Chapter 527 Self-directed Oscars 1/4 (1/2)
Even though General Michael's request was reasonable, the Reformist Party refused to send reinforcements. However, this didn't mean that their IQ was incredibly low. Instead, there was also a big problem before them—they lacked manpower.
Most of the troops under the Reformist Party were soldiers of the Southern Legion, while the rest were private soldiers supported by the nobles and wealthy merchants and city guards from various cities. Although the Reformist Party had swiftly imprisoned military generals who might cause them great trouble at the time of the initial rebellion, these generals were still a minority. In the Southern Legion, other than those who supported the Reformist Party, there were still a large number of neutral generals who had strong soldiers under their command. However, these generals chose to not get involved with the battle between the Reformist Party and the King's Party due to various reasons. This was why the Reformist Party had been careful in not offending these generals as they didn't wish to have internal problems while the external issues hadn't been resolved yet. This was also why General Michael expressed his rage daringly in his letter to this bunch of people. After all, they didn't obtain legitimate authority over him and if General Michael disobeyed their commands and left Grosso, the Reformist Party could only look on helplessly.
It was because of this that the troops who were willing to listen to the Reformist Party's command weren't as many as they hoped to have. Moreover, the Reformist Party didn't establish a stable base quick enough after declaring independence and they took the opportunity to attack Paphield, which diminished their already lacking military strength. They had mobilized all their available manpower and couldn't support Grosso at all.
If the Necromancer had messed with other regions instead of Grosso, perhaps the Reformist Party would have waited until they had stabilized their front lines before resolving the trouble. But now, they couldn't neglect the awful situation because the Grosso region was the only foodstuff reserve base that the South could rely on. If something happened there, it would mean that the rations for the next six months of the South would be completely destroyed! Although the Reformist Party could still rely on the Country of Light's Parliament for support, the Country of Light's Parliament's change in attitude kept them on their heels. Even though the Reformist Party had always relied on the Country of Light's Parliament, they had always been wary of them overstepping into their territory. If Grosso was destroyed, they would have to rely entirely on food imports from the Country of Light, and the Country of Light would definitely jump on the opportunity to raise their prices…
”According to the intelligence, that damn Necromancer has been heading towards the east. We have to stop him!”
”But we don't have enough manpower. Apart from the city guards, there are only private soldiers within the parliament… As for the Southern Legion… We have mobilized all the available troops and we can't send reinforcements to Grosso!”
”Then what should we do? Give up? That damn Necromancer has destroyed three villages and God knows how many Undead Creatures he has in his hands right now. If we continue to sit here, maybe that bastard will knock on our door with thousands of corpses!”
”Perhaps we should move some troops from the frontlines back and shift our focus back on the frontline after we wipe out the Necromancer…”
”What?! Aren't you aware that Lydia is gathering her military strength now? We're basically asking for death if we weaken our strength in the frontlines!”
”But we need to resolve this danger before us. If we can't destroy that Necromancer, we can't stabilize our frontlines too!”
”What about the Starmoon Mage Association? Perhaps we can seek assistance from their Mages?”
”Those damn Mages have blocked off their Mage Pagoda ever since we declared independence. They definitely want nothing to do with us and they won't respond even if we look for them!”
”Maybe… We can search for an imprisoned general who is willing to support us and we can get him to persuade the other neutral generals…”
”Are you crazy? None of those bastards are easy to deal with and they might even pose a larger problem than that Necromancer!”
”Why can't we once again recruit military troops from the border? Or maybe we can mobilize the navy?”
”How much time does that take? How much time do we have to waste? By the time they return to the shore, we would've turned into food for the Undead Creatures!”
”Send the private soldiers! The Undead Creatures aren't humans who have gone through proper military training like them! As long as a trustworthy General leads a team of private soldiers, surely they can exterminate the Undead Creatures.”
”Private soldiers? The private soldiers we have on hand are only enough to ensure our safety. How is it possible that we send them to Grosso…”
”You're finding excuses because you're afraid…”
”What are you talking about? I'm only stating opinions that I think are reasonable. Aren't you afraid too?”
The noisy disputes were endless in the hall like a bustling morning market. The secretary responsible for taking down the minutes laid down the feather pen and rubbed his throbbing forehead. He gazed at the messy sight and sighed helplessly.
It seems like this meeting will take awhile.
As the Reformist Party disputed over the solution to deal with the Necromancer, another person was having a headache of her own in Grosso.
”I've told you, Big Sister. Leader should have a heroic appearance and those dumb civilians will surely be deeply grateful to him. Doesn't this solve everything?”
”This isn't a plot to a romantic fiction, Bubble. I think we should work according to plan and it will turn out more dramatic and effective.”
”But this ending is terrible, Big Sister! Your suggestion is no different from a Hollywood movie!”
”It's also these movies that receive Oscars every year and are the huge box office hits. This goes to show that most people love them, Bubble.”
”Aiya aiya, what's there to quarrel about? Why not listen to my suggestion instead? AT the critical juncture, a meteorite fell from the sky and—boom! Perfect ending!”
”…”
”…”
”Miss Gillian, your suggestion is kinda… unexpected.”
”Ha…” Rhode rubbed his forehead and let out a long sigh as he sat down in the bar of an empty village, thinking of his upcoming plans. This was the fourth village, but it was desolate and uninhabited compared to the first three. It was apparent that the villagers fled the area after hearing the gruesome happenings.