Albrecht finally understood why Franz had wanted him, a field marshal of the army, to handle this matter personally. If it had been someone else, they might truly not have been able to withstand so great a temptation, nor would they necessarily have been able to keep the situation under control.
Albrecht glanced at the temporary execution ground nearby. Even though it was already piled high with corpses, there were still people clinging to luck, trying to steal gold right under everyone's noses.
After years of campaigning, he had long since grown used to life and death, but Albrecht still did not think gold was more important than human lives.
Yet he also understood that sometimes, without harsh punishments and severe laws, there was no way to control the situation. It would only cost even more people their lives, and might even cause the mission to fail, making the soldiers' sacrifices meaningless.
"Soldiers of the empire, the fact that you have been given this mission is proof of the empire's trust in you. Please do not betray that trust.
I, Albrecht von Habsburg, guarantee here that as long as we successfully complete the mission, everyone will receive the reward they deserve, and those who sacrifice their lives will also receive compensation—but that does not include those bastards who steal what they were assigned to guard!"
Albrecht's words drew a wave of cheers. What the soldiers wanted was not that so-called reward, but a kind of affirmation, an acknowledgment of the ground they had held.
In truth, the reason Franz had mobilized the Royal Legion was that, to them, one or two kilograms of gold could not change anything. On the contrary, it might not only bring shame upon their families, but also cost them their lives.
Under such a stark