How could these worthless dwarf troops be defeated so swiftly?"

Unable to contain his rage, Director Yizhong slammed his fist against the table, his voice rising in high-pitched indignation. Every word fell like a heavy mallet upon the hearts of all assembled.

"The Chengyun-supplying army has already begun invading Guanchengyun State!" he continued, his voice steeped in disbelief and sorrowful fury.

"General Nobuyoshi Muto has abandoned Guanchengyun State and boarded a transport vessel to return to the capital!"

The revelation detonated like a bomb within the conference room, sparking an immediate uproar. The fall of Guanchengyun State was undeniably a catastrophic blow to the Dynasty, and every face turned gravely solemn.

Hearts filled with shock and incomprehension, the men found it hard to believe that the Dynasty's decades of toil had thus dissolved into thin air.

For ages, the Dynasty had coveted Guanchengyun State as a vital stepping stone for its invasion of the East, and its loss was momentous. They recalled how the Dynasty had spent decades wresting ownership of Guanchengyun from the former dynasty, ultimately forcing the cession of the region through victory in the Jiawu War. At the time, the former dynasty had yielded out of sheer helplessness, only for the Northern Behemoth Dynasty to forcefully intervene, orchestrating the Three-Power Intervention that compelled the Dynasty to surrender the fruits of its victory once more.

In the end, while enormous reparations were extorted from the former dynasty, the Northern Behemoth seized the opportunity to bolster its own military might.

Through a brutal war against the Northern Behemoth, the Dynasty had finally triumphed, securing absolute control over the Guanchengyun region. That hard-won victory was supposed to open the floodgates of resource supply for the Dynasty, yet no one anticipated the meteoric rise of Jiang Bai's Seventh Field Army, which shattered all ambitions of territorial expansion.

At this juncture, not only had the northern territories escaped their grasp, but even Guanchengyun was lost.

Deep anxiety and disappointment clouded the faces of Director Yizhong and every official present. Uncertainty and dread gripped their souls as they realized the Dynasty was confronting unprecedented peril.

Just as the conference was winding down, the secretary had rushed in to whisper in the Director's ear, prompting that sudden, dramatic loss of composure.

"Baka! How could these worthless dwarf troops be defeated so swiftly?" Director Yizhong had slammed the table, roaring that the enemy had invaded Guanchengyun State and that General Nobuyoshi Muto had fled back to the capital.

The fallout was immediate and chaotic.

Guanchengyun State's collapse was a devastating strike. Serving as the primary springboard for the subjugation of the entire East, its loss struck at the very heart of the Dynasty's grand design.

Recalling the decades spent seizing it from the former dynasty, the triumph of the Jiawu War, the forced concessions, the humiliating Three-Power Intervention orchestrated by the Northern Behemoth, and the subsequent grueling war that finally granted them control over the northern mines—all of it had paved the way for a continuous stream of resources.

Yet, just as they prepared to use Guanchengyun as a springboard to swallow the entire north, Jiang Bai's Seventh Field Army rose to crush their blueprint.

Now, with the north uncaptured and Guanchengyun relinquished, the Army Minister felt the blood drain from his face upon receiving the confirmation. Unbelief warred with profound despair in his eyes.

A wave of dizziness washed over him, as though the world itself were spinning beneath his feet. Trembling, his gaze clouded with confusion and terror, he spoke in a hollow voice: "We must recapture the Guanchengyun region as swiftly as possible."

His resolve was laced with a tragic sense of fatalism. He knew that losing Guanchengyun meant shouldering an unforgivable burden, one from which only self-destruction could offer escape.

"Deploy the Sixth and Seventh Divisions immediately," he commanded. "We must execute an amphibious landing under the full escort of the navy."

Though he fought to maintain his composure, the twitching of his taut jaw and the darting of his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil and dread.

Yet, subsequent developments defied all expectations, forcing the army to abandon the direct landing plan and search elsewhere for a strategic foothold. This setback etched even deeper grooves of severity into the Army Minister's brow as he sought a way forward beneath an unbearable weight.

Meanwhile, amidst the fierce combat at Anshan, the forces led by Wang Xiao and Li Jian locked horns with the dwarf invaders.

Concurrently, the dwarf siege troops launched an equally vicious assault on the Landao Fortress. The newly appointed commander of the siege forces, Lieutenant General Kotaro Uesue, wasted no time reorganizing his troops before driving toward Landao, a look of resolute desperation masking his internal tension and strain.

Scarcely had the battle commenced when the dwarf artillery barrage met with a devastating counter-bombardment from the heavy batteries of the Landao Fortress.

Swallowed by anti-aircraft artillery fire, the enemy's artillery positions were annihilated almost instantly in a horrific spectacle. Catastrophic losses decimated the dwarf artillery units, many soldiers perishing on the spot, instilling dread and despair in all who witnessed it.

Even dwarf infantry far in the rear could feel the violent shuddering of the earth, their faces pale with panic, as though a single step closer meant certain death.