Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1285 - 71 Pannis’s Mockery

"Our supply lines are now under tremendous pressure, and it could be said that in fifteen days, their capacity will reach its limit. However, according to incomplete statistics, the ultimate pressure that needs to be sustained will fluctuate upwards by twenty percent from that limit, and this figure must be maintained continuously until the end of the war." As soon as she approached the entrance to the small living room on the second floor, Catherine heard the old voice of Snape coming from the room: "I am not deliberately exaggerating the difficulties, and I know everyone has done their utmost, but I must point out that we all made a very serious error. Everyone who made the decisions underestimated the difficulty of transporting supplies deep into the Sighing Desert. Historically, there has never been such a large-scale deployment of troops into the desert, and naturally, there has never been a precedent for such intense and frequent supply transportations. Even though everyone has tried to increase their predictions of the difficulty, it has proven insufficient. If things continue to develop in this way, in twenty days, the frontline troops will start to run short of food, and in twenty-three days, at least thirty percent of them will face the dire situation of inadequate drinking water. In the environment of the Sighing Desert, I believe I need not explain what that means."

"Yes, no need to explain." The resonant and authoritative voice was unmistakably that of General Greenfarl from the Kingdom of Knights, responsible for the war: "Such a level of water shortage will not be lethal, but all troops with insufficient water will see their combat effectiveness drop by at least fifty percent. If we consider the impact on the morale of other troops, as well as the issues of rationing between the different troops, it is quite possible that the combat effectiveness of all frontline troops will be lowered by about twenty percent. This is a very dangerous situation."

"Perhaps it won’t be that severe." This was the Chairman of the Kingdom of Mages, Warrensen, speaking, who had traveled from afar a few days ago due to Vivian’s outstanding work: "Use of water for cooling and maintenance equipment can be temporarily conjured by Mage teams. Given the size of the frontline Mage teams, as long as they are provided with enough Water Elemental Crystals, the supply of the non-potable water that is missing could just barely be met."

"The question remains, how many Water Elemental Crystals are considered enough? The Sighing Desert itself is already highly antagonistic to the use of Water-attribute magic. To produce a large amount of non-potable water there would consume a horrific number of Water Elemental Crystals. Such a large-scale consumption might not even be met by combining all current stockpiles of power, and what about the rest?" Antuin said calmly and cautiously: "As a Mage yourself, Warrensen, you should know we can’t not have a reserve of Elemental Crystals."

"First, transport the Crystal reserves to the frontline, then start large-scale requisition of Water Elemental Crystals." Warrensen replied without a second’s hesitation: "If we include the civilian reserves of Crystals, we can supply even twice that amount."

"Maybe your Kingdom of Mages can use requisition, but most forces cannot do this; they can only purchase." A strange voice said, "Like our Neville Federation, there is absolutely no way to requisition unconditionally now. It is a measure of last resort, and once we start requisitioning civilian resources, it is equivalent to telling the public that the war is on the verge of collapse. Why bother to stabilize public sentiment today, then?"

"No matter the reason, any issue with logistics is a dereliction of duty on my part as the person in charge." The sound of chairs scraping arose as evidently Marquis Snape stood up and spoke gravely: "My inadequacies have affected the war’s preparations, so I will resign from my position as the person in charge and apologize to all parties. I hope the coalition command center will quickly select someone to replace me."

"Don’t think like that at all. If Mr. Marquis needs to resign, then including the Children of the Forest, all the top leaders of the various forces would need to resign." The voice with a distinct Elf accent said, "Everyone has seen the results of your work these days. I’m afraid there is no one other than you who could establish such a complete supply line in such a short period of time. Therefore, no one else but you could take on the logistic tasks." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

"Agree. Even if all members of the Goblin Business Association worked together, we might not do better than Snape, so keep at it." The distinctive sharp voice reminded Catherine immediately of Christo from the past; goblin’s voices always have such a characteristic: "Moreover, the situation is not that severe right now. Our people from the Goblin Business Association are negotiating with the Quicksand Merchants of the Sand People, hoping they can lease the thirty backup sand worms to us. If the negotiation is successful, while it can’t completely solve the problem of insufficient transport capacity, it can certainly ease the pressure to some extent."

"Indeed, we are not yet in a state of despair." Odin always remained composed when his daughter was not involved in the issue: "Let’s not forget, according to what Queen Flare said, this war might not even take place. Perhaps the troops will only gather halfway before we can pivot to disbanding."

A silence fell in the small living room, and after a brief pause, Antuin spoke slowly again: "Of course, that would be the best outcome, but we always need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, so as not to fall into chaos due to unexpected events."

"I think so too." Snape said with a hint of dissatisfaction: "No matter what, he has already done enough, he has no obligation to make more sacrifices for this world. Even though he has now taken the initiative to suggest doing something more, we shouldn’t put all the pressure on him alone. It’s not fair to him. Besides, even with the Queen’s support, I always wonder, can he really do it? After all, he’s trying to go alone ..."

"Cough cough." Pannis suddenly coughed outside the door, announcing his presence and interrupting Snape’s words. After Snape fell silent, Pannis quickly glanced at Catherine, realizing she didn’t seem to catch the information revealed in Snape’s last remarks. He then let out a sigh of relief, kicked open the large doors of the small living room, and, pulling Catherine along, strode into the ongoing meeting.

"I say, that thing on your necks, isn’t it really empty inside?" Pannis started mocking as soon as he entered: "You are some of the top figures from all sides, can’t you consider the problem from a different angle?"