574.Chapter 572 571 Maxim! I order you, charge! To

Chapter 572: Maxim! I order you to charge! -For brother “Huo Zheng is fine” [1330].

On the morning of the second day after the main force of the Kardman People’s Army was stationed in the Valley of the Shadow, Major Ron got up early in the morning and led the soldiers to complete the morning assembly according to the military orders of the Pioneer Corps, and after a simple training and assignment of tasks, the Major received his own share of breakfast.

By the standards of the continent, the training of the Pioneer Legion soldiers was very high.

The intensity of their daily training was much higher than the general level of this era, but at this moment Major Ron, who was holding a bowl of oatmeal porridge and a few bagels, was very helpless as he looked at the clearing in the valley, where the People’s Army’s training was still going on.

Even though they were just running laps around the platform, that kind of neat formation and the mental state of occasionally shouting two slogans while running made the Major a bit worried.

Even though this was his first week of real contact with the Cadmanian People’s Army, as a good soldier, he had already discovered the difference between the Transylvanian Armed Forces and other militaries; being a soldier under Governor Murphy was absolutely exhausting, and on more than one occasion, Major Ron had noticed that the daily hours of these fellows were practically crammed with all sorts of chores.

Their soldiers were free to move around for only a few hours a day, the rest of the time was either training or organizing endless chores, and even after dinner there would be special personnel focusing on the big-headed soldiers to teach them basic grammar and explain army regulations.

This habit had been solidified over the past few months, allowing these soldiers to form habits, and even when they were beyond the swamp, they would engage in such learning activities in the camp.

Although not every big head soldier liked this kind of life, living in this collective had made even the laziest of people form a lifestyle that seemed rather self-disciplined to the onlookers.

Major Ron of course knew the significance of soldiers becoming literate.

It meant that the orders of their officers were carried out extremely well in most cases, and it also meant that the soldiers could find a relatively decent job after they retired from the army, and the intake of knowledge made the soldiers less ignorant.

As Marshal Loren famously said, when soldiers truly understood the definition of loyalty and honor, they instinctively pursued those supreme virtues.

But that was what eluded Major Loren.

Transylvania’s standing army was so small that in a context as large as the Black Plague, ordinary lords would have started pulling in the strongest soldiers long ago.

According to Transylvania’s previous “custom”, the ratio of temporary soldiers they drew during wartime could even reach a horrifying five to one or even three to one, and this ratio has been maintained at a relatively high level over the past several hundred years, which is also the main reason why Transylvania’s people are so tough.

In this place, not fighting is literally killing you!
And Governor Murphy now had nearly 300,000 people under his command, even at a level of ten to one, he was able to put together an army of 30,000, however this army in front of him stopped rising after the number reached 3,000 people.

Murphy and his generals seemed to be intentionally controlling the size of the army, maintaining this “small but fine” model and spending months setting up complicated regulations and ironclad rules and disciplines for the army.

Major Ron, who was eating a bagel, admitted that these 3,000 men had already caught up with the elite backbone of the Pioneer Corps, the Field Marshal’s Brigade, in terms of training, and that in a normal confrontation, these 3,000 men would have achieved very impressive results.

However, the problem was that when facing an enemy like the Black Plague, 3,000 people were simply not enough! Unless these 3,000 people were all Super Saiyans who could transform with a wiggle of their fingers.

So what was that rather ambitious-looking Governor Murphy thinking?

With such a question, Major Ron walked into the command headquarters they were assigned to, intending to discuss the choice of artillery positions with Fraser, only to see his superior lying down in front of his desk and writing something just as he entered.

“What are you writing?”

The Major moved over to have a look, only to be startled when he just read an opening, he said:

“No? A suicide note at this hour? Aren’t you afraid you’ll scare Count Lyon to death? You’re his only son!”

“It’s better to be prepared, lest we don’t have time to write this down when the time comes.”

Fraser didn’t care.

He waved his hand sagely and said:

“Just a moment, wait for me to finish writing this.”

“You won’t die at all, your father sent four silver bodyguards here just to prevent you from doing anything stupid, even if we are all besieged at the front line, I guess your father will definitely spend a lot of money to hire powerful guys to save you out.”

