Counterfeit Hero

The room was dimly lit.

The leather sofa encircling the room was filled with people. The atmosphere was noisy, everyone talking at once, discussing the situation with righteous indignation.

Those present were all heads of Leray’s major conglomerates, political veterans, and leaders of opposition parties. Mature and strategic, they had initially disagreed with this war!

The war had reached a point where the outcome was clear. Surrender! A word that was previously unmentionable was no longer taboo.

They remained silent when unity was paramount, but that didn’t mean they’d stay quiet forever.

Emmanuel Brody leaned back in his high-backed chair, fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, watching with interest as the room condemned Hamilton.

The meeting was convened by Brody. He was the chairman of the Progressive Society, a small Leray party mostly composed of entrepreneurs, tycoons, and the middle class. Currently, he was the most promising candidate for the three-party united presidential election!

Few knew that three years ago, Brody was just a small businessman contracting home smart system projects! Only with his natural instinct for speculation and adventurous spirit did he quickly establish an anti-war fighter image at the onset of the war and thus embark on his political career.

Brody had a high political acumen, knowing how to satisfy his supporters. He also possessed the most basic quality of a politician—greed for power! He wasn’t content with merely being the chairman of a small party.

For Brody, having entered this game and having achieved dreamlike power and status, the game had to continue.

This human-widespread war initiated by the two major military groups was his best opportunity to climb to the pinnacle of power.

He had always sought to ally with opposition parties to overthrow the ruling Democratic Fair Party deeply mired in war.

At the beginning of the war, he almost succeeded.

At that time, President Hamilton was overwhelmed by successive military defeats, his support rating plummeting. Domestically, the Leray people opposed the war, hoping for coordination by the Human Supreme Council, a wave stirred up fervently by the anti-war fighter Brody—if not for the reversal in the Miloke Battle, Hamilton would not have persisted until now.

Since the turnaround in the Miloke Battle, Brody had no more opportunities.

Under Hamilton’s leadership, Leray began a counterattack. The Congress, majorly composed of the ruling party, supported Hamilton almost unreservedly.

Brody liked to go with the tide, not against it. So, he waited in silence for the change in wind direction.

And now, the time had evidently come.

”Ladies and gentlemen...” Brody gently waved his hand.

The uproar in the room gradually quieted down.

Brody smiled faintly: ”In several meetings, we’ve reached a consensus. Now, Leray still has the bargaining chips to negotiate with the Western Alliance. For public and private interests, we can no longer let the President continue down the wrong path. Leray is not a military power; we should follow our political traditions.”

Gazing towards the dimmest corner of the right side of the room, Brody’s lips curled into a meaningful smile: ”The Leray people’s tolerance has reached its limit. Millions of refugees have converged on Ludelit, public sentiment is weary of war. This fire of public anger requires just a spark from us to ignite.”

”What spark?” someone asked.

In the corner, several men’s gazes met Brody’s slightly before each knowingly diverted.

Brody’s smile grew broader: ”The presidential election is imminent. Trillions of funds have been secretly invested in the Seed Plan, the details of which none of us know. Is Hamilton preparing for war or escape? We need the power of democracy and justice. We need the truth.”

On June 3, 2063, an anti-war demonstration suddenly erupted in Leray’s capital, Ludelit. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators held banners demanding an immediate end to the war and negotiations with the Western Alliance, which had sent signals recently. Opposition parties questioned dozens of military expenditures, accusing Hamilton of neglecting billions of Leray citizens and wasting massive resources for his escape. Some even enumerated Hamilton’s ten major governing failures, demanding he take responsibility for the deaths of tens of millions of Leray soldiers and resign in disgrace.

On the same day, hundreds of thousands of pro-Hamilton citizens also formed marches, confronting the anti-war demonstrators. Intense clashes erupted between the two sides.

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New Tai Sect and Phantom Stream jointly announced the formation of the Sect Mutual Aid Alliance!

This news, spread rapidly through Mars Free Port via ubiquitous civilian networks, television, electronic newspapers, and traditional print media.

One was a remnant force from the Tai Sect, and the other was a third-rate sect without core techniques.

Their joint announcement seemed more like a pathetic joke.

In the current chaos in Mars Free Port, the alliance of these two small sects for self-preservation seemed feeble. Facing the Three Major Schools and other qualified contenders, what could such an alliance achieve?

This announcement was dismissed by most as the panicked roar of the weak.

Only a few discerning individuals noted its profound implications.

If it were just an alliance of two small sects, no one would care, but when a representative of the Fei Alliance was involved, the title of the Sect Mutual Aid Alliance wasn’t so simple.