184 Let's Begin

In the tent, Light, Lucifer, Ace, Seven, Three and Lackey 1 all sat on either side of the table with Aida at the head.

Lackey 1 re-introduced his troop of 800 which consisted of a loyal elite group, the volunteers, and the prisoners. Three then followed up by introducing his own troops as well which consisted of 200 fighters who weren't particularly experienced. Lucifer, Light and Ace all respectively introduced themselves as Aida sat quietly at the helm. Nobody required an explanation on who she was.

Ace took the initiative to project an image of the barriers leading up to City M while Lucifer and Light mapped out the plan. The walls surrounding City M were highly secure, so it didn't really matter which location they breached. There are three physical barriers to entry in addition to the hidden dangers of snipers, drones and the guided missile.

After Light described the terrain and the high level strategy, Lucifer took over to discuss the breakdown of the troops and the nitty-gritty details.

Since the day they separated, the three of them had been coming up with a plan on how to break past the walls. They were just missing the requisite manpower to execute which they now have.

Aida sat at the head of the table and watched quietly as they mapped out the plans. Her mind didn't seem to be fully present.

Lackey 1, Three and Seven asked questions on occasion but none of them were able to poke holes through the plans. In the end, they all reached the same conclusion. They would force their way through and create a gap for Aida and the others to slip in. The goal wasn't to go into an all out fight with the government, it was just to distract them and then retreat.

At the end of the meeting, Aida simply tapped the table and said, "Meeting adjourned. We will strike in the dark. Lackey 1, stay behind"

After she dismissed everyone, Ace glared bitterly at Lackey 1 before stomping off. The others were also curious what she had to say to Lackey 1 privately, but knew better than to pry.

"I need you to do something for me..." Aida began.

At the end of the conversation, Lackey 1 bowed with a solemn expression on his handsome face. "You will always be my boss and the base leader of Green Base. Never forget that. While you are gone, we will protect your legacy."

Aida then dismissed him with a wave. She sat in the tent, silently staring off into space. Clearly there was something on her mind.

Lucifer poked his head in after some time. He said in a quiet voice, "Dinner is ready." Aida followed him back to the RV, they were silent the entire way. He seemed to sense that she was contemplating something serious and didn't interrupt.

Just before they entered the RV, he gave her a knowing look and said, "Just know that I'll have your back no matter what decision you make."

Aida gave him a surprised look before nodding her head in appreciation.

Returning to the RV, everyone ate their dinner in silence. There was an excited tension in the air as everyone prepared for battle. Aida passed the gems to Light for safekeeping, only leaving half a bag full for herself.

She then gave each of her companions a tight hug. "Be safe and stick to the plan. Don't be reckless." Each one of them had a look of eagerness and excitement on their faces, even Rose and Little White.

Rose disliked the fact that the government had abandoned them as it reminded her of her father's actions. In her opinion, any form of abandonment deserved revenge. In contrast, Little White's thinking was simple. When there's a battle, he gets to kill. That was fun.

Light, who could sense Little White's thinking, was mildly alarmed, but given that there had been no outbursts from him, he decided to let it go for now. He could have a conversation with Aida about this later on.

After exchanging a few more words, it was time. Their timeline to execution from meeting was extremely short because City M was surely using satellites to surveil the perimeter. Ace wasn't able to cover such a large footprint without people noticing, so Aida made the decision to just forego masking their presence. With such a large gathering, it was only a matter of time before they were spotted which is why they had to act fast.

Standing before the troops, she stared coldly at all of them. Aida spoke at a normal volume, but with the help of a few wind elementals, her voice managed to carry to everyone present.

"Thank you all for being present. Some of you were ordered, some of you volunteered, and some of you were forced to join this fight. Nevertheless, we are all in this together now. What I ask of you tonight is to listen to order, help each other when possible, and leave with no fatalities. We are going to give the government a piece of our mind tonight. Are you with me?"

In a tacit understanding, everyone saluted Aida. This was something Lucifer taught them during his short time organizing them. If they didn't have to maintain quiet and hide their presence, they probably would've said "Yes Boss!" again.

Aida solemnly returned the salute before grinning with a glint in her eye, immediately changing her demeanor from solemn to wily. "Let's begin."