I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 394 Gambler
After Elena left in humiliation and despair, the atmosphere in the conference room did not lighten much; instead, it shifted to a more realistic discussion.

For players, "quests" are the core driving force in this world, and how to judge the "goodness" of a quest has long been a deeply ingrained evaluation system.

Lin Ruoyu looked around at the commanders present and broke the silence.

"Alright, now that the irrelevant people are gone, let's get down to business."

The main quest "Heading North to Meet" has been marked as complete, and the reward settlement countdown has begun. The question now is, what's the next step?
Should we immediately break camp and return to Bagnia to claim our reward, or...?

He paused, then looked meaningfully at the location of White Rock City on the map.

"Do you still need to ask?"

The knife was stabbed in the buttocks, then slammed onto the table, making the cups and plates rattle.

"We've already fought this far, why are we still retreating?!"

Keep fighting!

"Let's take White Rock City first, then we'll take the two or three large cities we ignored on our way here, establish a supply line, and then advance towards the capital of the Kingdom of Minicia, 'Treasure Island,' and conquer the entire Kingdom of Minicia in one fell swoop."

Xiao Dao got quite excited as he spoke.

"When we were halfway through the battle, we joined forces and asked Chris to grant us fiefdoms, just like Tavitzky and Oncandra, where solo players and small warbands shared a piece of land, while large warbands controlled a city on their own."

This way, everyone can have fixed territory, tax revenue, and NPC troops—isn't that wonderful!?

"You wish!?"

"It's, it's..."

Some players in the meeting laughed and said that, to which Xiaodaozaipitangshou retorted with a question.

"But isn't this good?"

"Okay, that's good, but there are a few problems."

Lin Ruoyu said.

"First, we can't continue fighting."

"What?"

This wasn't a question from Xiao Dao, but rather a statement from another battle group leader.

"There's no food left."

Lin Ruoyu shrugged.

"This 'no food' means exactly what it says. We rely entirely on our stored grain for food... Logistics officer, tell me, how long will the expeditionary force's food supply last?"

The logistics officer was not a player, but an NPC. He stood up, wearing a light green coat.

"As ordered by Commander Lin Ruoyu, report on the current logistical situation of the expeditionary force, with a focus on food reserves."

The logistics officer's voice was calm and even, each word like a cold weight slamming onto the table.

"As of this morning's statistics, the expeditionary force currently has a total of 125 player commanders and core members, 8,695 combat soldiers, and 1,875 accompanying civilians, craftsmen, and support personnel, totaling..."

Regarding livestock, there were 2,021 warhorses and 2,521 pack horses and mules.

Total grain reserves are approximately…

The logistics officer spoke for fifteen minutes in his emotionless tone, piling up various numbers and consumption figures, leaving most of the players present dizzy and disoriented, as if they had returned to a classroom.

"No, stop talking...get to the point!"

With the knife stuck in his buttocks, he raised his hand and directly gave orders to the logistics officer.

"It's enough to say how long the expeditionary force's current food reserves can last!"

"Including men and horses, the existing food supplies can last for another twenty-five days."

"Oh dear, isn't there quite a lot?"

Someone sighed.

"Alexander took ten days' worth of rations with him when he went to war, and we have twenty-five days' worth here, that's enough!"

"Wrong, absolutely wrong!"

Lin Ruoyu stood up and retorted loudly.

"I won't go into the details of Alexander's ten days' worth of rations. First of all, having less than a month's worth of supplies is actually a very dangerous thing."

We need to attack Baiyan City. Will it take us a few days?
No matter what, we should bombard the city walls with artillery for two days to create two or three breaches, and then launch an assault to take the city in one day.

Doing it this way, three days will be gone.

We've captured the city. We need to occupy it and establish a forward base. Should we take care of the food for the surrendered soldiers and the residents inside?

If we manage it, it will definitely further deplete our existing food reserves... Don't expect the granaries in the city to provide us with much replenishment; the Varangian Legion did an excellent job before.

In short, just Baiyan City alone will take us at least three to five days, meaning one-fifth of our twenty-five days will be gone.

After Lin Ruoyu said that, everyone present understood what was going on.

Even at this point, Lin Ruoyu was still unwilling to stop, and he continued speaking.

