King

Holy Mountain of Light.

"What, Josip and Jelacic disappeared with the team?"

Pius VII asked in surprise.

A cardinal and an eighth-level paladin captain are also high-ranking officials in the Holy See. If the task of finding the lost artifact wasn't too important, there would be no need for them to lead the team themselves.

"Yes, Your Majesty!

Communication at sea is very inconvenient. Since the team went to sea, the frequency of our contact has decreased.

According to the agreement, we will contact you every half month. It happens that the fleet also needs to purchase materials for replenishment. Our last contact location was in the Kingdom of Hesse.

Various accidents may happen at sea, and it is normal to delay the trip for a few days. When we arrived at the agreed time and place, we were not able to pick up the person and did not attract our attention.

Until five days ago, news came out that a ghost ship was haunted in the foggy waters, and the Dalton family's fleet went to sea to encircle and suppress it and suffered heavy losses. The Alpha Kingdom issued a ban and blocked the route.

The destination of Cardinal Josip and Paladin Jelacic's trip happened to be Poison Dragon Island in the foggy sea, which attracted the attention of the intelligence personnel.

After investigation, it was discovered that the Dalton family's fleet did go to sea ten days ago. The fleet is currently resting on their private island overseas and has not returned to port.

The Dalton family supervises their own island very strictly, and our people cannot penetrate it, so we will not be able to understand the specific situation for a while.

However, judging from the funeral arrangements in the Dalton family territory, they really suffered heavy losses this time.

Counting the days, the day when the Dalton family fleet goes to sea happens to be the time when our people enter the foggy sea.

If the news about the siege of the ghost ship was fabricated by the Alpha people, then the loss of the Dalton family fleet was most likely caused by our people fighting with them.

The unreasonable thing is that we strictly kept confidentiality during this trip, and our identity on the surface was that of a pirate. In a battle with pirates, there is no need for the Alphas to hide their secrets.

By the way, Hudson also took part in the battle against the ghost ship with the dragon. According to the news announced by the Alpha Kingdom, they only repelled the ghost ship. "

Ulisse explained.

The team looking for the artifact included eight eighth-level experts, more than twenty seventh-level experts, and many fifth- and sixth-level experts.

Such a lineup can slay the dragon. If it appears on the battlefield, it can destroy some weak countries.

Theoretically speaking, as long as Josip and Jelacic don't commit suicide, they won't die. Even if the team disappeared, no one present thought that the entire army was destroyed.

"The pirate leader responsible for carrying out this mission is called Manbeard. He is a famous pirate king, and his strength ranks among the top three in the pirate world.

With the help of our people, the strength will not be much weaker than the Dalton family's fleet. If you add a dragon knight, you may suffer a small loss, but it will definitely not destroy the entire army.

I haven't contacted you. Maybe the fleet got lost at sea, or maybe it suffered a loss in the battle with the Dalton family fleet and was forced to retreat into the foggy sea.

The Kingdom of Alpha ordered to block the route. It is very likely that our people's identities were exposed during the battle, which attracted the attention of the Alpha people.

If this is the case, then we must arrange for someone to come over as soon as possible.

Otherwise, the team would suffer heavy losses. If they find the artifact and let it fall into the hands of the Alphas, the consequences will be disastrous! "

Blake analyzed.

Being so familiar with the situation was mainly because Manbeard and his group of pirates were pawns secretly cultivated by the Judgment Knights.

In order to gain some credit, when Bishop Yosip came to borrow someone, Blake pushed Barbarian Beard out.

If the team suffered heavy losses or even the entire army was destroyed due to the lack of strength of the pirates, he would inevitably have to bear the responsibility.

"Blake, you put it easily. Although the Alpha Kingdom's maritime power is not very good, it is not just paper.

Unless we go out personally and send the main fleet there, we will not be able to deter them at all.

Calculating the distance, even if our fleet goes to sea immediately and rushes over as quickly as possible, it will still take a month.

Considering the various accidents that may occur at sea, it is not surprising even if it takes two or three months.

We have been delayed for such a long time on the road alone. By the time our fleet arrives, we may not even have a chance to collect the corpses! "

Gu Lei replied angrily.

All are real issues. The sea route in the extraordinary world is not that easy to travel. If you encounter high-level magical beasts or the station of the Sea Clan along the way, you have to take a detour.

However, the residence of these sea creatures is not fixed, and moving is common. So much so that the current sea routes are constantly changing.

It’s not that no one wants to solve the problem once and for all, but the ending is a bit embarrassing. After all, the sea is not a paradise for humans. If you go to other people's territory to cause trouble, you will have to pay the price in blood.

The route cleared through force encirclement and suppression soon fell again due to the counterattack of the Sea Clan.

