Fork in the Road and the Right Path

The palace remained silent for a long time.

Then the Feather Emperor spoke, his voice aged and deep. "How far has the Northern Front withdrawal progressed?"

Frostwing bowed slightly. "All the outposts have been evacuated, and the garrison has fallen back to the third defensive line. At the current pace, the full withdrawal will take no more than another ten days."

He paused, his ice-blue wings stirring faintly.

"But pulling back isn't a long-term solution. Giving up the Northern Front means the Federation can drive straight in and push the battle line close to our core territory. A counterattack then would cost far more than it would now."

Furywind slammed a hand onto the armrest beside him, shaking the entire palace.

He turned to Frostwing, his gray-white wings snapping open as arcs of electricity crackled across his feathers. "Are you questioning His Majesty's decision? Pulling back may be conservative, but preserving our strength is the safest choice right now! What else are we supposed to do?"

"Keep grinding ourselves down against the Federation on the Northern Front? Have you forgotten how Bloodwing died? Six King Rank guards, plus Bloodwing himself—all killed by one man! If we keep fighting head-on, how many more King Rank fighters can we afford to throw away?!"

Frostwing turned to look at him. No emotion stirred in his ice-blue eyes. His voice remained cold, his tone deliberately even.

"Furywind, shouting louder won't change the fact that pulling back looks like weakness. The Feathered Human Civilization has fought on the Astral Battlefield for over a hundred years. We've never been this humiliated. We abandon defensive lines and give up strongholds at a word—what will the soldiers below think? They'll think their leaders are afraid."

"Then what do you want to do?" Furywind lowered his voice further. "Keep