Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 1604: Chapter 62: The Mystery_3

”Hastings’ medical report?”

He exclaimed, his mouth wide enough to swallow an egg.

”Condition is worsening...”

Before he could finish speaking, he was engulfed by a crowd, and the folder in his hand was quickly snatched away by someone else, sparking a commotion.

The other two documents on the coffee table were not spared either. Just as everyone was shocked and ecstatic over the news of Hastings’ deteriorating condition, a burly Vice Admiral holding a battle report ignited another bombshell.

It was the Leefer Legion’s battle report. At this moment, thousands of Feiyang Battleships were crossing the jump point of the Catalonia Star System, entering the Bentley Duke Star System of the Naga Federation. The United Fleet of the Naga Federation and the Binart Empire had already lost over thirty percent of their battleships and were being defeated by the strong attack from Leefer’s Fleet.

These two pieces of news drove the entire conference room into madness.

Everyone seemed injected with a stimulant, their faces glowing red, jubilant. The concerns brought by Hastings’ return had completely vanished. Everyone believed that the ultimate victor would undoubtedly be Leefer!

He was younger, healthier, and performed better than Hastings in this war.

When Leefer once again achieved a victory in Catalonia that drew media attention and made the Feiyang people proud, the halo brought by Hastings’ return and the great triumph at Leifeng Star would be overshadowed.

At this moment, no one dared to mess with Leefer! Not even Hastings!

Barbara was engaged in a war with full preparation! Leefer’s victory came so effortlessly, it seemed as if he had an arrangement with the Western Alliance people! Coupled with the news of Hastings’ worsening condition and Barbara’s arrangements in the presidential election, this battle was already a foregone conclusion!

Just drag on for a while longer, and merely Hastings’ irreversible illness could allow everyone in this room to taste the sweet flavors of final victory!

No one would bet on a dying old man; everyone would choose a new king.

The folder was passed among everyone’s hands, and the atmosphere in the room became relaxed yet fervent all of a sudden.

If there was any question left among these core members of the Leefer Group, perhaps it was about the two lists placed alongside the medical report and battle report.

One list included everyone in this room, while the other contained only one name—Hute. That guy, active among the upper echelons of the opposition, slick and articulate, adept at reading the mood.

Today, he didn’t show up!

”I’ve told you all you need to know,” the elder Friedrich walked to the window and activated the automatic curtain button, a very amiable smile appearing on his face, saying, ”Now, please quiet down and watch a program.”

The curtains slowly pulled apart to either side, revealing the clean floor-to-ceiling windows and the view of the endless deep forest and patches of snow over the land outside.

Friedrich gestured for everyone to look out the window, then walked silently to the doorway on the soft carpet.

The gray-haired elder, always with a reserved smile, though his face had wrinkles, it appeared very stylish, exuding a mature charm. His stature was upright, his high nose bridge accompanied by slender, slightly squinting eyes, and the gesture and posture in his movements revealed a gentleman’s refined demeanor.

Everyone looked outside the window in uncertain curiosity. In the distance, several black dots were getting closer.

A man in his fifties was dragged by two people in black clothing from left and right, onto the glade less than twenty meters away from the window. The man being held was covered in blood, wounds all over. Behind the three was a sinister, brown-haired young man, who held a gun and kept a five-meter distance from the ones in front.

After dragging the limp, mud-like man’s hair to let everyone see clearly today’s sole absentee, the brown-haired young man said not a word, nor did he pause at all, directly raising his hand and shooting, blowing that person’s head apart.

As blood sprayed onto the snow in the forest, Friedrich, without turning back, happened to arrive in front of the sofa.

He picked up the document with Hute’s name from the coffee table, pressed the delete button. Then, with polite nods to those present, he calmly walked out of the room.

————

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”Fatty.” Margaret pushed open the door, walked to Fatty who was chatting on the computer with Little Pi, and placed a document in front of him.

”What’s this?” Fatty raised his head.

”The latest intelligence from the Feiyang Army,” Margaret opened the folder, brought up the content, and handed it to Fatty, saying, ”Early this morning, Leefer suddenly launched a new offensive, broke through the jump point at the Bentley Duke Star System, and has currently annihilated six A-class fleets of the Naga Federation and a Wolf-class Fleet of the Binart Empire.”

”Impossible!” Fatty and Little Pi on the computer screen exclaimed almost simultaneously. The two, one large and one small, just like they had springs on their behinds, jumped up as if startled!

Margaret was taken aback. She hadn’t anticipated that this news would cause such a big reaction from Fatty and Little Pi.

On the human interstellar map, the Bentley Duke Star System is located outside the southwestern Public Star System of the Catalonia Star System, with only one immigration star and two resource planets that have already been exhausted.

The predecessor of the Naga Federation was the Naga Empire. This is also why a democratic federation has extremely close historical and ethnic ties with the Western Alliance.

And a thousand years ago, when Emperor William V of the Naga Empire decreed this star system bestowed upon Duke Bentley, the most outstanding military strategist of the time, as his family’s fief, the name of this star system changed from the former Alpha Corridor Second Star System to the Bentley Duke System, and this somewhat awkward name has been used ever since.

From a strategic standpoint, the Bentley Duke Star System is clearly inferior to another star system adjacent to Catalonia—Salamanca.

It’s important to know that right after Salamanca lies the capital location of the Naga Federation, the Cadiz Star Domain. For the Naga Federation, losing Salamanca is equivalent to pressing its chest directly onto the blade. And the Bentley Duke System, it is merely one link in an interstellar corridor. Though its position is significant, it’s only capable of threatening the Federation’s flank, allowing the attacking party more route choices.

Therefore, based on the report from the Ryan Battlefield, Leefer and the Western Alliance are both vying for control over the jump point between Salamanca and Catalonia. The main forces of both sides are nearly all tied down in this area.

Leefer’s sudden grab of the Bentley Duke Star System indeed surprised Margaret. However, she couldn’t understand why Fatty and Little Pi simultaneously jumped up and shouted ”Impossible.”

Military tactics are ever-changing, and in war, no possibility can be excluded!

Moreover, as clearly shown in the documents from the Military Department, Leefer’s forces are already sufficient to support him in defending the jump point adjacent to Salamanca while shifting his focus to the Bentley Duke System.

”Did your grandfather see the battle report?” Fatty couldn’t figure it out, asking, ”Did he say anything?”

”He saw it,” Margaret shook her head in confusion, saying, ”He didn’t...”

Margaret’s voice suddenly caught. She looked at Fatty and the bewildered little kid on the screen, an unfamiliar scene flashed through her mind.

She remembered when the confidential secretary handed this file to her grandfather, the old man’s eyes showed some bewilderment as well.

In twenty years, it was a look she had never seen in Hastings’ eyes.

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. Continuing to request monthly tickets.

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. (To be continued, for further developments please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters available, support the author, support legitimate reading!)