With the arrival of the Demigod Cynthia, all resistance was wiped out almost in the blink of an eye.
Lancelot, along with Vermila and the others, who were experiencing mixed feelings, cleaned up the battlefield, gathered the prisoners, and sorted through the spoils of war.
Students from the three academies, including Gosdo, whose lives were hanging by a thread in the Crimson World, quickly joined in as well.
"You're right, Lancelot. If we had listened to you and been more cautious before the war, we wouldn't have fallen headlong into their trap," Keaton sighed regretfully, and the other two quickly echoed his sentiment.
Lancelot raised his hand to stop them, and said, "Putting aside right and wrong for now, haven't you all noticed anything strange?"
"A strange place? You mean...?"
"The off-field support for this battle was far too little. Normally, we should have a large number of intelligent mechanical units assisting us during operations, but have you seen a single drone or mechanical soldier?"
"Also, we agreed before that we would be responsible for the second wave of the attack, and the third wave of regular troops would arrive to support us soon, but look for yourselves, not a single one has come?" Lancelot said, pointing to the outside area.
At this point, the group realized that something was amiss.
"Someone's trying to scam us!!" Cage said through gritted teeth.
"Who could it be?" Gosdo asked hesitantly, frowning.
"Who else could it be but Brigadier General Mountbatten, the supreme commander?"
"Impossible! He's a brigadier general in the Alliance, already a high-ranking officer. Why would he betray us?"
"I've said it before, Mountbatten was handpicked and cultivated by the Blood Clan. In recent years, the relationship between us humans and Blood Clan has been tense, and conflicts have even broken out repeatedly, which has made a considerable number of Radical Faction Blood Clan. It is said that the [Revival Society] organization is a good show directed and staged by the Blood Clan themselves, and it is hard to guarantee that the [Chosen Ones] organization is not the same." Keaton narrowed his eyes, his gaze cold.
But Gosdo shook his head, unwilling to believe his speculation.
The two started arguing, Lancelot, after listening for a few moments, stopped them. "Instead of arguing here, let's each report our suspicions and ask our superiors to decide. Whether there are any problems or not, we can find out by investigating. The Alliance's intelligence department isn't just sitting around doing nothing."
The group exchanged glances, nodded in agreement, and said, "Okay, let's do it that way."
Although Lancelot and others do not hold positions within the Alliance, their status is not low. They represent the Alliance's future high-end military force, and once they make a serious suggestion, no one dares to ignore it.
Furthermore, since the Alliance did indeed use them as bait, even though they were followed by the super healer Cynthia, it was inevitable that it would leave a lingering resentment among the students. Therefore, the higher-ups quickly agreed to Lancelot and the others' request and launched an investigation into Brigadier General Mountbatten.
Surprisingly, the brigadier general committed suicide not long after the investigation began.
Fortunately, Cynthia personally intervened and resurrected him. She then brought in a master of soul studies to examine Brigadier General Mountbatten's soul memories.
The results of the investigation were not released, but Lancelot learned the details through Zyra's information channels.
"The Ross Family Blood Clan, one of the three major vampire families..."
Lancelot narrowed his eyes, sensing that things weren't so simple. His intuition told him that there was a deeper reason behind the whole affair.
However, after thinking for a long time, Lancelot still couldn't come up with a solution. He still had too little information at hand, and any deduction required sufficient intelligence support.
"Forget it, if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. For now, I just need to focus on developing my strength. Once I'm strong enough, all the problems will naturally be solved..."
In a grand hall that seemed both real and surreal, colorful clouds drifted in the wind, and vibrant rays of light shone down from the dome. Several figures, each with a different posture, sat on the throne, among them were Cynthia, the Emerald Heart, and Black Hole, the Black Urta.
"So? What was the Ross Family's response?" The speaker was a young man, whose calm demeanor concealed a turbulent undercurrent.
"They denied any connection with Mountbatten and stated that it was all Dimen's idea alone, and had nothing to do with the Ross Family," Cynthia said calmly, her lips barely moving.
"This is unbelievable! Dimen alone can mobilize such power, even fooling our Ninth Security Bureau?" Another bigwig sneered coldly, not believing the Ross Family's reply at all.
"Otherwise what? Can we go to war with them? Even though humanity currently holds an absolute advantage in military force, it's far from the time to overturn the table."
Upon hearing this, Urta's drooping eyelids snapped open, and his pure black eyes swirled like Black Hole, swallowing the rosy clouds and the glow of the sunset. "Since this matter is involved with the Ross Family, no matter how they try to deny it, it's useless. We can't shake their foundations, but we'll teach them a lesson and make them stop reaching so far, especially the military."
"Urta, do you mean to sweep away the military generals who are close to the Blood Clan?" Cynthia frowned slightly, her expression suggesting she didn't quite approve.
"That's right. Military power is fundamental to humanity and cannot be allowed to be interfered with by the Blood Clan. I think 5% is still too much; let's reduce it by another 2%!"
"Won't this... provoke an overreaction from the Blood Clan?" the first young man to speak asked hesitantly.
"Hmph, so what if it's excessive? We're in the right this time. And don't worry about falling out with the Blood Clan. We're afraid of the Alliance splitting apart, but aren't they afraid?"
No, they're even more afraid! For these insatiable bastards, force is always the best tool for communication. Don't forget how we gained our military power!
Urta spoke with a firm tone, his hair and beard flying wildly. At this moment, he didn't look like an old man at all; his imposing aura was like a sharp blade drawn from its sheath.
"Urta is right. We can't be soft on jackals. I agree with him!"
"Agree!"
"Agree!"
Ultimately, everyone in the hall agreed to Urta's proposed strategy, and Cynthia was no exception. Although she somewhat disagreed with this extreme approach, she did not want to go against the grain.
"Very well, since everyone has no objections, then go back and leverage your connections to put pressure on the Ross Family, and ultimately force the entire Blood Clan to concede!"