Senior Sister Is in Great Condition

Lieutenant Colonel Eleanor Bonaparte was in excellent condition, not just good, but great.

Perhaps it was because, at the tender age of twenty-five, she had taken command of all of Tulon's city defenses and the leadership of over three thousand soldiers, and was about to decide the fate of seven hundred thousand citizens, that she was glowing.

Eleanor decided to work overtime to celebrate, so she spent the night inspecting the city defenses, monitoring enemy movements, and contacting the outer supply depots. By now, she hadn't slept for a full twenty-four hours.

You ask how a chief of staff who had only been in office for six months became the supreme commander? Of course, it was because Commander Colonel Hell had gone on vacation last month, and Deputy Commander Lieutenant Colonel Ham had "suddenly" come down with acute gastritis three days ago, and then "accidentally" broke his little finger while going to the hospital, and was now recuperating. Thus, everyone had studied and decided to let Miss Bonaparte, Tulon's only "Moonfolk" and technically just a figurehead, officially take over all city defenses.

Miss Eleanor neither showed modesty nor recited poetry; she took office with great composure.

"Anyway, it's better for me to do it myself than to let those groundhogs mess things up," Eleanor explained to Major Dorset.

The latter was the commander of Tulon's armored grenadiers, with a total of 300 men under his command. They were the only elite unit in the entire New Jade Gate equipped with AS-56 Dragoon-type Power Armor. Furthermore, these men were officially part of the "Marine Corps" and were commonly known as "Marine Corps Gorillas." Their position in the military hierarchy was immeasurably higher than that of the "Guard Team Minions."

If Eleanor wanted to control Tulon, she had to win these men over.

Fortunately, Major Dorset was quite respectful towards the chief of staff. This had nothing to do with his previous role as General Calon Bonaparte's head of security, Eleanor's father.

It definitely had nothing to do with it!

"But no matter what, the enemy has gathered an army of over a million. Satellite and drone surveillance results confirm this. Coupled with reinforcements arriving from the outer supply depots, there are only just over three thousand men in the entire city. I don't know if the reinforcements from the outer fleet will arrive on time... We are going to face a tough battle!"

Major Dorset, forty years old this year, spoke with seasoned prudence, but Eleanor found it all to be nonsense. However, the other party was someone her father had brought up. When she was a child, she had called him "Uncle Louis," and he had called her "Young Miss." She had to give him some face, after all.

"It's just over a million primitives, and who knows how many old, young, women, and children are just making up the numbers. You understand the warfare of primitives."

"Even a million pigs charging would be like a flood! And, didn't the intelligence already say they have firearms and war chariots... The drone reconnaissance just now also showed them setting up positions on Alqi No. 6 Highland outside the city. They should be building artillery positions! We can't determine the model for now, but if it's heavy siege artillery, I don't know how long Tulon Port's shields will last."

Eleanor nodded. "The reconnaissance department has finally done something useful... Heh, over a million Sandfolk gathered from all directions, and they only thought to report it when they formed an army. Based on this alone, their superiors should be shot."

"Uh, the head of the reconnaissance department, Lieutenant Park Youngnam, was shot by you yesterday..."

Eleanor pretended not to hear, and with one finger, she irritably stirred the ponytail slung over her shoulder, asking casually, "Yuri's side... uh, is there any news from all the supply depots that lost contact?"

Dorset naturally knew what the Young Miss wanted to ask. He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "No. Also... the satellite scan report just now confirmed that Supply Depot No. 12 has been completely destroyed. The internal members should have successfully broken out."

The reinforcement the Major added afterward wasn't of much use. Eleanor became even more agitated. She turned and walked away with her long, beautiful legs.

"Where are you going? Governor Yamadera wants to see you."

"Tell him I'm waiting for him at the training grounds."

More than ten minutes later, Governor Yamadera came scurrying to the training grounds. This short, stout, fifty-something Japanese man clearly wasn't athletic and was already drenched in sweat. When he arrived, he found that all "senior officers" of the rank of Captain and above were present. Miss Eleanor, under the watchful eyes of a group of people, was fiddling with an AS56 dual-purpose combat mecha.

The youngest officer present was about ten years older than the chief of staff, but now, watching this "little girl" fiddling with a firearm with a smile and murderous intent, they all fell silent.

Is this crazy woman going to execute me with her power armor? The Governor chuckled dryly and couldn't help but pull out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. In front of Eleanor, he truly couldn't put on airs of a governor. On one hand, she had education, ability, and background. More importantly, Eleanor was an appointed officer of the Commonwealth High Command, directly subordinate to the Space Fleet as a Lieutenant Colonel, drawing a salary from the National Defense Committee, unlike the "Guard Team Minions" appointed by the Governor's Mansion.

Economic dependence determines life's subordination! This wasn't said by Mr. Lu Xun, but taught by Teacher Li.