"Since we want to occupy territory, we need to divide our forces. Before, we only focused on fighting and didn't care about our rear, but that won't work now. We must establish a stable supply line, and to establish a supply line, we must divide our forces to occupy the territory we have conquered."

We don't need to take every town, but even if we only occupy the main cities, we need to allocate at least half of our people to manage them. Even if these people can be NPCs, the players still need to act as officers.

This will weaken our numbers and combat effectiveness. If guerrillas appear in the rear, it will be even worse. We need to advance on the front lines while fighting counterinsurgency in the rear, which will be disastrous.

"Damn, if that's the case, wouldn't we become like the Japanese invaders and the US military in the Middle East?!"

Someone grumbled in frustration, which immediately sparked discussion among the others in the meeting room.

"Then how?"

The man scratched his head in annoyance, looking distressed after being pricked in the buttocks with a knife, his expression melancholy.

"Are we just going to miss this golden opportunity?"

"if not?"

Lin Ruoyu clapped his hands and asked a question in return.

"To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. We can fight now, but we cannot rule. What's the point of conquering it?"
Robbery and run?

"That's unnecessary, we're not short of money."

"Then that's settled. If you're still not giving up, we can go back and take a few towns near the border and give it a try. As for heading towards Taiwan, there's no need for that."

I asked around, and to the northwest of White Rock City lies the Nasi Mountains of the Kingdom of Minicia. The terrain there is treacherous; a fortress there blocks the main road, just like the previous Polas Fortress—it's difficult to attack.”

"What should we do then? Can we take a detour?"

“We can take a detour and continue north until we reach the end of the road where we see the sea. Then we can head southeast. But this detour will add two or three hundred kilometers to our journey, and we'll have to navigate through several more major cities. It'll be very difficult,” Lin Ruoyu said earnestly.

"Brothers, don't worry. Looking at the situation in Minicia, they definitely won't be able to recover anytime soon. We can take it slow and there's no need to rush."

"Oh, I see..."

While the players were having a lively meeting inside the tent, no one noticed that Elena hadn't left but was listening intently behind the hall door.

Theoretically, with the soundproof door, she wouldn't hear much outside, and secondly, it was also due to her status as a future princess.

So the expeditionary soldiers guarding the door did not drive her away, which gave Elena an opportunity... The ring on her finger was emitting a barely perceptible luster.

……

Barbarossa kept his promise and immediately posted an announcement in his game group after the meeting, sharing Elena's mission to save her people.

Some people dismissed the task with disdain, while others were excited, discussing it and preparing to go find Elena to receive it later.

However, overall, veteran players are not very interested; only new players are eager to try it out.

Because this is not a good task.

For players, the criteria for judging whether a task is "good" or "bad" are crystal clear.

For example, the vast majority of the missions Chris issues are good missions, whether it's killing enemies on the battlefield or capturing territory, the rewards are immediate, visible, and quantifiable.

After completing the mission, even if the player dies, they will immediately receive silver coins, supplies, and warhorses. Military merits and reputation points will be credited instantly. If they do a great job, they will also receive medals that are available both online and offline, satisfying the player's needs in every way.

It's fair to say that Chris's mission may not be high-risk, but the rewards are certainly substantial.

Elena's rescue mission was undoubtedly a bad one.

The reward for the quest is a verbal promise from the NPC Elena, and what she promises is nothing more than the vague promise of "favor from the princess" and "gratitude from the family".

These two things cannot be immediately converted into reputation, military merit, or equipment, which are core player needs.

Secondly, the risks are extremely high... infiltrating a chaotic city.

The return is uncertain... The hostages may die, or they may be rescued for no benefit.

And the payout period is infinitely long... Who knows when this "favor" will be fulfilled?

The players' logic is clear and ruthless... maximizing profits, minimizing risks, clarifying goals, and maximizing enjoyment.

In the face of this cold and efficient "task evaluation system," Elena and her family's fate had long been deemed "redundant information" by expert players, who deemed it not worth investing resources in.

Elena's tears and pleas were nothing more than an annoying and insignificant interlude before the grand feast began. Only some new players would feel sympathy for the future princess and want to take the risk.

Well, perhaps there are also those who simply want to experience the story.

