I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 492 I Don't Eat Pancakes
The cheers of victory swept across the entire dock like a tidal wave.

The soldiers of the Mâcon Union tossed their caps into the air, embraced one another, and shouted the names of the Union and the Governor in trembling voices of excitement, celebrating this hard-won, almost miraculous victory.

Yes, even the usually reserved Governor Almeida couldn't help but smile with relief, shaking hands firmly with the officers and mage advisors around him, finally able to relax his tense nerves for a moment.

A sense of relief at surviving the ordeal permeated the hearts of every colony soldier.

Most of the surviving players were also immersed in the joy of victory in the event.

They excitedly shared their battle experiences, compared their contributions, checked the potential rewards, or marveled at the two "Dragon Breath" flamethrowers that had played a crucial role, discussing how to use them more effectively in the next battle.

Overall, the atmosphere among the victors was enthusiastic and jubilant.

However, amidst this general jubilation, those who were unhappy and didn't want to play gradually fell silent.

After the initial excitement, a cold sense of reality quickly gripped his heart, causing him to subconsciously look around, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the jubilant players, silently taking stock in his mind.

A thousand people... There were over a thousand players when they arrived. They traveled together on the transport ship. Although there were complaints and resentments along the way, their morale was generally good. They were all looking forward to the battle with the snake people.

But now?

During the clash with the dock garrison, forty or fifty men were killed.

That was infuriating, but still within acceptable limits, considering the players were fighting back against fully armed soldiers with their bare hands and still managed to win.

But what followed this defensive battle... especially the snake-man's final, insidious and vicious move... the evil magic that transformed corpses into flesh-and-blood snakes, became a nightmare for players.

They had almost no armor; their meager uniforms and boots were utterly useless against the fangs of those frenzied, swarming snakes.

The cumulative effect of toxins and overwhelming numbers resulted in devastating casualties in a short period of time.

Many players fall unexpectedly during battle. The intense exercise accelerates their blood circulation, and even a single bite from a venomous snake can cause the venom to reach the heart more quickly, leading to an attack that kills the player.

Even now, quite a few people are jumping around and then collapsing. Judging from the current performance of the Macon people, they have almost no battlefield first aid capabilities. These players who have fallen down are basically doomed.

It seems that apart from those who are unhappy and refuse to play, no other player or Maconian knows or even remembers the emergency measures after being bitten by a venomous snake.

Stay still, tie a bandage above the wound, rinse the wound with plenty of water, and wait for the antivenom... If you don't have that, just tough it out on your own.

If you can withstand it, you live; if you can't, you die.

If we roughly estimate that those who are unhappy, don't play, are still alive and kicking, and have full combat capabilities, there are probably only about two hundred players left.

Holy crap, the casualty rate is a whopping 80%!

A heavy pressure fell on the shoulders of the person who was unhappy and unwilling to play.

As the chosen temporary commander, he cannot simply bask in the joy of victory like ordinary players; he must now consider what to do next.

Can these two hundred-plus people continue to carry out combat missions and continue their snake-man activities?

Can they withstand the snake people's next, potentially even fiercer, attack?

What will Governor Almeida and Major Esteves' attitude be towards these "unruly" but heavily damaged mercenaries?

Will they feel that the players are no longer of much value, given their drastically reduced numbers? Will these guys use these two hundred-plus people as pure cannon fodder in the next operation, sending them on the most dangerous, almost suicidal missions, in order to save their own soldiers in the Macon Alliance?
Thinking of that foolish major who dealt with the conflict equally by blaming both sides, and the governor's initial attempt to bribe him with gold, his displeasure and reluctance to continue the game sank.

These NPCs probably don't really care about the players' lives.

After all, good NPCs like Chris are really rare; anthropomorphic NPCs are the norm.

The cheers of victory seemed somewhat jarring to Bushuangbuwan. He looked at Governor Almeida, who was receiving congratulations from his subordinates not far away, with a formulaic smile on his face, and his eyes became complicated and wary.

……

As night deepened, the clamor of victory gradually subsided, leaving the docks filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder, a mixture of burnt and bloody odors, and a sense of exhaustion from surviving a catastrophe.

"I'm not happy, I won't play." He took a deep breath, suppressed his worries, straightened his tattered and dirty uniform from the battle, and walked toward Governor Almeida, who was surrounded by officers and guards.

After the Snakemen raid, the blood debt between the player and the Macon Alliance soldiers was basically settled, and the player no longer cared about the dead on their side.

