Federal President Sullivan Rimpler didn't like the reports before him.

It was now late May, weeks since he greenlit the experimental autonomous defense forces against the Mandate of Nations.

They had operated in almost all sectors of the CFN war effort.

From the cold fields of northern Hebei, to the scorching fields of the Kusari subcontinent, and of course, right now, the still static and heavily entrenched eastern front of the Federal Army, facing off against the royalists stubbornly clinging to the royal capital and the Free Confederation of Westlauren, the drones of the ADF had seen heavy combat.

The results were mixed, but Tau Core was showing great potential. It seemed the more control granted to it, the better it performed in battle. Of course, that was concerning to many people in the higher-ups of the Federacy, as the techs cited the possibility of 'misalignment' in the AI's behaviors.

And Sullivan accepted those assessments. Not that he cared of course, at the end of the day, if the ADF and Tau Core were traitorous to humanity, as long as it first served its goal of vanquishing the MN, whatever else happened after that was going to be the problem for tomorrow.

"That's the modus operandi we have since the start anyway," Sullivan took a sip of wine as he looked at Eirhow's skyline. "Don't you think so, Defense Minister?"

"You can tell yourself that every day, Mr. President."

"Is there really no way to satisfy you, Geoffrey?"

"Perhaps something better than this will do?"

"My, for a general who declared his great commitment to the war, you sure indulge a bit too much nowadays in fine wine."

"Pardon me for partaking in such a thing, but with how things are going, I'd like to clear my mind a little."

It was clear that ole Geoffrey Heindhöff too was having 'misalignment' issues.

Sullivan took his seat, taking a glance at his defense minister, who calmly sipped white wine in front of him. The two were having a little drink together.

They had just reviewed earlier that 'battle' near Halia, where powerful magic that wiped out a contingent of armored units from the ADF had happened. They hadn't even found the suspected 1st class mage responsible for it.

All in all, they had another major problem in their hands, one that they didn't have very few counters against.

"So if they join, what's your plan?" Geoffrey asked, his tone grim.

"What's your policy on tactical nukes?"

"To jump that far away, you really are a beast."

"What can I say? To fight a war against these people, being a beast is required."

"We have truly sealed our fate, haven't we?"

"Do you fear our fate?"

Geoffrey stared at Sullivan blankly, before shaking his head.

"I fear for our sons," Geoffrey said.

A small smirk grew on Sullivan's face.

"You don't have a son, defense minister. Neither do I. And I doubt we'll ever have one. So why should we care?"

"Oh, you doubt it? Speak for yourself."

"What, you think any woman will find you worthy after this? Don't make me laugh. We in the leadership will forever be their public enemy, number one!"

Geoffrey grumbled, shaking his head.

"Regardless, wasn't the entire point of this war to ensure our sons would not go through this again?"

"No, I think we're long past that," Sullivan said, standing up, smiling. "I've realized that the more we escalate, the further we are from our goals. Yes, that's right…when you failed in your assault on Halia, perhaps the dream of our revolution withered and died there."

Then, Sullivan curled his fist.

"Now, we're fighting not for the future, but for the past, Geoffrey. Have you heard what the Queen has been saying about us? That we're not fighting for a better world, but for revenge?"

"You intend to prove her right?"

"Prove her right? Haven't we done that already?" Sullivan's gaze pierced Geoffrey's soul. "This is why I want us to double down. I want you, defense minister, to double down. After all, we're slowly losing the reason for fighting this war."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Then, Sullivan turned his back on Geoffrey.

"The wars we've fought for them for centuries have been like that. Meaningless. This war is no different now. No one's fighting anymore for a better future on our side. No, I've seen the soldiers on the ground, Geoffrey. Our workers, and the people who support us.

"They now chant for one thing. Blood, blood, blood. Whether we win or lose, the conclusion doesn't matter. No, they only want us to give our best performance in this meaningless war, to make the enemy bleed, and feel the futility of war too.

"Yes, that's your new standing order now. Maximize the pain, Geoffrey. I want you to turn the Federacy and the CFN into a nut so tough to crack, that they will cry and find themselves hopeless even as they march into victory."

"...You've given up on victory," Geoffrey gripped his glass with a slight tremble.

"Their production, population, and magical prowess have surpassed us too much. Soon, thousands of 1st-class mages will also descend on us now that we offended their pride. All we have now is advanced technology, weapons of mass destruction, and the most stubborn strategic and tactical minds humanity has to offer," Sullivan looked at Geoffrey with a growing manic smile. "You and I will die soon. I know you know that. So why don't we go out with a glorious blaze, as our people demand?"