Major Ron said teasingly, hugging his arms:

“There’s no chance that we’ll hire golders, your father is definitely capable of such things, and you’re also a bit too cautious, even though Marshal Loren asked us to participate in the actual battle, we also have the right to retreat on our own initiative when things are not possible.

We all know about that defense line that the Transylvanians built and understand the significance of its existence, so if you plan to fight to the death here, it only shows that you are not a qualified commander.”

“I understand all that, but we can’t predict which will come first, the accident or tomorrow, that’s a saying I heard from those Transylvanian warriors, and it makes sense to me.”

Fraser laughed, pausing his pen, and in the background of the guards behind him busily packing up their command, he turned his head to Ron and asked:

“So you came here with questions, did you? Tell me, what are you wondering?”

Ron and Fraser had a good personal relationship, especially with one of the man’s four great iron in the Battle of the Swamp, he stopped hiding certain thoughts in front of Fraser, and he voiced his doubts, and Fraser shrugged his shoulders, revealing the secret in a single word:

“That’s the backbone!”

“Huh?”

The Major was a little puzzled, so Fraser went on to explain:

“The last time I was in Transylvania, I happened to catch Governor Murphy asking General Maxim to form the People’s Army, and at that time, their establishment was only 300 people, the elite picked from all the survivors at that time after two rounds of screening.

As you know, Transylvania is a favorite recruiting ground for all generals.

It is a place where but a single healthy man makes a very good soldier, and they are tough folk and unafraid to fight, but Governor Murphy adopted the strategy of ‘choosing the best of the best’ when he built his first army.

He didn’t blindly pursue numerical superiority, and the 300 men at the beginning were the backbone of this 3000 man army right now, they adopted the ‘veterans with new recruits’ model, each veteran was a node in the army’s chain of command, and it only took a month or two after an expansion to let this army’s combat power basically take shape.

So I have reason to believe that this army is likewise the backbone of General Maxim’s selection.

With them as the core, and after another expansion, Governor Murphy will have an elite army under his command that is no less organized and trained than the Pathfinder Legion.

You have seen the way they are trained and highly organized, which proves the excellence of this way of building an army, and I have already written a report on this and sent it to the Pathfinder Fortress, and I am sure Marshal Loren will be interested in it as well.”

“Well, your explanation is interesting, but it still doesn’t make me understand their mindset at this point.”

Major Ron frowned:
“3,000 men can hold this valley, but that’s about it, that Maginot defense line for the duel is not going to be held by 3,000 men anyway.

It also takes time to expand and build up the army, once the Jackal army presses in, where will Murphy and Maxim have time to reorganize?”

“No, you’re wrong, in other places such a quick army buildup would definitely go wrong, but not in Transylvania!”

Fraser’s expression also became serious as he said:

“You mustn’t forget that the former workers who labored on the Maginot Line were all prisoners and soldiers sent back to Transylvania from Nordtorf and us! They were already trained to have a military base, and I’ve been to the defense line site to see that the Transylvanians are managing those workers in a militarized style.

They are screening the workers for ‘positive reformers’ and giving them good treatment, and they are using this method to build the defense line while picking up available soldiers.

The two are working in tandem.

And with a frighteningly high percentage of veterans among Transylvanian civilians, they’re also organizing militia training in various villages.

You’ve seen it with your own eyes, those are reserves ready to be pulled into battle.

Their arsenal, though rudimentary, has begun mass-producing the kind of bolt-action firearms that seem to us to be of low power but reliable quality, coupled with the constant aid of weapons from the Kingdom of Nordtorf.

Once these 3,000 men are withdrawn to the defense line, I’m certain that in at most half a month’s time, the army under Governor Murphy will take initial shape!”

“What a hell!”

Major Ron felt his scalp go numb as he stomped his feet and said:

“How did these vampires become so good at fighting overnight? I heard my old man say that the Blood Vulture Clan would only focus on the cultivation of armed blood servants before, and their army system was very corrupt. Could it be that that Governor Murphy picked up a strange army book somewhere?”

