hotmtlnovel Chapter 118 Marching to War
Chapter 118 Marching to War
The Pentagon
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Alberto calls an emergency meeting within the Pentagon. All the high-ranking people have gathered here.
"Your Majesty," General Marcus, the Chief of the Imperial Army, was the first to speak. "It's an honour to see you recovered. When word spreads of your condition, morale wavered. But now... now, the Empire stands strong once more."
A murmur of agreement rippled through the room.
Alberto acknowledged their sentiments with a curt nod. "Spare me the pleasantries, gentlemen. I was unconscious for three days—far too long for an emperor. By the way, Carl, did that lion man survive the explosion?
"He survived, Your Majesty. And we extracted information from him. The attack was orchestrated by Duke Barco's son, Strom. He personally sent the assassin to eliminate you."
Alberto was surprised {I thought it was probably Latvia's work}
"Strom has now declared himself Duke and openly waged war against Britannia. We strongly suspect he has kidnapped Princess Elina and He may also be involved in the events of that night."
Alberto steepled his fingers, deep in thought. "Interesting." He turned his gaze toward Elizabeth. "You've been acting in my stead. Brief me."
Elizabeth met his gaze without hesitation. "I assumed executive authority per Article VII of the Imperial Charter. The cabinet approved all major decisions with a 75% vote, as required under Article IX. During my tenure, we initiated war mobilization:
She flipped open the dossier and handed a report to Alberto.
- The 5th Infantry division and 9th Armored Division were sent to the northern frontline of Britannia.
- The 2nd Fleet, under Admiral Akari, has begun preparations to break the Latvian blockade.
- Munitions factories have doubled production; all non-military manufacturing has been suspended.
- We've reestablished contact with Britannia's leadership. Queen Maria is... desperate. If we offer military support, she'll have no choice but to bind Britannia's fate to ours."
Eric nodded. "That's right. This is his personal army. Also, he relied heavily on forbidden magic to win the war. He had a magician—someone incredibly skilled. Always masked. No one knows his identity. We called him the Shadow Weave."
He looked down at the table. "My brother also raided the Royal Mage Tower and the palace treasury. He stole ancient magic and artefacts. By using this black magic, he defeated our Court magician and other powerful magicians. And I myself also encountered this forbidden magic. It was mind-control magic. Through this, they controlled the minds of many of our soldiers and made them fight against each other. We lost many soldiers. "
"If they can use this magic on our soldiers, it will be very bad,"
Circe, the Empire's chief magician and head of the Arcane Research Institute, spoke up. "We can create some items to protect our soldiers from mind control. However, I cannot guarantee that we can produce enough for the entire army. The process is time-consuming and resource-intensive. However, the super soldiers we have recently created are already resistant to this kind of magic. Their enhanced neural pathways make them immune to external manipulation."
Alberto felt some relief at this. "We have to be very careful so that they can't use black magic on our soldiers. We need to deploy our own magicians to counter theirs. Circe, I want you to participate in the war directly. Since we don't have many magicians, your presence on the battlefield will be crucial."
Circe nodded. "Understood, Your Majesty."
"So Prince Eric, if we attack the Latvian capital and kill your brother, then this will all end here"
Eric shook his head. "It's not that easy. First, the capital is inhabited by many people. Attacking it directly will result in massive civilian casualties, which will turn public opinion against us. Second, it's very difficult to determine my brother's location. I tried to assassinate him many times during the War of the Thrones, but I never succeeded. There's no guarantee we'll be able to kill him, and failure will only make him more cautious."
Alberto leaned back, considering this. "So there's merit in what he says. If we attack the capital with bombs or missiles, many innocent people will die, which will damage our reputation. It's not a good plan."
"So what is the plan?"
Admiral Tanaka said. "Your Majesty, we should first destroy the Latvian navy. This will severely weaken their supply lines and isolate their forces in Britannia. Without naval support, their army would be much easier to defeat. We can also bombard their ports to cripple their logistics."
Eric added, "Your Majesty, I propose that we capture the largest port in Latvia, Kuro. That is where the Latvian naval headquarters are located. If we capture Kuro, it will be a significant victory. The loss of their command centre will throw the rest of their navy into chaos."
Alberto and the others think about this.
"That's a very good plan. Also, we can't let Strom go either. Form a force to invade the Elysian Archipelago. Strom is now a criminal for attempting to assassinate me. Add charges of treason, kidnapping, and unlawful declaration of independence. Since the Elysian Archipelago has declared itself independent, if we take it over now, we can claim the entire region for ourselves."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "But will Queen Maria agree to this?"
Alberto smirked. "Don't worry. We can take this much in return for helping them. She's in no position to negotiate."