419.Chapter 417 416 Governor of Transylvania? Bah, to rule over a bunch of
Chapter 417 416.Governor of Transylvania? Bah, what’s the point of ruling a bunch of thugs, stragglers and criminals?
“Contingent! Rally!”
Piercing roars and assembly whistles echoed through the barracks of the East Prussian Pathfinder Fortress.
With a series of grunts and the sound of boots stomping in the dark hours before dawn, the contingent, composed entirely of young officers, assembled in a matter of minutes, and by the time Marshal Loren arrived with his adjutant, General Thoros, and the Marshal’s Guard, the vigorous young men had cleaned even the last bit of dust from their boots.
The short man marshal, who treated himself and others harshly, had his hands behind his back, and beside him a sturdy dwarven guard carrying his marshal’s battle axe, which was both practical and imposing, followed the marshal step by step as he inspected the barracks.
Colonel Fraser, who stood at the front of the crowd, had his heart in his throat when he saw General Thoros touch the top of the door of the room with his white-gloved left hand.
But then the still-white glove represented that the officers under the colonel’s command had not been lazy in their housekeeping, and that they had fulfilled to perfection the colonel’s high standard of housekeeping.
“Not bad.”
General Soros nodded in a satisfied yet critical manner while giving his youngest son standing in line a hard glare, causing poor Major Ron to have to straighten his back even harder, dead set on showing weakness in front of his father.
However, considering that he had been appointed as the second commander of the Vanguard Army, it made sense for the general’s father to be strict with him, and he couldn’t let the young man from the Capet family look down on the men from their Soros family, could he?
“Commanders, today you will be leaving the safety of the fortress and taking the soldiers assigned to you along with those foolish and pathetic old soldiers to Transylvania to carry out the war duties given to you by His Majesty the King.”
It was here in the barracks that Marshal Loren’s battle-axe-like gaze swept over the crowd in front of him, and he said in a deep voice:
“You must always remember!
You are warriors of the Pioneer Legion, and even in the fallen lands of the vampires you must maintain the decency and majesty of being a soldier of the kingdom.
What I must emphasize to you is that I have had a few spaced-out encounters with Murphy, the governor of Transylvania, and I must admit that that vampire pussy has some skills.
He’s a tough opponent to deal with!
As for whether or not he’s a qualified ally you’ll have to test that for yourselves.
Before you depart, I must re-emphasize your duties in Transylvania.
You must keep in mind that you are the Goldfinch Kingdom’s aid rather than the main attacker in supporting Transylvania in the war of the Black Plague, and your duty is not to charge forward to protect the vampires’ property, but to make sure that the threat of the Black Plague doesn’t spread to the Kingdom’s territory as fast as possible.
To do this, you must protect your command as you would your own head and heart, and not allow the vampire to meddle in the command of the army much less obey all the orders he gives.
You need to put the interests of the kingdom first at all times.
Secondly, you must not live in the barracks that the vampires have prepared for you, but must use your military skills to choose the campsite for the Pioneers.
This will ensure maximum independence.
But I am not asking you to defy Governor Murphy’s orders.
I am merely reminding you to keep your position in mind, yet when the situation is as bad as it can get, our cooperation with the vampires is acceptable in the face of the Jackals, the common enemy of all the powers of the continent!
Lastly, and most importantly.
You are the eyes of His Majesty and the Pathfinder Legion, and in the great battle that is going to take place in Transylvania next, you are going to gather enough intelligence for His Majesty and the Legion.
Not only limited to the Jackals and the Black Plague, but also the forces and combat systems of the armies under the Governor of Transylvania as well as the Winter Wolf Legion that will soon fight alongside you.”
Marshal Loren said in a deep voice:
“There is going to be a war between the Kingdom of Goldfinch and the Northmen of Nordstorf, and the only mission of us soldiers is to prepare everything before the war breaks out! Is that all understood?”
“Yes, Marshal!”
The thirty or so young officers in the barracks responded loudly in unison.
That characteristic youthful exuberance and leap of faith mixed together to form a very aggressive aura, which made Marshal Loren very satisfied.
