Empire of Shadows

A deafening roar doesn’t necessarily require a thunderous rage. Sometimes, just a single, not-so-loud sentence can strike like thunder in a person’s heart!

Mr. Cassia’s hand trembled slightly. The cigarette ash fell onto the tabletop. He quickly picked up a piece of paper, scooped up the ash, put it in the ashtray, and then wiped the table with a towel.

”You’ve left me speechless!”

Mr. Cassia sighed. ”I need to think about it. This isn’t a decision that can be made easily.”

Mr. Gomez nodded. ”Of course, you should consider it carefully. But no matter what decision you ultimately make, we are still friends!”

He seemed very sincere, but now in Mr. Cassia’s eyes, his sincerity was not necessarily real sincerity!

An ambitious man who had found an opportunity. Every word he said needed to be repeatedly scrutinized before one could decide whether to believe it.

Originally, Mr. Cassia had intended to have Mr. Gomez stay at the villa. The villa was too big, with many guest rooms, which could have allowed Mr. Gomez to enjoy a whole night of solitude here.

But he had refused. He said he had booked a room at a hotel in the city. Mr. Cassia did not insist.

When he lay in bed after washing up at night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.”You have something on your mind!” his wife said, lying beside him.

Mr. Cassia sighed. ”Gomez’s behavior tonight made me feel like he was a stranger, but he also persuaded me.”

”I’ve been hesitating.”

His wife turned to face him. In the darkness, the faint light reflected in her eyes could be seen. ”What are you hesitating about?”

Mr. Cassia was a little hesitant. ”I don’t know, what’s more important, loyalty or the people.”

Mr. Cassia’s wife had also been socializing during this time. As the ”ambassador’s wife,” even if she did not have a high level of education, she could still get by in the circle of noble ladies, just because of this identity of hers.

This was like a noble lady, even if she were a fool, would still be invited to a flower arrangement salon. What these women wanted was not how knowledgeable the ambassador’s wife was, or how eloquent she was.

What they wanted was a sense of ”hierarchy.” They could later, when they went out, say to the ladies of other circles that they often talked about politics with the ambassador’s wife.

Fucking hell, who knows what they were really talking about, and how much the ambassador’s wife had participated?

As long as you have this title, it’s enough.

So she could also come into contact with some current affairs news. Women are not all able to endure loneliness.

At this time, she also had some of her own thoughts. ”I heard a saying recently.”

Mr. Cassia smiled. ”Maybe it can give me some reference.”

He said so, but in reality, he did not think so. His wife had only been taught by a governess, and the time of her study was not bad.

He had said so, just hoping to show respect for his wife.

His wife could also tell, but she was not angry.

The status of women in Rapa was not high in the first place. The respect he was showing at this time was already touching.

”They say that being loyal to the country is actually being loyal to the people, because the people are the masters of this country, the main body of this country.”

Mr. Cassia, who had originally been thinking of how to perfunctorily deal with his wife and make her feel that she had really played a role, was completely stunned.

His mind went blank, and then his ears began to ring, and he even felt a little nauseous!

Countless things were spinning. The three views he had established in the past began to crumble!

In a short period of time, two heavenly thunders had struck down, and his three views were shattered.

But they were also quickly rebuilt.

He suddenly came back to his senses, only to find that he was being shaken by his wife. ”What’s wrong with you?”

Her tone was a little anxious. Mr. Cassia shook his head. ”I’m fine, better than ever.”

With the help of the Federation, the Slad people had finally pushed the front line back to near the original border between the two countries, which had given a great boost to the morale of the Slad people.

Because of the New Year, the two sides had a tacit understanding and had chosen a temporary ceasefire in January.

In fact, it could not be considered a ceasefire, but just a halftime break, because they were both re-accumulating their strength to continue to fight desperately in the upcoming battles.

In the Presidential Palace of the Dantra Republic, the country’s generals, prime minister, and some high-ranking government officials were here.

Their expressions were very serious, because they had begun to feel a huge pressure.

Before, they had always been fighting in the territory of the Slad people. No matter to what extent the war was fought, in the end, it was the cities and the country of the Slad people that were destroyed, not theirs.

But now the front line had been pushed back to the border. This meant that once the war continued to be lost, they would go from an invasion war to a war of resistance.

The artillery fire would destroy their villages, towns, cities, and everything.

It was certainly satisfying to stab others with a knife, but to be stabbed by others was not so pleasant.

”The variables brought by the federal people are too great. Their style of warfare is rapidly taking shape, and I have to admit one thing, and that is that their supply is very thick.”

”Our shelling usually lasts for two to three rounds before we sound the charge. They may shell for three to five rounds before they sound the charge.”

”This is not a problem of shelling. There are also other similar problems. Their investment in the war is much greater than ours.”

”The brave soldiers have to, after being saturated with shelling, rush up against a storm of bullets. Our losses are very great.”

What this army general had said was known to everyone. The federal people were very rich, and also very willing to spend. The casualty ratio on both sides was changing.

