Chapter 197: Margaret Only Knows How to Feel Sorry for Her Younger Sister
Of course, Margaret knows Little Joey. The Empire military and Dark Night Guards have had extensive cooperation, and Little Joey, as the actual main person in charge, must have cooperated with Margaret.
However, those were all official duties and there was no personal relationship. Margaret is not the kind of person who would actively make friends.
She would remember little Joey, because she received information about Dio and Little Joey's "date", leaving a considerable impression on her.
Now that Little Joey is seen with Roger in the presence of outsiders, they will not be as sticky as they are in private.
However, the degree of tacit understanding between the two is far beyond that of ordinary superiors and subordinates.
Many times, without Roger's orders, Little Joey can take the initiative to understand and handle things properly in advance.
All of these were seen by Margaret, so that's why she made that sarcastic remark earlier.
You, Roger, didn't have much work to begin with and even the specific commands were given by me. So, why did the Night Watch still send an assistant?
Isn't that just to serve you?
Little Joey was a bit unsure of how to answer and felt nervous, afraid that staying here would cause trouble for Roger.
But Roger didn't care about Margaret's level of provocation. After all, he participated in the War of the Sea Kingdoms to help her. He answered expressionlessly, "It's an empire secret and I have nothing to say."
"You!" Margaret was so frustrated by such a blunt rebuttal that she felt like she was about to explode.
I was expressing doubt with a rhetorical question, you don't need to answer it!
Your serious answer made me appear like a bored, clueless onlooker, and it made me seem very stupid and lacking in judgment!
But as Margaret looked at Roger's shamelessly smug, indifferent smile, she felt that arguing with him was not worth it...
I lost too much.
When she gets angry, she just curses people. She doesn't have the rich experience of modern online keyboard warriors who use various tones to respond to others.
Usually within five sentences, I would be caught up in Roger's rhythm, and then I would be relentlessly crushed by the difference in our intelligence.
After scrutinizing Roger and Little Joey back and forth, Margaret suddenly laughed and said, "Even if you don't tell me, I don't care to know about whatever is going on between you two!"
She suddenly realized the relationship between Roger and Little Joey, and identified the déja vu sensation that it brought her.
Little Joey's facial expression and attitude next to Roger are just the same as when he is next to Dio - it's a striking resemblance!
In Margaret's eyes, Roger and Dio "belonged together", an amorous relationship that was not accepted by the mainstream ideology of the empire.
Ironically, both of them are so outstanding.
They are charming to the opposite sex in every aspect - be it looks, social status, talent or eloquence.
These two guys definitely need a cover-up in order to keep their private world undisturbed.
Therefore, Margaret finally came to a realization!
This 'little Joey' is the one who covers up for Roger and Dio.
That's why she appeared by Dio's side before, and now she's here with Roger.
On the surface, it seems like she lost the game of Mahjong, but in reality this poor girl has been used as a pawn to put up a front for this "couple" - to make them appear normal.
Little Joey is so pitiful, really pitiful.
Margaret shook her head with a sigh, thinking that she understood it all.
She understood that there was definitely some benefit exchange involved, such as a regular promotion. With Little Joey's background and qualifications, it was impossible for her to achieve the position of Vice Commander of the Dark Night Guard.
Clearly, this is Roger's compensation to Little Joey, compensating her for giving up her own happiness and eating dog food between this couple, while also cooperating with them in various ways for cover.
Roger bringing Little Joey with him should also be compensation for her regret of not being able to join any wars after retiring.
After Margaret envisioned and went through an entirely erroneous process, she surprisingly arrived at a correct conclusion, truly showcasing her talent.
She looked at Little Joey again and there was no longer hostility or suspicion, but rather sympathy.
Jiamei, I understand your mood completely.
It's such a painful realization to have outstanding boys around you, even two of them, yet you can only watch them without being able to make any move.
Because, I am the same!
They continuously exploit you, but I, as your big brother, will only feel heartache for you.
It was the first time that Little Joey got so close to the legendary Zuo Xiang, who was notoriously difficult to deal with in the imperial official circles of the capital city, especially for mischievous little devils like him.
When Margaret walked over and sternly asked Little Joey why he was there, to be honest, he was frightened to the extreme.
But Roger's response of "I have no comments" simply pushed her away, leaving Little Joey feeling bewildered...
It seems that Lord Zuo isn't as terrible as he is rumored to be?
