Chapter 1398: The Necessity of War (Part 2)

Chapter 1398 -752: The Necessity of War (Part 2)

If it’s impossible to have real control, what’s the point?

Lance doesn’t want to be left picking the scraps…

He called upon those he’s been training; they come from the working class, so they have some understanding of grassroots issues. What they need is a shift in mindset.

For this reason, Lance directly used the recent administrative reports as teaching materials to tutor those people.

Whether they had the talent, loyalty, or were opportunists, Lance could generally discern after a single class.

The ones who remained were those truly capable of changing the decline of Hamlet City.

“Prepare yourself; we are about to start some extracurricular activities.”

The students also understood that the time had finally come. Although they felt like ducks pushed onto a perch, they all had the determination to strive for Hamlet’s return to greatness.

“Class dismissed!”

Lance disbanded the temporary class and gave them a day off. Everyone took the opportunity to go home, as they might not be able to return for a while.

The three-day holiday for the Celebration Festival was over. The seemingly turbulent situation had not affected the stability of Hamlet City, as people left and new arrivals came.

Reynard and the others had returned the day before. After tirelessly capturing over seven hundred cultists in two days, they filled the sanatorium, forcing Lance to order the execution of the remaining ones.

The Honor Guard dealt with the cultists with overwhelming force, making it obvious that if they targeted ordinary people, it would undoubtedly be a massacre.

Nevertheless, Lance decided to have the Honor Guard stay at home, as the unresolved issue of the ruins made diverting the entire army a very high risk.

Besides, the Honor Guard was established to deal with entities possessing Supernatural Powers.

Let humans fight human battles…

Lance wrapped up the course, but in reality, he still had many matters to handle after leaving the school.

Baldwin took care of governmental affairs with ease, needing only a starting point and a clear direction to follow the outlined framework, lightening Lance’s burdens significantly.

However, the army could not be delegated to others. He still needed to discuss upcoming military strategies with a few Commanders, involving not only battle plans but also resource allocations that required his approval.

After going around the circuit, Lance found himself not much more relaxed than before.

Damn it, the old… the ancestor is gone…

Damn emperor, damn nobles!

If it weren’t for these bastards annexing Hamlet’s territory, he could have been enjoying life by now.

Don’t let me catch you, or you won’t have a good end.

Lance ate wherever he went; fortunately, there was no ration-cutting in the military camp. There was both vegetables and meat, enough to get full, which was unimaginable for most people in this world.

Given the conditions, it’s no wonder that many starving people wanted a bit of food from the Lord. Unfortunately, the selection of soldiers had not been relaxed, and had even become stricter.

It was only after dark that Lance returned. The time to set out had been confirmed, and the logistical supplies were ready, allowing him to ease up a bit.

At home, he finally saw Grendel waiting for him. Recently, she had been busy treating those affected by the Blood Moon and preparing medicinal treatments, so she appeared noticeably fatigued.

“Is it another war?” Grendel’s expression was one of helplessness mixed with concern, “Everyone hasn’t fully recovered from the Blood Moon’s effects.”

Last time, Grendel was displeased with Lance for returning for only a day before immediately heading back to the dungeons, completely ignoring the chaos in Hamlet City due to the arrival of the Extreme Darkness.

The descent of the Blood Moon truly terrified her, as the worsening situation indicated that things were going poorly on his end, and she feared something had happened to Lance. But she couldn’t contact him, nor could she leave.

Fortunately, Lance proved that his plan was sound, ending both the Extreme Darkness and Blood Moon in the shortest possible time.

But the mess hadn’t ended, and all sorts of things still occurred. Small scale skirmishes involving the Honor Guard were bearable, but the full mobilization of the army was on a completely different scale—five to six thousand including logistics.

What’s the cost? It is a massive burden on the already battered Hamlet City.

Lance understood her concerns and remained calm in explaining the situation without feeling negative emotions from being questioned.

“I know what you’re thinking, but we must fight this battle, and it’s urgent. If we can’t finish before the snow falls, it will be difficult for Hamlet to get through this winter peacefully.”

Grendel furrowed her brows upon hearing this, falling into a contemplative state yet finding it hard to grasp his words.

“Is there an enemy stronger than the Evil God worshiped by the Ascension Sect?”

“The enemy is not outside; it’s inside.”

Lance had no intention of being cryptic and explained directly.

“To combat the Ascension Sect, we had to expand the army with generous benefits. Now the evil cult is obliterated, but the three thousand troops remain.

Honestly, this number and those benefits are not sustainable for Hamlet under normal circumstances.

Previously, under external pressure, we had no choice but to overdraft significant funds to import resources and exploit common folk to sustain this situation.

But it’s an unhealthy state. With reduced external pressures, we must resolve this issue, or it will stall Hamlet’s development.”

“You say the problem lies with the military, so why aren’t we just downsizing instead of going to war?” Grendel found Lance’s seemingly counterintuitive action puzzling.

Lance couldn’t help but laugh at her remark, making the previously solemn atmosphere awkward, which puzzled Grendel even more.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Mentioning the army doesn’t mean it’s the only problem. Have you noticed an even larger group in Hamlet now?”

“The adventurers?”

“No, the refugees.” Lance shook his head slowly, revealing the answer before asking, “How are we handling these refugees now?”

“There are quite a few jobs in the city, plus routes to the ruins. There are lots of construction sites in town, and when the Extreme Darkness and Blood Moon arrived, we settled them by sending them to wild development areas.”

Grendel still had some awareness of these matters and could list a few off the top of her head.

“You think Hamlet City and its surrounding areas can accommodate so many refugees because we can provide many jobs.

But have you realized that they lack means for self-sustenance, and Hamlet doesn’t have enough factories to offer work? Essentially, most are just being supported by us.

Have you thought about what will happen if Hamlet can’t provide so many jobs anymore?”

“You mean the snow season?” The question posed by Lance made Grendel instinctively mention a keyword.

Heavy snow sealing the mountains is an indelible memory of the region, even if there are adequate food reserves, many people still die for various reasons at this time, let alone those who didn’t hunt enough during the autumn hunt.

“Right, with the coming snow season, supposed wilderness development, and most construction having to stop, how should we handle them?

Let alone logistics, now even the adventurers have left the ruins village, leaving minimal demand for materials, and not much need for construction work anymore.

We need to reclaim territory before the heavy snow, only then can we settle them. Otherwise, this problem will explode in our hands.”

“But we can’t just send people to those places directly, can we? Without lands or resources, lacking survival skills, they won’t manage to survive even if we cultivate, right?”

Grendel’s concern was reasonable. Why have these people become refugees drifting here?

Because they couldn’t survive. Placing them in those places would be akin to executing them, right?

“Who says there isn’t? Not only are there resources, but many of them…” Lance suddenly displayed a strange smile, “We need to seize wealth from the rich and redistribute the fields.”