"How many troops do you think we need to deploy against the magical beast tide?"
Elashia asked Cecilia.
"Based on past experience... probably around ten thousand."
Cecilia gave a number higher than her original estimate.
Normally, when facing magical beast tides, ordering local lords to recruit a few thousand troops was generally sufficient.
After resolving the beast tide, the lords would be ordered to disband their troops.
Elashia shook her head.
"Cecilia, you still don't realize how serious this matter will be."
Elashia continued:
"Six months from now, I will mobilize all the armies of the Elasia Empire to the northern border, without leaving a single soldier behind."
What?
This shocked not only Cecilia but also Candice.
Is it really that serious?
Cecilia hurriedly said:
"Your Majesty, even if we don't expand the army or recruit temporary troops like before, the Royal Imperial Guard alone has thirty thousand men. Just feeding thirty thousand people is a problem difficult to solve."
Candice also said:
"Your Majesty, the royal granaries have been almost depleted by the previous disaster relief. Even if we don't consider other issues, we cannot sustain such a large army on expedition."
Elashia nodded.
"Yes, and there's an even bigger problem."
In the game, if "Elashia" on the human route didn't resolve to eliminate bandits and exterminate goblins, then during the battle against the magical beast tide, the undefended Radiant Emperor City would be conquered by goblin armies or by several large bandit groups joining forces, and then there would be another CG scene...
The bandits entrenched in the Elasia Empire were incredibly powerful beyond imagination.
The largest bandit hideout had over ten thousand people! They had almost become warlords!
Moreover, they were often entrenched deep in the mountains, appearing and disappearing mysteriously, with intimate knowledge of the local terrain. Previously, several anti-bandit armies of Elasia Emperors who wanted to solve the bandit problem had mostly been destroyed in ambushes deep in the mountains.
"The problem is—when we deploy all our troops to the northern border, bandits throughout the Elasia Empire will likely directly attack or even capture Radiant Emperor City."
Facing the silent pair, Elashia continued:
"I must emphasize again—we must deploy all of Elasia's armed forces to the northern border. Because food supplies are very scarce, we can only spend food on elite troops, so we can only send the Imperial Guard."
"But we still cannot provide the rations for thirty thousand troops on a long-distance expedition."
Candice nodded.
The royal granaries were now almost empty, even of rats. Elasia simply couldn't afford an expedition of thirty thousand troops.
Elashia looked at Cecilia and said:
"So... I plan to rob."
Cecilia immediately understood Elashia's meaning.
"Your Majesty means... you want to obtain supplies by robbing bandits and goblin nests?"
Elashia nodded.
"There's no other way. Imposing taxes now is unrealistic. We just completed the southern disaster relief a few months ago, and farmers still rely on the grain we distributed to survive."
Cecilia nodded.
Coming from a small village in southern Elasia, she naturally knew how hard life was for the common people during natural disasters.
Elashia said:
"Facing the approaching Undead Calamity, the Elasia Empire must be absolutely united internally. Violence within the country must be completely monopolized by us, so I cannot accept bandits continuing to run rampant. If the plan can be completed, we can kill two birds with one stone, solving both the food crisis and security issues."
Cecilia's expression still showed some difficulty.
"But Your Majesty... these bandits aren't so easy to eliminate..."
After all, several previous relatively wise emperors of the Elasia Empire had also returned in defeat from anti-bandit operations, which cast a gray shadow over the words "bandit suppression" in the minds of the Elasian people.
"I know."
Elashia replied, her voice lively and crisp.
Cecilia looked up at Elashia.
The pink-haired girl's face bore a smile familiar to Cecilia.
It was the mysterious smile, as if everything was under control, that the pink-haired girl had worn when Cecilia first met her.
"So, it seems now is the time to reveal my final secret to you."