Mo Du said, "Does anyone know why we traveled thousands of miles to this unfamiliar land? To fight this difficult war?"
"It's revenge, of course."
"No, I think it's to rescue the families of those high-ranking officials."
"I heard many chefs were captured, and those people were quite important."
"Why should I care? The City Lord promised me three houses and four hundred mu of fertile land if I joined the expedition."
...
The discussions continued.
Mo Du's voice was slow, yet everyone could hear him.
"We, could have chosen not to come."
"It's just one Mo City. There are many cities of this scale in the Northern Lands. Losing one is not a big deal."
In the command center, Chu Xiang covered her face.
"Saying this now, won't it further dampen morale?"
"As expected, just a foolish woman with a long neck and short sight. She shouldn't have been allowed to participate in politics!"
The clan elders also wore bitter expressions. The future was already predictable.
"We can start researching how to escape. The allied forces are doomed to lose!"
Similar discussions were taking place among the wounded soldiers.
Mo Du continued, "A month ago, the Yun Zhi Kingdom suddenly attacked Mo City, and hundreds of thousands of our Northern kin were beheaded."
"But what does this have to do with us? We are not all from Mo City! Many of us have no enmity with the Yun Zhi Kingdom."
"But what about the Yun Zhi Kingdom?"
"They captured a city and massacred its people, yet no one avenged Mo City! What would the Yun Zhi Kingdom think?"
"That's right, the Northern Lands are a bunch of lambs to the slaughter, delicacies on a plate, to be eaten whenever they please! Since no one will stop them!"
"Today it's Mo City, tomorrow it could be Ta City, Hei City, Shi City..."
"Hundreds of thousands of our kin died today, and millions will die tomorrow. But it doesn't matter, it's not you or your family who are dying! Why should we stand up? Why should we come forward?"
"However, when the Yun Zhi Kingdom's butcher's knife falls upon your homes, no one will stand up for you... When you need help, you look up, and there will be very few Northerners left alive!"
"Now, tell me!"
"Do you want to go home?"
"Back to your warm beds, to await the Yun Zhi Kingdom's butcher's knife!"
"To await the slaughter of your parents, wives, and children by these beasts!"
"Do you! Want this!!!"
"Tell me!!!!"
Mo Du roared until his voice was hoarse!
His gentle voice was torn and hoarse by grief and indignation!
Faced with Mo Du's questions, thousands of men were unable to answer.
A wounded soldier threw away his crutches, knelt on the ground, and wailed loudly, "But... at least we can die together."
"We are going to die anyway."
"Even so, what if the Yun Zhi Kingdom stops?"
"They are still people, they will get their fill eventually!"
The soldiers... were still in despair!
The meat was merely a trigger. The assault was faltering, comrades were lost, and when a smooth battle turned arduous, weaker wills would be the first to reveal themselves.
The awakening of the Gourmet Cells could not change a person's nature.
Cowards remained cowards, even with extraordinary power.
Faced with desperation, they could not muster even a shred of courage.
The crying grew louder...
"Fourteen thousand men disarmed, and not a single man remained a true warrior..."
Mo Du remembered this line, heard from Zhang Wei during a chat, and it felt incredibly fitting here.
A wounded soldier stood up, waving his maimed arm, "We're all going to die anyway, and I know we can't go back. I just want to eat well before I die!"
"That's right, with a bunch of us broken soldiers, talking about anything else is pointless. We definitely can't fight our way back to Liangjie Spring..."
"I want to eat meat!"
"I want to eat my fill before I die!"
Going home was, for anyone with a shred of reason, impossible.
Facing the noisy crowd.
Mo Du said coldly, "No!"
"Why not? We've at least sacrificed for the Northern Lands!"
"Even in death, we're warriors, aren't we?"
"Can't even this small wish be granted?"
Scanning everyone, Mo Du declared loudly, "I brought you here, and I will be responsible for you. I will bring back as many people as possible, and let more people survive!"
Mo Du continued to explain, "The meat is running low now. I will supply all the remaining meat to the front-line troops, so they don't have to worry about their energy! So they can continue to fight! And fight longer!"
"Only in this way can we protect us officials, and protect you wounded soldiers!"
"Once the front-line troops are routed, only death awaits us!"
Everyone understood the logic.
The key was trust. With trust came hope.
But the elders of the Northern Lands had clearly not prioritized this in the past.
Someone muttered quietly, "You won't distribute all the meat, replenish enough energy, lead the elite troops to break through, and abandon us burdens here, will you?"
Inside the large tent.
Both Chu Xiang and the Northern elders' faces tightened.
They looked embarrassed, as if their thoughts had been exposed.
If these wounded soldiers were wary, it would be difficult to implement this plan.
Many high-ranking officials cursed, "Why are these grunts so smart?"
"Can't you just obediently follow orders?"
Mo Du declared loudly, "From today onwards, I will dismantle the command tent. All leadership will reside in the most core area of the wounded soldier camp, under everyone's supervision!"
"I will advance and retreat with you!"
This statement shocked the wounded soldiers.
All words were less convincing than a genuine action. This speaker was serious!
Inside the tent, the curses grew louder!
However, the targets of their attack shifted from the wounded soldiers to Mo Du.
"Idiot, if you want to die, don't drag me down!"
"We're finished. It won't be easy to escape now."
"The wounded soldier camp, and at my status, to be among these wounded soldiers..."
"She's acting on her own again, not taking us seriously at all!"
"Impeach her! We must impeach her!"
"It's too late to say anything now. If we don't move in, these wounded soldiers will mutiny on the spot! A spit from each of them could drown us. Then, with internal strife, the Yun Zhi Kingdom will seize the opportunity to attack, and it will still be a death sentence."
Among the Northern elders, despair was even greater than among the wounded soldiers.
Their gazes towards Mo Du were such that they wished they could devour her flesh!
Outside the tent, Mo Du's decision earned the respect of the wounded soldiers.
The hostility and suspicion in their eyes towards Mo Du disappeared...
But even so!
Everyone still saw no hope...
"Speaker, can we survive... I don't want to die."
Mo Du said firmly, "We definitely can."
The current situation was clear to everyone.
No food internally, enemy forces externally, not even a single reinforcement.
The entire twenty thousand strong allied army of the Northern Lands had been deployed, with no reserve forces.
They were disrupted by the Yun Zhi Kingdom's fierce assault, and could only fight individually...
Ultimately, neither the Northern Lands nor the Black List had experience in commanding large-scale wars.
Using political maneuvering on the battlefield had already sealed their fate.
From a high vantage point, Mo Du's mind flashed with the image of Zhang Wei.
If that man were here, wouldn't all these problems be solved with ease?
Although Zhang Wei remained an enigma to Mo Du, Mo Du had boundless faith in him.
Mo Du announced loudly, "Everyone, don't give up! We still have reinforcements!"
"Reinforcements?"
"How is that possible?"
"All the Northern armies are already fighting the Yun Zhi Kingdom."
"That's right, even if we recruit immediately, we won't last until then!"
Mo Du looked at everyone and said with the most confident voice, "Zhang Wei, the King of Chefs in the Northern Lands, is on his way to reinforce us! Three days, as long as we can hold on for three days!"
"We still have hope!"