Chapter 342 - 176: Heavy Losses

"Grand Marshal, with casualties this heavy, how are we going to explain this to our men?" a Clan Leader finally blurted out.

"That’s right, Grand Marshal. You have to give us some answers."

"So many men can’t have died for nothing. There has to be some accountability."

"That’s right! We goblins lost the most men."

With the first voice of dissent, the conference room immediately erupted into a clamor, everyone demanding that Palamede provide a solution.

Palamede rubbed his temples, his icy gaze sweeping over everyone present. Suddenly, he bellowed, "Silence!"

The men in the room were startled and fell silent, but their eyes remained fixed on Palamede. Their meaning was clear: ’We can be quiet, but you have to give us an explanation. With so many casualties, this isn’t something that can just be swept under the rug.’

’If you can’t handle this, then you can forget about being Grand Marshal.’

’Any dog could do your job if it’s just about sending men to their deaths!’

"What do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to mutiny?" Palamede roared, seeing the looks in his subordinates’ eyes.

’After living for so long, he knew exactly what needed to be done. First, he had to cow these bastards. Only then could he actually address the problem.’

’If I show even a sliver of weakness, they’ll find a way to tear me to shreds.’

’An alliance? It’s worthless in the face of self-interest and shirking responsibility.’

’When things are going well, it’s all smiles and camaraderie. But the moment something goes wrong, it becomes a fight to the death.’

At Palamede’s roar, the others averted their gazes. They had no desire to come to blows with him here; they wanted results, not to die in the conference room.

Seeing that he had subdued them, Palamede inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. ’Good,’ he thought, ’there’s still a chance.’

"We are the Alliance Army! We’re allies! The Undead are right over there. Are we really going to start infighting now? Do you want to let the Undead overrun us?"

"We gathered the elite Warriors of every Race. Did they not know what their purpose was? Since when does war not involve death?"

"We are fighting the Undead—a legendary Race! Did none of you know that, or are you just playing dumb with me?!"

As he spoke, Palamede rose and walked to the center of the room, leaning on his axe as his gaze swept over them all.

’The losses were great, but he didn’t feel the responsibility was entirely his.’

’His judgment and commands had been sound; they had truly come within a hair’s breadth of taking the Undead Fortress.’

’Now these dogs were trying to pin all the blame on him. The war isn’t even over, and they’re already after my head. How ridiculous.’

"Instead of bickering here, you should be thinking about how to face the next battle. The Undead will not spare us," Palamede’s voice dropped to a low growl.

The sun was setting, and day was about to end. He was almost certain that the moment the sun disappeared and Darkness fell, the Undead would attack.

’They might have killed a lot of Undead on the battlefield, and it looked like they’d inflicted heavy losses, but who knew what the reality was? Especially considering how many of their own corpses they’d left behind!’

’Where did the Undead come from, if not from reanimated corpses?’

’Once night falls, the Undead’s power will surge. They’re far stronger than they are during the day. There’s no way they’ll let the Alliance Army off the hook.’

’Even if we wanted to retreat now, it’s too late. The Undead would just hunt us down from behind.’

Palamede’s words were a stark reminder to everyone present. Their expressions changed in unison. A moment ago, they had been so preoccupied with deflecting blame that they had forgotten the Undead were still out there.

Their enemy wasn’t some ordinary Race that would call for a truce after taking heavy losses. These were the Undead—they didn’t give a damn about casualties.

"Right now, our Warriors need to eat, sleep, and get proper rest! We need to prepare for the Undead’s attack tonight!"

"We should not be in here bickering over who’s responsible for the deaths of eighty thousand Warriors!"

"If you manage to survive the night, then you can come and say this to my face."

Palamede said in a chilling voice. Without another word, he ignored the assembled generals and Clan Leaders and strode directly out of the conference room.