Chapter 1895 - 1894: Responsibility

"What about the resources?" He Ao looked at Old Danny beside him, "Are the resources inside the city adequate?"

"Thanks to the strategy you set," Old Danny said slowly, "Kaye City currently has a large accumulation of war preparation materials. Ammunition and weapon supplies are plentiful, and we have stacks of mecha in the warehouse, enough to last a while. Our factories are also capable of producing various weapons."

He looked at He Ao and continued in a low voice, "As long as we can get enough raw materials, we can produce continuously. But the current war has cut off our supply of raw materials; the minerals from Rock City have been directly intercepted by the consortium armies, and the energy route from Wint City is also cut off. Although we have stored a large amount of energy, we cannot produce these."

"What about food?" He Ao continued to ask.

"We have already built two super food factories," Old Danny continued, "Though the synthetic starch and synthetic meats we produce do not taste as good as those from old food consortia like Mosanto, the cost is low and we can ensure mass production. Before the war, our market share in the Federation food industry was close to 10%, and we only used less than half of our factory’s capacity for that."

"Our resources are not an issue at all," Lina, who was beside, also spoke softly, "After so much preparation, the war has been ongoing for half a year now, and we still have a large surplus of resources."

"That’s good." He Ao sighed.

"It’s all thanks to your strategy," Old Danny said directly, "We also have to thank Christos. If Dawn City hadn’t attracted the firepower ahead, we couldn’t have developed so steadily until now. But we’re still somewhat short of what we initially expected; the war broke out too quickly. If we’d had a bit more time, things could have been much better than now."

"Getting to this point is already impressive," He Ao smiled, "There’s nothing perfectly prepared in this world, and our enemies won’t give us a chance to develop perfectly either."

He turned to look at Fiss, "How is the current war situation?"

"Not very good," Fiss shook his head, raising his hand to project a holographic map in front of them, "Currently, Lank City is occupied, not only cutting off our connection with Yilan City and Dawn City but also our logistics supply to the Second and Third Mercenary Corps."

He turned to look at He Ao, "Relying on the logistics supplies from Yilan City and Dawn City greatly diminishes the combat strength of these two mercenary corps."

"Are those two cities short on resources now?" He Ao frowned slightly.

"It’s not just a resource shortage," Fiss sighed, "Although as allies, they will provide logistics for us, most of the time, they prioritize their own logistics. Also, logistical resource coordination often goes wrong, leading to supply shortages or inadequacies."

"We now resemble more a loose federation compared to the tightly-knit Federation and Consortium Alliance," Old Danny also turned and looked at He Ao, "The consortium alliance chose a timing that was too unfavorable for us. A little more time might have led to better communication."

"More time might not necessarily lead to better performance," Hearing his words, He Ao pondered for a moment, shaking his head.

He looked at Fiss, "But indeed, we are at our most vulnerable right now; the consortium alliance chose the best time. I once read a legend in ancient books that during a great cataclysm, there was a kind of Phoenix."

He turned his head to look at Old Danny and Lina, "It could be reborn in flames."

Seeing the confused expressions of the three, he didn’t continue but turned to Lina, "What about the debt issues of Kaye City residents and Nolanka Group employees?"

"All financial debts of Kaye City residents have been transformed into Nolanka Group’s debts and have undergone almost interest-free ultra-long extensions, directly deducted from the year-end performance bonuses without affecting their wages, equating to almost no debts," Lina quickly said, "Cities outside of Kaye City are also doing this, but the implementation is not going smoothly. We don’t have enough money for debt transformation there."

He Ao pondered for a moment, turning again to Lina, "What about the virtual currency within the Nolanka Group?"

"A large number of people in Kaye City are currently using the group’s currency," Lina said softly, "It is not being widely promoted outside of Kaye City since the target is too large, and it’s easy to attract consortium firepower."

"All Kaye City residents are very satisfied with their current lives and are unwilling to be ruled by the consortium again," Fiss, who was standing by, said, "This is one of the reasons our mercenary corps is so strong in battle."

"Hmm," He Ao nodded slightly, focusing his gaze back on Fiss, "What do you think Gray Stone Palace and the consortium alliance’s next move will be?"

"If it were me," Fiss said slowly, "I wouldn’t put the main force on Dawn City anymore but would prioritize removing Dawn City’s wings. As the war begins, it’s no longer the peaceful time before the war—defeating Dawn City would deter other cities."

He looked at He Ao, "I would take down big cities like Yilan City and Kaye City first, cutting off Dawn City’s wings, and then all the armies together—accomplishing everything in one fell swoop."

"Do you think they will adopt this strategy?" He Ao continued to ask.

"Very likely," Fiss knew He Ao was confirming his thoughts, continuing to explain, "The siege on Wint City is obviously a strategy of weakening the weak before the strong. I believe the next city they will attack will either be us or Yilan City."

"Good," He Ao nodded, "Can we contact all three mercenary corps now?"

"Yes." Fiss nodded.

"Is the delay high?" He Ao continued to ask.

"At most a few hours." Fiss said directly.

"Is the Second Mercenary Corps in Yilan City?" He Ao watched him.

"Currently retreating towards the vicinity of Yilan City." Fiss turned to look at He Ao and replied.

"Good," He Ao leaned back on the chair, glanced at the building behind him, swept over the shining Stars City emblem on the nearby buildings, then retracted his gaze, looked at everyone in the office, "Previously, we had to shelter behind Dawn City to have time to develop. Now, the situation has reached the most dangerous point; it’s our turn to take on the major responsibilities."

Everyone instantly straightened their bodies.

——

Vissen

Sitting on the cold stone seat, He Ao gazed at the figure that emerged from the semi-real semi-illusion forest.

