What truly mattered to her now was simple and nonnegotiable.
"The war notice had to be withdrawn within the next twenty-four hours. Otherwise, she would resign... and she would make sure every other captain in the military resigned with her." She stated in a cold voice.
The mont those words fell, the temperature in the room seed to drop.
Frank’s expression turned icy as he fixed his gaze on Tara. "Are you challenging my authority by openly declaring about rebellion?"
Tara t his stare without flinching as she smiled calmly.
"If that’s how you want to interpret it," she replied evenly, "then yes. If doing what needs to be done for the citizens is called challenging authority, then the mont I spoke, I challenged it."
Frank’s hand ca down hard on the table, the sharp crack echoing through the room. His glare burned with fury.
"You’ve crossed the line this ti," he snarled. "I won’t let this go. You’ll be punished."
Tara’s smile didn’t fade.
"I’ll be waiting," she said coolly. "If you don’t expel , if you don’t force my resignation, then I’d truly look down on you."
With that, she turned to leave. Before stepping out, she cast one last glance over her shoulder, her eyes filled with undisguised disdain as she swept them across everyone in the room.
"You’re no different from him," she added flatly. "Just as selfish."
The words were aid at every general present, especially those who had thought only of running when chaos erupted, never once considering the citizens they were ant to protect.
One of the generals finally slamd his chair back, unable to stay silent any longer.
"And what were you doing while the citizens were in chaos?" he snapped. "I didn’t see you helping anyone evacuate."
Tara laughed, the sound sharp and cutting.
"If you weren’t so busy rushing to save yourself," she shot back, "you would’ve seen fighting on the front line."
Silence fell instantly. No one spoke. No one even breathed too loudly.
Tara straightened, her voice steady but laced with contempt.
"You hide behind the strength of lower-rank soldiers, force them to fight until they break, and then call yourselves generals."
Her gaze swept over them one last ti. "People like you don’t deserve respect at all."
One of the generals, clearly assuming that Tara was angling for power, leaned forward with a thin, mocking smile.
His fingers tapped against the cold tal table as he spoke, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"So what is it then? Should we just make you the captain, the base leader? Is that what you want?"
Tara didn’t flinch. Instead, she smiled calmly, almost lazily, as if his words had barely brushed against her skin.
"I don’t want leadership," she replied evenly. "It’s troubleso. Too heavy. I can barely summon the courage to fight zombies, let alone wage a full war against them."
It was a taunt intended for General Frank, whose face fell.
Her gaze shifted, sharp and deliberate.
"If there has to be a leader," she continued, "then it should be Ivy."
The mont Ivy’s na left her lips, the atmosphere froze. Tara didn’t stop even when she saw the faces of general turning dissatisfied.
"She led people here without asking whether they needed help or not," she went on, her voice steady.
"Not because she wanted control, but because she knew they needed it. She didn’t prioritize her own base. She sent reinforcents without placing a single condition. A base leader like that is rare."
Before the echoes of her words could fade, Frank slamd his palm against the table.
"You are an idiot," he barked. "Does you really think Ivy is that good? From where I stand, Ivy is just wearing a fake mask."
Tara blinked once, then smiled again, as though she had just heard a particularly bad joke.
"If that’s the case," she replied coolly, "then let it be so. If a ’fake’ leader like Ivy makes food cheaper instead of raising prices, treats every soldier, and ensures civilians don’t rot away from disease, then I want more leaders like her."
Her eyes hardened.
"I genuinely want to see what kind of leader you people think is better than that. If wearing a fake mask is the requirent, then I truly need such a leader."
Her words settled heavily over the room, cold and sharp. No one spoke.
Tara let out a soft, mocking breath.
"That’s right. You’re all incapable," she continued. "You can’t make food cheaper. You can’t even provide basic supplies for soldiers. You can’t help them. You can’t protect civilians. So tell ... what exactly are you doing in the military?"
Her lips curled faintly.
"This base is only a military base in na. Nothing here follows military principles. If I didn’t know better, then I would have thought that the base leader was planning to squeeze the base dry out of our fund and run away."
Those words made General Frank’s face turn pale. Was his plan so easy to see through...? Or was Tara too smart?
With that, she turned and walked away.
’That felt good,’ she thought, a strange sense of relief washing over her. ’I’d gladly do it again, unless they fire in the next two hours.’
Frank clenched his fists, his nails biting into his palms.
Before, Ivy had only been a golden goose to him.
Now, after being compared to her, a bitter disdain twisted in his chest. He glanced at the other generals.
"Do you all agree with her?"
No one answered. Their silence only deepened his scorn.
"Fools," he sneered. "Do you really think Ivy is that innocent? Everything she’s doing is temporary. One day she’ll raise food prices so high even the military won’t be able to compete. She doesn’t have unlimited supplies... she’ll fall short sooner or later."
His voice dropped, edged with resentnt.
"And she isn’t even a base leader. So why is she getting all the praise? Don’t be misled. Tara was probably paid by Ivy to say all that nonsense and shake your resolve."
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