Across Sector 1 to Sector 9, the Capital Army remained on full alert.

Radar stations operated without rest while detection towers continuously scanned the wilderness surrounding every sector. Drones flew through ruined cities, forests, highways, and mountain regions searching for traces of the Embers. Military checkpoints were reinforced one after another, and entire roads were blocked using armored barricades and automated cannons.

The Capital clearly believed the next attack would happen soon.

After losing six sectors so quickly, nobody dared underestimate the Embers anymore.

Heavy mechs stood near defensive walls with pilots waiting inside their cockpits for emergency deployment. Missile launch systems remained active day and night. Fighter aircraft moved constantly across the skies above Libria, their engine sounds echoing over cities that had already become tense from the war.

Yet despite all the preparation, the expected attacks never came.

Scouting teams occasionally discovered abandoned temporary camps hidden deep inside forests or underground tunnels. The Rebels had clearly stayed there recently. There were still cold campfires, empty food containers, battery packs, damaged machine parts, and vehicle tracks leading deeper into the wilderness.

But every camp had already been abandoned before the army arrived.

Hours passed like this.

By the time night covered Libria again, the atmosphere inside Capital Headquarters had become increasingly uncomfortable.

The Commander stood in front of a massive tactical screen showing the remaining sectors under Capital control. Different reports continuously appeared beside the map, but none of them contained anything useful.

"What’s happening?" he finally asked.

Several communication officers quickly responded.

"Sir, there’s still no sign of organized Rebel movement."

"We also haven’t received reports of attacks on any remaining sectors."

The Commander stared at the map silently.

That was exactly the problem.

The Embers had been advancing aggressively until now. Ember’s group captured sectors rapidly, disrupted supply routes, destroyed military checkpoints, and openly challenged the Capital in battle. Someone like them should have continued pressing forward before the army fully stabilized.

Instead, the Rebels suddenly vanished.

The Commander folded his arms while thinking carefully.

Something about this situation felt wrong to him.

At first he suspected the Embers were regrouping after several intense battles. But after half a day passed without any meaningful activity, another possibility slowly entered his mind.

Could they be preparing something larger?

The Commander disliked where his thoughts were going.

The Rebels shouldn’t possess weapons on the level of nuclear technology. Even most sectors under the Capital lacked authorization for such weapons.

But Embers had already shattered too many expectations.

Flying combat mechs.

Remote warfare systems.

Impossible energy weapons.

The Commander no longer felt comfortable assuming anything was beyond the Rebels anymore.

"Run another thermal scan across the wilderness," he ordered. "I want every abnormal heat source identified."

Operators immediately began processing long-range scans again.

Several minutes later, updated reports arrived.

"Most heat signatures belong to wild beasts moving through the forests."

"No large military movement detected."

"We also haven’t found any Rebel aircraft."

The Commander remained silent after hearing that.

Around the borders of every sector, Capital soldiers continued waiting for enemies that never appeared. Patrol aircraft flew through the skies while mech pilots remained inside their units for hours at a time.

Nothing happened.

The Commander requested another full update.

"Sector 1?"

"No movement detected, sir."

"Sector 2?"

"Still clear."

"Sector 3?"

"Negative."

The same answers continued all the way to Sector 9.

The Commander slowly looked back at the tactical map.

"Where exactly did you people disappear to..." he muttered quietly.

Outside the military, rumors spread quickly throughout Libria.

Some civilians believed the Embers had become afraid after seeing the Capital Army fully mobilize.

Others thought Embers was trying to establish a separate nation using the captured sectors.

Even among soldiers, theories spread constantly. Nobody understood why the Rebels suddenly stopped moving after gaining such momentum.

Late that night, an urgent letter arrived directly at the Commander’s desk.

The moment he saw the seal pressed onto the envelope, his expression changed slightly.

The King’s seal.

Nearby officers immediately lowered their heads instinctively.

The Commander opened the envelope carefully and began reading the contents inside. His face remained mostly calm, but one of the officers noticed his hand tremble slightly near the end.

Only for a moment.

After folding the letter again, the Commander looked toward several trusted officers nearby.

"You three. Come with me."

Nobody questioned the order.

The Commander led them through restricted underground corridors beneath Capital Headquarters. Most military personnel didn’t even know these passageways existed.

Eventually they arrived before what looked like an ordinary metallic wall.

The Commander placed his hand against a hidden scanner built into the surface. After several seconds, part of the wall slowly slid open and revealed a concealed elevator behind it.

