Sovereign

“The Federal Army entered Monpleitz after the remaining Junta garrison surrendered after a two-day heavy battle that saw the city cut off and encircled. Scenes of brutal atrocities filled the city, with Federal Orlish troops finding massacre sites of mass civilian executions, hanged deserters or ‘traitors’, and even female force labor units that the Junta used to ‘fortify the city’ using magic. Much of the city’s military leadership was reportedly found dead, while the appointed city mayor, reported to have organized the local police to remove internal dissidents before Orlish forces arrived by ‘systematic executions’ was found and shot dead by a Federalist Army soldier during his attempt of surrendering. President Rimpler has already condemned the actions of the Lieplatzan State, calling it an ‘affront to the honor of the revolution’ and he has reiterated that the State of Lieplatz ‘in no way represents the rest of the revolutionary movement’.”

- Wuringen Updates

“Heavy casualties in penal formations! Reports from the Orlish High Command showed that the twelve penal brigades that participated in the three-week battles to push back Federalist forces in the Free Confederation suffered casualties as high as ninety percent. While these penal brigades were composed of a plethora of social rejects, degenerates, and downright psychotic criminals, it was made up mostly of men arrested during the 2024 General Strike by the Royal Guard, and forced into the Armed Forces during the opening months of the civil war. Indeed, while Her Majesty’s reformist stance has been apparent to all of us, we must still remind ourselves of the truth. Orland’s matriarchy is still addicted to its disposable male penal manpower. Orlishmen can only wonder when Her Majesty’s government finally sticks true to its promises of equality and male liberation.”

- Liberty One Radio

+++

West Orland

November Palace

“Surprisingly restrained, aren’t they?”

Nia’s quip about the latest articles posted by pro-ORP publications made Amelie massage her temples. This was getting quite irritating. Slowly but surely, her actions must be losing her support in moderate men. Quite frankly, she shouldn’t be too surprised about all that. Her administration, which had just declared another war where men would once again venture into for “liberation”, and where they would probably die “for the common good” was…not the most well-received act of hers.

At least to Orland’s men.

For women, however, her approval ratings, alongside Prime Minister Jacqueline’s ratings, and the rest of the Heiss Government, had never been higher. From Eutstadt to Halia, women were now once again cheering their new adventure in detached jingoism. Liberating Lieplatz from the evil Junta that brutalized its women meant that she indeed looked like a goddamned savior for most women.

Amelie almost felt her cynicism rise from that. She was now so popular, that even ardent conservatives who opposed her reforms were now cheering for their Queen’s war adventure. She could almost imagine once more the days when the Great War started. So many female nobles celebrated it.

All saber rattling to “beat the Order Pact” “send the Empress her well-deserved end” and “liberate the oppressed peoples of Central Vaeyox”. She remembered it all too well, how they cheered their men for marching forward for them on a distant continent. For another adventure. An adventure where many of them didn’t return.

Yet he didn’t show me scorn for it. Adam and Albert left without many words back then. She found it odd how everyone else was excited and patriotic for the entire war. How her class watched and monitored the dance of international politics as if it was some sort of a sports game between old women and their bitter words. The failed conferences and talks.

She even once remembered laughing at how absurd the Empress sounded when she threatened to “march from Toldoi to Halia” and joking about how she would have to create a land bridge of dead men first before even having a chance. The same bloodthirst that she once had, was showing once more in Orland’s women.

All talk when none of them would even fight. She laughed at that. Wasn’t she the same? All her ideas of liberating Lieplatz when she wouldn’t even fight herself. How convenient of her to send this generation again once more into the fields of gunfire.

Meanwhile, I’m only losing men more and more…

She wondered what she could do. The conscription bill was still mired with obstructions in the Parliament. It was almost surreal how fast those UOP and Arcanist Party MPs voted yes to the war after adamantly voting no when it came to conscripting women. The ORP on the other hand, ever the abused party they were that Amelie sometimes wondered if they were perhaps masochistic, reluctantly voted yes, or abstained.

From what Jacqueline told her, the air in the ORP was now becoming more and more tense. They were feeling betrayed and lost in the coalition, that Amelie herself had now been barely talking to the Deputy Prime Minister. Still, they were keeping themselves in the alliance, barely criticizing the Queen or the Prime Minister, with much of their opposition to sending their fellow men to their deaths being their meek questioning about the questionable feasibility of the campaign, or their continual adherence to “focusing on the Federalists”.

“At this rate…there wouldn’t be a coalition…” Amelie said, and Nia fell silent. They were really just reading the latest reports about international developments, as Amelie decided to simply take a step back from micromanaging the Lieplatzan campaign for a day or two.

Regardless, they still had to read the reports from the OHC, as it was in their normal daily routine. Especially about the localized counter-offensive in the Free Confederation, which had been ongoing for the last few weeks. Gains were minimal, casualties were heavy, but not too egregious.

The Army used its penal formations. It simultaneously boiled Amelie’s blood but also killed it coldly. What could she do? Send in the normal formations and risk losing them? Her shame only rose further when she read that Liberty One Radio article earlier. About Orland’s addiction to its male penal manpower, in both using them in deadly cheap labor or deadlier suicidal military operations.

“Well…unfortunately, I don’t see any reforms that would get them back to our side for now…” Nia said. “They’re all dying in the military after all.”

