Enforcer Manual
Chapter 570: Our Empire_1

Chapter 570: Chapter 570: Our Empire_1

The Expeditionary Army’s fierce battle lasted the entire night.

Before the dawn arrived, the Intelligence Department of the United Government had lost all communication with the frontline troops. In just one day, this landing battle had become the most casualty-heavy engagement since the establishment of the United Government.

When this grave news reached the United Government, the buoyant spirits of the people instantly cooled, and the Review Meeting convened an emergency meeting, symbolically dismissing the overall commander of the expedition.

The Chairperson of the Council delivered another important speech, and an enormous airship bearing his holographic image appeared over every major city.

During the speech, the Chairperson claimed that they had deeply learned from the lessons of the landing battle, deftly redirecting the blame toward the Lunar Eclipse Sect and Barrosa Group. Using footage of the battlefield intercepted by the "Eye of the Federation," which had been carefully edited, he ascribed the failure to the unprovoked backstabbing of the Neutral Country.

The Chairperson promised the disillusioned citizens that the defeat at the front was temporary, and the United Government would formally declare war on the Neutral Country. Their undefeated air fleet would dominate the skies above the Neutral Country, making them pay a painful price for this backstabbing.

The next morning, this heartening speech echoed through the skies of every city.

The arrival speed of the gigantic airships was as if they had been prearranged.

And as the Chairperson delivered the declaration of war to the people of the United Government, the war between the Innovator Faction and the Conservative Faction also heated up.

According to analysis from frontline intelligence personnel, to level the Neutral Country, not only would the air fleet of the United Government need to carry out carpet bombing, but they also suggested activating the Six-Star Rescuers to form an elite squad that would deeply penetrate into the battlefield for a decapitation strike.

They suspected that the "brains" commanding these mutants were hidden somewhere within the Neutral Country. However, the scanning devices of the "Eye of the Federation" could not detect them, leading to suspicions that the brains of the mutants might be located beneath the surface of the cities.

This was a necessary measure to win the war, but another inevitable issue was brought to the forefront.

Which of the Six-Star Rescuers should be dispatched to participate in this decapitation operation?

This issue quickly became a spark that ignited the war between factions, as no corporation was willing to undertake this thankless mission.

Over the past decades, these nominally supreme warriors had transformed from the Rescuers of the United Government into "products" owned by corporations or large families. They were the crystallization of the effort and resource of the corporations or families, and only the most influential forces within the Review Meeting had the privilege of owning these precious "products."

The loss of a Six-Star Rescuer was unacceptable for any power at the moment.

In the council chamber, symbolizing the highest echelons of the United Government, no one doubted that the United Government would ultimately win this war. What the council members considered was the role they would play in the new political landscape after this victorious war.

In their eyes, the Six-Star Rescuers were not expendable items to be used on distant battlefields, but trump cards prepared for when the factional war would erupt in full force.

Losing a Six-Star Rescuer meant they would prematurely bow out of this political struggle.

Qi He yawned, propping his chin with his left hand out of boredom.

This was the third war meeting of the day, and the representatives of both companies and families still argued fiercely over the composition of the decapitation squad in the meeting.

The same scenario had occurred once before the grand expedition had even begun.

The result of that series of meetings was that no one managed to persuade the others, leading to the subsequent large-scale conscription as a backup plan to have the hastily-assembled Expeditionary Army go to the front lines first to gather more intelligence.

However, the intelligence brought back by the Expeditionary Army was not optimistic.

The war was much harder than they had imagined. Underneath the surface of the cities might be threats yet unknown to them.

The council members realized that this was not a war the Six-Star Rescuers could win by just making an appearance.

Thus, the situation of the war became delicate once again.

Apart from the war itself, they seemed to seize the opportunity to deplete or even cause their political rivals to lose their trump cards.

The war around the meeting table, although devoid of gunpowder and blood, was nonetheless a war where it was a matter of life and death, and even "comrades" from the same faction could not be fully trusted.

"Since all of you have been unable to reach a consensus, we might as well take this opportunity to discuss the issue of the frontline battlefield."

Qi He interrupted the councilors’ debate, drawing the attention of everyone in the room, including the Chairperson of the Council, onto himself.

"The frontline battlefield?"

They did not understand why Qi He would bring up such trivial matters at this critical point in time.

Not long before, they had already announced the failure of the expedition to the public, and as far as they were concerned, the matter was settled, with no need to occupy meeting time for further discussion.

"Although the Expeditionary Army units in various cities have lost contact with us, the ’Eye of the Federation’ has detected a considerable number of Expeditionary Army troops surviving at the frontline."

This explanation only confused the councilors even more.

The Chairperson of the Council had to remind this young councilor attempting to change the meeting’s agenda, "Considering the current situation of the Neutral Country, their death is only a matter of time."

As compensation, they would erect a monument in those border cities that had participated in the massive conscription to honor the sacrifices made by the expedition.

In the eyes of the Review Meeting, this was the greatest commendation they could offer to the Expeditionary Army.

Better to have their names preserved in this way than to die in obscurity.

The Conservative Faction, hostile to the Ragus Foundation, would not miss this opportunity to mock Qi He, with some sarcastic voices heard in the room, "Chairperson of the Council, please allow this young councilor to continue speaking. I recall that not long ago the Ragus Foundation was establishing its public image. Perhaps this time they are willing to undertake a rescue mission to the frontline in the name of the foundation and send an airship to save those surviving soldiers."

Everyone present knew that a rescue operation was thankless work that only a fool would devote resources and manpower to save soldiers who were supposed to die strategically in the Neutral Country anyway.

Especially since those soldiers were "cost-effective;" all that was needed was the cost of exoskeleton armor and some basic military weapons.

The great advantage of the Volunteer Army was that no one would feel the pinch even if they all perished.

As representatives of corporate conglomerates, they knew that Qi He should be one of the ones in the room most capable of calculating this account.

The topic was initiated by Qi He himself, and his rivals from the Innovator Faction could not wait to see him unable to step down from his position embarrassedly.

"I’ve just received the latest message from the frontline, which is why I wanted to inform everyone here," Qi He said in an unhurried tone, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the councilors in the room, memorizing their expressions at that moment.

He concealed well the fleeting shadow in his eyes.

The incessant debates,

and those emotions desiring the swift removal of political enemies.

This was their "Empire."

"While you were discussing the issue of the decapitation squad, the ’Eye of the Federation’ detected several Expeditionary Army troops forming an alliance with mutant creatures."

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