Author's Notes:

Regular chapter release since its been that many days since the last. Going for early morning coffee tomorrow with bro, so won't be doing editing till tomorrow afternoon. Do forgive me if there's a few grammars or spelling mistakes that inconvenience you.


No matter how mighty he portrayed himself to the public, there were ethics to follow. Ajay remained on the outside border of the ancestral hall, the margin he would not cross no matter if he were the overlord occupying Yinke or not.

"Come and have a seat, sir." Tenzin said with a light smile, noticing his consideration he had given.

Ajay unslung his combat gear and placed it in a bunch by the door before entering. By now, the relatives had gathered on the outside of the hall as they witnessed an outsider enter their small settlement without interacting with them or them having even notice him previously. It was as if he'd spirited himself right next to the doorstep of the ancestral hall.

Although his gear was lying unattended, not even the boldest of greedy relatives dared to touch them. Sitting by it was a wolf with a shineless black pelt but a white streak across its collar.

"Sit down." He motioned to Ajay who remained standing but took it once he was given the permission.

"Here." Next was a cup poured for him at the table of three, he took the cup graciously and took a drink.

"Jagriti tells me that the twenty year long civil war had just ended." He said whilst tending to his tea set maintanence.

"With a crown victory it seems." He ended with a neutral tone.

"The Civil war ended, but not with a victory on either side." The crown won nothing, but for the first time in a long while there was peace in Kyrat from conflict.

"And so now you want to finish your grievances with the opposition elsewhere, like my home." Making it sound like he was exerting his strength on others as a substitute.

"This whole operation was an excuse." Ajay said boldly and without hiding any intentions, Tenzin frowned visibly.

"Hearing it from you directly was the least satisfactory thing of the day."

"But you'll still need to hear it, because it has already begun. And if you don't take the reigns now, Yinke will forever lose its opportunity to be truly independent of need."

"Is this what your king Pagan, ordered of you?"

"So what if it is?"

Jagriti could tell their conversation was heated even without raising their voices, it was just very blunt between them.

"Aren't you going to tell me how much he's changed over the last decade?"

"Hardly, Pagan hasn't changed since I took office, nor when his life begun to sort out. He's still the same tyrant you know and recognise." Jagriti was initially confused with what Ajay was doing agreeing to her father openly defacing the king's name. But she soon noticed an almost unnoticeable smile under her father's façade.

"And what then does Pagan want with a pitiful exile whom he'd proven right after all?"

"When we came to Yinke, his condition and only condition for the army to mobilize for its pursuit of Golden Path was you."

"Doesn't answer my question. Why?"

"You seem to have something he doesn't as a leader that he wants for all of us."

"Us?"

"My lips stay sealed from that point on, its there that you have to decide whether to get with the game….. or don't do anything at all."

Tenzin visibly frowned, he knew Ajay was mocking him for his idling status.

"All you want is the best for Yinke, and only the best of what it deserves. Both me and the king respect that."

"Do you, now?"

"We do, but being that there are limits not to be pushed you can't blame us for sending troops to subjugate the Yinkian politburo and its untamed military might that committed atrocities in Kyrat and were still hoping to get away with it by virtue of borders now can you."

"Atrocity?" It was at this moment, Tenzin looked baffled.

"Would you believe it if I told you without evidence, that Yinkian commandos the size of a regiment physically aided our rebels in attacking a city, torching homes, butchering women and children, young and old, ransacked properties and murdered my soldiers?" Even though he said without evidence he took out an envelope and tossed it on the table in front of Tenzin who hesitantly reached out and undid the bind.

He removed a stack of photos, and already the first one was appalling to the extent his hand shook.

"No….." He slipped through one after another, as his eye grew wider and wider with every photo.

It had been the first time Jagriti had seen them as well, she covered her mouth as she gasped and almost came to a point of wanting to puke.

At the end, he reached the last picture. Which greeted him was a haunting memory, inside was a picture of the mass grave Ajay had dug out and laid the bodies in.

