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Although neither Emilia nor the Federation allowed anyone from the free press to observe them too closely, they naturally had their own 'eyes' set on the battlefield in a variety of forms.
On Emilia's side, the purpose of such facilities was only to keep Noelle, Sam, Crystal, and everyone else 'informed' so that they didn't worry too much, but for the Federation, they served a much more critical purpose.
Naturally, while the leaders of the Federation weren't foolish enough to step on the battlefield themselves, they didn't mind being a little closer to facilitate communication to and from the zone of conflict.
Obviously, they'd been keeping a close eye on things since the moment their combined army started marching to take back the lost 'fort', though calling it that would be an insult to the name.
With thin walls and barely any means to keep intruders from busting in, the building their soldiers had abandoned and the empire was currently using as a base was about as much of a fort as the slightly elevated ground it was on was a hill.
Of course, considering that it was constructed under the orders of one of Red Dusk's old presidents almost a hundred years ago as a tourist attraction, that was no surprise.
Initially, they'd thought that simply sending in an overwhelming force would make the empire's men retreat.
After all, while they might fight desperately at Blue Dawn's border out of desperation, the White Deer Corporation might not necessarily be able to convince them to die defending a captured territory so easily. Or so they thought.
And when they spotted the crimson-haired girl on top of the 'castle' wall, the leaders of the Federation couldn't help but start laughing.
"Ahaha… what an unexpected harvest!"
"Guess the Fort of Vanderbilt will be her grave. Fitting, a flimsy and characterless place for a faker puppet."
"Even if she's figurehead being used by the White Deer Corporation, without the face of this vixen, they'd definitely not be as much of a threat anymore. The only thing I don't understand… is why they would allow her to be there in the first place?"
"I'm guessing that all the chaos in the war distracted her puppeteers enough to let her do as she pleases. And given how conceited and arrogant she is… she probably thinks that no matter what comes her way, there's no way her side will lose."
Of course, although such a way of thinking was laughable for reasonable men like them, they couldn't blame a young girl who hadn't really seen much of the 'real' world for being so na?ve. After all, while the White Deer Corporation might be using her face and character to their maximum advantage, they could see that their doting and care for Emilia was far from fake.
Even an angel would grow a big head after being praised and pampered so much, let alone a human like Emilia.
"Hm… should we prioritize her capture if possible?"
The president of Red Dusk could naturally tell that the 'ball' was once again pushed onto him, so he frowned and thought about it carefully before shaking his head decisively. "… No, it's not worth the risk. We should shoot her down as soon as she's within range first, before she realizes the true extent of the danger she's put herself in and tries to flee."
Although only time would tell the effectiveness of Emilia's death on the war, the president of Red Dusk had no doubt that it would be in their favor.
Figurehead or not, without someone to look up to and rally behind, it was incredibly difficult to control people facing a despairing situation. Not to mention, suddenly losing the main control point, it would be a wonder if the puppeteers were even able to convince even half of 'their' current supporters to continue heading to their doom.
"Ahaha… I was thinking going so hard here was way overkill, but now I'm really glad we decided to commit to it. Our 'leader' is quite 'wise', as expected."
Although there was some sarcasm in his tone, and the president of Red Dusk could tell that the man was complimenting his 'luck' more than his wisdom, he still smiled. "It's all thanks to everyone's valuable guidance and support."
Others didn't express their opinions too much, and simply enjoyed the view on the screen leisurely.
It might not be as good as some of the high-budget movies due to the lack of special effects and clarity, but the sight of hundreds of tanks and hundreds of thousands of soldiers marching orderly towards a 'doomed' fort was still enough to send chills of excitement down anyone's spine.
Even when one of their tanks exploded, the leaders of the Federation didn't flinch.
Given that their enemy had just enough time to prepare, it would really be a surprise if there were no traps on the way instead.
As expected, the commanders on the ground were able to easily work around the situation… or so it should have been, anyway.
"What the fuck is going on?! How can she shoot like that from such a distance?!"
The president of Red Dusk sneered. "You're asking me… and who am I supposed to ask…?"
Obviously, none of them took Emilia's previous 'achievements' too seriously. All the things she was said to have done might indeed have happened… but that didn't mean she was the one who did it.
After all, as people in power, how could they fail to see through such half-baked propaganda?
Being able to fight and kill trained and armed soldiers like that when she was barely a teenager, and with no 'real' training at that… even the 'agents' they secretly trained from before those little kiddies could even talk properly couldn't do that.
Not to mention, those 'clearly forged' videos even had multiple clips of the girl getting wounded heavily at times, but not once did Emilia show any signs of injury or scars later, and her choice of clothing was far from being good enough to help her 'conceal' much.
The only thing 'outstanding' about Emilia was her face, and perhaps her tongue. After all, the girl at least knew how to talk, they couldn't deny that.
In fact, if they had to pick someone to be the 'face' of any kind of movement or revolution, and she was one of the options they had available, none of them would even need to think twice before picking her.
Of course, if what they were now seeing was right… they'd clearly been wrong.
They might not be able to do it themselves, but most of them had a very clear understanding of just how difficult it was to shoot someone down from that kind of distance. Even the best of the best wouldn't be able to do it without some ridiculous amount of luck on their side.
But to admit that they'd been wrong… wasn't so easy.
One of them hummed thoughtfully. "… I think the White Deer probably has several 'body doubles' with exceptional talent in various fields. With this level of quality… it's no wonder they were able to hype her up so well."
Although he said that, the hint of doubt in his tone made it clear that even the speaker didn't quite believe in his own words. After all, finding people who had an appearance similar to Emilia was easier said than done, and talent at that level was hard enough to find on its own.
But clearly upset by the 'admiration' in his voice, the man who first questioned the president of Red Dusk couldn't help but smack his thigh in anger. "Shit… I don't even care if she can shoot so accurately or whatever, but what the fuck are our men doing? Can't those idiots just kill her first, or go in all at once? Do they think this is supposed to be a turn-based game or what?!"
"Be patient. The commanders on the battlefield are no fools. They'll figure it out." The president of Red Dusk frowned as he wiped the raging man's spittle from his face. 'Next time… let's put a larger round table here.'
Unfortunately, his words and confidence had the exact opposite effect of calming everyone down after their army seemed to have been completely humiliated in all their attempts at breaking past the 'barrier'… and they were still five kilometers away from the 'fort'.
? Even the president of Red Dusk couldn't help but curse. "Shit!"
For a few tense moments, no one spoke a word, and then... the president of Red Dusk grabbed the intercom, his hand shaking visibly, though no one was sure whether it was from nervousness or rage. "Move on to the final phase first, and regardless of the cost... run them over. All of them!"
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This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