Crimson Blood

Chapter 3

"A warrior with a cause is the most dangerous soldier of all."
— Michael Scott

'Start talking.' Hades said after they had closed their deals — only verbally, of course. What use would a piece of paper have in their world? The need was louder and stronger than a contract. 'Why would they be retreating?'

'Follow my thought, Bennetti: why would someone retreat from war?'

'Because they are losing it.'

'Yes.' She said, quickly adding. 'But that's not the case for the Western Empire. It is true, the East does have an upper hand on territories, but the West is getting them back. It has always been like this for the past two years, hasn't it? Both armies barely moved the battle line. Nothing major changed, so losing the war is not the reason.' Crow took a look at the lieutenants. 'Both of you, what do you think? You must have a brain if Hades keeps you by his side.'

'Bennetti.' The captain corrected her. 'And go on, Nixon, Boehner. If you have a theory, speak.'

'Well... If the West isn't losing and hasn't suffered a big hit, it doesn't make sense they are retreating. You still have resources, don't you?' Crow nodded to Nixon's question.

'Would the Western crown ever consider surrender?' Boehner asked.

'Not a chance. The king is set on the imperial throne.'

'Then, why, Burnham? Tell us already.' Hades tried to assemble whatever he could to make sense of the enemy's moves, but he couldn't find a reason.

'Oh, Bennetti, I thought you were smarter.' The woman grinned bitterly before proceeding. 'The West will not bow down to the East, this fact is as true as the skies are blue. They don't lack resources in any way, manpower, weaponry, war funds and food. They receive enough from their allies. So, why would they retreat? They would never do anything to risk losing the war, but don't you see? There's no reason to waste resources just because you have them.'

'Waste?' Boehner said, keen on her choice of words.

'Yes, waste. Because you'd be spending money on something you already have.'

'Are you, perhaps, implying that the West won the war?' Nixon laughed. 'Dispose of her, Captain. The woman has gone insane.'

'Why would you say that?' Bennetti asked Burnham.

'Simple. They wouldn't budge their position on the frontlines for nothing. Maybe you could take the rear troops, but the frontline? They want you to advance. I believe that if you report my unit left to your superiors, your next order will be to conquer and occupy the terrain. And you'll fall right under the big red X on the ground.'

'The West wants us to march forward. But to separate the East? Or to make us spend time and effort on something useless?' Hades was getting somewhere, finally.

'The second. I bet they will put the weakest battalions in front of your way, and keep receding. That way you'd think you're winning when in truth, there's gotta be something going on under the table.'

'They'll make us fragile, fighting in a war they only keep up to tire us down.'

'Exactly. The only reason why they vanished is not that the West gave up or intends to surrender. No, the real reason lies in coming victorious from the war, they believe they have done so.'

'But we're still here. We are still fighting. The war is still going on.' Boehner said.

'But not for long.' Replied Crow. 'I still don't know why they dismissed me, to put it in a very nice way, but the only logic behind retreating, while knowing they have enough to win, is winning itself.'