The casualties of the Dantra’s army were now starting to become more, and the casualties of the federal army were starting to decrease.

Some people said that they were just winning every battle by throwing money.

But for the act of war, what is considered is never the process, but the result.

Now the morale of the federal people was getting higher and higher. If they continued to win, it would soon become a big trouble for the Dantra people.

This time, they had taken advantage of the temporary truce to discuss how to solve this problem.

”The federal people have gained a more important say and position in the Slad alliance. From the intelligence we have obtained, the federal government wants to lead this war.”

The person in charge of military intelligence at the side, at this time, had said such a sentence. ”Hatred will always have a time to be resolved, but greed has no end, gentlemen.”

”What we are facing is not the Slad people, who have a generational feud with us. What we are facing are the federal people, who have an endless greed for our territory, our wealth, our people!”

The intelligence chief raised his hand. ”I have noticed one thing.”

”Before the outbreak of the war, the Federation’s economy had already entered a period of recession. From some of their newspapers, it can be seen that they were mainly discussing some of the problems that the economic depression had brought to society.”

”Unemployment, chaos, gangs, demonstrations.”

”All kinds of social problems were frequent.”

”But since the outbreak of the war, not only has their economic downturn been stopped, but the entire country’s economy has begun to improve.”

”Because of trade.”

At this time, the prime minister nodded and tapped the tabletop with his finger. ”The war between us and Slad has made the Slad industry run at full capacity. Many of the productions in the people’s livelihood have completely stopped. They have chosen to import from the Federation.”

”Including some of the other allied countries, they are all importing a large number of goods from the Federation. Their economy will get better and better.”

”The improvement of the economy at the same time provides them with a greater war potential. This is a virtuous cycle, but for us, it is very bad.”

”In order to curb their domestic economic problems, their government will definitely increase their investment in the war to alleviate the economic problems, and at the same time, to obtain more war returns through plunder and other means.”

”We must give them a heavy blow, otherwise their greed will destroy everything!”

The great president listened to these and thought for a moment before he shook his head. ”You still haven’t told me what method you plan to use to curb their momentum.”

A few of the military leaders looked at each other. Among them, the commander-in-chief of the navy said, ”We plan to launch a surprise attack on Golden Port City.”

”A surprise attack on... Golden Port City?” The president was stunned for a moment. ”I seem to have heard this plan somewhere.”

The prime minister reminded him, ”Last year’s federal movie, the very popular one.”

The great president immediately reacted. Not only had he seen it, but he had also seen it with everyone.

His expression at this time was very strange. ”Are you sure you’re not joking with me?”

”To use a federal movie’s script as a blueprint to create a plan to launch a surprise attack on Golden Port City?”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but laugh. ”Very funny, this joke.”

But the generals of the military had no smile on their faces, only a little embarrassment, which also made the president become serious. ”Don’t tell me, you’re for real.”

The military leader nodded. ”Besides this plan to launch a surprise attack on Golden Port City, we have contacted the countries to the north of the Federation and are secretly negotiating with them.”

The president looked at the prime minister. The prime minister nodded slightly. ”I gave you a report before the year.”

The great president suddenly closed his eyes and slapped his forehead. ”Fuck, I remember.”

His daily work content was too much. Some things he was looking at, and halfway through, a sudden urgent matter would make him forget.

The prime minister explained, ”We have sent a secret team to contact the three countries to the north of the Federation and have talked with them about the idea of jointly attacking the Federation.”

The president nodded. ”Yes, I remember I’ve seen this. What’s the result?”

A diplomat answered, ”There has been some progress. They are actually also worried about the Federation’s sudden interference in other countries’ wars, and the Federation has been absorbing their population.”

”At present, we have not yet been able to persuade them to send troops with us, but I believe that after we have launched a surprise attack on Golden Port City, they will definitely form an alliance with us.”

The president asked very seriously, ”Why?”

He did not, because of his own ignorance... feel any shame or the like. He was just a president. He was not Superman. He knew everything. It was normal for there to be things he didn’t know.

”Once we have launched a surprise attack on Golden Port City, the federal people will immediately, according to the script in the movie, make a move on Yalan.”

”As long as they invade the Yalan region, we can persuade the three countries in the north to form an alliance with us, because the Federation has become dangerous, and they may be the next country to be invaded.”

”This way we can continue to tie up the Federation’s energy at sea, and at the same time, the three countries in the north can also pose a threat to the Federation’s homeland, so that they cannot put all their energy on the battlefield of the South Continent.”

”And after we have severely damaged Golden Port City, it will also have a huge impact on the Federation’s sea transportation.”

”The ports in their Golden State cannot support the docking of large-scale cargo ships. In a short period of time, the amount of supplies they transport to the South Continent will also decrease, which will buy us some time.”

After the president had listened, he raised a question. ”If we let the federal people occupy Yalan and the Star Islands, will it pose a threat to our strategic plan on the East Ocean?”

