Darkstone Code-Chapter 1036 - 1034: Taking Responsibility
Lodia is a mercenary instructor from Sedolas, passionate about war since childhood. Unfortunately, Sedolas is a neutral region, and he has little hope of participating in any wars during his lifetime.
After adulthood, he became a free mercenary. In Sedolas, there were quite a few of these people, forming small groups of three, five, or even a dozen or more.
They took on military orders from around the world until the outbreak of the First World War.
Lodia was lucky; he and his two friends survived, which sounds like a classic happy ending in a movie.
But in reality, more than thirty people went out, and only three remained in the end.
Instead of becoming weary of war, he was even more passionate about participating in various military activities. His outstanding experience made him famous in the field of mercenaries.
The first thought people have when mentioning Lodia is—dirty.
His tactics are dirty, the kind of person who stops at nothing to achieve his goals. This is also why he survived; in some ways, he and war are quite compatible.
Ambushes, assassinations, poisoning, creating explosions—though he did successfully complete some tasks deemed very difficult by people, he received little praise.
In enemy-occupied territories, he committed many infuriating acts, with robbery and murder being among the least severe.
Some say he has severe psychological issues and is a lunatic.
If it weren’t for the high efficiency with which he completed tasks, no organization or force would likely employ him.
When selecting a new instructor, Lynch immediately chose this guy.
He needed to change the mindset of Darkstone Security employees, to make them understand they weren’t warriors fighting for their country; they were merely hands wielding wealth and politics.
Stop thinking about defeating opponents honorably; that’s not what they’re supposed to do!
The restructuring of Darkstone Security didn’t cause much of a stir, but the Sea Fortress became a hot topic within the Federation.
Some active social activists, who apparently obtained some obviously incorrect information from somewhere, often appeared on bustling streets, promoting a naïve idea—
The Gafura people’s Sea Fortress will become the terminator of naval battles, but we don’t have one.
As long as we exchange Lynch’s aircraft for the design and parameters of the Sea Fortress, then we’ll have it!
Many people were discussing this, and even some TV shows began talking about these things. Without authentic design drawings and data, or even appearances, these Federals exercised their greatest characteristic as Federals—freedom.
Freedom of thought, wild imagination.
Some imagined the "Sea Fortress" as a gigantic naval ship. In their imaginary drawings, the Sea Fortress is longer than all current battleships and is a massive triangle.
Covered with hundreds of cannons, a single salvo could destroy a city...
Others think Gafura’s Sea Fortress is actually about converting small islands into floating ones, then building defense and attack facilities on top.
The strength of the Sea Fortress completely depends on what kind of floating island they use. If they transformed Gafura’s mainland into a floating island, it would be a warship that would never sink!
Such absurd and comical speculations instantly became a societal trend, with everyone discussing these matters.
No need for Lynch to say it; he knew the Gafura people probably spent a lot of money.
Just like... him!
Lynch also spent a lot of money. When the Ministry of Defense proposed launching his experimental bombers, he had already begun his maneuvers.
At this moment, in Gafura’s mainland, a group of Gafura gentlemen gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Residence.
They mildly expressed their attitude, and some hired people held up placards, shaking them in front of the glass of the Prime Minister’s Residence.
There wasn’t much content, just a simple sentence—"Gafura needs bombers!"
"Damn it, these people weren’t here last week. They must have been bought by the Federals!" The Prime Minister’s eldest son put down the curtain and paced back and forth in the room, appearing somewhat restless.
Since the Prime Minister took power, his eldest son, the first heir, naturally gained popularity and joined the work, currently helping his father, the Empire Prime Minister, with matters within his capability.
He knew some inside information but hadn’t anticipated the Federals would be so despicable and shameless, using such dirty tactics against them!
"You must learn to restrain your anger, not let it cloud your thinking."
The Prime Minister sat behind the desk, looking at the document in hand, which detailed the current design and validation of the Sea Fortress.
But actually producing it is still challenging.
They can’t waste money building a massive iron block that only floats on water. Gafura currently doesn’t have surplus production capabilities.
To get the bomber parameters, or even the drawings, they must offer some real benefits. At least their fabricated data needs to be convincing, or rather, gain the trust of the Federals.
