Chapter 139: Just Because He’s the Governor?
Denison Henry was also anxious.
He didn’t know that much about military affairs, but he understood basic numbers well enough. No matter how skilled Pobov’s troops were, they couldn’t replace the power of ten thousand soldiers.
He gathered the scattered soldiers at the artillery positions, which was surprisingly effective.
Mainly because the twelve cannons lined up there were quite intimidating. When the retreating soldiers reached this point, the sight of those cannons made them instinctively slow down.
Then, Henry would step in, using both incentives and threats to keep them in place.
The so-called “carrot” was money.
Henry had money, but not as much as he’d like. He’d only come into wealth over the past two months, earning a decent sum, but without much time to accumulate it.
However, he was willing to spend it now—if needed, he could even pour in every last coin or go into debt.
After all, as long as they “won” and defended the place, and as long as Garbage Town was eventually brought under the Governor’s rule with the New Alliance’s policies in place, money wouldn’t mean much anyway.
This was something ordinary adventurers didn’t know, so his generous spending still worked to keep them motivated.
Another “stick” was Garbage Town’s desertion policy. With adventurers constantly fleeing, Garbage Town had to do something. Over the past while, many adventurers who deserted the front lines had been executed as deserters.
This pressure was transmitted to the front lines.
When chaos broke out and everyone was running, there was no one enforcing military discipline, so no one cared about it.
Now, though, with someone enforcing discipline, with heavy artillery present, and with double the pay, the adventurers had to reconsider their options.
Another key point was that adventurers who rejoined the ranks weren’t sent immediately back to the front lines.
They had just been crushed by the Greenskin Beasts; sending them to the front immediately would be pointless. But if they were simply reorganized, stationed near the artillery positions without facing direct combat, it was a much more acceptable arrangement.
Through these adventurers, more could be gathered, expanding their numbers.
Within a few hours, Henry had gathered around four to five thousand adventurers.
With these forces, Henry was tempted to send them to the front line.
However, after consulting with Pobov, he was told it wasn’t necessary; they were handling things well enough.
The main reason was that the Beast Slaughtering Group had been reorganized.
Henry was familiar with Commander Likoshi. Under his command, half of the Beast Slaughtering Group finally had time to regroup their morale behind the 1st Composite Battalion’s defensive line. They were reassembled, deployed to the front lines, filling various firing positions and easing the 1st Composite Battalion’s manpower shortage.
With this, the approximately six-kilometer defensive line in Zone Five was solid as a rock.
But there was still the remaining fifty-kilometer front to defend.
The Greenskins had backed down in front of the 1st Battalion but could launch attacks elsewhere at any moment.
In fact, this may have already been happening.
What made things worse was that both Henry and Pobov lacked a comprehensive understanding of the overall situation.
The army, composed of free adventurers, had each taken up positions according to the missions they’d chosen, with no central command. Despite having a force of ten thousand, many were still focused on adventuring, scavenging, or making money. Those who hadn’t been hired had no interest in fighting the Greenskins, so their vast numbers were rendered ineffective.
At least, however, Swan should have a clearer picture of the situation.
Henry reconnected with the big boss of Garbage Town, partly to get a status update. If any area needed reinforcements, he could temporarily send his three to five thousand recruits to help—although he didn’t trust their combat effectiveness much.
More importantly, he wanted to know if the adventurer groups that had chosen to abandon their positions, along with merchants and agents hired to protect fleeing nobles, had been stopped.
…
“I’m heading to address that issue right now.”
After ending the call with Henry, Swan, with a grim expression, pushed open the door to the meeting room.
Inside, quite a few people were already seated.
His influence showed at this moment.
Without him, no one else would have been able to gather so many agents and important merchants in one place during such a chaotic time, especially when many were already considering abandoning everything to flee.
But that was the extent of his authority.
The meeting hall was noisy, with many looking visibly impatient.
The arguments were predictable, having been repeated many times in the past.
There was a faction for staying and one for leaving.
Even among those who wanted to stay, there were divisions: some wanted to establish a unified Garbage Town military, rather than the current scattered setup; others called for stricter oversight on the adventurers and better task allocation with higher pay.
Swan had actually eavesdropped for a while before entering.
The debate was largely what he had expected.
Most people still wanted to stay.
Even though the situation was dangerous, everyone still had assets in Garbage Town.
On this wasteland, “cash” had little value.
Money? This stuff couldn’t be eaten or drunk; in an unstable society, money couldn’t buy everything. On the wasteland, it was common to have currency but no goods. Even Alliance coins, issued by the Alliance, weren’t accepted everywhere, especially further out, where purchasing power fluctuated wildly.
The things that held real value were actual resources—food, raw materials, and weapons. Those were wealth.
Another essential form of wealth was property.
Property relied on numerous factors—machinery, sites, sources of raw materials, business channels, business environment… Many in the room who held the title of agent owned property here.
Abandoning Revival City meant abandoning their most significant assets.
People don’t shed tears until they see the coffin, so to speak, and in this case, the Greenskin Beasts hadn’t even entered Garbage Town yet. Many were unwilling to leave, knowing it would mean dissolving their wealth and partnerships.
On the other hand, those without fixed assets, like merchants relying on transport or trade, were more inclined to leave. Though fleeing also meant losses, it was better than staying until things completely fell apart.