Anyway, people have the sea to rely on. If they can win, they will fight. If they cannot win, they will run away. If you want to chase, you also need to be able to enter the water.

No matter how proficient in water warfare, humans are still land creatures and have no way to survive in sea water.

After struggling a few times, I paid a heavy price. Everyone has learned well to take a detour when it’s time to take a detour.

The relationship between humans and the Sea Tribe has always been bad. Even if they know each other's existence, the two sides rarely communicate. In the eyes of most humans, the Sea Tribe is still a mysterious creature.

To be precise, the concept of "Sea Clan" was forcibly named by humans. Essentially, each race in the sea is playing its own game and has never been truly unified.

Occasionally a large empire could only rule a sea area. Compared with the vast ocean, it is like a drop in the granary.

"snort!"

"It's easy to find faults, but why don't you come up with a solution?"

Blake said angrily.

It doesn't matter whether the rescue plan is feasible or not, the key is to take action. In politics, we often need to look not only at the results, but also at the process.

Now his old enemy has exposed the loopholes in the rescue plan, forcing him into an embarrassing situation. If he had known that something would happen to the team looking for the artifact, he would not have gotten involved.

“This matter is simple, just send people to show off to the Alpha Kingdom, ask them to withdraw from the blockade, and release our people.

We are currently in a period of continental war, and the Alpha Kingdom is in a lot of troubles, and the lack of leisure has intensified the conflicts between us.

On the one hand, they made a gesture of using force to solve the problem when the fleet went north; on the other hand, they solved the problem through negotiation, and at the worst, they could provide them with a batch of strategic materials as compensation.

Use both soft and hard tactics. As long as the news about the artifact is not leaked, there won't be any big problems. "

Gu Lei said calmly.

…

In the royal capital, looking at the data in his hands, Hudson suddenly understood why the Ministry of Military Affairs was urging him to come over and take charge of the overall situation every day.

The last war emptied the Alpha Kingdom's treasury. In the past two or three years, most of them have been busy making up for the shortfall.

All strategic material stocks are at an extremely low level. If the flames of war are ignited, the kingdom can only reach out to the nobles everywhere.

Unfortunately, life for the nobles was not easy either. The newly recovered provinces in northern Xinjiang were in the worst situation, and every noble lord was in a situation where they could not make ends meet.

Several provinces affected by the war are currently in a state of recovery. It would be okay to ask them to send troops, but there is definitely no hope of asking for money and food.

Those with the ability to provide supplies to the kingdom are mainly the central and southern provinces of the kingdom. How much supplies can be provided is still unknown. Anyway, it is unlikely to be more than the last war.

The Alpha Kingdom can fight fiercely against the orcs, not only because it is strong enough on its own, but also because it has the various countries of the Human Alliance acting as nannies behind the scenes.

Now that all the countries in the mainland are caught in the flames of war, very few can provide strategic material support to the Alpha Kingdom.

Even if everyone takes the overall situation into consideration and can sell some strategic materials, the quantity cannot be too large, and the price will most likely float in the sky.

The war is about money and food. There is neither money nor food in the national treasury. Even if the kingdom grits its teeth, it will not last long.

"We must fight quickly!"

After this thought came to his mind, Hudson secretly scolded Archduke Efiero for being treacherous.

If the Ministry of Military Affairs dares to propose such a combat plan, it will definitely be sprayed with blood.

Anyone with a little bit of military common sense knows that a quick battle is obviously more suitable for the strong against the weak.

As a weak party, facing the threats of three major alien races, what confidence does the Alpha Kingdom have to fight quickly?

It has to be done even if it can't be solved. The situation is so bad that it is not surprising that the Ministry of Military Affairs wants to centralize power.

"Your Excellency, you have caused a big trouble for me!"

Hudson said angrily.

We are all in the same boat, and it will definitely not work if we leave our choices alone. If he doesn't come on and someone else takes charge of the situation, we don't know what will happen.

Even if there is no chance of winning, it is better to lose all the kingdom's wealth in one's own hands than to follow others and lose their lives in a muddle-headed manner.

Thinking of this, Hudson felt more and more that the Kingdom should sell the "Scepter of Glory". It's a pity that the royal family is unlikely to agree, and the nobles in the country will most likely object.

If he dares to make such a suggestion, religious people will spray him to death. We have been preparing for countless years to establish a new branch. How can we just give up?

"Ha ha……"

"Marshal Your Excellency, those who are able should do more! The current situation is indeed very complicated, but with your ability, you will definitely be able to find a way to break the situation!"

Grand Duke Efiero said awkwardly.

If given a choice, he would not give up the initiative. On the surface, this choice was made to take the overall situation into consideration, but in fact, it still did not want to bear the responsibility for defeat.

"The Principality of Omega has fallen, the Principality of Shillong is also on the way to fall, and the Kingdom of Light has lost more than half of its territory...

