The Frost-Plated Republic's Breaking Point
On Essex Island, at the GTB Headquarters, after today's summit ended, Frost-Plated Republic spokesperson Liu Zhidong walked out of the meeting room with a gloomy expression. She felt that if she had spoken one more word with Tianhuan's spokesperson Boyan Jun, her lungs would have exploded.
She hurried back to the secure communications room and urgently shouted to the operator:
"Get me through to Twin Star Palace, the President's direct line. Something major has happened."
In fact, the operator had been closely following the summit's developments and immediately connected her to the President's direct line.
At that moment in the Frost-Plated Republic, President Medway Ostavaya was inspecting a newly constructed reservoir. This woman, who ruled one of the four nations, was also the world's most formidable female politician. Thanks to excellent maintenance, even her thick blonde hair had trendy blue highlights.
"Every worker who builds this reservoir is one of our Frost-Plated Republic's great heroines. Though you men may carry original sin, you are in no way inferior to women. This reservoir will become the new mother of Frost-Plated girls, nurturing each one to become a new heroine, just like you. Many of you have sacrificed your youth and time for this project, especially the tireless female overseers who missed their daughters' birthdays and graduation ceremonies. How touching…"
Medway's speech was in full swing. Most of the workers in the audience were men, so she had to work even harder to instill the idea of 'female supremacy' in them. Next, according to her plan, the project's female manager would deliver a speech, receiving her praise and encouragement.
As for these male workers, although a few had died during the construction of the reservoir, it was nothing more than what they deserved.
Out of respect, Medway would naturally shake hands with their female leaders, showing her eternal concern and care for women's rights.
When the secretary handed her the phone, a trace of impatience appeared on Medway's face, as this interruption had disrupted her schedule. She activated a backup plan, allowing Frost-Plated Prime Minister Zhu Yuliu to give the speech in her stead. Surrounded by Law I guards, she boarded her presidential vehicle and took the call, responding irritably:
"This is Medway. Make it quick."
"Madam President, this is Liu Zhidong from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Liu Zhidong said gravely. "The GTB summit has passed sanctions against us. Tianhuan, Zhengxu, and Red Arrow have announced a grain embargo against us, and the allocation of helium-3 energy has been reduced by seventeen percent..."
"Oh."
Medway was indifferent:
"This was expected. It's fine. Mobilize Law III and have the Dlamaran consortium pressure the Red Arrow Empire. I don't believe the old emperor can hold out. The Dlamarans are the pinnacle of political correctness. Besides, we still have the Granth Republic to provide enough grain to get through this winter. By next year, it'll be Tianhuan and Zhengxu's farmers who won't be able to withstand the pressure."
'This idiot! Does she even know what's really going on?'
Liu Zhidong cursed inwardly but didn't forget to flatter her verbally:
"Madam President, your wisdom is unparalleled, but the situation is worse than we anticipated."
"Is that so?" President Medway found it amusing. "Then go ahead and speak. We have the invincible Law III, and the world is under control."
"The Granth Republic has erupted in a coup. The rebel alliance 'Bermudas' has already entered the capital," Liu Zhidong reminded her.
"That's no big deal; it's just internal strife. The Grand Duke of Granth, Gamos, is our Gamma-level powerhouse. Ordinary troops can't stand against his strength."
Medway shook her head:
"What's more important is that Tianhuan must be behind this coup—I'll have Law III deal with it."
"Madam President, that's precisely the problem." Liu Zhidong's face was pale, and her tone was urgent: "Our Law III agents deployed in Granth have already been eliminated, and the heir apparent, Marlish, has been kidnapped. This rebel force is different; they've formed a cabinet, a government, and an army, and have declared independence as the Granth Republic on the international stage."
"The most critical point is… Red Arrow, Zhengxu, Tianhuan, and their subordinate states have recognized this nation. Tianhuan has officially severed ties with the Granth Republic and established diplomatic relations with the Republic."
