Jaden let his mind go blank as he knew he would not be able to bear the thought of losing another loved one in an attack by the Alliance, and he forced his energy into his legs, running as fast as they could carry him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Who will save them when they fall?
February 24, 997 R.E.
Waikor City was silent.
No more than a breeze wandered through the many rows of buildings, a ghostly scene under the dark cloud cover of the morning. It seemed abandoned as the World Protection Alliance lined their forces at the northern edge, just outside of the wheat fields. General Alkon Zaccarah was readying for the assault he had been planning for months. This was a victory that would remind all of his greatness. Waikor was the trophy that every general in the Alliance had wanted other than Corsec, but Alkon’s proven record on the battlefield was all that the High Council had needed to consider assigning him the task. He knew it would not be easy. Waikor on its own was the most powerful city in the entire continent. They did not need reinforcements or the forces of several nations like Corsec. Their brilliance in technology and strategy had been rumoured even in Phaiross, the home continent of the World Protection Alliance. And now Alkon was about to witness exactly why the Waikorians showed such arrogance when faced with talk of foreign invaders. They were barely tested in battle, showing only hints of their power as they assisted minor bases of the United Resistance. But it was enough to make any commander wonder if attacking such a city was wise.
Scouts of the Alliance reported no signs of escape, no bands of travellers leaving in any direction. The people were still in the city, seemingly defenceless. Alkon moved among his men, his usually towering stature diminished by the size of the machinery he had brought with him.
In the front lines of the force, tanks readied to roll into the Waikorian streets to crush any resistance and impose their authority. Behind them were personnel carriers that would move in after and take hold of the city’s towers and command posts. Seven thousand men were lined behind these two bands, standing in perfect formations in front of the other commanders in the fourth band. Here there were many jeeps, the higher-ranking officers sitting inside, and beyond them were some of the movers they had used to crush the village in Callibra.
Alkon walked past his commanders, overhearing their conversations. They spoke as if he had no desire to fight the people of Waikor. None of them were anticipating a battle. The lines of military units were for show and little more, and so they talked amongst themselves of what would come when they reached Corsec and how they might better their chances at victory. He would have disciplined them but they were right. This was Alkon’s brilliant scheme. He knew a battle with Waikor could have gone to either side, and so he had chosen simply to avoid confrontation and offer a truce instead.
Defeating Waikor would be an amazing feat, but obtaining it as an ally to the Alliance was a prize thought unattainable. His name would go down in history as one of the most accomplished generals that had ever lived, and perhaps then he would be able to retire and live out his days as he chose.
He looked up at the fighter jets circling high above, and then toward the fifty missile launchers lined at the very back of the military unit. It would be enough to sway any objections the people of Waikor may have had to his terms, so long as his terms were worded in such a way that he did not offend the ego of the city.
They were greatness personified. They were the leaders in all areas of city living. They did not need anyone outside of themselves, but perhaps if Alkon stroked their ego by first explaining how the Alliance could benefit from their greatness, and also assist in spreading this greatness throughout the world, then they might look more favourably upon an alliance being made. And if they refused, he would simply say that he had been ordered to attack, something that he would regretfully do. And even if he did not succeed, he would surely cause a lot of damage to the beautiful city. He hoped reminding them of this would be enough to find a compromise.
‘They will not ally with us,’ said Kobin Guyde as Alkon approached. He was sitting upon the back of one of the open-roofed vehicles.
Alkon did not face him. He had found it almost impossible to even speak face to face with Kobin after the day the scouts had lost their lives in the Ukotan jungle. Kobin had continually attempted to rouse Alkon’s rage, and Alkon was nearing the point where he would make good on his threats and execute Kobin, regardless of what penalty might come from the High Council for his actions.
But he contained his anger and replied as dryly as possible, ‘Just as we will not arrive here on time. Just as we will not have the force to defeat them. Just as whenever nothing should be said, someone speaks.’