The morale of the entire command center was at an all-time low. Even when Xiao Ran left the world and the EU was closing in step by step, the command center had been suppressing their morale, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack. Even though they were disappointed and uncomfortable, their morale had never been suppressed. After Xiao Ran's first victory after his return, all the morale in the command center had erupted. Today, they aggressively launched a battle that they thought they would definitely win.
But now, no one had expected this result. It was a result that they didn't even dare to imagine. It was like a dream as they watched a Mech descend from the sky and annihilate both the EU and Brittany troops without distinguishing between friend and foe. This was just a Mech. Since when did the powerful Brittany lose the ability to resist in the face of a mere Mech?
That kind of power was so strong that no one could even think of resisting it. The victory that was within their reach had become unreachable because of this body. It had directly shattered the expectations they had in their hearts. With the power of a single person, it had shattered their understanding of this world. That was an enemy that they could not resist. Everything was meaningless in front of such an enemy. They had lost their drive, lost their goal.
Xiao Ran walked to the front of the command center, picked up the earpiece that someone had casually thrown on the table, and tapped it twice with his hand. Then, he put the microphone in front of his mouth. The tapping sound rang in everyone's ears, and suddenly, everyone's attention was focused on Xiao Ran.
"What's wrong with you all? A sudden and inexplicable defeat made you lose all your sharpness? Do you know what I saw when I walked in here? It wasn't a human, but a group of walking corpses who had lost their goals and hope. It was just a defeat. Could it be that a defeat made you lose the courage to look forward to future victories? "
"That's right. From an objective point of view, we are indeed the losers in the face of that powerful Mech. So many of us didn't even have the chance to retaliate. However, it's not that we don't have the courage to do so. Those soldiers on the battlefield clearly knew that they would lose, but they still attacked that Mech with all their might. Don't those soldiers know that they are no match for that Mech? No, they know, but they are willing to use their courage and life to inspire others to fight for any chance of victory, even if they have to give up everything for it. "
"The enemy is very powerful, as powerful as God. Humans don't have the power of God, this is well known, but at least all our soldiers showed the courage to fight against God. The soldiers on the front line didn't lose their courage, but you people sitting behind the command center lost your courage and became walking corpses because of an enemy you didn't face to face. Is this reasonable?"
"It's a fact that we are too weak. The enemy is too strong, and can be said to be one of a kind in the entire world. But who can guarantee that there won't be such a strong person among us one day? But the most important thing in all of this is courage. Without courage, you won't dare to step into the battlefield. Without courage, you can only tremble in fear when facing the enemy. But if today's blow makes you understand your own weakness and use your courage to overcome it, you will become stronger and stronger. You will dare to fight, fight, and grow. Sooner or later, because of this courage, you will grow to the extent that others look up to you. "
"Today's failure isn't the first and definitely won't be the last. The Empire has faced so many failures over the years, but didn't we slowly develop the Empire to its current state by relying on the courage of our warriors? Don't tell me that the courage that we didn't lack in the past will be lost because of today's failure. I believe that you aren't such people, and there isn't a single person in Butaria who is."
"I believe that the warriors who have just faced defeat won't give up so easily. They are brave warriors. If we were to say that the Butarians will become the most powerful force in the future, I believe that they will be the ones who were defeated by the most powerful force today. This is because they have witnessed true strength and felt that strength. Therefore, they will definitely pursue that strength. Moreover, they won't feel any fear when facing a relatively weak force. The prerequisite is that everyone can bravely stand up again from this loss, perplexity, and fear."
Xiao Ran did not want to say anything more. A real warrior would definitely be able to stand up again after such a blow, but it would be useless if he was not a real warrior. The people in front of Xiao Ran, or even all the forces in the 19th, were not important enough for Xiao Ran to pay more attention to them. Even Monica, who had not fully recovered, and Luciano, who was also on the battlefield, were not at the level that Xiao Ran had to pay more attention to. Even Monica, who had not recovered, and Luciano, who was also on the battlefield, were not at the level that Xiao Ran had to pay more attention to.
Saying these words was just a routine routine. He could not bear to see the lifeless atmosphere in the command center. Besides, he still needed the support of this army. He also needed this army to defend his territory in Africa, so he needed to boost everyone's morale a little.
Xiao Ran continued, "You should know that we haven't truly lost this war. At the very least, we've achieved all the strategic objectives we've set at the beginning. We've reclaimed our lost territory and expanded it a lot. We've basically formed a complete standoff with the EU on this continent. In the past, we were just a step away from reaching the EU's main camp. This kind of achievement can't be described as a failure. It's a success, a huge success."
"Even if things have developed to this point due to some special reasons, we have at least achieved our goal. The EU is still eyeing us covetously from the sidelines. If we don't muster up our courage and stand up again, how are we going to defend the territory we have now? Don't let me see you like a walking corpse again. Bring out your original momentum and do your best."
Xiao Ran put down the microphone and nodded gently to Cornelia, who walked to his side. "What's the plan now?"
