“An audacious counter-offensive has been launched by the new Hebeian government into the Ginzhu Province. Approximately six hundred thousand soldiers from various armies had been reorganized to reinforce and support the badly mauled and battered Ginzhu Army. Under General Lian Su, the new formation, named Army Group ‘Three Tigers’ in reference to the three armies that composed the theater-sized unit, the offensive began yesterday. MN forces have been caught badly off-balance by this sudden counter-offensive, forcing its armored corps to abandon the assaults to Gaoshu and Lijeng, which was planned to be a part of the plan to encircle all of Ginzhu. The battle however is far from over, as Empress Xue dispatches more units to plug the gap and resume the bloody offensive.”

  - Geopol Press

  +++

  South Hebei

  Yanhai City

  February 14, 2026

  When Amelie and her group arrived at Yanhai again to visit Empress Xue Li, it was clear that the atmosphere in the city had changed drastically. There wasn’t much of an entrance ceremony on the chilly morning when her private jet touched down, and she was quickly sent by William and his team into her security convoy.

  The city was largely devoid of activity as they drove through its highways and roads. Gone were the rallies and gatherings that welcomed her with fervor, and gone were the crowds that listened to recruiters blasting their megaphones to attract more men to serve. She had been informed that ever since General Lian Su launched his grand ‘Three Tigers’ counteroffensive three days ago, the mood for the general public shifted considerably.

  The defeats the MN suffered weren’t something easy to hide. They had spent so much men and materiel at almost winning the symbolic city of Ginzhu, but instead, as of this moment, nearly a third of their gains had been reversed. Even with the heinous wounds they had inflicted on the enemy beast, the northern tiger seemed to have been able to lick it and bite back.

  She curled her fist.

  “Don’t get too pissed yet,” William turned a bit at her from the side, his hands locked on the wheel. “This is normal.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Amelie frowned. “That was a month and more of progress, and we spent more than a hundred thousand casualties for it already. This can’t be serious.”

  William sighed.

  “We already projected that South Hebei would suffer more than a hundred thousand casualties,” William said. “Again, we factored this into our plans. Besides, the main goal of repulsing them from Rajabad has already been achieved. If we sustain our advances in Kusari, this setback won’t be much of a setback at all.”

  “Spending so many bodies just to divert their forces to Hebei still isn’t justifiable,” Amelie said. “We need to have something to show for ourselves outside of just liberating Kusari’s land, and I promised Li that we’ll retake Ginzhu.”

  “We will retake Ginzhu,” William said. “It’ll just be a little bit harder and more costlier because the encirclement plan was shot down. Now we’ll have to settle with doing it the harder way.”

  Amelie facepalmed.

  “Which means so many bodies thrown for this mission,” she frowned. “Gaoshu and Lijeng are also important, you know? How are we going to take it at this point?”

  “Have trust,” William grinned. “I’m sure the OHC is already cooking up a plan or something. Maybe an expanded aerial operation if we divert our assets from Kusari?”

  “As if that city and its surrounding areas aren’t bombed enough as is.”

  “Well, we can pulverize it more,” William laughed. “If we can saturate it with airstrikes by adding fifty percent more assets into the battlezone for a week or two, we’ll soften the bastards enough that we can push onwards.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Amelie’s tone was skeptical.

  “Look, if we suffered a hundred thousand casualties or more, then that means the enemy must have suffered thrice or more than that,” William nodded, confident. “They can throw six hundred thousand more troops into the grinder if they’d like, it doesn’t matter when we ground down three hundred thousand in the span of a month.”

  “...Still, goddess, the scale of this war just keeps expanding,” Amelie said, feeling a bit nauseous at listening to William’s projections. “This is just wholesale slaughter, in just a month. What will people think of me in the future?”

  “Eh, this is war, between two entrenched forces. These kinds of numbers are to be expected. I assure you too, that South Hebei can and will replace their losses. They have tens of millions of able-bodied men to keep the war going in perpetuity. A hundred thousand dead is a drop in the bucket.”

  “I would have pinched your ears if you weren’t driving, William.”

  “What, I’m just stating the truth?” William seemed a bit bewildered. “Look, this is East Vaeyox. Kusari and Hebei have populations near a billion each. Any conflict in these lands will naturally be of a larger scale than the ones we see outside. The only thing limiting the numbers of bodies they’re sending at each other is equipment.”

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  “...”

  “So yeah,” William continued, still confident again. “As long as you can promise Empress Xue more weapons and ammunition, she’ll plug the gaps and get more boys to throw at the problem.”

  “That singular city already claimed nearly half a million lives from both sides, you know?”

  “And that will be the reality for most cities that we’ll advance through after Ginzhu. If this one costs nearly a million dead, then the next ones will cost hundreds of thousands each. But we’ll chew through it, eventually. I’m sure of it.”

  +++

  Amelie found herself tackled and hugged by Xue Li when she arrived in her private office. Amelie naturally tried her best to accept it, patting the younger woman’s back, before the two pushed each other away a bit.

  “It’s been a while, Amelie,” Xue Li said, her pink eyes shining a bit. “I’ve been waiting for this, it’s nice to see you again here. I hope Hebei has been a pleasure to you.”

