"How confident are you in succeeding?"
General Anglius turned toward Vlad with a sharp light in his eyes. The young man's idea was good and would have been easy to implement if they still had their old technology, but things had changed, and their capabilities were sorely diminished.
"Enough to bet my life on it."
Vlad's eyes were sharp as he uttered those words, his entire figure brimming with determination.
"Are you really that deteriorated to not side with the angels?"
General Anglius could see that Vlad was ready to risk his life to buy a chance at the Silent Wind Military Base and reject Orion and her angels.
Vlad stared at the middle-aged General for a moment before a flash of coldness appeared in his eyes as he went through Asmael's memories and remembered the state of the vassal races to Heaven.
"Angels believe in a strict caste system, and I assure you, people like you and me are definitely at the bottom of that list. Right now, they are showing their amicable face since they are low in number and need us, but once their entire armies march into Terra, they will show their real faces.
I would rather die than live like a dog under their rule, powerless to do anything but obey their orders."
General Anglius was shocked to hear those words. Vlad's description of angel ruling was certainly terrifying, and although he would not simply take the young man's words as fact, he had seen how Orion and the rest of the angels glanced at normal people.
The middle-aged man remained silent for a fair amount of time before a flash of determination appeared in his eyes. He signaled for Vlad to stop disrupting the sound waves and then walked forward and opened the door.
"General Omar, Lady Orion, you can return."
The old General and the angelic women glanced at General Anglius for a moment and then got back into the room.
Once everybody was inside, the middle-aged General turned toward General Omar and Orion before clasping his hands.
"General Omar and Lady Orion, allow me to express my gratitude in the name of Silent Wind Military Base."
The old General showed a giant smile and turned toward Vlad with disdain and an air full of superiority. Yet, Orion's eyes narrowed, and she remained calm while waiting for General Anglius to finish.
"The information you just shared about the high demonic horde will be of immense help, but I am afraid we will have to refuse your military assistance. Silent Wind Military Base will take care of this threat on its own, and any incursion within its borders will be considered an act of aggression."
General Omar could not believe what he just heard. They refused the forces of Strong Hammer Military Base and made it clear that no one should come near Silent Wind Military Base.
"Anglius, what are you doing? You are a General of the Constantine Country, and refusing my help is putting the people in danger! This is a crime worthy of putting you in front of a court-martial!"
"Go ahead and do that. I have a defense to plan, so I cannot escort you out. You should take advantage of the daylight to return to Strong Hammer Military Base."
General Anglius's words left the old General speechless and at a loss. He then turned toward Orion, trying to get her help to solve this matter, but the angel only turned around and left the room without a word.
"My Lady?"
General Omar saw Orion leaving, and he glanced at Anglius and Vlad with a poisonous gaze before turning around and walking to her.
"That woman, she is dangerous."
General Anglius could not help but utter those words as he saw the angelic woman's behavior. A barking dog who could not control his feelings like Omar was easy to handle, as you could always see his next move, but someone who managed to keep composure as her plan failed was an enemy worthy of respect.
"She is indeed a threat. I assure you it is not the last time we will hear of her, but our focus should be on the high demonic horde right now. We don't have the luxury to divide our focus."
Vlad's eyes were cold as he stared at Orion's back. A part of him told him to kill the woman as it would save him a lot of trouble, but he did not dare to underestimate her, and right now, he could not afford a battle on two fronts.
General Anglius nodded, agreeing with Vlad's words, and turned his eyes back to the city map.
"Let's go through the details."
"Yes."
...
The day at the Silent Wind Military Base was full of commotion. In the morning, a young human warrior killed a massive angel in a duel, revealing that they were Aliens loathed by the Plane Will.
Then, a meeting took place between the two leaders of the Silent Wind Military Base, the old General and the glorious leader of the angels. It did not take long, and once it was over, the old General and the angels departed in silence.
An hour later, a shocking piece of news emerged as the soldiers declared that a massive demonic horde was coming to Silent Wind Military Base. The refugees of Good Side Town were still shocked by the demons that killed hundreds of their families and friends, and just as they thought they were safe, a new and much more powerful horde was coming for them.
Luckily, before chaos could start, General Anglius commanded the soldiers and enforced order while sharing that they already had a plan to take care of the demonic horde, but that to ensure their survival, everybody would have to play their part.
Everybody would gain access to cultivation techniques that would allow them to improve their power and become Warriors and Mages without the need to march onto the battlefield. That news greatly improved the morale of the people, as they had seen the power that an individual could trigger, and who would not want that in a world like this?
Although reaching Level 1 through a cultivation technique instead of just killing an Alien would take much longer, it would be safer. Not to mention that there were not exactly many demons around anymore, and if a powerful soldier were to capture one and let a civilian kill it, the Plane Will would notice that and might not give Origin Force.
There was also a very important point in the fact that reaching Level 1 this way would have much better control over their energy, something extremely useful for the Mages. While soldiers and civilians needed to grow strong, the Mages would play a significant role in this incoming battle, as their abilities would allow General Anglius to take full advantage of the terrain.
General Anglius allowed the civilians from Good Side Town to rest for the day, as they had gone through a lot and needed to rest. But Lieutenant Mitchell and the rest of the soldiers were immediately put to work, as they had a lot of things to handle.