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Chapter 870 - 870 83 New Official's Three Fires_3

870: Chapter 83: New Official’s Three Fires_3 870: Chapter 83: New Official’s Three Fires_3 To implicate an entire branch was akin to colluding with different races and betraying the human race.

Clearly, Hudson was stirring up trouble by lumping together corruption in military funding with collusion with other races and betrayal of human interests.

Though it was somewhat outlandish, he laid the matter out in the open, leaving everyone else with nothing to say.

It was all for the sake of winning the war, not for personal gain.

It seemed like a mere demand for better soldier rations, but in reality, it was a warning to the entire logistics system.

“Marshal, rest assured, I will personally oversee this matter,”

Marquis James stiffly replied.

He did not believe for a second that Hudson was truly seeking opinions.

The successive admonitions were clearly warnings for him to stay in line.

Deep down, he had an ominous premonition.

His intuition told him that Hudson would not let things rest and that there would be significant actions to come.

A commander who doesn’t stir things up is not a good commander.

When he first took control of the Standing Army, he had not shied away from using political tactics to oust dissidents.

He hadn’t been able to completely control the Standing Army mainly because there were too many interest groups within the military, and his own prestige wasn’t enough to subdue everyone, forcing him to seek balance through compromise.

In peacetime, these tactics naturally posed no issue.

But in wartime, the military required strict obedience, not a multitude of dissenting voices.

The actions of Hudson, tacitly endorsed by the kingdom’s upper echelons, resulted in warnings from their families to most aristocratic military officers.

While there were those who dared to defy the directives, they were certainly few in number.

…

Within the Clergy, Ulysses worriedly examined the intelligence in his hands.

The information gathered from various sources all indicated that the Clergy’s squad sent to find the divine artifact had met a grim fate.

Even if a few survivors were stranded on Poison Dragon Island, their chances of living were slim.

Not to mention other factors, the island, filled with toxic creatures and the air reeking of poison, was a perilous environment.

Water and food were the two fatal challenges.

A moment’s carelessness could lead to poisoning and death.

The loss of so many experts at once was something even the powerful Clergy could not afford.

A few more such losses and even the most substantial reserves would be depleted.

Having paid such a heavy price and not even glimpsing the shadow of the divine artifact, the only thing gained was a smattering of intelligence.

“Kevin, are you certain that the artifacts we seek have fallen into the hands of the Alpha Kingdom?”

Ulysses asked with concern.

The Staff of Glory and the Holy Sword of Light held too much at stake for the Clergy to ever consider giving up on them.

The problem was that the Alpha Kingdom was a hotbed of heresy, teeming with anti-Clergy individuals, leaving almost no chance to peacefully retrieve the items.

“Sir, how could there be accurate intelligence on such matters?

Most of the information we’ve collected is hearsay.

The Alpha People have locked down the news tightly.

The Dalton Family’s fleet has yet to return to the Continent, and we don’t even have an opportunity to verify the information.

As for the earlier intelligence about the divine artifact on Poison Dragon Island, it was just a possibility.

We’ve had countless similar events in the past, and in the end, all proved to be rumors!”

Kevin answered, looking dejected.

Even if the artifact was in the hands of the Alpha Kingdom, they wouldn’t flaunt it!

Given the dire relations between the two sides, verification was impossible.

“If we can’t be certain about the situation, then things are quite ominous!

The news of the Staff of Glory and the Holy Sword of Light being lost cannot be spread.

Even if they are in the hands of the Alpha Kingdom, we can’t simply go and ask for them back.

This matter is too significant for our intelligence department to resolve alone.

We’ll wait to report to His Holiness the Pope and then decide.

Kevin, your task ahead is of great importance.

You must ascertain as quickly as possible whether the Staff of Glory and the Holy Sword of Light are indeed in the hands of the Alpha People.”

Ulysses said with a grave expression.

Although he was only responsible for collecting intelligence for the Clergy, he was somewhat aware of the political implications.

No matter whether the Staff of Glory and the Holy Sword of Light had been lost, the Clergy had to maintain that the artifacts weren’t missing.

Even if the Alpha People were parading the divine artifact before them, it had to be declared a fake.

That meant if they wanted to seize the artifact, they had to operate in secrecy, and they even needed to “dispel rumors” publicly.

The risk of seizing a divine artifact from another kingdom in secret is self-evident.

The artifacts weren’t limited to a single one, and their target was the Staff of Glory and the Holy Sword of Light, not other artifacts.

If things weren’t clarified and the Alpha People had obtained a peculiar divine artifact that was only for show and not for use, it wouldn’t be worth the enormous effort to seize it.

Such scenarios had happened before.

Fighting tooth and nail for a divine artifact only to find out it was a species-specific artifact, operable only by an individual of that species, would be a bitter disappointment.

During a time of war on the Continent, what was most dreaded were complications.

Without concrete assurance, rashly targeting a major power was pure masochism.

Causing a commotion and provoking the intervention of the Human Alliance could make the Clergy’s international situation even more embarrassing.

“Rest assured, sir, the moment the Dalton Family’s fleet returns to the Continent, we will immediately send someone to verify the truth of the rumors!”

Kevin promptly assured him.