Cristobal was about to give his speech to declare war; all the channels were broadcasting this moment.
The English embassy was also watching expectantly; they were transmitting the audio to their compatriots on the islands, who in turn were passing it on to their men in Altaras. In Altaras, Frank and King Taara were attentive; the latter gave permission to Leifor for them to listen as well, and they, in turn, relayed the signal to the Gra Valkians to listen. Obviously, the wind dragons were also picking up the radio waves and transmitting what the president was about to say to both Gahara and Emor.
The intelligence services of Mu and Parlpadia were also trying to access and learn about Argentina's final decision. The former would have greater success in obtaining it from Leifor and would then inform the latter about the declaration of war.
Meanwhile, Mirishial was also listening. How did they do it? The Mirishial diplomats simply demanded access to the transmission from the Leiforians and Muans, and neither of them refused such a demand.
The Argentinians still didn't know it, but the whole world was watching them now.
ARA Almirante Brown.
Agustín was in his cabin heading to Buenos Aires, having turned on the radio to listen to the speech.
"Please, Cristóbal, don't screw it up again." He said, fearful of what Cristóbal might say this time.
"Luckily, I had nothing to do with what happened in Louria, but I doubt I can find a decent job after the last time..."
He soon heard his friend begin to speak.
"Argentinians, I address you today to hold Parlpadia accountable for their crimes against our nation. In the face of constant denials and provocations from that barbaric and uncivilized nation calling itself Parlpadia, which has deviated from the path and calls its savagery civilization, we see no option but to engage in open conflict with them." Cristóbal began.
"A rather hostile speech towards the natives, but at least it's not embarrassing so far. Keep it up." Agustín sighed.
"But this military operation is not aimed at subjugation and conquest; our divine mission is civilizing." Cristóbal continued.
"And here we go..." Agustín rolled his eyes; that didn't last long.
"War? Our nation was chosen by the forces of heaven to bring modernity and civilization to this backward world!"
"Forces of heaven... Are you seriously using a phrase from Milei's campaiign memes at a time like this?" You could see a vein pulsating on the Argentine diplomat's forehead.
"In the face of such a sacred mission, we cannot waste time on something as mundane as war. Therefore, we will instead carry out a peace mission to pacify Philiades!"
"This has a lot of echoes of a special military operation..." He thought, recalling what happened in Ukraine and the Russian insistence on not admitting they were at war.
"No matter how charitable and supportive this act may be, the savages will do everything in their power to protect their deviant way of life. That's why we must send the army on this peace mission, not much different from how our blue helmets were going to help the population in conflict zones. In the face of the present hostility that the savage Parlpadians have toward us, the chosen people, we are compelled to teach them our peaceful ways by force!"
"Did you really just... AHHHH!" Agustín internally screamed as he was on the verge of a cerebral aneurysm from what he had just heard.
"With this, we confirm that Operation San Martín will launch in a month with the goal of not only seeking justice for our students but also liberating the people of Parlpadia from the yoke of ignorance and backwardness they are subjected to! The fleet will escort 10,000 soldiers ready to fulfill the divine mandate of our great nation. If other nations wish to contribute to this divine mission, they will be welcomed with open arms, and we will usher in this new world together."
With that, the transmission was cut.
"... As soon as I get to Buenos Aires, I'm going to punch him."
Leiforia, Gra Valkas Embassy.
Prince Hilas, Ciela, and Dallas had finished listening to that... thing that the Argentine president had communicated.
"So... are the Argentinians going to fight against Parlpadia or not?" Dallas asked, quite confused.
"It seems so... to be honest, it was quite confusing with that peace speech and sending their soldiers." Hilas said, wiping some sweat from his forehead; Cristobal's words had caught him off guard.
"I don't understand why he was so vague with his words and didn't declare war directly. Honestly, those Argentinians are... peculiar." Ciela was also somewhat shocked by it all.
"And what's that divine mission he mentioned? Is the guy crazy or something? Dallas said, not understanding how such a person could lead a country.
