Chapter 1688: Leading the War
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Basically, if any army wanted to improve its status and obtain a bigger budget, it had to rely on military merits.
Victory, victory, and victory. That was the only requirement that people had for a real army.
When it came to Dragon City’s financial situation, it afford to support two independent expeditionary armies. It was not necessary either.
Once the combined forces of the nine mega corporations successfully completed the task of conquering the middle and lower reaches of the Raging Tiger River, they would be unstoppable.
That meant this army, led by peerless warriors, was equipped with all the conditions needed to upgrade to an expeditionary army.
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At that time, Dragon City’s military budget would be heavily skewed toward the corporations’ armed forces.
The corporate armed forces would also learn from war and gain rich experiences. After a lot of training, they would transform into a real expeditionary force.
Once that happened, the Red Dragon Army would have no reason to demand a higher military budget from the Survival Committee and all the citizens of Dragon City.
Without a budget, a series of transformative changes could not be pushed forward. As such, the Red Dragon Army would not be able to obtain the intercontinental rapid attack capability that they dreamed of, and there would be no reason to demand a higher budget.
They would ultimately fall into a vicious circle, and they would forever be outgunned by the mega corporations. They could only exist in the form of the city defense army, garrison army, and security guards.
In the vast and boundless Other World, which was filled with mysterious forces, the city defense army, garrison army, and security were destined to play a thankless role.
The expeditionary army could bring the advantage of mobility and firepower advantage to the extreme, and through lightning-fast attacks, they could obtain brilliant victories for the human civilization and reap the most abundant war dividends.
However, the natives of the Other World would not be so easily defeated.
It did not really matter even if they were crushed into pieces by the flood of human steel in the first round of attack.
Whether it was the orcs with thick skin, the mages with profound powers, or even the skeleton soldiers that were like perpetual biochemical motion machines, they all had extremely strong survivability and small-scale, as well as long-range, combat ability.
According to Meng Chao’s experience in his previous life, the natives of the Other World were easy to defeat.
However, they were extremely difficult to annihilate.
It was possible for Earthlings to occupy the villages, towns, and even cities of the Other World’s natives.
Be that as it may, on a mysterious planet that was in a pre-industrial era, villages, towns, and even cities were far less significant than Earth in the 22nd century.
Most of the villages, towns, and cities could be occupied, but the natives of the Other World would not surrender.
Instead, they would retreat to the rolling mountains, the dark and deep underground, the vast lakes, and the lush and primitive forests. They would separate, disappear, and continue to resist.
After sweeping through a large number of villages and cities, the torrent of human steel would fall into a quagmire due to the complexity of the Other World’s terrain and the lack of hardened roads. They would have to fight a long, b.l.o.o.d.y war of attrition against the native orcs, mages, and skeleton soldiers in a situation where neither the right time nor the right people were available.
If the expeditionary army, which emphasized mobility, could make use of transmigration arrays and armored airships to withdraw and readjust their deployment in time before the natives burned them to the ground, they would have no other choice.
As the city’s defense army, garrison army, and security, the Red Dragon Army, which was stationed in villages and cities, had no choice but to sacrifice its soldiers to appease the natives’ hatred.
Unfortunately, since the Other World had been at war for thousands of years and almost all its forces had firm beliefs, hatred was something its natives possessed in abundance.
Under such a war mode, the expedition army, which consisted mainly of wealthy superhumans and corporate equipment, would reap victory after victory. They would be the first to charge into the towns of the Other World and plunder the bountiful spoils of war that the Other World civilization had acc.u.mulated for thousands of years.
Meanwhile, the Red Dragon Army would mainly be garrisoned in the ruins after the expedition army’s wanton plundering and pick up the leftovers left behind by the expedition army. They would be ready to welcome the Other World’s natives who had fled into the surrounding mountains and forests. The natives could practically burn G.o.ds and demons to death.
Of course, it was unfair.
However, in Meng Chao’s nightmare of his previous life, the powerhouses who commanded the corporate armed forces had become so powerful that no one dared to doubt whether it was a fair fight or not.
After all, to the Dragon City civilization at that time, the corporate armed forces brought victory after victory. Meanwhile, the Red Dragon Army was always surrounded, hara.s.sed, and blocked. It was always a.s.sociated with the word “failure” and needing the former’s rescue.
Was it not natural for the former to obtain more spoils of war and cultivation resources?
The current world’s military experts certainly could not predict the future the same way Meng Chao did through his apocalyptic nightmare.
Nevertheless, as Dragon City’s scientific and technological power recovered further, and the fog surrounding Dragon City gradually dissipated, the civilization’s research on the overall environment of the Other World, the global climate, and the entire ecosystem greatly deepened as well.
The people of Dragon City were keenly aware that there was a reason why the monster civilization was firmly confined within Monster Mountain Range.
It was likely that the Other World races beyond Monster Mountain Range were more powerful than the monster civilization.
Faced with such Other World races, the Red Dragon Army did not want to play the roles of “defense army, garrison army, and public security.” It lacked mobility and could only pa.s.sively take a beating.
Therefore, the Red Dragon Army had the same att.i.tude as the corporate armed forces. They were eager to gain control of the middle and lower reaches of the Raging Tiger River. By conquering a large area north of Monster Mountain Range, they would polish themselves into a true expeditionary army.
Unfortunately, the Red Dragon Army’s reorganization had yet to be completed.
The soldiers still needed at least half a year or so before they could march north on a large scale.
Hence, the Red Dragon Army, which should, in theory, be interested in expanding its territory, would stand on the same side as the Azure Alliance and reject the nine mega corporations’ war plans.
To be honest, the Red Dragon Army did not oppose war.
They just did not want to lose any dominance in future wars involving Dragon City.
“The Red Dragon Army should become the only armed force in Dragon City!”
“The Red Dragon Army should be qualified to command all the superhumans in Dragon City, not the other way around, being stuck under the command of superhumans without military status
“In the past, when faced with the threat of survival, so many armed forces appeared in Dragon City. Now that the threat of survival has been removed, the Red Dragon Army should, of course, be the main force and integrate all armed forces!”
“Those corporate armed forces were born freaks. They’re destined to protect the interests of the corporations, not the overall interests of the Dragon City civilization. All the corporate armed forces should disband on the spot. Those who are willing to contribute everything to the Dragon City civilization can join the Red Dragon Army directly!”
Many radical young officers had even gone to the extent of making such statements.