Sovereign

“My address to the Confederal Assembly on this day isn’t a message seeking peace. No, I am here to ask you all, will you follow the Armed Forces of the Confederacy to its glorious fate?! The truth has been laid bare to all of you! None of you, none in this Assembly have a right to speak of peace, of de-escalation, of withdrawal, of negotiations, until the Mandate of Nations and our corrupt Princess surrenders to our terms! Our terms are just, righteous, and the only way for us men to gain the rights we ask for. What say any of you, that to sacrifice millions more men will only put us in a worse position? Fools! We have always been in the worst position! We have always been cornered with our backs against the wall! And we have to accept that the only way out of that corner is through blood and guts, just as we always did. This Assembly serves the revolution of men, the righteous fury of all our dead and living brothers, who ask for their rights, not for us to fall to the false seductions of women. They offer no peace! They want us to stand down so they may put us down much easier! And anyone who advocates for us to reverse our policy of global revolution is a traitor to the cause!”

- Yelizarov Valeryevich, leader of the “Forward Party” in the Confederal Assembly of Larissa.

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United Confederation of Pez

Brewich

March 30, 2025

Amelie had no choice.

The time to end this grand charade was coming closer and closer. Her intelligence network had been clear—the CFN buildup remained unending. On Central Vaeyox, the lull in the fighting was now broken with more brigades of the Confederacy flooding in on the small nations desperately clinging to their survival.

Up north, Princess Anastasia faces thousands more tanks building up on her already shaky defenses. Her reports had never actually been this worrying. Apparently, the Confederacy truly had almost all of the stockpiles of the Order Pact in terms of its tank and air fleet. And now…there were estimates that eight thousand tanks were positioned on all fronts from the Confederacy alone.

In Poznek, estimates now ranged from two thousand to three thousand tanks primed and ready for the assault. Of course…not all of them would be charging in, but that meant that the Confederacy would have endless reserves to throw at them. The scale of mobilization of the Confederacy had been astounding.

In the Republic of Hebei, reports have also shown that at least nine armored brigades of the Confederacy had crossed the Hebeian border, now driving straight to the frontlines to aid the Republic in subjugating Empress Xue…who now had less than a thousand tanks in her frontline facing the Republic.

Worse of all…was central Vaeyox. The Confederacy had already annexed four nations, all former members of the Order Pact, under its wing, and they would soon dive down their saver on the last three nations holding out in Central Vaeyox. Everyone knew that once that part of their conquest was done, they would soon swiftly swing into Southern Vaeyox to encircle the Empire of Hebei.

In West Vaeyox, the situation remained the same. Constania and Latia were still holding out, but none could support them yet. Unless Amelie rerouted all of her expeditionary armies holding out in the Pieran Continent to support “Orlish-aligned nations” there, but they were not even fifty-thousand strong at most.

Thus, Amelie had now lost all her patience. All these bickerings. All this infighting. All these insults to civilization as the Great Powers and the MN member states continued bickering over the idea of defending themselves when they were facing a horde of iron that would soon descend on them all.

She despaired at the idea of losing Vaeyox, all of continental Vaeyox, to the CFN. That would be the end of the Mandate of Nations. Even if she won the Civil War in Opellia… complete domination of continental Vaeyox by the Confederacy would be a disaster she refused to accept. She already heard how the Confederacy treated women in retribution.

She already heard how the new party that took control of their government turned out even more extreme. She knew how their new leader would surely knock down all the people under him with his iron boots. Thus…to let an entire continent fall due to the ineptitude of the Mandate of Nations.

Amelie wouldn’t have it.

She walked up to the podium. The chaos of the General Assembly continued, as she watched delegates and leaders bicker and argue down below. Some over their grievances. Some over the idea of fighting side-by-side with their rivals. Some over their desire not to be dragged into the war (while ironically asking for protection from Orland).

Amelie cleared her throat.

“Ladies,” she started as the General Assembly fell quiet, finally heeding her presence. “Honorable delegates from all member states of the Mandate of Nations. I have come forth, on this podium, today, at last, to speak…as the deadlock of the Mandate of Nations Defense Pact Resolution…remains in session, after weeks of continued CFN buildup on the borders of our sisterly nations. As this…deadlock…takes away energy from what we must all do.”

Amelie frowned, now…

Now was the time to test it. To unleash her fury.

“Are you all fools?!” She shouted. The General Assembly fell even more quiet, as delegates and leaders turned to her, utterly offended by how she spoke. “I have come here and waited, and waited, and waited, all while the enemy prepares their weapons across the borders, as we catfight like fools on these grounds whether or not we will be lambs to the slaughter or wolves that will fight back. I ask you all, what in the Goddess’ name are we doing here?!

