"This is outrageous!" One of the allies finally couldn't hold it anymore and berated loudly, "First, you made us sign an alliance contract without telling us about your intentions to overthrow the empire. Now you actually accepted the declaration without even counseling with us?"
"What the hell do you take us for?"
Immediately after he finished, the other allies starting venting their frustration as well.
"That's right! Did you bring us here to make fun of us or what?!"
"My government has just emerged from a civil war! Our forces are at their weakest, and you want us to fight the empire and their allies? Not happening!"
"I will rather hand over my kingdom then get forced into fighting like this!"
While everyone kept screaming at the top over their voices, creating a noisy ruckus in the assembly hall, Zosia merely kept staring at them with a nonchalant look.
After a minute went by, she clapped her hands slowly and everyone got muted at once.
Peace returned again in the hall.
"Excuse me for being impolite and muting everyone." Zosia apologized insincerely and continued, "But, we don't have time to indulge you in your cry out."
"All of you think that we have pulled the rug under you or something." Zosia snickered, "But, did you forget already how you behaved when we emphasized that we will be requiring your assistance in the near future?"
Upon hearing so, most representatives lowered their heads with stiffened expressions.
As leaders, they were there when they signed the contract between them and the anti-royality alliance.
So, after having their memories refreshed, they recalled that the members of the anti-royality alliance did indeed emphasize that part.
At that moment, none of them cared to think thoroughly about it since they didn't want to seem insincere and end up losing the alliance deal.
In their eyes, allying with one of the four strongest superpowers in the empire would have more advantages than disadvantages.
Hence, they gladly signed it.
Now, that it turned out that disadvantage was too much for them to handle, they started to b*tch about and make it seem like they had been cheated?
Zosia wasn't having it.
She pointed her finger at a fat middle-aged man with a beer bully and sneered, "Governor Jason, you forgot already how you came begging for our help to deal with a pirate organization that was running rampant in your territory?"
The fat middle-aged man lowered his head, not wanting to confront Zosia's frigid eyes.
He was the loudest of the bunch in his b*tching when everyone was screaming at once. Now that he was targeted, he was as quiet as a mouse.
Thankfully for him, Zosia aimed at a few more of their allies, retelling all the help they received from the anti-royality alliance over past decades.
"We almost never asked anything from you, and you were more than fine with it." Zosia narrowed her eyes at them and warned, "Now that we finally needed your help, you are planning on bailing on us? I dare anyone of you to do so."
'We are f*cked.' Mr. Rodrigas closed his eyes in despair after hearing Zosia's threat.
He knew that planet Earth had benefited way too much from the anti-royality alliance to bail out on them in their need.
Since they were forced by the contract to help them out, the anti-royality alliance could totally give up on them during the war after their planet get replicated.
All the allies understood the underlying threat of Zosia, making them keep their mouths shut lest they get turned into an example for the others.
When Zosia saw that everyone started to behave, she unmuted them and displayed a giant holographic list.
Everyone lifted their heads and read what on it with curious looks. What they found out forced the outsiders to affix their posture into a serious one.
"This can't be real."
"How credible is this Intel?"
"It must be a ruse."
After finishing the whole thing, the outsiders started making a small ruckus by doubting the content of the list.
Who could blame them?
The list was showing many pieces of information on the royal family.
The one that made the outsiders behave like this was a segment that exposed royal family's scheming against all unaffiliated backgrounds in their territory!
The information didn't really give too many details, but it did force the outsiders to pay attention more in this gathering.
"You can ask the Queen, and she will confirm that this piece of Intel was gotten through one of our spies three hundred years ago." Zosia suggested for the outsiders, so they could drop their suspicion.
Without exception, everyone asked the Queen, and she confirmed the list's legitimacy.
"So what?"
One of the outsiders yawned as he folded his hands behind his back disrespectfully.
He seemed quite arrogant and proud from the way he kept his distance from the other representatives, not wanting to mingle with them.
Zosia eyed the handsome laid-back man and asked, "What do you mean, King Solluman?"
She excused his behavior since she knew that he was an Origin Bloodliner, who owned the 8th ranked kingdom in the empire.
While other strong backgrounds sent representatives, King Solluman came on his own. Zosia knew that it wasn't out of respect but simply because he was most likely bored.
"All of us knows that the empire harbor ill intent towards us. After all, we are occupying their territory." King Solluman shrugged his shoulders, "So, why should I be surprised that they are scheming against us?"
Everyone nodded their heads and stopped freaking out in their mind.
They could see that the anti-royalty alliance was hoping to recruit them on their side by making a common enemy out of the royal family.
Sure, the Intel was enough to raise a few hairs, but to throw their lot with the anti-royality alliance in this war? Not a chance.
"You are right." Zosia snickered faintly, "But, do you know what has been keeping the royal family from coming after you all this long?"
Not giving King Solluman the time to answer, Zosia pointed at her chest and proclaimed, "It was us!"
"We always wondered why was the royal family passive against the unaffiliated backgrounds even though we found out that they had been scheming to declare wars on them." Zosia disclosed, "Only now did we understand that the royal family had to postpone their plans after figuring out about our hidden intentions against them."
"So, if it wasn't for us diverging their focus from you guys, I doubt you will be sitting here with us now."
When King Solluman thought about it carefully, he realized that she might be right. The royal family found out about the anti-royality alliance two hundreds years ago.
Since Queen Ai confirmed the Intel of the anti-royality alliance, it was safe to assume that the royal family had to switch their aim from them to the anti-royality alliance.
King Solluman was an intelligent man with thousands of years of experience under his belt.
Hence, he figured out what Zosia was leading to before she could say it.
'If those pigs postponed their plan against us until they deal with the anti-royality alliance, then we will be royally screwed over after the war ends!' King Solluman gulped a small mouthful, feeling nervous for the first time about the results of this war.
He understood that if the anti-royality lost, the royal family would have taken care of the three strongest superpowers in the empire in one go.
This would leave the other entities in the empire completely vulnerable against them!
After all, the only reason the empire had yet to make a move against them was due to those three superpowers leaving them on their toes.
When they get rid of them, it would be their turn next and no one would be there to beseech help from!
"Without us being your shield, your days are numbered in this empire." Zosia said coldly, "That's a fact that you can't refuse even if you wanted."
Seeing that King Solluman didn't retort made other outsiders nervous too.
Since they were sent as representatives, it only meant that they could see the bigger picture as well. In reality, they always knew deep down that the royal family wasn't pleased by their 'illegal occupation'.
However, after centuries went by and the royal family kept their hands held back, they started to feel like their territory truly belonged to them!
"You see…I believe that all of you had gotten too comfortable in your territories. The Norfolks passiveness against you made them seem like they had lost their edge or given up on dealing with you."
"But in reality, they never stopped sharpening their spears." Zosia sneered as she looked at them squirm in their seats, "It seems like they are finally ready to pull them out against us."
"My question to you is really simple." Zosia paused for a second then laid out a question that echoed through the hall, "Will You Fight Now or Die Later?"
