Chapter 986: Rulers
"...We haven't received any communication from General Elizabeth's army yet, we fear we've lost them."
"...!!!" When he heard the news, Robin opened his eyes wide and stared at Leonid's face as if he were seeing a human for the first time, but he quickly looked down again, maintaining the same expression of shock with a touch of panic.
It had been a while since the planet invasion armies left, they had to dismantle and set up the space portals as soon as they arrived and secure the perimeter of the space portals, and once they secured that limited piece of land and activated the portal and then delivered a quick report to the headquarters, they could deploy to take over the planet, how difficult was that?
Dismantling the portal and not setting it up yet can only mean that they couldn't do it, meaning that something stronger than them prevented them, meaning that a disaster had occurred.
But Robin didn't care about the planet itself whether it was invaded or not, even if his portal was lost he could send a new army via spaceships, his shock and panic were because he was thinking of one thing: 'If Elizabeth dies, it's my fault!!!
...Elizabeth is not a child, she is over 900 years old and she ruled the Sacred Tree Empire for nearly 200 years, and she was not just a weak ruler either but a strong rival to all the other empires!...But no one is perfect, and certainly she isn't.
Rulers are not the same, every ruler in history has a certain strength and weakness... For example, Alexander's reign was characterized by order and discipline, all the organizations of the empire were running on a straight line without anyone daring to think about committing any kind of corruption, it was a dry and fearful era for the authorities, but a good one for the people.
Victoria's reign as ruler was marked by internal chaos, slums and crime were at their peak and the economy had plummeted, but the military had reached its peak of power compared to the last 10,000 years and she herself was one of the most powerful emperors to rule the continent, with a great familiarity with the path of water and an extremely hostile approach towards any obstacle.
As for Old Man Gu, his reign was spent in complete peace, completely isolated from the other empires, and did not try to play with them or get into trouble over anything related to the Central Continent, at his time his people knew the meaning of stability during those years, although his reign was not marked by anything new or flashy, his people loved him and were saddened by the day he handed over power to his son.
As for Elizabeth... she brought the economy of the Sacred Tree Empire to its peak internally and everyone lived in prosperity, she created a giant spy network that she spread across other continents and used to cause trouble and chaos around her more than once, but her army was very primitive, she didn't even try to train them or think of tactics for them and this was clearly shown when they were first integrated into the army of the True Beginning Empire, they were the ones who struggled the most to keep up.
Elizabeth is excellent as an empress of peace, she will develop her kingdom and rule with justice, everyone will love her and live a good life, they will even rise above committing theft, corruption, and other societal ills because they will not need it, but she is not suitable as an army leader, before seeing Robin she had never led an army in her life, and after trying it more than once Robin was convinced of this fact... She and old Gu should be removed from their posts.
Removing Gu Barnett was easy, he is already old and loves to read quietly, he himself asked to join the Sky Opening Tower, but how can he remove Elizabeth and give her a lesser role than her peers without breaking her spirit?
...Robin was really terrified when he heard the news, because he knew that she was not suitable to be put in such situations, and yet he sent her on a final mission to save face among her peers and in front of her family.
The question is, if he had given her the choice, would she have gone anyway knowing that she might not return, or would she have chosen to withdraw and live in peace?
"Your Excellency... Your Excellency..." Leonid tilted his head to the side and called in a low voice.
"Oh, yeah yeah... I'm with you," Robin spiritlessly muttered several times, "Ignore Planet R- 3 for now, we can't send quick support without connecting the portal anyway and we can't send any major support by ships right either... If our men there are still alive they'll find a way to hold their ground, and if they're all killed it won't help to send more cannon fodder." "..." Leonid nodded twice and then backed away, His Excellency's words harsh but true. As for Robin, he glanced again at Marshal Harus and his men, this time the confident, provocative smile was no longer there, but rather furrowed brows and boiling blood... He managed to calm himself down within a few minutes and closed his eyes again, returning to the planet's soul domain.
-4 days left until the negotiations begin-
Half a day later--Planet R1
*Skreeee!!*
"Kaaaahh!!"
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
"....." Alexander sat upright on a simple wooden bench, with his eyes wide open, his back straight, and his palms on his knees, watching the battlefield...
This scene had become very familiar to him now, the fighting had not stopped for a moment since he had set foot on the planet, especially during the night when those bat-like creatures were active.
So far, Alexander had seen hundreds of thousands of them, and they had united with the remaining forces of the Great Serpent Empire on the planet, estimated at around twenty thousand soldiers, in order to coordinate heavy attacks without stopping, and they even coordinated two big waves, each containing more than 150 thousand soldiers!
In front of those waves and the high pressure, Alexander had no choice but to divide his small army so that some could rest and fight others, then make some plans to advance very slowly and provide defenses in any new spot he stepped into, in the face of all those dangers and continuous fighting, he had somehow managed to control 5% of the planet's surface, and he was still advancing!
But...
*Swoosh* A shadow sword appeared next to Alexander, "Lord Governor, today's losses are 571 soldiers, and one Martial Emperor."
"..." Alexander's eyelid twitched but he somehow maintained his apparent composure.
He had lost almost a third of his army so far, if it weren't for the three Warlords and the defensive arrays that were constantly being built, he would have already been crushed, but the soldiers inside the Warlords were dying of exhaustion right now, and the resources of the arrays weren't just appearing out of thin air, they were draining the empire's treasury and he shouldn't be consuming them like this!
There was no plan that could make up for the huge numerical deficit, he could currently stop at the last frontier he had fortified and start a purely defense job... But his mission was to subjugate the entire planet!!
The shadow sword that hadn't left yet bowed slightly after a while of hesitation, "...Lord Governor, I think it's time to ask for support."