King
Chapter 842 - 842 74 Unlucky Guy_2

842: Chapter 74: Unlucky Guy_2 842: Chapter 74: Unlucky Guy_2 Even if the Koslow Family had made gains during the war, their expansion could not be directed toward the Southeastern Province.

In this regard, all the major clans within the Kingdom agreed.

If the Kingdom did not impose restrictions on the Major Nobles, there would be powerful families spanning multiple provinces everywhere.

Where would that leave any room for the smaller nobles to survive?

One reason to ask Hudson for assistance now, apart from intentionally owing him a favor, was that the origins of this group of pirates were unclear.

If there were a major power behind this, it could help to distribute the animosity.

After all, the presence of a Dragon Knight was much stronger than ours.”

Listening to Earl Piers’ explanation, Viscount Caryo’s face flushed.

He never would have guessed that a seemingly ordinary invitation hid so much beneath its surface.

No wonder the Koslow Family and the Dalton Family, both situated in the Southeastern Province, would occasionally compete and sometimes cooperate, making it hard to understand their motives.

After such an elucidation, everything made sense.

When two major forces could not fully absorb each other, compromise in the struggle became an inevitable choice.

…

The Omega Duchy, as one of the Prairie Seven Kingdoms, unluckily found themselves in the path of the advancing Orc Army, becoming the first nation to start the defense of their capital since the outbreak of the war on the continent.

The rapid loss of territory was not due to the incompetence of the nobles of the Omega Duchy.

In fact, the nobles who could carve out a new realm were the elite of this era.

Being a small nation compounded by being a newly founded immigrant nation determined the tragic fate of the Omega Duchy.

The early defense of their capital was because the country was flat and the only fortification that could be considered strong was the capital itself.

The Duchy’s development period was too short.

The entire Duchy had barely any cities, and the Noble Castles were still under construction, utterly lacking the conditions to hold a sustained defense.

There had been no warning at all, and no one knew that the continental war would erupt so suddenly.

Caught off guard, they were thrust into the war, putting tremendous pressure on the Omega Duchy.

After personally inspecting the wall’s defenses, the physically and mentally exhausted Baird I sighed deeply.

Since he took the throne, he had not had a single easy day.

He was first busy setting up a government and organizing immigrants, then he tirelessly led his people in pioneering and entrepreneurship, only to find that just as the Duchy was getting on track, the Orc Army attacked.

If he had known that being a king would be so miserable, he would have stayed at home and been a parasite.

There’s no medicine for regret in this world—this was the era of racial wars, and there was no place for retreat.

“When will the reinforcements from other nations arrive?”

asked Baird I, concerned.

The Omega Duchy already had everyone armed, every citizen capable of wielding a weapon was enlisted into the army.

Yet, to think that such meager forces could stop the steps of the Orc Army was a fantasy.

“The army from the Seven-Nation Alliance has already begun to mobilize, but considering the Orcs might intercept them halfway, they must wait for the reinforcements from various countries of the continent to gather before they can act together.

The Department of Foreign Affairs together with the other six nations has submitted a proposal to the Alliance, and it is currently being discussed in the Human Alliance Council.

The Seven-Nation Alliance has privately communicated with each country; the Frank Kingdom promised 40,000 troops, and the Iberia Kingdom promised 35,000…

The Alpha Kingdom promised the largest number of troops, planning to send a 10,000-man legion to each of our seven nations.

The combined force of reinforcements promised by the various nations of the continent amounts to over 400,000 troops.

Together with the military power of the Seven-Nation Alliance, theoretically, it should be possible to battle the Orcs.

However, these are all theoretical.

All countries, including the normally efficient Alpha Kingdom, are very slow in actual movement.

Besides Alpha Kingdom, the main Human Kingdoms across the continent have all been drawn into the war, and even if they are willing to send reinforcements, they will likely not be elite.

Overall, the situation doesn’t look promising for the Duchy!”

Foreign Minister Bartoli said gravely.

Such diplomatic results were not satisfactory.

But there was no other way; people always have their self-interests.

Everyone promises troops for the greater good of the human race, but the condition is that they must first look after themselves.

