Chapter 2862: The Southern Watch Bases

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, Headquarters

"I’ll handle Seraphina Heatsend and her army with Sansa. You focus on the cities that have sided with us. Right now, too many key positions are either vacant or being run by our people—people who aren’t trained for those roles. The damage isn’t visible yet; it’s only been a couple of days. But it will be."

I let that hang for a moment as I glanced around the room before continuing.

"What I need from you is simple. Find capable people within your ranks and place them where they’re needed. Coordinate through the VR-Universe. For now, our people can use all its features for free inside the VR rooms—but once you step into the VR-Universe, the old rules apply. If you spot any loopholes..." I smiled faintly, watching their reactions sharpen, "...use them. Fast. Also, I won’t tolerate nepotism or any form of favoritism under my rule. Commitment to our cause, merit, and—most importantly—the necessary skills. These three will be the mandatory criteria for filling those positions. If there are too many capable candidates for a post, and you’re short on time, pick your preferred one. But if I find out during the audit that they were incompetent... you will live to regret it."

A few exchanged looks, already thinking ahead, the warning settling in their minds like something carved in stone.

"As for budgets and approvals, go through Her Highness Jill. She’s tight with resources, so keep your applications clear and precise. Don’t give her a reason to turn you down."

At the mention of Jill and her iron grip on the budget, most of the room sagged. Heads dipped, a few people shook them in quiet defeat. They all knew what that meant—paperwork, scrutiny, and no easy approvals.

All except Aurelia.

She stood there unfazed, almost relaxed. Her organization was swimming in extra funding. Ever since Jill had taken charge of the budget, Aurelia had done what no one else dared—she openly buttered her up, right in front of the other two. The rest wouldn’t even consider it.

The strangest part? Anna and Susan didn’t hold it against her. If anything, the three of them treated Aurelia like their closest confidant.

Seeing the representatives and members settle, the Field Marshal moved on to the final point of the assembly.

"Last—and most important—issue for today: the Southern Watch bases along the Way beyond and at the border between the Southern and Western Regions. For now, they’re holding their positions and carrying out their duties. But once our lord defeats the new heir and claims the southern stretch, it’s highly likely she’ll recall those forces to stretch us thin.

"Before that happens, we need to bring them over, which is unlikely as most of those soldiers have families and friends spread across the Southern Region. We have to get them to surrender and submit to us. It won’t be easy. They won’t risk having their loved ones branded as traitors just to save themselves.

"Many of them will choose to fight to the death."

The assembly room fell silent. They had finally run into an obstacle they might not be able to overcome.

They had the numbers, sure—but holding both the borders and the cities would stretch them thin. They could push through by increasing work hours, squeeze more out of their people for a while... but that would only lead to exhaustion. It wasn’t sustainable. At best, it would buy them time—nothing more.

I looked around in disappointment, seeing that no one had a plan to tackle the situation. I could have my Calamity Daughter Gems take over and manage the military bases, but if I had to rely on them to get everything done around here, then what was the point of these people?

"If you don’t mind, I can have my people storm those bases, take them over, and capture the soldiers as prisoners. We can trade them with Seraphina Heatsend—"

Saintess Catherine trailed off as she felt the weight of every gaze in the room land on her. She paused, then met them head-on.

"What?" she said, unfazed. "I have the numbers to pull it off. If I hadn’t joined the lord’s campaign, I would’ve already moved to invade the Western Region."

Her comment only made them angrier. Why wouldn’t it? Though her tone sounded sincere, the look in her eyes felt almost pitying.

"No thank you. It’s not just about the numbers. Those bases are positioned in such a way that the Southern Watch can be deployed both inside and outside the Southern Region, ensuring they can deal with foreign enemies as well as another monster war within it. If you take over those bases, it will be as if we’re handing the southern stretch our lord conquered over to the empire—"

"City Lord Tess, let me stop you right there. The way you’re putting it makes it sound as if the Empire isn’t part of our Lord’s forces. I will not tolerate such blatant attempts to undermine the Empire’s place within them," Saintess Catherine snapped, cutting her off mid-sentence. Her representative seemed to share her sentiment, glaring at Tess’s aides as if to spark a silent staring contest.

"Think as you may, but let me make this clear on behalf of everyone: you are not getting those bases, nor any of the civil positions in our cities. This is to maintain balance. I know our current numbers cannot match those of the Empire, but your numbers have reached the limit, and ours will continue to grow. Once we reach an equal ratio, then we can discuss integrating our forces. Until then, I believe it is in everyone’s best interest to protect the rights and voice of us minorities—"

"Minorities? City Lord Tess, look around the room and tell me—who here is in the minority? You may be fewer in number, but you hold greater authority and a louder say than we do. Our population might be higher, yet you clearly wield most of the power. As you said, our numbers have reached their limit, while yours will continue to grow with the lord’s campaign. So the more urgent issue is addressing this imbalance of power."

Saintess Catherine paused to let her words sink in, not caring for their stares and glares she demanded, "Therefore, I propose that the Empire alone fill fifty percent of the civil positions in the conquered cities and take control of one of the bases—preferably the one on the border between the Southern and Western regions."

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