Darkstone Code

"Please, sit anywhere..."

Upon entering Mr. Wardrick's study, this remarkably charismatic gentleman greeted Lynch with great enthusiasm.

He walked over to the bar, pulled out a bottle of fine wine that had been aged for years, and asked, "Would you like some? Or perhaps juice, or coffee?"

"Sure!" Lynch replied casually, comfortably seated on the sofa, aware that he held some weight in Mr. Wardrick's eyes now.

But only some, not profound weight.

If it were in the past, this gentleman might not have offered him anything to drink, or even mentioned it, directly diving into the topics he wished to discuss and then showing him out.

But now, not only does he ask Lynch if he wants something to drink, he even pours it himself and brings it over. This represents change, the kind of change everyone pursues — a shift in status.

Mr. Wardrick walked over with two glasses of wine and sat down to Lynch's right, handing him one of the glasses, "The reports and comments about you in the newspapers these days are spreading like wildfire."

In the Federation, Bail Federal, the society and public opinion inherently function as a colossal political and capitalist beast fighting arena, where every perplexing matter is essentially fueled by political and capitalist forces.

Ideally, during the current known "honeymoon period" between the Federation and Gafura, there shouldn't be frequent news like "Gafura will surely fail" appearing in newspapers and media, as it would definitely impact the diplomatic relations between the two sides.

Yet, curiously, the Federation News Management Office hadn't enforced any stringent regulations on the media content, and frequent reports have evoked a curious and peculiar feeling, as if someone is secretly pushing these narratives.

Some who are beyond the reach of upper-level information but quite perceptive have noticed this, while higher-level politicians or capitalists with broader visions are likely aware of why public opinion enthusiastically advocates Gafura's inevitable failure.

This is because a naval battle may erupt at any time. If it does and results in a victory, the Federation, as the victor, will undoubtedly not hide Gafura's "defeat," but rather propagate the truth in various ways.

The news of the Gafura's invincible Royal Navy losing to the Federation Navy in a naval battle will have a major impact on global order, and a positive one at that.

Essentially, people don't want anyone to dominate them, so if someone can change the current international military power dynamics, it certainly would be a good thing.

Even better, the victor over Gafura is the unaggressive and neutral Bail Federal...

Mr. Wardrick invited Lynch over to discuss these matters.

"Will we win?" He raised his glass to Lynch's and took a sip.

Lynch remained particularly relaxed in the face of this otherwise heavy topic, "Of course, we have no reason to lose."

"But Gafura's Royal Navy has never suffered defeat..." Mr. Wardrick carefully chose his words, "...never suffered great defeat, they possess the world's most renowned navy."

Lynch nonchalantly shrugged, placing his glass on the coffee table, "Mr. Wardrick, perhaps Gafura's Royal Navy is indeed mighty, and maybe we truly aren't their match, but we equally have no reason to lose."

"The conclusion I draw is not blindly said, but has reasons."

Mr. Wardrick attentively assumed a listening posture and expression, straightened his seated position, looking genuinely earnest.

"For the Gafura people, they merely wish to test our naval combat strength, while teaching a 'disobedient follower' a lesson. They haven't considered launching a genuine war against us; all this serves merely to satisfy these purposes."

"Show of force and staking claims, that's all. Perhaps in their national strategy, they haven't overly emphasized this naval battle, though this doesn't mean they ignore it."

"However, Mr. Wardrick, this naval battle, seemingly certain victory for the Gafura and not heavily emphasized, is of utmost priority to us."

"Engaging the world's strongest navy allows us to identify the strengths and shortcomings in our naval tactics and execution capabilities, recognize any design flaws in our warships, and let our soldiers experience the atmosphere of war."

"Moreover, without exaggeration, this naval battle, not so crucial to Gafura, significantly affects the Federation's national destiny. We've made extensive meticulous arrangements..." Lynch paused at this point.

He recalled a casual chat with Mr. Truman about some matters, including the Navy's preparedness for battle, primarily psychological preparedness.