  “Aha, it certainly has,” Amelie replied, smiling a bit. Xue Li looked to her side, a small ‘o’ appearing on her face.

  “Ah, actually, tea! I forgot, would you like to have one?”

  “Sure, I would certainly appreciate it.”

  Behind Amelie, William barged in on the door to Xue Li’s office, closing the door as he did.

  “Mr. William,” Xue Li cheerily called. “Would you like a drink too?”

  “Eh, sure—OW!”

  Amelie pulled his left ear close to her, chiding him a bit.

  “At least be a bit more appreciative,” Amelie said.

  “Yeah, yeah, obviously I am. Let me go.”

  “You’ve been such an insensitive dork since we arrived here,” Amelie huffed as she let William go, while he proceeded to nurse his left ear. “Please contain yourself more.”

  “Okay, okay,” William groaned. “I apologize.”

  “Ufufu,” Xue Li giggled a bit as she watched the two. “You two are still so adorable together.”

  “If only this guy just toned himself down a notch, maybe that’ll be true, hmph,” Amelie turned away.

  “She’s a bit irate I guess,” William said, scratching the back of his head. “Anyhow, thanks for letting us in here, Your Majesty.”

  He bowed a bit to Xue Li.

  “No need to do much of that,” Xue Li said, her smile growing at William. “I consider you both as my close friends. Ah, actually, please take your respective seats!”

  The two soon took their seats on a sofa, while Xue Li, surprisingly, poured tea from a kettle to three teacups on the table. Then, with a smile, she also settled for her seat. Amelie took her cup, savoring its aromas—elegant and refined, as expected of tea from Hebei.

  William on the other hand, like the barbarian he was, sniffed it loudly, before drinking it all in one go.

  “That’s kinda cold,” he audaciously pointed out. “But damn does it taste good.”

  Amelie gave up.

  “He’s whatever he is,” Amelie said awkwardly, as Xue Li giggled at William’s display.

  “No worries. He’s an amusing partner for you,” Xue Li nodded. “I wish I had a knight as cool as him. But I’m afraid it’ll remain a silly dream for a silly young lass.”

  “Hey, I’m not a knight, I’m a director of one of her security agencies—”

  “No need to clarify nonsense, William,” Amelie said on the side as she sipped her tea, now laughing a bit as well. “At the rate you’re going, I think I might knight you for real.”

  “That’s illegal though,” William countered. “Knightly titles are close to nobility, so I can’t have it based on Orlish law.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll do it once I dismantle that law.”

  “You should,” Xue Li suggested. “It’s only fair. So many men deserve to be rewarded handsomely for their loyalty. The fact that they can sacrifice their lives so valiantly even for a state that once neglected them is worthy of honors and titles.”

  “I doubt many guys care about that though,” William said. “We want citizenship and equality first.”

  “Exactly,” Xue Li nodded. “But, getting honors and awards normally reserved for women would still be something good. Even if noble and knightly titles become defunct in practice, being given those distinctions when you committed your heart and soul to the nation is still a just reward.”

  “I’ll take a pay raise over that.”

  “I understand,” Xue Li nodded. “So many of my officers in the Army and even soldiers want it too. Unfortunately, I really can’t. The coffers of the Empire are stretched thin as it is, and now…it’s about to be stretched thin further.”

  “It’s going to be such a painful journey for Hebei,” Amelie lamented on the side. “I heard that your debt has now ballooned to one hundred thirty-seven percent of your GDP?”

  “Indeed,” Xue Li looked down. “Taxes are hard to collect when the people have suffered so badly. Even with the war ongoing, the public isn’t able to buy enough of my government’s bonds to support spending, so we have to keep borrowing from Asanai and Orland to keep things going.”

  “What’s your latest figure?”

  “Out of our eleven point five trillion debt, around one point nine trillion is held by Orland. Practically nearly half of our foreign debt,” Xue Li sagged on her seat. “Now, I’m here asking for more.”

  “So many nations are indeed turning more indebted to us,” Amelie said. “But even we are deeply indebted to our public too. Debt at this point seems to be everyone’s reality, so…well, the best I can do for you is to offer you low-interest rate financing.”

  “Yeah, I need a few hundred more tanks and planes and…” Xue Li stopped, pulling out a piece of paper from her table. She went back to the sofa, and placed it on the table, showing it to Amelie. “Here’s our proposal. It’ll…it’ll be another hundred billion Orlish blancs of borrowing.”

  Amelie scanned it for a bit.

  “With this amount of orders, it’s going to take us months to even send it to you,” Amelie said. “Goddess…we have to replenish so much lost equipment for our allied nations and ourselves.”

  “Yeah…” Xue Li turned a bit awkward. “I hope our economic ministers can smooth out a good deal.”

  “I hope so,” Amelie nodded. “On your end, what’s your plan?”

  “I am raising more infantry brigades to replace the fallen,” Xue Li said. “My nation can meet the equipment demand for them at the very least. We’re going to try to keep this offensive going.”

  “I see,” Amelie sighed. “I hope it doesn’t turn any uglier.”

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