Chapter 1430 - 1341: 6 Hours

Chapter 1430: Chapter 1341: 6 Hours

"Your Majesty, you mustn’t!"

Bracing both hands on the table, Grupside stood up. "Those spoils were bought with the soldiers’ lives. If we force them to abandon them, they’ll never accept it. It’ll almost certainly trigger a mutiny!"

"Don’t try to scare me with mutiny!" Serafe’s face darkened. "Is it the soldiers who’ll mutiny, or you?"

"Your Majesty!" another elder chimed in, "The clan army has fought in every corner of the land—what else are they fighting for but these riches and trophies?"

"Exactly, Your Majesty. Now you suddenly tell them to throw away what they’ve already taken—how could they possibly swallow that?"

"It’s not that we’re unwilling. It’s that the soldiers simply won’t obey!"

"Unless we reach the absolute last moment, the point of no return, they’ll never give up their spoils." Lakunio spoke up as well, unusually standing on the same side as the clan elders. "Many of them rely entirely on this plunder to feed their families, even to finance turning their descendants.

If they lose the spoils, they lose their livelihood. They’d sooner die than agree."

Serafe’s brows drew even tighter together.

Of course she knew how critical this wealth was to the soldiers, but the situation now was perilous—the blade of the Holy Alliance was already at their throat.

If they didn’t abandon the spoils, they’d be caught by the Holy Alliance, and then it wouldn’t just be the treasure they’d lose, but their lives.

"I know these spoils are very important to you." Serafe’s voice softened a little. "But right now we’re at the edge of life and death. Preserving our lives is what matters most.

As long as we can reach the Boos River safely and hold that barrier, we can win ourselves a breath of time.

As for these spoils, I give you my word: when the war is over, I will repay you double.

Gold, silver, jewels, land, resources—I will not be stingy."

"Your Majesty, it’s not that we doubt you; it’s that we can’t explain this to the soldiers." The fat elder spoke with a bitter expression. "You know as well as we do, most of the clan army survives by plunder alone. Their obsession with wealth runs far deeper than the Royal Palace troops.

If we force an order to discard it all, it will only backfire."

Serafe fell silent once more.

She looked at the elders and officers before her. Even though she knew they were speaking the truth, a wave of helplessness still rose in her chest.

A vampire’s nature is greed, and clan soldiers in particular—the only thing that drives them to war is wealth and resources.

To make them voluntarily throw away spoils already in hand was almost impossible.

Silence fell over the tent again; the air was so heavy it seemed to press on the lungs.

After a long moment, Serafe finally sighed, her tone tinged with resignation. "In that case, we won’t abandon the spoils for now. Pass the order down: the soldiers march ahead of schedule. We must reach the Boos River before dawn tomorrow."

She knew that, even burdened with this much plunder, reaching the Boos River before dawn tomorrow was still possible.

But the problem was: what then, once they crossed?

The vampire soldiers, after days of marching, were stretched to their limits. They would need a full six to seven hours of rest before they could move again.

Those six hours—if the Holy Alliance caught up during that window, what then?

"One more thing." Serafe’s gaze swept over the vampires again. "With the Holy Alliance pressing so hard, we have to leave behind a rearguard to block them and buy marching time for the main force.

The Boos River is the final natural barrier. We must establish a solid defensive deployment there.

So this rearguard’s mission is to hold the Holy Alliance at any cost, to delay them for at least six hours."

Inside the tent, the previously easing atmosphere turned instantly leaden.

Every elder and officer of the clans understood that staying as rearguard meant walking into death.

The Holy Alliance’s onslaught was savagely fierce; trying to pin them down for six hours was a near-impossible task.

If it were the Royal Palace army, it might be done. But the clan army, no matter how elite, was still only the clan army. Their training, arms, and entire system were not the same as the Royal Palace’s.

The elders and officers glanced at one another, then all tacitly lowered their heads. No one was willing to step forward.

The tent was dead silent; only the wind howled outside.

Serafe’s eyes grew colder and colder.

As expected—at this life-and-death moment, these elders and officers, so lofty in peacetime, all shrank back.

"Very well. Since none of you volunteer, I’ll appoint someone."

She had just chosen someone at random in her mind when a rough female voice rang out. "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the rearguard and block the Holy Alliance."

"Ruitingnuo?" Serafe looked at her with some surprise. "Are you sure?"

Compared with these clan elders whose real power had been hollowed out and whose prospects were bleak, Ruitingnuo was a rising star in the Royal Court’s political arena.

Even though, once Serafe brought about the world’s end, she herself could take at most twelve Angel Envoys with her, they didn’t know that.

Under such circumstances, for Ruitingnuo to still step forward was truly rare.

"I’m sure, Your Majesty." Ruitingnuo bent in salute, her tone firm. "Your Majesty saved me from a terminal illness. To share your burdens is my honor. Besides..."

She shifted her words, turning her gaze to the elder governors. "If the rearguard were handed to them, I suspect the soldiers would run before they even made contact with the enemy, wouldn’t they?"

The faces of several clan elders flushed—an unusual sight for vampires. On them, a blush was almost a physical manifestation of dangerously high blood pressure.

They dared not say anything now; if they spoke up, what if Serafe sent them instead?

Now that Ruitingnuo had spoken like this, they could only endure it for the moment.

"Good." Serafe nodded. "I appoint you commander of the rearguard. You’ll take two thousand clan troops, and I’ll also assign you five flesh Titans.

You must, at any cost, hold the Holy Alliance for at least six hours.

As long as you can last six hours, the main force can withdraw at leisure."

"I obey your command, Your Majesty!" Ruitingnuo bowed once more, not a trace of hesitation in her eyes.

Serafe looked at her in silence for a moment, then spoke slowly. "As long as you complete your mission, whether or not you come back alive, I will reward you heavily. As for your family and descendants, I will take personal care of them."

At the words "family and descendants," a hint of softness finally touched Ruitingnuo’s stern face.

She lifted her head, looked at Serafe, and spoke with a faint plea in her voice. "Your Majesty, I have no clan. My only bonds are my elder brother and my son.

I’ve already turned them into vampires. I beg Your Majesty, after my death, to look after them, let them gain a firm foothold in the Royal Court."

"I promise you." Serafe nodded solemnly. "As long as I still live, I will not allow any harm to come to them. I will grant them the right to found their own clan, so that your family will have a place in the Royal Court."

"My deepest thanks, Your Majesty!" Ruitingnuo bowed deeply.

With that, she turned and walked out of the tent.

Once the others in the tent had drifted away, Lakunio remained behind.

He spoke in a low voice. "Your Majesty, Ruitingnuo is formidable in battle, but the Holy Alliance’s numbers are too great. I fear she..."

"I know. But this is all we can do." Serafe stared out of the tent at the clan soldiers dragging along great bundles and sacks.

These spoils had once been the clan army’s pride. Now they were nothing but a burden on their backs.

Sometimes she truly wished she could ask Horn how he’d made his soldiers both immune to greed and willing to fight to the death.

They said Serafe could control the minds of vampires—but as far as she could see, she could only control a few, whereas Horn could control an entire host.

Had Miseria somehow wrought a new power in recent years?

Impossible. By the Holy Tree above, even if she wished to, she couldn’t.

Could it be that a part of the True God Witch has awakened within Horn?

Besides speculating, Serafe had no other recourse. Now she had only one goal—to reach that place.

She looked toward the northeast. As long as she reached there, everything would end.

Only four days remained.