19 Tension Rises
The tension between the nations was rising and Drachma left no chance of harming Amestris every time they got a chance. They recently seized control over a village territory towards the south of Amestris and Führer Bradly seemed to have enough.
Mira massaged her forehead as she read the report.
'Drachma is planning to attack the southeast of Briggs. Stay vigilant.'
The letter read and it gave Mira a severe headache. She was new to this post and she had never fought on the border. Fighting against Drachman soldiers was not new to her but fighting at the border— was a first. Her vision of peace was blown away when she received this letter the other day and it seemed that the rest of the nations were in a similar condition.
War was not too far away.
'If a war did break out, the first place to tank a hit will be Briggs.' Mira stared at a picture of her family. 'I hope that I can survive through this— mom, dad.'
Olivier Mira Armstrong was known as the 'Ice Queen'— the strongest, bravest and the smartest woman of Amestris. And with that title came a lot of responsibilities— maintaining your demeanour and persona was part of it.
She acted tough and cold so that the men in the military didn't look down on her. Her strict personality made others fear and respect her and she knew that she had to maintain her strict persona to survive in this field.
She was the first woman ever to climb to the rank of Major General in the military. Most of the men didn't care that she was a woman with a high authority but there were a few that felt insecure and tried to harm her by spreading rumours to ruin her image. She had to adopt a strict persona to avoid such an issue. And now this persona— this mask was starting to become an actual part of her. She feared that her true personality would change into that of a cold, emotionless woman within a few years. She didn't want that but there was not much that she could do about it.
"I need a break."
__________
__________
After his fight with Buccaneer, he had written an entire thesis in his head about mass conversion of elements and their uses in battles. He had many ideas about the applications of mass conversion in the field of new alchemy and how he could use it to find new elements.
"Maybe I can start some sort of alchemy guild or association for the further development of alchemy." He mumbled remembering his grandfather's dream of making alchemy reach heights that was never achieved before.
He smiled. 'That is a dream that gramps would be proud of. After the war… I will think about it.'
He thought yet frowned as he realised that the state will never give an unknown alchemist the authority to legally start an association— at least not without any feats that prove his allegiance to the state.
'Joining the state is not worth it. I will have to think of something else.' He thought. 'But for now, I should go to the cafeteria.'
Burne felt hungry as he neglected breakfast and according to the military's rule— if you are not on time, you miss food.
And he had missed breakfast because of being locked up in his room, doing research. So, he had to fetch food from the cafeteria.
He walked to the canteen which was next to the training hall. He felt that he has been tired lately due to staying awake too late and being woken very early by the noise of sword fights. As he reached the canteen, he saw Buccaneer sitting on one of the tables and enjoying his food.
He walked towards the lunch-lady who gave him a bowl of soup with rice and bread. Burne found the combo weird but he couldn't complain as it was his fault for missing breakfast.
After taking the plate, he walked towards Buccaneer. No matter if the man hated him, Burne still showed respect. Him sitting at another table when the guy was eating alone felt rude to Burne so he went to join Buccaneer.
"May I sit?" He asked Buccaneer who raised an eyebrow at first but shrugged as he saw the platter in Burne's hands.
"I didn't expect you to be the type to miss breakfast." Burne said which made Buccaneer shake his head.
"I didn't. I was guarding the border since dawn— and so I couldn't eat breakfast." He said as he swallowed the milk.
Burne knew that the higher-ranked members took a position in the watch once a week.
Burne was a little surprised that Buccaneer didn't dismiss him. But what he didn't know was that Buccaneer didn't like his cocky attitude— however he was not a sore loser. After his defeat to Burne, he begrudgingly agreed that Burne was a stronger fighter and he respected strong people. But as he found Burne prideful, he wasn't going to voice his thoughts.
"So how is the situation?" Burne asked, making Buccaneer raise an eyebrow.
"You are still not out of suspicion." Buccaneer said. "So do you think I am going to give you a report?"
Burne sighed internally as he realised that what Buccaneer said was true . But his next words surprised Burne.
"It's rough. There have been reports that some people were seen trying to cross the border— they were immediately shot down." Buccaneer frowned. "Drachma is playing with the idea of a treaty at this point. And if they make any big move, it will be a war."
'It is worse than I expected.' Burne thought. "What are the chances of Amestris winning if a war does break out?"
The question made Buccaneer smirk. "Ninety percent. We have the high ground but we don't plan to attack them first. However, if they decide to fight us... they will have to cross the frozen Dally lake and also get past the border before even reaching close to the fortress. By that time more than half of them will be gunned down."
"What if they have alchemists with them?" Burne asked, worried as Briggs too had alchemists.
"Even if they did, we are more than capable of dealing with them. But even they will need an excessive amount of effort to cross the border and if needed… We can call the state alchemist. The only possible way that an alchemist can trouble is if they follow an ancient form of alchemy… then it will be difficult."
As Buccaneer finished eating his food, he looked at Burne. "And before I forget, Major General said that you are allowed to go out of the fortress but you will have to remain within Briggs territory and you will be hunted down if you even make a move towards the Border. There will be at least four high ranking soldiers, keeping a watch over you."
Burne was ecstatic hearing that. While the rooftop helped him relax, he still wanted freedom.
"Thank you." He said as Buccaneer nodded before making his way out of the Cafeteria.
__________
__________
In another part of Amestris, Envy stood bowing in front of their father.
"I heard Drachma is making a move." He said.
Envy nodded. "Yes, Father. There is not much we can do about it… the war between Amestris and Drachma will be breaking out soon— in less than two weeks."
Father was sitting emotionlessly on the throne as he looked at envy.
"Take Lust with you and make sure that Xing and Aerugo don't join this war. As for Creta, they will not join… I have made sure that they don't." Father said but Envy didn't dare ask him about his plans for Creta.
"How is the circle progressing?" He asked.
"It is progressing faster than expected. Sloth finally found some motivation." Envy said and that made father put on a small smile.
"The great war will not begin before ten years, but we can gather some souls from the civil wars." He said. "Now go my child, and do not fail. I accept no failure."
"Understood… Father."
__________________________________________________________________________
[A/N: Unedited chapter.
So like always, leave paragraph comments next to errors and mistakes for me to fix them later.]
[Discord Link: https://discord.gg/DXwDzxSAED]
