I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree-Chapter 3 - Preparations Before War (2/)

The sudden appearance of such a troop on the front lines was quite surprising to him.

However, just as he was about to approach the military camp, he was stopped by the soldiers on duty at the entrance.

“Halt,” the soldier said, neither humble nor arrogant.

“Hey, don’t you want to see where I’m from?” the representative said, looking down at the soldier before him with disdain.

“We came here to help you. Is this how you treat guests?”

“Apologies, but this is a military base. Unauthorized personnel are prohibited. If you must enter, please present the pass issued by Young Master Orson. Otherwise, I cannot let you pass.”

The soldier still showed no sign of backing down.

The representative only then realized that the army stationed here belonged to Orson. Upon learning this information, he had no intention of staying here and left after leaving a harsh warning.

He had to go back and report this matter. Orson had somehow brought in another twenty thousand people to help him.

...

Saint Roland City, Imperial Academy.

News of the beastmen invasion had already spread throughout the Imperial Academy, and Orson’s request for leave had indirectly confirmed this news.

“Aphro, what do you elves think of beastmen?” Elsa sat in the student council office, idly twirling a pen in her hand, asking Aphro.

“Beastmen?” Aphro paused upon hearing this, then said, “Compared to us elves, the lifespan of beastmen is tragically short. I don’t have any particular dislike for beastmen.”

“As for other specific feelings, I can’t say. In our eyes, beastmen are similar to humans, just another short-lived species.”

After all, the elves lived on the western side of the continent, separated from the beastmen by an entire Empire. They usually had no contact.

And those elves who had left the Elven Forest would not risk venturing into the desert areas where the beastmen lived.

“In your human view, beastmen should be the species you hate the most, right?” Aphro countered.

“Naturally!” Elsa nodded. “Looking at the history of the Empire, a significant portion of it has been a history of conflict with the beastmen.”

Actually, in the beginning, the areas in the eastern part of the Empire with fertile land and abundant water resources were also inhabited by beastmen. However, later, as the relationship between humans and beastmen deteriorated, large-scale battles erupted, and humans ultimately drove the beastmen out of that fertile land, pushing them towards the desert.

Humans initially thought they had won, but they underestimated the beastmen’s ability to adapt to harsh environments.

The beastmen in the desert quickly recovered some of their vitality, then, fueled by their hatred for humans, they attacked again from the desert.

After that, it was generations upon generations of endless hatred and slaughter between the two species.

“At that time, when the academy council releases the tasks for the second half of the semester, if it’s to go to the east to help support the front lines, will you go?” Elsa asked.

“Probably. After all, I’m also a student of the Imperial Academy.”

“Then, at that time, if you’re asked to act against those beastmen, will you be able to do it?” freēwēbηovel.c૦m

“Yes,” Aphro nodded.

“Sigh, given the time, my Imperial Brother’s knight order should have already arrived in Antica territory...” Elsa said, looking out the window.

“I hope Orson didn’t lie to me,” she added.

...

“President Celineina, as per your instructions, we have gathered all the mercenary groups available for recruitment in the market, a total of around twenty thousand. They are now heading to the eastern front lines.” Inside the room, Lorenzo looked at Celineina, reporting the completion of his task.

“Understood.” Celineina nodded, rubbing her swollen temples.

Before returning, Orson had contacted her through the trading company in Saint Roland City, asking her to quickly gather all the mercenary groups in the market to confront the beastmen in the east.

For this, Celineina had invested almost all of her liquid capital.

The money she had earned these past few months, excluding the money for expanding her businesses, had basically all been “returned” to Orson.

Twenty thousand people, and they were mercenaries who were more expensive than regular troops. This was a considerable expense. Even with the abundant liquid capital of the Lison Trading Company, it could only barely sustain this army for two months. After two months, these mercenaries would disperse.

“Young Master Orson sent a thank-you letter and asked you to be cautious about your businesses in the Napoli region recently. You can try transferring them to the directly governed territories or the Antica Duchy.”

“Huh? Why?” Celineina showed a confused expression, then, as if something clicked, she suddenly understood.

Due to the war, many people had evacuated from the eastern region of Antica. Some of these people sought refuge with their relatives, but most farmers were left homeless, becoming refugees.

These refugees still had some money in their hands now, but when they ran out, they would become vagrants.

At this time, as long as they could be provided with job opportunities, regardless of the treatment, as long as it allowed them to provide for their families, they would take the job.

Moreover, in the Antica region, with the official support of the Duke, Celineina didn’t have to worry about her businesses being restricted everywhere like they were in other regions.

Most importantly, this way, she could indirectly cripple the other industries in the Napoli Duchy.

Her previous actions had already left the textile industry in the Napoli Duchy half-dead.

However, at the same time, Celineina had also invested a portion in the representative industries of the Napoli Duchy itself, such as porcelain manufacturing, which were labor-intensive with low output, complex processes, and high profits. After all, those industries only earned more when done in Napoli.

Although she didn’t know why Orson wanted her to withdraw her capital from Napoli, as the person who had given Celineina her current status, Celineina almost unconditionally obeyed Orson’s suggestions. She immediately ordered Lorenzo to help her withdraw all her investments in Napoli. The pooled funds would be used to develop the handicraft industry in the Antica Duchy.

As for the specific city for development, there was obviously only one target, and that was Antica City.

Currently, the population of Antica City was growing, but the corresponding job opportunities were quite limited. Many jobs were still confined to low-income work like shop assistants.

One could say that Antica City held unlimited possibilities.