He thought the best soldiers and commanders should be like this.
Never give in, never back down, and always remain aggressive and combative.
“Gentlemen, the Legion has provided you with enough supplies to last you a month in Transylvania, the logistics officer will lead a specialized team with you, and your provisions and ammunition and weapons will depart for transportation after you set up camp in Transylvania.
The Marshal has prepared a fine artillery to help you defend your quarters, and I hope you make good use of the Pathfinder Legion’s proud strength.”
General Soros, beside Marshal Loren, spoke up with his hands behind his back:
“I must add one thing to you, however, about the former Border Guard soldiers you are about to escort to Transylvania, and while my next words will be a bit rude, I think that is the perfect way to describe them.
You must remember that these guys are not soldiers at all!
They are a mixture of rogues, criminals, and cowards, the most despicable assholes that the human race can give birth to, and you cannot at any time expect them to burst with courage and will to fight.
As far as I’m concerned, they’re no better than Transylvanian bloodsuckers.
At least the bloodservants know to be loyal to their masters.
But these assholes’ association with loyalty is nothing short of an insult to the word, and they are undoubtedly a burden to the kingdom, trash that needs to be disposed of! Throwing them into the Black Plague Battlefield in Transylvania would undoubtedly allow these pathetic assholes to make their last and only contribution to this continent.
Marshal Loren and I are not asking you to reform them or command them.
All you need to do is bring these assholes into Transylvania and hand them over to the Vampire Governor, and then you don’t have to worry about what happens to these scumbags.
I trust that the vampires are so deep and creative in this area that they will eventually choose a path for these rotten bastards that best suits their end.
Do you have any other questions?”
“Yes! Lord General.”
One of the officers in the queue raised his hand as he asked loudly:
“I have heard from Military Intelligence that the Yankees have sent their captured armed bloodservants back to Transylvania ahead of us, to which they have unsurprisingly added enough criminals and scum to make a large number of them but very few in Transylvania”
“What the hell are you trying to say? Ensign Bob!”
General Soros chided impatiently:
“Get to the point, please! Your father didn’t talk this much when he served with me.”
“Uh, General, I mean.”
The Ensign named Bob asked, helplessly maintaining the standardest of military postures:
“If the tiny government under that governor of Transylvania has been overthrown by Yankee criminals and rogues, or when it is made precarious by those thugs, should we offer them help on humanitarian principles?
Or should we take advantage of the confusion to take down the so-called Scarlet Castle at one stroke, and plant the sacred flag of King Louis on the soil of Transylvania?”
This question triggered a burst of laughter, making General Soros somewhat helpless, and Marshal Loren also shook his head, these young people in front of him who came from military noble families seemed to be a bit too optimistic.
It seems that the long-standing domestic propaganda about the weakness of the Bohemian Confederacy has made these young people really think that the Transylvanian barbarians are untouchable .
This is not good.
If they really set foot in Murphy’s territory with this kind of mentality, these young people will surely have their heads blown off.
The Dwarf Marshal had planned to scold these guys severely.
But then he thought for a second, there are still more than three months before the outbreak of the Black Calamity, letting these young people suffer severely in Murphy’s territory is better than letting them step into the Black Calamity with this kind of proud mentality.
Young people are always defiant.
They will never give up their young and stubborn worldview before they crash their heads in front of the cold reality, and breaking other people’s fantasies is something that will be held against them.
Instead of doing it yourself, that vampire pussy should do it.
Anyway, he wasn’t a member of the Goldenrod Kingdom, so he didn’t need to consider the intricate and intertwined forces and backgrounds behind these young people that made even Marshal Loren a little afraid.
Alas, military nobles were also nobles, they were more warlike and eager for victory than ordinary nobles, which doomed them to be much harder to deal with than ordinary nobles.
Even though Marshal Loren himself was a member of this group, he had to admit that when the military nobles were screwed together, even King Louis had to be cautious for a few moments.
But whether it was out of the watchful eye of his elders or out of his duty as a chief, Marshal Loren felt that he should give these guys a heads up.
So after the lecture was over, the marshal summoned Fraser, the commander of the military observer mission, in his office.