The latter group couldn't blame the remaining two hundred Bagnian mercenaries, whose bloody battles on the docks during the day were obvious to everyone.

No matter how deep the blood debt was in the past, the Bagnians have already paid their dues.

Therefore, the soldiers of the Macon Alliance readily accepted the remaining two hundred or so players, and together they walked hand in hand back to Casarina, a city no more than five kilometers from the dock.

As the temporary leader of the mercenaries, Bu Shuang Bu Wan naturally followed along, and that night he even received an invitation from the governor, hoping that the two sides could hold another round of unfinished negotiations.

On the way, Bu Shuang thought about many things. He was prepared to pull out his hidden weapon and take down the governor if he was treated with contempt, perfunctory treatment, or even discarded after being used. He was ready to fight for the treatment and respect that the two hundred or so surviving brothers deserved.

However, to everyone's surprise, when he entered the governor's mansion with his attendants and saw Governor Almeida in the garden, the latter actually took a few steps forward to greet him.

As the two sides drew closer, within the soft glow of the streetlights, it became clear that Almeida's face no longer held the aloofness and calculation of the previous negotiations, nor the panic of the crisis, but rather... a gentle expression, even tinged with a hint of appreciation.

"Captain... I still don't know your name."

The governor spoke first, his tone sincere.

"Casalina Island was able to repel this despicable attack, and you and your men deserve immense credit. Your bravery and fearlessness have been witnessed by me and all the soldiers and civilians of the colony."

"I'm not happy, I won't play," he paused for a moment, and the tough words he had prepared suddenly got stuck in his throat.

That's quite a big change in attitude!

The governor seemed to see through his doubts, smiled slightly, and indicated that if he was unhappy, he would like to speak privately.

The two walked to a relatively quiet flower bed, and Almeida lowered her voice to speak.

"Can you tell me your name, Captain?"

"If I'm not happy, I won't play."

Almeida looked puzzled. Since the player was speaking in Chinese, she didn't notice anything wrong with the name, only that its pronunciation sounded a bit strange.

"If you're unhappy, don't play as captain... I know what you're worried about. You're worried that if you suffer heavy losses, I'll think you've lost your value and even treat you as cannon fodder to be sacrificed at will, right?"

She didn't deny it, but just silently watched him.

Governor Almeida shook his head, his tone becoming serious and pragmatic.

"No, you're wrong. On the contrary, in my opinion, you are more valuable now than the thousand people who landed at the beginning."

He held out two fingers.

"First, those who survived such a brutal and bloody battle were all true veterans."

I've seen too many recruits who look decent on the training field, but when faced with terrifying monsters like snake people and bizarre sorcery, they're lucky if they can unleash 30% of their full combat power.

And your subordinates…

He smiled, an expression of admiration on his face.

"They fight in fear, spontaneously organize counterattacks in chaos, and even find and use dangerous weapons like dragon breath to turn the tide of battle."

The courage and adaptability honed in real combat are irreplaceable by any training. Two hundred such veterans are far more valuable than a thousand new recruits who have never experienced war. Then, he held up a third finger.

"Secondly, your current number of people... well, it's not all a bad thing."

The governor's tone was slightly subtle yet frank.

“Managing more than a thousand warriors like you… well, with distinct personalities, brave and even a bit wild, does require a lot of effort.”

But now that you have just over two hundred men left, resupplying, setting up camp, and coordinating operations have become much easier, allowing me to deploy you more effectively in the most critical positions.

Finally, he looked towards the sea, his gaze distant.

"Third, and most importantly, according to the employment contract we signed with Bagnia, you are only the first advance force. More ships will follow, transporting more soldiers to Casarina Island."

"And you two hundred-plus veterans who have experienced bloody battles and are familiar with the island's environment and enemy tactics..."

He turned back and looked meaningfully at "Not Happy, Not Playing".

"You will become the absolute core and backbone of the follow-up troops. The experience you have accumulated is a priceless treasure bought with blood. I need you to survive, and I need you to teach these things to the new lads."

Governor Almeida's frankness and clear analysis of the pros and cons made Bu Shuang Bu Wan appear to understand on the surface, but secretly sneered in his heart.

This guy is just fooling people.

Anyone who has ever worked in the workforce should understand one thing: when your boss is spouting platitudes and seemingly having a heart-to-heart talk with you, as if you're his trusted subordinate, don't listen to what this jerk is saying; instead, observe what he's doing.

