"What! There were actually so many of them? Where on earth did they land?" The Governor of Rabber District's expression turned extremely grim. Unable to believe what was happening before his eyes, he demanded furiously.
"Governor, please calm down."
"The situation is still unclear, but we should receive a reply from the Navy before long..." Task replied with composed calm, neither hurried nor flustered.
Realizing he had lost his composure, the Governor of Rabber District tried to calm himself before asking again, "Then how many troops can you gather in the next three days?"
After pondering for a moment, Task gave a number. "Around twenty thousand."
Hearing that number, the Governor of Rabber District could not help widening his eyes. He stared at Task in disbelief, seemingly hoping for further explanations and answers.
"Governor, in order to form the Expeditionary Army, the Grand Duke transferred thirty thousand men from the Rabber Legion, leaving fewer than six thousand behind. Even after recruiting more than four thousand soldiers afterward, the remaining force is only a little over ten thousand."
"The City Defense Army supposedly has eight thousand men, but in reality it has only five thousand—perhaps even fewer than I estimated. Let us count it as five thousand for now. At least three thousand are needed to maintain the city's defenses, so only two thousand can be deployed."
"More than a thousand criminals are held in the three dungeons. They can be armed, giving us one thousand men."
"We can draw troops from the three major towns in the surrounding area and gain three thousand men."
"We can also recruit some desperadoes from among the adventurers and mercenaries, around one thousand."
"For the remaining three thousand, we can conscript some minor nobles along the way, but they will not be of much