Chapter 714 Wolfen’s True Crisis [Today's Eid al-Fitr, right?]
Presidential Villa
Agla
Republic of Wolfen
July 2nd
Year 1053
This fateful morning, a Wolfen War Cabinet was convening for a meeting at the Situation Room of the Presidential Villa.
Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere in the room was dark.
As the Warrant Officers read out the war reports, the Ministers and Generals all had frowns on their faces.
Loss after Loss after Loss.
That was Wolfen's story in this war.
They had only secured victories in smaller-scale battles, but these victories did not last. They were quickly overshadowed by the GEE's big wins that left entire states surrendering.
The War wasn't even a month in and yet the GEE army was almost knocking at the capital's doors.
With Todbury's fall, Cudjour and Vadvale were the only two states left to defend the capital.
"As of the 30th of June, we confirmed the presences of three of the Seven Star Generals.
We have intel that shows that Amiyah Wallace and Beluar Sarxina are leading a force westward around the Cudjour mountain. Lierin Ianqen in the East also seems to be making movements, but we are not sure as our scouts have never made it in too far."
With those words, the briefing ended yet everyone remained silent.
"Barely a month in and they've already sent three Seven Star Generals. The Imperials are really out for us."
The man who spoke was Zakaria Lee, a man with a tinge of grey in his brown hair, complemented by warm brown eyes.
This man, dressed in a black suit, was the President of the Republic of Wolfen and undoubtedly the most stressed person in this room.
He sighed and then turned his gaze to the General in charge of Cudjour's defences and asked.
"What is your game plan?"
"Sir. This is what we have surmised…"
The man began explaining his strategies and the other Generals present provided their inputs. He also cited the new intel they got from spies in Todbury, stating that adding the Hero Evan to their ranks was causing rifts in the Imperial Army.
Apparently, their current advance to the West of Cudjour was something Evan had suggested and some Generals were not okay with this.
He then stated that he believed Princess Heather and Lierin would soon be heading towards Todbury, probably to meet up with Amiyah.
"Mr President. With the situation as it is now, should we not request Sir Esoti's help?"
It was one of Vadvale's generals who asked this question and when the Defence Minister heard him, the man flared up.
"Outrageous! Do you wish to give the Imperials justification to act as well?! If he comes into the mix, it would do more harm than good!"
However, Vadvale's General did not back down in the face of his complaints.
"We have little choice now. Can he not go under the radar and take action? If no one lives to tell the tale, the Imperials would not be able to say a word."
"Under the radar? Do you think the Beast Kingdom does not have eyes watching this war? Don't forget that Transcendent Kolvar's son is a Hero like that Evan Eris and he's also in support of this madness.
If he notices we called for Sir Esoti's help, there's no way he'd sit still!"
The Defence Minister was a war veteran who had been famous during the last Warring Era. He had recently come out of retirement to take up a Ministerial Position after the incident where Beluar and some special forces had infiltrated Agla in the Year 1048.
"A Lion's child is still a Lion. David Thancreed is the son of the man who destroyed an entire country in the past and yet has people singing him praises to this day.
Don't think the Beast Kingdom would be silent just because the Beast King has secluded himself. David Thancreed's eyes would be on us."
"Minister, you overestimate these children. Even if they are Heroe-"
"Overestimate?!"
The Old Minister got up from his seat and he scolded the young Brigadier General who uttered that line.
"You say I Overestimate them but I feel we all Underestimate them too much! Are you living under a rock or something?
Lacertilia happened barely two months ago!
One of the Largest Dungeon Cities on the Continent was in crisis and spearheading the party that resolved this crisis, was the same boy who is currently siding with the Imperials.
The same one you say I 'Overestimate'!"
Flinging the folder in front of him at the Brigadier General, he continued.
"Have you not read that thing? Geto, Osto, Cheverton, Duscon, and Lacertilia. That's Five Incidents that have gone International with Evan Eris' name on it.
There's also that stunt he pulled with Public Opinion recently. He would have killed our Army's morale if we had not acted fast!"
The Old Minister felt that the reason why these Generals were trying to downplay Evan's achievements was due to Envy. Someone so young had achieved much more than they had despite being more than twice the boy's age, so they tried to make it seem like it 'wasn't much' so they could console their egos.
He didn't have energy to waste on such people, instead, he turned towards President Lee and bowed his head before speaking.
"Mr President, if the intel about Evan Eris being the one to suggest the Imperial Army comes from the West is true; then I beg you with the names of all the gods of Aidos.
Please, triple our defences.
We cannot let whatever 'out of the box' plan that boy is cooking up in his head to succeed!!"
"Calm down, Minister."
Zakaria spoke with a sigh, understanding the views of the Old Defence Minister. The war was also taking a toll on them, especially with the other issues that came alongside it.
