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The people of the Arcane Empire knew that war was coming, however, no one was scared. Because their beloved Emperor told them that they were readied; ready to face the unknown future, ready to face the threat from the cosmos.
Inside a meeting room, Edward sat at the head of a table while reviewing some information with a holographic projection in front of him.
'It seems that my aunt was correct. War is the perfect way to remove many of the prejudices and racism from the old time. With a common enemy, the people have banded together under their identity as both humans and citizens of the Empire.
'Although the problem is not solved, it is much better. With time, we can still cultivate the patriotic nature of the younger generation.'
After closing the image in front of him, he looked at the other people in the room and said, "It should be about time, so, let's begin."
Many people sat at a rectangular table. All these people included generals of the Empire–including Lucius Malfoy since he was in charge of the Earth Defense Guard.
The man who sat to Edward's right hand was Albert Montblanc, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Navy. After hearing his words, he stood up and placed his hand on a crystal ball on the table.
He injected his mana inside. Immediately afterward, an image was projected in the middle of the table. The image showed a room with about 30 people, sitting together and arguing.
These people were relatively tall compared to humans, and they can even be called little giants. More importantly, they all had blue skins.
The Fer Race.
A meeting of their highest council took place. The 30 people attending were all the Fer people that reached Tier 4. And in the middle of that meeting sat a man with a crown on his head.
He was the Fer King and the most powerful person in their race. Just by observation, it could be seen that some part of his skin had already turned red.
According to the Empire's study, this is a sign that he is about to reach Tier 5. And because of this that this person was able to sit on the throne. According to Fer's law, only the most powerful can be kind.
Nevertheless, since he did not have an overwhelming advantage over his peers–at least not yet–a council is still needed to vote on important issues. The King has more votes than ordinary people and can determine the final verdict on certain controversial issues.
"What do you guys think about this Arcane Empire?" asked the King.
"Nothing but a bunch of stupid people. They so easily trusted us which allowed us to infiltrate their fleet and destroy it.
Plus, how can they tell us that they are declaring on us? Wouldn't it be better to just attack us?" replied another Fer Council member.
A few people agreed with him.
Meanwhile, in the Empire's War Room, a few people frowned after hearing this. In fact, some people had the same idea. Unfortunately, according to the Galactic Federation Regulation, it is required to send a Declaration of War before attacking anyone.
As long as a civilization or race reached a certain level, they have to abide by this regulation.
A few members of the War Council argued that the Federation will not know if they do not follow the regulations. However, after asking Dumbledore to search the relative information, he knew that the Federation seemed to have a mysterious way to know when people break the rules.
It may be some spells or magic weapons. Nevertheless, Edward did not want to entangle with these people–at least for now.
"Or maybe, they are confident in themselves," added another Fer member.
"Ironit, do you have something to say?" asked the King.
"I have watched the video of the conflict over and over again. Honestly, there are too many things that felt wrong."
The Fer King immediately began to pay attention. Their race is a very combatant one, as such, only the strong can become rulers. However, being strong does not equate to intelligence; the majority of the people in the council only know how to fight and kill.
Only a few of them have great wisdom, and Ironit is one of them.
"The first thing is the fact that their fleet was too easily destroyed. Their Command System was easily hacked by us after infiltrating, and the response of the soldiers was too mediocre."
"This only shows that their technology is mediocre compared to us," replied another member.
"That could be true. But remember what energy their fleet used to power themselves?"
"Mana," replied one person.
His words immediately made the other people frown. The Fer race has been studying mana for thousands of years, trying to not only master it and use it in the development of their technology.
Unfortunately, they never succeeded.
However, now, under Ironit's reminder, they remembered that the Arcane Empire had mastered the power of mana. This was one of the reasons that they attacked.
"Also, remember, the wreckage of their fleet mysteriously disappeared afterward and we could not salvage anything. Our scientists could not even understand how it disappeared."
The council member immediately began to take the situation seriously. Although they do not like to use their head, it did not mean that they were stupid.
After all, the majority of them have lived a very long time. And with time, even a pig can become wise after experiencing a few hundred years of life.
"Can you guess the reasons for all these anomalies?" asked the king.
"I cannot," replied Ironit. "However, one thing I know for sure, this was will not be as easy as our past ones. We should take things seriously and do whatever necessary to prepare."
The other members nodded their heads and began to discuss plans and strategies for this war.
Meanwhile, in the War Room, one of the generals sneered after watching this and commented: "This is the fate of low-level civilization. Without mastering the power of destiny, they lose the ability to control it."
"True," said another person. "With our advance technology and the information gathering of Divination, this war will be a piece of cake."
"Do not be too complacent," suddenly said Commander Albert. "In the future, we will have to fight races and civilizations that have mastered the power of Anti-Divination. At that time, war will not be so easy.
"Then, the issue we will have to deal with involves: how to gather intel? How to ensure our war goes successfully? What if the enemy has better Divination Spells than us? How to fight a war with such a disadvantage?
"These are the type of questions that you guys should think about instead of being proud of such small success."
The other generals quickly regained their bearings and nodded; they knew that the commander was correct. As the most elite soldiers and strategists of the Empire, they quickly adjusted their ways of thinking.
As for Edward, he was very satisfied with Commander Albert; the man was very capable and part of him was a little guilty of handing his position to Olivier.
Unfortunately, the Imperial Navy will become too powerful in the future and must be controlled by someone he could truly trust. Nevertheless, he will still give the latter the position of Second-in-Command and give him some merit to compensate him.
Disclaimer: Although this may not be needed, it is better to be safe than sorry. I planned this War Arc way before the current political landscape of the real world got into such a state.
So, if you think that the story is mirroring the real world or see any similarities that may be triggering to you, remember, this is a fictional story that does not in any shape or form support any ideologies or beliefs on current events that are affecting the world.
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Title: Ground Strike