……

Elena practically floated back to the military tent assigned to her.

The cold, hard numbers and the players' blatant scheming she overheard outside the conference hall gnawed at her heart like venomous snakes.

Humiliation and despair almost overwhelmed her.

The commanders of the expeditionary force disregarded the survival of her family and treated her human relationships like worthless trash; her last hope seemed to have been shattered.

Inside the tent, a few remaining female members of the Tia family... her two aunts and a cousin waited anxiously.

My grandmother, Countess Tia, had also survived the massacre, but unfortunately she was too old. The slaughter of her people and the hardships of a long period of fleeing destroyed her already good health. Before she could even leave the mountains after the war, she passed away quietly one night.

Therefore, Elena is now the only pillar of the Tia family.

Seeing Elena's distraught and pale face, the three women's hearts sank.

"Elena, did they refuse?"

"My slightly older aunt, Mrs. Margaret, asked in a trembling voice."

Elena didn't answer immediately. She slumped into the chair, her hands clasped tightly together, her knuckles turning white from the force.

The fragments she heard in the conference room echoed wildly in her mind.

"Twenty-five days... food... unable to hold out... divide the troops... unable to control... grab a handful and run... Polas Fortress... Naxi Mountains..."

Suddenly, a cold yet clear thought struck her like lightning cleaving through the fog.

The biggest weakness of the Bagnian Expeditionary Force was not its lack of combat power, but its logistics.

They were like a lion that looked fierce but was hungry, trapped in this land destroyed by the Reteria Iron Cavalry.

They wanted to capture Baiyan City, but they were afraid of wasting time and consuming food. They wanted to penetrate deep into enemy territory, but they were stuck by the treacherous terrain and the problem of dividing their forces for control. They wanted to go home, but the way home was not easy either.

They are not invincible; they also have fatal weaknesses... time and supplies!

"aunt."

Elena suddenly raised her head, her eyes, which had been filled with despair, now burning with an almost insane flame, but her voice remained unusually calm.

"Tell me, Father, does our family still have any trump cards up its sleeve in White Rock City?"
Anything that can connect to the city, or influence the city's garrison and nobles?

Mrs. Margaret was startled by her niece's gaze, but seeing the renewed light within it, she immediately realized that things might be turning around.

She pondered for a moment and nodded firmly.

"Yes, I saw a noble flag on the city wall. I recognize the flag; it's the flag of the Harry family. Our family has a marriage alliance with them. Baron Harry's mother was from our family."

She then thought about it carefully.

"Then there was Sir Dorron in White Rock City, whose knightly banner I also saw..."

His becoming a knight was partly due to your father's influence, but this was kept secret; no one outside of us knew about it.

Elena's spirits lifted immediately, and at that moment, an extremely bold, even crazy, idea quickly took shape in her mind.

Wasn't the expeditionary force worried about the cost and time involved in the siege?
That's fine!
She, Elena Tia, would give them a chance to "take White Rock City in an instant without losing a single soldier." She would use the formidable power of the Bagnia Expeditionary Force as a backdrop, and the intelligence in her hands and her family's last trump card as leverage, to pry open the hearts of those fickle people in White Rock City!
If successful, she would not only be able to rescue her father and clansmen, but she would also no longer be the groveling "future queen," but a heroine who recaptured Baiyan City without bloodshed.

She will prove to the Bagnian court, to Prince Chris, and especially to the expeditionary force that treats her like trash, that she, Elena Tia, possesses a value they cannot ignore.

She will have a real foothold and a voice in this powerful army and in the future Kingdom of Bagnia.

"Aunt Margaret, prepare paper and pen for me immediately, the finest of them!"

Elena's voice carried an undeniable determination.

“Cousin, go wait outside. An expeditionary commander has promised to send someone to help me. If you see the knights or soldiers he sent, tell them that Elena of the Tia family has a major plan to take White Rock City without bloodshed and needs their help.”

She took a deep breath, her eyes gleaming with a gambler's shrewdness.

"I need to write a letter, a letter to Baron Harry and Sir Doron in White Rock, and the messenger... must be from the expeditionary force!"

At this point, Elena thought of someone... Monokuma the Great Knight.

(End of this chapter)