Judging from the current situation, the overall performance of the seven grassland countries is very average, and can even be said to be defeated.

Adding up all the time, the Omega Principality only lasted for more than forty days, which was not as long as a strong fortress.

The situation in Shillong Principality is similar. Judging from the intelligence collected, their outer city has been destroyed and the whole country has fallen in the past few days.

If no external force joins in, the seven grassland nations may be maimed or even destroyed by the orcs in less than a year.

There are various indications that the support from mainland countries is not strong for them. The current resistance of the seven grassland countries is just to give an explanation to the alliance.

Looking at the performance of the Omega Principality, we can see that the nobles not only moved their families in advance, but even took away 5,000 troops with them during the final evacuation. How many troops did they have in total?

The Principality of Shillong is also following suit to preserve its strength. Even though their capital city is about to fall, they still have their most elite main army active outside, presumably to support the dignitaries in breaking out.

The same trick can only be used once. Orcs who have been fooled once will definitely learn from their experience, and their breakout will most likely not go smoothly.

The northern front is not optimistic, and the western battlefield is not much better. The performance of Warhammer Kingdom can only be said to be slightly better than that of the Seven Prairie Kingdoms.

Perhaps it won't be long before they retreat to the mountains and hold on, giving up the Warhammer Plains and allowing the armies of the ancient remnants to gallop.

The elves are just a preview. If they also end up in person, the principalities of Cantru, Usta and Fike, which are close to the elven forest, may not be able to sustain themselves for a month.

The other countries in the Northern Continent are also unable to stop the elves' military front. Perhaps in less than half a year, they will be able to break through a road to the central continent.

Of course, this is the most ideal situation. If the elves were determined to go south, it wouldn't be a big deal to let them go.

I am afraid that their goal is to occupy the entire northern continent and list us as a key target. They will attack us from three sides with the orcs and ancient relics, which will be troublesome.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must show sincerity. No matter how much it costs, the elves must be deceived.

Looking at the battlefields across the continent, we can see that the strength shown by the alien alliance is much stronger than everyone expected. There is no battlefield yet, and the human race has established a victory.

Among them, the support provided by the elves also plays an important role.

The heritage of the ancient overlords cannot be underestimated. They are not like the orc empire whose inheritance was interrupted midway. I highly doubt that the elves still have old antiques from the holy realm alive in their hands.

According to records, the last strong man of our human race to break through the Holy Domain was three hundred years ago. It is estimated that other races on the mainland are similar.

Ordinary elves have a lifespan of more than three hundred years, and those old antiques from the sanctuary have a lifespan of a thousand years. They can't all be dead, right?

Heroes emerge from troubled times, and strong men are made from killing. Maybe it won't be long before a new strong man from the holy realm will be born, but I don't know how many the kingdom can produce! "

Hudson couldn't help but sigh.

After studying the history of the mainland, he was surprised to find that all the wars on the mainland were times when strong men emerged in large numbers.

The more fierce the war, the more powerful people are born. Although many strong men fell on the battlefield, it was also the era of the strong.

I don't know if it's a matter of probability due to the large base number, or a matter of luck, but the number of strong men born from the human race in all previous wars has been greater than that of the alien races.

This kind of treatment has also happened to previous continental overlords, but it was not so obvious.

If there were no rumors in the kingdom, Hudson would have suspected that all the continental wars were started by old guys who were approaching their end of life in order to break through the holy territory.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, you have the final say on military matters. We are only responsible for assisting, and all the kingdom's information is open to you.

The background of the elves has always been a mystery. There are a few old antiques alive, so it’s not surprising.

Even in the age of no saints, our human race still has four dragon knights to intimidate everyone. Even an eighth-level powerhouse holding an artifact can compete with an ordinary Saint realm powerhouse.

In recent years, although the human race has lost its holy realm, the strong men with the power of the holy realm have never been cut off.

The situation in the alien alliance is similar. Except for the orcs who were robbed of their inherited artifacts by us, several other major alien races have inherited artifacts. "

Prime Minister Newfoundland publicly explained.

It was obvious that he mistakenly believed that Hudson was from a humble background and did not know much about the secrets of the mainland, so he conducted science popularization in good faith.

In fact, Hudson had discovered these problems long ago. Even a cult organization like the Skull and Bones Society can use the "Horn of the Blood Moon" to cause trouble. It makes no sense that the Orc Empire, as the overlord of one party, has no foundation.

Even though they were forced to withdraw from the prairie, they did not use it. It was not that the orcs did not want to use it, but that they simply did not have the goods in their hands.

After consulting the information provided by the Principality of Moxi, Hudson learned that the Orc Empire had once lost its inheritance. Even the inherited artifacts were snatched away by the human race.

