Chapter 1609: Chapter 1609

The reason the offensive has become so weak isn’t because there’s a problem with the commander, but because all the soldiers are experiencing issues.

Many of the soldiers here have family living in the rear. Otherwise, the Alliance wouldn’t feel assured. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱

The scope of this rebellion is too wide; it’s simply impossible to keep the information hidden. Even though the Alliance has tried its best to suppress it, in this interstellar environment, communications are far too easy to transmit.

When many people learned that problems were happening in the rear, they lost the will to fight.

Yet the Alliance upper class is still forcing them to continue fighting, which has filled the soldiers’ hearts with anger.

This world is ultimately not one where there’s extremely strict control over the military, let alone over their thoughts. The usual lenient environment has led most soldiers here to treat being a soldier as merely a job, nothing more.

Even so, the Alliance is still confident in achieving victory because the disparity in troop strength is simply too large.

However, the other allies the Empire has contacted are now all shirking responsibility one by one. After all, no one is willing to take the lead. Upon hearing this, the king could only sigh, realizing that yet another one of Card 1610’s trump cards had been lost.

If things continue to develop this way, the nascent Empire will undoubtedly be destroyed. At that time, others will be even more hesitant to rebel. Using this momentum, the Alliance will strengthen its grip over its subordinates, likely to a level it has never reached before. After resolving this matter, the Alliance’s rule will only grow stronger.

After all, with a precedent set, no one wants to become the second new Empire.

But just at the most critical moment, the largest variable appeared.

"Something terrible has happened, Commander. We’ve detected Blood-colored Empire forces; they’re heading toward our rear!"

"What? The Blood-colored Empire? Damn it, how could they appear here? Those bastards—got bribed again, didn’t they? Do they even understand what they’re doing?" The Commander swiftly grasped the situation.

Someone must have been bribed by the Blood-colored Empire; otherwise, the enemy couldn’t have appeared here so easily. No intelligence from the rear at all—these people completely lack any sense of the bigger picture and care only for their own interests.

"Do they not realize that losing the war will cost them even more?"

The Commander shouted and then shut his mouth. Peace had lasted too long in the Alliance, and class stratification had become deeply entrenched. Though these people were upper class and had received elite education, they were products of family inheritance.

Under such circumstances, it was all too normal for useless good-for-nothings to emerge. When a group of such good-for-nothings takes power and comes together, they easily influence one another, causing a majority to turn into incompetents. While a minority of them might have some sense, their numbers are too small, their voice too weak, to change anything.

The Commander suddenly raised his head: "Everyone, prepare defensive lines and prepare to meet the forces of the Blood-colored Empire. Suspend the advance for now." It wasn’t an order he wanted to issue, but he had no other choice now.

Otherwise, if the Blood-colored Empire’s forces launch an attack, they will undoubtedly be overwhelmed. The Blood-colored Empire is not the same as the nascent Empire; their intentions this time clearly aren’t good, and their forces might even outnumber ours.

There’s no other way—without any intelligence, they have no idea what they’re facing now.

"Heh, the Blood-colored Empire intervenes now? What perfect timing." Du You laughed. It was already certain that the nascent Empire would win at this point. And soon, he’d have his chance for independence.

Frankly, being tethered to the Alliance and taking orders from others was something that Du You had grown thoroughly tired of.

If this Alliance showed any resemblance of intelligence, it might have been tolerable. But as it stood, it was nothing more than a collection of gluttonous fools.

"The Blood-colored Empire isn’t stupid. Of course, they understand the significance of this war. If they don’t want to see the Alliance strengthen its control, they will definitely work to sabotage this campaign. And once they succeed, the Alliance will still collapse."

Yes, if the Alliance collapses, it will no longer be a match for the Blood-colored Empire. At that point, the Blood-colored Empire will become the most powerful empire, and the next era will belong to them—a blood-colored era.

"But do they really think things will go as they expect?" Du You murmured enigmatically.

The two sisters gave Du You a puzzled look, not understanding what he meant. After all, they lacked the ability for telepathy and could only tell that Du You wasn’t referring to the battle at hand.

Two days later, the Blood-colored Empire’s forces finally arrived. They brought twenty interstellar fortresses—none of them top-tier, but in addition to these fortresses, they also had twenty Starry Sky Transformed Beasts.

On the other hand, after recent battles, the Alliance’s forces had only thirty-seven interstellar fortresses still capable of operating normally, leaving them with even fewer numbers than their opponents. Moreover, the enemy’s branch of the armed forces was far more diversified.

Faced with the interstellar fortresses attacking from the rear, they had no choice but to focus all their efforts on defense.

At this point, the nascent Empire halted its advance and remained where it was, as it had only two fully functional interstellar fortresses left, along with one heavily damaged one. Repairing the damaged one would take an unknown amount of time.

Meanwhile, as the Blood-colored Empire launched its offensive, new orders began to emerge across various regions.

Riots occurred with increasing frequency and scale, leading to a growing state of chaos. Troops previously held back were finally deployed, and even the Empire’s allies began to respond one after another.

Just as the Alliance clashed head-on with the Blood-colored Empire, numerous regions around them began to declare independence. Their troops suddenly appeared in front of stationed Alliance forces and launched surprise attacks.

In some places, Alliance soldiers even defected in groups.

This was because these soldiers were recruited locally, making it far easier for local forces to seize control from within. Their defection significantly weakened the Alliance’s strength while bolstering local resistance forces.

The great collapse of the Alliance had begun. More and more regions declared independence. Even with the war still ongoing, the Alliance now found itself with one-third of its territory breaking away. Controlling the remaining areas was proving increasingly difficult.

"Damn it! Damn it all! Those traitorous scum—they deserve to die, every one of them! I’ll see them all dead!"

In the Alliance’s assembly hall, an elderly man raged and shouted, smashing everything in sight.

"Mr. Chairman, the issue now isn’t about punishing anyone; it’s about figuring out how to address the situation before us. At this rate, we won’t be able to hold onto anything outside the core territories," another person said.

"Exactly, and our military is also on the verge of slipping out of control," another added. None of them had anticipated things to escalate to this level.