Chapter 850: Family and Country

The three warbands now number just over ten thousand. They cannot stop such a huge force of calamity creatures.

There is no fortified city to defend and no cavalry to maneuver and keep the enemy off balance. Even if they stopped that elite force in the open, the casualties would be terrible.

As elite units of the Mobile Strike Group, they cannot be wasted here.

More importantly, this elite force of calamity creatures has at least two Iron Rank leaders.

Those leaders would inflict enormous casualties on the three warbands.

After reviewing the situation, the operational headquarters orders the three warbands to withdraw from Five Forts.

The enemy will reach the area tomorrow morning. The withdrawal has to begin today.

The wounded soldiers go first. Then the troops seal up the unused military supplies.

After a full day's work, the three warbands slowly leave the Five Forts area.

They have marched some distance when a scout suddenly reports that Dimir's Seventh Warband has not followed.

Pabos pauses, then orders the scouts to find out what happened.

A little later, a scout returns to report that Dimir has taken the Seventh Warband back to Five Forts.

Pabos frowns. He follows the scout himself and catches up with the Seventh Warband on its way back.

Whistler of the First Warband notices something is wrong as well and arrives shortly afterward.

Pabos asks, puzzled, "General Dimir, why are you going back?"

Dimir answers, "We are going to hold here, stop the enemy's attack, and slow its advance."

Whistler frowns. "The enemy's breakthrough force is already trapped. The gap between the Leo River and the old riverbed has been blocked."

"Two legions are already on their way. By the day after tomorrow at the latest, they will reach the former gap and help the two warbands from Peace Haven's Southern District defend it."

"Even if the enemy at Palm Tree Lake goes to their aid, it cannot break through that defensive line. Staying here serves no purpose."

Dimir shakes his head. "It does! If we do not stop these twenty thousand or more elite calamity creatures in time, they will spread out."

"This entire region will suffer terrible destruction."

"Once they split into smaller groups and begin plundering, more than a hundred thousand people nearby will face annihilation."

Pabos looks at him in surprise. Dimir smiles. "Pabos, I know that you people in Peace Haven think little of nobles."

"You see us as parasites who care only about pleasure, who exploit and oppress the people, and stand in the way of humanity's progress."

"But nothing comes into being or continues to exist without a reason and a foundation. Your father said that."

"In Lumir, and across the continent, nobles are still the ruling class. More than that, we are the people's protectors."

"Many nobles have forgotten their responsibilities. They remember only their rights, and that is why they have become so corrupt."

"But that does not mean nobles have no value at all."

"We are leaders, pioneers, and protectors!"

"We have a duty to protect the people. At a dangerous time like this, we must prove that we deserve the privileges we enjoy!"

Whistler pauses. "Dimir, we now belong to the Mobile Strike Group. We have to obey its orders."

"Headquarters has ordered us to withdraw, preserve the fighting force, and then destroy these calamity creatures one group at a time."

Dimir shakes his head. "I command a warband in the Mobile Strike Group, but first I am a man of Lumir, and a viscount of Lumir."

"In these circumstances, I should obey Lumir High Command. More importantly, I must obey my honor and my soul."

"They demand that I protect the lives of the people under our rule. I cannot simply turn around and leave."

"Put yourselves in my place. If this were your own territory, would you leave?"

Pabos and Whistler exchange a glance, then draw a deep breath. Before they can speak, Dimir raises a hand to stop them.

"You cannot stay! All the nearby military forces capable of fighting have been assigned to the final stage of Operation Dried Fish."

"The three reinforcing legions are still five days away. Get back quickly and collect your warhorses. We need you as a mobile force."

"Help me fight, and keep the enemy contained. Do not let it scatter. That is the greatest help you can give me."

Whistler looks at Dimir intently. "Then take care, my lord."

He gives a solemn noble's salute, then turns to catch up with his troops.

Pabos falls silent for a moment, then bows slightly. "My lord, we will return as quickly as possible. Avoid a head-on fight. Buy as much time as you can."

Back with the Ninth Warband, Pabos explains what happened.

Ruchi, his deputy warband commander, frowns. "Someone is targeting Marshal Clifford!"

Pabos shakes his head. "Not just Clifford. They mean to strike at Obilian as well."

"Over the past few years, the king has begun centralizing military power because of the Calamity War."

"More importantly, after the Calamity War conference convened and the alliance was formed, Obilian crushed all opposition within the country."

"At the same time, the broader situation prevented the Western Federation from stirring up Lumir's domestic opposition."

"In just a year, King Obilian brought command of the second defense line into his own hands."

"Now the opposition has run out of patience. It will surely use this opportunity to obstruct Obilian's reform faction."

"I think they are using the lives of the people in this region as a pretext to force Obilian to sacrifice the younger officers serving under him."

Ruchi sighs. "How could he agree to that?"

Pabos corrects him. "Obilian would not agree. Marshal Clifford did."

"Clifford is a central figure in the king's reform faction. His position has earned him plenty of enemies."

"They want him to compromise. If he refuses, the marshal's son will be sacrificed."

"So it was Marshal Clifford who gave his own son the order to hold!"

Ruchi nods. "I see. Sacrificing his own family for the country... I have to respect the marshal for that."

Pabos sighs. "My father once described the marshal as a complicated man. He pursues power, but he cannot let go of his conscience."

"You cannot judge a person simply as good or bad from one fixed point of view."

"Look at what is happening now. Clifford is prepared to sacrifice his second son for his family's prosperity."

"He is also doing it for a stronger country, and perhaps partly for the lives of the local people."

"Humanity is already in such danger, yet there are still corrupt nobles who refuse to give up their own interests."

"That is one reason my father is so determined not to grant noble titles."

"A family is too small to contain my father's vision!"

"Only a unified nation can carry out my father's will!"