Clock Tower - Office of the Wizard Marshall.
"I will remember all the names that were against my appointment as General." Sitting down on the sofa, Rose spoke aloud, still full of anger at the mistrust of her ability.
"It's normal for them to question, you've proved nothing but your strength, Rose." Dumbledore, sitting in the chair behind the desk, replied with a smile on his face. Even with all the tension in the Tower, perhaps Rose was the only one who could lighten the mood and make the man smile like that.
"Humph!" Rose just snorted coldly, but didn't deny Dumbledore's words. As he had said, she really wasn't involved enough in politics and had practically no presence in Parliament, which made her image rather transparent. If it weren't for her strength, she probably wouldn't even be remembered.
Turning to Asterion, Dumbledore looked at the calm, indifferent young man with an appreciative gaze. Honestly, he wanted Asterion as heir just for the calmness with which he could face the adversity and pressure of responsibility of the current situation.
In his long life, he could count on his fingers the men and women who could remain calm in the face of desperate situations or those that required them to withstand extreme pressure. Asterion was one of the best he had seen to be apparently so calm when the situation demanded it.
"Asterion, you'll have about 20% of Aurors and 30% of regular Wizards and Witches." Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. The number of troops he had chosen was the maximum he could put on foreign soil without compromising the initial defense during this first phase of the war.
Dumbledore continued speaking. "Another troop will be allocated to you later in the war, but you will have to defend the Iberian peninsula with that number of troops."
Asterion couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his words. Honestly, it was a larger number than he had expected. England didn't have large numbers of wizards and witches at the moment.
England was not located on a continent, but on an island next to the European mainland, and this in itself had always been the biggest impediment to the greatest empire the planet had ever seen setting foot on this land, as the English population had always been a problem. If it weren't for that, perhaps the world would still be 25% England.
[Note: it's a little less than 25%, but I rounded it up to 25%. However, what is written is true, England had around 22-25% of the entire planet at its peak].
If there was a country with the largest population of wizards and witches in the world, those were India and China, which was a concern given that it could be a turning point for the course of the war if both countries allied themselves to either side in the war.
But these two countries didn't join the war so easily, it was asking for trouble to get involved in a war that wasn't even theirs in the first place. Perhaps China and India could sponsor some countries with the sale of medicines and mercenaries, but that's as far as it would go.
As for being stationed in the Iberian Peninsula, Asterion wasn't surprised, it was Dumbledore's plan to defeat France first on two battlefronts. Besides, on the Iberian Peninsula, he could mobilize his Special Grade Cursed Spirits more efficiently, protecting lines of attack and defences in other countries.
At the same time, Asterion wouldn't be surprised if other countries paid him to station a Special Grade Cursed Spirit in a strategic location, after all, not only could it make the enemy retreat, it could also save unnecessary troops and place them elsewhere.
"When am I leaving?" Filling a glass of wine, Asterion asked, taking a seat next to Rose on the sofa. He tasted the wine and almost immediately recognized the sweet taste of French wine. Still, he drank the wine leisurely, despite Rose's dissatisfied look.
"Asty, drink is bad for your health." Rose whispered, looking at the glass of wine in her fiancé's hands.
Asterion pursed his lips at her whisper, although they weren't married yet, Rose was already acting like a wife worried about her husband. "Don't worry, any damage to my liver can be transferred to Baskerville."
To prove that his master was telling the truth, the Demon Dog nodded in Asterion's shadow, apparently filled with pride at suffering for his master.
Rose was speechless, but after seeing the of master and servant helping each other, she rolled her eyes and paid no more attention to Asterion, who was very proud of Baskerville.
"You're going in a week, we're going to attack France in full force, I want Paris on its knees in less than a month." Dumbledore ignored the whispers exchanged between the two and spoke with a cold tone, tinged with a touch of murderous thirst.
Asterion raised his wine glass to his lips and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the words of the Marshall Wizard. Don't get it wrong, he felt he could defeat France, but defeating and subduing a nation were two completely different things.
This wasn't the 10th century, nationalism was something that was ingrained in the blood of every person, especially the people of France, who considered themselves to be one of the most glorious countries on the planet with an extremely rich heritage. They could be defeated, but breaking the spirit of such people was extremely difficult.
"Defeating them may not be a problem, but subduing them and making them bend the knee is something completely different. We can force them to take suicidal measures against us. A fight to the death is not something we need." Asterion commented, looking at Dumbledore with a calm, deep tone, his red eyes fixed on the Wizard Marshall.
