Chapter 486.2: Honey Badger Kingdom's Liberation

"Distribute the food to them," Yard replied without hesitation.

Just as she expected.

She showed no surprise at his answer.

A noble raised in wealth could never understand hunger, let alone know what the starving truly needed, much less how to handle famine.

He was basically like Somer. In their eyes, handing out food would cure everything.

Too bad things weren’t so simple.

The root of war-induced famine wasn’t just lack of food, it was the collapse of social order and production.

She didn’t fully understand all the theory, but her work down at the level of ordinary wastelanders had taught her that handing out food alone was never enough.

Teresa took a deep breath and explained, "Honey Badger City has 8,000 registered households. There are only 6,000 tons of grain in the granary. How will you ensure everyone eats their fill?"

Yard frowned. "Easy, 70 kilos per household. That should be enough."

Teresa pressed further, "Do you think you should give the same amount for families of three and families of six? What about households without laborers, or unregistered residents?"

Yard replied impatiently, "Then distribute it by headcount."

"That’s even worse... Adults will steal from children. Strong men will rob the weak. Even if the citizens of Honey Badger City behave and don’t steal, someone will buy their extra food and resell it at a premium once they starve."

Yard’s face darkened.

The guard captain snapped, "Nonsense! Our people would never do that!"

Teresa said calmly, "Maybe. Perhaps they are noble and devout. But if there’s a way to prevent tragedy, why place all hope on morality and faith?"

"Who cares, it’s not your place to..."

"Silence!" Yard cut him off and stared at the woman.

"What do you propose?"

Teresa replied seriously, "Set up relief points across the city. Divide it into zones. Distribute food by district and register names, ages, height, weight, family, and occupation. Mobilize able-bodied people into post-war reconstruction and farmland reclamation."

"Keep the helpless alive. Let the strong eat and work. They’ll suffer for a while, but if they last until next year’s harvest. Things will improve."

"Trust me... We have the experience. If you don’t trust me, assign someone to monitor me." She looked earnestly at Yard as she spoke.

That was the result of months of her experience.

It was how the New Alliance had stabilized Lucky Valley Municipality in the south of River Valley Province. It was far more effective than direct handouts.

"... She’s the Princess of the Falcon Kingdom," the captain whispered anxiously. "Their people even tried to blow up the Levee!"

Yard said nothing, glanced at the New Alliance flag, and finally looked at Teresa. "Why are you doing this?"

Teresa was silent for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. "I don’t know... You might not believe it, but it just makes me feel better."

Maybe...

I’ll need the administrator to convince him.

But to her surprise, Yard seemed to believe her. He waved his hand, signaling the guards to stand down.

Before turning away, he muttered, "... If there’s trouble you can’t solve, come to the castle."

Teresa exhaled in relief and lowered her head. "Thank you."

Resolving conflict like this was the best outcome.

She didn’t expect them to forgive the Falcon Kingdom’s crimes, but she wanted to do what she could.

As for why...

Perhaps it was because of what the administrator had said aboard the Heart of Steel. When Somer asked what identity allowed her to remain with the New Alliance, he replied, "She is someone the New Alliance liberated."

"Whether they are from Oasis No.3 or Oasis No.2, they are all victims of this war."

There had not been a trace of hesitation in his voice.

"We will liberate them."

...

Midnight.

On the official website of the other world, the forums were buzzing with activity.

Eye Owe Money: Hahaha! Took Honey Badger City in just two hours! Tell me that’s not badass!

Quit Smoking: 666!

Elf Wang: Tch, big deal. We wiped out an entire division in two hours, too! (◔_◔)

Darkest: Exactly! And the main forces of the Army and the Falcon Kingdom have all retreated to Oasis No.2. You scavengers aren’t gonna find a single main unit out there!

Construction Boy: Doesn’t matter! Oasis No. 3 was liberated by us! <(˘ ˘ ˘)>

Elf Wang: Damn it!

Irena: So the next target is Oasis No.2, right? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Escaping Mole: We’ll be hitting Bist Town tomorrow. The Army built a ton of fortifications there, probably gonna be a tough fight.

Night Ten: @PangolinBro, where you at?

