78 Phase 67: A Funny Thing

Satrox stood alone in the battlefield and waited grimly.

"Are… are there any further challengers?" the announcer asked, hesitantly.

Lord Kenneth and Sora Melody shook their heads.

"The winner for Purple Badge Ranking is Satrox Kibou!"

Satrox barely paid the announcer any mind. Kenneth and Sora were both approaching him.

{They look serious. Well, they should. The real battle is just about to start. I delivered nothing less than an ultimatum and they both know it.}

Satrox waited as they approached him. Cautiously, they eyed one another, then seemingly reached an unspoken consensus.

"It seems you have something to say." Satrox invited them to make the first move.

But they did not attack. Instead, Kenneth simply mentioned, in a too-casual tone. "You know, Sage, I am a man of many languages."

{In other words, force is not the only language you understand. You're willing to take me seriously.}

"Thank you." Satrox said, nodding to the general.

The scion of House Melody waited until the general headed back, and then shook his head. "That was risky."

"I didn't have much choice." Satrox told Sora simply.

"Still… to show your hand this early… you'll have to move fast." Sora said. "Already, they're talking about declaring war on you."

"That was quick." Satrox lowered his head. "I'm going to have to play it hard, then."

"Hard and fast." Sora agreed. "Satrox, I need a threat."

"A threat?" Satrox frowned. "Is it really necessary?"

"I don't have much choice either." Sora said apologetically. "I need to move fast too."

Satrox sighed. "Fine. If you don't cease attacks on the Riverfork blockade, I'm going to destroy this town."

Sora hid his smile. "That's bound to get their attention. Stay safe, Sage."

"Don't count on it." Satrox grunted. "At the rate we're going, I'm going to get myself killed at least once or twice."

***

Colin saw Sora meet with a group of well-dressed people in blue coats as Satrox was being presented with 200,000 Clira for winning first place.

Whatever Sora told them, it caused quite a stir. Half of them started running on the spot. The rest were making urgent calls.

The fights were starting up for second place and third. Sora went back to face a few challengers.

Satrox returned to Colin and the others. "We better go."

"What about Sandy? The Red Badge singles hasn't started yet." Henry mentioned.

"Forget it." Sandy shook her head. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this. Let's get out of here."

"Why?" Henry asked. "What's wrong?"

"Look around you." Rita suggested. "See those faces?"

Henry gulped. "Okay. Let's go."

Satrox glanced at Sandy. "About what we talked about earlier…"

"Got the contacts." Sandy answered. "We can talk to them once we get back."

"Thanks." Satrox said. "Strife! Temper!"

They left the tournament site on the two Chimeras. So far, Colin realized, Satrox hadn't revealed any of his other Comrades to those watching them.

"Hey, Satrox…" Colin began. "What just happened back there?"

"Well, Colin," Satrox paused. "Basically…

"We just declared war on all the other factions."

***

Tam was screaming when they met her at J-Knight branch office. "Are you CRAZY?!"

"What's the matter?" Satrox asked mildly.

"You threatened to destroy Windy Plains Town if the Republic didn't cease fire!" Tam barked. "Even supposing you could carry out your threat, we're making an enemy of the Republic!"

"Not just them." Sandy told her. "He literally said the root of this war was greed."

Tam's face went pale. "That's suicide. Everybody's going to be mad at us for that."

"It's true, though." Satrox shrugged.

"They're going to kick our knights out of their territories." Tam groaned.

"Nice to know we'll be having more company here." Satrox mused. "It's a waste to have so many empty offices."

"They're going to attack Lamico City." Tam added. "And seize the airport."

"Who?" Henry asked.

"{Everyone}!" Tam threw up her hands. "Even the Underground! It's only a matter of time!"

"The major factions don't concern me right now." Satrox said, sitting down on a receptionist's chair and stretching back over it. "But tell me what we face from the Underground. I just met Scopia. I assume she's one of the major players here."

"Obviously." Tam said. "The Scopic Pirates have been robbing ships between here and the Crescent Continent for weeks. Small wonder they're major suppliers for each faction of the war."

"Scopia said the Republic was their biggest customer. Must be nice, having the money to buy so much from the black market." Satrox mused, toying with a datapad. "Who else?"

"Banjo's been dealing too." Tam growled. "And Jack of All Trades."

"The All Trader is here?" Satrox sounded impressed. "He moves fast."

"Then there are at least four major mercenary bands." Tam went on.

"Never mind those." Satrox said. "By now, the three major factions are doubling or tripling their hiring prices, and all their assignments are going to be defensive in nature."

"How can you be so sure?" Tam asked. "What if they're hired to take this city?"

"I'll just have to make sure, won't I?" Satrox mentioned.

Tam stared. "You're really going to do it."

"Do what?" Rita asked.

"Destroy Windy Plains."

Henry and Rita jumped. Sandy frowned.

Satrox sighed. "If I have to."

"Satrox, they're going to hate us worse than the Underground! The entire Lamico Continent is going to turn against the Order of Justice for untold generations to come!"

"Will they?" Satrox said, as if to himself.

Tam gave him a flat stare. "You're going to be kicked out of the Order for this!"