“It’s not the Transylvanian way, Ron, they must have borrowed an efficient and complete system of building an army from somewhere else, hiding the troops from the people”

The Colonel shook his head:
“You really have some way to go with this observation, you’ve obviously been to those places with me, but you didn’t notice the Transylvanians hiding privately.

That’s not good enough, Ron. We are the eyes of the King and we must gather that information that the King wishes to see.”

“But it’s not right!”

Ron had one last quandary, and he scratched his hair as he said:
“The premise of the Grand Transylvanian Army is that the 3000 men have to go back alive to fill the backbone of the new army, and with the intensity of the Black Plague, unless General Maxim voluntarily abandons this valley before the main force of the Black Plague arrives, but”

“They can certainly go back, though not necessarily ‘alive’.”

Fraser said quietly:
“Aren’t you forgetting Transylvania’s ‘specialty’?”

“Hmm?”

Ron’s eyes rounded for a split second, and he lost his voice:

“You mean, vampires? No way! That’s a whole 3,000 of them!”

“Why not?”

Fraser asked rhetorically:

“The Blood Vulture Clan waits to rebuild doesn’t it?
And the Transylvanians got used to being led by vampires a long time ago didn’t they?

Their resistance to vampires in this part of the world is the lowest in the entire continent, not to mention the Blood Servants, who can only explode all their fighting power under the leadership of a vampire. If I were Governor Murphy, then I would never give up this trump card in my hand!
3000 well-trained human soldiers couldn’t stop the black plague, but 3000 vampire warriors with steel discipline could easily kill ten times as many jackals under the dark night, and if they wanted to leave, no one could stop them at all.

The Blood Vulture Clan can fly!
Ron, they were the most mobile army on this continent, so there was no such thing as sticking to the end, they could leave whenever they wanted to.

The initiative of the battle is always in their hands, relying on jackals can’t trap them at all, but we can’t, so now you know, why I have to write a suicide note?

You’d better pray that General Maxim doesn’t play some trick and get us an ‘accidental death’ or something.”
—
“I admit that’s rather harsh, but it’s really our only chance to win.”

On the way from the Dark Valley to the Blood Alliance’s position at the Black Flame Pass, the early morning sunlight shone in the carriage, allowing the energized Murphy to stretch his body, and he said to Maxim, who was sitting across from him:

“You have to make sure that the soldiers can understand the meaning of that document, don’t force them to sign it now, I can understand that many of them still have doubts, but I believe that when they see the Black Plague’s offensive, they will understand how important it is to have power in this chaotic continent.”

“This you need not worry about, Master.”

Mark said as he sat there, his back straight fighting the sleep of the day with his own steel will:

“Thanks to the military regulations that the soldiers of the foreigners have laid out for us and their stubborn move to require knowledge to be imparted to the rank and file, I’m afraid that we have the highest literacy rate in this army on the continent at the moment.

Your document does not use any complicated grammar or word traps, and even the cooks are perfectly capable of reading it.

Right now they are discussing this matter under the leadership of their respective squad leaders, but considering that there is a portion of blood servants in the People’s Army, those guys still think that becoming a vampire is a matter of honor despite our best efforts to turn their perception around.

With them around, this document won’t make too many waves.

What worries me now is that the vampires who used source blood for their first embrace don’t have a blood contract, and they lack the coercive action of…”

“Mark!”

Murphy interrupted Maxim as he said:

“You are my most trusted companion, you know, I never like that rotten thing of blood pacts, in fact, I intend to set new rules for the Blood Vulture Clan starting from this battle. We will not be adopting blood pacts on a large scale to develop new members in the future, and in the future all members of the Blood Vulture Clan will only be born from the oldest source blood.

Blood pacts.
That’s a very degenerate thing, I don’t know which genius invented it, but the ‘Blood Caste System’ made up of that seemingly beautiful thing stifled the normal progress of our civilization, and it was the web of darkness it wove that sunk our clan for over a thousand years.

We need to replace the mandatory commands of the Blood Caste with something more advanced.

Something like a common ideal, a common desire, or even a common enemy, a common goal, these intangibles may seem weak, but it’s actually indestructible, you’ve read the battle stories on the forums, Mark.

