Chapter 1423 - 1334: For the Sake of Going Home (4k) (Double-Length Chapter)_2

Chapter 1423: Chapter 1334: For the Sake of Going Home (4k) (Double-Length Chapter)_2

Although I don’t understand why the encirclement was possible earlier but not executed, since the Staff Office and His Majesty have given orders, the frontline troops can only adapt.

After all, there are too many variables on the battlefield; perhaps something unexpected has stalled the encirclement.

"If that’s the case." Victor looked at Mathis, "What do you all say?"

The high-ranking military and political officials present, though a bit embarrassed, spoke up, "The current situation is unfavorable. We ask that Your Excellency reshuffle tasks to stabilize the situation in Immortal Stone Field primarily."

In fact, Horn did not give Victor specific indicators, nor would he micromanage. He just wanted Victor to block and slow down the advance of the Royal Court’s troops.

Originally, Victor landed at Mason Port intending to cooperate with Narran’s battle army to try to reclaim some territory.

But given the situation and Narran’s battle army’s demonstrated combat strength, he had to change strategies.

"Ahem." He coughed and looked at Mathis, "It’s truly remarkable that the soldiers of Narran’s battle army have persisted until now.

But there’s no need to persist anymore; the Eastern Army will attack Fishing City, cover for a leisurely retreat, regroup, and await the next opportune moment."

Upon hearing this news, the advisors and high priests present collectively sighed with relief.

They understood the strength of the Eastern Army.

Though up till now, none of the three infantry battle regiments or the one cavalry battle regiment has received designation numbers, it doesn’t mean they are weak.

This only means that Narran’s battle army must bear the responsibility of abandoning Wood Ruler City.

After losing so many battles, perhaps it’s time for Narran’s battle army to concede.

The warehouse suddenly became quiet, many advisors of Narran’s battle army looked at Mathis.

Victor seemed to sense something, tentatively looking at Mathis, "Lord Mathis, do you have anything you wish to say?"

"I want to ask Lord Victor, approximately when will the encirclement happen?"

"Estimated to be in a week."

"If we retreat, won’t a large swath of land fall into the hands of vampires?"

"We have no choice but to do so." Victor candidly admitted this, "You will retreat to the fortress group in the New Five Counties, blocking in layers..."

"Then we must stay!"

Mathis’s voice wasn’t loud, yet it resounded in the ears of everyone in the warehouse.

Upon hearing this statement, including the local high priests and advisor priests present, their expressions changed.

Victor, who had initially been quite amicable, gradually began to look distressed, "Narran’s battle army, plans to defy orders?!"

"This isn’t defiance but the optimal decision. If Narran’s battle army can stop the Royal Court’s troops, the Eastern Army can complete the encirclement sooner!" Mathis anxiously pointed at the map in explanation.

Victor watched coldly while Kolman beside him had long since been swearing.

Amidst a cacophony of accusations, Mathis’s voice defending himself seemed as lonely as a lone boat in a storm.

Eventually, it was the chief priest of the Eastern Army who arrived, having heard the clamor, and stopped the crowd.

"Narran’s battle army has already regrouped in Wood Ruler City." Seeing the chief priest arrive, Mathis eagerly spoke up, "Please, Your Majesty, give me one more chance."

Victor said nothing, merely looked at Mathis as if a pureblood watching a Muggle, seeming to ponder yet also to wait.

Instead, Kolman couldn’t hold back; his character was rough and fiery, he bluntly said, "Given a chance, yet you’re useless, you were supposed to guard Fishing City, and now what?"

"Konyaz’s Royal Palace advanced too quickly, we weren’t prepared..."

"Come off it, Fishing City is lost, what’s the point of saying this now?"

Disregarding Kolman, Mathis stepped forward and grabbed Victor’s hand, "Sir, do you have relatives who died at the vampires’ hands?"

"No." With a stoic expression, Victor slightly shook his head, "Vampires are the enemies of humanity, all humans are our kin..."

"Have you seen it with your own eyes?"

"The massacre at Gewu City, Green Leaf City massacre, Branded City massacre, Changge City massacre... How many of our kin died at the vampires’ hands!"

