Fourteen, hurry up and get on the shelf

  Fourteen, hurry up and get on the shelf

  "What? Nohm is going to die!"

  A hoarse and astonished roar spread the astonishing news throughout the temporary camp of the Giant Bear Army. However, the soldiers who heard the voice did not show any surprise at all, but only slightly furrowed their brows and continued to bury their heads in their own affairs, although most of them still didn't know what to do now.

  Inside the temporary camp's makeshift walls, made of branches, wooden sticks and snow, hundreds of tents of various sizes were scattered about in a disorderly manner. The largest and most beautiful one was naturally the command center of the entire legion. At this moment, there were only three people sitting inside this large tent that could hold over a hundred people, making it seem somewhat empty. The roar from earlier came from the last alchemist to enter the tent.

  "Keep your voice down, you're going to burst my eardrums!" The red-haired female pastor covered her ears with a pained expression, revealing a "can't stand you" look. Among the three people in the tent, she was the only one who had teleported directly using the transmission ring and still looked relatively tidy, at least without any scars on her face, and her clothes were mostly intact. "Everyone already knows about this, no need to remind us again!"

  "How can such important news be leaked so casually?" Phil finally reacted from his shock, his face flushed red, using a loud inquiry to cover up his own mistake just now, completely disregarding that he had just leaked the general's death news. "Don't you know how much of an impact this will have on morale?"

  "What morale is left to destroy?" The Speaker of the House, Zhuo, who had been trampled multiple times in the fleeing crowd, stared with her purple-rimmed panda eyes and raised her bandaged right hand to point outside. "This thing was witnessed by them personally, it's impossible to cover it up. If it weren't for their hometowns and families being behind them, those guys outside would have fled long ago."

  "What exactly did General Nohm die of." Fili was stunned, turned around and looked at the corpse of General Nohm on the marching bed. The deceased General Thorn Nohm looked very peaceful, not a single wound could be found, as if he had just fallen asleep. Fili pondered for half a day and still couldn't figure out what had happened to him.

  "Soahn fell off the horse carriage and hit his head on a rock, by the time we rushed to save him it was too late." Zena, the Speaker of the Council, explained the cause of General Nohm's death with an odd expression, unsure whether she should cry or laugh. "The accident happened right at the entrance of the camp, almost everyone saw it, what can we do to cover it up?"

  Did he die from a carriage accident? This explosive insider made Phil's mind go blank in an instant. He looked at the general's body, not knowing what to say. Although they had known each other for less than a year and their relationship was not deep, after all, it was him who gave himself this position, so he could be considered a benefactor. Recalling the past experiences of being together with him, Phil felt some melancholy, some sentimentality, but more of a faint irony.

  As a brilliant and cunning politician who had been active in the imperial political arena for several centuries, Thorne Nomm did not die quietly on his own estate after retiring from politics, nor did he take his own life in shame when scandals surrounded him and his position was at stake. He also did not die by the bullets of his political enemies during the process of pushing through reforms to revitalize politics. Instead, at the moment when he had finally reached the pinnacle of his life after much struggle, like a drunkard who had occasionally fallen on bad luck, he inexplicably fell to his death beside his own carriage, leaving behind the power and prestige he had worked so hard for, as well as the mess of powerful enemies closing in on him, without any warning or indication. It's likely that even in his grave, he will not rest easy.

  "Although life is always full of unexpected events, you've gone from the inauguration ceremony to a funeral in such a short period of time, it's really too fast. " Phil let out a sigh, adjusted his tattered coat, and gave a somewhat unstandard mage salute to Sauron's corpse as a farewell gesture for his subordinate. It wasn't until he turned around that he noticed the command center was actually quite empty.

  "What about the others? Where have they all gone?" It wasn't until now that he noticed something was off: in the command center of the Giant Bear Army, there were only two women, Zena and Renny, but not a single regular officer. The tent had nothing but tables, chairs, and military beds; it didn't even have basic maps or sandtables, let alone look like a military command center.

  "No need to look anymore." Seeing Phil still looking around, Zena, the president of the council, pulled him down to sit at the edge of the table with her uninjured left hand. "Now, among the high-ranking officers who have arrived here, only you and Vinnie are left, others are either dead or missing," said the disheveled President Chor, staring at Phil with a very serious gaze that made his heart feel hairy.

  "I appoint you as the temporary commander of the Great Bear Legion, in the name of New Durandal Vice Warzone Commander, to fight against the incoming Elf Army!"

  ****

  Due to the spontaneous collapse of the entire army on the coastal defense front line, the planned orderly withdrawal before the war turned into a chaotic escape. Charlotte, who was originally with Speaker Sonia organizing the evacuation, was dispersed by the defeated troops and has since gone missing.

  The house leaks and encounters continuous rain, Rick Torin, the most military and organized in the giant bear army, was squeezed off his horse by the chaotic army again, fell heavily under the hooves of his own mount, and is now unconscious in the temple of the underground city.

  When the most respected commander in the army fell, the volunteer soldiers who came with patriotic enthusiasm from various states immediately sprouted strong homesickness. Under the example of some officers, they quickly grew up. When the Giant Bear Army retreated to New Masobray City in a mess, except for more than 2,000 local-born soldiers who followed the main force, most of the others had already taken advantage of the chaos and returned home, waiting and watching.

