King-Chapter 1382 - 266: Aftermath Ripple

After the floodwaters receded, only chaos was left in the entire city. Numerous blockages occurred in the drainage systems, and the stench permeated the entire city.

This environment was no longer suitable for humans to live in. Hudson had no choice but to order the local garrison to first clear the city’s garbage.

Mud, excrement, and swollen corpses were continuously pulled out from the corners of the city, with the recorded death toll steadily climbing.

The disaster brought by the flood was heavy. In Sateks Fortress alone, hundreds lost their lives directly to the flood, and the property losses were countless.

Watching the soldiers busily rescuing the water-soaked supplies from the warehouse, Hudson furrowed his brow and then instructed Tom behind him:

"Relay the order. In the frontline Seven Prefectures affected by the flood, fully implement the epidemic prevention plan.

All grain soaked by the flood must be burned directly!

The remaining waterlogged supplies should be washed with boiling water, dried, and then put back into storage. Those that cannot be washed with boiling water should also be burned. freёweɓnovel_com

Violators will be executed without mercy!"

Harsh measures are used in times of crisis, and at this critical moment, Hudson cannot afford to show any leniency.

After patrolling the area, Hudson returned to the command post, once again troubled. A flood had ended the war, yet writing the battle report became a conundrum.

The enemy’s losses couldn’t be quantified at all. According to Hudson’s plan, once the city was roughly cleared, troops would be sent out to help the enemy collect the bodies.

Undoubtedly, the collected bodies were only a minority. Many unlucky Orcs had been dragged by the floodwaters into Snow Moon Lake to feed the fish.

For the safety of the fish in the lake, the Navy stationed at Snow Moon Lake had collectively mobilized to salvage the Orc corpses. Of course, if they encountered survivors, they were also responsible for delivering the final blow.

The battle achievements not being countable was easy to explain; simply fabricating a similar figure would suffice. After all, as long as victory was achieved, no one would be fixated on the specific data.

In contrast, the substantial loss of strategic resources required an explanation to the Kingdom Government.

After all, the enemy damming the river upstream was known to the garrison. In theory, measures should have been taken in advance.

The current situation was: measures were indeed employed, but they had underestimated the Orcs’ construction technology, leading to unnecessary losses.

It’s important to realize that the concept of a ton of strategic resources at the rear and at the frontline are entirely different.

With half of the warehouses flooded and Hudson ordering the burning of waterlogged grain, it’s easy for people to draw links to "corruption in the military."

Similar incidents had occurred within the Kingdom’s Army before, and doubts were bound to arise.

However, there was no choice; the sewers’ debris had surged up, and the water contained a large number of bacteria.

Consuming these grains would inevitably trigger an uncontrollable crisis.

As a responsible commander, Hudson naturally had to shoulder the responsibility at such a critical moment.

As a consequence, it’s estimated that the Minister of Finance is frustrated enough to want to kill him. Unless you’re managing the household, you don’t realize how expensive firewood, rice, and salt are; ultimately, all these losses will be footed by the Kingdom’s finances.

The personnel losses also caused a headache, apart from the material losses. Several teams responsible for transporting logistical supplies unfortunately accompained the Orcs, directly sent to feed fish in Snow Moon Lake.

Combined with the losses in various cities, the soldier losses alone exceeded eight thousand, including more than three hundred aristocratic military officers.

The civilian losses were even more severe, with more than fifty thousand civilians, inclusive of the civilian labor transporting grain, dead or missing.

If a full-scale war had erupted, such losses wouldn’t have made Hudson even frown. Destroying over a million enemies with only tens of thousands of losses on their side would be seen as an epic victory.

The Alpha Kingdom Army had always been aggressive. In the face of a substantial victory, these practical issues were unlikely to be scrutinized much by the Kingdom Government.

What really troubled Hudson was how to soothe people’s hearts. In past wars, there was always ample military merit to go around for everyone to share.

Any nobles who followed him into battle, as long as they didn’t create a mess, inevitably received a share of the military merit.

This time was clearly different; the victory was entirely picked up without effort. Apart from the Air Force, which had gone out to kill the enemy and had battle achievements, the rest of the garrison only had "hardship work."

Undoubtedly, hardship work in the military is worthless. When reported to the Kingdom, at most, it might result in some public commendation.

Promotion and ennoblement, don’t even think about it. As for fiefdoms, they’d only occur in dreams.

For the newly formed Meritorious Faction, this was undoubtedly a huge blow to morale.

After all, Hudson had just earned the title of Human Marshal, and the lower ranks were also supposed to benefit.

Without much hesitation, Hudson immediately made the decision to expand territories.

Although the current Alpha Kingdom needed recuperation and rest more, the interests and demands of the subordinates couldn’t be ignored.

As for whether they could digest the lands after acquiring them, that was a problem for the future.

...

The grasslands after the flood left only mud and Orc corpses encased in armor.

The Orc Soldiers who survived narrowly by clinging to the mounds dared not stay put, dragging their starving bellies and fleeing as fast as they could.

Reason told them that if they didn’t hurry, they wouldn’t escape once the Human cavalry came out to hunt them down.

Using ancient communication methods, the high-level Orcs, fleeing in panic, gathered one by one five hundred miles away from the battlefield.

"Daniel, hasn’t that fool appeared yet?"

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