However, Swan was about to announce something that could change their stance.
When he stepped onto the podium, the noisy arguing gradually subsided.
People began to anticipate a speech from their leader, hopefully with good news.
And Swan didn’t let them down: “The retreat that spread from Zone 18 to Zone 5 has been halted. A unit from the Alliance forces stationed in Revival City responded to my request; not only did they plug the gaps in the defensive line, but they even pushed back two kilometers. At the same time, troops from other positions have begun a structured retreat and re-established a new defensive line centered around Zone 5. The situation has stabilized for now.”
This news was exhilarating!
Everyone knew about that unit from Governor Gu, stationed near Garbage Town. No one uninformed would be sitting in this meeting room.
Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Is the Governor coming to help us? Will he help us solve this Greenskin Beast problem once and for all?”
“Yes,” Swan confirmed.
In truth, he hadn’t had the chance to speak with the Governor directly, only with Henry.
But that didn’t stop him from making bold claims now.
And, as expected, the news was invigorating!
Everyone knew that the Greenskin crisis had now grown beyond Garbage Town’s ability to handle. With the Governor, who had solidified control over Revival City, stepping in, there was finally hope for a solution.
However, the sharper-minded among them saw another key issue.
A man with dirty, matted golden hair stood up and questioned Swan: “And what’s the cost? What’s the price for this help?”
Swan looked at him.
It was his rival, Nather.
As the second-ranking agent in all of Garbage Town, Nather was different from him; Nather didn’t control many physical assets. His greatest “asset” was his adventurer corps.
He had raised at least thirty adventurer corps of varying sizes, active around Garbage Town, through various means, including funding, sponsorship, and direct formation. He controlled these groups’ earnings and sale channels and could issue direct orders to them.
These thirty adventurer corps—some with thousands, others with just a few dozen—added up to two or three thousand armed adventurers under his influence.
Moreover, he had close connections with many raiders on the wasteland.
Nather was a nuisance and the person Swan was most wary of in this Greenskin crisis. He represented the classic “assetless” type—his wealth was in those “people.” If Garbage Town fell, Nather would take a significant loss, but he could simply move his forces to carve out another “wasteland mine” or just become a raider for a while.
As long as you had people with guns, there was always a way to survive.
Seeing Swan’s intense and intimidating gaze, Nather was unfazed. He grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth: “Will the Governor be so kind as to help us in this battle for free? Mr. Swan, just what promises have you made to him?”
His question brought a new silence to the room.
The Governor’s willingness to help was, of course, a good thing, but it was also fair to ask about the cost.
All the agents, big and small, waited for Swan’s answer.
Swan smiled: “The price is all of Garbage Town.”
This statement silenced the entire room.
Even his old rival Nather was stunned.
He had wanted to trouble Swan, but why was he giving everything away voluntarily?
He had planned to press him later, forcing Swan to admit to specific concessions made on behalf of Garbage Town. This would cause even greater embarrassment for Swan. Instead, he heard news that left him utterly shocked.
This wasn’t selling off a few rights; it was giving everything away, leaving nothing behind!
After regaining his composure, Nather laughed, his raspy, unpleasant laugh ringing sharply through the room: “You’ve sold all of Garbage Town to the Governor? What right do you have to do that?! Is Garbage Town yours alone?!”
Facing this accusation, Swan smirked coldly.
“Let me correct you: it’s not a ‘sale,’ it’s a ‘price.’ Whether or not the Governor chooses to come to save Garbage Town, and what he takes as payment, is not my decision, is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Let me make it even clearer.” Swan said, “The Governor believes that Garbage Town is already a part of the Alliance, and he is the ruler of the entire planet. Garbage Town, by right, should be under his rule and incorporated into the New Alliance’s system. It just so happens that Garbage Town is in grave trouble, facing the Greenskin crisis, and he’s here to help his people.”
Swan emphasized “help his people” heavily.
Many understood his meaning and fell into deep thought.
Others either didn’t understand or understood but refused to accept it.
Nather continued to stir dissent: “And what right does he have? Are the ten thousand people and ten thousand guns here meaningless? Those factories and properties are ours! What gives him the right to take them? Just because he’s the Governor?!”
A few who didn’t fully understand joined in, raising a clamor.
Swan looked at them, merely snorting coldly without further response.
Gradually, some people caught on and fell silent.
Nather’s expression finally turned sour.
His supporters were dwindling.
Gnashing his rotting teeth, he said to Swan, “Are you planning to cut me off completely?”
“I never said that.”
“I’ll take my people and leave! I’ll go right now!”
Finally, Swan laughed, a bright, cheerful laugh: “That won’t be possible. We are in a state of emergency, the battle outside the town hasn’t ended, and the Greenskin threat remains severe. With the Governor’s imminent arrival, I propose that Garbage Town immediately enters a state of emergency lockdown. No one is allowed in or out!”
According to protocol, he was supposed to move to the voting phase after proposing this. However, instead of asking for a show of hands from supporters, he asked for any dissenters to raise theirs.
Nather shouted his opposition, and a few others joined in with furious roars.
But it didn’t matter. Most people remained strangely silent.
With a smile, Swan announced: “Then, as of this moment, Garbage Town is officially on lockdown.”