Meanwhile, in Kazdel, within the Military Council's office, Heal, Theresa, and Theresis sat down to share a traditional Sarkaz dinner.
"How are things looking with the three-nation coalition lately?" Theresis set down his chopsticks halfway through the meal, directing his question at Theresa.
"They're still attempting to assassinate me... If they could keep at it like this, that would actually be quite helpful."
"Unrealistic, Theresa. We should start preparing soon. By now they must realize their assassinations are completely ineffective—they're not that foolish."
Heal wiped his mouth with a napkin, casually inserting his comment.
Theresa nodded silently, then raised her head again, looking toward Heal:
"Also… thank you for your help these past days."
Heal simply waved his hand dismissively.
Had the assassination attempts on Theresa succeeded?
To put it plainly, they'd never had a chance from the start.
Perhaps Theresa could theoretically be assassinated, but actually killing Theresa was next to impossible. For someone capable of perceiving emotions clearly, the notion of assassins catching her unaware was absurd from the outset.
Thus, the entire scenario that followed was largely Heal's idea:
Playing along with the three-nation coalition's little drama.
For over twenty days, Theresa had deliberately pretended to fall victim to assassinations. After each "assassination," Heal immediately revived her with K Corp's [Ampoules].
The process was virtually risk-free. Yet through this, Kazdel secured nearly a month of valuable peace and stability.
During this month, Theresa and Theresis successfully integrated their respective armies. With this accomplished, Kazdel was no longer defenseless or unprepared—even against the coalition forces.
In hindsight, the coalition's decision to assassinate Theresa first was something they should genuinely thank them for. Had the coalition attacked directly from the beginning, Kazdel's still-disjointed forces would have faced dire consequences.
But now, with almost an extra month to prepare, Kazdel had confidence enough to face the coming war head-on.
"Speaking of which… Heal, how are preparations on your end?"
Halfway through dinner, Theresis suddenly asked Heal, breaking the silence.
A faint, ambiguous smile still lingering on his lips, Heal paused briefly, then answered smoothly:
"Hm… I suppose everything is more or less ready."
"Rest assured. When the supplies are needed, as long as you can pay the price I require as a 'merchant'... then whatever you wish for, I can provide."
Heal smiled warmly as he finished speaking.
Over this period, Heal had realized a fierce battle was inevitable.
Under these circumstances, [Ampoule] production became crucial. After all, [Ampoules] were soon going to escalate from mere medicinal supplies to wartime strategic resources.
Hence, Heal rapidly increased production. By now, K Corp's internal reservoirs held at least several thousand cubic meters of Tears. Diluted stockpiles had reached astonishing levels.
In other words, K Corp had squeezed every ounce of melancholy available for this war effort.
What a pity they didn't yet possess the Mirror technology from later days. If they did, the production capacity could have gone even higher…
"…Then, indeed, it's time to begin," Theresis murmured after hearing Heal's assurances, slowly closing his eyes.
"Let the war come. We'll show them that Kazdel is no longer afraid, nor will it ever again be."
---
Exactly as Theresis predicted, war swiftly arrived.
First, Leithanien and Victoria openly announced their alliance with Ursus. While it was clear to anyone paying attention that this was a temporary alliance of convenience, they stood together for now.
Then, the Ursus Army Group publicly declared that a high-ranking officer had mysteriously vanished near Kazdel's borders, requesting permission to send in troops to search for the missing official.
Predictably, Kazdel refused.
Equally predictably, Ursus initiated a small-scale conflict with Kazdel shortly afterward.
Thus, as Ursus accused Kazdel of wrongdoing, the conflict rapidly escalated.
Events unfolded swiftly. The Army Group's Shieldguards quickly mobilized and marched toward Kazdel, repeatedly insisting they had reasonable suspicion that Kazdel had abducted their missing officer, and demanding cooperation.
Kazdel firmly declined again.
Consequently, as Ursus's allies, Leithanien and Victoria joined the war effort.
Victoria, with fewer direct stakes in the conflict, dispatched only a modest force and several rapid-deployment fleets. Leithanien, after careful consideration, committed limited troops.
All three nations shared the same conviction: to deal with Kazdel, extensive resources weren't necessary.
How many soldiers and resources could Kazdel possibly muster, having just ended a civil war?
Most likely, their army consisted mainly of loosely integrated Sarkaz mercenaries gathered during the internal conflict.
That meant the coming war would be elites versus cannon fodder, their victory practically guaranteed!
Filled with such smug confidence, the three-nation coalition marched toward Kazdel.
The idea was lovely—but reality…
Well, reality always had a way of being a bit harsher.
The coalition forces met outside Kazdel city and, given their numerical advantage, opted for a siege. But on the very first day, they tasted the madness Kazdel had in store.
Late that night, Kazdel launched a surprise assault.
Over a thousand Sarkaz mercenaries rushed out like a suicide squad, instantly attacking the coalition's positions. After brief chaos, the coalition forces quickly regrouped and nearly slaughtered them all in a fierce counterattack.
The gap between professional soldiers and mere mercenaries was, as expected, vast.
But what confused the coalition soldiers was that whenever a mercenary was critically injured, their comrades frantically fought to retrieve the fallen body, even if it meant tearing off limbs or salvaging only a severed head.
In the confusion, the coalition failed to kill most of these mercenaries—only a few died outright, while the others managed to carry their wounded comrades back into the city.
Initially assuming Kazdel's mercenaries simply intended to bury their fallen comrades, the coalition troops mocked this foolish display and didn't think much of it.
However… reality soon proved their assumptions wrong.
The following day, when the coalition army saw the exact same mercenaries from the night before—fully intact, without a single missing limb—they fell into stunned confusion.
Not even a single person had changed.
They appeared again before the coalition forces, like an army of undying revenants.