Rooting Out Traitors Within

The most eye-catching thing in the Duchy Army camp was the huge marching tent with extremely luxurious interior decoration.

This tent is like a mobile palace, with enough space to accommodate many people and showcasing the majesty and strength of the Duchy Army.

At this moment, the tent was brightly lit, and a solemn atmosphere permeated the space.

The legion Legion Commander of the Duchy Army gathered together, each followed closely by his trusted general, and sat solemnly around an exquisite round table.

Perhaps because the meeting went on until late at night, some exquisite food and drinks were prepared for everyone, but apart from a few individuals, most people had no appetite for them.

Viscount Borey stood upright before the huge map at the round table. His piercing gaze swept across the faces of everyone present before he broke the deathly silence. "Gentlemen, the Northern Alliance Army have now cut off our supply lines and retreat route!"

At this critical juncture, please speak freely and discuss solutions together.

However, at this moment, the entire room was filled with a suffocatingly heavy atmosphere, as if even the air itself had frozen.

The seasoned Legion Commander all pressed their lips together, remaining silent; while their trusted confidants, who usually followed them, appeared even more fearful and apprehensive, as if they were afraid that a single slip of the tongue would bring about their deaths.

The atmosphere within the Duchy Army has been very tense lately, with people frequently being punished for saying the wrong thing. Yesterday, a Battalion Commander of the Imperial Guard Legion was publicly flogged 30 times by Viscount Borey for complaining about poor command, nearly losing his life.

After a long while, Count Kimberly noticed that his friend seemed to fall silent about the question he had raised, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

So he devised a plan to help Viscount Borey break the deadlock and lighten the mood.

Currently, our team's supply situation is quite good!

Although the enemy has cut off our supply lines, this will not immediately have a substantial impact on our large army.

However, in my opinion, the most urgent task is to figure out how to boost the morale of our soldiers!

You should know that those spies from the Northern Alliance Army haven't been idle; they've been spreading all sorts of rumors throughout the camp, trying to undermine our morale.

This situation absolutely cannot be ignored!

We must quickly come up with a way to deal with this problem, and ideally, we should be able to find all the spies hiding in the shadows.

Otherwise, if the soldiers' morale continues to be low, our army will probably not be able to hold out for long once the war really starts!

At this moment, a noble legion commander immediately objected. "Commander Kimberly, if we could deal with the enemy's spies, we wouldn't have waited until now."

Those guys are so well hidden. They don't cause any damage; they just spread some dubious rumors. It's very difficult to catch them."

His words caused a great stir, quickly resonating with and gaining the approval of everyone present.

The nobles, in particular, nodded in agreement, indicating their strong support for this viewpoint.

It should be noted that the private armies owned by these nobles were often of mixed quality and diverse composition, including some with ulterior motives.

Such a team naturally became a breeding ground for rumors, making it a veritable "disaster area".

However, for these pampered nobles, properly managing and disposing of their private armies was no easy task.

After all, many nobles were keen to temporarily recruit all sorts of mercenaries to participate in battles, and these hired soldiers often had extremely complicated backgrounds and origins.

It can be said that, apart from possessing a certain level of combat ability, these mercenaries are almost riddled with flaws and problems.

If management were even slightly stricter, these mercenaries would very well not hesitate to shoot arrows at their employers!

After all, for those profit-driven individuals with no moral bottom line, they'll do anything to get more money.

Therefore, many nobles had to adopt a laissez-faire attitude towards these mercenaries.

Legion Commander Labia coldly interjected, "In my opinion, there's no need for further discussion; simply punish those soldiers who spread rumors severely."

With these people as role models, the soldiers will surely be able to shut up.

"As long as you're ruthless enough and act quickly enough, no one will dare to say anything out of line."

He paused, a resolute glint in his eyes, and continued, "Of course, there might be innocent people harmed in the process, since some people are just unfortunate enough to become messengers, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Because those enemy spies hiding in the shadows must be mixed in with them. If we don't take this opportunity to eliminate them in one fell swoop, the consequences will be dire!

Only by thoroughly eradicating these malignant tumors can we prevent the spread of rumors and cut off the enemy's reach, preventing them from understanding our true situation.

In this way, when we launch a counterattack, it will have the effect of a surprise attack!

Upon hearing this, the other Noble Legions commander's face instantly turned extremely gloomy. He slammed his hand on the table in front of him, making a loud "bang".

The legion Legion Commander glared angrily at the Legion Commander Rabia: "Legion Commander Rabia, you've probably had too much to drink!"

The morale of our army has already plummeted. If you continue to discipline the soldiers so cruelly, it may lead to a mutiny or even a more serious riot sooner or later!

If that were the case, our own ranks would be in complete chaos before the enemy even attacks!

This caused quite a stir! What had started as a whispered discussion among a few people had now erupted like a stone thrown into still water, causing the entire venue to boil over.

Now, not only the nobles attending the meeting, but also the Imperial Guard Legion behind Borre and many officers of the Fifth Legion of Kimberley began to discuss it.

"Yes! That makes sense!"

"My army is already on high alert. If things continue like this, they'll collapse before we even get to the fighting!"

"To think you can cover your mouth at this point is just too naive."

"Legion Commander Rabia might really be drunk; look, the wine jug on his table is empty!"

Labia was furious that so many people opposed his proposal. He stood up and slammed his fist on the table, knocking over the wine jug in front of him, but not a single drop of wine spilled.

"I'm not drunk. This little bit of wine is enough to moisten my throat. And if you think my suggestion is bad, do you have any better ideas?"

Seeing Labia's fiery expression, many people shut their mouths. However, some ignored his attitude and continued, "Legion Commander Rabia, do you not only want to punish those soldiers, but you also want to punish us?"

Upon hearing this, Labia immediately turned his head to look. It was an officer in the uniform of the Imperial Guard Legion speaking. He glanced at the man, and although he was furious, he did not lash out.

Because this person's identity is very special. He is Gais, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard and the commander of the heavy cavalry regiment. He is also a high-ranking military officer with royal status.

Although this Legion Deputy Commander did not hold a high position, he held a special status and was considered a pillar of the Ducal House within the Duchy Army system. He had deep roots in the army by relying on the power of the Ducal House, and even Viscount Borey could not command his troops.

Even the usually arrogant Labia didn't dare to provoke such a guy easily, and could only sit down reluctantly.

Seeing that Rabia had calmed down, Guys didn't continue to argue with him. Instead, he addressed the crowd, saying, "Commander Kimberly is right. Supply issues won't bother us for the time being, but we must address the morale problem, otherwise the army won't be able to fight."

Therefore, I specifically asked the Grand Duke for instructions, and he will send out all of his Silver Maple Secret Guard to the military camp to eliminate enemy spies and secret agents.

Please rest assured Silver Maple Secret Guard are all professionals; all you need to do is cooperate.

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone asked, "But how do we cooperate?"

"It's very simple, just don't obstruct or interfere with the Silver Maple Secret Guard's actions."

This internal purge is a matter of life and death for us, and I hope everyone understands that.

"If anyone attempts to influence or even obstruct this operation, the Grand Duke has already given orders to the Silver Maple Secret Guard to deal with them directly as accomplices of the Northern Frontier Rebels."

Geis' last words sent a chill down everyone's spine; no one had expected the major guild to issue such an order.

Everyone looked at Viscount Borey, only to find that his expression remained unchanged, as if he had known the news all along.

Only then did everyone realize why Viscount Borey had asked such a question—it was to get Geis to announce the Grand Duke's decision.