The officers looked at the Governor, who in an instant switched from a nervous surrenderist to a passionate warmonger, and all of them involuntarily showed expressions of admiration.
“It’s truly admirable that Governor Yamadera is so righteous,” Elinore said, shaking the Governor’s plump hand emotionally, then added, “However, my forces are insufficient. May I also take command of the Governor’s Office’s guards?”
‘You want to dig up even this small corner of my wall?’ Governor Yamadera nodded with a pained expression.
“Also, if it’s not too much trouble, could you hand over the City Shield Command, the drone positions, and the planetary cannon to me as well?”
“This, this, the others are fine, but the planetary cannon…”
“Second Lieutenant Kruse, speak, why are you here? Did you desert during battle? Did you steal public property?!”
“I’ve thought it over! The city’s largest fortress cannon is a national asset, and according to law, it should be managed by the Governor’s Office and the Citizen’s Council. But now is an extraordinary time, after all. I will write a handwritten order, instructing the central control room to obey your commands.”
“Also, a force of only 3,000 men is stretched too thin, not even enough to man the outer watchtowers. I hope you can, in the name of the Governor’s Office, recruit at least 10,000 temporary militiamen, place them under the unified command of the Security Force Command HQ, and open the warehouses to distribute weapons to them. Oh, right, militia recruitment requires settlement fees. I’m just a poor soldier, I really don’t have that kind of money.”
The implication was that the Governor’s Office treasury would have to subsidize it. If the Governor’s Office couldn’t account for the expense, Governor Yamadera could also personally subsidize it. At that, Governor Yamadera flew into a rage: “You, you’re pushing your luck!”
“Kruse, you national worm! How dare a mere Second Lieutenant be so brazen! Speak, is there collusion behind this?!”
“Give, give, give, I’ll give it all, I’ll give it all!”
“Then I thank Governor Yamadera for his strong support! I represent the 700,000 citizens and 3,000 troops in thanking you!” Elinore smiled, a very bright yet also very menacing smile, then pulled out her pistol and decisively shot Second Lieutenant Kruse through the head. His wailing immediately ceased.
Governor Yamadera looked at Kruse, who died with his eyes open, with complicated emotions, then looked at Elinore, gritting his teeth: “You, you’re very good…” He didn’t even know whether his words contained more relief or resentment, only leaving behind an indignant but useless threatening gaze, then left with a desolate posture.
The officers were as silent as cicadas in winter, and their hearts turned cold as they watched Kruse’s body being dragged away. But they also knew that if they didn’t properly carry out this woman’s orders, the next one might be themselves. Upon further thought, this crazy woman used a pistol, not a mech-mounted Vulcan cannon, to kill Kruse, which was already giving him some dignity. In fact, truly, it was still possible to communicate well, right?
And so, that string, taut with fear, snapped with a 'gah-bong,' broken by even greater fear and Stockholm Syndrome, followed by a kind of self-abandoning fervor.
“The million Sand People outside are nothing but a million pigs! Please rest assured, Commander! We will definitely chop off a circle of those barbarian chiefs’ heads and bring them back for you to make a necklace!” Major Sangjia thumped his chest and promised Elinore.
“Yes, Commander, we are strong and our three armies are fighting with all their might!”
“Let’s fight, Commander!”
“Let’s fight!”
“Very good, gentlemen, but we cannot fight yet! To achieve complete victory, we still need to be patient and wait for the right moment. First, continue to ensure surveillance of the enemy. Additionally, the recruitment of militiamen must be expedited. Everything, I entrust to all of you.”
The officers left in high spirits. When Elinore saw them go far, she suddenly chuckled, “Uncle Louis, I bet this group’s morale will last at most three days.”
“That’s not short. The master said that an hour can decide the outcome of a battle.”
“Yes, so we can only hope the scheduled reinforcements arrive.”
Major Dorset subtly rolled his eyes, but Elinore caught him squarely and said irritably, “I wasn’t talking about Yuli and the stragglers rushing back from the outer supply station. I was talking about the Outer Rim…”
“I didn’t say anything, Young Miss.”
Elinore “tsk”ed and started fiddling with her braid again, annoyed.
“Furthermore, compared to the security personnel at the outer supply stations, those refugees rushing here are even more concerning!”
Elinore Bonaparte was silent for a long time, then patted her head, letting out a sigh of headache for the first time.
Yes, there are about 700,000 citizens of the Blue Star Commonwealth on New Yumen Star, of whom over 600,000 live in Tulon. The rest are concentrated in a few fortified small towns, plantations, and mining areas, plus a transportation network monitored and protected by fortified garrisons. This constitutes the Commonwealth’s foundation of rule on this planet—does it sound familiar?
The fortified small strongholds have heavy weapons, mercenaries, and armed civilians, so they are not afraid of attacks from ordinary Sand People. But their scale is limited, and once the Sand People gather a large army and also acquire weapons (from who knows where), these strongholds become quite dangerous. Some stubborn ones are unwilling to abandon the property they’ve worked their whole lives for and choose to hold out; others instinctively drag their families to what they believe is the safest place, which is Tulon.
