Chapter 1119 (1/2)
Vualla folded her arms to hide her hand that had balled themselves into fists. This farce of a meeting had gone on for far too long for her to sit still. Yet she was bound here, brought by Cail Tweocs, who stood beside her looked as just as content with bored as the rest of the assembled Commanders.
Yet right now… Vualla’s gaze flicked toward the door to the meeting tent.
Lord Miln favored Commander Terith with a sharp look. “I must insist that you had over the Nether Prince. Surely your current… results have made it clear that your methods are incapable of breaking its will. With the threat of the Nether King looming over us, it is time to put aside this foolishness.”
“I think I’ve already made my refusal clear, Supreme Commander.” Commander Terith replied frostily. Although he was certainly someone who was loyal to his commanding officer, Commander Terith’s pride made it so that he very easily took offense to this very direct dressing down. Especially when it occurred in front of his peers.
But still, now is not the time for this infighting, Vualla did her best to breathe out her nose and control her emotions.
Yet this specific argument wasn’t the reason that Vualla was so furious she was biting her lip hard enough to make her mouth taste like copper. Well, that was technically not true. Because it was this argument that was infuriating. It was the fact that they had time to bicker about this stupid thing while a million-strong army of Nether Beasts sent detachments of ten thousand to assault the Aether Force’s forward defenses.
Luckily, the fact that the Nether King broke through an Aether Key directly gave them an early warning and they had pulled out their emergency defensive armaments. It gave the forces an Aether another edge in a defensive battle, which was much needed.
Yet even though the initial numbers were extremely rosy in terms of loss ratios, that entirely missed the point: the Nether King was a foe far beyond the capability of any one individual on this frontline to battle. Even Cail Tweocs seemed somewhat leery at the prospect. And the forces of Aether only had about one hundred thousand troops stationed here, with at least half of those currently on rest rotation.
The early numbers might look good, but the forces of Aether would tire out. With numbers at their back, more and more Nether Beasts would keep coming and killing. And then, they would all-!!
Vualla had to press her eyes shut as the image of her father’s pale and deceased form appeared before her eyes. She bit her lip even harder. I will not cry here. I cannot.
“I’m afraid I must insist,” Lord Miln said lightly.
Commander Terith glared at Lord Miln but remained silent. A heavy moment passed between them as their gazes remained locked. Everyone else sat in various positions of polite listening, while not particularly willing to get involved on either side.
Seething inside, Vualla looked away… until her gaze settled onto the bushy and verdant form of Yggdrasil. Vualla had met the treant man a few times in passing since Randidly had left for the Great Rift, and overall she hadn’t given him much attention; in her mind, he was only another one of the images that was a part of Randidly.
Yet now, looking at his serene expression…
That familiar warmth of Randidly’s touch on her back returned to her. Peace and tranquility seemed to radiate off of the emerald leaves of the treant. And perhaps most poignantly, the emerald of the leaves reminded Vualla of Randidly’s pure eyes. The color of the leaves was slightly lighter, but-
But I can’t be tranquil. Vualla looked at the ground. Not when so many die while we waste our time here.
One of the other commanders coughed light. “Ahem. Perhaps we can table this matter for now. With the forces of the Nether King marching on us-”
“Breaking the will of the Nether Prince is of tantamount importance,” Lord Miln said.
The Commander that had seen fit to speak frowned at the brusque reaction from Lord Miln. “But our forces are currently grossly underprepared for the assault. At least issue an emergency recall of those on rest leave so we can-”
“The foot soldier’s job,” Lord Miln said sharply as he rapped his knuckles on his heavy desk. “Is to buy time so that we, the decision-makers, can move with the wisdom and clarity that befits our position. And let me tell you, the Nether Prince is how we win this war. So Commander Terith-”
“Those people will die,” Vualla cut in sharply. No longer could she stay silent, not when someone else had tried the argument gently. No, now that a Path had opened she would smash into it with everything she had. That was her choice to make. She straightened her back and prepared to meet Lord Miln’s gaze. “Does that mean nothing to you?”
Silence fell in the council as everyone turned to look at Vualla. Although many of the Commanders had brought attendants to the meeting, they all stood as far back as possible and kept silent. This was a place where only the Commanders had leave to speak. So to suddenly step forward meant that Vualla abruptly experienced the heavy gaze of all of the assembled Commanders.