King
Chapter 522 - 522 94 Consider the Bigger Picture_1

522: Chapter 94, Consider the Bigger Picture_1 522: Chapter 94, Consider the Bigger Picture_1 Everything had settled, and the expeditionary army embarked on their journey home.

Unlike their initial journey, laden with just their long spears, they were now returning with carts filled to brim.

Undoubtedly, Hudson was not the only one who got rich.

The nobles who came along saw their wallets swelled as well.

Even the common soldiers garnered decent spoils.

Hording war loot, an inescapable vice of a traditional army.

Luckily, the soldiers’ limited knowledge led them to mainly hoard currency, primarily copper and silver coins.

Even gold coins were only touched by a small number of audacious soldiers.

This was the great wisdom of the lowly serfs; for them, enormous wealth was outright disastrous.

To speed up the march, Hudson imposed a limit on the amount of loot each noble could carry home.

The crude measurement unit chosen was the cart: a viscount could not exceed one cart, a baron a quarter of a cart, and a knight a tenth of a cart.

Before setting off, a large-scale merchandise trade fair was held in the expeditionary army camp, staging a tearful big sale.

Including Hudson himself, quite a number of war loots were sold.

The buyers were naturally the Major Nobles of the Moxi Duchy.

Only the powerful could afford such profitable bargains from others’ clearance sale.

Such is war – the survivors become rich, and the dead turn into dust.

From the start of the expedition to their return now, the expeditionary army had been in the Moxi Duchy for nearly a year.

In between, they experienced sadness and joy, bitterness, and tears, tasting all the flavors of life.

Holding the thick list of those killed in action, the joy Hudson once felt vanished completely.

As a victor, he reaped both fame and wealth.

He was returning with the title “Marshal” along with the glory and riches.

But the cost was the more than 80,000 expeditionary force soldiers that had fallen.

Even excluding the more than 60,000 who fell in the Battle of Dachias, over 20,000 had lost their lives for this glory.

Not only a lot of soldiers but also many officers had died.

Out of 1200 kingdom aristocrats that came, they would stay forever in this foreign land.

The pit was dug by Crown Prince Caesar, yet Hudson had to deal with the aftermath.

Now as the expeditionary force commander, he couldn’t avoid the troubles that arose when the relatives of the deceased aristocrats stirred up trouble.

After reflecting for a bit, Hudson decided to close the list.

He had to turn a blind eye to certain things if he wanted to remain sane.

The journey home was hasty, covering fifty miles a day.

One could feel an air of murderous intent from afar, a testament to how much the expeditionary force had changed.

The Moxi people’s wooing ability was not bad.

Originally, there were more than 114,000 in the expeditionary force, but now, only about 76,000 people followed Hudson back home.

The nobles who repented for their crimes mainly chose to immigrate to a foreign country.

They were forced out, as surviving the Battle of Dachias meant their troubles were far from over.

Responsibility had to be shouldered for a lost battle.

They couldn’t handle Crown Prince Caesar, so they had to imprison some fleeing officers as a token of explanation to the families of the fallen.

Even if they were to atone for their sins with new military exploits, they could only escape official punishment, they still had to bear the blame and enmity.

They had no share in the post-war awards.

They had to bear the blame they were not responsible for, how could they not be enraged?

In such a context, with just a slight provocation from the Moxi people, the nobles were more than willing to defect.

In reality, even without the need to return home and experience it firsthand, the personnel appointment changes within the expeditionary force were enough to show some problems.

The majority of positions in the army were filled by Hudson’s trusted confidents.

The noble sinners were assigned to peripheral roles.

This was not Hudson’s deliberate suppression; rather, it was out of political necessity.

Military appointments had to be reported to the capital, and nominating officers with a tainted record carried consequences for the commander in chief.

Apart from these people, the aristocratic military officers from various regions of the continent who had gathered also stayed.

They didn’t have many options.

Although Hudson promised to report their contributions accurately after returning to the kingdom and advocate for them to acquire titles and territories, it was, after all, a post-dated check.

The territories offered by the Moxi people could be cashed immediately.

Even though most of them were along the Northern Border, it didn’t stop the nobles, tasked with poaching talent, from embellishing the situation.

Claims such as the Orc Empire will surely perish, Alpha Kingdom has reclaimed its lost territories, Moxi Duchy no longer borders with the Orcs…

and more, a multitude of theoretical premises left Hudson baffled when hearing them.

As the nobles jumped ship, their private armies naturally had to stay as well.

As for matters concerning their families, the Department of Foreign Affairs from the two countries were responsible for coordinating.

The aristocrats in the kingdom felt the cake was too small not enough to divide, so if anyone wanted to free up a slice, they were more than happy and didn’t hold back.

Although the size of the army had reduced, Hudson’s control over the expeditionary army was further strengthened.

In addition to the engineering corps of more than 8,000, Hudson’s direct force expanded to more than 12,000.

The troops under the command of other members of the Koslow family had also grown to over 13,000.