The problem is, the Sand People’s army gathered too quickly—in fact, it wasn’t that they were too fast, but that the Security Force’s intelligence department was too slow to react—and now it’s unknown how many refugees are trapped outside the city, their fate unknown.
Now, a group of over 300 refugees, after nearly a week of arduous travel, were getting closer and closer to Tulon Port, and everyone’s mood relaxed considerably.
Wang Yougui, the plantation owner sitting in the driver’s seat of the large cart, poked his head out the window and asked, “Little Kai, are our big carts and livestock all right?”
“My name is Kelvin… never mind, boss, don’t worry, we’re almost at Tulon.” The one who answered him was a cowboy in his thirties, with a long rifle on his back and a pistol at his waist, riding a genetically modified sand-horned horse. He had been following the convoy, moving swiftly without showing any signs of fatigue.
On New Yumen, so-called plantations easily span thousands or even tens of thousands of acres. Besides the spice farms, there are also vast artificial pastures for grazing, which naturally require cowboys. These people, in addition to helping their employer graze and tend the fields, also double as bodyguards. On average, each of them has more than one (Sand People’s) life on their hands.
When they first fled the plantation, they were a bit nervous, but as their neighbors and townspeople spontaneously banded together, growing in number, everyone gradually relaxed.
Now, this group, with twenty vehicles of various sizes, over fifty pack animals, and more than two hundred guns, did not feel that ordinary Sand People horse gangs would pose a threat to them.
However, Wang Yougui had the life experience of an elder. “The closer we get to our destination, the more careful we must be. I’ve felt a chill recently. Now, only the spices in the cart are left; I must sell them to recover some of the capital.”
“Don’t worry, Councilor Jiang said he would persuade the merchants to buy our goods at a preferential price. You won’t suffer too great a loss. Once the Sand People retreat, we can go home again and start over…” This way, my job and my wages will be secure.
“Little Dongzi? I watched that kid grow up; I know what he’s like. He hardly ever told the truth since he was little, and the older he gets, the more arrogant he becomes! He reads a few books and acts like he’s not even human all day. I don’t trust him at all…”
Kelvin the cowboy listened distractedly, his eyes occasionally glancing at a certain truck behind him.
Wang Yougui said irritably, “That little widow even has a burden!”
“I, I know…” Anyway, I’m just a stray dog whose wife and son died of illness, so no one should look down on anyone else.
“She’s still a university student; she wouldn’t look at a killer like you.”
“That, that doesn’t matter. Last time I brought her food, she smiled at me and even gave me a book to read.” The cowboy said he didn’t understand literary novels, but he felt that this must be the budding of true love. His wife and son died of illness, he lost his job, and he had no choice but to go to the colony to be a cowboy. It had been five or six years now, and it was time to start a new life.
“Forget it, no one is reliable. I’d better go discuss it with that young lady from the Alliance.” The old rancher shook his head irritably, but he felt that having to humble himself before someone young enough to be his granddaughter was too humiliating, and he immediately became conflicted, rolling his eyes and leaning back in his chair.
His gaze naturally tilted upwards, and then he suddenly froze. From behind the mountain ahead, a group of Sand People riding velociraptors appeared, immediately letting out excited screams.
Kelvin the cowboy, of course, also noticed the anomaly. He quickly turned his horse around, galloping back while shouting, “Someone’s coming! Old people, women, and children, don’t get off the carts! Men, grab your guns, quickly grab your guns and prepare to fight! Miss Mar, don’t get off the cart, be sure to watch over little Lina!”
On the passenger bus, a delicate and elegant woman and the cowboy who flashed past the window met eyes, a fleeting glance that conveyed a myriad of unspoken words. She hugged her little daughter tightly, silently praying to the universe spirit.
Kelvin the cowboy continued to gallop, heading towards the largest RV in the center of the convoy: “Mr. Stein, Mr. Stein, we’re under attack!”
“I see them.” The mercenary Ash Stein calmly stood up on the roof of the vehicle, composedly inserting a magazine into his large-caliber pistol.
He was a man of about twenty-five, with a stern face, dark skin, and a robust, agile physique like a black panther, with bronze short hair and a pair of topaz eyes. To aliens, he naturally appeared to be a member of humanity, but Earthlings would know at a glance that he was definitely not from Earth.
He was a mercenary and adventurer from the Free Star River Alliance, currently Councilor Jiang Yudong’s bodyguard.
And his employer, now trembling in the car, poked his head out and asked in a low voice, “Uh, Ash, there are enemies coming, what about us here…?”
“Rest assured, Councilor, if it’s just those Sand People riding large lizards and carrying crude guns and bows and arrows, even if another ten thousand come, I can still protect your safety.” Ash Stein’s lips curled into a nonchalant yet devilishly charming and arrogant smile.
“Then, that’s good…” The Councilor felt relieved. Although he didn’t particularly like the other party’s greasy and frivolous attitude, he still trusted his professional abilities very much.
“Of course, if the Sand People have tanks, I can’t do anything, hahahaha… Damn it, they really have tanks!”
Damn your grandpa! Why are you imitating me?
Councilor Jiang Yudong was immediately filled with grief and indignation.