Chapter 61 This is a Huge Problem

The capital of the Jiepeng Empire, Kyoto, has suffered a massive military attack!

This news swept across the Jiepeng Empire, across the continent of Arthur, and across the entire world in an extremely short span of time.

People across the entire planet were struck speechless by the news.

That was, after all, one of the most prosperous, wealthiest, most urbanized, and supposedly best-ordered metropolises in the world. One must harbor a tremendous amount of hatred toward this country and this city to inflict such a fatal blow upon it!

Who on earth could it be?

Many people instinctively cast their gazes toward that ancient and mysterious country standing in the east of the Earth, which shared an indelible, generations-old blood feud with Jiepeng.

Lately, almost the eyes of the entire world had been attracted by this ancient nation. They had launched strikes across the board in both the southwest and northwest directions, launching thunderous attacks against the East Wu Gu Chate terrorist organization both within and outside their borders. Thrown into utter chaos and suffering heavy losses, the East Wu organization had been forced to withdraw from the country entirely.

However, the matter did not end there. That country, which believed in the doctrine of the Mean, had always advocated peaceful coexistence, consistently practiced keeping a low profile, and had never publicly conducted cross-border operations, had actually made up its mind to the utmost degree this time, openly deploying special forces to carry out cross-border combat.

No one knew what kind of interests they had offered as a price, but strangely enough, the neighboring countries cooperated extraordinarily well. Several nations within the framework of the "Songhu Cooperation Organization" even provided a significant amount of logistical support.

Currently, the one-sided battle was in full swing. Numerous backbone members of the East Wu Gu Chate organization had been arrested or shot, and its members were fleeing in all directions. The entire organization had fallen apart, not far from complete annihilation.

Many people knew that the Eastern Airlines Flight 740 incident, along with a recent series of terrorist attacks targeting civilians, had thoroughly enraged the newly inaugurated leader. Although no country had obtained an official, detailed public report regarding the Flight 740 incident, the truth behind the event was actually quite clear to the major intelligence-gathering powers.

The series of unexpectedly drastic military actions was merely an inevitable act of retaliation.

Could this latest attack on Kyoto, then, be part of their revenge?

After all, the Jiepeng Empire's military intelligence system had been deeply involved in the disappearance of the Eastern Airlines flight and the subsequent series of terrorist attacks—a point that was hardly a secret among the upper echelons of various nations...

***

Two thousand kilometers away from Kyoto, in Hanjing, the capital of the Republic facing Jiepeng across the sea, inside the massive underground military office located in the western suburbs, Lei Tiangang pressed a hand to his forehead and groaned with a bitter laugh.

"These little bastards never give anyone peace of mind..."

Although before departure, during the pre-battle deployment, the order he personally issued was originally one of "unrestricted destruction," Lei Tiangang could never have imagined that these brutes would stir up such a colossal commotion merely two days after landing in Jiepeng.

Flooding Kyoto, attacking the Jiepeng military, and destroying the Jiepeng Military Intelligence Headquarters!

What kind of heaven-defying troublemakers could pull off something like this?!

"Ring, ring, ring..." The phone rang. The sound was no different from usual, but to Lei Tiangang's ears, it was piercingly shrill—it was that direct red secure hotline leading straight to the President's office!

Lei Tiangang's gaze hardened as he swiftly picked up the receiver. From the other end came the steady, deep voice of President Tang Yiping: "Comrade Lei Tiangang, please come to my office for a moment. We are going to hold an expanded session of the Supreme Council..."

No unusual emotion could be detected in Tang Yiping's voice. This newly inaugurated leader of the Republic was renowned for his calm and resolute character, but Lei Tiangang knew what lay hidden behind the emergency convening of an expanded Supreme Council meeting late at night. That was an unconventional move taken only during moments of extreme gravity, or even when facing major strategic shifts!

Things had truly blown up big this time...

***

When Lei Tiangang left the base and headed for Yingtai—the seat of the Republic's government—Ono Suke Buden also received word from the Prime Minister's office that the Prime Minister had agreed to grant him an audience.

The arrangements he had made in an emergency should be sufficient to adequately guide public opinion a significant step forward in the direction expected by the Prime Minister, enough to give an account of himself to the Prime Minister and appease His Excellency's wrath, right? After thinking it through carefully, Ono Suke Buden stood up and walked toward the Prime Minister's office.

***

In the early hours of the morning, the television broadcast that shocked all of Jiepeng continued. Following the initial on-site reports, more people fixed their attention on a special program urgently produced by the Asahi Sankei News Channel.

On the television screen were still the right-wing political commentator Taro Hashimoto and Eisen Malone, a renowned military strategist of the Minia Federation. During the day, when the Republic launched its strike against the East Wu organization, these two individuals had engaged in a heated discussion on a television broadcast.

Unlike during the day, both men were dressed rather casually, and their hair was even somewhat disheveled, clearly because they had been hurriedly pulled into the studio without having time for makeup. However, an unusual excitement was evident in both of their expressions.

Sitting squarely in the middle was still the sexy female anchor wearing dark lace underwear. This anchor clearly had much more time, as her attire was neat and possessed a fair share of allure.

However, the female anchor apparently did not know that, thanks to the daytime actions of the Furious Dragon Team, she had miraculously escaped the clutches of Fujiyama Jian. Right now, she was putting on a shocked expression, parting her sexy lips, and speaking eloquently.

"I am very sorry to disturb the rest of you two gentlemen so late, but an astonishing change has occurred in the current situation, so we must ask you both to..."

The female host's opening remarks were somewhat long-winded, and she was soon unceremoniously interrupted by Taro Hashimoto.

"Oh... never mind that, let's get straight to the point," Taro Hashimoto waved his hand and said. "Do you remember our discussion yesterday morning? Clearly, our concerns are turning into reality..."

The female host's mouth opened even wider. She asked in astonishment, "Your concerns from this morning—do you mean you believe that a certain country's next target for attack would be... would be... the Jiepeng Empire?"

The female host's startled expression and stuttering tone precisely conveyed a look of shock, further stirring the memories and deep reflections of many people in front of their televisions.

Yes, just twenty hours ago, right in this very studio, it was this very Mr. Taro Hashimoto who had predicted that the Republic of Chakna's next target for attack would be Jiepeng! At the time, many people sneered at such a notion, dismissing it as groundless anxiety, but tonight's massive attack forced people to look at this bold and exaggerated claim with completely new eyes.

"Yes," Taro Hashimoto's long face wore a distorted and ferocious expression as he waved his arms and shouted. "I believe this attack is a war launched against us by that despicable country! They have finally made their move!"

In front of the television screens, dead silence prevailed.