“Our people expect upon us, decisiveness. To act in their defense. In their safety. In their security. So that their homelands may not burn in the fires of war. Yet we’re all fighting ourselves, divided, unfocused, blind. At this rate, why even fight the CFN? We might as well fold when their armor mows us down. What are you lot going to do now, that our armies are fractured, unmobilized, unprepared, untrained, uncoordinated, while our enemies build up, united, mobilized, prepared, trained, and coordinated? What of our boys on the ground that we shall throw into the meat grinder with these conditions? We might as well just fold then—”

“Enough! How dare you propose we fold?!”

“Silence yourself! You voted against the Defense Pact you moron! All because you demand the throne of your neighboring Kingdom. What are you doing in this conference then? How will you demand her throne if the continent falls?! Where will your throne be?”

That certain monarch from that unimportant country merely looked at Amelie with a piercing glare, but she didn’t stand back.

“As we bicker here,” Amelie raised a bunch of documents, all from her intelligence agencies. “As we fight like foolish cats in our petty disputes. As we fight each other over whether we have the guts or not, the CFN is mobilizing ten thousand tanks and an estimated four million men right now on the borders of MN member states. As we bicker here, you’re all staring at the guns of armies driven with the desire to burn everything down. I should not even be out here caring for you fools! Orland can win in Opellia alone! My navy will keep them off from the high seas, and I can isolate all of you once you all fall under the thumb of the Confederacy. But I am here!

Amelie breathed in. “I am here, asking you, for unity. For preparations. For collective defense. And yet you all laugh at me. Laugh at my allies. Call us nothing but controlling madwomen hell-bent on enforcing our hegemony. Well, I daresay I care not about my nation’s hegemony. I care for this damned world and at stopping a force that’ll step upon the lives of billions of innocent citizens if they ever win. But you’re all going to just let them do just that. What am I supposed to do? What is Orland supposed to do? What is the Ivory Alliance supposed to do? If you won’t sign this pact, just as you won’t have an obligation to defend us, then my nation will have no obligation to defend you.

“Thus, would you hold out? Would you be able to fight a superpower mobilized for months when you yourself cannot even decide whether or not you still have the guts to arm your young men after the entire fiasco of last year? None of us even have a unified command structure yet. What of East Vaeyox, do any of you know how you’ll coordinate your armies in your defense once the CFN knocks on the door? Does Central Vaeyox have even any form of organization? What of the Pieran Continent? You are all still barging into my office, asking for military assistance from your endless insurgencies, when my nation has descended into civil war!

“What farce are we in? What fight are we going to fight? When are we to decide what to do, now, or when everything has fallen apart?! We have already delayed enough. Delayed so much that the enemy is on the final preparations of assault while we have not even decided whether we are allies or not! Ladies, look at your own borders. Do you really think that looking away, and denying what is in front of you will save you? Have we not learned enough since this crisis started? Denial, denial, that’s where we’re all good at, and that, I say, shall be our downfall.

“Many of you have even made bets that the CFN will surely ‘not attack you’. ‘Surely, only Poznek, then Lombardia, then Constania, then Latia, and all the nations that the Confederacy invaded will be attacked, but not us’. Oh surely, surely. Of course, they won’t today, just as they surely didn’t invade Lombardia after they were done in Poznek. These men say it themselves, global revolution. Has it not been clear enough, that their ideology demands your dismantlement, and you would gladly let them do it while doing nothing?

“I apologize for my rudeness, but I believe that this situation has gone beyond politeness, dear honorable members of this organization. I thus have one question to ask you all. Will the Mandate of Nations fight, or will we fold? Will we deny, or will we accept and act? Will we be united, or will we be divided? It is up to you.”

The General Assembly fell silent…until roars came from the delegates. Instead of scathing remarks against her, the pro-war nations descended into a chorus of affirmations. “Unity!” they shouted. “Unit!” they shouted more. The fence-sitters remained silent until they too joined in on the wave. Delegates from the Ivory Alliance began clapping in agreement with her, especially the Gallians and the Lorathians.

All while the remaining fence-sitters fell more into quietness. Amelie knew that going forward, they’d have no choice. Either they would be in this mess and they would fight together with the Mandate of Nations, or they would face the CFN alone.

She moved back from the podium, as the sounds of those who supported her filled the room.

Goddess damn it, if I had known that all I need is to act like a raving dictator in front to get them…

She sighed.

I should have done that sooner.