CHAPTER 1932: CHAPTER 1925: LEADING BY EXAMPLE

As of now, the only established air force unit belongs to Ronisca.

Aside from that, the only air force in the Otherworld is Lipei, which is friendly with the High-peak people.

Although Lipei has an air force advantage over the Aud Army, this advantage can be neutralized.

Due to well-known reasons, the Otherworld has not developed precision-guided munitions, so often it relies on aircraft to drop iron bombs at close range to achieve precision bombing.

This approach not only requires skill but also faces great risk.

As early as during the second Otherworld war, the Otherworld Allied Army’s air force was shot down multiple times by the ground forces of multinational troops.

In other words, even the most powerful air force in the Otherworld, the Ronisca air force, still fears well-developed ground anti-aircraft firepower.

After all, in terms of anti-aircraft measures, Earthlings are well-versed, and compared to them, the Otherworld people are like novices.

Back to the point, if Lipei wants to properly handle the refugee issue, on one hand, it needs to make long-term plans, and on the other hand, it needs more assistance from Earth.

The meeting concluded successfully, and the people’s congress quickly approved Luo’er’s proposal to begin providing resources to accommodate the unfortunate Lipei refugees.

At the current stage, Lipei doesn’t have many planes capable of carrying out pinpoint bombing missions, so after some discussion, Luo’er decided to adopt a combination of air and artillery approach.

That is, using artillery to strike isolated Aud Army targets, while pinpoint bombing attacks target those hiding among civilians. The combination aims to minimize warfare impacting civilians.

During a staff meeting, Luo’er explained his intentions but unexpectedly received some different opinions.

Some staff members felt it was unnecessary to limit their own forces for the sake of those refugees, suggesting that comprehensive artillery strikes should continue to eliminate as many Aud Army forces as possible, creating an advantage for the final big battle.

As for the civilians caught in the crossfire, they could only pray for their own luck, and at that time, they could blame the Aud Army for any civilian casualties, as it was caused by them in the first place.

Hearing such a response, Luo’er was completely stunned. He didn’t expect that in his own staff department, there would be someone cold-blooded enough to stay calm even when targeting civilians.

This was probably due to the backfire of Luo’er’s previous series of measures, as the staff feared that Luo’er would again show kindness, impacting the war situation.

Upon hearing the staff’s response, Cheng Ziang, acting as the Chief of Staff, lowered his head in shame, speechless.

In fact, Cheng Ziang’s coldness and Luo’er’s compassion do not conflict.

Both viewed this war from a strategic perspective, only differing slightly in execution methods.

However, these staff members clearly have not reached a strategic level, as their perception of this war remained on a tactical and operational level, which is overly simplistic.

If considering only the tactical level, Luo’er had a hundred winning strategies, and Cheng Ziang’s proposals were even more cold-blooded and cruel than those of the staff.

But neither chose to do so, why?

Because this war is not just Lipei’s defense battle, but also a war to expand national influence.

Every word and action of Luo’er determines Lipei’s direction and the national influence in the Otherworld.

Therefore, Luo’er hesitated and was conservative, preferring to increase the budget to accommodate as many of Lipei’s unfortunate refugees as possible.

Luo’er once led the advance team in the Otherworld for a ten-year mission, so he and the team members are well aware of the Otherworld situation and the predicaments these refugees might face.

As for these staff members, they have been studying in academies, from high school to university, pursuing military-related courses, and have not been deployed to the Otherworld for missions prior to this.

Thus, they naturally have a sense of separation with the Otherworld people, making it difficult for them to empathize with their suffering.

If someone is born into an affluent family and never worries about food, clothing, housing, and transportation, they would consider being well-fed and clothed as granted, as a basic law of the world.

Precisely because of this, it’s hard for them to empathize with those who suffer from famine and poverty, and they would even be surprised that some are willing to go underfed or poorly clothed, eating just one meal every couple of days.

These staff members, obviously, have committed such a mistake.

Having no experience with war or deep investigation into the Otherworld’s grassroots level, they naïvely consider death just as simple as death, devoid of any significance. There are many people in this world, one more is not much, one less is not little.

Only those who’ve faced life and death understand that death means loss, eternal separation between heaven and man. Every member of the advance team has experienced this heart-wrenching pain.

After the staff expressed their opinions, the atmosphere at the meeting site immediately became tense.

Luo’er, with his head down, toyed with the pen in his hand, exhibiting an indifferent demeanor, causing everyone present to subconsciously hold their breath.

After a while, Luo’er expressionlessly raised his head, snapped his fingers to call over the adjutant, whispered something to him, leaving others unaware of his intent.

About ten minutes later, the adjutant returned to the meeting room with a fully armed advance team captain.

Seeing armed personnel enter, everyone immediately became nervous, unsure of what Luo’er was up to.

"Captain Chen En."

Luo’er raised his head, softly calling out the captain’s name.

"Here, reporting to the Commander!" Called upon, Chen En promptly stood at attention, replying loudly.

"Good," Luo’er gestured for him to relax a bit, then slowly said, "You led Team 1735 half a month ago, discovering signs of Aud Army invasion at Moonlight Spring during reconnaissance. Tell me, tell these staff members, what did you see."

Mentioning this event, Chen En’s eyes immediately reddened, and this rugged man with a square face and stubbly beard couldn’t help but blink, tears brimming in his eyes.

"When I arrived at the village, I saw..."

Choking on his words, Chen En struggled to convey his observations, unable to contain his grief as he covered his face, weeping uncontrollably.

"So cruel, so cruel, how could anyone be so cruel to commit such acts against defenseless civilians, these bastards, these demons, these bastards!!!"

Crying angrily, Chen En cursed, evidently still not recovered from the shock of that day.

"Did everyone hear that?" Luo’er scanned the room, calmly asking.

Wherever his gaze landed, everyone kept their heads down, the site silenced but for Chen En’s sobbing.

"Captain Chen En," Luo’er withdrew his gaze, continued slowly, "Now someone is telling me we shouldn’t regard those refugees as humans, that we should treat them the same as the Aud Army, using our powerful firepower to send them all to heaven along with the Aud Army. What do you..."

Luo’er’s words were abruptly cut off by Chen En.

"Nonsense," Chen En roared angrily, "which coward suggested such a ridiculous idea, dare stand up. Do you think we are what, do you think the Lipei Defense Army is the same scum as the Aud Army? Shouldn’t the Aud Army behave like beasts, and us too?"

"Those people, those refugees, they fled to Lipei out of desperation, with their own hardships, and only aim to survive. What wrong have they done, why should we act against them just because the Aud Army slaughters them wantonly?"

"Have you seen death, ever seen a female corpse so defiled that you can’t bear to look straight at it, or witnessed a child tightly bound and drowned alive, or someone burned to death with a distorted body?"

"I’ve seen it all, I saw all of it at Moonlight Spring!"

As he spoke, his tone softened.

"I just hate that I only had five men, couldn’t fight those demons to death, and that I couldn’t trace their shadows to send them all skyward with artillery..."

"Why would anyone consider our Lipei forces capable of targeting civilians? Have you ever heard the cries of the weak, how artillery can instantly suppress their voices. Aren’t we a righteous army, why should we degenerate like the Aud Army?"