After all, confronting the world's strongest navy brings more psychological pressure; it's not merely moving mountains, as the mountains don't respond or harm you regardless of your actions.

This time, facing the world's strongest, you fire, and they return fire, and their soldiers have more experience, stronger psychological quality in combat, sometimes influencing the course of a war.

Especially in naval warfare!

You can retreat in a land battle, but on the vast ocean, there's nowhere to run if you can't win. So once disadvantaged, the soldiers' mental stress will surge.

Either rally courage for a desperate counterattack, thinking either way leads to death, dragging one or two to hell together.

Or possibly, what follows is complete emotional collapse.

They'll run into the ship's cabin, hide in dark corners, holding dog tags, necklaces, or the Bible, praying desperately to survive.

Mr. Truman assured Lynch not to worry about it. Recently, aside from active combat readiness, the Navy has been providing psychological counseling, issuing death orders from the Navy.

Even if it means ramming, sink every Gafura ship with ours if needed; only victory is allowed, not defeat.

As for those whose mental state may not meet the standards, adjustments have been made in time, transferring them to ships not participating in this naval battle.

Thus, in this naval battle, the Federation will surely triumph!

Lynch's confident stance prompted Mr. Wardrick to nod repeatedly, endorsing Lynch's perspective. By the end, he seemed brimming with confidence about the upcoming naval battle.

"Come to think of it..." He chuckled twice while talking, "The chaos in Amelia is perfectly timed!"

He glanced at Lynch with significant meaning, "Gafura invested considerable interests and effort in Amelia. Now that chaos has erupted over there, it diverted Gafura's attention, reducing their focus on this naval battle."

What does this mean?

Lynch observed Mr. Wardrick unmovedly, "Mr. Wardrick seems well-versed on the Amelia situation; I read some reports in the newspapers about their harsh and cruel rule."

Mr. Wardrick sighed heavily, seemingly empathetic, "This is the most terrifying aspect of monarchy, where power surpasses the people, allowing the ruler to deal with his subjects based on personal whims. If the ruler is a tyrant, it would be a nightmare for ordinary people living there."

Lynch scrutinized Mr. Wardrick's expression, his gaze, and asked, "Do you have business in Amelia?"

Mr. Wardrick shook his head, "Gafura people are particularly exclusive. Their military might elevates themselves, considering even Federations as bumpkins and inferior."

"They won't let foreign merchants do good business; what they allow foreigners to do are low-return businesses, possibly fraught with issues."

Lynch appeared notably approving, nodding, "I thought Mr. Wardrick was conducting business over in Amelia!"

"No!" Mr. Wardrick answered emphatically.

This was a small probe between them; Amelia's chaos seemed coincidentally timed, erupting just as naval warfare approached, swiftly drawing Gafura's focus.

This instinctively led Mr. Wardrick to believe the Federation must have had a hand, supporting the eruption of this chaos.

Indeed, Mr. Wardrick himself backed the resistance organizations, enjoying causing others trouble and seeing the arrogant Gafura people unable to cope with issues.

Perhaps there were no definitive outcomes from their probing, but they gained a relative understanding of each other, inferring "the person opposite definitely meddled in the Amelia chaos."

Mr. Wardrick's probes seemed abrupt, somewhat unwise, yet he was strategically signaling something.

Lynch, deeply involved in a series of imminent events, gave Mr. Wardrick the impression that Lynch is a key planner.

Be it Nagariel's national development or potential interests in the Amelia Region, these are sufficient to stir Mr. Wardrick, a major capitalist of his level.

In the former, developing a nation engenders enormous economic return, but also immense danger and risk. Even with Mr. Wardrick and his backing consortium, there's no avoiding threats. He must unite individuals to distribute the risk, reducing his own dangers.

The latter requires not merely capital or semi-official strength but also official backing to safeguard potential business interests starting there.

Lynch's deep engagement broadcasts a signal, preparing for certain future matters, indicating he is "one of us," eliminating the effort to become "one of us" later.