Soldier Morale was low, some were even deserting the army. Civilians were complaining, and Trade routes were down as well.
'Then there's 'those people'…'
Zakaria took care not to let a dark expression show on his face before looking at Vadvale's Lieutenant General and speaking.
"We need to deal as much damage to the Imperials as possible otherwise we'd be in the red.
Take your soldiers and move to support Cudjour. I'd send in three more Corps from the Capital as backup."
Shocked voices rang out in the room when they heard the President's decision to lower the Capital's defences. The Old Defence Minister nodded in approval before glancing at Vadvale's General.
Even if he was retired, the man was still an Inferior Stage Epic Level existence, his gaze on the Superior Grandmaster General was 'heavy'.
"Yes, Mr President."
Zakaria saw the Defence Minister's action but said nothing about it. He silenced the others who had objections and finalized the decision to send the reinforcements.
A Wolfen Army Corps consisted of somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 soldiers; even after adding three of that to Vadvale's Army, the President felt it was just barely enough to take on three of the Seven Star Generals.
"Defending Agla would be pointless if they get to Cudjour. Send the soldiers out.
This meeting is dismissed."
By his order, all of the Cabinet Members exited the room, all except one man who was seated in the same area as the Old Defence Minster.
He was the only one who had not uttered a single word throughout the whole meeting.
He had an imposing figure, with broad shoulders and a powerful physique that speaks of his formidable strength. His features are sharp, with a chiselled jawline and piercing brown eyes that seem to gleam with intensity. His black hair was cropped short, adding to his rugged appearance. Despite his stern countenance, there's a sense of nobility and authority in his bearing.
Zakaria didn't glance at him, instead, the man reached into his own collar and pressed the switch on what appeared to be a choker on his neck.
His face went hazy for a bit and then the illusion he had covering his face was released.
It was still the same Zakaria Lee, however, he appeared starkly different than just a minute ago.
The man had dark circles under his eyes, with large eye bags and dry skin. The percentage of 'grey' in his hair was a lot more than before and he seemed tired overall.
He looked nothing like the President the Cabinet members had been conversing with earlier.
Zakaria then looked at the black-haired man and spoke.
"You didn't say anything today."
"There was nothing to say."
The President laughed depreciatingly before resting his head on the table. The air around him was depressing, owing to his current state of mind.
"If I could, I would have negotiated for benefits. It was a wonderful chance to get a lot of things from the Imperials. I could have ripped them off even!
But alas, nothing ever goes the way we want…"
Zakaria remembered when he was contesting for President. He felt that the previous Presidents had not been doing the best they could and felt that he was the one who was going to change the country for the better.
He had grand goals and aspirations for his home nation.
However, on the day he was sworn in, his predecessor apologized to him.
The Zakaria of then was confused about what this meant, but after coming into office, he finally understood.
"I finally understood why no other President had contested for a second tenure in the past 30 years…"
Zakaria let out a depreciating laugh and seeing him like this, the black-haired man on the side frowned, however, he said nothing for he understood why Zakaria was acting like this.
"Three of the Seven Star Generals and Evan Eris…I just sent thousands of good soldiers to their deaths."
It was obvious that he had long since given up on the war, however, he maintained the fa?ade of a President fighting back for the sake of his citizens.
"I have no choice but to send them…to sacrifice them for the sake of the millions of Wolfen Citizens.
These people were able to plan for Major World Powers like the GWE and the Beast Kingdom, and both incidents ended with casualty numbers in the hundreds of thousands.
We don't have the powerful forces of the GWE or the strong adventurers of the Beast Kingdom…if they did the same to us, our casualties would be in the millions."
Zakaria picked up one of the folders on his desk and flipped through it, before looking at the other man in the room and asking.
"Say…do you think Evan Eris could help us?
He has clashed with 'these people' multiple times; in Osto and in Cheverton.
That woman who showed up in Lacertilia was also one of them, I think. I heard them conversing once; they called her 'Seventh Finger'.
Now seeing as they don't want Evan Eris to get his hands on that 'War Remnant Structure', it's obvious that there's something pretty important there."
Hearing his words, the black-haired man had his eyes widen in shock. To think that Zakaria was even considering going to Evan—someone who was their enemy—for help.
The man gritted his teeth silently before speaking.
"I'd go."
"Huh?"
"Cudjour. I'd go."
"It would not make much of a difference."
Zakaria shook his head depreciatingly as he replied but the other man did not answer him and instead got to his feet and left the room.
Looking at the departing figure of the man— Rodald "Stormbringer" Kuhagan—the Wolfen President let out a wry smile and spoke.
"Please…don't die, my dear friend. I've already lost too much."
He then broke out into a coughing fit and spat black blood onto the desk and floor. Cleaning his mouth with his hands, he looked at the dark liquid and spoke.
"Demonic Corruption, huh? They sure picked one hell of a way to keep me in check."
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