Mathis gripped his blood-stained collar like it was his beating heart.

"We experienced it ourselves; every soldier joining Narran’s battle army practically has relatives or friends who died at the vampires’ hands."

"Just like in the past at Thousand River Valley, I lost my best teacher, my hometown, my city... They won’t come back!"

"In vampire-occupied territories, humans live like wild dogs, reminiscent of Thousand River Valley under the church’s reign."

"We come with a sea of hatred demanding the vampires pay a sea of blood as the price!"

"Please believe me, Narran’s battle army is not lacking in courage or combat strength but merely lacks experience and preparation."

"Give us a chance, and we will firmly hold the vampires’ army outside the New Five Counties! Buy enough time for the encirclement!"

"As long as Narran’s battle army is at the Seine River for a day, no Royal Court’s troop can cross the Seine River!"

Mathis’s explanation felt soaked in blood, causing many present to pause.

Compared to others who faced vampires in occupied areas, their hatred towards vampires was purely out of public indignation.

For many Thousand River Valley soldiers, killing vampires meant defending the Holy Alliance, whereas for soldiers of Narran’s battle army, killing vampires meant revenge!

But placing a war on such an airy foundation was not Victor’s style.

"I can sympathize with your hatred, but we cannot base this crucial victory on your personal assurance..." Victor’s face shifted from relaxed to grave.

"Leave us some supplies, and we are willing to burn Rongbo Bridge!"

The warehouse was completely silent at this point; everyone watched Mathis with complex expressions.

Even Victor was stunned, "You want to burn Rongbo Bridge?"

Rongbo Bridge is the most important bridge connecting Wood Ruler City to the New Five Counties.

It is built at the narrowest point of the Seine River, yet is almost the sole pathway for Narran’s battle army to retreat to the New Five Counties.

Burning it means Narran’s battle army will have no retreat.

Narran’s battle army, within the Holy Alliance Army’s ranks, has always belonged to the batch that is newly established and combat-low.

After all, they’ve been established for less than half a year, lack practical experience, internally diverse, and receive little attention.

In most Holy Alliance advisors’ eyes, the role of Narran’s battle army is to fill gaps and guard.

Yet at this moment, they were uncharacteristically intending to undertake the most daunting defense mission.

Just a mere twenty to thirty thousand second-line troops, intent on dealing with the Royal Court’s most elite first-line troops, was this not suicidal?

"There’s no jest in the military, Lord Mathis." The chief priest of the Eastern Army immediately stepped forward and whispered persuasion.

"This isn’t a jest, nor a rash boast from a moment of anger." Mathis pulled out a petition from his bosom, handing it to Victor, "This is the desire of our entire battle army!

Please submit it to His Majesty; if He disagrees, we will still comply with orders, entrusting you."

Victor looked complexedly as he opened the thick petition book, noting name after name inscribed within.

Some couldn’t write, so they drew a circle and then pressed a fingerprint.

And this list was thumb thick.

"You might think I’m crazy." Mathis seemed on the verge of collapse, yet his eyes seemed on fire, "But we have twenty thousand such lunatics."

"Why?" Victor felt a wave of familiar yet strange sentiment expanding, "Why do this? You’ve already fulfilled your task and tried your best."

Why?

This is the question everyone wants to ask, an answer Mathis pondered for a long time, even considering a response as long as a speech.

It’s just when he glanced around, those words about humanity’s bright future, Holy Alliance’s strategic layouts, all stuck unsaid.

"We haven’t stayed in this area long, though this land is unfamiliar to us, it’s still offered us drifters a small home."

"Saying we’ve ’tried our best’... is actually empty talk; we simply don’t want to lose our hometown once more." Mathis lowered his head, "You may not understand — for the Holy Alliance, this battle is to ward off foreign enemies.

Whereas for us, it’s for revenge, for... for..."

Mathis’s lips trembled as he looked at the fellow companions crowded in the room, like he wanted to say something, yet he couldn’t, stuck in his throat.

In the end, all the passionate blood dissipated, leaving only a low sigh: "Just to go home."