Four Forces

With Arthur's arrival, the meeting room now contained representatives of four forces.

At Pierce's signal, the representatives of the four forces took their seats one after another. Natasha went over to sit beside Nick Fury without any prompting.

Rogers walked over to Ross, who represented the US military. After all, Captain America's rank of captain had been granted by the US military.

On top of that, Arthur and the Blood Raven Battle Group's sudden appearance had caused something of a butterfly effect, making the US Government and military take an unusual interest in Steve Rogers, this "Captain America."

However, in Arthur's view, the US Government and military were using the title more to win back some public support.

The four forces sat on the four sides of the square wooden table.

Arthur's side was somewhat understaffed, with only him and Carl, but it was the most confident of the four.

Once everyone was seated, Pierce, sitting directly opposite Arthur and Carl, was still the first to speak:

"Mr. Russell, recently, both society and our group of high-ranking officials have taken a great interest in your Umbrella, so...

"Could you explain to us what kind of company Umbrella actually is? Or which country or organization it belongs to?

"Why does it possess such a large private army? And what exactly is your identity?"

At that, Arthur merely smiled faintly and said, "Umbrella has never belonged to any organization or country. We're a company whose strength surpasses that of nations and organizations.

"As for the nature of our company... We started out in biopharmaceuticals and arms manufacturing. Now, we've expanded into every aspect of society. Entertainment, culture, publishing, and various other industries are all led by Umbrella.

"And it isn't strange for a large private enterprise to possess a large private army,