"I can't blame him for trying to find a purpose." the Gra Valkan prince said. "Their world was transported like ours, and they want to find an explanation for why they are where they are. After all, I don't think it's very common for a territory to change worlds, so I believe it's normal for them to have the divine question in mind."
"Your Highness... will this change our strategy with the third civilization?" Ciela asked.
"I don't think so. The president was somewhat cryptic, but he did give permission for others to help them, which must be the signal Leifor was waiting for to intervene." the prince explained.
"In that case, I'll send a message to Ragna to prepare an expeditionary force for a month from now. Leifor should also prepare for war."
"By the way, remind them to send more troops to Grameus. It seems that the demons are causing more trouble than expected."
"As you wish, Your Highness." Dallas saluted and then left the room to prepare the report.
"Ciela, I will send you with the Leifor delegation to go to Argentina and establish diplomatic relations with them."
Otaheit, Mu.
"So... what do we do?" Audigs, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asked.
"Well... it wasn't a declaration of war, but it says they will attack." tactical officer Lassan Devillin said. "That's something superpowers do when they send a punitive expedition to a country outside the civilized area."
"Are you saying this is a provocation to anger the Parlpadians?" The President of Mu asked.
"Exactly. That speech made it clear that the Argentinians see Parlpadia as an uncivilized country and will treat it as such, not as a superpower... It's the greatest humiliation they could inflict on Parlpadia." Audigs explained.
"Quite audacious on the part of the Argentinians, especially when they said they would only send 10,000 men."
"Mr. President, they will likely demand that their vassals from Rodenius send troops. If they think about equipping them with Argentine weaponry, they might stand a chance in a punitive mission against Parlpadia." the tactical officer explained.
"Although... it seems they plan to invade Parlpadian territory. Parlpadia has 8 million reserve soldiers and can easily reach over 20 million if they relax the physical and magical requirements to join the army." Mu's president couldn't understand what the Argentine strategy was.
"They don't have to land on the continent; taking key islands to disrupt trade and capturing and fortifying a city like Duro might be more than enough to fulfill the punitive mission." Lassan said.
"The problem is if Leifor decides to intervene. If Argentina wins, it will be a severe blow to Parlpadia, but they can recover with our help. But if Leifor interferes, then we must intervene." the tactical officer was worried.
"No, this could be a good opportunity." Audigs spoke. "This way, we can justify sending weapons to Parlpadia. We can afford not to help Parlpadia when they are fighting against the Argentinians, but when Leifor attacks, we can provide them with all the weapons they need. Since Argentina is not officially at war with Parlpadia and with the interference of another superpower, the impact on our diplomatic relations caused by the lease should not be so hard. We could even take on the role of intermediaries to help both sides reach a peace agreement as soon as possible."
"Do you think Parlpadia would accept an unfavorable peace agreement with countries outside the civilized area?" The president asked.
"Yes, if they don't want to have thousands of fronts open while fighting another superpower." Lassan Devillin said. "As humiliating as it may be to lose to uncivilized countries, they can't demand major concessions in peace negotiations. On the other hand, if Leifor wins, Parlpadia is likely to cease to exist."
Esthirant, Parlpadia Empire.
"Those damn Argentinians!" Emperor Ludius was furious at how the Argentine leader had addressed them. "How dare they treat a superpower like this?! Unacceptable!"
"This is nothing but a provocation, Your Majesty. They want to lure us out with our fleet, leaving us vulnerable to the Falklander submarine." said Barth, the fleet's commander-in-chief. "The best strategy to defeat the Argentinians is to wait for them to come to us, then launch a combined attack from the depths of the sea and from the sky, using our krakens and wyverns. The most likely target for their attack is Fenn, although we can't rule out them going directly for the city of Duro."
"Is there a risk that they might decide to attack the capital directly?" Elto asked, somewhat concerned.
"With only ten thousand men, they won't be able to take Esthirant. Doing so would be suicide." Arde responded.
