Chapter 288: The Calm In The Storm Part 3

Tara's statement, although coming as good news to her own people, was nothing more than another problem to add to the crisis the nations involved in the war to face. 

Their worst fears came to realization with that statement, and the other nations knowing that any of them could be next. 

Mere minutes after the press conference ended, as Queen Tara began to answer questions, numerous governments initiated states of emergencies, especially those closest to Markovia.

Some put military conscription put into place and added intense security measures at buildings or places of value for the government. After this was done, many nations now began to call out Markovia for seeking war, though this couldn't help but come out as ironic. 

If perhaps the common people's lives hadn't been affected and they were free to do as they pleased without a care in the world, such as roaming the internet, watching shows, or doing whatever activities they did in peace. This case, though, they couldn't. Why? Because the place they once felt was so safe actually wasn't.

That feeling of being nowhere near the conflict, hence "I shouldn't care," didn't apply here. If the United States' most secure places could be so easily attacked, what should stop their home from one day getting bombed or vaporized the same way the Pentagon did? 

Because of this fear of doom, the people who would've otherwise stood aside as they really didn't care about the meta-human situation, now had reason to speak up, and this created chaos in governments that otherwise assumed the people would never really care as much. 

Nations with a more iron hold over power didn't have this problem, though they possessed another: that the people wouldn't be that willing to help them. They could, of course, employ strict measures, but how far would that really take them against a force that could vaporize entire secure buildings in a flash?

Fear grew as the situation was looking more hectic for the opposing nations, some of them calling for the League to intervene, stating if Markovia continued its actions, many nations would be weakened and thus the people would suffer. Although partially right, one could easily see what these leaders were trying to gain: the people's support in war. 

Whichever side was hated most would always face the most trouble, and this was what they were trying to do for Markovia. Sadly, Markovian support was quite firm, especially considering the fact that unlike them whose civilians and farmlands were attacked, they only attacked military sites, with the only registered casualties being those near the Pentagon, numbering less than 10. Because of this, they couldn't use an excuse such as war crimes, which was normally the case when a nation used a powerful weapon that didn't discriminate between military personnel and innocent civilians. 

In this case, Markovia's weapon was precise and deadly. Plus, the nations that already attacked Markovia had more civilian casualties than it caused.

Currently, the nations that were yet to attack and didn't cause any casualties to Markovia at all tried to use this to their advantage, throwing those with casualties, nations they were once allies with, under the bus. Even saying that all those who kill civilians in war should be tried for war crimes.

But this was just as silly as the rest of the claims. In such a situation, no excuses would really work. The more these leaders spoke, the more people would see them for their lies. There were, of course, those who were extremely ignorant and did believe. Sadly, this made up the majority of most people in said nations. But even among these, there were some who didn't believe the government.

Whatever the case, it did not matter because those who did not believe them were those with actual power: the business owners, mega-corporation executives, highly paid athletes & celebrities, and so on. People who couldn't be easily fooled and understood the way the world worked. They understood quite well that their assets were in jeopardy if the nation that backed their wealth fell. They'd be left with nothing of suffer immense losses. 

The US had no choice but to act the best way they could, along with global cooperation, they would begin to launch sanctions against Markovia, but it really wouldn't matter. 

At this time, Arias had just returned into the castle as the press conference had ended not long ago. By his side was a frowning Mercy, who held a stack of documents in her hand as she asked him, "What now? We're going to be getting international court summons for various reasons now."

Arias laughed at the suggestion, answering, "We'll see how long they keep that up come tomorrow morning when their assets are in shambles. I think you'll find they'll be more keen on peace than on pointless military tactics that will never work on me." After saying this, Arias then added, "You can go back to the Tara. Make sure they don't press her too much on questions."

After saying this, Arias began to walk away. Mercy continued to frown but didn't refute Arias and walked back out of the door. 

Meanwhile, as Arias proceeded into a long hall, a voice called out to him from behind. "Wait," Arias paused in his tracks and looked back, only to see Supergirl, who had long been welcomed in Markovia but only today accepted to step foot on castle grounds, fearing that Tara may be assassinated. When she saw Arias present, though, she had another reason to stay.

After overhearing his and Mercy's conversation, she couldn't help but have questions for him. "I heard everything you said, so all this was just part of your plan?" 

Arias cracked a smile and looked at Kara, shrugging his shoulders, answering, "I have no idea what you mean. What plans would you be referring to?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Kara argued, but in reality, she didn't really know anything about his plans. She simply found his conversation to be suspicious and thus jumped to the easiest conclusion. Arias knew this for a fact because he knew she had no evidence to back her claims, even if she did, it didn't matter, for that too could be called a military tactic and thus he chose to stick to refusal.

"Don't take me for a fool. You wanted this war to happen because you knew you had a secret weapon." 

Arias's smile remained as he approached Kara in small steps. "Really? If that's the case, then why didn't I attack on the first day? Or if I have such a powerful weapon, why did I stop at attacking just the US? You see, you're so quick to jump to conclusions, but you can't truly see the bigger picture. I'm starting to see why Clark calls you a 'child.'"

"I'm not a child," Kara immediately retorted, as that was a particular button she didn't like poked. Arias, however, maintained his smile, finding her to be nothing more than an easily moved child. 

"Then where is your evidence. I had people watching you, and according to them, you've done nothing to investigate what's really been going on. Sure, you search Markovia, likely for the missing children you think we have, but did you bother to look at the other nations? Your own nation? No, because where I am is where the enemy is, correct?"

Arias snickered as he said this. 

"You know, seeing the way you operate makes me appreciate that Superman was the one who became the hero of Metropolis. If it had been you, well, it would've been a bigger cesspool than it's becoming now." 

Having said that, Arias walked away, saying some final words. "Don't approach me again with your childish fantasies until you get your facts straight."