"I knew unleashing those automatons was a mistake—"

"No it's not. Deep down, you knew that we're eventually going to reach this point," Sullivan's tone finally grew hollow. "You and I disagree on a million things, yet this is the one thing you and I will find common ground in. Fight. Fight. Fight…that's what they told us all the time, that's what Queen Areya told you when you sent millions to a meaningless death, and that's what I've been telling you since we started the coup. This is the natural conclusion."

Sullivan leaned close to Geoffrey, who fell silent.

"So fight. Fight. And fight some more. Until we have no fight left in us. All that matters is we fought hard and made our enemies bleed, then…then our hearts will be satisfied. You agree…don't you?"

+++

June passed with the 2nd battle for Halia ending in another stalemate.

Amelie found herself staring at the corpses of the soldiers being shipped out of the region. She was at a city south of the Grand Duchy of Ludendorf, visiting both to inspect the war effort, and the containment effort for the Red Flu virus.

So far, the first batches of vaccines have started to be disseminated to the general public. Considering its rushed nature, many were still having doubts about it, but in clinical studies, it already had a satisfactory rate at preventing infections, or at the very least, reducing the severity of those infected.

She herself found herself taking the vaccine in front of national TV earlier to show the public that she also placed her skin on the line, and she took all three shots during the one-month window, so finally, she could go out near the frontlines without being covered by air filtering spells, which was hard to maintain.

Being back in the fields sure gives bad memories…

She placed her hands on her skirt's pocket, sighing as the train passed her.

I just need to end this war soon. We'll…we'll break them, I'm sure of it, once the magic association finishes their preparations.

"Amelie?! Amelie!" she heard someone shouting from behind, and she turned to her back. Over there, William was running, clearly quite frantic. When the two locked eyes, he immediately walked toward her, his voice a bit angry. "Come on. Why'd you run around without me keeping watch?"

"Ufufu, were you that worried?" Amelie tried to give him a weak chuckle. "I was just looking around."

"Nonsense! You already had enough attempts on your life. Haven't you learned your lesson?"

"William, I can't just stay cooped up in the security detail's orbit. Besides, you guys weren't letting me look at this."

"And why do you even want to look at it?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

William frowned, as Amelie gazed at the trains carrying bodies passing her. The two stood side-by-side, silence taking over.

"...You don't use your handkerchief anymore," William suddenly said from the side.

"I feel like I'm used to the stench of death now."

"Are you training yourself for that skill?"

"No, not really. William, I'm not so craven to do that. And please, don't call it a 'skill' you numbskull."

"Well then what is it? Curiosity?"

"Nothing. I told you back then, right? I care about all of my soldiers," Amelie placed her hand on her heart. "So I went here to look at the people I sent to their deaths. I want…to pray for them, a bit, I guess, before they reach their resting place."

"You risked your security all for that?"

"Is it too ridiculous?"

"Of course it is."

"Well, for me, it isn't. You just have a skewed view as the head of my security."

"Is that what you think of me?!"

"I suppose, yes?"

The two continued bickering for a bit, before William finally chose to stop berating Amelie. Satisfied, Amelie closed her eyes, clasped her hands together a bit, and while it was rare for her to do this…she prayed, genuinely, for these souls.

Thousands of people died in the battles around Halia and the Free Confederation because of those automatons that nearly overran their lines. With the Red Flu virus ravaging the country, she never had the chance to meet and speak to the people who gave their hearts to the cause, because she was afraid.

Even now, she was still a bit of a coward.

So this is the best she could offer.

It's nothing, but…

No, I can still do more.

She was determined to do more. Now that the Red Flu virus was on the retreat, she once again made the vow that all of these deaths wouldn't be for nothing. They held good positions where she could launch attacks soon, and Operation Eastern Jade had now achieved many of its objectives.

They now had the option to pull back men from the rest of the world and pool them here in Orland.

Most of all, her industry was truly waking up for the task, and another wave of fresh units from the rear, trained to decent standards, was soon going to make their way to the frontlines.

Yes, the Kingdom of Orland was a beaten, battered, and struggling force.

But it still had a lot of fight in it, and it was growing.

Now that the enemy is confirmed to have unleashed AI technology, the 'siege' strategy they had adopted was clearly on borrowed time. Before the enemy could create better weapons, Amelie decided she would change course.

For those who fell, and for the future of those who haven't, and those who'll come after us…

She opened her eyes, a small tear coming from her soft, azure eyes, which were swept by the wind.

"William, we'll finish this soon," Amelie said, turning to him. "I want you and the general staff to prepare a counteroffensive at home. We'll crush the head of the CFN, once and for all."

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