The photo fell out of his hand as he'd lost the strength to keep it held tight between his fingers.

"This…."

"These were just the combatants graves, the civilians' ones I did not attend."

"You didn't attend even though you're their lord?" He said almost angrily and even stood from his chair.

"father-."

"No! You can't be serious to let me know that you had not even attended to your people-."

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that from you, Tenzin Vgru!" Ajay's tone shook the hall causing the relatives and Tenzin as well to shudder.

"You don't get to judge me for not attending the civilian ceremony, when I returned to Lanka almost immediately when they sent their distress call! You don't get to judge me for keeping the lines intact with what remained of the defense force with mere PDF, children, who had never fired a shot in anger! And at the very height of the conflict, end up the only one that wasn't killed like it was someone's idea of a sick joke! When I dug every pile of dirt! Carried every corpse into their grave! Cremated them! Bury them! All!... 4532 of them! Commandant Gurung, Captain Kul, Dawa, Puru,….. Biraj!" Fury was not sufficient to describe the expression that Ajay wore. But he had unexpectedly calmed down himself.

"You might question why I'm really here, well I've come for only one reason and that reason only. I've come to put a stop to this, I've had enough of my friends dying in my arms."

Tenzin stood up and bowed apologetically.

"Forgive me, Badala!"

"What's done is done, you were hardly involved either." Ajay sighed and waved his hand casually.

Tenzin now understood that Badala had every reason to be here, though not a rational one as it was purely about retribution. It was not the path that Badala chose, he had instead restraint himself to the point that he used the king's words to remind him of the higher goal. Could Tenzin himself do that in the same situation? That was what he pondered for a long while.

"Say I join? What will you do about Beijing?"

"I'm sorry, what's this got to do with-." Jagriti was out of focus when her father mentioned China, but the two of them didn't stop to answer her.

"Pagan gave me a deadline, eight days to take full control over Yinke. And two days before, you need to meet with him. We're currently one day before that deadline. Should you decline to take up the task, I'll have the president sign the armistice and that will be all. There is no reason for Kyrat to be here again, because Yinke doesn't want what's best for our region, only itself."

"What happens after these eight days?"

"The end of all wars in the Himalayas. Present and Future."

"Naïve, there will always be wars."

"But not on our sovereign soils though."

"Since when did Pagan become the master of politics, he's nothing but a crook that took the throne from that incompetent royalty." Tenzin stood up angered for the kind of dream they brew up that would cause bloodshed.

"And I'm just a demon wearing human skin, whispering sweet promises of peace whilst intending for conflict so bloody, no one will ever forget."

"…" He knew it was Ajay being sarcastic but couldn't tell if he actually meant it as well.

"It's all a matter of perspective, you should now that better than anyone. For the last sixteen years, this countries administration ran under the lie that you were the very force that rotted the nations integrity. And worse of all, you've done nothing about it."

(Crash) Tenzin swipped the tea cups off the table, leading to a waste of a perfectly good set.

"What do you expect me to do?! Everyone I've ever trusted had turned their back on me! Now you're asking me to deal with the devil, I will not sell my soul!"

"Even if its for the best of your people? Perhaps those traitors were right after all, you put your own pride before your own people. You don't deserve to lead them again." Ajay stood up and turned to leave.

"Badala! Stop right there!" Ajay did so, but only turn back his head.

"It seems that Pagan was wrong about you, the Tenzin he knew had died ages ago. I'm sorry to have ruined your mood. Have yourself a good evening, Patriarch Vgru." He picked up his weapons and unhesitantly walked back to the city.

He was at the outskirts when Jagriti chased after him.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Not for the outcome, but for not informing you of my affiliation with my father."

"I didn't ask, so you didn't tell. Either way, he's not the man my king has been looking for anymore. (Sigh)."

"Badala."

"I wonder where the kid is now." Jagriti knew who he was referring to, the boy that had introduced him to her a week ago before disappearing into the shadows.

"My life wasn't so different from him once, perhaps he was better off for having siblings who depended on him."

