Against the World II: Transgression
Chapter 24: And Then.
...—20th July, E642 | Imperial Palace, Nevada, Vermillion Empire—...
Once again the commanders sat together circling the round table in the meeting room inside the Imperial Palace. Everyone is in their seats. Kanna was also sitting in her chair. Each commander brought their report documents, but there were no more files than Emily's.
“Thank you today none of you are late,” start Kanna as the leader of all commanders. He looks fresher than in past meetings, the possibility of Monica's presence makes the task lighter (as long as only Meyrin helped him). “However, before the topic of today's meeting we discussed, I need to convey interesting things that just arrived at my desk yesterday.”
The attention of all the commanders was not diverted from the executor of the emperor's duties, their eyes implying one thing in common: for the princess to continue her speech.
“Letters sent New World Order representatives to me yesterday. The letter stated they would not touch the imperial territory before Emiliel the Holy Kingdom surrendered and Axellibra was flattened to the ground. The New World Order would attack Emiliel Holy Kingdom once they heard the empire launch an attack. Rather than a three-sided war, this would be a two-on-one. The new New World Order would land its fangs on the empire after Emiliel Holy Kingdom was successfully overcome, that was of course if the empire also agreed not to attack any of their members during that time. What do you think?”
“If it is true, this will be good news for the empire.” Dermyus gave his opinion. “Dividing the army against two different enemies would be too pressing for the empire. If the war lasts a long time, and it will likely be a long time, the logistical burden will also be great. We don't know the exact number of troops of the New World Order, but they have Lumeira who has information about the power of the Imperial Army. In my opinion, agreeing on them is a wise decision.”
“It assumes they are serious with the letter,” timpal Zenith. “War itself is a ruse. Who could guarantee it was not their way of loosening imperial vigilance? The defeat of the past empire is clear evidence that we must not respond to the New World Order lightly. We can't risk losing shamefully.”
“Opini Commander Dermyus has a point, but the opinion of Commander Zenith we can not ignore also.” Hekiel brought his hands down his chin, putting on a thinking pose. “However, personally I prefer if we agree on a New World Order offer. Emiliel Holy Kingdom in my eyes is still a bigger opponent. Fie Axellibra and his Knight Templar are enemies to defeat after all.”
“Because my division is responsible for the defense of the empire along with Division 2, I cannot ignore the opinion of Zenith.” Cleria gave her opinion as well. “We cannot allow the empire in such a position. We can't focus on surviving the forces of the Holy Kingdom. The 2nd Division and 5th Division should run the imperial defense program as they should. If you want to agree with the NWO, it must be done without changing the strategy. The best defense is to attack: we have to attack important NWO areas before they attack.”
“I agree with Commander Cleria,” Gilbert said. “The thing is better. With us agreeing on the NWO offer, our troops do not have to fight two enemies at once. And by not changing the strategy, we can attack NWO anytime—ini as well just in case they renege on the offer they give.”
“None of my sentences says we should change strategy,” Dermys said with a calm expression. “I just explained that facing one enemy is better than facing two. My opinion is not contrary to that of Commander Zenith. I'm sure you guys understood my point from the start, didn't you, Commander Reinhart, Commander Xavier?”
“I don't think an individual of your calibre will give you a bad opinion,” replied Xavier.
Reinhart laughed at Dermyus' self-defense. “Of course, Dermyus, maybe Commander Zenith is upset to hear you're getting married to Elizabeth soon? Elizabeth turned it down twice, didn't she?”
“It was as Commander Dermyus and Commander Zenith said,” Kanna said before the three commanders were baffled by further debate. “We will accept the offer, but we must also assume they will violate the offer we made. Commander Cleria and Commander Gilbert have provided further details. I'll send a reply letter to Evrillia. Any additional opinions?”
The headbands in unison responded to Kanna's words.
The Emperor's favorite daughter opened her mouth again to continue the meeting. “There is an issue about Veria intending to start an invasion of Islan. And according to reports by Artemys and Commander Xavier, Veria has become a whole continent. They are Veria's New World Order. Emperor Shiva Rashta was at the heart of their movement. We do not know when they will attack, so we must resolve the conflict in this Islan as soon as possible.”
“Veria. Not once was it not the same. Even after Islan defeated continuously, they had no deterrents.” Gilbert shook his head slowly. “Lantas, Princess wants to speed up our attack plan?”
Kanna nodded. “We have no choice,” he said. “If Veria attacked while the Islans were still divided like this, or when the Islans weakened after the war was over, it would not be surprising if this time they would manage to take control of the Islans. For that too, our Imperial Army training program will be condensed into just six months. We will declare war on Emiliel Holy Kingdom one month after that.”
The commander understood. Despite the short six-month preparations, especially for the newest recruits, but not just those who were not benefited. By shortening the time, it also made the enemy not grow stronger. No one volunteered to fight, but for the peace of war it was necessary.
“Then I want to hear your preparation reports so far. 1 August Imperial Marine will be officially formed. The first exercise of the offensive division is to seize Rhevada from the Imperial Marine, it will be we start in mid-August. Commander Xavier, please start from you, Commander Emily and the others will report after you.”
Xavier nodded, grabbed the document he was carrying and then stood up. “Division 12 lost a valuable soldier in the failure of the attack on Elf Kingdom first, but the recruitment of soldiers went well. Their successor warriors had joined the squad-squads that were lacking members. For the special squad that His Majesty instructed, a maximum in two weeks the squad will be operational.”.
...»»» End of Volume 3 «««...
Note: Xavier's wedding – Artemys procession is secret from other main characters, so it will also not be notified to the reader. Please imagine the process yourself.
»»»»»Volume 4: “The Invincible Emiliel Holy Kingdom”