Reunion

Without exchanging many pleasantries, Count Lauren got straight to the point. Hudson wasn't surprised that the expeditionary force had been renamed the Southeast Front Army.

They all returned to their homeland, and had nothing to do with the expedition anymore. If they continued to hang the banner of "Expeditionary Force to Aid the Moxi Duchy," it would become absurd.

The fact that the Southeast Front Army was urged to quickly quell the refugee crisis and then immediately head north suggests something much more sinister behind this.

They finally found an excuse to keep Hudson at bay, and now they're sending him to the front lines. It's like letting a tiger into the jungle.

If they win a few more battles, Hudson's influence in the distribution of spoils after the war will definitely increase significantly.

With a bit of luck, it's easy to rise to a high-ranking military official, and then suppressing them becomes much more difficult.

A qualified King would not normally get involved in infighting among his subjects. Even if internal conflicts escalated, Caesar III should have acted as an arbitrator.

Making this decision now is like a slap in the face to the nobles who originally wanted to suppress Hudson.

If interpreted politically, it means that their influence in the court has declined.

Once this chain reaction starts, the subsequent developments will be out of control. It's likely that the companies that made the move will be furious and ready to rant.

"Count Lauren, how far has the situation developed at the front?"

Hudson asked with concern.

Even if a pie falls from the sky, it can still kill someone.

There is no love or hate without a reason in this world. Unless the situation at the front is dangerous, there is no reason for Caesar III to risk offending those families by pushing him up.

"Count Hudson is mistaken. The situation at the front is still under the control of the kingdom. The northern expeditionary force is retreating and has not yet engaged in any major battles with the enemy."

The main reason for summoning the Southeast Front Army to march north is the fear that the Beastfolk might suddenly change their attack direction and launch a surprise attack while the kingdom's forces are weak.

For the safety of the kingdom, Your Excellency should quickly end the war in the south and send troops to the north as soon as possible to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

Upon hearing Count Lauren's explanation, Hudson secretly rolled his eyes; the explanation was far too perfunctory.

How incredibly stubborn must the Beastfolk be to continue invading the Alpha Kingdom at this point?

Even if they're not afraid of being locked up and beaten, they still have to consider the Human Alliance's reaction!

As long as they gain the upper hand on the battlefield, the second wave of reinforcements from the Human Alliance will arrive soon.

Having just been brutally beaten down by society and witnessed the disparity in strength between the two sides, to come back and provoke again would be truly courting death.

At the very least, if Hudson were the Beastfolk King, he would retreat to a defensive posture. The fighting would be stop-and-go, not aiming for a decisive victory, but simply stalling for time.

Human memory is short-lived. Given enough time, the determination of the major human powers to annihilate the Beastfolk will be worn away in the long battle.

Let's talk about the future after we get through this ordeal.

The mainland's hegemon cannot be easily humiliated. If someone makes a mess of things and gets burned, they must be allowed to vent their grievances.

"Count Lauren, the kingdom is keeping a close eye on every move the Beastfolk army makes. It's almost impossible for them to launch a sneak attack."

The newly recovered provinces are now all undeveloped land, which serves as a good buffer.

With this transition period in place, the castles and fortresses in the rear are probably ready as well. Delaying the Beastfolk army's advance shouldn't be a big problem.

"Your Excellency can rest assured, the Southeast Front Army has dealt with the rioters and will have ample time to rush over and reinforce them!"

Hudson replied in agreement.

Pretending to be stupid, anyone can do that!

The kingdom has deployed so many defensive lines in the north that even with all its main forces deployed, there are still a large number of serf soldiers left behind to guard the area.

With fortified cities blocking the way ahead and the main force of the kingdom returning from behind, only a fool would attack a city under such circumstances.

No matter how warlike the Beastfolk are, they have to deal with the kingdom's main force first before they can even think about attacking the city. Otherwise, they'll be cut off from their supply lines before they even take the city.

Count Lauren was about to say something, but swallowed his words back. He had dealt with Hudson once before and knew how difficult he could be.

Once the person before him has made up their mind, it is beyond the control of this envoy. Count Lauren felt he was not yet qualified to persuade Hudson.

Offending a powerful nobleman for a single mission, with no guarantee of its successful completion, is a sure-fire way to lose money.

Anyway, he had already delivered the message. If he hadn't achieved his goal, it was because the King's influence wasn't strong enough to make the other party give up the benefits he had already gained.

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In fact, Hudson did far more outrageous things than Count Lauren had anticipated.

The unauthorized appropriation of prisoners of war was merely a minor, insignificant operation. In order to capture even more prisoners of war, the Southeast Front Army had already crossed the border to help its neighbors quell a civil unrest free of charge.

It had nothing to do with patriotism; the main issue was the Mountain Territory's high demand for prisoners of war. Without capturing enough prisoners, Hudson's underhanded tactics crossed the line.

Generally speaking, in these super-easy wars of quelling rebellions, the commander-in-chief can decide who gets 50% to 70% of the spoils, while the rest is distributed by the kingdom.

The specific proportions will be determined based on the actual circumstances. Having the authority to decide on the distribution of such a large amount of spoils does not mean that Hudson could simply pocket it all.

The nobles under his command who participated in the war must be given a share. The powerful nobles who come to him also have to be given a portion, even though these people did not contribute to this war, they control the kingdom's discourse.

