Ethan changed the channel several times, but all of them were talking about the invasion. It couldn't be helped… Earth won't be the same once that war starts, and the battle will start a new age for the planet, not a good one, apparently.
That day passed rather slowly since both sides were preparing for the war, and they imagined that the fight would start only the next day. The human side set their camp behind some mountains in order to surprise the enemies while the enemy side kept advancing nonstop. Their pace was quite fast, and it didn't look like they wanted to give their soldiers a chance to rest, so they won't fight completely rested… that seemed like a bad move.
Along the day, some news began to be broadcast. It looked like other nations were sending some battalions of soldiers to help in the war against the invader. Everyone would lose if Canada lost too much after the war, so it made sense that they would send help… it also could be used as an excellent way to promote themselves. Such things happened many times in the past.
The governments involved in the future battle stopped holding back. They decided to even reveal the position of the enemies via satellite. Ethan assumed that they were preparing to convince all people of the world that some drastic measures might be necessary to repel the invaders. In any case, considering what they showed, it was clear that the battle would start the next day without delay… there was nothing that Ethan could do to stop that. The bloodshed will happen in one way or the other.
"Any news from your sister?" Emily suddenly asked via Telepathy.
"She is too busy to contact me all the time, and she doesn't want to involve me on something of this level," Ethan replied. "At this point in time, Hannah and the higher-ups should know that Hana and Kei aren't involved in the disappearance of the students, so you don't have to worry too much about it."
"I wish that things could be that simple… I just don't want to live in a world where wars and invasions are common things again," Emily said and then sighed.
"As long as more than one person exists, the conflict will always exist… wars happen because people have their own disagreements," Ethan shrugged. "Reality is as simple as that."
Emily knew about that, but hearing about it didn't improve her mood… she also felt that her hands were tied and she could do a lot more when she was in another world. In the end, she waited for a chance to prevent the bloodshed, but it never came.
It felt like the whole world didn't sleep that night… Everyone was watching the news to see how the war would play out. That was a first… Moreover, it looked like they would broadcast the whole conflict.
"I guess one image is better than one thousand words when it comes to convincing people, and they are operating with that in mind," Ethan thought.
Around seven in the morning of the next day, they stopped broadcasting the human camp and their preparations for war… It looked like they were still worried about more traitors spreading the information about their actions. Around that time, Ethan went to his room since his parents were starting to look a bit worried since he had been watching the news for way too long, and he was way too interested in the war as well.
"Considering their advance, the war will start around ten in the morning… the countdown is starting now, I guess," Ethan thought.
Those three hours were bound to pass really slowly, so Ethan decided to relax a bit by playing some edgy songs that he liked before being summoned to another world, but soon he stopped when someone suddenly knocked on his door.
"Sorry for bothering you, Ethan," Nuvian suddenly said and opened the door. "I am kind of in a hurry, so forgive me."
"Hmm?" Ethan furrowed his eyebrows when he heard the voice of his brother-in-law. "I wasn't expecting to see you today, and isn't the timing a bit bad?"
"You can say that," Nuvian forced a smile. "Anyway, no one knows that I am here, so it would be better if we solve some problems first."
Nuvian approached Ethan and then pointed at his wristwatch. Ethan raised it, and then Nuvian used his mana to do something that Ethan wasn't quite certain of.
"A messed with the frequency and the ability to record conversations on it," Nuvian declared. "The reason for that is that I need to ask you for a hand, Ethan."
"... That is rather odd. Hannah didn't send you, did she?" Ethan furrowed his eyebrows while asking.
"She didn't. With the current situation, she can only do so much, even with the connections that she has. Your whole country is involved in this, so her hands are tied," Nuvian explained. "So, I decided to make my move without forcing anyone. Anyway, we don't have time, so I want to ask you, do you want to prevent the worst-case scenario in this war?"
"Is that even an option now?" Ethan asked.
"It is. We just have to work hard," Nuvian declared. "You see, my planet was also invaded by people from another world. That happened two hundred years ago, and we had to solve the problem by ourselves, and while we did that, we got too many scars from that war. The ruler of that time decided that he had to do whatever it took to protect the people, and he ended up making a lot of enemies… Hannah was summoned to my world because of that, one of our enemies caused a monster invasion, and we didn't have enough forces at the time. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes, winning or losing, we will only be creating more problems down the road," Ethan scratched the back of his head.
"That is right, and that is why I decided to do something about it," Nuvian nodded. "First of all, I want to confirm what happened on the other side. I already confirmed that the dark corps and the Paladins didn't return, and the higher-ups are assuming the worst already. Once we confirm what happened, we will take the next step, that might involve negotiation or the destruction of the spell that keeps the portal open. I am not good at combat, and I can only do so much by myself. That was why I wanted your help and the help of some people you can trust. You have some, don't you?"
"I have none. Rather, you are the king of another world, and you are supposed to have way more allies than me," Ethan furrowed his eyebrows.
"Well, right now… I am not a king, I am just a friend of some earthlings, and I want to help them," Nuvian showed a smile that made Ethan sigh.
Ethan wondered what he should do… doing something reckless again. It seemed like the best option, though, since there were too many people involved in that mess who wanted to save face. In the end, Ethan asked a few more things about what Nuvian did with his wristwatch, and he confirmed that the frequency would make people think that he was in his room and in silence. At the same time, he also told him that the flow of time in the world was ten times faster, so they had at least one day to make some progress and learn anything.
"I also have a few other tricks," Nuvian said and then flicked his fingers. "You can say some things now that will record your voice in this room and automatically play if someone asks for you. It won't last for long, but it will buy us enough time."
"That seems like a sketchy skill for a king," Ethan crossed his arms and showed a dubious look on his face.
"Well, I was an unruly child back in the day, and I used these tricks to escape the castle," Nuvian explained and then laughed a little. "Anyway, we only need a small team, and our goal is to gather Intel and then make a move as soon as possible to avoid the worst-case scenario. I will ask again, do you have some allies that we can trust?"
Ethan wanted to say once again that he didn't have one, but he could only sigh after hearing that question again… in the end, he made his choice.
After ten minutes, somehow, Ian, Emily, Hana, and Kei were in Ethan's room. The place was too small for six people to be there, though… but they soon came since Nuvian had a teleport relic with him. It was a treasure from his world that couldn't be used often, but it couldn't be helped since they couldn't ask for Hannah's help this time.
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