Chapter 739.2: The Initial Victory

Seeing the late-arriving general, Lin Shangwen remained silent. However, the two officers sitting beside him exchanged glances and revealed a mischievous smile. One tore a sheet from his meeting notes and folded it into a paper airplane. Winking at his colleague, he said, "Watch carefully. I'll only demonstrate this once."

He tossed the paper plane and in a dramatic fashion, it landed beneath the table. Instead of picking it up, he coughed dramatically. "... That one doesn't count. Let me try again."

Representatives from other factions didn't understand the joke. They hadn't heard the phone call from the previous night.

Enterprise officers, however, understood immediately and several of them struggled to suppress laughter. Even Lin Shangwen's adjutant couldn't hide his amusement. In the end, Lin Shangwen coughed softly and shot the officer a warning look.

Liam's eyebrow twitched violently. His expression darkened, and without even looking in their direction, he took his seat.

The commander of the Alpha Mobile Task Force glanced at him once while he was sitting. His emotionless eyes seemed to understand everything, yet he offered no comment.

The officers from the Bugra Free State exchanged a look and whispered quietly among themselves.

Babita of the Xilande Empire quickly sensed the unfavorable atmosphere surrounding the Army and saw an opportunity to curry favor with Liam. After several failed attempts to get a response, however, he finally gave up.

Once everyone had arrived, Vanus stacked the documents in his hands and rose from his seat. "Then let us begin the meeting..."

Before he could continue, a voice interrupted him. "Wait."

Vanus turned to face Liam. Without the slightest change in his expression he asked, "Is there a problem, Mr. Liam?"

Liam stared at him for a long moment without speaking and Vanus simply stared back. Seeing no reaction, Liam suddenly smiled and his expression relaxed slightly.

However, his tone remained firm. "Where is Chu Guang?"

"The administrator is currently receiving General Li Jinrong's report and inspecting the military base."

Clearly dissatisfied, Liam narrowed his eyes and grunted, "This is an important meeting. Why isn't he presiding over it himself?"

Vanus answered without hesitation, "It is precisely because this meeting is important that he entrusted it to a professional."

"A professional?" Liam chuckled dismissively. He saw little value in the opinions of a former commander from a cannon-fodder regiment. However, attacking someone's status directly would make him appear petty, so he shifted the topic. "Then what is he doing? As supreme commander of the coalition, what exactly is his role?"

Vanus replied succinctly, "In the administrator's words, his job is making sure you're sitting in that chair. If you believe you're incapable of fulfilling your responsibilities, we can contact your superiors and arrange for someone more suitable to take your place."

Liam glared at him but ultimately said nothing.

Seeing that he sat back down, Vanus nodded before clearing his throat. "Then let us officially begin."

...

At another corner of Guardian Manor Military Base, Chu Guang was touring the Frontline Research Institute alongside Li Jinrong. The three-story concrete building housed biological specimens collected from the battlefield.

Among them were specimens from the Stonehorn Tribe, specimens from the Rock Axe Clan that had just been defeated by Storm Corps, and even the gigantic mutant who called himself Orlong.

Transporting Orlong's corpse from the front line had not been easy. The Enterprise had dispatched an Orca transport aircraft for the task.

Researchers from both the Enterprise and the New Alliance were already dissecting the specimens in hopes of uncovering their secrets.

After handing the facility over to Hyrja, Chu Guang continued touring the base with Li Jinrong and Lu Bei, eventually heading toward the military base's largest cafeteria.

As they walked, Little Seven spoke in a slightly worried voice, "Master, are you sure it's okay to leave that meeting to Vanus?"

It remembered Chu Guang mentioning before they arrived that the Army still harbored complicated feelings toward Vanus and the other Wislanders who had chosen to remain with the New Alliance.

Vanus was highly capable and unquestionably loyal to the New Alliance. Still, Little Seven worried that allowing him to chair the meeting might provoke resentment from the Army.