Cornelia suppressed the inexplicable excitement in her heart. Looking at the masked man in front of her, she suppressed another inexplicable itch in her heart. She suppressed her voice and said, "We have signed an armistice agreement with the EU. Both sides will retreat a certain distance and use the area in the middle as a buffer. As for this war without a victor, it will probably end here for the time being. As for compensation … there's no need to count on it. In the end, it will be decided based on the captives of both sides."
Xiao Ran nodded lightly. "That's enough. Although the current situation can be considered a failure, in the grand scheme of things, it's still our victory. This achievement is more than enough to report to the Empire, and we can also exchange for all of our captives."
"Well, this is the best result. Otherwise … this war would have lasted for a long time and many people would have been sacrificed." Cornelia looked at Xiao Ran, an inexplicable light flashing in her eyes. "Ending the war in this way is the best result that His Majesty and the EU can accept."
"Of course."
The armistice in this way was planned by Xiao Ran. This way, the 19th District would be able to hold on to its current territory and prevent the EU from launching an attack. This would satisfy Charles and even the entire Empire. Even if they were not satisfied, they could not find any fault with it. They could only grit their teeth and swallow the bitter and sweet fruit.
Next, Xiao Ran's attention and power would be completely drawn away from this district and placed on the capital of the Empire on another continent. Soon, a new war would begin there. It was a war that could be said to be simple, but also not so simple.
Cornelia was silent for a moment. Then she suddenly asked, "So, are you going back?"
Xiao Ran did not care about the people around him. Besides, no one except Cornelia knew what Xiao Ran was talking about. He simply answered Cornelia, "It's about time."
Cornelia nodded slightly. Then she nodded heavily. "I'm not going back."
Xiao Ran stared blankly for a moment before looking at Cornelia's serious expression. She slowly nodded her head, "Alright."
Only the two of them could understand the meaning behind the five words exchange. To Cornelia, the four simple words represented two completely different meanings. Cornelia didn't go back because she wanted to stay here and watch over the 19th section. She didn't want anything bad to happen in the 19th section that would affect Xiao Ran. At the same time, she wanted to turn this place into something similar to a headquarters. Although Cornelia believed that Xiao Ran would win in the end, she didn't think that there would be any accidents in the end. She, Cornelia, stayed here to give Xiao Ran an option to retreat if he failed, just like the 11th District on the other side of the sea.
The second meaning was even simpler. She did not want to see her father being pulled down from his high and mighty position. She did not want to see the turmoil in the capital or even see her family members killing each other. Therefore, she was willing to stay here.
Xiao Ran agreed to Cornelia's request, but at the same time, he also promised Cornelia that he would not hurt Charles. There was no need to communicate too much. These two people who had been together for many times could easily understand each other's thoughts.
Next, Xiao Ran stayed in the command center and began to lead all the work. Rescue, evacuation, resettlement, and so on were all carried out in an orderly manner under Xiao Ran's arrangement. Slowly, as the rescue work unfolded, the obtained data was gradually gathered in Xiao Ran's hands and quickly spread throughout the command center. When the data was spread, countless exclamations of disbelief sounded in the command center.
"How is this possible? Except for the sacrifice at the beginning of the battle, the number of casualties from the moment the Mech appeared to the moment it left us was less than 20? And all of them were accidentally sacrificed because of bad luck? "
"I heard from the rescue personnel at the frontline that none of the armed forces were hit in their vitals. Even the tanks on the ground only suffered minimal damage. Other than the damaged supplies and equipment, there were basically no casualties. When the rescue personnel went to rescue them, they couldn't believe their eyes."
"But there were also a lot of injured people. Not only were there light injuries, but there were also a lot of seriously injured people."
"Compared to the previous battle, even the number of seriously injured people was only one-tenth of the previous battle."
"How did that Mech do it? Not only was it strong enough to suppress all our and EU troops, but it also deliberately avoided all the vitals when it attacked. It tried not to hurt anyone as much as possible. Is this really something a human can do? Only a god can do such a thing, right?"
"Stop talking. Hurry up and make arrangements. Area S21 needs manpower. Now send all the logistics troops up. All our armed forces have to be transported back, especially the Mechs of the Scarlet Knights."
Not long ago, the entire command center was still lifeless, but now, some people were talking in their spare time. The atmosphere had changed a lot, making the atmosphere much more relaxed and cheerful. Xiao Ran's words did play a big role, but the real effect was the spread of the battle damage report.
In a battle that could be called the end of the world, not many people were sacrificed. Even if there were, it was at the beginning of the war. The people who died after Pendragon's discovery were all unlucky. To put it bluntly, only the armed forces in Britaria were lost in this battle, and the personnel basically returned safely. Such good news was of course enough to break through all the gloom and gloominess. After all, those who fought outside and those in the command center were comrades, friends, relatives, and lovers. The disaster that they expected at the beginning was actually not that. Of course, it made everyone happier.
For several days, both the EU and Britaria were dealing with the wreckage left behind by Xiao Ran. However, the main military forces had already retreated according to the initial agreement, leaving a buffer zone in the middle to allow the logistics and rescue personnel of both sides to carry out their work in a more relaxed and safe manner.
But at this moment, the Sanguine Knights, who were the first to be cleaned up, began their return journey. Xiao Ran also brought Monica, who had yet to recover from her injuries, and Luciano, who had been absent-minded for the past few days, back to the capital.
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