novelraw Chapter 452: Ninety-Five Percent
Chapter 452: Ninety-Five Percent
Daxia Capital.
The Supreme Council hall was solemn and dignified.
The lights on the dome flowed quietly, illuminating the many empty seats below.
The former spectacle of elders gathering in full force was gone. Those who remained here now were mostly civilian elders responsible for coordination, logistics, and intelligence analysis, or generals with slightly inferior strength tasked with maintaining internal stability.
Because most of the higher-ups had already gone to the front lines.
A shadow of gloom hung over everyone's face, and the air was thick with oppression.
A massive light screen hovered in the center.
It displayed the strategic situation map of the entire Daxia territory.
The blue light points that originally represented stable defensive lines were now dimming in large swathes or turning into glaring red, representing intense combat.
Many regions had turned completely gray, representing fallen fortresses."The three outer defensive lines of the Raging Waves Fortress in the east are completely lost! General Wang Mingyuan is struggling to hold on relying on the core fortifications of the main island, but energy reserves are below thirty percent! Casualties... cannot be counted!"
"Multiple sections of the Iron Wall Fortress wall in the south have collapsed! General Shi Potian is being besieged by three Calamity-level creatures! The left flank position has fallen!"
"The north... the north has temporarily stabilized due to Advisor Su Zhan turning the tide at the Snowpeak Fortress Cluster, but several other small fortress clusters have been confirmed as swallowed by the Mist, with no survivors..."
"The direction of the Ten Thousand Peaks Mountain in the western border... energy readings are abnormally spiking! They have exceeded the monitoring upper limit! Based on the final fragment of information transmitted by City Lord Mo Yuan, they... they encountered a suspected Transcendent-level existence!"
...
Bad news poured over everyone's hearts like basin after basin of ice water.
With each battle report read aloud, the atmosphere in the chamber grew heavier by a degree.
An old elder in charge of logistics slammed the table violently, his voice hoarse, "We can't hold! The resource consumption rate at the front lines is three times the estimate! Our reserves are rapidly hitting rock bottom! If this continues, we'll collapse ourselves before the Mist even breaks through!"
"The conscripted reserves from various regions are suffering heavy casualties. They lack experience fighting high-level Mist Creatures. Going up there... going up there is just filling the lines!"
Another Military Department general said, his eyes bloodshot, fists clenched tightly.
"High-end combat power is stretched thin! Besides the western and eastern fronts where City Lord Mo Yuan and the Grand Elder are holding the fort, the high-end combat power on the southern, northern, and eastern fronts is severely insufficient!"
Pessimistic sentiment was spreading.
"Could it be... is heaven truly going to destroy our Daxia?"
Someone muttered in a low voice, their words filled with despair.
"Shut up!"
From the main seat, an extremely senior civilian elder forcibly maintained his composure and rebuked, "The situation has not deteriorated to that extent yet! The western front has the three gentlemen, they will surely stabilize it! The northern border has Su Zhan! The eastern and southern borders are still holding on! We are here not to lament! We are here to find a way to endure!"
Everyone understood that the giant ship of Daxia was sailing on the edge of destruction.
Every powerhouse still fighting on the front lines had become the fragile keel supporting this ship from sinking.
How long could they hold?
No one knew.
The old elder in the main seat took a deep breath, his murky eyes filled with determination.
He looked around at his remaining colleagues present, his voice resolute and decisive:
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. We can no longer proceed step by step!
First, personnel adjustment.
All Council-directly-affiliated institutions, all major Research Institutes, anyone above the Stream Realm, under sixty years old, regardless of civilian or military position, are to be incorporated into the reserves, uniformly dispatched by the Military Department to fill command and support position gaps on all fronts!
For the Capital's defense force, except for those needed to maintain the most basic order, all other elites are to immediately deploy to the war zones."
Second, unified logistics management.
Nationwide, all factories, mines, energy, and transportation enterprises related to military supplies are to be directly taken over by the military, implementing twenty-four-hour uninterrupted production and transportation!
All civilian supplies are to prioritize the military and frontline wounded!
In the rear, implement the strictest rationing system!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over several higher-ups present responsible for the economy and internal affairs:
"Third, resource requisition! Target: all wealthy individuals and financial conglomerate families ranked within the top one thousand in assets within Daxia territory."
As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of those several higher-ups instantly changed.
A higher-up in charge of finance couldn't help but speak up, "This... isn't this too radical? Such forced requisition will likely cause massive backlash, even..."
"Even what?"
The old elder directly interrupted him, his voice suddenly rising sharply, "Even shake the foundations of the state? The state is about to be gone, what foundations are we talking about!
In normal times, they relied on Daxia's stability and order to make enormous profits!
Every bit of their wealth is soaked with the nourishment provided by this land and the peaceful environment bought with the lives of countless soldiers!
Now that Daxia is in imminent danger, do they still want to remain aloof and unscathed, being the termites clinging to the collapsing mansion!?"
He slammed the table violently, rattling the cups and saucers, "Order the Internal Affairs Department to act immediately! Invite people according to the list! Give them two choices..."
One, voluntarily donate ninety-five percent of their liquid assets and realizable assets, to be uniformly purchased by the national treasury for urgently needed frontline supplies.
Their family core members may retain the remaining five percent of assets and be prioritized for rear shelter spots.
Two, those who refuse will be treated as traitors!
Immediately seal all their assets, and all family core members are to be imprisoned, to be tried after the war."
"Ninety-five percent?!"
That financial higher-up exclaimed in shock.
This proportion would empty the accumulated wealth of those families over generations!
"It is ninety-five percent!"
The old elder's eyes showed not the slightest waver, "Tell them, this is not a negotiation, it is a war order.
When the country was stable, they enjoyed the benefits.
When the country is in crisis, they must bear the cost.
Want to wait for death with their money? Dream on!"
He looked at the general responsible for execution and added, "Act fast, be tough. If there is resistance, kill without mercy. In extraordinary times, there is no room for any mercy or compromise!
We will use this money to buy ammunition, buy medicine, buy everything that can let our boys on the front lines kill one more enemy, survive one more minute!"
The icy command echoed in the council hall.
Everyone understood that once this order was issued, it would inevitably stir up massive waves within Daxia.
But faced with the threat of national annihilation, any internal resistance must be ruthlessly crushed.
The state machinery, for survival, would display its coldest, most merciless side.
The Supreme Council's icy command spread to every corner of Daxia.
Capital, Brocade Manor.
This extremely vast estate belonged to the Zhou family, one of the top five wealthiest families in Daxia.
In the past, this place was bustling with traffic and guests, but now it was surrounded by teams of Internal Affairs Department military police in black uniforms.
The military police commander read the order stamped with the Supreme Council's scarlet seal, his face expressionless.
Opposite him stood the Zhou family head, his face deathly pale, body trembling slightly.
"Impossible! Ninety-five percent? This is robbery! It's the foundation my Zhou family has painstakingly built over generations!"
The Zhou family head roared.