After Colonel Fraser entered his office, the Dwarf Marshal asked directly:
“What kind of problems do you see with your team at the moment?” “They are eager to fight, yet many of them are going into battle for the first time, such as the brothers Bob and Denal.”
Colonel Frazier, who was also a veteran of the Marshal’s service, knew that this would not be a time to get sloppy, and answered with all seriousness:
“Although General Soros was kind enough to transfer some of the younger commanders within the Pathfinder Corps to me, it doesn’t change the fact that this Military Observer Corps lacks war experience.
Even I, as the commander-in-chief, am not as tried and tested as the veteran soldiers, and it’s obvious that the experience gained in the ten years of war will be difficult to put into effect in the Black Plague.
Therefore, I will answer your question by saying that I hope the Legion will allocate some veterans who are about to retire as our advisors.
In return, we will utilize the connections and resources of our respective families to ensure that they enjoy relatively favorable living conditions after their discharge.”
“Not bad, I’m satisfied with your answer.”
The Dwarf Marshal nodded and took out the Dwarf pipe from the drawer filling it with tobacco while saying:
“I am pleased to see that as the chief officer of the Observer Corps, you are not overwhelmed by the victories of the past period.
Because of some political factors, the information obtained from our secret observation of Transylvania was not communicated to the basic officers, so they are not aware of everything that is happening in Transylvania.
But as far as my personal senses are concerned, Reverono Murphy Le Sombra is by no means an ordinary vampire, this guy is simply a genius in the field of domination.
He’s a natural ‘master of men’ like our King Louis.
I could feel him twisting the forces of his tattered domain together, as if he were putting different pieces of iron into a forge and pounding them together into the fiercest, sharpest alloy.
He’s even got the allegiance of the winged cavalry!
This must make us take a fresh look at Transylvania under Murphy’s rule, they are not a problem now, but if left unchecked then soon they will become a major problem for the Pathfinder Legion and even the Kingdom.
But fortunately, we’re not the only ones who think so, and I’m guessing that Her Majesty’s Generals of the Wolf Woman have the same concerns as we do.”
Speaking of this, Marshal Loren glanced at Colonel Fraser, who was listening patiently, as he lit his pipe and exhaled a thick puff of pungent smoke.
As the smoke obscured his face, the dwarf marshal whispered:
“You are the heir to House Carpe, you have more access to what is happening in Transylvania than I do, Fraser, and I don’t want to hide it from you, but there is no more perfect outcome to this Black Plague for His Majesty and I than for the vanguard of the Jackals to end up with the Murphys of Transylvania
That way, we’d have two less problems to worry about.
I guess the opposite side thinks the same way, so if there’s a chance, both sides can even cooperate to some extent on this matter.
But you have to be wary of the Northmen.
Those fellows who grew up in the cold winds of the great wilderness have a wolf-like ferocity about them all, and one must always be on guard against being bitten by them.”
“I understand, Your Honor the Marshal.”
The Colonel was mentally uncomfortable with this overly ruthless thinking.
He felt that having to think about more benefits in the face of a threat of the magnitude of the Black Plague was clearly not in keeping with the Goldfinch Kingdom’s quest for security.
But he still made a gesture of listening and obeying on the surface as he replied:
“I will observe the situation closely, and if I can find a perfect time to do so, I will do my best to make this happen, but with all due respect, Your Excellency the Marshal. If Governor Murphy is as good as you rate him, then I don’t think he would be unprepared for this eventuality.
It’s even possible that he may be pondering the same idea as we are, namely turning a bad thing like the Black Plague into a ‘good thing’.”
“Well, then this will be a test of your art of command, Fraser.”
Loren smiled.
It was obvious that he didn’t have much faith in the attempt he was talking about either, which was proof enough that in the eyes of the Dwarf Marshal, Murphy had become an opponent that had to be taken seriously.
But surely the lifelong strong Marshal Loren would never admit his admiration for a vampire governor, so in the midst of swallowing a cloud, the dwarf marshal commented in a disdainful tone:
“To be honest, I can’t understand Governor Murphy’s state of affairs at this point at all; he rules over a bunch of thugs, rogues, and scum under his command, and the most trustworthy of all the people obeying him are a bunch of barbarians who can’t read a word.
