Chaos' Heir

Chapter 974: Optics



Khan returned to the first meeting room and found a heavy atmosphere waiting for him. Most soldiers had left, and only individuals with high-level clearance remained at the various consoles. Meanwhile, the main interactive desk had Prince Thomas and Lieutenant Dyester dealing with countless messages.

Khan's return changed the chain of command, and the heavy atmosphere also intensified. The remaining soldiers interrupted their tasks to perform military salutes while Prince Thomas and Lieutenant Dyester ignored the interactive desk to shoot curious glances at him. Their looks told entire stories of their own, but Khan temporarily ignored them.

"Report," Khan ordered, reaching the interactive table and browsing the various messages.

The interactive table reflected the state of Khan's phone on a larger scale. The same important parties had approached that more official channel, requesting meetings and answers, but things didn't stop there. Many Generals, average families, and reporters had also reached out to Khan's organization, hoping to get in contact with him.

The numerous requests vouched for the tournament's success. A single instance of that massive event had put Khan at the center of a giant social network, which many parties didn't want to lose. The small to average families, in particular, hoped that incredible opportunity wouldn't disappear after a mere year.

Truthfully, that scene was reassuring. Even if some parties felt forced to publicly condemn Khan, the interactive table showed their real faces. The tournament was too beneficial for most of the Global Army's families, earning Khan politer messages on that more private channel.

Of course, that behavior was mostly possible due to the Thilku Empire's lack of attacks. The military planet was a threat, but the many average families couldn't care about it as long as it remained silent. They didn't have the power or authority to oppose it anyway, so they focused on reaping benefits.

"We received several offers, My Prince," Prince Thomas revealed. "The meeting requests vastly outnumber them, but Princess Rebecca is buying us time. Your Grandfather is also shielding us from the Global Army and Excellencies' pressure."

"What are the offers?" Khan asked, nodding.

Prince Thomas played with the interactive desk until a series of holograms flew before Khan. Detailed lists of conditions, regulations, and locations expanded in his view, waiting to be accepted or discussed.

As much as the Global Army wanted to avoid in-fighting, Khan had already declared war, so the Generals had to proceed with their preparations. The initial offers significantly favored Brigadier General Meadrey, but that simply was a common initial strategy during

negotiations.

Actually, Khan believed Lieutenant Dyester had already dealt with a few rounds of more overbearing offers, leading to the current situation. The lists were still bad, but that word was relative in Khan's eyes.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

If anything, Khan found Lieutenant Dyester's lack of complaints more interesting. The man was supposed to be Khan's moral compass, so his silent agreement to the war declaration tried to reassure him.

The truth slightly differed from that. Witnessing Khan's prowess on the battlefield had indeed changed Lieutenant Dyester's perspective. The soldier felt unable to apply common sense to Khan's actions anymore, and in a way, he even justified them.

Lieutenant Dyester wasn't alone in that mindset. He was actually one of the most moderate parties among those who witnessed Khan's prowess. The Scalqa and Moses would probably blindly follow his every decision now since his performance had shattered their previous idea of strength.

Still, the current issue mostly involved Khan's approach to leadership, and seeing his sorrow toward the army's casualties told Lieutenant Dyester everything he needed to know. Khan's war declaration wasn't an act of anger or arrogance. It was his way of keeping his people safe. It didn't matter whether the universe saw him as a monster afterward.

"They are just probing us in the hope we opt for peaceful resolutions," Lieutenant Dyester snorted. "The Global Army doesn't want this war to happen, but Brigadier General Meadrey isn't exactly on its side."

"What do you mean?" Khan questioned, curious.

"The General is ignoring his superiors, My Prince," Prince Thomas explained, "At least from what we can see. It seems this Gregory Meadrey is quite the fanatic."

Khan couldn't help but compare Brigadier General Meadrey to Izraz. The two were similar, albeit on opposite sides.

'Raymond sure knows how to select his pawns,' Khan internally cursed.

"See?" Khan wondered. It stood to reason that the Global Army would keep its internal discussions hidden, but Prince Thomas had still been able to learn something, and Khan wanted to know how.

"Brigadier General Meadrey made more attempts to go public, My Prince," Prince Thomas revealed. "He wants the whole Global Army to be aware of this conflict and its resolution." "Does he think killing my soldiers is some sort of spectacle?" Khan asked. He had been ready to give humankind some leeway due to Monica, but the idea was losing ground in his mind. "It's an ideological declaration," Lieutenant Dyester understood. "It's an attempt to destroy your image. He wants the Global Army to see you using aliens to suppress humans." Lieutenant Dyester's experience shone in that military-related instance. He saw through the ploy, understanding its hidden goals. As for why, even Khan didn't know. He thought he grasped Raymond's intentions, but the slippery man had a strange way of pursuing them.

"His fanatism works in our favor," Lieutenant Dyester continued. "Publicly fighting him with a human army will speak louder than a thousand words, and I don't see ourselves losing."

"I won't bring any human to fight him," Khan declared, surprising both Lieutenant Dyester

and Prince Thomas. "I won't use humans to kill humans."

"My Prince," Prince Thomas called. "You must realize the optics won't be great."

"They can't be great," Khan stated. "After all, I'm fighting."

Lieutenant Dyester could only divert his gaze as images from Senerth flowed through his vision. There was nothing human in Khan's fighting style. His power was unfathomable and mystical. Hiding it under a human army wouldn't change those features.

"The decision is final," Khan said before anyone could object. He even pointed at one of the holographic lists to comment on it. "This one looks fine enough."