  After General Norm, who was furious at the large number of fleeing soldiers, died under his own carriage, even the remaining soldiers became somewhat unstable. Fortunately, this was already their home, and most people's families were in the underground city behind, so they didn't have to worry about them escaping. However, many influential people in the army had either been killed or injured, and some had fled, making it impossible for a new commander to be elected at the moment. Although Speaker Zena still had some prestige among local soldiers, she lacked understanding of war and did not know where to start. Fili's return suddenly gave her a lifeline to cling to.

  "I'm just a civil official, I know almost nothing about war." Speaker Zor said sincerely to Fili, "And Vini is even more impossible. He can't be asked to command the battle with his loud mouth. Now it's time for you to show your true skills worthy of the title 'Pink Reaper'!"

  Feili was speechless and could only smile bitterly.

  When a general, commanding thousands of troops, galloping on the battlefield, this is probably something every man has dreamed of since childhood. But when that day finally arrived for Phil, he was still knocked out by this big gift package, not happily stunned, but worriedly stunned.

  A soldier who doesn't want to be a marshal is not a good soldier, but a good soldier usually can't become a marshal. And if the person who becomes a marshal is incompetent, it's better for him to be a soldier instead. This is being responsible to others and also to oneself.

  Fili was very clear that he wasn't a born genius. In the nine months of experience in New Continent, although he had been to the battlefield many times and fought bloody battles, most of them were unavoidable, and when the legion or even the entire colony was in crisis, he had no reason or excuse to stay out of it.

  Since he received a high salary from the Governor's Office, he should work hard for his superior. However, he never regarded the legion as his foundation for settling down, but only as a stepping stone for gaining fame and capital. As a young man from peaceful times, Fili had an instinctive fear of bloody battlefields, always vaguely thinking of leaving the army after gaining enough experience to enter politics or business, so he could never fully integrate with the army.

  His role in this army is more like a military magic advisor and a magical assault team member, doing some staff advisory or special operations work. His reputation for being clever and good at fighting may still be there among the soldiers, but his connections and affability are severely lacking. If nothing unexpected happens, he will continue to serve as the chief of staff, trying to preserve himself in the war. Then move on to the General Staff Department, striving to become a desk-bound bureaucratic official. Or rely on his merits on the battlefield to enter politics, trying to get an iron rice bowl with benefits. His requirements are not high, as long as he can live a relatively rich and stable life with the people he likes, that's enough. Even after experiencing the cruelty of war and the intrigue of the officialdom, his petty bourgeois idea of being content with a mediocre life has not changed much.

  But now, the situation has suddenly promoted him to the position of commander-in-chief, and he doesn't have a team of mid-to-low-level officers who can be used at will. He is very worried that he will mess up the battle. If he succeeds, fame and fortune will come rolling in, but if he fails... With his current shallow experience and status, he doesn't have any capital to bear military defeat, not even escape - the concept of a superior officer escaping and subordinates escaping are completely different. Even if he is lucky enough not to die on the battlefield, he will definitely be locked up in the Forbidden Prison, waiting for a fate worse than death. Hopefully, by then, Lenny will still come visit him.

  But he had no choice, could only force himself to accept the new appointment and stand at the forefront of the storm, without any possibility of retreat, if he didn't want to give up everything he had now. Although his heart was filled with doubts, Phil still calmly accepted the new assignment on the surface. Even if it's a task that can't be grasped, he must do his best, this is his consistent creed, however... really lacking confidence!

  "Xiao Feili, you can rest assured and go ahead, we are counting on you." This is the sincere hope of Speaker Zhuo'er.

  Please, I can barely manage a hundred or two people's independent squad, now I'm supposed to command an entire legion? Although this legion is somewhat lacking, it seems to be beyond my management capabilities. Phil thought gloomily, having never even been a class monitor in school.

  "Alright, Phil, let's do this together! Even if we can't win this battle, at least don't lose too badly!" This was Lainey's first reaction after being temporarily appointed as his deputy.

  It's okay, at least there's still someone who can help me share some of the responsibility, even if he is just a paper tiger. Fili took one last look at General Nohm on the bed and then pulled Renni's hand to leave the large tent, starting to inspect his troops that he was about to command...

  Many soldiers were carrying big and small bags, like peddlers after a market disperses, and took valuable goods from the military camp in twos and threes, walking out of the camp gate. Several officers who wanted to stop them wielded wooden clubs and military swords, shouting loudly like city management personnel, chasing after them, trying hard to intercept the fleeing soldiers, with both sides tangled together.

  Most of the officers and soldiers in the camp stared at them blankly, like wooden men with no reaction. Bam and Old Black Dragon Holmes were sitting comfortably by the fire pit, eating and drinking, surrounded by a large circle of bored soldiers listening to their boasting, even the Great Druid brought his unlucky bear squad to join in the fun, after listening to Old Black Dragon's tragic story, he carefully used his paw to send roasted fish into Holmes' mouth.

  Can this bunch of sloppy guys really defend New Madosalbra Castle? Phil feels a dark future ahead.

  A good start is half of success, but hopefully a bad start isn't half of failure!

  He steeled himself and began to hypnotize himself: The people in front of him were all his subordinates now, he would lead them from one victory to another... hopefully. A certain time-traveler who lacked confidence to the point where even self-hypnosis couldn't succeed thought this way, while looking at the chaotic scene in front of him, worrying about how to lead them against the enemy.

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