The officers silently followed him inside.

As the elevator descended, the Commander removed a small silver key hanging from a chain around his neck. Then he shook the envelope slightly until another identical key slid into his palm.

One of the officers quietly inhaled after seeing it.

That second key came directly from the King himself.

Nobody spoke for the rest of the descent.

The elevator continued moving downward for so long that it no longer felt like they were still beneath the Capital.

When the doors finally opened, they stepped into a sealed underground chamber none of them had ever seen before.

The room was cold and completely silent except for the low mechanical hum coming from the walls.

Near the center floated a small spherical robot with a glowing red eye.

The machine scanned everyone immediately.

A few seconds later, massive security doors farther inside the chamber unlocked one after another.

The Commander handed the two silver keys to two separate officers.

Both men looked pale now.

"Lock targeting protocols on Sector 10 through Sector 15," the Commander ordered.

The underground AI system immediately began processing the command. Red warning lights slowly illuminated across the chamber while multiple launch systems activated somewhere far below them.

One of the officers holding a key finally spoke in a nervous voice.

"Sir... are we really using them?"

The Commander remained expressionless.

"Yes."

His voice stayed calm, almost emotionless.

"You both know the protocol already."

He looked toward the activation systems ahead of them.

"By order of the King, Sector 10 through Sector 15 will be eliminated using nuclear weapons."

Neither officer responded immediately.

After several seconds, the Commander slowly raised his hand in salute.

"For the First Citizen."

"For Libria."

"For the Land of Freedom."

The two officers saluted back automatically.

"For the Land of Freedom."

"For justice."

Later that night, six nuclear explosions lit up the skies across Libria.

Sector 10 disappeared first.

Then Sector 11.

Sector 12.

Sector 13.

Sector 14.

Sector 15.

The explosions were visible even from neighboring sectors hundreds of kilometers away. Giant mushroom clouds rose into the sky while shockwaves spread across nearby regions. Sector 5 and Sector 9 suffered heavily from the aftermath as electromagnetic pulses disabled systems and shattered buildings near the outer districts.

People inside underground shelters felt the ground trembling beneath them while distant windows cracked from the pressure waves.

All electronic items were completely disabled in a second.

Many civilians didn’t even understand what had happened at first.

Only that several entire sectors were suddenly gone.

Hours later, official Capital broadcasts appeared across television systems throughout Libria.

The screen showed distant footage of burning mushroom clouds rising above ruined landscapes.

Then a news anchor calmly began speaking.

"The terrorist-controlled territories occupying Sector 10 through Sector 15 have been successfully eliminated under the grace of the First Citizen."

The woman smiled professionally toward the camera.

"The Land of Freedom shines brighter than an Ember."

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Inside Capital Headquarters, several officers were still watching the footage of the nuclear explosions repeatedly.

The mushroom clouds rising across the destroyed sectors filled the giant screens while news broadcasts continued praising the First Citizen.

Then suddenly—

A weak communication signal appeared on one of the side consoles.

"Sir, we found the Embers... zzzzt... shhhh... w-we found the Embers..."

The voice was heavily distorted.

One of the communication operators quickly enlarged the signal output and redirected it toward the main audio system.

Static filled the room.

"The Embers are in— shhhhh— AAAAH—"

The transmission shook violently as if the sender was running or fighting while speaking.

At that moment, the Commander walked back into the room.

"What’s happening?"

One officer immediately replied.

"We intercepted a weak emergency signal, sir."

The Commander stepped closer.

The broken voice continued through the speakers.

"Th-they’re here... the Embers are inside—"

Then came several gunshots.

Someone screamed.

The communication abruptly cut off.

Silence filled the room for a few seconds.

The Commander immediately turned toward the operators.

"Trace the signal origin, That’s where the Embers are."

The officers quickly began checking the communication route.

One of them looked increasingly nervous while staring at the monitor.

The Commander noticed his expression immediately.

"Well?"

The operator swallowed.

"S-sir..."

"Speak clearly."

"The signal origin is still active."

"Good," the Commander said impatiently. "Then where are the Embers?"

The operator hesitated for another second before finally answering.

"The signal came from inside the Capital, sir."

The entire room became quiet.

Several officers looked at each other in disbelief.

The Commander slowly turned toward the giant map displayed across the headquarters wall.

For the first time since the war began, he felt something cold run down his spine.

While the Capital celebrated victory...

The Embers had somehow entered the Capital itself.