In the room where the Esparian government was providing information as to what had HAPPENED.
Most of the reporters in the conference couldn't help but feel sorry for Esparia, after hearing the TRUTH.
Meanwhile, the guy who had been informing them about the events from last night looked at the reporters with conviction after a deep moment of pause.
"As a nation committed to peace and cooperation, we never intended, nor did we seek for any confrontation with our neighbor, Eden. The events that unfolded were truly regrettable and tragic, we might never be able to forget what they had done to us."
"However, Esparia doesn't intend to use vengeance, rather we seek to resolve the conflicts through peaceful means and we extend our hand in dialogue to Eden. We call for a cessation of hostilities and hope that together, we can find a diplomatic solution to prevent further bloodshed and foster a peaceful coexistence for the citizens of our nations.
"However, let me be clear - in the face of this unprovoked aggression and the great loss of our brave soldiers, Esparia stands united and resolute. We will defend our sovereignty and protect our citizens from any threat with unwavering determination, no matter the cost."
The sudden change in the tone and words caused almost everyone in the room to look at each other, nonetheless, they still continued to hear him.
"In the upcoming weeks, we will work to get our captured soldiers back and seek the absolute necessary compensation to our martyred soldiers. We hope Eden cooperates with us in this regard and avoids any further escalation of the situation, as that might lead to a bite back."
The man then put a blank look on his face as he said.
"Rest assured, this decision to negotiate is not due to the lack of our capability for retaliation, rather it is an act of mercy to prevent any further loss of life, should we choose to retaliate in a similar way."
"Should our negotiations with them fail, we have the responsibility to remind them: Esparia's military might remain unmatched, our soldiers are courageous and skilled, and we also have the unwavering support of our citizens."
"With that said, we shall retain the right to declare war on them in case the negotiation with them ends unfavorably."
"We shall not be deterred and we shall not falter. Together, we will overcome this adversity and emerge victorious in revenging our fallen, no matter the price."
"God bless Esparia!"
With those words, he concluded the press conference without taking any questions from the reporters, despite having their hands raised the moment he finished, trying to point out the inconsistency in some of the things he had said.
"They really went with that approach of trying to make us look like the instigators. How is the reaction online?" Aron asked, maintaining a smile on his face, not showing any negative reaction to what was said at Esparia's press conference.
[The Morgans have gotten into high gear as they are trying to shape the world's perception of the event. They are using their massive media control to portray us as the aggressors. They are trying to shape public opinion and make it seem as if we were the ones who started this as they saw no chance of winning if we were to be fighting fairly, thus chose this surprise, coordinated attack as a means to attack to the strong-arm themselves into ending the standup we had on our border] Nova reported back, answering Aron's question.
[Should I start countering their attempts at shaping public opinion?] She asked about his preferred choice of action.
"No, just make sure such rhetoric doesn't appear inside Eden," Aron answered.
"By the way, how long is their preparation going to take before they are able to declare war on us?" he asked, as he was sure that they didn't have any plans of not declaring war on us and merely used it up as an excuse to buy themselves some time before they could return back more prepared.
[The minimum is a month, but it won't exceed two months. They will likely be preparing themselves on ways to counter measures on what they perceived as our ability to jam their outdated communication tech. So, most of their upgrades will be in that direction. Also, since they are sure that they can damage our communication infrastructure by cyber-attacks, we can expect more of them to happen in the next fight] Nova reported back.
[Should I allow them to do the damage or is the current damage enough] she asked, wanting to know his approach on the cyber battlefield.
"Nah, they did enough damage the first time to give us justification to overhaul all of the government's communication networks," Aron answered, showing that this was going to be the first and the last time he allowed a cyber attack to be targeted at important things in the country.
"Also, did the materials Felix bought arrive yet?" He asked, remembering the reason this war had to be taken care of by only a few members of ESF and some helicopters.
[Yes they have arrived at the port and 46 percent of it has already been delivered. As for the rest, they will continue to arrive by Saturday evening] Nova reported back.
"Good, we need to make it extremely clear that we are not to be messed with," Aron said in a serious tone before he was interrupted by his phone's ring. When he took a look at the caller, he saw that it was Alexander, the President of Eden.
"Hello, Mr. President," Aron said, playfully adding the title jokingly.
"Hello, I called to ask if you have seen the press conference which Esparia just did?" Alexander asked respectfully, just like always, maintaining his respect for Aron.
"Yes, I watched it while it occurred and I must say, they are making quite bold claims," Aron answered.
"Are we capable of handling their war declaration, or are you planning to return their captured soldiers and compensate for their loss?" Alexander asked in a tone which showed that he didn't hope this to happen since that would destroy the country's morale.
"You don't have to worry about that. We know for sure that no matter what we do, they don't plan for anything to end peacefully either way. They plan to declare war on us and we are completely capable of winning it. We have about forty thousand soldiers ending their training by the end of this week, that would make it impossible for Esparia to come victorious in any fight we have with them," Aron answered, reassuring his friend.
"Realy?" Alexander exclaimed in surprise, knowing that although Aron would joke sometimes with him, his jokes would always be backed up with action if push comes to shove.
"Yes, as for how, John will be visiting you soon to brief you on everything. So, don't worry about such matters and continue to encourage the citizens to join their effort in strengthening the country, both in construction and military," Aron said.
"Also, how do you plan to refute their accusation of us attacking them without any warnings?" Alexander asked.
"Our spokesperson will be holding a press conference soon, coming up with evidence showing that we did warn them and even give them enough time to change course. When they didn't, we took necessary actions to protect our territory on both the sea and land by firing at them for trespassing," Aron answered and shortly added.
"More details will be sent to you in a few minutes by the Minister of Defense," dumping all the responsibility to John, who was both the general and the Minister of Defense of the country, with no term limit for his position and could only be removed or replaced by Aron's approval.
"Oooh, that's good then," Alexander said after hearing his response and continued having conversations with him on different topics which were not in the least related to the ongoing war, since Aron had promised to solve this issue, he completely trusted him and was awaiting for John's meeting to know of the details.
