Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1877 The King and the General

"Look! Look! What did I say before? Sending out reconnaissance troops again is just a waste of resources and time!"

"Now look what's happened, we've suffered a huge loss, and the reconnaissance team is nowhere to be found."

"After the previous reconnaissance team disappeared without a trace, the official response was that they were missing, and it was not confirmed that they were dead. The compensation for their families has also been withheld. Recently, the families have started to make a fuss. Now another team has gone missing. What do you suggest we do about this?!"

During the radio conference, one of the conservative goblins, feeling rather smug, was eager to see how the goblin general would end up.

After two consecutive defeats, the goblin general was already in a bad mood, and now he was being bullied by his nemesis, which made him explode on the spot.

Thankfully, this was a radio conference; otherwise, a fight might have broken out on the spot, though a barrage of insults would have been inevitable.

What was supposed to be a pleasant radio conference turned into a full-blown argument.

Annoyed, the goblin king abruptly ended the meeting and it took him a while to calm down.

Meanwhile, the same thing happened on the goblin general's side.

In his view, those guys were all sycophants around the king, none of them were good people.

After taking a few deep breaths and calming himself down, the goblin general contacted the goblin king privately via radio.

Judging from previous decisions, the king still favors himself. If you think about it carefully, he doesn't need to argue with those sycophants at all. He could just bypass them and persuade the king directly.

"I really don't understand why His Majesty always brings those sycophantic ministers along to every meeting!"

Unable to contain himself, the goblin general muttered a complaint to himself, but immediately shut up once the radio connection was established.

Before he could even speak, the goblin king's clearly annoyed voice rang out first...

"This is your result?! Huh?!"

You could tell that the goblin king was really furious.

And indeed, the matter was botched. The goblin general was now obediently taking a scolding from the goblin king. Only after the king had vented his anger did he seize the opportunity to speak up...

"Your Majesty, please allow this humble general to organize troops for an expedition."

"Two units have already gone missing, and you still want to continue?!"

Upon hearing this, the goblin king, whose emotions had just calmed down, became agitated again.

Compared to sitting and waiting for death, the goblin king did indeed prefer to expand.

But now that two units have gone missing, and with his conservative advisors constantly whispering in his ear, his already wavering determination to expand his territory has clearly begun to falter.

Faced with this, the goblin general could only grit his teeth and say...

“Your Majesty, if we give up now, all our previous investments will be wasted! We can’t defeat the elves right now, and the desert is our only way out.”

"Didn't you ever consider the possibility that we might not be able to defeat this one in the desert?!"

"..."

The goblin king's question caused the goblin general to fall into a brief silence.

"We can't do anything to the elves, and if we can't beat them here either, then given our current situation, we can only wait to die."

At this point, the goblin general changed the subject.

"Rather than waiting to die, this humble general would rather take a gamble!"

"This time, I am willing to personally lead the troops into battle! Please grant me permission, Your Majesty!"

Faced with the goblin general's words, even the goblin king, who had been so aggressive just moments before, was momentarily speechless.

He knew in his heart that he was not a particularly wise king, and even when faced with the struggle between conservatives and radicals, he often wavered and lacked his own opinions.

However, this also precisely illustrates just how difficult his current situation is.

The conservatives' judgment, considering the current situation, cannot be said to be wrong. However, looking ahead, they are unable to break the deadlock; they have merely postponed the problem.

The radical faction, led by the goblin general, cannot be said to have acted wrongly either.

However, the series of defeats did increase their internal burden and deplete their resources.

These expenditures, if used to maintain the status quo, could have allowed them to sustain themselves for much longer.

At this moment, the goblin general's words undoubtedly made him waver.

Sensing the goblin king's wavering, the goblin general quickly spoke again...

"Your Majesty need not be so pessimistic. I have actually given this matter of the two exploration teams encountering accidents one after another quite seriously..."

"The first exploration team ran into trouble, probably partly because the team's military strength was indeed limited, and partly because they were completely unprepared for an unknown enemy."

"The fact that the second exploration team still ran into trouble despite the improved military strength is very likely because the first exploration team was captured by the enemy and betrayed our intelligence!"

It must be said that the goblin general was quite knowledgeable about his soldiers, or rather, about the goblin race.

Among the goblins, there are some tough ones, but they are a minority.

Most goblins, by their very nature, are destined to take some self-preservation actions after being captured.

As his own general, the goblin general was highly trusted by the goblin king.

However, due to two recent failed operations, coupled with their earlier defeat in battle against the elves, the situation in their country has become increasingly worse.

During this time, conservatives kept whispering in his ear, which finally made him waver.

Hearing the goblin general's words, he couldn't help but lean towards the goblin general's side again.

"So, according to your logic, General, how would you win under these circumstances?"

"Your Majesty, the enemy can obtain intelligence to target us, but in return, the exposure of this intelligence will make their actions traceable!"

"Furthermore, as I just said, this is an expedition, not an exploration!"

"Given the current situation, continuing to send out exploration troops will only deplete our forces; we must send a large army!"

"This battle may not end in a short time, and we must be mentally prepared for that."

"Once we engage the enemy and gather intelligence, I, as the commander of the frontline troops, will surely find a way to respond!"

The goblin general was quite capable; at this moment, his eyes were filled with the wisdom of a veteran general.

This also calmed down the goblin king's restless heart.

"Alright, then I'll trust the general one more time. If we fail again this time..."

"If we fail again, then it will be the time for this humble general to die for his country!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the goblin general interrupted the goblin king.

The goblin king felt a tightness in his chest at that resolute tone.

He wanted to say, "General, there's no need for that."

But the thought that this large-scale expedition would inevitably further increase the depletion of their kingdom's resources came with it.

Once defeated, the kingdom is essentially doomed.

At that time, not only will the goblin general be affected, but even I myself might have to sacrifice my life for my country.

Having thought this through, the goblin king said no more.

(End of this chapter)