Chapter 538: Chapter 9: Minister of Logistics, Lord Robson

"The Marshal dedicated his entire life to our Frank Kingdom! Who could have imagined he would meet such an end," Prince Noah added.

"We cannot let the Marshal’s sacrifice be in vain! That damned cult, how dare they invade the realm of the Knight King!"

"Let them witness the ferocity of the Franks!"

"Avenge the Marshal!"

...

In no time, the officers’ morale was successfully roused.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly grew fervent. Prince Noah was so moved that tears welled in his eyes, a sight that left Robson dumbfounded.

"Alright, quiet down, quiet down!"

"What do you think this is? Yellow Leaf Street in Barishik?"

Seeing that emotions were running high, Earl Lu Wen stepped forward to cool things down.

Sometimes, you had to cool the passion in the room to preserve it for the battlefield.

The principle of channeling all one’s energy into a single, decisive effort was also applicable in the Frank Kingdom. If they vented all their passion in the meeting, what would be left for what came next?

The voices in the hall gradually died down.

"Alright, I understand how all of you feel."

"But war is no child’s play. We cannot let it be swayed by personal feelings.

Gentlemen, though the Marshal is dead, he is now watching over us from the Lord’s Celestial Kingdom.

We cannot let him down," said Marquis Oscillate.

"Marquis, what are your plans for what comes next?" Earl Lu Wen asked, speaking first.

All eyes turned to Oscillate.

Oscillate was already renowned within the kingdom and had always enjoyed an excellent reputation.

In recent times, he had also proven his military prowess on the central front, winning the respect of the officers.

"I have a few thoughts."

"The enemy is nothing more than a group of cultists. Although they have temporarily deluded the Marshal’s army..."

"But in the end, a cult is just a cult."

"I have already finished my discussion with Lumian Knight Commander. He will lead the charge, integrating the Extraordinary forces from within the army..."

The Marquis continued to lay out his plan.

Orders were issued one after another. Many of the new faces Robson had just met were now being entrusted with heavy responsibilities.

The Marquis’s strategy wasn’t actually all that complex. Or rather, it wasn’t as if they had any other choice.

With the supply lines for the hundreds of thousands of troops beyond the pass becoming unsustainable, the human army really only had one choice: to punch through the central front, and fast.

The Marquis’s plan could be summed up with a single concept: overwhelming force.

Although they didn’t know where Grantham had found so many flying creatures, the Marquis had hundreds of Griffin Knights at his command.

At some cost, they had managed to gather intelligence on Riliman Fortress.

Riliman only had five thousand men, while the Marquis commanded over five thousand Extraordinary Knights alone.

Although a large portion of them were foreign allies, the Marquis also enjoyed a fine international reputation and had many favors he could call upon to mobilize some of their corps.

The first wave would consist of three thousand Extraordinary Soldiers and twenty thousand elite troops, who would relentlessly assault Riliman Fortress day and night.

It was no surprise that the Marquis had adopted such a blunt strategy. Against a military genius like Grantham, one had to use overwhelming force—absolute power to crush the opposition. Any attempt at clever maneuvering could easily become an opening for the enemy to seize victory.

As Robson listened to the Marquis lay out his plans, he began to feel that something was not quite right.

The Marquis had already gone through a long list of names, but Robson listened and listened, yet never heard his own.

Robson had just rendered a great service; there was no way the Marquis would sideline him.

’This isn’t a good thing.’

’If I’m not being sidelined, my assignment will probably be saved for last.’

’As everyone knows, the tasks saved for last are always the most important, and important tasks are usually the hardest.’

After speaking for some time, the Marquis’s gaze finally settled on Robson.

As everyone knows, the tasks left for last are rarely good ones.

Robson already had an inkling of what his assignment would be.

"Earl Robson, all other matters have been assigned.

However, the army’s logistics problem has not yet been resolved. At present, we can only procure food from the grasslands. Of everyone here, I doubt anyone is more familiar with the grasslands than Earl Robson.

