" This letter is indeed authentic and it's signed by one of the majors of the Aurelius clan... I'm sure there must be a very sound explanation for this, because I sure as hell did not send 240,000 YOUNG Saint Maximus Clan warriors on the frontier planets in the last 4 years itself, losing 160,000 of them to READ THIS BULLSHIT REPORT ". Sam said as he glared towards Denver Aurelius, the right hand man of Regus and the supreme general of all border forces.
Sam did not have the balls to glare at Regus directly, but his henchmen was not out of the question.
" Watch your tone Sam, you might lose your head over it " The loyal dog Julian Caesar said as he instantly came to the Aurelius clans rescue drawing his sword as he prepared to engage Sam.
" YOU WON'T BE DISRESPECTING MY GUESTS AT MT BANQUET JULIAN, OR I WILL BURY YOU HERE " Vega said immediately as he drew his sabre and prepared to engage Julian if need be.
The things inside the room quickly came to a boiling point as the god's drew arms against each other.
" ENOUGH! " Regus said as he stood up from his seat and assessed the situation, this was precisely the mess he did not want himself to be involved with as he already had headaches about the growing influence of the Titus clan, however, such allegations were sure to turn more clans away from the Aurelius banner and join the Titus ranks.
" Present the letter to me, I assure you justice will be served " Regus said as Sam respectfully handed over the letter to Regus who threw it away after glancing at it once.
" Denver, report the border statistics for us, how many troops do we have on Maralago total? " Regus said as he tactically framed the question to ensure that everyone felt that he was doing a just investigation.
" My king, previously there were 7 open fronts of battle, and we had about 3 million troops stationed on the planet total.
1.6 million were border patrol troops, prepared to engage in active combat and 1.4 were reserve troops that did mining operations, intelligence and other non-combat operations.
At any given moment we hold 200,000 reserve troops ready to be deployed at any battlefield that needs immediate support, which is why this claim that we are understaffed is truly outrageous ". Denver reported as his answer suggested that he was completely unaware that such a letter had been sent.
" So we are not understaffed, so why is this official letter stamped by an Aurelius clan major saying we are?
This reflects poorly on our military and our clans integrity Denver, some might even be bold enough to say that we are deliberately keeping the conflict on the border planets alive based on this proof ". Regus said as he directly voiced the hidden concern everyone had in their hearts
" OUTRAGEOUS! Such claims are nothing but a disgrace! I'm sure nobody - " Denver said as he started his performance when out of everyone present, Max decided to interrupt him.
" General - respectfully I would like to ask you a question please ". Max said as he raised his hand interrupting Denver's words as Vega could not help but cover his smile.
He had not expected the boy to show such guts.
" May I? My king? " Max asked Regus as one could see Regus seething under his nose, however, having excellent restraint over his emotions Regus signalled Max to ask a few questions.
" Who is responsible for the forces on Maralago ? " Max asked Denver knowing the answer fully well
" It would be general Diaz from the Aurelius clan " Denver replied not understanding where Max was leading with this question
" If I'm not wrong, all three planets have had Aurelius generals for the past 200 years, no? " Max asked, again knowing the answer fully well.
" Yes …. " Denver said, raising an eyebrow
" Respectfully, General, if none of them have made tangible progress over the last 200 years, it reflects extremely poorly on their performance.
Within 3 months I was able to push back the barbarians on a battlefront that was deadlocked and deemed impossible for decades.
In my personal assessment of the battlefield, at least on Maralago, it's an easy win for our race under capable leadership ". Max said as his statement brought pin drop silence across the room.
Max had made a direct allegation at the Aurelius clan's capability and everyone was shocked out of their senses to see his guts.
" Are you implying we are incompetent Captain? " Denver asked Max in a dangerous tone as he let his tier6 aura flare a little.
It was a rhetorical question, nobody thought Max would reply, but he did as he said " Yes, I think those currently incharge definitely are incompetent, and by the looks of it also corrupt "
Vega bursted out laughing as he could not believe his own ears, the boy had bigger balls than an orc!
Vega hated his impudence when he argued with him but he was absolutely in love with his aggressive and fearless demeanour now.
" That's enough boy, not a single word more from you " Julian said as he pointed his sword at Max now.
Regus was stumped, Max had completely ruined his plan to redeem the Aurelius clan's honour as there was no way to get out of this situation without him punishing someone.
" It's fine Julian, the boy speaks the truth " Regus said as he reluctantly agreed with Max's assessment in public to save face.
" In war only results matter, and it's true that the Aurelius clan generals have not been able to get the results our people deserve.
Maybe it's time to change the leadership structure.
Retire our generals and let the top 3 clans send one of their own.
Maybe that will bring the necessary results for our people " Regus said as Denver looked at the monarch wide-eyed.
The system established by Regus gave merits to all clans for participating in border security.
The position of the top general brought the maximum merit points and if the Aurelius clan let go of those positions, in the end even if the vampires did win the planets the control of the rich resources of the planet would fall into the hands of the other clans while the Aurelius clan would make a huge loss.
After everything they had done over the centuries, if they did not get the biggest piece of the pie on Maralago it would be a terrible waste.
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/// A/N - Chapter 3/10, we are slowly getting there, enjoy! ///