Chapter 450: Waking Up to Reality
Because their mobilization ability couldn’t compare to the Northern Glory Alliance, the Alliance Army deployed in the south to guard against the North Gate Border City Alliance simply couldn’t be redeployed in a short period. They could only temporarily recruit soldiers from the northern cities of the Alliance, which immediately led to another round of wrangling. According to the Alliance treaty, the Alliance Army was the Alliance Army, and the City Defense Force was the City Defense Force; one was public, the other private, and they absolutely could not be mixed, not even in war.
After much persuasion and offering a sufficient price, a motley crew of tens of thousands of soldiers was finally deployed at the border, filling the huge gap.
However, the Alliance Council, aware of its own strength, harbored no illusions. Apart from accelerating conscription, it immediately dispatched a large number of envoys to the North Gate Border City Alliance for assistance. Additionally, a secret envoy group was sent to the far north.
“It wasn’t in vain that we gave them so much time; they finally know who to turn to,” Maya said with a sneer, monitoring the enemy’s every move through the One-Eyed Giant Eagle and the intelligence network spread throughout the Northland Noble Alliance.
A mere Northland Noble Alliance, long since infiltrated and riddled with holes, didn’t require any special preparations from the territory. The plan was to take advantage of the situation and catch them all in one go, including the North Gate Border City Alliance, which would inevitably be involved, and the Barbarian Kingdom, whose participation remained uncertain.
Once these three forces were eliminated, the territory would dominate the Northland, possessing the power to establish its own rule. For this, the territory had long been prepared.
“Since the bait has been cast, let the battle begin,” Maya said, putting down the intelligence report and addressing Howard, who had been waiting for this moment.
Howard, who had simulated this scenario countless times, nodded and began issuing orders, instructing the army assembled at the border of Mara City to advance steadily.
The territory had excess production capacity, providing ample resources for infrastructure construction. Roads, in particular, were a top priority. Over the past thirty years, a network of roads had been built, and several main roads could accommodate the rapid movement of armored corps and even serve as temporary airstrips.
However, beyond the territory’s borders, conditions were different. Apart from a few main roads, most were dirt roads, naturally affecting the marching speed. Therefore, the army’s movements couldn’t be rushed; haste wouldn’t be beneficial.
But Howard wasn’t concerned about this. The bait had just been cast, and moving too quickly could scare away the fish. Consequently, aside from the Ranger Regiment acting as scouts, the first wave of twenty thousand soldiers consisted entirely of the Reserve Army Corps.
The members of the Reserve Army Corps were all civilians, but they received one month of military training each year. Coupled with the option to purchase firearms at their own expense for practice, their combat effectiveness was still guaranteed. At the very least, the training intensity of most other forces couldn’t necessarily match theirs.
Combined with the obedience and discipline instilled by the System, once they donned military uniforms and were equipped with standard weapons, they were indistinguishable from the regular army, except for the lack of large-caliber artillery and armored units. Even the Northland Noble Alliance didn’t notice any difference, still nervously mobilizing troops to fill the hole in the border.
Calling it a hole was no exaggeration. The Northern Glory Alliance’s border fortifications were semi-permanent. Even the trenches were laid with prefabricated concrete components, coupled with a complete drainage system and defensive structures, forming a solid defensive line. The Northland Noble Alliance’s fortifications, on the other hand, were contracted out, so they were repaired every year and collapsed every year, resembling shoddy construction.
Coincidentally, it was the time to bid for the contract, and as the target of construction, naturally, the more dilapidated it was, the more reason there was to allocate funds for repairs. So, when it came to actual use, they discovered that only one-third of the original hundred-mile border fortifications were usable. The remaining areas either had collapsed trenches that had become shallow ditches or defensive structures that had fallen into ruin due to years of neglect, essentially lacking the conditions to cope with war.
One can imagine the despair of the soldiers dispatched to face this situation; even the officers couldn’t bear it.
If it weren’t wartime, these officers would have chosen to turn a blind eye, as it was an unspoken rule, understood by all.
The problem was that it was wartime now, and they would soon be fighting the enemy. If the battle went poorly, they would undoubtedly become scapegoats. So, they didn’t hesitate to expose the issue.
While this might offend some people, at least their defeat in battle would be understandable, and that was enough.
After the matter was exposed, it didn’t actually cause a huge uproar. Ordinary people were unaware, and the nobles wouldn’t specifically tell them about it. However, everyone in the Noble Council was certainly aware.
Theoretically, after the exposure of this incident, it was enough to hang hundreds of people responsible. However, through some maneuvering and the involvement of decades-old corrupt practices, the matter was ultimately swept under the rug. Even the Council President had an expression of exasperation, knowing in his heart that this broken Alliance was doomed.
In reality, before the war even began, North City received thousands of letters of surrender. Excluding duplicates, at least three-fifths of the Northland Noble Alliance’s ruling class were willing to surrender, and most of the rest were waiting to see what happened. As for those who intended to fight to the bitter end, there were only three or five self-righteous individuals who thought they could save the Alliance. They didn’t even know how many people were eyeing their heads, waiting to take them as trophies to pledge their allegiance and earn rewards.
This battle was practically won before it even began, leaving both Maya and Howard speechless.
They knew the Northland Noble Alliance was rotten, but they didn’t expect it to be this rotten, so fragile that it couldn’t be touched without crumbling.
But there was nothing they could do. The Northland Noble Alliance’s military equipment was all secondhand goods discarded by the territory. Their military system and structure, even their border defense system, were copied. It was precisely because of this imitation that they knew from the start they had no chance of winning. In this situation, what were they waiting for if not to surrender?
It could be said that as long as the territory was willing to accept their surrender, there would be no shortage of collaborators, from north to south, from west to east. If they were willing to loosen the conditions a bit, the battle could be fought like a theatrical performance.
However, the territory’s true intention wasn’t to simply conquer the Northland. They wouldn’t easily accept their surrender. If they surrendered, how would they catch the bigger fish? Therefore, the twenty thousand Reserve Army Corps were advancing while simultaneously repairing and constructing roads. They built a comprehensive relay station every thirty miles.
The Northland Noble Alliance held another meeting, this time to discuss the Northern Glory Alliance’s strange actions.
First, what made them worthy of such cautious treatment? The enemy’s step-by-step advance felt like boulders pressing down on their chests, making it difficult to breathe. Besides, everyone present knew each other’s intentions. They were all planning to surrender first and seize a favorable position. It was impossible for the enemy to be unaware of this.
Since they knew, then…
You could call them greedy, you could call them foolish, but you couldn’t call them stupid. True fools couldn’t survive here. So, they immediately realized that the Northern Glory Alliance’s target wasn’t limited to them.
While gasping in shock, they couldn’t help but marvel at their neighbor’s appetite. Thus, a new round of debate began.
Firstly, did the Northern Glory Alliance have the capacity to devour three large meals? If not, was there still a need for them to surrender?
Secondly, should they inform the Barbarian Kingdom and the North Gate Border City Alliance, forming a true tripartite alliance to resist the Northern Glory Alliance?
The entire council argued endlessly over this. Finally, a particularly perceptive council member spoke up. Regardless of whether the Northern Glory Alliance had the capacity to devour three large meals, they could certainly consume their appetizer.
By then, they would be gone, and who would care about the rest?
Furthermore, if they surrendered first, and then their new master lost, wouldn’t their surrender have been in vain?
Therefore, the council began discussing how to help the Northern Glory Alliance ensnare the other two factions, completely forgetting that they were the ones who had sent envoys to those two for help, aiming to drag them into the conflict.
