Mirochi, Kingdom of Valora

"Sir, the rebels are pushing back our forces!"

"Get me the Countess Lähjoka! Now!"

The officer commanding the attack, the Countess Lähjoka, had been resoundingly defeated. Leading the diversionary assault with 30,000 troops, she was initially successful in retaking towns in the rebels' western flank, but she had pushed too deep. Making use of the information gathered, the rebels lured them into a trap, allowing them to advance in a straight corridor. Utilizing the bulk of the chemical weapons retrieved from a former royalist armoury, many government troops perished. The rebels surrounded and opened fire on the beleaguered and confused royalist forces, who abandoned their beeline corridor fell back to their initial positions.

It was an impossible victory. Marcus was suspecting this attack due to the large number of royalist troops gathering at their west, but the intelligence he had been given confirmed it. When the eastern forces were given the order, they found well-entrenched and persistent defenders who refused to concede. The eastern flank was a stalemate, and the operation was halted.

Mirochi's gamble to eradicate the rebellion with a crushing blow had gone horribly wrong. 5,202 royalist troops died, were wounded, surrendered or defected. The rebels only suffered 1,935 casualties.

"What on Earth is happening?!"

"M'lord, the rebels have guessed our plans! Our forces are being routed! We have been caught in a trap!"

"...These..."

"Sir, the Baron of Ailakö shall deliver his report on the western front in a few minutes"

"As you were. I shall attend shortly"

---

Castiana, Ryccian Federation
Palace of Holivarnt

The Cabinet was meeting to discuss the Valoran crisis. Recent elections had lent a victory to the internationalist parties, and William Altrecht was now Prime Minister.

"Prime Minister, we have received word from our Valoran counterparts. They are losing against the rebels. The King is personally requesting our assistance via this covert letter"

The Cabinet argued on how many troops would be sent to the royalists. Everyone was under the assumption that Ryccia would intervene to crush this rebellion once and for all.

They were wrong.

"Prime Minister", said the new Minister of Defense, Anastasia Halienrova, "we are prepared to deploy our forces at the earliest opportunity when you give the command"

"I won't give it"

This was eerily familiar. A silence of shock enveloped the room.

Then, voices.

"How many times must we explain?!", said the new Minister of the Interior, Herbert Argenworth, "You idiot, set aside your pathetic feelings for the greater good of this country!"

"SILENCE! I shall not give the order!"

"Then I shall resign!", said one Minister.

"So shall I!"

"You bet I'm going to resign, you bastard!"

"Predictable"

"Fine. We shall deploy our forces to guard the counties that surround our cities in the Valoran coast. That is the only thing I shall compromise on"

The Cabinet argued, and the decision was made. Unlike what many were expecting, Ryccia would not send its soldiers to battle the insurgents. Rather, it would occupy territory surrounding its own special cities to protect them from the rebels.

Just what Altrecht's conscience wanted.