"...Um, Lieutenant Colonel Bonaparte. Can we talk privately?"

"Let's talk here. Your Excellency, Governor. As you can see, your subordinate is dull-witted and burdened with military duties. Apart from matters of military intelligence, I truly have no inclination to consider anything else. Since everyone is here, we can speak freely if there's anything important."

Governor Yamadera hesitated for nearly a minute. During this time, Eleanor had already prepared to polish and wax the power armor.

"Lieutenant Colonel, can this Tulon really be held?" the Governor finally asked.

"This, I can't say for sure myself. You can ask them." Eleanor fiddled with the gun barrel on the power armor—this thing wasn't a defective product for the guard, but the main equipment of the Marine Corps. Its main weapon was a 9mm Vulcan cannon.

The officers swallowed. The dark-skinned major at the front, who looked the most soldierly, stood at attention, saluted, and said loudly, "Under the wise leadership of Commander Bonaparte and Governor Yamadera, the city defenses will be absolutely foolproof!"

The Governor noticed that he put "Commander Bonaparte" before "Governor Yamadera," and almost choked. He knew that this Major Sanga was the Tulon Defense Commander he had personally appointed.

"Lieutenant Colonel, what I mean is... the Sandfolk are numerous. Do we, uh, really not need to make a stand here! There are still two merchant ships in the spaceport. We can still leave now. This, while there's still time! I heard the Sandfolk are setting up artillery positions outside. Once they set up their anti-air defenses, we won't be able to leave."

The Governor actually knew that the Sandfolk were setting up artillery positions? Eleanor glanced at the officers. They all quickly lowered their heads.

Alright, no matter how the Chief of Staff gained everyone's loyalty through her outstanding (per)sonal (sonal) charm (charm), it had only been a short time, and it was impossible to truly brainwash these old foxes with their own agendas.

"Lieutenant Colonel, let's retreat. You are the commander, shouldn't you preserve our strength?"

"You have given me a new understanding of military command," Eleanor said with a smile and a nod. "However, if we retreat, what about the more than six hundred thousand citizens in this city? What about the seven hundred thousand Commonwealth citizens of New Jade Gate?"

"This, this is also unavoidable. However, after so many years, the Sandfolk are no longer uncivilized barbarians. We can resolve this through diplomatic means. May the Spirit of the Universe bless them, they will surely be fine."

"You have once again given me a new understanding of diplomacy and faith," Eleanor said with a smile and a shake of her head. "Regardless, a soldier's duty tells me not to flee from here. However, this is now a war zone. Governor, you are a civilian official, and you are certainly allowed to leave. Your subordinate will not stop you, nor does she have the authority to stop you!"

Me? How can I escape? If I really escape on my own, who will take the blame? Do you think I'm dragging you along to escape because you're pretty? Isn't it precisely because you are the military commander that we will escape together? Then I can say that I escaped, no, retreated, because I "fully trusted the military commander's judgment"?

You, a young lady from a prominent family and a graduate of the Defense University, will be fine even if you are frozen out for a few years! But it's different for me! If I'm confirmed to have "fled from battle," losing my position would be the least of it. Can't you understand me, an ordinary person who climbed to this position through my own efforts?

Of course, Governor Yamadera couldn't say these words. He carefully considered his words and was about to say something when he saw two soldiers dragging a Second Lieutenant into the training grounds. The Governor was stunned, not understanding what was happening, but a moment later, he finally recognized the Second Lieutenant's face and was greatly shocked and horrified.

"Second Lieutenant Aer Crus?" Eleanor continued to fiddle with the armament on the power armor, asking casually.

This Second Lieutenant, in his early thirties, was almost scared into a puddle of mud. He trembled as he looked at Miss Bonaparte, his lips quivering but unable to speak. He looked pleadingly at the Governor, who was starting to sweat again.

"Let me ask you, three full days after the headquarters issued the reinforcement order, not a single soldier from Supply Depot No. 12 has arrived. Yet why are you, who were assigned there, and your airship here in Tulon?"

Major Dorset glanced at Eleanor, then continued to look straight ahead, pretending to be a statue that could hear nothing.

"I, I, your subordinate, I, I..." Second Lieutenant Crus repeated himself like a broken record for half a minute before finally remembering what to say. "I, I'm just trying to make a living! I can earn 5,000 per trip with a boatload of spices! That's all there is, really, only this much. I'm willing to turn it all over! Please, sir, I have a family, I have children, I have three children to raise... sob sob sob, Governor Yamadera, save me, save me!"

The stout Governor suddenly shouted, completely drowning out Crus's pleas, "Lieutenant Colonel Miss, I believe we should show humanity's unyielding spirit and bravery, and persist in resisting! We must not compromise with the primitive natives. This is common international sense!"