"What-!"
The Bear Nation president slammed his palm onto the table, making a teacup jump and spilling tea across the documents.
His face was livid, veins throbbing on his forehead, and his voice shook with barely contained fury and disbelief:
"How is that possible-! Eighty percent of our nuclear missile launch units have been destroyed???"
He pointed at the subordinates seated along both sides of the conference table, his finger trembling slightly. His gaze swept from face to face as his voice rose.
"How did they do it-huh! Answer me! Only our top leadership knew intelligence this classified-there must be a mole among the Bear Nation's senior officials!"
The air in the conference room hung heavy as lead. More than a dozen senior generals and intelligence officers sat rigidly in their seats, their expressions varied-
Some bowed their heads, afraid to meet his eyes; some had cold sweat beading on their foreheads; others pressed their lips tightly together. No one spoke.
The Bear Nation president slowly sank back into his chair, sweeping a dark gaze over every face, his eyes filled with scrutiny and distrust.
Everyone looked like a traitor to him now. His fingers tapped against the back of his chair, faster and faster, then abruptly stopped.
His gaze shifted to the map of the Rabbit Nation spread across the table. He stared fixedly at that vast territory, as though he could burn through every mountain and river on it with his eyes.
A moment later, he snapped his head up and barked at the secretary beside him, "Contact every participating nation-convene a joint war council immediately."
Dozens of minutes later, the encrypted videoconferencing system connected. Screens lit up one after another along the conference room walls, each displaying the face of a national leader-
John Bull, the Gallic