Meanwhile, in Nirvana.
No amount of words would've been sufficient to describe the seething look on the President's face. The news of the team's failure reached him; what followed wasn't a pretty sight.
Jadyn's loss didn't affect him much, but the thought of Phantom's defeat made him rethink his decision to engage with the werewolves.
"...what should we do now?" The President mumbled, burying his face into his hands.
Never in his entire life had he sounded as desperate and helpless as he was at that moment.
"We should have taken those runts seriously." Someone replied, "If only we had taken measures to keep them in check like the Vampires, none of this would be happening now!"
"What's done is done," Someone else chimed in, "Given the information we had, coupled with our resources at the time, I believe we made the right decision... even if it came to bite us in the ass later."
Everyone could only nod, as there was nothing left to say. For once, the cabinet members openly criticised themselves for not nipping the bud before it grew into a vicious trap for them.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Be as it may, how the hell did they manage to defeat someone like Phantom!? Does it make any sense? No, it doesn't!"
"Whether it makes sense or not, reality will remain the same. Phantom was defeated alongside the rest of the squad. Considering those words, it is safe to say this is our loss."
The entire cabinet went silent, and their usual boastfulness was nowhere to be seen. As much as they wanted to offer a solution to the President, no one had answers to his questions.
Phantom was the last weapon they had used. Heck, the cabinet was in a panic and vehemently opposed when the President mentioned using someone as valuable as Phantom to take care of such a trivial matter.
Calling Phantom to help was like using a nuclear bomb to eliminate a colony of ants. But the President persisted, and Phantom was called for help.
While clearly displeased, the cabinet members couldn't help but sigh in relief when Phantom arrived. They could finally put all the troubles behind them and focus on reaping the rewards Phantom was about to serve them on a silver platter. But that did not happen.
Never in a million years would they have thought even Phantom would die facing those werewolves. If someone as strong as Phantom could fail to defeat them, the undead had no chance at victory.
At the moment, they were like a turkey in a slaughterhouse, waiting to be butchered and feasted upon.
Maybe it was karma, finally catching up to them for the heinous things they had done to the humans. That was the only reason they could come up with what was happening to them.
"It's wise to admit our defeat and negotiate with the Lycans. We might have lost, but there's no denying we are much more advanced than them. We could offer them Gen-2 technology for not waging war against us."
Everyone keenly listened to what Jadyn's replacement had to say. It was mainly because no one else had anything productive to say about their crisis.
"Gen-2 tech might not be useful to us, but for the rest of the planet, it could be considered a gold mine." The man continued, "Bribing with technology might get us enough time to strike them down for good in future-"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible."
Suddenly someone got up to address the gloomy cabinet.
"First off, we are not in any condition to negotiate. Why would someone as strong as them negotiate with us when victory is within their grasp?" The blue-haired child announced.
The man only resembled a kid but was, in fact, older than half of the cabinet members present there. Having been converted at a young age, he couldn't do much about his child-like appearance.
"Let's imagine ourselves in their shoes. If we could take everything the vampires own and have to offer, would we take a little fraction of it?"
Silent whispering sounds filled the cabinet. What the 'kid' articulated made sense. By this point, the Lycans would be oozing with confidence. It wouldn't matter what the undead offered them. As long as it wasn't everything, the werewolves will inevitably attack them.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"That said, we still have a shot at victory. As a precaution, Mr Jadyn had installed a receiver in the science division before leaving for Lycania."
He continued, "The beacon had one purpose- To notify us when the Corpsification bomb went off. As you can guess, the beacon never went off."
Suddenly the gloomy expression on the undead's faces dissipated, replaced by hope as they understood what Kishor was hinting towards.
"To spell it out for those who didn't get it," The child continued, crossing his hands in front of his chest, "Those dogs are still scared of Corpsification gas. Defeating those runts should be easy as long as we can employ the gas into our battle plans."
To date, the undead had always employed corpsification gas offensively. But what Jadyn's assistant suggested made the utmost sense. If they managed to cover the entire nation with the smoke, no mortal being would dare approach them.
However, there was a slight problem.
"I'm afraid you're forgetting something, Kishor." The President sighed, "They already have experience dealing with the gas. If they didn't, then we wouldn't have lost Contingency."
At the President's words, Kishor only smiled. He was well aware of the events that followed in Contingency.
"I agree with your point, Mr President. However, considering both events, it's safe to say they need time to equip before countering the gas. As for the bomb, the Lycans stopped its detonation because they were unprepared."
With gleaming eyes, the President stood up. Finally, a ray of hope had graced them. Even if it wasn't a strategy for triumph, it was enough to ensure their survival for some time. They could devise ways to defeat the enemy if they had time.
"I want every unit to work on the double!" The President roared, "Develop as much Corpsification gas as we can hold. We mustn't leave any table unturned in the battle for our existence!"