"Now, with the outbreak of civil war, our embassy could very well become a target."
"I thought it was something serious. This is normal; deploy two airborne divisions and six mobile armors to the Frost-Granth border, and they'll get the message."
Medway felt pity for them. With her 20 years of experience in office, she knew that colonial wars weren't advanced; their awareness and vision were low. Moreover, Granth was a purely agricultural nation. If they dared to sever ties with Frost-Plated, they would immediately lose their biggest trade market.
This was also why they propped up Grand Duke Gamos, especially as he was an immortal Gamma-level who only cared about easing his own pain. He was the perfect puppet, the only one who could continuously export grain to Frost-Plated at extremely low prices. After passing through customs and the hands of official family members, with media promotion, these grains were labeled as organic, yielding enormous profits.
In critical times, the stockpiled grain would give Frost-Plated the ability to lock in prices, preventing too many people from starving due to inflation. As long as there was grain available for purchase, people would have hope to keep working, and they'd get through it.
Liu Zhidong didn't want to curse anymore. She felt pity for the President's ignorance and shortsightedness as a politician. Madam Medway was a master of rhetoric and demagoguery; she could advocate for maternal peace, maternal justice, and maternal communism, securing unwavering support from female voters who adored this fashionable, kind, and elite female president. She could also swiftly eliminate her political enemies and rivals.
But when it came to crucial matters, Medway was a complete disaster.
Economically, Madam Medway had some sense; she knew she wasn't good at it, so she handed the market over to experts for management, at least avoiding major disasters.
Militarily, due to her naive belief that Tianhuan wouldn't attack another of the four nations, Frost-Plated's military preparedness was always lacking. Despite Frost-Plated's superior prosthetic technology, frontline soldiers were mostly equipped with civilian-grade prosthetics. When faced with the bloodthirsty Tianhuan warriors, they lost two consecutive defensive battles, surrendering two forward cities.
Medway then gave a tearful speech to the nation, moving female voters to tears. At the same time, she ordered her PR team to start working, spending heavily to promote her thriftiness and populism in the authoritative media of Red Arrow, Zhengxu, and Tianhuan.
For foreign news, the cost of fabrication was a bit high, so the locals naturally believed that the other side wouldn't exert themselves for nothing. Many were swayed, leading to some outrageous statements:
"She's still a woman, after all, bearing the fate of six hundred million people on her frail shoulders. If the war was lost, it should be blamed on the incompetence of the male soldiers at the front, not the helpless female president sitting in the presidential palace!"
Although in those two defensive battles, it was mostly the president's loyal female soldiers who sacrificed themselves—even the Tianhuan warriors praised them as "a pack of fierce she-wolves"—the public still blamed the male soldiers.
And because they lost the battles, no matter what the male soldiers said, it came across as excuses. On the battlefield, they were chased and beaten by Tianhuan's better-equipped and well-supplied regular army. Many soldiers, despite their courage to defend the nation, couldn't bear the betrayal they faced upon returning home. Some chose to take their own lives, while others ended up on the streets, becoming gang members.
The former Minister of Defense, David Lin, was pushed onto the political stage of Twin Star Palace by desperate soldiers who saw him as a savior. However, his outstanding performance made Madam Medway wary, and she soon found an excuse to send him to Elf Island for detention.
——What crime could warrant detention in such a desolate place as Elf Island?
David Lin's disappearance caused high-ranking officials in Frost-Plated's political circles to be on edge, too afraid to speak out.
Liu Zhidong felt the same; she also feared being sent to Elf Island, which was said to be a living hell from which no one ever returned.
But now, Liu Zhidong's anger outweighed her fear. Over the past few days, she had borne the brunt of insults from representatives of countries worldwide, being called an anti-human, terrorist, and butcher. She couldn't even lift her head, and her family was implicated as if she were responsible for those actions. Even the domestic public felt she had disgraced the image of the Frost-Plated people.
The root cause was this idiot president's obsession with using extreme measures to change women's status.