“It’s not just unpromising; it’s clearly not leaving us any room to survive!

If there are no reinforcements, the fall of the capital is just a matter of time.

Now, the reason we are able to hold is that the Orcs are not attacking aggressively because they want to win with the least cost.

We are already besieged, and the food reserves in the city can last at most three months.

Once the food was exhausted, they would collapse even without the enemy attacking.

Abandoning us for their own dominance was a natural move for the other countries.

“What’s going on with the Kingdom of Alpha, always dragging their feet and not mobilizing?

Don’t they realize that once we, the Prairie Seven, are done for, they’ll be the next unlucky ones?”

The Minister of the Army, Jefferson, said angrily.

To defend the capital, they were forced to adopt a scorched earth policy, concentrating all the national troops here, causing a rapid depletion of food due to the massive influx of people.

With their supply lines cut, the food in the city was diminishing with each grain consumed.

The front hadn’t considered this problem, as they never believed they could hold out for three months under the full-scale attack of the Orc Army.

The Orcs reducing the intensity of their attacks turned the previously overlooked food issue into a crisis.

“I can answer that question for you in two words—money and provisions!

The Alpha Kingdom hasn’t recovered from the last war; even if they wanted to send troops en masse, they couldn’t afford an expedition to the prairie.

After all, the fate of the Prairie Seven Kingdoms doesn’t concern them, and strenuously coming to our aid might just end up nurturing their future enemies.

They’d rather let us exhaust the Orcs.”

And the enemies they need to consider are not only the Orcs but also the Ancient Tribes and the Elf Race.

From their perspective, perhaps letting the Orcs annihilate us and then confronting the Orcs at their doorstep is indeed the best choice!” Chancellor Cameron said coldly.

Only the family knows the price of salt, and just two months into the continental war, the Omega Duchy is already running out of food.

The economic situation of the Kingdom of Alpha, after fighting for several years, is imaginable.

Decades of accumulation have been depleted, and they are mired in debt.

Another expedition with a million troops would likely collapse the Alpha Kingdom with the immense consumption of logistics, not even waiting for a defeat of the Orcs.

Knowledge is useless; the Prairie Seven Kingdoms are barely self-sufficient, and have no capability to provide logistics for a large army.

Troops sent by various nations have to bring their own provisions and supplies; the most they can do is organize manpower to help with transportation.

“Everyone need not be too pessimistic.

Given our special circumstances, the Human Alliance Council has authorized a structured evacuation, fighting retreat.

Of course, structured evacuation only exists in theory.

Once we leave the protection of the city, it’s like delivering ourselves to be slaughtered by the Orc Army.”

“For now, let’s focus on defending the city, holding out for two or three months.

After that, citing depletion of food as a reason to organize a breakthrough would be a responsible move for all parties involved,” Foreign Minister Bartoli said with forced calm.

New confederate states lack sufficient cohesion.

But no matter what, it is a nation, and within this nation, they can hold high positions.

Once evacuation is chosen, no one knows when they might be able to reclaim their homeland.

Perhaps after this continental war ends, or perhaps within a lifetime.

Watching the ministers passionately discuss, Baird I just kept sighing.

The seemingly well-structured Omega Duchy is essentially still a grassroots team.

All present were of distinguished origin; even if the duchy falls, they can still go back to being parasites.

The effort invested in the duchy was just a small part of their families’ resources; even in failure, it wouldn’t hurt their vitality.

If their interests had been tied to the duchy for generations, the situation would definitely be different now.

…

“Department of Foreign Affairs, send someone to communicate with the Kingdom of Alpha again, try to obtain as much military aid as possible.

The Seven-Nation Alliance also needs to be urged.

Even if they dare not send troops for rescue, they could at least make some noise to cover our breakthrough!”

After finishing his speech, Baird I swept his robe and turned to leave.

His intuition told him that once he evacuated from the Omega Duchy, his time as King would be over.

Even if there was a restoration in the future, he would no longer be involved.

From the attitude of the ministers, it was clear that the relationship between monarch and ministers, simply pieced together, held no loyalty.

The bit of regal authority he had painstakingly cultivated had vanished with the continuous defeats in the war.