The outbreak of war: Traitor
"What, what is that!?" A gasp broke the tense atmosphere in the conference room, and the representatives from various countries all looked in the direction the exclaiming representative was pointing.
On the once boundless blue sea, thick fog began to rise and spread rapidly, covering an increasingly wider area.
This amazing scene stunned everyone, even the representative whose shoulder was being held down by Erwin stared wide-eyed at the spectacle on the sea.
"What's going on? Why did fog suddenly roll in? And it's such a thick fog?" A representative asked, echoing the thoughts of everyone present. At the same time, Erwin was also staring at the thick fog on the distant horizon. The difference was that while others looked on with confusion and curiosity, Erwin's eyes were filled with excitement and pride, and even occasionally revealed a hint of cruelty.
Erwin suddenly released the representative, turned around and returned to his seat. Completely different from his previous gentle and humble demeanor, Erwin sat casually in his seat with a smile on his face, as if waiting for a big show.
"Your Excellency Urnati, may I ask you a question?" Magath, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked a question in the meeting room, his eyes fixed on the representative whose name had been called.
The representative, who was wearing a silk robe that only covered half of his body while the other half of his body was exposed, was from a small country on the edge of the Marley road. He was stunned for a moment when the Marshal of Marley suddenly called his name.
However, Urnati quickly realized what was going on and gave a fawning smile, "Magath Marshal, please feel free to ask me any questions. I will answer them to the best of my knowledge!"
Magath: "Then may I ask, Your Excellency Urnati, as far as I know, your country's finances have always relied on rice and fruit exports, right? How has your country managed to build such a powerful Fleet with only these revenues?"
A flicker of panic and fear crossed Urnati's eyes. How could this be! Did he know?! But Urnati quickly forced himself to calm down, feigning an ingratiating tone, "Marshal, of course we are responding to the call of the Marley Empire, mobilizing the entire nation to build an army and fight alongside the Marley Empire! Our soldiers are willing to shed their blood for the Marley Empire!"
Magath listened to Urnati's nonsense with a half-smile, as if looking at a clown, then casually tossed a document aside. "Is that so? So Lord Urnati is so loyal to us? Then it seems the intelligence I received is a slanderous joke."
The joke goes that His Excellency Urnati has signed a secret alliance with the Far East secretly funding and supporting your country's military, and even helping you build an ironclad Fleet. And your country is willing to become the Far East's inside man within the Allied Army?
They even went so far as to claim that intelligence about this military meeting had been leaked by your country, and that your country had mobilized its entire Fleet and assembled at the Light Harbor, preparing to send our high-ranking officials to the Far East as a "gift"—what a joke!
Whoosh!! Magath's words caused an uproar in the conference room. Everyone looked at Urnati in shock, and Urnati's face, which had turned from pitch black to deathly pale, said it all.
"Bastard! Traitor!"
"You fat bastard! You're so vicious! Our Allied Army even gave your country special assistance before!"
"Born into this world! Three years ago, when your territory was hit by floods, our country even provided you with 100,000 tons of grain as aid! And you betrayed us like this!"
In an instant, Urnati was the target of everyone's scorn. His face had turned almost whiter than a wall, so he simply stopped pretending and roared fiercely, "Get out!!"
After scaring away the surrounding crowd, Urnati grinned maliciously as he sized them up. "Since you all know, I'll stop this charade. That's right! Our Tiao is the most loyal ally of the great Far East Union! Right now, over thirty cannons from our Tiao Fleet are aimed right here! The Middle East Fleet is basically finished, the Marley Fleet is full of outdated equipment, and all of you other rotten eggs and potatoes couldn't even muster twenty warships if you all put yourselves together! So, you're doomed!"
Take my advice: the Allied Army are no match for the Far East! You should all give up resistance as soon as possible!
Urnati's words successfully intimidated everyone. Although the representatives from various countries were furious, most of them dared not make any rash moves when they heard that they were being targeted by more than thirty naval cannons.
Despite Urnati's threat, Magath remained calm and composed. "Do you really think your Fleet outside Light Harbor is invincible right now?"
Urnati sneered, "What? Does Lord Magath intend to tell me that your Marley actually harbors a Fleet? Hahaha, don't embarrass yourselves with those dilapidated steamships!"
"Urnati, do you know why the Eldians became the fear of the world two thousand years ago? Why they were called demons? Have you ever witnessed the power of demons?"
Urnati's smile froze. "What do you mean!?"
The gaze shifted to the port more than ten kilometers away, where more than thirty steel warships flying the flag of the Tiao had blockaded the entire Light Harbor. Several old Marley warships that still tried to resist had been blasted into a pile of fragments, and the more than thirty cannons, their muzzles still glowing, were aimed at the Allied Army Command Headquarters.
On the lead Tiao warship, a Tiao general smugly watched the Marley warship slowly sinking in the distance. Once upon a time, the Tiao were utterly terrified, treated like dogs by the Marley. Today! Finally! The great Tiao has risen up! Marley? That's just an old dog. As long as they cling to the powerful thigh of the Far East, who cares about Marley or the Middle East? They'll all kneel down and sing praises of conquest!
"General! The reconnaissance ship reports that fog has suddenly rolled in fifty nautical miles away, and there seems to be something in the fog!" The Guard's untimely appearance interrupted the Tiao's reverie. Annoyed, he pointed at the Guard's nose and cursed, "Utterly useless! You have to report to me about something so trivial? Damn it, it's just a little fog, what's the big deal? Get out! Have all ships continue aiming at Command Headquarters! If there's no result in ten minutes, fire three shots at the cliffs next to us to scare those Marley bastards!"
The Guard, his face covered in spittle, dared not complain and loudly replied, "Yes, General!"
After the Guard left, the Tiao continued to gaze into the distance, fantasizing about future riches and glory.
"Stepping on Marley, punching the Middle East, hahaha, my Tiao has finally met its match, hahaha, so beautiful, hahaha, cough cough, my throat is a bit dry, cough cough cough, why is it so hot? Who brought out the brazier in my office? Why is it so hot?" The general of the Tiao touched his forehead in confusion, and large beads of sweat rolled down as if they were free.
Suddenly, something strange happened on the sea. Tiao stared blankly as the once calm seawater beneath the warship suddenly began to bubble up as if it were being boiled, with scalding steam rushing towards them. And a few crimson spots suddenly appeared on the once azure seabed!