And thinking she was all alone, she revealed a bit of her darker self and laughed—like a demoneness reborn she was...
"Hehehe... hehehe... oh my, oh my, Grand Admiral Ezra," she murmured in a low voice as she laughed like the demoneness she had beco. "I survived this calamity because Ryn was in a hurry... that was my luck. Even though it failed in mission selection, hehe... I’m happier that my luck returned for this mont, as it spared from being tornted by Ryn in the training chambers... but you might not be as lucky as I am this ti, hahahaha..."
As Elira laughed, she imagined—at least in her mind a picture of it—how Ezra’s face would look when Ryn questioned him... that is, if Ryn hadn’t already figured out what he ant. After all, while she might be slow on such matters, Ryn wasn’t a complete idiot; she would definitely learn about it herself before even asking Ezra. And when the battle ended, Elira thought, rubbing her hands together like a devil eager to watch the show unfold, she knew exactly how Ezra would suffer— and she couldn’t wait to witness that suffering.
She laughed like that for a mont before she cald down and returned to her more serious self. After muttering, "Oh, I waste so much ti on these things... sigh... I’d better hurry and have my subordinates make their preparations..."
And with that, she took her leave just like the others, but in her case, not to a different fleet or even a different ship. She simply teleported toward her formal office aboard her flagship, the Ajax.
anwhile, as soon as Elira left the eting room, the person who had been in shadow form since the beginning of this eting—no, calling it a "eting" would be an understatent, as it would put every eting in the world and universe to sha... This was more like a banter between fellow Grand Admirals before a battle, at that.
The person appeared in a place not far from where Elira herself was. At first, they were completely covered in darkness... but the darkness receded within seconds, revealing the figure of none other than Kallus.
But this was not Kallus at all.
This was Kallus’s... manifestation—like a primordial spirit of his—while the real Kallus was still occupied with his own work aboard the Obliterator.
This primordial spirit was sothing Kallus had deliberately left here a few hours earlier, before departing to complete the necessary preparations for the upcoming battle. And before he had left from second fleet flagship he had already given the order to the Seven Grand Admirals who had assembled here as per his order to formulate the battle plan and distribute missions among themselves—and there was a reason he had done so.
The primordial spirit turned its gaze toward the spot where Elira had stood monts ago... and could not help recalling the crazed smile on her face—like she was possessed by the devil himself, or perhaps a demoness in her own right. The sight of her had sent a chill through him; it was truly terrifying. Kallus had never expected the calm, composed, and almost noble Elira to have such a side to her at all.
This surprised him even more than the behavior Grand Admiral Ryn had shown from the mont she lucked out and won the golden slip from the ballot box. For a brief mont, she had completely departed from her usual blunt, head-on approach that made her both difficult—and, at the sa ti, rare—to deal with in the fleet.
Ryn had turned into a cheerful person. She had even attempted a joke—though, in truth, her humor was as rough-edged as ever. She clearly wasn’t made for jesting.
The primordial spirit of Kallus shook his head, pushing aside these strange thoughts about his generals. Then he spoke aloud—more to soone unseen than to himself. His voice, though firm, carried a trace of disappointnt, the source of which even Kallus might not have recognized.
"Looks like we really can’t leave it to the Grand Admirals to decide the missions themselves... They’ll definitely argue over pointless things, just like before—wasting precious ti on matters that didn’t need nearly that much discussion. Ezra and Elira managed to deal with it, but... it still wasn’t good at all."
Just as Kallus had finished speaking, another figure appeared beside him—none other than the Red Empress. She looked at the primordial spirit and said, "Well, didn’t I tell you this before? Back when you first gave them the right to decide for themselves...
I an, war plans and strategy—including battles—are the domain of Grand Admirals and generals. Those things are best left to them to decide. But allowing them to allocate missions to themselves? That was strange from the start, Kallus." She spoke with a slight shrug, shaking her head as she did so.
And she continued, "It was flawed thinking on your part from the very beginning—and that’s without even considering how much power you’ve just placed in the hands of the Grand Admirals. You might not see it as a problem because of their loyalty... but rember, that loyalty only extends to the ten thousand under them, not the ten million-plus mbers we have now.
"And you saw for yourself how much they argued over the rits. I’m not saying competition is wrong—but the way it’s taking place now is completely flawed. After all, they all want rit. None of them will willingly give in and let soone else earn more when they could claim it for themselves."
"Rember this, Kallus—the army was created both to protect and to act as a spear, as ordered by their creator, whether that be an emperor, a president, a pri minister, or anyone else. In this case, you are their creator. It is their duty to rember that and to obey your commands—to do what they are told to do.
"That is to say, it is you who gives them direction, and it is they who decide how to fulfill your orders to the best of their ability."
"Not the other way around. You can’t be vague about the direction itself—you need to give more detail... unlike in this case."
Kallus’s primordial spirit sighed as he listened to the Red Empress’s words. Indeed, he agreed with most—if not all—of what she said. What he had been doing, and expecting great results from it, was flawed thinking after all.
"It was a big blunder on my part," he admitted, "but I won’t repeat it. After all, it’s only from mistakes that we learn how to better ourselves—provided we actually understand the mistake. And I do, in this case... thanks to you, of course, Red Empress. I also think it was a good idea that we began laying the foundation for the Imperial Command already. I’ll have my father head it—he’s perfect for the role. Well... all of this is new to him, and he’s certainly not perfect right now, but he will be, with his ability."
The Red Empress nodded. "Indeed, it is good to have your imperial father lead it."
(The Imperial Command is a new body that Kallus and the Red Empress had been planning for so ti. It already exists, though not in its full strength, as Kallus has been maintaining it alone until now.)
"As for the Strategic Command, I think it’s best—just as you said—to leave matters of war, battle, and anything directly related to them to those who are experts at it, right?" Kallus said.
The Red Empress nodded. "Indeed. That would not only be more productive, but also far more efficient."
Kallus nodded in agreent. "Then I suppose it’s best to leave it to the Grand Admirals—let them head the Strategic Command division, while they can internally recruit whatever additional talent they might need. And from the eting they just had, I can already tell—their planning and strategic work was comndable, to say the least."
"As for the Strategic Command, I think it’s best—just as you said—to leave matters of war, battle, and anything directly related to them to those who are experts at it, right?" Kallus said.
The Red Empress nodded. "Indeed. That would not only be more productive, but also far more efficient."
Kallus nodded in agreent. "Then I suppose it’s best to leave it to the Grand Admirals—let them head the Strategic Command division, while they can internally recruit whatever additional talent they might need. And from the eting they just had, I can already tell—their planning and strategic work was comndable, to say the least."
(The Strategic Command division is a body Kallus created at the sa ti as the Imperial Command, based on the Red Empress’s analysis and projected future needs. Its purpose is straightforward: to develop strategies for both major battles and internal security. In essence, this body will serve a role similar to the CIA, the FBI, and the military combined—handling any function those institutions would, once it reaches its full strength in the future.)
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