“We could always offer them post-war benefits, but…I don’t want to copy my mother’s methodology…” Amelie shook her head. “At least, I’ll be upfront this time and not promise anything massive unless I can ensure it. And we’re still far from winning this war after all…”

“I’d say, it hasn’t even begun,” Nia said. “After Lieplatz, East and West Vaeyox are next, is it not?”

“Orlishmen from Hebei to the Flendrian lowlands…” Amelie muttered. “Once again meeting their old foes instead of their fellow brothers.”

“Well…we really have no choice but to pass that bill…” Nia said. “It’d look bad if we didn’t. Very bad.”

Amelie didn’t have a response yet, simply looking back at the files in front of her. Namely, a report about a captured town by the OAF. She didn’t want to look at anything related to the war, but the file caught her eye.

“They…they what?!”

Horror…it was all that Nia could see in Amelie’s eyes.

+++

West Lieplatz

South of Nordia

19th Tank Battalion

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Prul couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The lead tank of Bravo Company entered first, as lines of Lieplatzan soldiers passed through their convoys, being detained by the dismounted elements of his mechanized infantry. These soldiers didn’t hold the normal insignias of the regular Lieplatzan Army.

“Protection Corps, that’s their name, sir,” one of his underlings said over the radio, as he ordered his men to park his Löwe Command Vehicle to the side. “They have a different job around here than us, sir.”

“Different exactly how?” He avoided trying to look around, as his mechanized infantry became more and more agitated at the sight around them. He could see their fingers turning more itchy as they detained the Lieplatzans, in an almost disconcerting way.

In fact, even he was turning twitchy, as his eyes looked up. There were women hanged up high on poles and buildings, faces hidden with bags, with a hanged placard with them.

“I used magic when it was forbidden.”

“I’m a collaborator to the Orlish demons.”

“I served the Goddess.”

He tried to look away, but it kept coming.

“I spread false information.”

“I told them the positions of our brave defenders.”

“I wanted the monarchy back.”

He continued walking past his men, trying to reach the town’s center in order to see the commotion for himself. His men were turning more and more agitated. Many were already trying to ask for permission to shoot their captives. He could even see a group of them beat up a Lieplatzan officer, and he hadn’t even had the urge to intervene.

“Lieutenant Kluge!” He called over to another officer who was overlooking something. Lieutenant Kluge had a handkerchief on his nose, just as he looked at him. “What the hell happened here?”

“Sir…” his answer came out muted, as his eyes conveyed nothing but terror. Andrew knew that Lieutenant Kluge had been in the last stages of the Great War, and he had been with him since the Civil War started, as they fought for months in the Grand Duchy Campaign. A man of calmness even through the worst of the worst, that was how he knew this man. Yet, the Lieutenant was muted, silent.

Almost as if he was refusing to accept what his eyes had seen. “S-sir…” he said, as he raised his finger to point at something. Andrew turned his head into it, and his eyes…

In front of his mechanized infantry that was wordlessly inspecting the carnage in front of them, was a pile of dead bodies in front of the walls of what must have been an estate of the local aristocrat. Andrew almost wanted to vomit at the sight in front of him, as he looked around. There were so many of them, some even half burned.

In fact, he could see that many confiscated flamethrowers from the surrendering Lieplatzans.

“I…”

“Sir?”

“What…” he looked around, confusion clouding his vision. Why? Why? How could someone, no, how could they do something like this? This…this was nothing but a massacre of their own people. This…this wasn’t for the defense of their nation. Nay, this was a deliberate act of rage and hate.

He looked down at the corpses, pushing one of the soldiers under him, who also looked down on it in muted silence. Their faces…women, young girls, hell, there were some old men in the pile. They were all dead. Slowly, he could feel his blood boil more and more as he started counting the children on the pile.

Why? Why?

He looked back to one of his soldiers. He looked at his rank.

“Corporal…what are we seeing here?”

“It’s…it’s a crime against humanity, sir. I…why would they do this, sir?” the Corporal’s expression asked everything. “...Revenge?”

He looked back at the atrocity behind him. “Atrocities breed atrocities…” Andrew muttered, remembering how women treated them. It was why this civil war even started. It was why he and many men tried to fight back. But this…this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

“What do we do, sir?” Lieutenant Kluge asked. “I think…those men, they did this, sir.”

“Protection Corps, was that how they called themselves?” He asked.

“...Yes, sir. Special branch of the military. Established by General Richstoff. They…they said they were used to pacify internal resistance.”

“Not to fight for their nation, but their people,” Andrew laughed, almost insanely. “No wonder they were shit at fighting us. They’re only good at shooting defenseless civilians.”

“Sir?”

“Don’t feed them, don’t aid them, beat them if any of you will, we’ll march these animals back on foot to be detained behind our lines,” he ordered. “And if any of them resists, all of you have the orders to shoot them.”

The Lieutenant fell silent.

“Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Relay it to other officers.”

“I’ll be on it, sir.”

“Good.”

The Lieutenant turned around and disappeared. Andrew turned to one of the soldiers who was inspecting the pile of bodies.

“Corporal, bring out your cameras. Anything. The world needs to see this,” he said. “Relay that to everyone. Take as much evidence. We will need it.”