"But there's the possibility they may attack Esthirant if Leifor also declares war on us." Kaios explained the possibility.
"If that's the case, Mu will support us in this war. It will be a challenging war, but we will prevail." Arde said.
"But in order to win, we must first defeat the Argentine fleet and that submarine before they join the Leiforian fleet; otherwise, our ports will be completely blockaded." Barth expressed.
As they continued to talk, a messenger knocked on the council chamber door.
"Come in, and you'd better bring good news." The emperor said to the messenger, who entered and knelt before him.
"Your Majesty, Prince Augus has just arrived in Parlpadia."
"So, my nephew has just arrived? Very well, I'll see him later. Now, was this so important that it warranted interrupting an imperial council meeting?" The emperor observed the messenger, who felt a shiver run down their spine.
"Y-your Majesty, Prince Augus returned riding on a w-wind dragon..."
"What? You could have said that sooner!"
Both the emperor and the others in the council went to the gardens, where they saw a large white dragon, so long it could rival a ship. Perched on that dragon was a young blonde man, at least 26 years old, who dismounted from the dragon.
"Welcome, Prince Augus. I thought your arrival was a month away." Ludius said, looking at the wind dragon.
"Your Majesty, my intention was to enjoy a cruise, but... circumstances made it urgent for me to return as soon as possible." the prince said, bowing.
"I can't believe you managed to tame a wind dragon! The imperial family is truly impressive; nothing is impossible for Parlpadia." Arde said, quite impressed. However, he soon felt the gaze of the creature fixed on him.
"I recommend that you don't claim to have tamed her in her presence unless you want to be devoured by her." Augus smiled as he gently stroked the dragon's back.
"I-understand, Your Highness." Arde felt a chill run down his spine.
"If you didn't tame her, how did you manage to ride her here?" The emperor asked, quite interested.
"Emor may be quite isolationist, but the Kingdom of Torquia is an ally of theirs, and I was able to meet some members of the dragon folk during my time in Gorion."
"Hmph, I can see that sending you abroad wasn't a waste, as I initially believed it would be." Ludius admitted; it had been a struggle to convince him to allow a member of the royal family to receive education in another country.
"Well, I've had much more diplomatic success in these years than your foreign affairs departments. How on hell have they brought the empire to the brink of the largest war the third civilization has ever seen?!" Augus said, abandoning his royal composure.
His behavior made the emperor furrow his brow, but he could understand why Augus was so upset about the imperial diplomatic incompetence. "You don't need to worry about that. The various foreign affairs departments have been unified into one to ensure that such a diplomatic disaster doesn't happen again."
"But even with that, they made the foolish move of attacking Fenn." Augus said, looking at the council. "I don't understand why you attacked Fenn. Did you truly believe that Gahara would be okay with the empire having thousands of troops right next to them in an unjustified attack?"
"But, Your Highness—"
"Now you not only brought that nation called Argentina into the war, but you've also given Gahara a reason to launch a preemptive attack on us! And you've completely ruined all my work in Torquia!" Augus was very angry about the imperial incompetence.
"Augus! Calm yourself," the emperor commanded. Augus straightened up to take a deep breath and regain his composure. "Very well, now explain to me in more detail how the attack on Fenn has affected your plans in Torquia."
"... My marriage to Princess Ishtal of Torquia has been postponed since the invasion of Fenn. If Gahara goes to war on the Argentine side, it will strain our relations with Emor too much, and Torquia, being a loyal ally of Emor, was forced to suspend our engagement and, consequently, any possible alliance with the Kingdom of Torquia. They won't risk having to fight a war against Emor." Taking a deep breath to avoid shouting at them again. "This union was supposed to bring Torquia to our side in the war against Leiforia and, consequently, receive support from the superpower Emor, but now all my work in the Central World is in jeopardy."
As he explained all this, everyone fell into silence. They all saw the problem they were in.