This isn't the end of it; if relatives and friends come knocking, you'll inevitably have to share some as well.

All of it has been prepared; the remaining portion is for Hudson himself.

Under normal circumstances, the head coach's share will not exceed 10%, and with all members of the Coslo Family included, they will take at most one-fifth.

While Hudson cannot increase his share of the cake, he can change the size of the cake.

Sending troops to help a neighboring country quell a rebellion without compensation—this selfless international spirit absolutely deserves high praise. Theoretically speaking, there's nothing wrong with it.

As for the issue of prisoners of war, that's a matter for the Foreign Affairs Department. We can discuss it gradually after the war when everyone sits down together.

The return of prisoners of war will definitely happen; the final exact number will depend on the actions of each party.

Hudson didn't care about the subsequent troubles. The powerful nobles who wanted to gain benefits would naturally reject the demands of various countries.

As the largest human nation in the northern continent, the Alpha Kingdom still holds considerable influence. This minor conflict shouldn't be a problem.

Moreover, these neighbors had previously tricked the kingdom. They had agreed to join forces against the Beastfolk invasion, but when the war actually broke out, all sorts of excuses came out.

In a sense, the kingdom was happy to see the Behemoth Cavalry stirring up trouble in these small countries.

The longer the reach, the more time is required. The fact that the Southeast Front Army was unable to quell the civil unrest for so long was the primary reason.

Unfortunately, this lucrative deal was destined to be short-lived. Hudson was willing to help for free, but the nobles in his home country weren't fools!

Even if it wasn't obvious at first, everyone should have realized it once groups of prisoners of war were escorted to the Alpha Kingdom.

Realizing that the Southeast Front Army was plundering their population, the nobles of neighboring countries became more active in suppressing the rioters.

No longer caring about using others to kill, they all used every means at their disposal to quell the unrest as quickly as possible and prevent the Southeast Front Army from intervening.

Having finished his official duties, Hudson once again stepped into Viscount Oran's mansion. Compared to before, the viscount was now much more heavily guarded.

It's likely that they sensed the instability of the situation and were worried that someone might take advantage of the chaos, so they took precautions in advance.

As a relative by marriage, Hudson was practically family, and went directly into the inner courtyard.

No one came out to greet them, not because Hudson was a nobody, but because the male head of the household was on the front lines and it was inconvenient for the female head of the household to show her face in public.

"Hudson, over here!"

A familiar voice rang out, Hudson looked in the direction from which the voice came, where a beautiful figure appeared before him.

Beside him was a middle-aged noblewoman with a boy of about ten years old, who was looking him over.

After a year apart, Hudson was about to reach out and hug his fiancée when he suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly withdrew his hand halfway through.

"Lady Narcissa, Sir Locke, Hudson sends his greetings!"

Hudson wasn't insane yet, even though he was acting recklessly in front of his mother-in-law and brother-in-law.

"Hudson, what about me?"

Melissa, who was standing nearby, said with dissatisfaction that she had been left out.

"Greetings, beautiful and charming Miss Melissa, from Hudson!"

As they spoke, the guards behind them took out the gifts they had prepared in advance and handed them to the maids beside them.

"That's more like it!"

Melissa pouted. Her rosy cheeks always made Hudson want to pinch them.

Unfortunately, the occasion was inappropriate, and he had to be impeccably polite. Even though they were engaged, the etiquette between nobles was still essential.

"Welcome our hero, Count Hudson. The entire Hollisir Family is honored by your arrival!"

Lady Narcissa returned the greeting with a smile.

For investors, it's definitely something to celebrate when a promising stock they've selected takes off.

When this marriage was first arranged, there was a lot of criticism from the outside world, who believed that the Hollisir Family had really declined and had to resort to gambling by looking for a "potential stock".

The situation quickly reversed; before anyone could understand what was happening, Hudson suddenly shot up from below.

Their rise has been so rapid that it's impossible for anyone to take action to suppress them.

The promising talent has soared to great heights; the Hollisir Family has clearly won this gamble. They originally only intended to utilize the Earth Bear's strength, but Hudson's performance was far too outstanding.

The commander of an army group was already entitled to the status of a provincial Governor. Most importantly, Hudson's Southeast Front Army consisted entirely of veterans who had come from the battlefield, with more than half of them being elite troops.

In terms of actual combat strength, it clearly far surpasses the military power of an entire province. Coupled with the effect of the "halo effect of a famous general," it carries even more weight in the eyes of outsiders.

Awkward conversations that lack substance are hard to sustain. After exchanging a few polite words with Lady Narcissa, Hudson decided to speak with Melissa alone.

Unfortunately, he had a little tagalong following him around. Young Locke was like a troubled teenager, constantly pestering him with questions along the way.

After a moment's thought, Hudson realized that this was a deliberate arrangement by Lady Narcissa. She probably hoped that her youngest son could develop a good relationship with him, and it would be even better if he could learn some military strategy from her.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that they were sent to monitor them and prevent Hudson from finding any loopholes.

But this didn't stump him. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had tricked the troublesome Locke away.

Finally able to spend time alone with Hudson, Hudson found himself at a loss for words, a typical case of lacking romantic flair.

If it weren't for the unique charm brought by his status as a strong person, coupled with the traditional arranged marriage system, he would seriously doubt whether he could find a partner who was his equal.

Don't you want to say anything to me?

Melissa asked, puffing out her cheeks.