The Transylvanian hellhole is as close to a powder keg as you can get.
If I were Murphy, I’m afraid I’d lose sleep every night.
From this point of view, even a stubborn dwarf like me has to admit that Lord Murphy’s attainments in patience and stress resistance are worth learning from all of us.
Well.
Without further ado, let’s talk about your quarters.”
The marshal pointed to the map hanging on the wall as he gulped:
“Tell me, where are you going to station your army?”
—
“Achoo!”
Murphy, who was listening to Miriam’s punctual weekly report in the Scarlet Cloister, suddenly sneezed, and this unsuspected reaction not only surprised him, but also made Miriam look at her lord in surprise.
Vampires could sneeze too?
Wow, that’s kinda an interesting little bit of trivia that doesn’t have much of a fart in it.
“Someone must be cursing me behind my back, and I’m guessing it’s not likely to be that pesky careful short person.”
Murphy pinched his nose as he looked over at Miriam in front of him with great relief:
“Your physical condition is much better than before, the dark circles under your eyes are still there, but at least there is no longer that kind of sub-healthy condition that was visible to the naked eye before.
So, has our Scarlet Consul finally learned the art of ruling that is, doing nothing?”
“Please be sure not to say that.”
Miriam, who was indeed much less stressed, shook her head as she explained:
“It’s because the successive arrivals of the administrative professionals have made it necessary for me to distribute a lot of my work, I have to admit that these Otherworldly Essence’s talent in management is astounding, if you can recruit a few hundred more qualified administrators to come in, Prof. Malcolm and I will be able to live a happy life of reading the newspaper and touching the fish every day.
Do you need to continue reporting?”
“No, no need, you know I don’t actually care about these data aspects.”
Murphy waved his hand as he said:
“And I’m sure my consigliere won’t fool me on the governance level, I’m more interested in talking to you now about your personal life, Miriam.
As you know, Colonel Fraser is about to return to Transylvania, and you’ve just compelled his fiancée to become a part of Transylvania.
Even inspired her, a member of the Goldenrod Kingdom, to throw her life away for our cause.
Gee, you’re a scary person in that respect, Miriam, I think you should try the Trickster Legacy on Tris’s side, really!
It suits you well.”
“Colonel Fraser and I are innocent, and I have a normal friendship with Miss Beech.”
Miriam was primed with the conditions needed to be a politician, and she faced the flirtation without a change of color, speaking in a casual tone:
“I’m also looking forward to seeing my senior again, but it’s not out of selfishness, but it’s always good to have an extra support force in the face of a crisis in Transylvania, which I manage. Not to mention, didn’t we have a plan? My Lord Governor.
I’m also responsible for compelling my schoolmaster to station the Goldenrod Kingdom’s army in the Cato region, well, that job is as hard as it sounds.
But I guess I can always find a way.
So, let’s get on with today’s work report, the next item is about the clash between the dog-headed laborers in the Shadow Barony and the Yankee mob that took place a few days ago.
I regret to have to report that over 30 complex Yankee thugs tragically died at the hands of the Dogheads’ furious mining picks.
This is the third such incident this month, and the Yankees are clearly incapable of comprehending the pragmatic racial management policies currently being upheld by the Transylvanians.
They couldn’t understand that, in the eyes of the administrators, the hard-working dog-headed miners were much more useful than they were, who were always yelling about this and that.
The results of the investigation of this incident are clear.
It was the group of thugs suspected of having a mafia background who tried to plant explosives in the defense line to make things happen, but they were discovered by the inspecting Doghead overseers.
We rewarded those Dogheads with enough candles.
They are very satisfied have resumed their diligent work, however our laborer numbers have been severely depleted by multiple depletions, my lord.
We are in dire need of more laborers who won’t be heartbroken if they die, and I’m guessing that the good Marshal Loren will comply with our paltry request. The people of the Kingdom of Goldfinch are quite nice, don’t you think? His Excellency the Governor.”
(End of chapter)