"Pagan described Tenzin to be a father figure to Yinke, doing what was best for it, giving it what it needed and not what it wanted. But I can't imagine that, I never had someone early in my life that I could look to as a father. So I don't know what Pagan wants." Jagriti felt a bit of pity for him despite his status and respect he wielded.

Then he stared at her in a strange way.

"W-What is it?"

"But I did have a mother though, perhaps I can give that to Yinke instead."

Jagriti laughed in a fake sarcastic way.

"You want me to be the maternal figure instead to Yinke? Haven't you forgotten what I've been doing for a living?"

"I don't see why you should sell yourself short here. You have an understanding of politics rivalling your father, you've had experience through the underworld dealings, and your record is at least cleaner than your fathers. Are you up for it?"

"I-…." She didn't think he was being serious at that point, but he had just offered her the same as what her father had rejected. The power to rule Yinke.

Her drive to seek revenge upon the traitors had passed with their judgement passed, so now she had nothing to drive her forward. Could this be the opportunity into something new?

"First off, do you love this country?"

"Yes."

"Quick, that's good. And what is it you love about Yinke so?" It became a questionnaire with him which he used to assess her determination over.

"I don't love the land, nor the ethics of its people. But I love the determination in the eyes of those young children I see when they enter my care. A hope that things would turn for the better in that outcome." Ajay suddenly felt a rise in her confidence to speak and orate. She had self-empowered herself for the role as matriarch of Yinke.

"Badala, help me make Yinke better."

Ajay faced her and took out an engraved knife one that Pagan had given to him for safekeeping and a token of the crown's authority.

"Touch it and swear on the Royal Kukri, the symbol of Kyrats monarchal power. That you will do everything that is best for the interests of Yinke and Kyrat as a union."

Jagriti was once again hesitant that Ajay had taken the steps to ensure it was a legitimate action on her part. The moment she touched that blade and swore, it would be a life solely for Yinke. Her hand reached out to touch it and had almost done so when-.

"STOP!" Turning back to where the settlement was, Tenzin came rushing towards them from the slopes.

"Oh, Tenzin. Fancy seeing you here."

"Badala, you shameless bastard!"

"What does that matter to you?" Ajay said with a smile on his face, mimicking a shameless one like he claimed. Jagriti couldn't help but giggle.

"Don't you dare manipulate my daughter!"

"It is nothing of that sort." He blatantly lied.

"Arghh! Jeez!... You had this all planned out! How dare you guilt trip me!"

"Guilt trip you?" Ajay looked at him deadpan.

"Don't deny it!"

"Sure chief, whatever."

"Damn! Damn! Damn! You- …You shameless bastard!-…. FINE! I'll do it! Leave my family out of this!" He stomped on the ground in a fit of anger. Tenzin pushed his daughter who couldn't believe it aside to place his hand on the kukri. It had been as Ajay had planned. Tenzin's moral compass was his undoing, just like sixteen years ago. For once, he was glad Pagan informed him beforehand or he would have just given up.

"I, Tenzin Vgru. Pledge with all my power to work for the prosperity and safety of Yinke and the interests of my home and our ally, the Kingdom of Kyrat under the reign of His Royal Highness King Pagan Min!"

He removed his hand.

"There! I've said it! Happy?"

"You're an idiot." Ajay said. He now understood why Pagan wanted Tenzin despite his over the top moral highground. He was easily led by morals, that was why he failed to quell the rebellion.

"Shameless!-…. Truly shameless! No wonder he sent you!"

"Pft!" Jagriti broke into a laugh at the silly behaviour of her father.

Tenzin looked upset, he had been conned by Ajay into working for an unsavoury person.

Ajay had finally achieved his primary objective, without him doing anything at all. What Pagan wanted from Tenzin in the first place was his moral code to draft for him a document that was fair for the parties involved.

"Welcome aboard then, President Vgru." Ajay reached out with his hand and a smile.

Looking at the events that happened in convincing him, Tenzin sighed and smiled wryly.

"I look forward to working for the betterment of our nations."

Tenzin clasped his hand and shook meaningfully.

