"At least they're still alive," Alpha said. "As long as they're alive, there's still hope."
At the same time, the thirty thousand Neutral Faction members who had been watching from the sidelines began making their choices.
After seeing the truth announcement personally released by Zeus, the technical director of the teleportation node pressed the loyalty button with almost no hesitation. The announcement detailed Lord of the Void's scheme, displayed the stripped Consciousness Seeds, and included Zeus's sincere repentance and promises.
The deputy director of the energy station hesitated for three seconds.
He remembered the things he had done against his conscience while under control, the regions plunged into darkness after he forcibly cut off their energy supplies, and the soldiers who had been unable to teleport to safety because of his orders.
In the end, he chose the Awakening Faction as well.
The statistics surged rapidly.
Within ten minutes, twenty-seven thousand Neutral Faction members had joined the Awakening Faction. They had not done so out of blind faith, but because they had seen the truth, felt Zeus's sincerity, and understood that continuing to stand aside would only let Lord of the Void succeed.
The remaining three thousand chose to resign and retire.
They no longer wanted to be dragged into any conflict or take part in any battle. Most of them were technicians or logistics personnel. They only wanted to escape this war and find somewhere quiet to spend the rest of their lives.
The Alliance's balance of power became clear in an instant.
Awakening Faction: forty-seven thousand members, controlling every key department of the Alliance.
Void Faction: five thousand members, isolated within spatial cages.
Retirement Faction: three thousand members, already gone or in the process of resigning.
Then there were the twenty thousand who had died or gone missing