"It seems Denos is surprised to see me." Sulan carried a wild goose in hand and sat on the stone bench on the other side, "Didn’t you deliberately let that young lad come this way to attract my attention, using a strategy to lure me out? You set up so many power points in the building just to destroy my traps when I triggered them and force me to reveal myself?"

"I just didn’t expect I would see you again," He Ao said with long emotion, "In this manner."

"Actually, before I died," Sulan also leaned leisurely on the chair, his gaze sideway, watching the towering city, still with that natural and gentle smile on his face, "I also thought about why the one who killed me was not you."

He sighed slightly, "You know, being killed by a slave is not something to be happy about."

"I also thought about," He Ao said slowly, "After I left Kovotra, whether you could lead Kovotra to prosperity."

"Actually, I think I did it," Sulan slightly mused, "You see, when I was governor, no one dared to offend Kovotra, all surrounding cities had to follow our orders, even the Julia Kingdom had to avoid our edge, even moving their capital out of Ilotan."

He remarked with a touch of emotion, "You hide in the Northern Kingdom, shielded by the Queen of the North, thousands of miles away, unable to witness the glory of Kovotra back then."

"But all I heard were tales of your murderous tyranny and penchant for sacrifice," He Ao said softly.

"That’s where we differ, brother Denos," Sulan sighed deeply, "We all know that life is inherently unequal, some are born intelligent, some foolish, some as nobles, others as slaves."

He looked at He Ao, "As a governor who brought glory to the city-state, what’s wrong with killing a few slaves, a few household servants?"

He Ao looked at the young man in front of him, at that gentle smile, that handsome face.

Sulan was initially the aristocrat who collaborated with Denos to overthrow the tyrannical governor at the time, penalized by Denos for riding horses within the city.

Later, he became quite good friends with Denos, joined the army, became discontent with the governor’s tyranny, and teamed up with Denos to overthrow the governor.

After that, he and Denos jointly governed, with Sulan responsible for military and Denos for domestic affairs.

Sulan was much younger than him, the same age as Denos’s deceased brother, so Denos always treated him as a brother, and Sulan naturally called him brother.

But their bond was not as deep as Denos imagined.

After a period of governance, Sulan completely controlled the army and chose to assassinate Denos, forcing Denos to leave Kovotra once more, exiled to Xiqilelan.

Sulan’s rule was even more brutal than the previous governor, leading to a massive exodus from Kovotra.

But the last news Denos heard about Sulan was that Sulan was killed by a slave during a sacrifice.

Then, with his father’s aid, Denos returned to Kovotra and became the new governor.

He didn’t see Sulan’s last moments, nor Sulan’s corpse.

But since then, he never saw Sulan again.

"See," Sulan looked at He Ao, "Every time a similar topic comes up, you fall silent."

He looked at He Ao, with some impatience showing on his handsome cheeks, "As if I am still an unruly child, and you refuse to respect me, brother Denos."

Upon hearing this, He Ao remained silent once more.

Throughout countless days and nights, Denos reflected on his actions, summing up his successes and failures.

He sighed lightly, "I was indeed somewhat dismissive of you before and didn’t communicate well, that’s my fault."

He paused, looking at Sulan, and spoke calmly and naturally, "But I still believe your way of thinking is incorrect."

"What’s wrong with it?" Sulan raised his eyebrows slightly, smiling at He Ao, "Now, it’s I who am immortal, not you."

"But under your rule, Kovotra did not truly prosper," He Ao looked at him, "That’s something we both know, or you wouldn’t have died at the hands of a slave."

Sulan’s face darkened slightly, he looked at He Ao, "After all these years, your tongue has become sharper."

"People always grow, don’t they?" He Ao looked at him, smiling.

"Well then," Sulan raised his brows slightly and opened his arms, "Where is the prosperity under your rule of Kovotra? It vanished entirely, not even leaving a name behind."

This time, it was He Ao who fell silent.

He gazed at Sulan, and after a brief pause, sighed lightly, "You, of all people, should know this most clearly."

He looked into Sulan’s bright brown eyes, "Was it not you who destroyed Kovotra back then?"

Upon hearing this, Sulan paused for a moment, then laughed, "Yes, you guessed right."

Then he shook his head and said quite emotionally, "I only regret not discovering you in the Coffin of Time, inside Kovotra. I thought you had died there along with those slaves, otherwise, I would have opened your coffin, brought you out, and let you see how your beloved city was destroyed."

Hearing this, He Ao stared at the young man’s handsome face, speechless for a moment, "So, you never changed?"

"Change? Why should I change?" Sulan laughed, "I’ve always been right, I’ve never been wrong, it’s you all who were wrong. If not for that pesky slave, I would still be Kovotra’s governor and would become the greatest one."

He Ao gazed at the young man before him.

Sulan’s regret was not for his brutal rule, but for carelessly being caught by that slave then.

"Of course," Sulan laughed, "Death is not the beginning but another start, and I have to thank that slave for giving me the chance at true immortality."

"You went into the Netherworld, siding with the Grim Reaper?" He Ao looked at him.

The destruction of Kovotra was clearly mingled with the power of the Netherworld.

"Brother Denos, you’re still as clever," Sulan laughed while looking at He Ao, "Blessed by the Divine Being, I obtained the method to become an Angel, and even opened the door to the Usurper God."

"Even so," He Ao sighed, "With such fortune, why would you come back to seek Kovotra?"

"To become an Angel, one must pay a price, don’t they?" Sulan smiled at He Ao.

"So you sacrificed Kovotra to the Grim Reaper in exchange for the path to becoming an Angel?" He Ao looked at him.

Sulan shrugged and laughed, "These are all things Kovotra owed me."