Editing Tytania:Volume 2 Chapter 9 (section)

=== II ===
“I am Amzekar, a former soldier of the Vardana Empire. I was defeated by Duke Ariabert.”

Having introduced himself thus without a hint of shame, Amzekar glared at the councillors with a fierce gaze.

“Is there anyone in Bargash who can defeat Ariabert Tytania in battle? None, am I wrong? The only one who can is a foreigner. You must entrust command of your entire army to Fan Hyulick. That is Bargash’s only path to survival.”

With a sneer, one of the councillors countered:

“It is not simply a matter of going to war. The Tytania clan is not a Demon King clan. Even if we were to yield to them, they won’t annihilate us.”

“What have you lot learnt from history? The Vardana Empire was once a great power on a par with the Interstellar City League. But now, it is a colony of the Tytania clan!”

"…"

Surveying the high-ranking officials of the Bargash government as they sank into a silence as dark and heavy as a deep-sea fish, Amzekar sharpened his tongue even further:

“If you surrender to Tytania, you will likely be granted a nominal independence. Tytania does not care about such formalities; they are satisfied as long as there is tangible benefit. The real problem lies with you. The question is whether you can wag your tails while wearing Tytania’s collar and still have the face not to be ashamed of it.”

This scathing metaphor robbed the peace faction of any rebuttal.

“Then let me ask you this: do you stand any chance of winning against Tytania!?” finally shouted the peace faction, cornered.

“What’s the point of fighting without a chance of winning? These exiles are simply trying to drag Bargash into a private feud between themselves and Tytania!”

“That’s quite right,” muttered Doctor Lee in a very low voice, yet with utter brazenness.

It was true that they were attempting to drag Bargash into a war against Tytania for their own sake; they had no defence against being accused of selfishness.

However, from the outset, Fan Hyulick, Doctor Lee and the others had never been apostles of absolute peace, nor heroes of justice; they were merely “liberationists” in the sense that they continued to refuse to be ruled by Tytania. Fully aware that they were in the minority, they knew that in order to continue resisting Tytanian rule, it would certainly be better to have at least a few allies on their side. And so, as a result of a strange puzzle game of chance and necessity, they had set their sights on Bargash.

Bargash, the one they had set their sights on, was a blessing in disguise. But as for Fan Hyulick, he felt like saying, ''“Don’t start whingeing at this stage. If you don’t want to grovel before Tytania and beg for mercy, you’ll just have to fight!”'' That said, more than half of that was him talking to himself.

The peace faction shouted once more:

“Do you really think you can face tomorrow without regret, having entrusted the nation’s fate to such a rabble of vagabonds!”

“It is far better to face a tomorrow filled with regret than to die today with a sense of satisfaction,” retorted Admiral Turbil, standing tall with his chest thrust out.

Knowing there was no other recourse, the old military man had completely resigned himself to his fate. At one point, he had even been prepared to take responsibility and take his own life, but even if he had done so, there was no way Tytania would have accepted it and laid down her arms. In that case, there was nothing left but to fight. After all, if Zarlisch Tytania had withdrawn her forces in accordance with Admiral Turbil’s gentlemanly advice, no one would have had to die.

It was also true that there were criticisms levelled at Rear-Admiral Turbil along the lines of, “At his age, he really ought to show a little more restraint”. Political judgement, unlike a sixty-minute space exploration drama packed with adverts, involved various factions engaged in a bitter struggle, each clinging to their own subjective sense of righteousness and possessing reasons to reject the claims of the other side. In this instance, both the pro-peace and pro-war factions in Bargash regarding Tytania believed themselves to be historically in the right, and were convinced they must prevent the opposing camp from leading their homeland in the wrong direction.

However, the reason their footing occasionally wavered was, ultimately, because they feared Tytania’s power. It was precisely because of this fear that one side sought peace, while the other yearned for liberation from oppressive rule, and so the conflict had continued.

Amidst this unresolved conflict, chilling news arrived from Corvin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was still staying at Uraniborg.

“It is said that the Tytanian Army, under the overall command of Duke Ariabert, is planning to mobilise at least twenty thousand vessels.”

“T-twenty thousand!?”

The Chairman turned pale and lost his voice.

Although Tytania’s total naval strength was said to be 100,000&nbsp;vessels, there had been no instance in the past quarter-century of a force exceeding 10,000&nbsp;ships being mobilised. If they were now mobilising 20,000&nbsp;vessels, one had to recognise the intensity of Tytania’s resolve.

“I-it’s just a bluff. Mobilising a large army doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Isn’t it like the old saying, just ‘a big murder of crows<ref name="ftn21">烏合の衆 is an expression that literally means “a numerous murder of crows” and refers to a large group of people that is uncontrollable, disorganised, and makes a lot of noise… like a big murder of crows.</ref>’?”