"So now what will you do?"

As he asked this question he heard a droning sound of propellers. And for a second the sound ceased, followed with a burst of wind to his face as a unique helicopter piloted by one Kamran with the Royal Marking could be seen.

"Now, its time you talk to my boss."


The Yinkian Commander of the Republican Guard, one of the seven colonels left to command the bulk of the Yinke Liberation Army quietly sat in his command tank pondering the plan of attack in Pada Mo City. Assuming the recon force was smart, they'd rejoin their other units to resupply then move as a group. What they would have to deal with was unknown to them, only that they had to be cautious of the Enemies use of local artillery and air support assets. Those were the major concern for him for his limited forces. He was now operating at eighty-five percent strength, which should be enough to at least besiege the city to allow the rest time to arrive.

Quite shocking to him was his signallers inability to report back to his colleagues on the things he'd encountered. Someone had jammed their transmissions with either a ground asset or a plane with a jamming pod.

Already, several fast movers had flown directly over his army which sent fear in his men. But their objective seemed to be somewhere else, specifically were the six encampments were. Furthermore, there was a few airdrops conducted in the direction that the battalion fled, it was a no brainer that it was supplies for them. Yet, the Yinkian Commander could not shudder the thought that the army they were facing was superior to theirs in terms of not just equipment, but training and size. This was a genuine invasion by a serious power.

He needed to assess the situation at Pada Mo City as soon as- (BOOM) A tremor rattled the inside of his command vehicle.

"Shit!"

"An Airstrike?!"

His crew were recently on edge due to the air dominance that stripped them of their prowess and ability to fight back. It was a new feeling the Yinkian army wasn't used to, as they had previously been the most formidable force in Yinke.

The Commander popped his hatch and looked out to investigate.

(BOOM) Immediately, another vehicle this time a BMP troop carrier got hit and was smoking, the crew and passengers came out in flames screaming. There was nothing he could do for them as they slowly died, it created an atmosphere that terrorised his men on the radios.

"Hill! Two o clock! Light'em up!" His intern adjutant ordered the battalion to blaze the hill. Under ten seconds, the fleet of T-80s fired their 125mm smoothbore tank guns at the hill till it rocked the earth. The troop transports with their autocannons and low pressure infantry guns did the same.

"Ceasefire! Ceasefire! Don't let them mislead you! Spread out into defensive circle, 2nd Battalion move forward to the opposite hill." The Commander ordered.

*Sir, that place is-.*

"Empty, I know. But that's what they wanted you to think." The adjutant understood the strategy after his mentor explained and went about applying the proper responses to deal with an ambush from the opposite side.

Although, the ambush came not as attackers but a stream of flying missiles that flew down and struck a tank each. Five tanks had been hit while three troop carriers and the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun battery were destroyed.

Both him and the adjutant knew what they were. Heavy Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, or ATGMs, a serious crew-served missile launch system that was used to directly combat tanks and confirm a guaranteed hit and kill. The trade off was that they were extremely heavy and unwieldy to infantry and often were mounted on vehicles to act as improvised tank destroyers. They could attack from very far distances that even the tanks couldn't hit very well at or depending on angle which made them a serious threat to their armoured forces that had almost no room to manuever in the valley.

*ATGMs! All units, deploy smoke!* The adjutant acted on impulse and ordered a smokescreen to be deployed.

"No!- DON'T!" The Commander sensed something wrong and called it off, but it was too late. Their tanks collectively fired their smoke dischargers and blanketed their entire field with smoke. They were in a valley, one of the worst places to deploy tanks and now they were isolated from one another by sight.

The adjutant realised his folly too late and regreted very well having send the whole group into jeopardy. AS the smoke covered their surroundings, a deadly silence overcame them, eyes looked observantly out of their viewports and periscopes for any sign of movement. The Commander gave the order to button up so there shouldn't be anyone out of their vehicles.

(BOOM) An 8x8 wheeled BTR-80 got hit by a trail of RPGs.

