Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 151 Target the Wrong Enemy, Die Faster

Chapter 151: Chapter 151 Target the Wrong Enemy, Die Faster

"Commander! How much longer are we supposed to just sit here?"

Inside the command room of the Seventh Sovereign Vanguard in Springvale City, Cliff had assembled his top officers once again. A young officer stood up, his voice strained: "Commander, we really can’t afford to wait any longer! We’ve still got 87,000 troops - no battles to fight, nothing! Just feeding them burns over 30,000 jin of grain a day! We can’t afford this! We really can’t!"

"Exactly, sir!" another officer added, "The soldiers are idle day after day - no combat, no proper training grounds. You keep ’em like this much longer, and they’ll rot from the inside."

"I say we go for Ashbrook Town immediately!"

"Same here, let’s hit it now - no more wasting time!"

The room erupted in support for a strike. These days, voices calling for restraint were few and far between. Only Liam and a few others, including that political commissar who’d been to see Magnus, stayed quiet. They didn’t speak up, their unease about Magnus written all over their faces.

Cliff rubbed his temples, his patience wearing thin. With a heavy sigh, he slammed his palm lightly on the table, then looked toward Oliver.

"Bright, your thoughts?"

Oliver had stayed quiet throughout, chain-smoking one cigarette after another. Now that Cliff had called on him, he exhaled deeply, flicked the ash off, and spoke up.

"I’m in favor of the fight."

"Oh? You’re on the war camp now too?" Cliff raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah... I think we should fight," Oliver sat straighter in his chair, back resting against the worn wooden frame. "The others make a point - we’ve got nearly 90,000 mouths to feed. Resources outside are drying up, not much left of those meteor clusters. If we don’t fight, what are we even doing?"

Then, he added quietly, "Even if it means marching to our deaths..."

Marching to die?

A chill swept the room. No one said a word.

Everyone was waiting for Oliver to go on. Cliff lit a cigarette, eyes fixed on Oliver.

"Well? Let’s hear your take."

"Forget how many they’ve got," Oliver lit another cigarette, took a drag, and looked at Cliff. "Let’s talk about their crystals. Didn’t Liam and the others see them with their own eyes? And Ryan’s unit - what, they dug up at least two thousand crystals, right? Then what? Dug the place clean and found nothing. Where did they all go?"

He paused, voice lower but sharper. "Say they only send out two hundred men with crystals. How many of ours would they have to take down before we run dry?"

"We’ve got crystals too!" a young officer snapped.

"We?" Oliver chuckled, smoke curling from his lips. "We’re in the open. They’re hiding in the dark. They can hit us anytime, anywhere. Once we reveal we’ve got crystals, they just pull back. Wait till the crystal time runs out, then come back for more. If it were me in charge over there, I’d keep doing that same trick again and again. Drag you down bit by bit. How many crystals do we have to play that game?"

Silence fell over the room again. Even the aggressive ones earlier had nothing to say. Their faces flushed with frustration, knowing he wasn’t wrong but still unwilling to admit it.

Seeing no one speak, Oliver gave a crooked smile - tired, maybe even sorry. "And don’t forget about that rocket attack. We still don’t know where it came from. Now ask yourselves, could it have been those bastards in Ashbrook Town?"

"Yeah," Liam nodded, "and what about our aircraft? Blown out of the sky without warning. Who else could’ve done it?"

Still no answers. Then someone finally spoke up, cautious, eyebrows drawn, "But Oliver, you said just now that you were for the attack. Now you’re saying all this - what do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Oliver gave a cold laugh. "I mean we should fight, yeah. But not them. You’ve got your sights on the wrong damn target."

"Wrong target?" the officer blinked. "Then who the hell do you think we should hit?"

"Victor," Oliver said flatly, eyes hard. "You all still don’t get it? We’re not starving yet. We’ve got enough food to last us six months. What we don’t have is weapons. Crystals. Ammo. We’ve got ninety thousand men but only around ten thousand guns. What are the other eighty thousand? Deadweight. Useless without tools. Just mouths to feed."

He leaned forward, tone sharper, "But if we gave all of them weapons - automatic rifles, full ammo? Then it’s a different story. Not just Ashbrook Town, but even the bigger cities nearby - who the hell would stand against us?"

A hesitant voice rose, "But Dean’s got over twenty thousand troops, all armed. Wouldn’t they be an even tougher fight?"

Oliver didn’t flinch. "Yeah, maybe. But we don’t have a choice. That’s the fight that matters."

Oliver let out a soft sigh. "Yeah... they’ve got over twenty thousand men, all armed. Hitting them head-on won’t be easy."

Then his gaze sharpened. "But word from Southark says the 17th Division’s been stirring lately. Big moves. What do you think that’s about?"

The room fell silent, everyone deep in thought, until Cliff finally spoke, "Oliver, you mean... the 17th is about to hit Victor’s forces?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Oliver nodded slightly. "If my guess is right, Southark’s gearing up for a full-blown clash with Victor’s lot this month. When that breaks out, we should consider stepping in while they’re tangled up."

"What about the underground grain depot?" someone asked.

Oliver chuckled. "Let them hold onto it for now. Once we’ve got the firepower, taking it back will just be a matter of time. Think of it as them keeping it safe for us."

Everyone around the table nodded in agreement - even Cliff showed approval.

Just as Cliff was about to finalize the plan and shift focus toward dealing with Victor’s army, urgent knocks came from the door. A communications soldier rushed in, panting, "Report! General, there’s movement from the Ridgebreak Battalion!"

The entire room stiffened. Ridgebreak? Why were they active now?

"Speak," Cliff barked, eyes locked on the soldier.

"Yes, sir!" With a salute, the soldier quickly laid it out, "Our scouts report a major operation yesterday. Ridgebreak sent about 8,000 men toward Ashbrook Town. They deployed 20 infantry carriers, 20 light tanks, about 30 rocket launchers and 30 mortars. Other equipment is unclear."

His voice rang clear, but in that room, it landed like a bomb. Everyone stared - Ridgebreak hitting Ashbrook? Weren’t they allies? Why turn now?

The news lit up the room. A good number of commanders looked thrilled - this could be their moment to swoop in.

But a few, like Oliver, were less convinced. To him, this reeked of a trap - classic bait-and-lure tactics.

The room erupted into heated debate once more.

Three hours later, Cliff slammed his hand on the table. "Bruce! Take 5,000 fully armed troops, 25,000 support men, 30 infantry vehicles, 30 light tanks, 50 mortars, and 80 rocket launchers. Move out to Ashbrook now. I want that underground grain depot secured no matter the cost!"

"Consider it done, sir!" Bruce Hall stood tall, his voice firm.