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Wars were inevitably accompanied by suffering and loss, and usually, the promise of greater returns kept the one 'attacking' quite motivated... but that was only if there was some hope of victory in sight.
Initially, the leaders of the Federation were quite confident in being able to take down the empire of Blue Dawn. After all, even if their enemy could somehow gain full control of Carmen's forces on such short notice — which was unlikely — the difference between their strengths was still too great.
Unfortunately, they greatly underestimated just how ambitious and well-prepared the White Deer Corporation was, as well as the amount of support Emilia's name alone could drum up. Though instead of making them hesitate, such an outcome only made the leaders of the Federation more determined.
After all, there had to be a reason the White Deer Corporation was so interested in manufacturing and acquiring military weapons and technology. And whatever it was, it definitely wouldn't be good news for them.
Instead of sitting around and waiting for doom, they would rather suffer a little and take down this growing threat while they still could.
Of course, their victory may not be as swift as they had been expecting initially, but the Federation's leaders never had a doubt about the final outcome of the war.
Even with the interference of Phoenix, the thirteen of them combined were more than enough to grind the empire of Blue Dawn and its empress to death.
Unfortunately, just because their own will was firm and unshakeable, it didn't mean everyone on their side was the same.
Whether it was the generals or the advisers, they'd all started imploring the leaders to grant them more resources and troops to be able to properly deal with both the 'Scarlet Phantom' as well as the intensified pushback from the empire.
Of course, this 'Scarlet Phantom' was the name that they'd started referring to their mysterious enemy with, based on the way it seemed to come and go like a ghost, and left only scorched corpses and rivers of blood behind.
Well, initially the 'mysterious team' was being called the Blue Phantom instead, but the leaders decided to change it to scarlet to dissociate it from the empire in an attempt to minimize its impact on the soldiers' morale. Though the effectiveness of their move was questionable, at best.
"Although the loss in terms of manpower and resources isn't that great, many of the military higher-ups have already started showing uneasiness when talking about the Scarlet Phantom. If this continues… it won't be long before they start actually being afraid of it."
To be honest, the generals couldn't be blamed. After all, although they had a lot more 'experience' than a normal person, they were still humans. If a foe seemed too strong for them to even be able to fight back, it was natural for them to experience some fear.
What was unacceptable, however, was if they started getting cold feet in the middle of the war.
It was unlikely, but not outside of the realm of possibilities.
Even after the change of names, 'Scarlet Phantom' was very much considered at least an 'ally' of the empire of Blue Dawn, after all, and the leaders of the Federation were obviously aware of the growing 'anti-war' sentiments amidst their soldiers.
Unlike the thoughts of civilians, this was something they simply couldn't ignore.
The president of Red Dusk nodded grimly. "We can't just keep ignoring the Scarlet Phantom anymore. Regardless of the cost… let's make their next attack… their last."
He might only be a 'figurehead', but the rest of the leaders generously cooperated with his idea to pool their 'resources' into his trap.
After all, if things went south, he would be the one to take the blame.
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Compared to when she first started her 'expeditions', Emilia's mood had noticeably improved, and she even hummed happily while making her way to her 'target'.
Obviously, there was no need to fear being discovered by the enemies due to the sound, since her sensing range went quite a bit farther than one could hear her humming from.
Looking at her good mood, even Dixie couldn't help but smile. 'Things have been looking better and better recently… maybe it won't be long before the Federation decides to cut their losses and retreats, right?'
Unfortunately, her hopeful thoughts were cut short when the crimson-haired girl froze, and the smile on her face vanished.
"W-What's wrong?"
Dixie tried her best to keep her whisper as quiet as possible, but it didn't seem necessary as Emilia hummed in a natural tone, though her expression was grim.
"Looks like they've set up a trap for me."
Of course, given that this wouldn't be the first 'trap' that they were facing, Dixie could tell that it must be quite something for her princess to react this way.
"W-We should retreat, then, right?"
The dark-haired girl was sure that Emilia wouldn't agree to her suggestion, and she'd been prepared to argue with her if she had to, but surprisingly enough, the crimson-haired girl smiled.
"Of course I won't be stupid enough to jump into such a well-prepared trap. But since the enemy has prepared such a big gift for us, wouldn't it be bad manners to not give them anything in return?"
Dixie blinked in confusion, and Emilia couldn't help but giggle.
"Obviously, they must have determined I'll arrive here based on some pattern they observed in my 'attacks', but… if they were so meticulous with their preparations here, it's impossible to do something like this in too many places." The crimson-haired girl smirked. "Then… why not just go wreak havoc somewhere else?"
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Emilia's luck wasn't so good, and the next location she picked also had a high level of reinforcement, and taking it down would be dozens of times riskier than her usual 'expeditions'.
Of course, with her scouting ahead using chaos energy, there was no way she would just walk into that kind of trap. Instead, she simply made her way to the next target, and happily 'took care' of the unprepared enemy camp before waltzing back to Blue Dawn in a good mood.
Even if the 'harvest' wasn't as good as usual due to the reduced amount of troops, the loss that her enemy suffered in terms of resources wasn't any less.
Once was a coincidence, twice was luck, but after their plan failed for the fifth time, the president of Red Dusk couldn't help but smack his own thigh in a rage. "Shit! This is already the fifth time we picked the wrong locations…! How can they be so lucky?!"
Not only had the 'Scarlet Phantom' not walked into any of their traps, but their attack frequency was still the same as usual, making the leaders of the Federation feel like clowns who were jumping around without an audience.
It was impossible for them not to be infuriated.
One of the other leaders frowned. "Luck can't explain them being able to get away like this each time. Moreover, their attacks always happened in a location not too far away from the one we arranged our traps in… as if mocking us."
The president of Red Dusk turned to him with a grim expression. "You mean… there is a traitor keeping them informed…?"
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