The officers seated beneath the photograph of Scott hanging on the wall.
These were the officers remaining after Scott's departure. The seats in the entire operations conference room were sharply divided into two camps. About one-third of the officers sat to his right, and the officer who had just raised the question came from that side.
About two-thirds of the officers sat expressionlessly to his left, led by a sturdy, somewhat short man with a scar on his face.
The sturdy man sat with his arms folded in the first seat to the left of the thin officer. He said nothing, merely staring coldly at the officers on the thin officer's right.
"What did you just say?!"
The thin officer took in everyone's expressions, then slammed his palm onto the table and roared angrily at the young officer who had spoken.
"General Scott gave this order, and he told everyone here as well. We are to protect the north gate. We absolutely cannot let it fall and allow the Consortium's Mercenary Group into the city! General Scott has barely left, and you already want to betray him?!"
His cold gaze swept across everyone present as he raised his voice. "We are an army of justice! We are here to put Ilan City back on the right track! What do you think we are? Lackeys of the consortiums?!"
"But the enemy has far more troops than we do. If we insist on holding the city, aren't we just throwing our lives away?"
The young officer who had asked the question opened his mouth and said, "And didn't General Scott already reach an agreement with the consortiums? If we open the gates and let them come in, won't everyone be happy and everything be settled?"
"Are you going to defy General Scott's