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Of course, things would have been far worse if not for the \'elixir\', but the ruthlessness of the Federation still disgusted her to the core.

Even if the size of their combined army was much larger than the empire\'s… did they not care how many of them died at all?

They couldn\'t have known about her side having something that could almost instantly heal near-fatal wounds, so Emilia simply couldn\'t make sense of their approach.

Even if it was her, with her incredible influence over the people of Blue Dawn, sacrificing so many troops so ruthlessly in an attempt to invade another\'s territory would definitely make her fall out of favor quite quickly.

Not to mention, unless the situation was really desperate, the crimson-haired girl really couldn\'t ever see herself doing such a thing.

After all, was it really worth it to \'win\' by losing so much?

Emilia wasn\'t so naïve as to think that there would be no casualties on her side in a battle of this scale, but when she really saw so many of her soldiers dead on the ground, how could she not feel depressed and exhausted?

After all, they\'d died fighting for her. Almost half of the empire\'s \'military\' consisted of volunteers who had decided to take up arms to defend the honor of both Blue Dawn and their empress, and Emilia personally knew many amongst the dead who had previously smiled at her in adoration.

It was like someone had stabbed her heart with a knife.

Soon, her exhaustion and sadness gave way to rage, and the crimson-haired girl shot up to her feet so quick that Dixie almost stumbled back in shock.

Unshed tears brimmed in Emilia\'s eyes. \'Unforgivable...!\'

For a moment, the dark-haired girl even worried that Emilia might be thinking of rushing to the Federation\'s forces, but her worries were soon alleviated when Emilia spoke.

"Since they haven\'t retreated too far, the Federation is definitely planning to strike again." The crimson-haired girl frowned, but just as she was about to continue, a strange feeling surged through her soul, and Cynthia screamed.

"Emilia—!"

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Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the meeting room of the Federation\'s leaders was somber.

As long as they\'d won and been able to retake the site from Blue Dawn, the \'cost\' wouldn\'t have mattered that much. However, since they failed to actually do so… just who was supposed to take the blame?

It was impossible to keep what happened in the battle a secret, and once everyone knew that they\'d not only sacrificed so much, but also failed to achieve anything in return… their leadership would definitely be put into question.

Not to mention, those who opposed them had already been gaining some momentum thanks to the \'unstable elements\' that had recently been causing trouble, and there was no telling just how much more support they could amass using this incident.

Some of them couldn\'t help but hesitate. "Perhaps… we should put this war on hold for a while, and take care of our own matters first."

"Impossible! If we retreat now, isn\'t that the same as admitting that we were wrong?"

"But if you think about it… this was the best opportunity to score a decisive victory over the empire, and… we failed. Even if we manage to take that fort down the next time, Emilia should have already fled at that time, and all we\'ll gain in exchange of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and so much infamy… would be just a flimsy little fort."

The president of Red Dusk could tell that the discussion was heading in a very wrong direction, and he couldn\'t help but feel uneasy. "Although we really suffered a bit this time, there\'s no need to be so pessimistic. Our army is still keeping an eye on the situation, and it won\'t take long for the reinforcements to get there and be ready for another strike. Plus, with how arrogant that girl is… maybe she won\'t leave, after all."

The confidence in his tone made it clear that the man truly believed that this time they\'d surely win, but no one was sure how much of it was just a front.

With how two faced he usually was, it wouldn\'t be strange for him to be making preparations to pull back while still insisting on making everyone else rush forward.

Though even if he was being \'honest\'… that hardly mattered.

"… Even if she\'s still there, how can you be confident we can take her down?"

Obviously, none of them had been expecting that the empire would be able to actually defend the fort this time. To say that their confidence in being able to win against the empire was shaken would be an understatement.

Even with a force that was almost ten times the size of their opponent\'s, they\'d still lost!

The president of Red Dusk was just about to refute when an ominous feeling surged through his heart, and his expression changed. Although he couldn\'t be sure, he had a feeling that something big must have happened.

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Dixie wasn\'t quite sure what was going on, but seeing how Emilia insisted on getting back to the capital as soon as possible, she could only drive her to the nearest runway.

It was only when the two of them were already on their way in the jet that she finally realize that something must have happened on Crystal\'s side.

After all, other than some of their old classmates, she was the only one currently staying in the capital, though Penny often moved from place to place while taking care of the knights\' network, so Dixie couldn\'t be sure of her location.

Fortunately, the airspace inside the empire was still quite safe, and thanks to being able to use a jet, they arrived at the Blue Lotus Palace soon enough.

Crystal seemed to have been expecting them, and was waiting at the gate with a tired yet proud smile on her face.

Emilia rushed forward to clutch the blonde girl\'s shoulders, her expression almost indecipherable. "How… did you do it?"

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