Shi Lang waited for Cara to calm down and then he took her with him to the meeting room. The people cast him a questioning gaze and he replied, “This information is all gathered by her so she will be our guide. She can tell us how to counter the cards in the enemy’s hand more efficiently than bashing our heads around their feasibility.”
The people found it plausible. Shi Lang said, “Cara if you wish to achieve your goal, you must first earn our trust. What you seek is the destruction of the Arcadian Royal Family, while we seek the safety of our troops and civilians. The two goals can be achieved by winning this war. Understand?”
Cara nodded and the cat ears on her head flickered and the girl said, “Well, I will tell you how the three princes are different from each other and you will understand the way they mobilize their troops. Basically, the psychological knowledge about your enemy is very helpful in war.”
Shi Lang raised his eyebrow and said, “Well, Head Teacher, you have another protege.”
Rosa smiled and said, “Well, she does have a point. Okay, Cara, before we go deep into the three princes, do tell me about the military power the Arcadians can mobilize without affecting the security of their order borders?”
Cara nodded and said, “The total military troop count for the Arcadian military is five billion.”
Five billion was a big number, if not for the fact that they were leaving in an interstellar age, where the population was not limited to one planet. They would have been shocked dumb, even now they were surprised.
Ameris said, “Neomon have a headcount of two and half a billion. This is exactly double of what we have. How will we face them?” she was anxious all of a sudden.
Shi Lang said, “This is not the number of the mobilized troops. Cara, tell us.”
Cara nodded and said, “The arcadian military can mobilize three billion, without having the rest of their borders affected. There are two empires that have maintained a neutral stance, but the emperor is not very easy. The more a snake lays silent, the more venomous it is.”
Amelia nodded and said, “Indeed, they will have hesitation in mobilizing all of the armies at the same time.”
Shi Lang nodded and Rosa said, “I had received word from home, Fleet General Charlotte has volunteered to join us with half of her fleet, This will give us some help.”
Jenkins shook his head and said, “It is not going to be enough.”
Rosa nodded, “This is why, the secret troops, that are not included in the headcount of the regular military have been mobilized, along with half the first fleet supervised by the deputy fleet General Stevenson.” with a faint smile on her lips.
Shi Lang asked, “What do you mean? They dispatched the secret divisions?”
Jenkins said, “Old princy will be here too.” the Stevenson mentioned just now was their old principal.
Rosa nodded, and tapping on her communicator, she said, “Your orders, Major.”
Shi Lang gazed at the Neomonians and then at her, Rosa shrugged and said, “The president has disclosed your ranks and identities. The cabinet thinks this way the Neomonian empire will trust us better. This is including Quinn’s identity.”
Shi Lang cast a gaze at Quinn, who gave him a wry smile. Shaking his head, he read his orders, “Major Shi Lang, due to your recent achievements and the current circumstances you have been awarded the rank of an Acting General for the allied fleets of Empire of Neomon and the Federation.”
Shi Lang said, “That is it? Why are they so stingy with ranks?” he spoke with a disgruntled expression.
Jenkins chuckled and said, “You have skipped at least two ranks and yet you have the galls to say this? My old man might burst a gasket looking at you.”
Shi Lang shook his head and said, “Back to the topic, with the mobilization of the secret divisions, we will have a total of five billion and twenty million troops. We have a chance, but we need to make sure that the casualties stay low.”
The rest of the people nodded, Cara said, “Umm, I am sure in this data, there is a location of the military depot of the Arcadian nation. You can raid that, when they will not have the battery, they will run out of power. Fewer casualties on both sides.”
The people nodded and praised Cara for her intelligence and wit. The little girl liked this, and a smile bloomed on her face. Thus began the meeting to analyze the data on hand and preparation to deploy units.
Shi Lang suddenly thought and said, “Why are we developing strategies based defensively?”
Rosa asked, “What do you mean? Do you mean we strike them first?”
Shi Lang shook his head and said, “We ambush them.”
Quinn said, “Cara’s intel shows that Arcadian ships can scan us from a long distance, how will you ambush someone when they are already aware of our presence.”
Jenkins nodded and said, “We are not on the ground playing individual combat this is all stellar operation.”
Claut and Ameris were confused as well. Amelia said, “Listen to him first.”
Shi Lang smiled at her and after rubbing her nose with the back of his finger he said, “Patience is a virtue. We can use the planets as our cover. The planets are on the outer periphery. The Arcadians do not know that we are aware of their attacks. When the third prince comes here to check things with Chol, we can kill him. Then send his corpse back, have the Arcadians come at us in rage. Use some taunt like we will wait for you at the outer periphery of the territory, come and get us if you have the galls. However, we must place all the forces we have on the planet on the outer periphery of the border, and when they expect us to have fled away and invade, Tada.”
The plan was impressive, Claut raised his hand and when Shi Lang nodded, the latter said, “I support your plan, but why do you think they will take our bait?”
Shi Lang shrugged, “They love face more than lives. Right, Cara?”
Cara asked him with a patronizing gaze, “How did you know?”
Shi Lang leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Trade secret.”
The little one pouted and said, “Stingy.”
The planning continued, and after a few hours, the basic plan was devised, now they needed to hold a meeting with the big shot officers and delegate the roles and duties to see how things will turn, the time was short.
Before Ameris and Claut left and the meeting was concluded, the former asked, “May I ask, what about the natives and citizens of the planets on the outer periphery?”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “Bring them to tour nestia, and the surrounding planets, till the war has not ended.”
Ameris nodded and accepted this method. This way the people will not panic and it will hype the reputation of the empress.
The meeting came to an end.
…
Meanwhile, back at the federation, the president was seeing off the Neomonian Delegation, who will be joining up with the rest of the forces. The higher-ups have told them about the secret division troops moving along with them. This did not surprise the Neomonians, but assured them, that the Federation will fulfill their promise of an alliance.
Nexa and her team boarded their spaceship and they left directly from the ground, and as soon as their ship came above the clouds and got away from the gravitational pull of the planet, they found a lot of black ships in the void.
Nexa gazed at the scene through the main screen of the ship and her teammate in the pilot chair asked, “Your Highness, are we to go with these guys?”
Nexa nodded and said, “Do not mind the baleful aura. They must be the elite here, it is a good thing for us.”
The teammates nodded and chose to believe in her. After all this lady was their princess, the youngest of the royal family, and the sister to the queen on the throne. However, they found that the queen has been acknowledged as the empress of the empire and they were happy. To think all this happened but the threat of war still lingered.
Along with the pact of the alliance, the youngsters were called back home, and Princess Nexa was asked to stay at the forefront of the alliance and learn from the general of the alliance army. This step was taken because Princess Nexa took it upon her to lead the delegation and not let anyone of the people get hurt.
Also, only when she watches the war will she understand the harsh reality of this materialistic world. Nexa passed the command, and the ships set off.