(BOOM) (BOOM) Then, it was followed with another two vehicles bursting into flames, all troop carriers. Because the infantry was inside, the attackers got a double bonus of killing the crew and passengers.

"Madarchod!" The Commander cursed as he watched what was likely the battalion retaliating against them in equal measure. He also noticed the enemy was solely attacking troop transports and their mechanized infantry. To the true tankers, this was a sign of relief for their crew. But for the Commander, it was a different story.

No matter where one brought heavy vehicles or sophisticated hardware into the picture, they still needed infantry to walk up the hill to plant the flag, or in his case at least a battalion to storm and clear out the city of hostiles. The enemy commander was making sure that even if he reached Pada Mo City, he could not deploy the appropriate forces to subjugate the enemy encampments. And if he went in with tanks alone into the city, it was a suicide run. Where the occupants could launch surprise RPG or molotol attacks on his tanks and they wouldn't be able to react fast enough. This was proven with Hezbollah attacks on Israeli armor or the infamous losses Russia sustained against the RPG-armed Chechnyan rebels against their T-80s. The same T-80 variants that they were currently using.

The Yinkian commander could imagine the smile on the enemy strategist's face that he'd trapped him with a choice to sacrifice his armour or his infantry. If he chose armour, taking the city himself was next to impossible. If he chose the mechanised infantry, it'll leave them vulnerable to attacks from more of these enemies who clearly had appropriate firepower to deal with light-skinned vehicles.

"Tsh!... All armour contingents!-….. protect the infantry battalions, this is an executive order! Do it ASAP!" He chose the infantry, yet the tankers didn't blame his choice. He'd led them through victory for so long, if it meant their lives then it was a fair price to pay.

"Men….. forgive me…"

"All infantry, disembark. The smoke clears in thirty seconds, find those anti-tank teams and kill them!" The Commander ordered.

The infantry briskly exited their vehicles and formed around their troop carriers as improvised protection from firearms. But they stayed a fair distance from their tanks. This was because of the Explosive reactive tiles mounted all over its chassis, a standoff protection against anti-tank missiles and RPGs.

The smoke finally cleared, but instead of meeting foes whom had previously RPG attacked them, they were greeted with a fierce attack from a groups of company-size fractions attacking them from all round in an attempt to pincer them. But their attacks weren't on the infantry, but the tanks that formed a defensive circle around them. And they were attacking a very specific area, which was the tracks.

Tracers from tank shells impacted some of his tanks from an undisclosed location up on the mountains, the same tank destroyer force no doubt. The infantry immediately moved to repel the enemy, but as they did so the tanks that were beside them experienced a penetrating shot that struck their reactive armor causing it to burst and in the process, kill the soldiers. It happened more than five instances when the soldiers tried to apprehend them but ended up trapped by their own tanks that formed a wall around them.

It was here that the Commander understood now that they had been forced into a halt and made into a bunched up stationary target.

A whistling sound came closer to them and they could almost not pick it out from the sounds of war about. But it was there and the commander knew the cause of it. And was made to watch in horror as it unfolded without any way of him countering.

(Pop) (Pop) (BOBOBOBOBOOM) (BOBOBOBOBOBOOM)

A rain of death came down upon his now unprotected infantry battalions he'd earlier ordered to leave. And it came down in the form of a very familiar ordnance in Kyrat that both Royal Army and Golden Path could attest to its area of effect ability. 120mm cluster bombs fell from their munitions and delivered the submunitions towards their targets. It didn't matter if the spread was big, as a matter a fact, it was better. Because the Yinkian forces had been closed up together by their own doing and now were prime targets for their mortar teams who fired a cluster munition round once every six seconds from three Patria AMVs with NEMO mortar systems.

The Yinkian Commander watched in horror as his actions led to the death of over four hundred soldiers in a single instant. The crewmen and tankers were just as shocked.

*Sir! Orders!* His adjutant shouted over the radio frantically. *Sir!*

*Sir! Permission to retreat, sir!* One of his company leaders suggested.

