"There is nothing we can do. These amazed me as you are. Every intel on that little city shows nothing extraordinary…" The woman squinted her brow and continued. "Perhaps, we missed something important. And now, it has grown and spread its wings."


    "Then we cut its wings. Nothing canpare with PAR."


    "Really!" The woman twitched her lips and snorted. "The higher up will be here in any minute. I need to go."


    "Wait! Let''s discuss it more…" Sweats dripped from his forehead.


    In one of the most secure ces in Beta, a group of military men sat around a V shape Table. A particr set of people among them were sweating while the others were looking at them with disdain. Most especially, a middle-aged man at the forefront of the group. He looked at the entrance at every second, wiping the sweats off his forehead. These are the regional leaders of Beta and Thango. Just a single word from each of those sitting in the room could end a city and also elevate a city. Thousands of people are trying various means to gain the favor of these men and women.


    However, if the people of Beta and Thango witness these sets of powerful people shivering without any threat or cold. They wouldn''t know whether tough or cry. Everyone was lost in their discussion and thought, then…


    "Lady Mata has arrived." A loudmanding voice came from outside.


    Boom!


    All the people stood at attention. None looked at the door. Their stern faces are devoid of any emotion. The somewhat calm atmosphere turned heavy. No one dared to breathe out loudly. Their blood pumping, muscle tensing. While some particr set of people had their heart at their throat. Their spin was already drenched in cold sweats. They did everything to hide their trembling hand but just a little observation would show their nervousness.


    Pa. Pa. Pa.


    The indistinct sound of footsteps echoed from afar. But with every step, it became closer and louder. Each step was hitting the heart of the people while some sudden pressure appeared out of the blue. This was a primal fear that was ingrained deep within animals when they noticed the apex predator. However, there was no apex predator but a woman…


    Creak


    The door opened and a young woman in herte twenties walked inside the room. The long blue hair of the woman, eagle eyes, and blue lips gave her a different feel from normal people. It made it difficult for people to know whether to approach or stay far away. When her eagle-like eyes look straight into people''s eyes. they feel like all their secrets had been seen by her. Forcing people to avoid her gaze. She stood at the center of a V-shaped table and looked at each of the people in the room one after the other. Without uttering a word, the cold gaze from Lady Mata had sent some men over the fence.


    She withdrew her gaze and sat elegantly on the chair. "Sit."


    A single word from her contained power. Not just ordinary power. Extreme Power. Power that could withstand even if the heaven copse, Earth destroys but would remain. Power that undergoes various life-threatening battles. Fearless Power. Dominating Power and Power to Rule.


    Like a royal decree, all the men sat at once. Everyone in the room had beads of sweat on their forehead. But no one dared to wipe it off. The room descended into extreme silence like a graveyard. Perhaps, the venttion system was switched off and the air in the room was sucked out. The chest of the people in the room was moving up and down. Whilst the only thing that moved was the rolling eyeball of the people.


    "I don''t have all day. Someone should start talking." Lady Mata''s overbearing voice froze the hearts of the people hearing her voice.


    Hmm!


    It took a couple of seconds for the people to recover from the sudden outburst from Lady Mata. Quickly, they regained their bearing and looked at a particr set of people. Seeing everyone''s gaze directed at them. They trembled. Most especially the middle-aged man leading the group. The middle-aged man looked at the woman beside him with the corner of his eyes. However, the woman took a deep breath and looked sideways.


    ''You are the leader. Bear the burnt for us all.'' The woman thought.


    Seeing this, the middle-aged man wanted to beat some sense into the woman. He clenched his fist under the table, taking a deep breath. ''Let me escape through this and see what I will do to you. Asshole.''


    The middle-aged man cleared his throat and stood with a device in his hand. "The ongoing crises going on in Vulture had escted beyond what we thought. The--"


    "Who are you?" Lady Mata interrupted.


    "…Fred Whitestone… Ma" Fred managed to utter under the securitizing gaze of Lady Mata.


    Hmm!


    Averting her gaze. "Continue."


    Fred swallowed the lump on his throat, took a deep breath, and continued. "Vulture had turned into a ck hole. Presently, we know nothing about Vulture. All our spies are fished out without us knowing how they did it. We tried to get some intel through the public channel. However, any moment will decide to sniff out intel. The channel would be blocked and that channel would be inessible again. ording to our IT. there is a very powerful AI securing space…"


    "So you''re telling me that Vulture has AI more powerful than yours. Hmm?"


    Hearing the one-million-dor question. Fred looked at a particr man. Seeing Fred''s gaze, a young man shrank his neck and avoided the questioning gaze. ''Where the hell did I find these mother fuckers. Shit.'' His lips curled upward a bit. ''You all think I''ll be the one bearing all the burns. Lie. We bear it all together.''


    "Ma, Sir Joe can tell us more about that." Fred looked at Joe with an evil smile.


    All eyes turned to Joe. Everyone in the room couldn''t but look at Joe then back to Fred with a knowing look. What just happened was obvious to even a blind man. However, who wouldn''t do the same in this kind of situation? Every one of them was sitting on a spike while those talking were at the edge of the cliff. Any slight mistake, the irondy won''t hesitate to push them down.


    Joe swallowed the lumps in his throat, rubbing the sweats in his hand against his uniform. He stood, trembling slightly. "Not that they have more powerful AI than us. However, their AI uses some sort of Algorithm that we''ve never seen before. Difficult to track and difficult to bypass. Any time we tried to bypass AI security .... "


    "What happened!" Lady Mata snapped.


    "Em… Emm… We lose some of our data." Joe stuttered. Lady Mata screamed and almost gave him a heart attack. If Lady Mata snapped again. He would probably die of a heart attack.


    "So you are already losing vital information to the enemy due to your ipetence. Hmm?" Lady Mata''s voice dropped a degree.Her gaze pierced into Joe''s eyes straight to his heart. Joe was vividly trembling. He wanted to avert his eyes from the gaze of death. However, he found it difficult. Perhaps, his body was not listening to him. Sweat dripping from his forehead, the device in his hand shook greatly, preparing to fall at any moment.


    Everyone in the room didn''t have the liberty tough at theical disy of Joe''s behavior. Everyone was praying and hoping the Irondy shouldn''t bounce on them.


    "The battle hasn''t started. You''re already losing the fight. What a bunch of useless fools." Her gaze moves from one person to another. Subconsciously, everyone shrinks when her gaze falls on them.


    "In a nutshell, we''ve lost some vital information to the enemy. Our men are missing…. And we knew nothing about who was responsible for all this."


    "What rank did you send?" She looked at Fred.


    Fred stood up instantly and replied. "One 2-star and six 1-star. This 2-star was Tiger. One of our reputable soldiers."


    Hmm!


    Lady Mata furrowed slightly. With this lineup, subduing a whole of Thango shouldn''t be any problem. Then how the hell can''t they infiltrate into a backward city like Vulture.


    ''Things are not as simple as I thought.'' She adjusted her seat lightly. ''A powerful force had grown in Vulture. A force that could contest with PAR.'' She twisted her lips.


    Meanwhile, all those men in front of Lady Mata watched her continuous change in expression with the corner of their eyes.


    What is going on?


    Why would the Irondy have such an expression?


    These are the thoughts that fly to the mind of the people. However, no one dares to question the irondy. The unwanted silence reigns amid the room, throwing everyone into their thoughts.


    Suddenly, Lady Mata stood up. Her face is devoid of any emotion. At once, everyone stood when they saw this. Holding their breath, they stare at her, expecting.


    "Lockdown Thango.. Prepare for war."