Or is it because our Mr. Roger is just too strong?
Although he found it difficult to understand the way she looked at him and Roger, people's feelings are often incomprehensible, let alone for a mixed-blooded devil...
Because, we are different!
As long as the lord doesn't despise me, let others think whatever they want!
The two girls' gazes met. Even though little Joey had put his mind at ease, he still felt nervous as he shyly smiled at Margaret.
Margaret hesitated for a moment and also showed a friendly smile towards her.
"Let's gather all the intelligence from the front line and speculate on the possible strategies of the Naga," Margaret took the initiative to say to everyone in Prince Orca's carriage, including Shack.
Everyone naturally had no objections, especially little Joey who was still a bit surprised.
Initially, he thought he was just here to watch the battle, but now he had the chance to participate in the decision-making discussion...
Is all of this because of the face of Lord Roger?
Shack's return to the capital this time was not only to report his duty and receive rewards, but also to supplement the military resources.
His military force has reached 60,000 soldiers, but it could have been more.
However, Shack was very clear that as time went on, his real main force should be the biochemical fish group continuously accumulated by the Base Coral.
The soldiers of the maritime nation are mainly for occupation and harvesting, and quality is more important than quantity. Therefore, only 60,000 soldiers were replenished, and the mobilization of the later force was given to the Black Shark Fortress.
He was not very interested in the struggle for the throne. At present, the most important thing is for the maritime nation to win and drive away the Naga.
In that case, the Black Shark Fortress that undertakes the front impact must never have any problem.
The fourth prince Daol doesn't know what Shack thinks, but he will never refuse the benefits that come to his door. Naturally, he is willing to accept and actively carry out military preparations.
They have received the news that Naga and Terra Kingdom have conducted another large-scale arms trade.
Although they didn't know that there were weapons like mushroom bombs that could change the course of a battle, the maritime nation attached great importance to the support provided by the land races.
They have gradually discovered that compared to the slow pace of the underwater world which hasn't changed for many years, with the rise of the Green Vines Empire and the various revolutions taking place internally, the countries on land have entered an accelerated state.
The Terra Kingdom has just won a battle against the Green Vines Empire. Although their absolute strength is definitely inferior to that of the Empire, their combat effectiveness is not to be underestimated.
War, besides being the ultimate solution to national conflicts, is also the best way to demonstrate a country's strength.
The victorious country, no matter how they won, will have a halo around their products, culture, art, and even their people.
Admiring the strong is the instinct of intelligent life, so Roger couldn't understand the behavior of flattering the powerful that appeared on Earth.
Could it be that some people are so well-fed that they don't know what pet to keep, and are willing to treat those garbage races that have never won and are lazy and greedy as dogs?
I don't understand, really can't understand.
Driving out the irrelevant content from his mind, he continued to focus on the battle between Haguo and Naga.
The goal of testing the base coral has been completed, and whatever benefits they get now can be considered as interests.
Given the current situation of the seabed, the Naga Empire has actually been given an opportunity, and Roger believes that the empire can think more boldly.
He has already decided to support Haguo and cultivate the next sea emperor with a tendency towards the empire.
In Roger's mind, the chosen one was Daur.
Shak is easier to control, but he also lacks the corresponding ambition.
The Green Vines Empire supports Haguo to completely control the oceans, and the Naga are the obstacles they must eliminate.
The ambitious Fourth Prince Daur would definitely do better in this regard.
In fact, with the empire's layout, resolving the Naga problem is very simple. They only need to make Tasika stop supplying weapons and equipment, and after a few battles, the Nagas will inevitably collapse.
However, such a victory carries the risk of exposing Tasika's true identity, and at the same time cannot maximize the interests in the sea.
The underwater civilization has the characteristic of a plentiful population, and at the same time, the faith of the Naga is devout enough.
As long as the landing point cannot be taken, Saint Nico will resolutely push for the war between the two countries.
If the maritime nation resists the pressure, the war will become prolonged and even normalized, until the prophecy of the sea god is fulfilled.
Of course, at this moment, the Naga side is already on the verge of collapse and has entered a state of gambling.
But... the Empire can give them blood transfusions.
As they keep receiving support, the Naga will also become "their own people".
It can be foreseen that after this round of gambling, the Naga will owe astronomical debts which cannot be repaid in the short term.