"We couldn't wait for everyone to confirm that Fenn was aiding our enemies, Your Highness. If the Falklanders' submarine had been there to defend Fenn, it would have been impossible for us to land," Arde explained, which was true; they couldn't have waited that long. "Even with the krakens, we can't corner it; we've been capturing more to have a chance."
"Krakens? So, it's you who's been funding the slave corsairs in uncivilized areas to obtain the Sylvan elves?" Augus asked, already quite annoyed.
"We bought them, but the ones behind the corsairs financing them are the Muans." Ludius said calmly.
"The Muans? I thought slavery was illegal in Mu." Augus said, somewhat surprised.
"Slavery is, but they claim these are illegal immigrants who have committed a crime and must be incarcerated. Of course, after paying the corsairs their reward for finding and delivering these criminals to the authorities," Ludius mocked Mua's hypocrisy.
Augus sighed again. "Maybe not all is lost. If we make peace with Argentina and reach an agreement with Gahara, my engagement with Torquia will be reinstated, and we can stand against Leiforia and Gra Valkas. However, if we fail, we will have no choice but to use... the Final Defense Protocol."
"What?! That protocol was designed in case of a war with Mirishial or if Ravernal returns!" Everyone was shocked.
"Augus, activating that protocol would leave the northern part of the country completely unprotected, and it would also destroy our economy." the emperor said.
"I know, but the southern part of the country, where our industry and most resources are located, will be better protected. At least this way, we'll ensure Esthirant doesn't fall. We will make them bleed, secure separate treaties with Argentina and Gahara, and then defeat the rest with the help of Mu and Torquia." That was the prince's plan.
"Why do you insist on making peace with Argentina as well?" Ludius asked. The truth was, Argentina was the last nation he wanted to make peace with after that speech by the president.
"Their anti-aircraft defenses." Augus replied. "Our wyvern lords and new wyvern overlords are our greatest advantage. We might win some battles with our magic, but we risk the Argentinians passing that technology to the Leiforians and Gra Valkans the longer they remain in the conflict. So, it's vital to sign peace with them as quickly as possible, or our air supremacy could be compromised."
"Very well, but to get the Argentinians out of the war first, we'll need a victory against them." the emperor didn't want to make peace with the Argentinians without punishing them for their insolence in speaking ill of them.
"That battle won't take place in Fenn or its vicinity. I also doubt we can use our air power against them if Gahara supports them. To win against them, we must let them come to us on land, in specific terrains that allow us to mitigate the enemy's aerial superiority."
Buenos Aires.
President Cristóbal was in his office, sipping mate with criollitos. Although he still occupied the Rivadavia chair for the time being, he was, in truth, under a sort of house arrest in the Casa Rosada. The police and riot officers wouldn't allow him to leave the place.
While he remained the president until the whole war situation concluded, the nation's Senate had already taken control of domestic affairs. However, this power did not extend beyond the AMBA, as the other provinces were being governed and managed by local governments trying to solve their problems as best as they could independently. Cristóbal still held some influence with the military, but only in matters related to the war with Philiades.
In truth, this was more power than Medina had thought they would allow him to retain. Of course, the military's support for him was not very high, as being associated with him tarnished the army's image.
Soon, the president felt the doors of his office open. Entering was his old friend Agustín, who had assigned him mission after mission and had finally returned to the country. The president got up from his desk to greet him.
"Agustín! I'm glad you've come. I have something to tell yo—" he began before suddenly seeing a fist approaching his face rapidly, impacting his nose and causing him to step back and sit down again.
Cristóbal held his nose to prevent it from bleeding too much and then took out a handkerchief. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"What the hell is wrong with YOU?!" Agustín was furious, looking him directly in the eyes.
"... Yes, I deserved that." he said, averting his gaze. "Sorry..."
Dayan sighed and then sat down in front of him. "Cristóbal, I know your mental faculties aren't exactly spectacular, but why in the holy hell did you decide to pull such a stupid move in front of the entire country? Twice!"