Hearing the concern in Little Seven's voice, Chu Guang smiled faintly and replied quietly. "He's like Yin Fang, an expert in his field. Strategic planning and coordination between military branches are his specialties. He's the best choice to chair the meeting. As for the Army, their opinions matter, but not so much that we need to cater to every individual's emotions. If Liam can't overcome something as minor as this, then he's simply not suited for the position."

After a brief pause, Chu Guang added calmly, "In that case, I'd recommend their Marshal find someone else."

Chu Guang knew very well that his strengths did not lie in planning any particular battle or determining exactly how every war should be fought. It was much like how his players knew what made a game enjoyable but would not necessarily be capable of creating a game that appealed to the majority.

The best choice was to leave specialized work to specialized professionals.

As for himself, all he needed to do was serve as the coalition's mascot and symbol of unity. There was no need for him to personally position every machine-gun nest or command every battle. Not only would the soldiers suffer headaches from that, the generals probably would as well.

Given the choice, he would rather spend that time walking around the settlements and seeing what his little players had built.

Noticing the satisfied smile on Chu Guang's face, Li Jinrong guessed he was in a good mood. After some deliberation, he finally spoke. "Sir, there is something... that wasn't appropriate to discuss over the phone. I need to report it to you in person."

Chu Guang replied, "Go ahead. There's no need to ask for permission."

"Yes..." Li Jinrong spent a moment organizing his thoughts before continuing hesitantly, "Some time ago, the Xilande Expeditionary Army began clearing land and farming north of the Guardian River. At first, we didn't think much of it and assumed it was simply part of their unusual training methods. But later on... it seems like they’ve started messing around."

Whenever he talked about the Xilande Empire's expeditionary forces, a strange expression would appear on his face. He had wanted to complain ever since those people first arrived. They didn't look like an army that had come to wage war. They looked more like a traveling comedy troupe.

Not to mention the 10,000 soldiers who somehow got lost and wandered all the way into the Baiyue Province. Even among the 20,000 who actually reached the front lines, not one seemed particularly suited for combat.

Especially after suffering a defeat some time ago, Babita had simply distributed a batch of farming tools to his troops.

Initially, Li Jinrong had not intended to interfere. However, the amount of land they cultivated continued to expand. Along the riverbank alone, they had effectively claimed 40 to 50 square kilometers of land.

Some of that land had originally been intended for allocation to soldiers involved in constructing the Guardian Manor Military Base, resulting in friction between both sides.

After learning that the farming tools used by the Xilande soldiers had been sold to them by shelter residents, Li Jinrong became uncertain whether this had been arranged under the administrator's instructions. Thus, he took the opportunity to ask directly.

Chu Guang was slightly surprised after hearing the report, though he did not make much of it. He eventually muttered, "If they truly aren't good at fighting, then staying in the rear to farm isn't necessarily a bad thing."

He had heard that the Expeditionary Army had performed quite well in the Baiyue Strait. Under the guidance of his players, they had already established a second port known as Dough Stick Harbor.

If those people could contribute to rebuilding the Guardian Manor region, that would hardly be a bad outcome. Capturing the Ten Peaks Mountains was merely a short-term tactical objective. Destroying the Torch Church was a medium-term strategic necessity. But ultimately, rebuilding the wasteland was the New Alliance's true long-term mission.

Whether it was developing the Baiyue Province, rebuilding the Brocade River Province, or reconstructing the Poro Province, the Southern Seas, Ocean Edge Province, and every other corner of the wasteland, all of it fell within that overarching objective.

Only the order differed.

"But... how should land ownership be handled?" Li Jinrong asked, raising the issue that concerned the soldiers most.

Many members of the Southern Construction Corps were rehabilitated convicts transferred from disciplinary battalions. Others were refugees from nearby regions or volunteers who had relocated from elsewhere within the New Alliance. Only a small portion had joined out of idealism and a desire to rebuild the wasteland. Most were far more practical. What they cared about was the land the New Alliance had promised them.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.