The Moxi people can only make a rough guess as to which major force it is in the hands of. From what the Grand Duke of Newfoundland said, it seems that the Kingdom of Alpha also got a share of the pie.

It was not used openly, either because the artifact had restrictions and the humans could not use it; or because the kingdom was too close to the orcs, and they were worried about driving the orcs crazy.

"Don't worry about the war problem. For now, let's solve the shortage of supplies first!

The weapons and armor from the last war can still be used, so everyone can bring their own. However, strategic materials such as food, cloth, arrows, and fodder require unified preparation by the kingdom.

It is estimated that at this time, strategic materials cannot be purchased on the international market, and even if they can purchase some, the price is beyond the kingdom's affordability.

If the outside world can’t count on it, then we can only find ways to raise funds ourselves. Based on the current situation analysis, the war will burn into the kingdom next year, leaving us little time.

I would like to trouble the prime minister to urge all parties to prepare strategic supplies as much as possible. This is my list of supplies, which must be raised before the beginning of next spring.

The pressure is indeed a bit higher, but the kingdom still has a lot of potential to tap. If grain production capacity cannot be increased for a while, then we should find a way elsewhere.

You can rely on mountains to eat mountains, and you can rely on water to eat water.

Coastal nobles have a natural advantage in being able to go fishing. The sea is rich in aquatic products and rarely damaged by humans, making it a rare treasure.

It is not impossible to concentrate the power of the kingdom and raise two to three hundred thousand tons of dried fish in one year to supplement the meat for the soldiers. "

As he spoke, Hudson had already handed the supply list to the Grand Duke of Newfoundland.

The army can be trained by him, but the money and food must be prepared by the government. Although the numbers on the list are huge, they are within everyone’s capabilities.

At one point, Hudson even wanted to propose: suspend maritime trade and allow all warships and merchant ships to go fishing.

Considering the problem of offending people, we simply took a roundabout approach and directly customized a fishing mission for everyone.

He doesn't care how everyone completes the task. Anyway, since the kingdom's food production capacity is insufficient, dried fish has been included in the military ration system.

As long as the mountainous territory meets its own needs, it can store thousands of tons of dried fish every year. There is no reason why other coastal nobles cannot do this.

For a Southeast Coast hegemon like the Dalton family, as long as they are willing to put in the effort, it is not difficult at all to raise tens of thousands of tons of dried fish a year.

What's more, he also collects aquatic products. If the fish meat is not enough, kelp, shrimp, crab and other seafood can be used to top up the amount.

Without oil and water, these foods may not be delicious. But in war years, being able to fill your stomach is the greatest luck. Ordinary soldiers have no right to be picky.

With limited resources, Hudson did his best to supplement the nutritional value of the soldiers.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, there is such a huge shortage of supplies, and I'm afraid there will be no way to get it together for a while. Especially the coastal provinces, which are also demanding huge amounts of fish, this..."

Before the Grand Duke of Newfoundland could refuse, Hudson interrupted directly: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, no matter how difficult it is, we must get the supplies together. You can't let the soldiers go to the battlefield hungry, right?

The tasks in several coastal provinces are heavy, so reduce the number of troops they recruit and leave the labor force for fishing.

This task is only temporary. Notify the nobles in the coastal areas to increase fishing efforts and store as much dried fish as possible.

It is likely that this number will continue to increase if logistical pressures increase in the future. As compensation, their serf soldiers will be the last recruitment targets of the kingdom.

If everything goes well, there may be no need to go to the battlefield. If others bleed on the front lines, it’s not too much for them to sweat on the rear, right? "

He was about to say something, but when the words reached his lips, the Grand Duke of Newfoundland swallowed them back. There is too good a reason why soldiers should not go to the battlefield hungry.

No matter who becomes the commander-in-chief, the soldiers must be fed.

Hudson's request seemed harsh, but in fact, after the grain and grass were transported to the front line, it was not enough to consume the kingdom's army for ten months.

If the battle is fierce, it might be over in half a year.

Referring to the material reserves of the last war, the material targets on the list are less than half of the kingdom's previous total material reserves.

Being able to support a larger-scale war with such a small amount of supplies is hell mode no matter how you look at it.

If we continue to demand reductions in the total amount of supplies, the war will no longer be fought. Without stockpiling supplies in advance, it is simply impossible to meet frontline needs just by raising them during the war.

The only difference is that the proportion of meat is higher, but it is mainly fish.

In the Kingdom of Alpha, fish and meat can only be regarded as semi-vegetarian food. They are not as oily and watery as pork, beef, and mutton, and their status among the people is far lower than that of pigs, cattle, and sheep.

The main reason is that the time is too short. If there is a few years of preparation time, Hudson will definitely let everyone raise poultry.