Episode-1012
Chapter : 2023
They were waiting for a plan. They were waiting for someone to tell them that it was going to be okay. They were waiting for the "Sofa King" to make a joke, or for the "Saint of the Coil" to perform a miracle.
But those men weren't here.
Lloyd walked to the steps of the main house. He turned to face them all. He stood tall, despite the pain in his body. He let the persona of the Major General take over completely.
"Listen to me," Lloyd said. His voice was flat, devoid of sarcasm, devoid of warmth. It was the voice of a man giving a mission briefing.
"We have three days. That is not a vacation. That is a countdown."
He pointed to the north, toward the invisible threat.
"They aren't going to stop. They aren't going to negotiate. They want this planet. They want our mana. They want to turn us into fuel."
He looked at King Liam. He looked at the Avatar of Satan.
"The grace period is over," Lloyd stated. "We are done reacting. We are done running away. In three days, when their systems come back online, they are going to come for us. They are going to bring an army of machines and monsters to our doorstep."
He paused. The wind rustled the leaves of the trees. The silence was absolute.
"So we aren't going to wait for them," Lloyd said. "In three days, we mobilize. Every soldier. Every mage. Every spirit. We take the fight to them."
He clenched his fist.
"This isn't a diplomatic dispute anymore. It's a math problem. There are two species on this board, and there is only enough room for one."
Lloyd looked at his family one last time. He looked at the closed door where his son was.
"We either kill them all," Lloyd said, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper, "or we become batteries."
He turned to his father.
"Open the armory, Father. Wake up the WAR Squad. Tell them vacation is over."
Lloyd didn't wait for a response. He turned and walked into the house, heading straight for his study. He had blueprints to draw. He had logistics to plan. He had a war to win.
Behind him, in the courtyard, the shock began to fade, replaced by a grim, hard resolve. The retreat was finished. The counter-attack had begun.
Date/Time: Year 2513, Month of Sun, Day 13 – 08:00 AM
Location: Ferrum Estate – The War Room
The heavy oak doors of the War Room clicked shut, locking out the noise of the estate. The room was usually reserved for quiet study or family arguments, but today, it had been transformed into the brain of a global war machine.
A massive map of the continent covered the central table. It wasn't a paper map; it was a holographic projection generated by one of Lloyd’s scavenged devices from the Fire Fly dropship. Red lights blinked along the northern borders, showing the enemy movements. Blue lights showed the positions of the Human Alliance.
Lloyd Ferrum stood at the head of the table. He wasn't wearing his usual comfortable robes or his mechanic’s jumpsuit. He was wearing the dress uniform of a Commander—black with silver trim, sharp, clean, and imposing. He looked tired, but his eyes were wide awake. He looked like a man who had already run the numbers and knew exactly what the cost of survival would be.
Around the table sat the four most powerful women on the continent. They were his fiancées, his wife, and his partners. But in this room, right now, they were his generals.
Princess Amina of Zakaria sat to his right, her dark eyes scanning the map with the intensity of a hawk. Queen Seraphina of Altamira sat next to her, her posture rigid and royal, though her fingers drummed nervously on the table. Lady Faria Kruts sat opposite them, looking less like a fiery artist and more like a soldier waiting for orders. And at the far end, silent and still as a statue, sat Rosa Siddik, the Winter Queen.
"We have seventy-two hours," Lloyd said. His voice was flat. He didn't shout. He didn't need to. "Maybe less. Lucifer is rebooting his systems. The Fire Fly Corporation is re-establishing its satellite uplink. When that link turns green, they aren't going to knock on the door. They are going to kick it down."
He tapped the table. The holographic map zoomed in on the Erza Plains, a vast stretch of flat land between the Devil Region and the Northern Human Territories.
Chapter : 2024
"This is the kill zone," Lloyd explained. "They will come through here. It’s the only terrain flat enough for their heavy walkers and the sheer number of Curse Knights Bael has raised. We have to stop them there. If they get past the plains, they hit the cities. If they hit the cities, we lose."
Princess Amina leaned forward. "We know where they are coming from, Lloyd. But we don't know what is coming. My spies in the border towns have gone dark. The ‘Whispers’ tell me that a shadow has fallen over the northern road. Nothing comes in, nothing comes out."
"That’s because they are using signal jammers," Lloyd said. "Standard corporate tactics. Blind the enemy, then hit them."
He looked at Amina directly. "That is your job, Amina. I am assigning you as the Head of Intelligence. You know how people think. You know how secrets move."
Amina nodded slowly. "My network is good, Lloyd, but it’s human. We can’t spy on devils. My agents die if they get too close to the Abyssal mana."
"You won't be working alone," Lloyd said. "I’m integrating your network with Leviathan’s."
A ripple of surprise went through the room. Leviathan—Song Eun-ha—was a Devil Queen. The idea of human spies working with demons was unheard of.
"Leviathan has bio-scanners deep in the Abyss," Lloyd explained. "She can see heat signatures, mana spikes, and troop movements underground. But she doesn't know the human landscape. She doesn't know which merchant is bribable or which bridge is weak. You do. You are the software; she is the hardware. I need you to take her raw data and turn it into actionable intel for our armies."
Amina took a deep breath. She looked at the map, calculating the possibilities. It was a massive responsibility. She would be the eyes of the entire world.
"I can do it," Amina said, her voice firm. "I will set up a relay station in the East wing. But I need encryption keys. If the Fire Fly Corporation intercepts our messages, we’re dead."
"Done," Lloyd said. "I’ll give you the codes."
He turned to Queen Seraphina. The young Queen of Altamira looked pale. Her country had just survived a civil war, and now she was facing an apocalypse.
"Seraphina," Lloyd said, softening his tone just a fraction. "Wars aren't won by shooting. They are won by eating. They are won by having boots that fit and bullets that fit the guns."
Seraphina straightened up. "Logistics."
"Global logistics," Lloyd corrected. "I am putting you in charge of Supply and Resource Management. We have three armies moving to the front—Bethelham, Zakaria, and your own forces. That’s hundreds of thousands of mouths to feed. We need ammunition transported from my manufactory to the front lines. We need medical supplies moved from the south."
"The roads are clogged with refugees," Seraphina pointed out, her mind already working on the problem. "Moving supply wagons against the flow of civilians will be a nightmare."
"Then use the rivers," Lloyd said. "Use the airships. I don't care how you do it, but I need those soldiers fed and armed. If a rifle jams because it’s dirty, or a soldier faints from hunger, that’s a hole in our line. You are the only one here who has run a country during a famine. You know how to stretch resources."
Seraphina nodded. The fear in her eyes was replaced by focus. This was a problem she could solve. It was math and management, not monsters. "I will seize control of the merchant fleets. Anyone who refuses to carry grain or ammo will be declared an enemy of the state. I will keep the lines open, Lloyd. I promise."
"I know you will," Lloyd said.
He turned to Faria Kruts. Faria was fidgeting. She was a woman of fire and passion, an artist and a warrior. She wanted a sword. She wanted to be on the front lines throwing fireballs.
"Faria," Lloyd said. "You have the hardest job."
Faria blinked. "Harder than fighting?"
"Yes," Lloyd said grimly. "Your job is to lie."
Faria frowned. "Excuse me?"
"Morale," Lloyd said. "The enemy isn't just sending soldiers. They are sending fear. They have ships that fly in space. They have lasers. They have monsters that eat souls. If the common people see that—if they truly understand what we are fighting—they will break. Panic will destroy us faster than any bomb."
He pointed to the window, toward the city beyond the estate walls.