After that one opened his mouth the rest were obliged to agree. Unfortunately, they couldn't go anywhere with the tanks that were now detracked which amounted to nearly all of their tanks despite their intact status save for a few from his command team.

"This your Commander, Colonel Dema speaking. All tankers, company one to five, abandon MBTs and proceed with the IFVs to withdraw back. This responsibility is mine and mine alone. May fortune be with you, gentlemen."

The Yinkian armoured forces including the Republican Guard immediately left their tanks and hitched a ride with the BMP and BTR troop carriers. His adjutant came over with worry in his eyes.

"Take the men through the mountain pass which you bombarded earlier, that should be a clear route back to the rest of the Army."

"I'm staying here with you, sir."

"(Sigh). I appreciate the thought, but there will be many fights ahead. Go. I will surrender to allow them to take me back so I may examine the state of the city. So go."

The adjutant looked reluctant even thought he stated it as if it was his plan. But he resided to respect his superior's decision, after saluting crisply he joined the convoy that headed out as a single Company stood its ground to the overwhelming fire of the enemy forces.

When he was a fair distance away, the Commander took up his radio and switched to an open channel.

"This is Colonel Dema of the Republican Guard of Yinke! Invading forces, you've trespassed on soil you should not have tainted. The 1st Republican Guard shall not move a single step from here until you ply our frozen corpses from this ground! No Retreat! NO SURRENDER!" The soldiers in his company who heard it roared with vigour.

*Now I understand what he meant….. There are no honest men left in peace.* Came a reply on the open channel.


The Commander had no reason at all to do what he was about to do, however that voice and words held a deep sentiment that almost made him feel pity for himself and the situation he'd been brought into. The thoughts of no surrender and no retreat, vanished from his head. His enemy wasn't as unreasonable as to prevent him from escaping, nor surrendering if he wished it.

"Ceasefire! Ceasefire!" The commander ordered from his troops and at the same time the enemy ceased firing as well.

Then, a young officer walked out from the foliage that had protected the anti-tank teams and enemy soldiers which had suppressed their forces into that enclosure.

He pressed his throat mic and his lips matched the words that came next on the radio open channel.

*Can I convince you into an unconditional surrender then?*

"Sir…." The commander's radio specialist looked at his commander with expectation, would he answer?

"… Identify yourself, invader!"

*… Captain Bipin Kadayat of the 2nd Hussars Motorized Battalion, Royal Kyrati Army.*

"Kyrat?!" The commander said outloud in disbelief. His thoughts were shared by his men, many knew that Kyrat was not just the birthplace of the great teachers but also a place filled with war and unending conflict. Their impression of Kyrat didn't match the army standards of these invaders that possessed both airpower and an outstanding motorized force.

The commander popped the hatch of his vehicle to his crewmens' shock. "Sir! What are you doing?!"

"Sir, come back!"

The Commander walked pass the encirclement of abandoned armour towards the empty gap where the young officer stood. At the same instance he walked forward, another officer came forward to stand by the young officer's side. That person had an impossibly slender figure for a man, the commander had seen enough women trying to trick their way into the army. But unfortunately, the government wouldn't recruit girls into military vocations due to the teachings of the shining way they held sacred to the governing ideals. Apparently, this one was different.

"And you are?" He asked as he stood in front of them and looked at the woman in drag.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Min, Commander of the 2nd Hussars."

"So it was you then. The author of all this."

The woman kept mum, so it meant it wasn't her but the young officer instead.

"You?" He asked as he looked at him. At first, he couldn't believe someone as young and junior as him could possess such unnatural talent in armoured tactics and strategy alone. Believe it or not, he'd just defeated three battalions, one of which was a full tank battalion with only one mechanised battalion.

But then, he noticed the glint in his eyes and understood from there.

-This boy had been through battle more than once, ney. He's already a veteran.- The Commander thought.

"As I've said, Colonel Dema of the Republican Guard, Yinke Liberation Army. To what do we owe the pleasure of Kyrat knocking at out doorstep?"