I wonder, Earl, if you have the confidence to take on this assignment?" Oscillate asked.

’Just as I thought. The single worst job in the army.’

’The army’s logistics.’

’In normal times, this would surely be a lucrative assignment, ripe for the picking.’

’Unfortunately, these are special circumstances.’

’The army is stuck beyond the central front, and the Kingdom’s supply lines can’t get through.’

’What’s more, since the army was mobilized to attack the Beastman Empire, they were mostly carrying weapons and armor.’

’But now, what the army lacks most is food. Two hundred thousand men are waiting to eat...’

’Honestly, this thankless job is pure torture. If I really had a choice, I wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.’

’Unfortunately, there were no ’ifs’ in this matter.’

’The Marquis’s tone left no room for Lord Robson to refuse.’

’You have to pay your dues. I relied on the Marquis to get my start, and now I have to follow his orders.’

"For the sake of the Kingdom, it is my undeniable duty," Robson said.

A smile spread across the Marquis’s face.

This was what the Marquis liked about Robson; the man understood his position.

"However, I will require some assistance," Robson said.

"Speak freely, Earl," Oscillate said.

It was only natural for Robson to set his conditions; if he hadn’t, Oscillate would have been more concerned.

"My Lord Marquis, you may not be aware, but although I forged a path through the grasslands..."

"...in truth, a great deal of the power I used to do so came from the Gnolls I’ve subjugated and some of the lesser races of the Beastman Empire."

"When it comes to understanding the grasslands, no one knows them better," Robson said.

’I’ll take this opportunity,’ Robson thought, ’to legitimize my Alien Race Corps.’

’Even though I already had Louis III’s approval, that only made them legal. It didn’t guarantee public acceptance.’

’The nobles here come from all corners of the kingdom. And they’re almost all from high-ranking families.’

’As long as this group accepts them, I’ll be able to use the Alien Race Corps openly in the future. Even if not against the nobles of the Frank Kingdom, they’d be excellent for conquering the Demon Beast Mountain Range and the Beastman Grassland, or even just as manual labor for farm work.’

The crowd was astonished. The dazzlingly talented Earl Robson in their eyes was actually colluding with Beastmen?

The news that Robson used Beastmen had not spread within the kingdom. Louis III had his own face to save and would never have acknowledged such a thing.

"At a time like this? And we’re still debating something so trivial?"

Seeing the conflicted expressions on the faces of the nobles inside the grand tent, Lumian Knight Commander looked displeased.

The Algeria Kingdom was unlike the Frank Kingdom. Algeria’s national power was half again as strong as Frank’s, making it a typical superpower in the Human World, and with that strength came tolerance. The Algeria Kingdom itself even had a number of Alien Race Corps.

"Alright, gentlemen."

"His Majesty the King has already given his nod to this matter, and the Kingdom Council has discussed it as well.

This is all for the good of the Kingdom. In fact, His Majesty the King and I have long considered such reforms. Earl Robson was acting with our blessing," the Marquis said.

This was indeed not the time for such sentimentality.

The noble lords mumbled and hesitated. Thinking back on their earlier conversations with Robson, they found they couldn’t bring themselves to dislike him.

Besides, with the Marquis himself taking the flak, what could they say?

"That is a small matter. Do you require any other assistance?" the Marquis asked.

With the matter settled, a gleam appeared in Robson’s eyes.

’This way, the future development of the Affleck Domain won’t be held back by population alone.’

"I wish to be given full authority over logistics, without interference from others," Robson said.

’This was, of course, for the sake of those weapons and armor.’

’It’s autumn now. The winds blowing from the Endless Sea are quite strong. It would be considered normal wear and tear if they just so happened to damage some of the armor.’

The Marquis naturally understood what Robson was thinking.

"As long as you can guarantee the army’s supply of weaponry, that will be fine," the Marquis said with a smile.

The boundaries for skimming off the top had been established.

"Of course," Robson replied.

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