The Star Islands and Yalan are closer to the Federation, and a little further from Dantra. Besides these two places, there are actually some other islands on the East Ocean.

But the overall environment, compared to them, is certainly not as good as that of the Star Islands and Yalan. The president’s worry is normal.

The commander-in-chief of the navy gave a negative view. ”These two regions are a considerable distance from us. It can be used as a barrier for the Federation’s defense, but it cannot be used as a forward post for them to attack us.”

”And I believe that once the federal people invade Yalan, they will definitely have a conflict with the local people.”

”The Yalan region does not have a unified regime. There are large and small countries, tribes, and warlords. These people will all become a trouble for the federal people.”

The great president had been listening very seriously, but as he listened, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but rise a few times. He barely held back from laughing out loud.

”Are you sure this isn’t a ’New Year’s gift’?”

He was still a little suspicious whether these people were joking with him, because... to use a federal movie’s script as a battle plan, this was probably the first time in this world, and probably the last time. It was too comical!

But the gentlemen at the conference table were all shaking their heads. They were all sure that this was indeed a battle plan.

The commander-in-chief of the navy said, ”Mr. President, it is precisely because we all think it is so absurd that it is impossible to be true, that the federal people will also not think it is true.”

”Even if their spies and agents have found out some news, they will also think that this is a fake battle plan.”

The president rubbed his temples. ”Since you all think this plan is feasible, then... let’s execute it this way.”

He paused for a moment as he spoke. ”What’s the name of this overall battle plan?”

”We have to give it a resounding name!”

The prime minister said with a laugh, ”Hot Summer!”

A hot summer, with cannon fire all over the sky, and cities wailing under the naval guns. Indeed not bad!

The great president had no other objections.

Soon he continued to the next agenda. ”We have to speed up our battle in the east, with more resources, more people. This is a war that will decide the fate of our country for the next hundred years. We can die, but we cannot lose!”

He slowly stood up. The others all stood up. ”For Dantra!”

The style of the Dantra Republic’s side was very tough. Soon the battle plan began to be distributed. Some of the Dantra spies who were wandering in other countries began to collect intelligence for the execution of this battle plan.

Among them, many had also infiltrated Golden Port City.

The Federation did not have any household registration system, and it also did not have any good way to identify the people who entered the country.

If you just rely on skin color or appearance... there is basically not much of a difference, and many of the spies held passports of Slad.

They had been lurking in Slad for a long time. Originally, their purpose was to steal Slad’s military intelligence. Now that they were needed to come to the Federation, it had on the contrary become a little easier.

These spies needed to find out the shore cannon deployment situation of Likalai State, and also how many navy, how many warships, and their attendance and training plans were specifically at the Golden Port naval base.

January and February have always been the coldest months of the year, but on the battlefield of Tanfit, people only felt a piece of heat.

The federal government had begun to allow reporters to go to the front line to report on some of the real situations on the front line, but all the manuscripts had to be reviewed and approved by the federal government before they could be published.

The public finally read a front line that was different from the official press releases in the newspapers, but it was all a good front line. What they were doing every day, advancing, and eliminating the enemy and the like.

The enthusiasm of the federal people for the war, and their enthusiasm for victory, was at an all-time high!

Once, a small newspaper had hoped to gain attention and increase its sales by creating some fake news. They had reported on the heavy casualties on the front line.

Then the reporter who had written this news, the chief editor, the editor-in-chief, the owner of the newspaper, were all arrested, and it was the Federal Bureau of Investigation that had arrested them.

The reason they had given was that this newspaper was controlled by foreign forces, and that they had tried to, by writing fake news, to mislead the public and create panic and anxiety.

Many federal citizens, after they had learned of it, had all said that it was a good arrest. For these people who were destroying the current great situation of the Federation, they were also deeply abhorrent!

On the weekend in early February, a large number of people had gathered at the Golden Port Docks. With the entry of several warships into the port, the girls on the docks had all begun to wave the bouquets in their hands.

Today was the time for the front-line soldiers to return for a break. Some of the military officers, some of the old soldiers, had all gotten a chance to rest.

They would stay in the country for about a week, and then they would have to rush back to the battlefield.

In fact, this was also a kind of a political propaganda method that the Department of Defense had come up with. This batch of lads were all very outstanding lads, handsome, dashing, plus their epaulets, which were different from those of ordinary soldiers, had made the girls on the docks go crazy!

A reporter from the Golden Port Today had taken some candid, very evocative shots, and had used them on the front-page headline of the next day—”The Journey Continues.”

Lance had finished reading this report. It was written very sentimentally, a very typical ”official style.”

To romanticize the war, to idealize it, to hide the cruel things. The first impression that this press release gave people was that as long as you joined the federal army and went to the front line to fight, not only could you become a military officer, but you could also get status, prestige, wealth, and girls!

It’s unknown how many more people would sign up for the army, to fight and die for the future of the gentlemen!

Then he put his gaze on the Mr. Gomez in front of him...