Mosquito: Give us the scoop, what’s happening on your end? (ᵕ • ᴗ •)

Darkest: Damn! Where’d he go? He was online just a minute ago!

Night Ten: Don’t tell me he’s actually up to something shady??

An hour earlier, quite a few people saw him online. He even posted that he’d already retreated with Cowley to the logistics hub in Bist Town at Oasis No.2.

Then mid-conversation, he suddenly vanished.

Remembering that he always logged off from latrines, the players couldn’t help but grow concerned.

Mentions pinging him flooded the thread. Perhaps sensing the chatter behind his back, after all the pinging and coaxing, the battlefield guy finally showed up, fashionably late.

Battlefield Cheerleader: Ahem... I’ve got news. Big news. It’s an absolute bombshell!

Ample Time: Bombshell huh? That’s a bold claim.

Spring Water Commander: Did you convince Cowley to surrender? (¬_¬)

Eye Owe Money: How’d you pull that off? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Darkest: Spill it bro, did it hurt? (｡﹏｡")

Battlefield Cheerleader: Screw off!

TengTeng: ... Hehehehehe

Night Ten: Quit stalling. Hurry up fool!

Battlefield Cheerleader: Ahem, it’s about what’s going on way over in Triumphant City... Things are a bit messy. I just organized the intel and submitted it to the mission board. I’ll make a new thread to explain in detail.

In a newly created post of about 2,000 to 3,000 words, Battlefield Cheerleader laid out the tangled interests behind the Army’s Expansionist faction.

In short, there used to be three generals in Sunset Province.

The highest-ranking was the Five Star General Klaas, followed by Griffin, then McClennan.

All three were once core members of the Army’s Eastern Army, advocating for the conquest of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee’s cradle, the Great Rift Valley, and projecting their power across the Central Continent.

However, the Eastern Army’s expansionist faction had limited influence within the Army. Even the Eastern Army didn’t fully support advancing into the eastern wastelands.

To gain Triumphant City’s support, Klaas led the first expedition, but due to poor preparation, he died during the campaign.

Griffin inherited Klaas’s established power base in Sunset Province and implemented a series of strategies. Economically, he courted the Bugra Free State. Politically, he incited the Bonechewer Clan to ravage the southern River Valley Province. And for the military side of things, he propped up the Falcon Kingdom to annex the other kingdoms.

But clearly, his plans didn’t go smoothly. Not only did he fail to conquer the kingdoms, he was pushed back to Oasis No.2 by the New Alliance.

Now Griffin had only one card left to play. Sacrificing 10 Divisions that made up the Clone Corps, himself, and the Army’s vassals in Sunset Province in exchange for the sympathy of other factions in Triumphant City.

Though it wasn’t quite sympathy...

Whether for Triumphant City’s reputation, the future of the young officers in those Divisions, or the noble heirs polishing their resumes at the front lines, the Army would have to respond to this war backed by the Enterprise.

And the most likely response?

A war between two fallen empires. It was something the Enterprise had been desperately trying to avoid.

As for whether the war should continue, player opinions were clearly divided.

Escaping Mole was in favor of fighting.

His reason was simple, he’d just experienced the thrill of an iron-flood blitz and wasn’t done enjoying it. If the Enterprise and the Army really went head-to-head, the New Alliance might be able to fish in troubled waters.

But Sideline Slacking was more hesitant. The situation at Oasis No.3 had surprised him.

According to incomplete statistics he looted from the City Lord’s Manor in Honey Badger City, in just one month of occupation, Honey Badger Kingdom had lost 5% of its total population.

Not that he was being overly sympathetic.

If command issued the order, he would march on Oasis No.2 without hesitation and fight the desperate fanatics to the end.

It was just... If they kept fighting, he couldn’t see where this war would end.

Sideline Slacking: I support driving the Army out of Sunset Province. This war was their doing. But I don’t know what comes after that. Unless we can push the front all the way to Triumphant City, this endless war will drag us all into the mud.

Ample Time: Honestly, I don’t think arguing over a ceasefire matters. If the Army doesn’t want to let go, even if we agree to peace, it’s useless. (¬_¬)