A Core Ship From The Start Chapter 623

Chapter 623: Chapter 462: The Fifth Army_1 Chapter 623: Chapter 462: The Fifth Army_1 “Damn it!!”

Looking at the utterly defeated Second Legion, Combart's face almost turned green. He didn't expect the enemy to have such strength. How could this be? Not even the Demon Clan could possess such power, but now… they were so easily defeated by these damned chess pieces!

“Retreat, retreat!!”

Without any choice, Combart had to choose to retreat. He wasn't a fool to persist and put his own men at risk.

But what infuriated Combart even more was…

“Where is the Fifth Army? Where the hell did they go?!”

Unfortunately for him, the Fifth Army couldn't hear Combart's complaints. Even if they could, it wouldn't do any good.

That's because the general of the Fifth Army, Laures Cadrus, and his deputy Ol Ayre, were currently being held in Stori-13's prison.

“Ah, who would have thought we'd get caught.”

Reclining against a heap of straw, staring at the dark ceiling above, Laures whistled in amusement.

The Fifth Legion also received orders from the Congress, but this army of only ten thousand guerilla fighters resided on the eastern border when they received the command. By the time the Fifth Army planned to retreat to Bonn Fortress to join forces with the First and Second Legions, Duanmu Huai had already captured Bonn Fortress.

In that situation, the Fifth Legion, of course, wouldn't foolishly walk into a trap, but being a guerrilla army, they had their own advantages.

Therefore, having received news that the Bonn Fortress had fallen and a portion of the Fourth Legion had left Stori-13 with the Steel Giant to head towards the Bonn Fortress, Laures, the commander of the Fifth Legion, made a decision.

They would take a detour and launch a surprise attack on Stori-13, targeting the headquarters of the Fourth Legion!

His thinking was similar to General Kriolleiv's. The Fourth Legion initially had forty thousand men, but during the battle with the Tribunal, more than ten thousand soldiers were killed or injured, and some of them fled. The intel suggested that at most, the Fourth Legion had twenty thousand men left. The Bonn Fortress certainly required at least three thousand soldiers to control. So considering the Fourth Legion had dispatched some of their forces, there were at most around ten thousand men stationed at Stori-13, similar to the Fifth Legion.

Although the numbers were similar, Laures didn't presume the combat abilities would be as well. As guerrillas, the Fifth Legion was more about quality over quantity. The Fourth Legion, on the other hand, was essentially a garbage legion used to stall invasions from other countries. It was like comparing a novice soldier to a super spy. The Fifth Legion clearly seemed more capable!

So, Laures seized the opportunity on a dark and windy night, attacked Stori-13, attempting to annihilate the headquarters of the Fourth Legion and capture its commanders and officers.

Then… well, he got imprisoned here.

The reason for the Fifth Legion's failure was quite simple: numerical disparity.

Yes, Laures estimated that the Fourth Legion only had ten thousand soldiers.

But once he barged into the city, he discovered that the Fourth Legion surprisingly had as many as fifty thousand soldiers!

Damn, how to fight this?

So, after realizing the enemy's overwhelming numbers and he was surrounded and outnumbered, Laures made a decisive choice to surrender — after all, he wasn't a lapdog of the Congress, and there was no need to die fighting for them.

So, he ended up here.

“Tik tik tik…”

Just as Laures was idly counting stains on the ceiling, the sound of footsteps approached. A soldier appeared in front of his cage and pushed a plate of food through the bars.

“Your dinner tonight.”

“Oh, finally dinner time.”

Upon hearing the promising news, Laures quickly stood up and approached the bars. As a prisoner, they obviously wouldn't get gourmet meals — only some dry bread, a small piece of cured meat, and a bowl of soup — which was already considered quite good for a prisoner.

Others might scowl at such a meager meal, but Laures, as a general of the Fifth Legion, had spent his time in guerrilla warfare and had seen worse. He wasn't bothered at all. He picked up a piece of cold bread, put it in his mouth, and looked at the soldier in front of him.

“Hey, kid.”

“What is it?”

Hearing Laures speak, the soldier across him responded while keeping an eye on them.

“I remember you, you were good in the fight, knocked down several of my men.”

As he looked at the young man before him, Laures couldn't help but praise him.

“Didn't expect the Fourth Legion to have such talent. Which batch did you graduate with?”

“Graduate?”

Upon hearing this, the youth snorted.

“I don't know what you're talking about, I just joined the Fourth Legion.”

“Just joined?”

“Yes, after the Fourth Legion liberated Stori-13, I signed up. Before that, I was just a blacksmith's apprentice.”

