Year 2035, April
11:00 A.M
Stockholm Conference Palace, Stockholm, Sweden
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Relly and his loyal Vlasta Maidens were on standby back at the military HQ. After all, they were not needed any time soon.
As for Mara and Ivar, they were cared for by Yvonne's clones. As much as I would've liked both of them to come with me, their conditions didn't permit it. Waiting for them to recover fully was the go-to choice.
And so, on the next day, I strode towards the huge bronze door of the Stockholm Conference Palace. Kian and Yvonne walked beside me, keeping up with my slow gait. Yvonne, as usual, wore an elaborate, white wedding dress.
"Mom . . ." said Kian.
"I know. The civilians that are excluded from my A.V.A plan haven't had any problem with daily necessities. They are, by all means, cared for."
"Hmm. I found out that Sweden, Germany, and Italy cared for them flawlessly. How?" he prompted.
"Well . . . You must not forget that the C.U is not like it was back then. My A.V.A. plan did cause a significant decrease in the human workforce. But, it doesn't really affect the production of goods within those regions. Why is that? It's because of the A.I machines taking over most of the factories and workshops. I also deployed some Anciles to assist in a few departments."
"As expected of Amathelia," praised Yvonne. "The government advisors are doing their best fixing some problems in the plan. Sooner or later, we can execute it in other regions as well. Norway sounds good."
"It is. I have to take it slowly nonetheless. The newborns will replace the depleted number of citizens in due time. They will be guided properly so that their tendency to commit a crime is as low as possible," I said.
Two guards in military uniform opened the bronze door for us. We stepped inside and was greeted with a long hallway. It was relatively rich, in terms of how the walls and marble floor were decorated.
A gold rosy pattern ran across the marble floor as if it was a huge sticker. The walls, however, had numerous gray square blocks protruding out of it. Luckily, those blocks were about two centimeters in length so it didn't obstruct our path as we made our way across. At the end of the hallway, two different guards opened a smaller bronze door for us.
"Your Most Gracious," sounded five individuals in that huge room.
They had taken their own seats around a large, wooden round table while looking seemingly composed. I sighed when my eyes caught sight of five empty seats.
Clearly, the coup d'etat had already made an impact on several regions around the globe.
"I suppose we can start the meeting now," I said after I took my own seat.
The five main region leaders looked at each other, waiting for someone to do it. Though, I knew that the main reason it was hard for them to speak up was due to Kian. The entire military was well aware of his strength. After all, Kian by himself had destroyed five military bases around Sweden and Norway. That event happened a year ago when he was tasked to hold off the C.U's military forces by himself.
Since then, no one in the military dared to go against me. Aside from the defected ones, the rest did well by not doing anything that would incur my wrath.
One of the five present region leaders, General Azalea Laskaris, raised her hand slightly. "I, General Azalea Laskaris, general-in-charge of Southern and Western Europe shall start this meeting. Is this alright with you, Your Most Gracious?"
I nodded. "Please do."
Azalea brushed a strand of her short, dark hair behind her right ear. ". . . The preparation for an all-out attack against Neo Africa is almost finished, Your Most Gracious. The military forces under me are all ready to deploy. The same goes for the forces in South America and the regions further down. So far, there is no problem. Most of our forces can move out any time you wish."
"Splendid," I muttered. "What about Canada, Japan, Korea, and Australia?"
Azalea darted her eyes to the wall. "Unfortunately . . . The general-in-charge for those regions are kept busy with the coup d'etat. It turns out that, about sixty-percent of our soldiers there have defected."
The other four general-in-charge that were present in the room had sweats trickling down their forehead. Of course, some of the soldiers under them had also defected.
"I see. Then, the upcoming war will proceed without those forces. I have enough of our endless skirmishes with Neo Africa. It is time for us to take the initiative and invade them with what we have currently. After that, the rising coup d'etat will tremble in fear once a great country like Neo Africa falls," I said.
"Certainly, Your Most Gracious," said the five leaders at the same time.
"This . . . This will certainly be a scale close to World War III years ago," said the man sitting next to Azalea.
"It will be if we don't end this as soon as we can," I said.
"Um, Your Most Gracious," called Azalea. "Our air bombers had just gone through a second wave at the center of Finland. A good portion of the coup there should have been decimated by now."
"Excellent."
"B-But, there is one thing that's troubling those bombers . . . It seems like the coup and a few members of The People's Light are engaged in combat with them."
"Ah, I see. Send reinforcements. That should do the trick," I said.
"Hmm." Kian lowered his body and then whispered next to my ear. My mouth curved into a smile after that.
"Everyone," I said firmly. "I suppose now is the right time for us to announce our intention of attacking Neo Africa with earnest."
"Absolutely."
"Indeed."
A screen monitor popped out from the ceiling. It adjusted its angle so that everyone in that room would be displayed at the other end of the screen.
"World!" I announced. "Hear me out! I, the ruler of Great Corporate United has a grand wish to fulfill. By realizing this wish, we can unite the whole world, with me being its only leader. I admit that the previous ruler had not cared for anyone of you, but this time, it is different. I wish to create a world that will bring nothing but happiness to everyone who resides in it."
"And for that to happen, Neo Africa needs to be absorbed into the Great Corporate United. With that being said, I will wait for the ones in charge of that country to respond. This is an honest request for an alliance. However, if they do not respond within seven days, the C.U will launch an all-out invasion. As such, refusal of alliance means a declaration of global-scale war. Neo Africa will be dealt with in a manner befitting ones who do not seek this opportunity of world unity and peace."
"For the sake of those who will be leaders in the future, I will fight Neo Africa with everything I have."
The monitor screen folded back into place after my announcement. The exhilaration from it still gripped my heart, so I just sat on my seat, smiling on the inevitable outcome.