Dumbledore looked at Asterion and seemed to ponder the words he was about to speak and when he did, he made Asterion's and Rose's faces look strangely at the Headmaster. "It doesn't matter if you can't subdue them, just make sure they never dare set foot on English soil again without remembering the humiliation they've seen themselves suffer in a few short months."
Asterion and Rose looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes; Dumbledore seemed especially resentful and murderous towards France. Although they had both been fooled by France in the same way, they only had animosity, not the hatred that Dumbledore displayed.
"That's possible, at least it's not the irrational request to subjugate France." Asterion commented harshly, looking at Dumbledore with a look of disinterest at the Headmaster's obvious hatred.
Dumbledore nodded and looked at Rose. "You will go to Dover immediately and assume your role as General. If there are any suspicious movements coming from Calais, you can decide the next course of action as you wish."
"Yes, sir." Rose, practically lying on the sofa, gave a lazy salute and reluctantly got up from the sofa. Looking at Asterion, Rose didn't move from her spot and waited for something as she looked at her fiancé with a strong, expectant gaze.
Asterion, who was enjoying his wine, noticed this and rolled his eyes. He stood up, walked over to Rose and kissed her while holding her waist, not caring that he was in front of Dumbledore. Although for some reason, doing so brought an enormous sense of satisfaction to his heart.
Rose, like Asterion, didn't mind kissing her fiancé in front of her teacher and wrapped her arms around his neck as she gave herself completely to the kiss.
After long minutes like this, they both broke apart while gasping for breath. Asterion looked at Rose, who sported a red tinge to her cheeks, and spoke in a tone tinged with slight concern. "Be careful and don't underestimate people, your not invincible Limitless."
Rose felt her heart sink into an ocean of sweetness hearing the concern in his voice. She kissed his lips again in a chaste kiss and spoke in a gentle, tender tone. "I know, you shouldn't underestimate France either, who knows what ancient heritage they have."
Asterion rolled his eyes and replied. "You don't have to tell me, countries always have a hidden trump card in desperate situations."
Giving Asterion another kiss, Rose reluctantly left Dumbledore's office, leaving them alone in complete silence.
"It was a good move to seduce my ward." Dumbledore said, his voice slightly sarcastic at Asterion's shameless actions in seducing a woman, even though he was engaged.
Asterion sat down on the sofa and rolled his eyes at Dumbledore's accusation. "First of all, I didn't seduce her, it was Rose who started all this and for political reasons, Daphne accepted Rose."
Asterion's words made Dumbledore's lips twitch, feeling like he was being stabbed in the back again. He hadn't expected Rose to actually fall in love with Asterion of her own free will. "James would turn over in his coffin if he heard that his daughter was marrying the son of his greatest enemy."
Asterion gave her a mischievous look and smiled. "I really wish he were alive, it would be even more interesting to see his reaction."
Dumbledore snorted, but his lips also lifted in a smile at the thought of the former Potter Patriarch's furious roar.
Dumbledore let out a tired sigh, looking out of the window at the landscape and said, "We'll give this war our all, Asterion."
Asterion didn't reply and looked out of the window at the bleak London landscape with a silent gaze.
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Author's thoughts: In the chapter, there is an image attached with my highest and most professional Paint edition... if anyone is curious what the first part of the war will be like, take a look. If anyone wants to do better than me, which I don't doubt at all, send it in the comments...
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Next Chapter of the Third Volume: Chapter 230 - The French Battlefront (1), Chapter 231 - The French Battlefront (2), Chapter 232 - The French Battlefront (3), Chapter 233 - The French Battlefront (4), Chapter 234 – Battle Between Special Grade Wizards (1), Chapter 235 – Battle Between Special Grade Wizards (2), Chapter 236 – Battle Between Special Grade Wizards (3), Chapter 237 – Battle Between Special Grade Wizards (4), Chapter 238 – Battle Between Special Grade Wizards (5), Chapter 239 - Occupation of the Principality of Andorra (1), Chapter 240 - Occupation of the Principality of Andorra (2), Chapter 241 - City of Calais (1), Chapter 242 - City of Calais (2), Chapter 243 - City of Calais (3), Chapter 244 - City of Calais (4), Chapter 245 - The Grindelwald Plan (1), Chapter 246 - The Grindelwald Plan (2), Chapter 247 - The Grindelwald Plan (3).