On the other side, the Tribunal line shifted. Boots scraped against concrete. A few men adjusted their stance, not out of strategy, but fear. One whispered, “He’s already decided,” and another answered, “He decided before he came.”A sergeant hissed, “Hold your line,” but his voice carried doubt instead of command.Ethan still hadn’t spoken.Vincent Korr had noticed that too.He leaned slightly out of the armored hatch, eyes fixed on the man at the front of the gate. “Look at him,” he said loudly, not using the megaphone this time. “Still standing there like silence is strength.”A Herold officer laughed behind him. “Maybe he’s praying.”Vincent smiled without humor. “Prayers don’t stop artillery fire master Ethan.”The drones adjusted position overhead, their low hum growing louder as they hovered closer to the gate. One of Vincent’s technicians spoke into the radio. “No enemy drones detected, sir. Airspace is clean.”“Of course it is,” Vincent Korr replied. “He brought courage to

For several seconds after Ethan’s words, no one moved.The battlefield felt suspended, like a breath held too long. On the Herold side, soldiers shifted their weight, unsure where to look. On the Tribunal side, men glanced between Ethan and the massive force facing them, trying to understand what had just changed.A Tribunal soldier whispered, “What does he mean?”Another answered quietly, “I don’t think he’s talking to us.”A Herold sergeant barked, “Hold your ground,” but his voice lacked its earlier strength. Even he was listening now.Vincent Korr stood rigid on the armored vehicle, megaphone still in his hand. He could feel it slipping from him, not physically, but in meaning. The men were no longer waiting for his next command. They were waiting for clarity.And then the sky changed.At first, it was a distant sound, low and heavy, like thunder rolling in the wrong direction. Several soldiers looked up at the same time.“What’s that?” someone asked.The sound grew louder, shar

Vincent’s eyes flicked to the Herold soldiers, searching for familiar faces. He saw some of his men staring at him with fear, not loyalty. He saw others looking away, ashamed to be linked to him.Darius straightened and addressed the soldiers on the field, voice carrying across both armies. “You were told this was a clean seizure,” he said. “A simple operation. One million pounds of uranium. That was the official target.”A corporal shouted, “Yes, sir!”Darius nodded once. “And Captain Korr used that belief as a leash,” he said. “He pulled you forward with promises. He fed you a smaller truth so he could steal the larger share of the uranium.”Vincent shook his head fast. “That’s not what happened.”Darius looked down at him. “Then correct me,” he said. “Tell them what you planned.”Vincent’s mouth opened, then closed. He couldn’t say it out loud. Not here. Not with so many ears.Darius’s voice sharpened. “You offered me one million pounds worth of uranium,” he said, “and you intende

The night after Vincent Korr was defeated and killed, the Xavier Tech reception hall looked like a place that had forgotten how close it came to becoming a graveyard. Warm lights filled the high ceiling. Music played from speakers that had been silent for days. Plates of food moved from table to table, and men who had spent the morning staring down at tanks now laughed like they had been given their lives back.A young Tribunal soldier raised his glass and shouted, “We did it! We won without firing a single shot!”His friends banged their cups on the table. “Without one shot!” another repeated, still sounding shocked. “Tell me that isn’t the craziest thing you’ve ever seen.”“It’s crazy,” a third said, grinning wide. “But it’s also beautiful. The Herold soldiers came with one thousand five hundred men and left with shame.”A sergeant nearby leaned in and lowered his voice like he was sharing a secret. “If the General Darius didn’t show up to arrest that captain, we would’ve been dea

Ethan didn’t move after Danny’s last words. He just stared at him across the broken glass on the floor.The hall stayed quiet, but it wasn’t peace. It was pressure. Every soldier in that room felt it, like the air had turned thick.General Sato stepped forward fast. “Master Ethan, don’t answer this,” he said, voice tight. “He just wants a scene.”Danny didn’t even look at Sato. “Let him answer,” he said. “Or is he scared to stand without his money behind him?”Ethan finally spoke, and his voice was calm enough to scare people. “You’re loud,” he said. “You’re brave in a hall with friends around you.”Danny smiled. “Call it what you want,” he said. “But you heard me. Without money, you are nothing.”Ethan was left wondering about what must have gotten into this man that gave him this kind of audacity to speak to him in such manner.Was it the drinks?Was the lieutenant general on hard substance?By the way Ethan nodded once, like he accepted the insult as a fact to be tested. “You just