"If I am kicked out, I hope to at least stop the war before I go." Satrox answered casually.

Tam marched right out of the branch office. "You are crazy."

Satrox and the rest watched her go.

"What do you think?" Satrox asked them all quietly.

"What happened to you?" Henry asked, wide eyed and frightened.

"Shh." Rita told him. "Something's up."

"What?" Henry asked.

"I don't know. But I smell something fishy."

Satrox and Sandy were looking at each other.

"You may be right." Sandy said at last.

{Right about what?} Colin still didn't understand what was going on.

"What…?" Henry blinked. "I missed something. What's this about Tam?"

"Never mind." Satrox said. "Henry, I need you and Rita to guard the airport. Warp in your entire army. Keep an eye out for sabotage. We need to move fast. I'll get you some backup as soon as possible."

"Okay…" Henry hesitated a moment.

"Hurry!" Rita pulled him along. "We have to move fast, remember?"

Sandy and Satrox were still looking at each other when the doors shut behind Henry and Rita.

"How long do you think it will be before we lose the airport?" Sandy asked.

"About an hour. Two, at most." Satrox guessed. "Those two did set this place as their Starting Location, right?"

"Yeah." Sandy said. "Are you really going to call for help?"

"We can't." Satrox said. "With the Frenzieds over at Crescent Continent, you three were all they could spare."

{Really…? Was it that bad? But they had so many powerful people there! Even Lynn's working on it!}

But Colin's thoughts were not Satrox's or Sandy's.

"So it's just the contacts I got earlier, then." Sandy mused. "It's going to cost you."

"I know." Satrox said. "A lot of things are going to cost a lot of people before we're done here. Call them."

Sandy nodded and left Colin with Satrox.

"How did we get into this…?" Colin asked. "We were just coming here to avoid danger… to battle in Tournaments where losing didn't mean dying. Just a way to raise my Comrades in safety. But now, losing is worse than dying. It means making us look weak, which we really can't afford."

"Sorry, Colin." Satrox said slowly. "I got you into my mess this time… and I can't see a way out for you before the whole thing comes to an end."

"So… what do I do?" Colin asked.

"Just stay out of trouble, for now." Satrox said. "The airport is either already under attack, or going to be soon, and I'm going to keep an eye on the battle to make sure it's destroyed rather than captured in the fighting. That's going to put a serious dent in the Underground's operations and probably cause a lot of piracy around the seaport."

"It will?" Colin blinked.

"The airport is the key to Justice Knight power on the Lamico Continent." Satrox said then. "Once it's destroyed, the Order of Justice no longer counts as a minor faction. It also ends all large scale air and spacecraft transports. In other words, destroying the airport means cutting off the fastest way into Lamico. It means crippling the economy."

"What's so good about that?" Colin had to ask.

"The seaport becomes the most important thing to Lamico, then." Satrox answered. "Shipping is the only form of large-scale economics left. This makes the Protectorate the main target for all the other factions, especially the Underground. Scopia's going to throw a party and focus all her forces into pirating around that area. In effect, she'll be the one controlling the economy of Lamico."

"What's so good about that?!" Colin asked again.

"The Protectorate, of course, cannot afford to let her control everything. Buying her goods to supplement their forces and balance out their markets is one thing. Letting her control all the continent's trade is quite another. They'll have two choices; pay her off just to keep her out of the way, or fight her for control of sea trade. Paying her off would be both unreliable and terribly expensive. They'll fight. She'll fight back."

"Okay… so they take the war to the seas. Are they really that strong?" Colin wondered.

"Of course not. The Scopic Pirates are a lot bigger than most people think and they have the advantage of experience in sea combat. They're probably going to kick the Protectorate's tail for a while. The only way for the Protectorate to use their sudden advantage, the only way for them to prosper any longer, would be for them to not only focus all their forces on pirates, but to get the help of the other factions. Otherwise, they're going to make losses that will drive them to bankruptcy."

"Would they really get help from the other factions?" Colin questioned. "And would the other factions agree?"

"The Republic would. They need that trade. Getting isolated from large-scale trading is their worst nightmare. The destruction of the airport will be the biggest blow they ever got hit with. The problem is the Union."

"They don't really need trade, do they? They've got everything they want right here." Colin guessed.

"They do need trade, but my guess is they'll try to build a seaport or a small airport of their own. They might actually have the materials to do that. The question is whether they'll be able to do that before they run out of food."

"What if they do?" Colin asked.

Satrox shook his head. "We'll have to make sure they won't. We're going to raid their food supplies."

"And what if they end up buying food from the Protectorate?" Colin questioned.

"That's even better." Satrox said. "Or they might join the Republic in attacking the Protectorate for food. At the end of the day, no matter which faction gets help from another first, the moment two major factions join hands to work together, the war is over."

"Okay. So losing the airport and raiding the Union's food is all we really need to do to end the war." Colin figured.

"Yep." Satrox laughed. "We blustered around claiming force and got everyone mad at us, but we're not actually trying to win the war or control this continent. We just want to end it and leave it in orderly hands. For that purpose, the real key to accomplishing our goals, the real key to ending this war is to lose it ourselves. That's the funny thing."