"This war was started when one 7th Commando Regiment invaded Kyrat and killed soldier and civilian alike amounting to 4532 souls."

-Namdak's unit?!-

The Commander was familiar with who that was, that raving idealist of the Shining Way demonimation. Too close to the Great Teachers for comfort and was supposedly in the mountains doing alphine training.

"Yinke did not start a war." He refused to believe a word he said.

"And yet, Kyrat has given a written answer to the Politburo whom we hold in the City."

"I say again, Yinke did not start a war with Kyrat."

"Its already too late, you should have kept a better management over your mountain lunatics. Because our lord doesn't take kindly to people that hurt or kill his own."

"Lord? If I remember correctly, it was a King Min, correct."

"This operation has been overseed by 1st Lord Badala."

"Is that your supreme commander? Then I request parley."

"If you tell your men to drop their arms and come quietly, I can guarantee fair treatment for them and an audience with Lord Badala. Does that sound like an option?" The woman in drag told him.

The Commander looked back at his men whom were half out of their vehicle hatches looking in anticipation.

"Oh! It looks like Gamma did its bit." The Young officer named Bipin faced the mountain which the Commander's forces withdrew in. And to the surprise of the remaining forces, they were chained and forced to walk in a row. Escorting them was a company-size force mounted on their vehicles of European origin.

The Commander laughed in self-pity, it appeared that they had a force waiting to ambush his withdrawing forces at that hill as well. He had previously assumed no one was there because there wasn't any response, but it appear that they had been hiding behind the hill on the otherside. To think that this strategist had thought that far and was even confident of their victory over them said a lot about his prowess.

"Han Geng, good work!" The woman complimented.

Another young officer on the lead vehicle puffed proudly and turned to Bipin.

"And you?" As if, expecting a compliment from him as well.

"You took your fucking time, now they're useless as leverage!" Instead received a reprimanding.

"Sei Pok Gai! I knew you were a bastard!"

"Well done, anyway." He added.

"Too late. Apologies are not accepted."

"Whatever, piss off. Daddy's having a very important talk." The officer Bipin said to the Chinese officer on the vehicle.

"What! You!-…" The Chinese officer burst into a fit of rage but was held back by his men. While the Yinkians came back with glum faces, the Kyratis bellowed in victory.

"So are you going to threaten me with their lives then?"

"That depends on how much of a hassle you prove to be." Bipin responded.

"….."

"So what will it be then, Colonel? Till the death, or a new era of prosperity for Yinke and Kyrat."

The Commander was confused by what he meant.

"Prosperity? In this situation?"

"You won't see it if you and your men die here. But then what do my words mean to you? Absolutely worth nothing."

The Commander was left thinking, if they were left to die here, the same could be said for their men who had been captured as well. Except they would die horrible from torture and interrogation, unless the conditions that were applied with his willing surrender were in place.

"Very well. Men, lower your weapons." He said on his throat mic, to which they reluctantly lowered their weapons. The Kyrati forces moved in to disarm them one by one, no one went against their commander's orders. It showed to the Kyratis how respected this senior officer was, although he was around his sixties which he would have been retired if he were serving the Royal Army.

"Then you've have my word that no harm will come to your men." The woman named Samuel told him.

They were being processed along the way for about an hour or so, a convoy of five-ton trucks came to pick them up and bring them to the camps as prisoners of war. The Commander sighed but at the same time was relieved that these soldiers seemed to respect and abide by their word. He had seen worst among the Yinkian Army ranks that was for sure, sometimes he questioned why a revolt hadn't happened in years to oppose a corrupt government. Instead the force that would clear them were invaders in the form of their neighbour Kyrat.

As they loaded up the surrendered soldiers and packed the abandoned and captured equipment including the tanks back. The officer named Bipin held out a radio which he switched to a loud broadcast. A familiar trumpet music resounded in the background, everyone recognised what it was.

It was the national broadcast.

It seemed that it was expected as officer Bipin had tuned it to a P.A allowing all the soldiers to hear.