At present, it seems we have not reached that point.
Everyone is well aware, you have a treasure, I have a treasure.
I’ll show you my treasure, and then I can also see yours; this transaction is limited to this.
Just like the cooperation between the Federation and Gafura now, I told you there’s a Sea Fortress and even provided some parameters that they might have trouble backing up.
The Federation also showed them bombers, displaying the terrifying destructive power brought by advanced technology.
However, just because you have a treasure and want to touch mine, even hold it in your hand, or keep it in your mouth... unless the other party is of the opposite sex, then sure, generously, whatever!
Otherwise, you still need to present something tangible.
Some ambiguous images somehow flowed into Gafura, just like what the Federation is experiencing now, some renowned people in Gafura have started to criticize the Empire.
In their words, the Federation’s bombers can take off from the easternmost airport of the Federation in one day and night, then cross the Federation before traversing the ocean and another continent to ultimately carry out continuous bombing over Gafura’s homeland.
After bombing, they can successfully return, and appear here again on the third day.
The spread of panic is much thicker and faster than the panic atmosphere created by those enthusiastic social activists.
After all, the Federation people have not been harmed by the war, their understanding of the "cruelty" of war is limited to some film and literary works.
Their definition of fear of war is not as deeply understood as the people of Gafura who participated in the war. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
This is like someone afraid of death and someone not afraid of death being led to the execution ground; the endpoint is the same, but the afraid is truly afraid, and the not afraid is just slightly afraid.
A large number of Gafura people gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Residence, outside other ministers’ residences, and even outside the Imperial Palace.
Their demands are simple, Gafura people also need to have such a weapon of war; if we cannot stop the steps towards destruction, then let us all walk towards doom together!
The Prime Minister was also tormented to annoyance by these trivial matters, but he could remain calm.
After being a mascot for decades, he could stay calm, let alone with these situations.
The Prime Minister’s eldest son stopped awkwardly and stood aside.
The Prime Minister pursed his lips for a moment and soon a message was quickly spread out—
The Empire is about to form an Aviation (Air Force) Department to oversee everything related to airplanes, this news was reportedly leaked by an office clerk.
And this message also decreased the number of people outside the Prime Minister’s Residence; in the eyes of people, since the Empire is to formally establish an Aviation Department, it must resolve their demands.
No confrontation, not even a conflict, yet the Prime Minister was not very happy because this matter was not resolved, he just diverted attention.
Ultimately, he still has to face this problem.
But before that, he needs to solve the issue of the Aviation Department minister.
And this is the real trouble.
Especially when his foolish son tried to self-nominate, he knew.
The two countries centered around Lynch’s bombers and the Sea Fortress, which have not been verified at all, and whose theoretical data may not be reliable, began tense negotiations and discussions.
Because neither side has presented anything substantial, there has instead been no progress.
Lynch also did not really treat the people from the Ministry of Defense like fools, without real things, without data that stood up to scrutiny, they would not take out Lynch’s planes and give them away.
Progress in this aspect is slow, but on another aspect, it continues to advance slowly.
Many observers on-site who watched the bombing site have learned some information from various channels.
Lynch does not mind exporting his trimmed-down version of the bomber, but has strict restrictions on the importing party; specific rules and clauses require nods from the Ministry of International Affairs and the Ministry of Defense.
This news immediately drew the attention of many Allies; some diplomatic ambassadors even issued formal diplomatic notes requesting friendly discussions on the import and export of bombers.
The news’s origin is unknown, but everyone is actively and proactively pursuing this matter, and after Mr. Truman realized that this might be Lynch’s handiwork, he maintained a high level of attention.
The enthusiasm for bombers is unimaginable, and the Federation Government seems to realize this is a... very special opportunity.
For a long time, the whole world seems to revolve around Gafura, like it’s the sun.
Never mind that now the Federation is on par with Gafura in all aspects, even surpassing Gafura, the core of the international community has not yet shifted.
"The Federation already has the ability and attitude to take on more social responsibilities; we should not be afraid of difficulties, nor should we give up taking on our responsibilities!"
Lynch’s words seemed to help the President find some new goals.
