Alien world

Chapter 1647, Section 280: Political Commissar
The city of Liberty was filled with a joyous atmosphere, one of unity, friendliness, and passion—all of which made the succubus deeply uncomfortable.

She had lived in the abyss for hundreds of years, accustomed to the harsh environment and ugly demons, accustomed to the deceit and treachery, the fickle nature of the abyss, and the pride in betrayal and treachery. Suddenly, she was thrown into an environment full of smiling faces, which made her feel disgusted, nauseous, and her menstrual cycle became irregular!
Annan had already noticed the grumpy-faced ratman next to Fermi, but he didn't speak to it for the time being. Instead, he personally led Fermi and Albek to the banquet hall.

Because of the large number of Hellfire members, the banquet was simply held on the street, and the entire Free City was filled with a lively atmosphere.

Francois was busy running around on the street, while Annan and Albek stood on the second-floor terrace of the banquet hall, watching the bustling street scene.

"Mr. Albek, it's been a long time."

“Your Excellency Annan, I never expected that we would meet under these circumstances.” Albek’s smile was bitter. Just a year ago, he had regarded Annan as a younger brother who needed to be taken care of.

Unexpectedly, their positions were reversed just one year later.

Annan looked at the Blackwatch soldiers mixed among the Hellfire soldiers and comforted them, saying, "You're still here, the Legion Commander is still here, and we still have these seeds. The Blackwatch Legion can be rebuilt."

"maybe……"

Albek was pessimistic. Under Annan's questioning, he said, "We made a mistake. Montreal Hill will re-examine whether the Blackwatch Legion is still qualified to maintain the Guardian structure."

Besides the eight Royal Guard legions, the Empire has countless other legions following behind. The Black Watch Legion wasted an opportunity, whether by accident or not, but the other legions will not give you another chance.

It is foreseeable that a fierce storm awaits them upon their return to Montreal Hills.

This also indirectly proves that the Empire is still powerful... Come to think of it, the Empire is already among the strongest of the thirteen High Kings. If it didn't have some ability, how could it fight the ratmen and the demon alliance one-on-one?

As for whether being so harsh on a group of soldiers who have lost their comrades is too cruel... that's just how barbarians are, ruthless to their enemies and ruthless to themselves.

“Then let’s start from the beginning.” Annan was getting too cocky, daring to pat Albek on the shoulder.

Albek didn't mind; he had been saved by her. In a more formal setting, he would have bowed to Annan: "It's not that simple..."

"Can anything be more difficult than what I've experienced?"

Albek suddenly remembered that the boy in front of him had lost his home at the age of seventeen, fled from the North to the Middle Kingdom, and built the Free City from scratch.

Looking out over the straight streets and buildings stretching to the sea, Albek Xinsheng exclaimed, "You will become a legend."

"I'd rather be a legend than a mere 'legend'."

Annan's words were sincere. In the past few days, he had contacted several believers in the Misty Space, but each one was farther and farther away than the last. The officials he sent to make contact with them had not yet sent back any news.

To date, the only stable source of faith remains the siblings Jimmy and Remy, and the path to divinity seems far off, to the point that Annan cannot even determine whether "becoming a demigod" or "becoming a master" will come first.

"Fermi".

Annan turned and called to his loyal legion commander, Fermi, who was waiting outside the terrace, came up.

"You've done a great service, what reward do you want?"

Fermi shook his head: "Your Majesty, we do not need a reward."

"Your Majesty?" Albayk asked.

As an Imperial soldier, he was sensitive to this word.

“Young people are just being silly and making noise for fun…” Annan said with a bit of embarrassment, glaring at Fermi.

It's one thing to call them that among your own people, but why shout it out in front of outsiders? Are you afraid the Empire will take a liking to you too much? "You completed your mission, found the Blackwatch Legion, and wiped out a Skaven clan with almost no casualties. If I don't reward you for this, outsiders will just say I'm harsh on my subordinates."

That's right, only a dozen or so soldiers were injured during the entire operation due to barrel explosions, accidental discharges, or falls.

That's the nature of musketeers: they either come out unscathed or suffer heavy casualties, the only difference being whether the enemy can get close enough to reach the front lines.

The Hellfire Legion achieved a kill ratio comparable to that of the Imperial Guard in this operation, making it an epic victory.

If even this isn't a reward, the people of Free City should suspect that the commander of the Royal Guard, Losi, has been whispering sweet nothings in his ear.

"Then I hope Your Majesty will allow us to reform."

Every time Fermi said it, Albek's brow twitched, but he seemed determined to address Annan that way.

"reform?"

"Ah."

Fermi spoke with a serious expression, recounting a new problem exposed by the legion in this battle: once the fighting began, he found it difficult to command his troops.

It's not that the subordinates didn't follow orders, but rather that given the rapidly changing situation on the battlefield, the legion commander, who had to stay in the rear, rarely had time to react and could only let his centurions act as they saw fit.

Annan pondered for a moment, then asked, "Mr. Albek, how does Blackwatch handle this situation?"

"Is that a problem?" Albek asked, puzzled. "The legion commander is only responsible for directing the legion's movements; the centurions are in charge of the details."

Well, their fighting styles are different, and their strengths are different, so there's no comparison.

The weak need skill and strategy to bridge the gap. If they hadn't fallen into a trap, the swarm of rats wouldn't have broken through the Blackwatch Legion's defenses in three days and three nights; the Hellfire Legion couldn't.

To solve the problem Fermi described, one either needs a well-trained group of junior officers, or is equipped with a Tree of Another World, or...

Fermi didn't want to put Annan in a difficult position, so he offered, "It would be best to add another commander. I will be in charge of the army's combat command, and the other commander will be in charge of the soldiers' training. That way, when the battle begins, the other commander can stay in the rear while I go to the front to command."

"political commissar?"

A word popped into Annan's mind and he blurted it out.

What is a political commissar?

"It's the dual-command system you mentioned. The corps commander is responsible for daily management, command, training, and commanding soldiers in wartime. The political commissar is responsible for monitoring the soldiers' morale, organizing activities, appointing officers, and other daily affairs, separating the management of personal and military matters," Annan explained simply.

The advantage is the decentralization of responsibilities. Some people are good at commanding but poor at managing, while others are good at discovering talent but not at commanding. Decentralization allows each person to utilize their strengths and ensures that everyone can be taken care of. The disadvantage is that if the commanding officers disagree, it will affect the combat capability of the entire army.

Fermi exclaimed with admiration, "You really did think of that."

"Well, Mr. Albek, what do you think?"

"Would you mind if I introduced the dual-commander system to the Legion Commander?"

As expected of a monk, he flatters without leaving a trace.

Annan struggled to keep a straight face from looking too smug, and after a while continued, "Anyway, let's keep things separate, Fermi, what reward does the Legion want?"

(End of this chapter)