And what is this guy named Almeida doing?
He's making empty promises.

What happened to the gold that was on the table during the previous negotiations?

Where did you go?

If this guy gives me the gold, I'll believe he's telling the truth; otherwise, Almeida is just talking nonsense.

The performance of "I won't play if I'm not happy" successfully made the other party feel that they had succeeded.

"so……"

Almeida patted the shoulder of the disgruntled man, his tone regaining the governor's authority and carrying more trust.

"Take your men and go down to rest. I will have someone arrange the best barracks, ample food and medicine for you immediately. The compensation for the fallen and your extra bonuses will also be issued immediately according to the highest standards."

As for equipment…

He thought for a while,

"The armory will be fully open to you, and you can choose and change items as you please."

"Rest well and recover your strength. The snake people won't give us much time. The next battle may be coming soon. At that time, I will need you as the spearhead."

What about gold?
You've said so much nonsense, where did the gold you were going to give me go?
Unhappy and unwilling to play, after watching the governor wait for a while without hearing what he wanted to hear, he nodded, gave a Bagnian-style double-headed eagle salute, and then turned to leave.

He only took two steps before stopping.

When I was unhappy and didn't want to play, a question suddenly came to mind.

He turned around, his face showing just the right amount of confusion and worry, and asked.

“Your Excellency, there is another question that is troubling me. Those snake people… they have infiltrated the vicinity of the docks on such a large scale, even using giant beasts like sea serpents. What about the Macon Alliance’s maritime early warning and defense fleet?”

This question clearly hit Governor Almeida where it hurt.

His smile froze slightly, then turned into a heavy sigh. His previous confidence and composure faded considerably, replaced by a sense of helplessness and frustration.

He waved his hand, signaling the attendants and guards around him to step back a little, then lowered his voice and spoke frankly to Buzaibuwan.

“You’ve hit the nail on the head, Captain. It’s not that we were careless… at least not entirely.”

He rubbed his brows.

"In fact, under our normal defense system, it would be almost impossible for the snake people to get this close. We have a medium-sized escort fleet that patrols the nearby waters year-round, and we also have watchtowers and beacon towers on the shore."

He paused, his tone becoming even more somber.

"But just a few days ago, we received an urgent request for help from the northern colony. Scouts discovered that an unprecedented snake-man nest was rapidly taking shape on an outlying island."

To prevent it from escalating into an uncontrollable disaster, I had no choice but to order the fleet and the majority of the island's mobile forces to immediately assemble and depart for a bombardment and landing operation to clear out the enemy.

The governor gazed into the dark distance, feigning profundity.

"They took away our best warships, our most experienced sailors and soldiers, and the troops you see here today that have come to the dock to provide support..."

Almeida gave a wry smile.

"This is the last mobile force that can be quickly mobilized in Casarina. Many of them are militia and port guards who have been temporarily armed. The remaining soldiers are either stationed at various points on the island or second-line troops that need time to assemble."

"The snake people...it's as if they knew we were vulnerable inside, choosing this perfect moment to launch a surprise attack. Without a fleet to intercept us on the outside, and without enough patrol boats, their sea serpents were able to drive straight in and approach the dock area..."

This explanation is reasonable, and even carries a kind of military inevitability... In order to attack distant threats, it is necessary to temporarily weaken local defenses, thus allowing the enemy to take advantage of the situation.

This is certainly more acceptable than mere negligence.

After hearing "If you're unhappy, don't play," I immediately understood.

It's confirmed. This ally, called the Almeida and Macon Alliance, is a terrible teammate. You can do the tasks they give you, but you absolutely cannot follow their orders.

Secondly, even when doing tasks, you should be more careful and make more preparations to avoid being sold out or scammed by these bastards.

"I see……"

"I'm not happy, I won't play," he nodded, a look of understanding on his face.

"It seems those monsters are more cunning than we thought."

"Yes, extremely cunning."

Almeida affirmed, then rallied his spirits.

"However, the good news is that once our main fleet and troops have completed their attack on that nest, they will immediately return to port. At that time, we will be able to regain control of the sea and even launch a counterattack against the snake people!"

This brings us back to the point of "pie in the sky," offering no substance whatsoever, and he couldn't be bothered to listen.

"I look forward to that day, Your Excellency."

If you're not happy, don't play. Bow again.

“I will relay your explanation to the brothers, so that everyone can better understand the current situation.”

"Go and have a good rest."

(End of this chapter)