A man in uniform stood waiting in the room with the Spunej and Jinto.
“Roibomowas Bilskuus from Ryuazornyu Spaude Rirrag,” announced the Spunej. “Roibomowas, please explain the current situation to Jarluk Dreur.”
He nodded. Almost immediately, there was a projection of a Ja Fad in the middle of the room. It was a large-scale map that covered the whole human-inhabited universe.
The vicinity of Sord Sufagnaum was red.
“A battle occurred here, and the Labule recovered Loebehyu Sufagnaum.”
Blip! A red dot appeared between Loebehynu Sufagnaum and Dreuhynu Vorlak.
“This is Sord Kikotosokunbina Keik. That’s where the enemy army came from. The Jadbyr Futune investigated.”
A dotted red line extended from Sord Kikotosokunbina Keik, dividing Fek Irik in half. All the gates along the line turned red as well.
“They found that the enemy army had turned the neighboring Sords into military bases, and is completely obstructing passage. If that were it, the Labule could break though with no problem. However, the problem is here …”
Another red sphere appeared on the opposite side of Fek Ilik. It birthed a red arrow that advanced ominously toward Sord Ilik, the entrance to Lakfakalle.
“The enemy movements in the direction of Loebhynu Sufagnaum were simply a diversion. The real target was the Arosh, which they attacked with a force equivalent to a hundred twenty Jadbyr. We saw that coming, but we didn’t suspect they would open an invasion point to Fek Ilik.”
A blue arrow raced from Sord Ilik and collided with the red arrow.
“We counterattacked with a hundred forty Jabyr, under the command of Feia Glaharerl Rue Byrer. We repelled them, incurring significant damages in the process. We lost many excellent men, women, and ships.”
The Ja Fad disappeared.
“At this point, we know a few things. Right now, Rue Byrer has switched to pursuit, and reports that they’re performing recon of the invasion point district. There’s no mistake that the enemy is building its defenses there. Our side doesn’t have nearly enough reserve strength to conduct a large-scale military operation — while rebuilding the Labule, we have to keep enough troops on hand to defend the frontiers and to investigate whether there are other invasion points. To strike the two walls that appeared in Fek Ilik, we would need three years to prepare. Currently, we have no more than one Jadbyr’s worth of troop strength beyond the walls. And that’s fairly generous — in reality, they are scattered and disorganized. If the enemy implements a full-scale invasion of that territory, we won’t be able to resist.”
Jinto understood what this meant for Dreuhynu Haidar, which lay beyond that wall.
“I’m very sorry, Jarluk Dreur,” said the Empress with earnest feeling. “In exchange for the good news you brought with you, we can offer you only this kind of bad news. Sadly, in order to save one part of the Empire, we have to expose other parts to danger. Communication with your Aith has been cut off, and there is no hope of recovering it for the time being.”
He couldn’t speak. Dreuhynu Haidar was his old home, and it was also his only remaining link to Dreuhynu Vorlak, which was where all his friends lived.
But, most shocking of all, in spite of everything, Jinto really didn’t feel the least bit sad.