"I wanted to annoy the politicians before I had to leave." he said, falling silent for a moment before continuing. "I was going to be used as a sacrifice for all those sons of bitches, so I wanted to make them pay, at least a little."
"What you wanted was attention, as always. It's always about you. You're not the only one in all of this; there are people who supported you, and now they'll lose their jobs. Officers, soldiers, ministers, diplomats... your entire administration, which decided to bet on you, is now on the blacklist." He grabbed one of the criollitos and took a bite. "You knew from the start that you were disposable in politics. Nobody voted for you to be president, but instead of accepting that and simply doing your best to stabilize the nation and leave when you had to, you wanted to cling to power. You wanted to mess with the politicians? You could have called for elections after securing a nearly unlimited source of oil and coal following what happened in Rodenius. But no, you wanted to compete against everyone."
"I did it because I couldn't allow the country to fall back into the hands of the corrupt politicians who led our country to ruin without even trying to fight for the presidency!"
"You don't give a damn shit about the country. If what you did had been for the country, you would have withstood the criticism and the trial instead of pretending to be insane to avoid prosecution and ruining all your chances of a political future. What you wanted was to be the center of attention, as always, and you couldn't stand the fact that you'd stop being president because you knew that after you left the presidency, nobody would know who you are. Now, to stay a little longer, you decided to drag down everyone who supported you with you! The only reason you're still here is because some oil guys like you, but nobody else supports you, not even those who bought into your phony speech believe that you're sane, and they wouldn't vote for you never. Tell me, how did you hurt the usual politicians in any way? You didn't; you just screwed up the careers of those who trusted you."
Upon hearing that, Cristóbal couldn't help but fall silent, looking away for a long moment before speaking again while he prepared another mate. "I talked to the YPF CEO to appoint you as their representative in Quila. After all, you managed to secure that lucrative agreement that gave them control over all of Rodenius' reserves." He said and handed over the mate he'd just prepared. "... Sorry for all the trouble I've caused you."
Agustín took the mate and let out a heavy sigh before taking a sip.
"You're going to keep trying to hold onto power just to mess with the Senate, aren't you?"
"Exactly, my friend."
"And I suppose you're going to continue playing the role of the crazy one."
"Yeah."
The diplomat tapped his fingers on the presidential desk and then grabbed the last criollito, tossing it at Cristóbal's face. The president could do nothing but laugh.
"You're a son of a bitch... Even if I try to distance myself from you, everyone knows I'm your best friend." He said, resigning himself. "I guess whatever you have planned is related to that civilizing mission of yours."
"The Senate doesn't dare replace me because they fear that the war will cause more casualties than expected and make the next president look like a complete idiot. People expect that when you declare war on a Victorian-era nation, it will be quick and easy. But I didn't declare war; as a humanitarian expedition, I can take all the time I want, going from place to place, taking rural areas without worrying about facing a major fortress. Meanwhile, in the occupied areas, we'll just have to worry about taking photos of the humanitarian work we do in those villages to justify our presence."
"How do you know that the local population won't turn against us and wage a guerrilla war?" Agustín asked curiously.
"The Gaharan wind dragons told us that the northeastern territories are suffering from a severe drought and that the Parladians are not very popular in that area. That place is perfect for starting a quiet campaign where the biggest concern is that journalists take pictures of how we're helping the locals in a time of need... And probably preparing them for their independence."
"So, you plan to use the locals as cannon fodder, don't you?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at him.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no... Well, yes. That's why I'm going to ask Rodenius to send ten thousand volunteers. If I've learned anything from history, it's that colonialism isn't about technology; it's about convincing a group of natives to kill another group for you."
"So, you plan to drag out the conflict with Parlpadia as long as possible to stay in the Casa Rosada for as long as you can. But how do you know the Senate won't remove you from power if they see that the conflict is much more relaxed?"
"And continue with the plan given by this lunatic? They might try, but this is the only thing I can bet on now. Besides, they know that Parlpadia is too stubborn, and the war may drag on excessively."
"Oh, speaking of war... Leifor has an offer for us."