“Wait……”

At this point, Laures paused in disbelief.

“In other words, you just joined the Fourth Legion less than a month ago? Why the hell are you fighting so hard for?”

Laures clearly remembered the young man fighting wildly on the battlefield. Despite his inexperience, his willingness to risk his life was astonishing. In fact, many of the Fourth Legion's soldiers were like that. As the saying goes, the more dangerous ones are those who fear nothing, even death. The Fifth Legion was not stupid — why would they clash with a group ready to die?

So, Laures chose to surrender in the end.

Back then, he assumed that the soldiers were fighting for the Fourth Legion and marveled at the commander's charm in inspiring such loyalty. And now to know…

Oh boy, you've only been in the Fourth Legion for less than a month?

What are you fighting so hard for?

Laures has never seen anyone who wants to die so badly.

“Of course, it is to protect my family!”

“Your family?”

“Yes.”

The young soldier nodded vigorously at Laures.

“You guys may not know that before the Fourth Legion arrived, how we lived! We were starving and freezing in winter! Those damn guards beat us whenever they wanted to, and the noblemen treated us like animals!”

At this point, the young soldier clenched his fists.

“But everything changed when the Fourth Legion came! All those nobles who used to oppress us were all beheaded, and the guards who oppressed us were all driven away! And they also took all the food owned by the nobles and distributed it among us…”

At this moment, the young soldier seemed to recall something, and he became even more furious.

“You have no idea of what we saw in the nobles' warehouse–those large pieces of meat, which, if were in our homes, we probably wouldn't dare to eat them all year round. But for those nobles, they were just throwing them away like trash and let them mold! And the grains, veggies, fruits. We couldn't get them while they just threw them away in the sewage drain…!”

Hearing the young soldier's angry voice, Laures remained silent. He was well aware of the nobles' behaviors, but he didn't expect them to be so… Well, actually, it wasn't surprising when he thought about it.

“Now we have finally achieved the life we desired, and we will not let anyone destroy it!”

As he spoke, the young soldier glared fiercely at Laures.

“Council, nobility, emperor… I don't care! All I know is that the Fourth Legion killed the nobles who oppressed my family, divided food for us, and made the city safer. People are no longer anxious about getting into trouble with those guards or soldiers, nor being humiliated by nobles! I would rather risk my life to stop you if you want to rob all of these!”

“…So you joined the Fourth Legion?”

“Yes.”

Upon hearing the resolute reply from the young soldier, Laures sighed, feeling that even the bread in his hand wasn't appetizing anymore.

Now, he finally understood how the Fourth Legion, which was supposed to have only ten thousand people left according to the nominal numbers, could have so many more people.

Thinking about it, Laures looked up and glanced at the young soldier in front of him.

“Hey, kid, tell the commander of your legion that I have something to say to her.”

Undoubtedly, when Creme heard about it, she was extremely surprised. However, she still came to the prison to meet with Laures.

“Hello, General Lord Laures.”

“Alright, alright, now I am your prisoner. No need to be so formal.”

Looking at Creme in front of him, Laures waved his hand, then he looked curiously at Creme.

“I asked for you to clear up some things… Why did you do this?”

“I don't understand you, General Laures, you mean… ”
“I heard everything from that boy.” As Laures spoke, he pointed to the young soldier standing beside him.

“You not only occupied this city but also killed the nobles of the city, and distributed their property to others… Why did you do this? Just to win over the people?”

“It wouldn't be wrong if you want to understand it that way.”

Facing Laures' probing gaze, Creme stayed calm.

“We need strength. We cannot stand with the nobles and the council, so we only have one choice.”

“Indeed, the current Herman is terrible.”

Laures nodded.

“The current Herman is like a rotting loaf of bread, filled with disgusting worms inside, nibbling holes all over it, and almost disfiguring it… So, how do you plan to change all this?”

“I am well aware that changing all this is not easy. In fact, Judge once told me that it is impossible to make changes to the status quo just by overthrowing the council. To solve these issues completely, reforms must be made from bottom to top. That's what we are doing.”

“…………”
Hearing this, Laures frowned.

“So, do you plan to implement this in all the cities of Herman?”

“Of course.”

Creme nodded.

“What we want to do is to change the nation completely, not just change the leader. If Emperor Hera lacks the ability, then what difference does it make to replace Prime Minister Stith?”

“So that's the reason why you are doing this.”

Hearing this, Laures revealed an excited smile, and then he looked at Creme and asked.

“It sounds like fun, why not count me in… What do you think?”

Chapter end

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