The Star Train's Journey Through the Heavens

Chapter 77 Shake
"...Furthermore, our army's morale has plummeted due to consecutive defeats and heavy casualties. There are already many complaints in various battalions—however, this discontent is not directed at you, Commander, but at our Great Guardian, Cocolia."

Looking back at previous battles, it's easy to observe that every instance of heavy casualties was caused by the High Guardian's overstepping of command authority. While I fully understand the High Guardian's eagerness to win, our army must not, under any circumstances, engage in direct combat with the Rift creatures—this not only contradicts the calculations of Ochepolov's combat dynamics equations but also negates our army's long-standing combat experience.

To quell discontent within the army, and to minimize casualties and preserve our forces as much as possible, you must negotiate with the High Guardian to reclaim complete command from the Silvermane Iron Guard. At the very least, please prevent her from issuing absurd orders like "Silvermane archer fire teams, move forward twenty meters" again.

As everyone read the letter, Bronya also spoke in a low voice about the various outrageous orders that Cocolia had given in her eyes.

“Bronya, do you know that more than 20 years ago, when Cocolia graduated, she got the same perfect score in her command course as you?” Shilu said in a complicated tone.

She discovered that Cocolia's behavior, which she had not understood before, was quite reasonable when viewed from the perspective of the Star Core.

"How could she possibly issue such an absurd order that anyone with eyes can see?!" Bronya exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“It’s quite obvious; she’s deliberately sabotaging Belloberg’s fighting force,” Xing said with certainty.

“Impossible! What good would it do?” Bronya, like Shiluva at first, couldn’t believe it at all. She preferred to believe that her mother was an idiot when it came to command.

"The benefit is that it will allow the rift to expand faster and eventually engulf Be, Lo, Bo, Ge!" Xing said the last few words slowly and deliberately.

"This is absurd! Mother is the Great Guardian, how could she do such a thing? Even if you are visitors from outer space, if you dare to slander the Guardian like this again, I will have no choice but to be impolite to you." Bronya glared at Xing, paused in her grip on the spear, and the energy of destiny flowed slowly across her body.

"Oh? So how exactly do you want to be impolite?" Stardust asked slyly.

“I…I will represent the will of the city builders and shove the spear up your nostril!” Bronya raised her spear and pointed it at Star.

Xing covered her nostrils and exclaimed dramatically, "What a terrifying threat!"

Bronya's ears turned red with anger.

"Bronya, let us finish," Hilva said, stepping between the two to stop them.

“Aunt Silva, do you... believe what they said?” Bronya looked at Silva in disbelief.

“More than ten years ago, you were still young. You may not remember how Cocolia’s personality changed drastically, but I know very well what she was like before,” Hilva said.

“With Mother succeeding to the position of Grand Guardian, the safety of the entire Beloborg rests on her shoulders. It’s normal for her personality to change,” Bronya tried to explain.

"No matter how things change, the will to preserve should not change. Do you agree with that, Miss Bronya?" Xing asked, peeking out from behind Hilva.

Bronya nodded without hesitation.

"If people are not in dire straits, do you think abandoning half of them to fend for themselves is considered preservation?"

“Of course not! Even if we were in dire straits, I would never abandon them!” Bronya said firmly.

"So, Miss Bronya, do you still remember the underground?" The star map revealed its true intentions.

“Underground…of course I remember.” Bronya was momentarily dazed. She realized that she really had very few memories of the underground. The last time she heard the word “underground” was more than half a year ago.

The underground area seemed to have been sealed off long ago, isolated from the surface. She remembered asking a long, long time ago why the passage between the underground and surface had been blocked, and her mother had severely criticized her.

She understood what Xing meant and hurriedly said, "We have not abandoned the underground. We are fighting hard on the surface to resist the rift. As long as we don't fall, the underground will be safe."

"No abandonment? You think there are only Rift Monsters on the surface and none underground? There's sunlight, fresh air, plants, food, and clean water on the surface. What's underground? Answer me!" Xingzhi asked.

Bronya took a half step back, trying her best to think of what might be underground, but she couldn't figure it out at all.

"I...I'm sorry, I didn't know. Also, we send food and supplies to the underground every now and then."

"That's because you need the people underground to provide you with the marrow from the earth! And do you really think that little bit of supplies is enough for so many people underground?"

"Mother has her reasons..."

"Enough, Bronya!" Hilva slammed her hand on the table. "You only know her considerations. When will you ever have your own thoughts? Stop deceiving yourself! Cocolia has abandoned the people underground!"

"No, everything underground must be fine," Bronya said weakly, lacking any confidence; she was wavering.

"Bang, bang, bang."

There was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Hiluva hurriedly went out and asked loudly.

"Boss, we're here to ask you if you've seen these wanted criminals," the person outside replied.

"What wanted criminal? Why are you asking me about him?" Hiluva opened the door, annoyed.

"These are the few. They're supposedly from outside Belloborg, intending to overthrow Belloborg. Strange, are there any other living people outside Belloborg besides them?" A Silvermane Iron Guard handed several wanted posters to Hilva, asking curiously, "Why is the boss's shop closed today? Not doing business?"

Looking at the portrait of the pioneering team on the wanted poster, Hilva's expression remained unchanged. She said naturally, "I'm a famous singer in Belloberg. I have plenty of money. Why would I need to do business? I stayed up a little late writing songs yesterday. I'll stay home and rest today."

As he spoke, he looked through the nine wanted posters, including four he didn't recognize.

“Never seen him before, he hasn’t left the house much these past few days.” Hiluva returned the wanted poster to the Silvermane Iron Guard.

"Then I've disturbed you, boss, I'm leaving now," said the Silvermane Iron Guard.

"Well, bye-bye. Anyone who dares to overthrow Beloborg must be quite powerful. Be careful," Hiluva said casually.

"Hey, thanks for your concern, boss." The Silvermane Iron Guard turned and left happily.

Hiluva stood at the door for a while before yawning and slowly closing the door.

(End of this chapter)