*A message from your leaders and family.*

*My friends and family, this is a time of change for Yinke.*

"That's President Bhuti!" One of the soldiers shouted in surprise.

*We have incurred the wrath of our neighbours by the treacherous force of brigands led by Colonel Namdak of the Yinke Liberation Army whom had invaded Kyrat with four thousand soldiers and had brought forth an uncalled-for massacre. The result of these actions has led to the Kyrat Army that has now occupied our great city for over five days from the top to the lowest reaches of Pada Mo City. The supreme commander of the Kyrati forces, 1st Lord Badala has treated everyone with dignity and humanity despite the atrocities at his home. Today, we the politburo hereby sign an armistice ensuring the end of this war at the condition that all forces stand down, militia and military.

These conditions entrail the disarmament of our premier army, the Yinke Liberation Army until a mutual agreement has been resolved. The debt of Three thousand Crores over a period of ten years for the damage and grievances caused by our renegades and our failure to prevent this from happening, As the responsible party for this tragedy and our inability to prevent this invasion and total loss of Yinke to the Kyrati expeditionary force, we the politburo will step down in favour of the new leader of Yinke, Tenzin Vgru.* The whole of Yinke that was listening were in shock, the government were openly announcing the man they deposed be reinstated back in his position despite their claim of his tyranny.

*This-…. I cannot…* The president spoke in the background a refusal to someone about something that was in the script. But after some discussion he returned.

*My friends and family. We, the politburo, have not been entirely truthful to you. The reason we-….ok! I'll say it!... Everything we've claimed to have done for the people, bring prosperity to Yinke, banish a tyrant! That was all a lie!*

"What?!" The Yinkian soldiers were astounded, more so then when their national leaders had just declared a defeat of Yinke on open broadcast.

*What else do you want me to say?!* The president sounded frantic over the other side of the microphone.

*Fine!... We lied about Tenzin Vgru! We fabricated everything to incriminate him! We had been lured in by the temptations of the great Teachers and forced a true patriot out of the seat for our own gain!- What else do you-(Bang)* For anyone that was listening and wasn't used to a gunshot, that was what had happened.

Someone had executed the President. The audience were flabbergasted, the highest power of authority had been casually killed off despite his many security measures at the parliamentary building, but since they had been force to read out the broadcast of their surrender of the politburo to the Kyrati Kingdom it made sense he was in the hands of the Kyrati forces

Then, the sound of someone picking up the microphone could be heard.

*This is 1st Kshatriyan Lord Badala of the Royal Kyrati Army. To all Yinkian military forces, you are required by the terms of the armistice to step down, lay down your arms in the presence of our disarmament officials. Failure to comply will result in your immediate arrest and summary trial.

People of Yinke. Though this seems as a dark time as any, know that if you are a true Yinkian then no harm shall come to you unless you oppose us. However, if you were in cahoots with this band of crooks which had occupied the parliament and army headquarters for sixteen years unchallenged, we will find you. As I hold you equally responsible for the atrocity in my homeland. You will get everything you deserve. As for the Brave Yinkians we have yet to meet. You have every right to fight back and retaliate against me, and I have every right to make all of you martyrs in your country.

That is your choice.

But this country will change for the better in due time, we will ensure that it happens because Yinke deserves better than being a mere sideline vassal to the People's Republic of China. But instead as an ally in our struggles to let the world know the names of our nations strong and proud. This you have our word.

I've said all there is to say regarding what's to come, the choice is yours. Oppose us or befriend us. Those that oppose will be herald as rebels and the orders are to be apprehended for trial.

And Golden Path, if you're listening. Devas Lamsal and Ved are in our possession, they will understand the consequence of betraying their homeland. And you wouldn't need to bury Deva Sanjeev, I've already saved you the trouble. Deva Vasu and Mohan. We've come in search of you too.*

...

He said it in a chilling intimidating voice. The mic was turned off right after and the music to end the session played out.

Officer Bipin turned off the radio as well.

"So what will it be, Colonel? Are you an advocate of justice or a person of pragmatism? Will you fight us and die, or join us in the fight against human indifference."