When he honestly asked himself what he would do if things really came to that, Zong Rulin felt he would choose to relinquish his authority.
Neither Zhao Tianshu nor Chu You was incompetent. They should be able to hold this line.
At the thought, a helplessness welled up in Zong Rulin despite himself.
After all, this was the Royal Alliance.
Though he, Zong Rulin, had been enfeoffed as the "King of Cizhou"...
Could a king from outside the royal family really be the same as a royal prince?
The Royal Alliance was still a long way from letting a king like him call the shots!
But he quickly dispelled the feeling with sheer force of will.
A man should know what he ought and ought not to do; all that mattered was having a clear conscience.
Pulling himself together, Zong Rulin swept his gaze around.
Yue Pengju clearly hadn't seriously meant for him to send another batch of Star Destroyers from the rear.
He'd just been venting.
Their conversation had been in no way private.
At least, plenty of people in the Royal Ark's command center had heard every word.
Yet not one of them showed the slightest sign of surprise.
On the one hand, compared with the bigwigs back home, those serving on the front lines naturally believed in true strongmen who could lead them to victory and improve their chances of survival.
On the other, King of Cizhou Zong Rulin was no ordinary man.
The flagship he had selected was bound to be reliable.
"Sir, we're receiving a transmission from the other side," the radar operator reported.
"Put it through," Zong Rulin said gravely.
Yue Pengju was in charge of command, but Zong Rulin was better suited to handle communications and other external affairs.
A moment later, the