CHAPTER 1886: CHAPTER 1879: THE EMPIRE’S AMBITION

"No, nothing like that..." Luo’er said with some unease.

"I know you don’t have a good impression of me," Lin Qi sighed deeply and continued, "but I can never forget the kindness of your father, so I treat you like my own child."

Luo’er lowered his head, unable to respond.

"Alright," Lin Qi released his hand, looked at Li Si, and said loudly, "Now that everyone is here, let’s start the meeting."

"Yes."

Li Si nodded, moved to sit where Luo’er had just been.

Right after, the meeting room’s door closed automatically, and a layer of metal panels covered the surrounding glass windows as simulated natural light lit up the room.

The system was locking down all potential leaks in the meeting room, a process taking about ten seconds. After the system beeped, the room was completely isolated from the outside world.

Once everything was settled, Lin Qi stood up proactively, clapped his hands lightly, and said loudly: "Everyone, what we discuss today concerns the future of Lipei. Now that Luo’er is here, I won’t waste words. But to make sure Luo’er understands the context, Li Si, provide a briefing, please."

"Yes."

Li Si nodded, stood up, and scanned the room, raised his hand to bring up a holographic image in the center of the conference table, operating while explaining: "This is the current situation in Odelanqi. According to accurate intelligence, the Odelanqi Kingdom has amassed over 1.5 million regular troops, with over two million reservists in the country ready to mobilize anytime."

"King Gudelv of Odelanqi is so bent on war to achieve the so-called unification of the Aud Empire. The territory of the Ancient Aud Empire included what is now Odelanqi, Masya, Oudallo, and parts of the Snow Domain."

"If King Gudelv were to achieve imperial unification, the entire northern part of the Aels Continent would become territory of the Aud Empire, which is not in our interest..."

Li Si waved his hand, switching the holographic model.

"Please look, as it stands, the greatest obstacle to the unification of the Aud Empire is the Church of Light. The Church does not wish for the Aud Empire to unify because the Church of Light originated from the split of the Empire..."

"If the Aud Empire completes the unification process, the influence of the Church of Light will inevitably be weakened. Therefore, the first obstacle to Gudelv’s unification is the Church..."

"Besides, most importantly, the political ecology on Earth at this moment will similarly affect the political development in the Otherworld. It can be foreseen that behind King Gudelv is probably the support of NATO and the CIA. Meanwhile, what they wish to eliminate is the Church with us backing it..."

"So we cannot remain indifferent or present a neutral stance. Don’t forget, we gained Lipei from the Church, which means we are already, in fact, part of this political reshuffling. Therefore, we can only choose to support the Church to prevent the pro-West Gudelv from accomplishing the unification of the Aud Empire..."

"This is a proxy war, but if the financial backers of both sides directly engage, it will undoubtedly spark a world war from the Otherworld to Earth, and no one wants such an outcome."

"Thus, both sides hope to contain the conflict within the Otherworld, meaning all Earth countries cannot directly intervene. Consequently, they have drafted a non-intervention treaty in the UN Security Council..."

"Westerners want to fight a proxy war; they possess an ambitious king and over a million elite troops. All we have is Lipei..."

"Westerners can still support Odelanqi’s expansion through military aid, and as long as they don’t directly engage, it doesn’t count as breaking the treaty..."

"Now, the problem is before us: either refuse to sign the treaty, leading Western countries to intervene and the war escalating uncontrollably, or sign the treaty, but then we ourselves will face two issues..."

"Either we withdraw all military forces from Lipei, making Lipei an easy prey for Odelanqi, or we acknowledge Lipei’s autonomy, and similarly support Lipei through military aid to prevent the war from escalating..."

"However, recognizing Lipei’s autonomy is not easy," Li Si said with a bitter smile, "The state has invested so much in Lipei; how could it be autonomous just like that? So, we must still let our own people control Lipei, at least control Lipei’s military and political systems. As long as we achieve nominal autonomy, it doesn’t count as direct intervention, so..."

As Li Si spoke, he turned his gaze towards Luo’er.

"I’ll take it from here," Lin Wei gestured with his hand for him to sit down and then addressed everyone, "To make Lipei nominally autonomous is not an easy task. Finding a suitable leader is even more difficult. After much thought, I feel only Luo’er is capable of this position. What do you all think?"

"Um, well, I’m not being modest, I’m just..." Luo’er said with some unease.

Lin Wei gestured for him not to continue and said with a smile: "No need to be modest, I still hold the same opinion. Those with more experience than you do not have your ability, and those with more ability than you do not have your background. So, thinking it over, this position is meant for you."

He looked around the room, then said loudly: "Lipei ultimately needs to be managed by our own people. Who are our people? Subspecies, Luo’er. Though Otherworld people can also be trusted, let’s not forget why we secured Lipei — for the subspecies, for our own compatriots."

"But Luo’er still looks so young." one general said.

"For an elf hybrid, I think external age is meaningless," Lin Wei said leisurely, "I won’t say more, I just hope everyone understands a fact: Luo’er, leading the Advance Team, has been executing tasks since August of ’51, up to today, it has been eleven years. If such qualifications aren’t convincing, I can’t imagine anyone more suitable."

"Does anyone have any objections?" Lin Wei scanned the room and asked.

Everyone remained silent.

"General Zhang, any objections?" Lin Wei asked a general.

"Luo’er, Elder Luo’s grandson, looks fine to me. That time he admonished those old nobles in Lipei, it was so satisfying to hear."

General Zhang said, clapping spontaneously.

"Luo’er," Lin Wei looked at Luo’er seriously and said, "The organization has decided for you to lead all military and political affairs after Lipei’s independence. What do you think?"

"I..."

Just as Luo’er began to speak, Lin Wei interrupted him.

"Procedurally, there’s no issue. Now the key is, do you have the confidence, the courage..."

"I don’t question your ability to handle affairs, but the issue facing Lipei now is that its defense forces do not exceed fifty thousand, and you face Odelanqi Kingdom with an army of millions. Can you have the audacity to stand one against a hundred?"

"I..."

"Don’t answer yet, think it over," Lin Wei interrupted him again, "I need a definite answer. If you can, go ahead and do it; whatever you need, we will provide. If you can’t, that’s okay too; we will fully intervene in the threat Odelanqi poses to Lipei, meaning the military will actively intervene in the war in the Otherworld."

"I understand..."

The weight of the matter made even the seasoned Luo’er’s voice tremble.

"But, is this really okay?"

One of the major generals at the meeting expressed his concern.

"What’s the problem?" Lin Wei looked at him and asked.

"Luo’er’s father and grandfather were both soldiers," the major general pointed to Luo’er and said, "ultimately, he’s the descendant of soldiers. What he’s supposed to preside over is Lipei’s military and political affairs. Having a soldier lead Lipei’s state affairs might lead to some concerns from certain people in other departments."