With Tasika's intelligence, they only need to demand, under the pretext of joint development, that the Naga Empire opens up trading ports and establishes a concession, and that the Naga use the market to exchange for Terra's support.
The entire strategic plan is actually similar to how the West forced open the gates of the Qing Dynasty in China.
However, this drama was performed in coordination between the Green Vines Empire and the Terra Kingdom.
Similar operations will also be staged in maritime nations that are dragged into long-term war.
There must be intelligent people from both underwater civilizations who can see that this is not going to work. However, as the battle intensifies and both sides become hostile to each other, a military arms race will inevitably begin and neither side can afford to back down.
Regardless of whether it is a cold or hot war, it is a great opportunity for arms dealers to seek profitability.
Especially if Doer serves as the Sea Emperor, with his personality, he may even take the initiative to invade the Nagas.
In this way, according to the empire's plan, the most ideal development for the two overlords of the underwater world is:
With the normalization of the war between the two nations, the empire can fully test various new types of weapon systems, find a balance between magic and gunpowder, and cultivate powerful genetically modified creatures.
At the same time, the two nations will also hone many elite troops, and when the empire is ready to unify the world, they will become sharp blades in various ways to surge onto the land.
The strategic deployment is clear, and the next step is to use this battle to steer the situation in the direction that the empire hopes to see.
Roger still maintained an overall advantage on the map.
After this arms deal, Nicole became more reliant on Frankenstein and Tasika because even the maritime nation has the support of the Green Vines Empire.
Naga must make better use of the new equipment in order to have a chance of gaining the ability to win this battle.
Naturally, her communication within the group became more and more frequent.
As an undercover agent, Roger was able to easily gather a lot of information about Naga's deployment from the details inadvertently revealed by Nicole.
After the last defeat, Naga retreated three hundred miles. Now, the main force is stationed at the Xilin Fortress, which they took from the maritime nation and has already been urgently repaired.
About 120 miles east and west of the Xilin Fortress, Naga is still building two medium-sized forts and a series of small forts.
This forms a network of watchtowers that watch over each other, making it more difficult for the maritime nation to recapture the territory, and also avoiding the possibility that a single army could easily take down Naga's central command.
The same mistakes will not happen again in this kind of warfare at this level.
This is the minimum gain of Naga's army in this war. Even if the next attack fails, this network of forts can still be used as the territorial border of the Naga Empire.
However, this is just the conservative thinking of the Naga, as Nicole is sure to continue attacking the Black Shark Fortress to open up a landing point.
Especially since they hold a super weapon powerful enough to end the battle decisively, they will definitely go on the offensive.
Nicole's strategy is not complicated: the main force will directly attack the Black Shark Fortress, while dividing the troops to block the reinforcements at the second line of defense where Shake is located, in order to push forward the landing point as the primary objective of the battle deployment.
Of course, there are many details to be discussed and executed for specific tactical operations, which will need to be negotiated by the military. Nicole's goal is to follow the simplest tactics, ensure no errors, and make good use of the equipment sold to them by Frankenstein, which will be enough to determine the outcome of the battle with the power of the direct battlefield.
Cromwell was overly eager to win a big battle, confident that he could easily crush Dao'er with his operational skills, only to be caught off guard by a surprise attack from Shake's powerful army and suffered heavy losses.
Shake is unable to command the Black Shark Fortress, but believes that Dao'er will not underestimate the enemy. All they can do is to build a good second line of defense.
The temporary defensive line that was surrounded by coral reefs at the base has now been transformed into a permanent fortification, constructing a group of strongholds.
Around the Black Shark Fortress, there are three large base jungles built by the coral reefs, as well as countless small hidden bases in the sea trenches.
Organic matter in an area of tens of thousands of square kilometers is rapidly transforming into a population of biochemical fish.
This is an adequate battle strategy - quality over quantity. No matter how upgraded the equipment of the Nagas is, soldiers are still needed to use them, aren't they?
Then let's fight a war of attrition and see who can hold out longer!
The Nagas want to cut off the connection between the Black Shark Fortress and the second defense line by establishing a blockade. It remains to be seen how strong their blockade is and how many bio-fish groups it can withstand.
In addition, there is one more important thing to note - Roger can actually control the two 5 million-ton level bacteria bosses of the Nagas.
If this trick is done well, just imagine a sudden self-explosion in the enemy's heavily guarded ammunition storage located at the center of their army...
The fireworks must be quite spectacular, right?