An army with beliefs and ideals to arm the mind is better than a hundred thousand minions, they’ve already succeeded, all we have to do is merely copy them, or even poorly imitate them.”

“Which you’ll probably have to convince Archduke Tris.”

Maxim whispered:
“You’re almost challenging vampire tradition, and that’s quite a bold decision.”

“Tris won’t object, look at what my poor girlfriend has been put through by the blood contract, they say I’m rebellious, in reality I’m not the most rebellious member of the Blood Vulture Clan, I don’t think I’m even in the top three.”

Murphy did not want to discuss this topic, he glanced out the window at the monotonous barren red earth landscape and said:

“Let’s talk about today’s action, we picked a bad time to visit Lord Heather, I guess she will be very angry. But I’ve heard that the laird is inherently eccentric”

“She never takes off her mask.”

Maxim said with a shrug:

“Laneia told me that ever since Lord Heather joined the Knights of the Blood League, her Dwarf-style combat mask has almost never been removed, and she even resorts to psychic cleansing when she washes herself.

But compared to the quirks of the Palanor Knights and the legendary Lord Yvette, this ‘hobby’ of Lord Heather’s is nothing in the Blood League Knights, where eccentrics are frequent.”

“Well, indeed.”

Murphy said maliciously:
“Actually, I’ve always been skeptical of the way Venerable Lord Paying chooses his clansmen, you know? Mark, I’m guessing that Venerable Lord Paying might have some sort of quirk as well, being an artist he already has a hard time taking an interest in ordinary people.

That’s why he’s devoted himself to picking those weird ‘problem children’ to join his clan for a thousand years.

You know what I mean?

The Blood Alliance Knights are actually the ‘high-end teasing group’ that His Holiness spent a thousand years carefully accumulating, and the Blood Alliance Knights are an example of how, although they also use blood pacts, they never abuse the stuff, His Holiness armed the Blood Alliance Vampires with ideals that led by example, making them the deadliest group on this continent, and only such vampires can patrol the Dark Mountains day in and day out and call them ‘The Jackal’s Plague of Heaven’.

His Holiness is a great vampire, I must admit that, and while he does have a bit of an odd personality, that’s okay, no one says a geek can’t be a hero.”

“Uh, you can say that, I wouldn’t dare get involved in such a discussion, Master Murphy.”

Maxim whispered:
“Although everyone says that Venerable Lord Paying is an elder with a big heart, in case he’s a careful one who hides it, I might be absolutely punished just for saying one wrong thing. Considering the duties I’m currently shouldering, I think it’s better if I don’t take any chances.”

“Ah, being so cautious is the finest character to become a general.”

Murphy put on a strange smile as he whispered:
“So let’s talk about things that won’t get you in trouble, like Laneia, how far along are you guys? Got on base yet?”

As the administrator of the military section of the forums, Maxim was obviously aware of all this otherworldly tawdry talk.

Facing Murphy’s inquiry, Maxim grimaced and didn’t answer.

This made Murphy very upset, and he even activated the blood contract in a very double standard manner, forcing Mark to speak about the topic he was interested in.

“Two-two base.”

The monster’s pale cheeks were flushed, but his answer still couldn’t satisfy Murphy.

“Two lovers, people with a shared past, and only this much development after all this time? You’re not even as good as a bull!”

The Governor banged the table and said:
“I don’t care! You must get to home base before the Black Plague is over! Mark, that’s the order I’m giving you! Hold your horses, this isn’t coming from my bad taste, you’re going to have to use a little strategy if you want to keep Laneia by your side for a long time.

The fact that we’re swiping her military honors to make her live up to her unity value is one thing.

You’ll have to deepen your own weight in her heart so that she can hesitate just a little when faced with the bonds of duty and oath. I’d like to see the Blood Vulture Clan have another ‘Ranger General’, and it’s not just for your happiness, Mark, it’s for the good of the Clan.

You must assume your responsibilities, so I’ll take care of Venerable Lord Paying’s side, and you go take care of that condescending Moon Elf!

Let’s make a deal.”

(End of chapter)