This figure did not include the replenished soldiers provided by the Kingdom, knowing that these people had to be returned after the war, Hudson deliberately allocated them to other aristocrats.

The soldiers replenished by his own family mainly came from the Moxi Duchy.

They had been ravaged by the Orcs and were now homeless people.

Having nowhere to go, following the commander-in-chief to develop in the Alpha Kingdom did not pose much of an issue to them.

Compared to when they started, their military might had expanded fivefold.

The rapid expansion of their forces was largely due to the support of those hundreds of family descendants.

It was because he had a group of junior officers at his command that Hudson dared to play so fiercely.

The remaining tens of thousands of troops were either in the hands of Hudson’s younger associates or were commanded by those nobles who were close to him.

A new political group centered on Hudson had quietly formed, equipped and ready to take root, grow and strengthen.

…

In the Orc Empire, the beleaguered Bimon Emperor returned to his imperial court in a sorry state after enduring many hardships and difficulties.

It was supposed to be over by this point of time.

Unfortunately, the “Old Sir Knights”, tempted by the Secret Longevity Technique, showed no signs of giving up on him.

They relentlessly pursued him into the heartland of Orc Empire, intent on not stopping until they achieved their goal.

Usually, venturing deep into the enemy’s territory with only a few soldiers in tow is a big military taboo.

Waiting for the army of the Alpha Kingdom to act together was the safest choice.

Regrettably, many old fellows had fallen along the way.

They had died not on the battlefield, but of exhaustion and old age.

This was a cruel reality for the old fellows who were nearing the end of their lives.

The Secret Longevity Technique was within sight, but they were falling short.

Many of the old fellows, barely holding on to their lives, naturally did not want to waste time.

If the Bimon Emperor could endure for another three to five years, they would not even have to send troops to attack.

These old fellows would die naturally.

It was precisely because they were not left with many days that these old fellas were particularly fierce in battles.

If they were severely injured, they would decisively pull someone to cushion their fall.

This made the Orc masters not dare to reveal themselves easily.

An enemy who is determined to fight till death is already frightening, but the old men were also powerfully perverse.

The Bimon Emperor was helpless, he only went fishing but unfortunately lured a group of big sharks.

Him being in dire straits in the sea with a bunch of sharks chasing after him was indeed a perplexing situation.

“Issue a command for all Bimon cavalry to mobilize.

Compel all tribes to send their healthy adults over immediately to reinforce the royal court.

If they do not comply, exterminate their tribes!

Ovman, you are in charge of organising the evacuation of the elderly and weak from the court.

You must act fast.

The bait we set up can only delay them for so long.

We must evacuate everyone before the enemies find the location of the court.”

People can evacuate, but the royal court must not be abandoned.

He put in so much preparation beforehand, it will all be in vain if the human race gets hold of it.

Without the Secret Longevity Method to sustain him, this old man can soon meet the Beast God.

The upcoming battle of the Imperial Court is also a life-and-death struggle for the Bimon Emperor, and he now has nowhere to retreat.

The issue is not whether he can exhaust the enemy through his army, but that he doesn’t have enough time to gather the entire Orc Empire’s armies.

The small force left behind to guard the court is nothing more than a gift to the enemy.

With the situation having arrived at this point, the Bimon Emperor can only pin his hopes on their ancestor’s foundation.

He vaguely felt that he would not be able to withstand this pressure.

How could this heaven-defying Secret Longevity Technique not come at a price?

Before starting his cultivation, the Bimon Emperor knew that it would not be smooth sailing to extend his life, but he still underestimated the complexity.

Looking at the horizon and thinking of his son who is hiding on the front lines, Bimon Emperor was filled with fury.

If it weren’t for the knife Alex had stabbed him in his back, even rumors of the Secret Longevity Method would not have attracted so many old and undying people.

Along the way, he discovered the traces of quite a few foreign high-ranking individuals.

The human masters’ explicit curiosity was only the tip of the iceberg, and countless undying old men were watching him in secret.

“High Priest, I will trouble you to deliver a message personally to Alex.

Order him to return immediately and take control of the situation.

If he disobeys, forcefully get him out of there for me.”

…

At the Warhammer Kingdom, Crown Prince Alex was discussing with the other four tribal kings about how to destroy the enemy’s army within their city, with the least loss.

As for his father’s intention, he was no longer interested.

Despite receiving over a dozen orders urging him to return home, Alex still did not budge from his position.

The situation at the Imperial Court was precarious, and the Bimon Tribe was in danger.

However, a racial crisis was still better than a personal one.

By staying on the front lines, he remained powerful and high up as a Crown Prince.

If he returned to the Imperial Court, he would just be a component of the Bimon Emperor’s path to longevity.

The humans were currently attacking the Bimon Imperial Court, and even the Crown Prince Alex wasn’t worried, let alone the other four.

To destroy the living power of the Warhammer Kingdom and reduce the human’s ability to counterattack was, in all aspects, the best strategy for the overall situation.