“Hoh? Are you calling the elite forces of Tytania commanded by Duke Ariabert a big murder of crows?”

With considerable malice, Doctor Lee used sharp words to pierce through his opponent’s bluster.

“That is reassuring. In that case, it would be utterly presumptuous of us to even consider cooperating with the Bargash army. Please do repel Tytania with your own strength alone. We shall pray for your victory.”

Having thoroughly tormented the Chairman’s nerves, lungs, stomach and heart, the group took their leave.

They believed they had made good use of the time allotted to them, but no sooner had they returned to their lodgings than they were confronted with an unexpected danger. One can never tell what a cornered herbivore might do when it flies into a rage; on this day, it was a faction of the peace camp that had lost all rationality upon learning of Tytania’s plan to mobilise twenty thousand vessels. Deeming Fan Hyulick and his faction to be the root of all evil, they organised a demonstration, and some fifty of them, armed with firearms, stormed the quarters.

They filled the ground-floor hall to capacity; with so few of them and no weapons, it seemed Hyulick and his companions had no means of defending themselves. However…

“You fools! Do you not understand the way of the world?” bellowed Fan Hyulick, looking down at the hall from the atrium on the first floor.

Channelling all his energy into his voice and his gaze, he glared at the storming mob. The mob were intimidated and halted their advance.

“Do you really think Tytania fears Bargash’s military might? I am the one she fears. The only man to have ever defeated Duke Ariabert.”

He thumped his chest. He was well aware it was a cheap act, but he was certainly risking his life. The rioters flinched and exchanged glances. Seizing the moment, Hyulick pressed his advantage.

“If you so much as lay a finger on me, Tytania will immediately invade Bargash with a massive army. Since Bargash will be destroying its own protective walls with its own hands, there could be nothing more welcome to Tytania. What you are about to do is playing right into Tytania’s hands!”

The rioters let out groans. Ninety-nine per cent of those who commit such acts of violence are convinced they are ardent and sincere patriots. Accused of aiding the enemy, they were thrown into a state of agitation and confusion.

“You there! How much did Tytania pay you to sell out your homeland!?”

It was Mahdi who suddenly shouted this, jabbing his finger at one of the rioters. On the spur of the moment, he too had joined in with Hyulick’s act. The man he pointed at was a young man of medium height; his face remained contorted, and he could not bring himself to utter a word of protest. This was, of course, not because the facts had been pointed out, but because he had been falsely accused of an outrageous crime.

“W-we’re not like that. We have our country’s best interests at heart…”

While he struggled to defend himself, Lieutenant-Commander Irk arrived with his men and scattered the mob. Had they opened fire the moment they spotted Hyulick and his companions, they might well have achieved their original objective; it was a pitiful affair that they had been driven off by mere words. Doctor Lee thanked lieutenant-Commander Irk and clapped ostentatiously for Fan Hyulick and Mahdi.

“Well, that was quite the performance. The two of you could make a living as a comedy duo.”

“Say whatever you want.”

A sudden torrent of sweat broke out on his skin, and Fan Hyulick slumped back into his chair. Mahdi slumped into the chair beside him and shrugged his shoulders.

“It wasn’t even a single dakar’s worth of acting, yet I got carried away. We’ve got through today, but what are we going to do from tomorrow?”

“I suppose the Bargash government will decide that for us.”

Doctor Lee’s prediction had proved accurate. The Bargash government had finally made its decision. It had been forced to do so.

“Now that it has come to this, there is no other course of action. We should grant Fan Hyulick and his men a certain degree of military authority and allow them to participate in the fighting, while also forming an alliance with the various nations and factions that harbour animosity towards Tytania to tackle this crisis.”

A Grand Alliance against Tytania! It was a plan that countless strategists and diplomats had yearned for and dreamt of ceaselessly over the past two centuries.

The reason it had been conceived only to falter midway through implementation was due to Tytania’s cunning political and military manoeuvres, and also because the Grand Alliance itself could not avoid the fragility inherent in a coalition of disparate interests. If A sought to seize the initiative, B would push back; if C asserted its own interests within the Grand Alliance, D would obstruct it. Should Tytania prick that vulnerability with a needle, the sandcastle would collapse in an instant.

Yet, fully aware of the difficulties, or rather, left with no other choice, Bargash had no option but to pursue the Grand Alliance. Thus, once Bargash’s political and military strategy had finally been established, Hyulick, Lee, Amzekar, Mr and Mrs Casimir, Mahdi, Pagès, and Walenkov were incorporated into Rear-Admiral Turbil’s forces as temporary staff officers.