[In the Thracian region, Abra Lana's ambition has been thoroughly ignited.]
[She adopted the advice of the Leithanien military advisors, upgrading the piecemeal guerrilla tactics into small-scale campaigns, targeting the strategic zones of the Victorian border.]
[The morale of Deep Pool reached an unprecedented peak; every victory made them more convinced of their impending success.]
[However, amidst the fanaticism of victory, Rafshini felt a sense of wrongness.]
[She clashed again with cadres like Mandragora, questioning if they had forgotten the original intention of Thracian independence, but her voice was easily drowned out by the deafening cheers.]
[Meanwhile, in Trullinczentyr, you formally announced the launch of the "Five-Year Plan" at a meeting.]
[You explicitly pointed out that under the influence of the Intelligence Department and the Foreign Liaison Department, Victoria's internal friction will continue for several years. This is a once-in-a-millennium strategic window for Leithanien.]
[The Research Institute must accelerate the development of new weapons, and the industrial sector must push production capacity to its limit.]
[The resources and manpower of Siracusa and South Kazimierz will be thoroughly integrated into the Imperial war machine, stockpiling strength for the future total war.]
[On the chessboard of the Terra continent, the winds and clouds are changing.]
[In the Columbian Presidential Manor, Brandon Hawke analyzed for President Mark Max that Leithanien's vigorous development now shows momentum surpassing old powers like Ursus and Victoria. If Columbia maintains its previous strategic policy, it may be difficult to contain Leithanien in the future.]
[Therefore, they decided to split their forces, secretly contacting the conservative Dukes of Victoria and Ursus, hinting at a willingness to provide military technical aid, attempting to establish a check and balance before Leithanien becomes completely dominant.]
[In the Ursus Imperial Palace, the young Emperor Fyodor also received reports on Victoria's internal turmoil.]
[He discussed all night with his staff whether they should take this opportunity to increase troops at the Victorian border and tear another piece of flesh from this weakened lion.]
[Victoria, the Duke of Normandy's manor.]
[He dispatched the Countess Eleanor of March to run around, attempting to ascertain the true intentions of the other Dukes, but with little success. Every Duke kept their doors tightly shut, secretly mobilizing their armies while watching their neighbors with the most vigilant eyes.]
[The Countess Eleanor of March sent back intelligence: Victoria is only one last straw away from the outbreak of civil war.]
[The Duke of Normandy finally issued the order: Watch and wait, preserve strength, and never place a bet easily before the game becomes completely clear.]
...
Kazdel, Military Commission Headquarters.
Theresis sat at his desk, which was piled high with military reports and maps from Leithanien. He carefully studied every document.
The door was pushed open gently, and Theresia walked in.
She wore a long white dress, her pinkish-white hair scattered casually behind her back.
"Theresis," Theresia's voice was gentle.
"You're here."
Theresis did not look up, simply motioning for her to sit in the chair opposite him.
"I heard about Leithanien's order," Theresia said, her gaze falling on the military reports, her eyes filled with worry.
"Five years. He wants us to be the vanguard for the attack on Victoria in five years' time."
Theresis finally raised his head to look at his sister.
There was no expression on his face, yet his eyes were filled with exhaustion.
"This is our only choice, Theresia," he said in a deep voice.
"Kazdel cannot wait any longer."
"We must find a land where the Sarkaz can settle down and live, a home where we can sustain our future."
"He just wants to use us, to use our flesh and blood as the price to pave the way for Leithanien's great cause," Theresia's voice raised slightly.
"So what?" Theresis asked in return.
"If I can use our blood to exchange for the Sarkaz's future, I will do so gladly; if our sacrifice can make the nations of Terra remember the wrath of the Sarkaz, I will never retreat!"
Theresia stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the barren land outside.
"Theresis, look at this city beneath our feet. It is riddled with gaping wounds, and our compatriots are still struggling just to survive."
"What we need is not more war, but peace, reconstruction—allowing our children to grow up in a world without the fires of war!"
"Peace?"
Hearing this, Theresis felt exhausted for some reason.
"Theresia, you are too naive."
"Peace is never something begged for; it is won with the sword and blood."
"Do you think those high and mighty Terran nobles will 'put down the butcher's knife' against the Sarkaz because of your benevolence?"
"But we can prove that the Sarkaz can also be civilized, can also be kind!" Theresia turned around, tears shimmering in her eyes.
"The ideal of Babel was to break this prejudice! We cannot become the very thing we once hated most!"
"Babel's ideal was great, Theresia." Theresis's voice softened somewhat.
"But it cannot save all Sarkaz people."
"I cannot watch helplessly as our compatriots die of hunger and disease, cannot watch our children grow up in hatred."
"I must find a way out for them, even if this path is stained with blood."
"You are just repeating the same mistakes!" Theresia said with heartache.
"You think force can conquer everything, but true victory is winning people's hearts, is allowing all races to coexist in peace!"
"People's hearts?" Theresis let out a low laugh.
"Theresia, you are living in your beautiful dream."
"The law of the Terra continent has always been the strong eating the weak. Only the strong are qualified to talk about peace and ideals."
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from outside the door.
Sanguinarch Duqare and Nachzehrer King Nietzhere walked in.
They had come to report to Theresis on the reorganization of the Royal Court Legions.
As soon as Duqare entered, he saw Theresia; a playful glint flashed through his crimson eyes.
Theresia ignored Duqare. She simply looked at Theresis, her eyes filled with disappointment and sorrow.
She knew she could not persuade her brother.
He had made up his mind to use war to win a future for the Sarkaz.
"Grand Duke Duqare, Patriarch Nietzhere," Theresia spoke, her voice remaining firm.
"I hope you remember that the future of the Sarkaz should not be built upon hatred and blood."
"True strength is the power of the heart, not a reliance on slaughter."
With that, she took one last deep look at Theresis, then turned and left the office.
Duqare watched Theresia's retreating figure and said, "What a headache, Her Highness the Demon King."
Nietzhere's turbid eyes, however, remained fixed on Theresis.
Theresis did not speak; he simply watched quietly in the direction his sister had left until her figure completely disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Then, he turned to look at Duqare and Nietzhere.
"Your Excellencies, how is the reorganization of the Royal Court Legions progressing?" he asked in a deep voice.
Nietzhere's raspy voice rang out: "The Nachzehrer Legion is ready."
"Our warriors hunger for war, hunger to devour the flesh and blood of the enemy to nourish our kin."
"Five years from now, we will be the sharpest spearhead, carving out a bloody path for the Sarkaz."
Duqare also spoke: "The Sanguinarch's Royal Court is ready to enjoy a feast of blood."
Theresis nodded as he listened to the reports of the two Royal Court Lords.
"Very good."
He instructed Manfred outside the door: "Order all Royal Court Legions to intensify their training."
"We need this war."
"Five years from now, Victoria will be the land of rebirth for the Sarkaz."
He looked out the window again, at the scorched earth shrouded in Originium crystal clusters.
"The future of the Sarkaz will be written by us ourselves."
________________________________________
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