Parpaldian Empire, March 11th, 1640

Somewhere in the Parpaldian Countryside

In the countrysides of the Parpaldian Empire, a mansion, which has a number of other buildings and a path that connects it to a main road, could be seen. At first glance, one would assume that it must be a place of residence for a Parpaldian noble, but in reality, it's actually a refuge for the Parpaldian Imperial Family.

The report of the Esthirant Naval Battle had came in yesterday night and today, an emergency meeting is held in this mansion which had a number of high ranking military officials being included.

Ludius smacked the table with his two fists in anger, frustrated due to the meeting, "Why is the navy this incompetent?! Even though I gave them more funds and even modernized them, yet they still can't use it correctly!"

Immediately after that, the attendees of the meeting went silent. For hours now, they bickered about what they should do in response to this catastrophic defeat. Parpaldia used to have the biggest navy in the 3rd Civilization Area followed closely by the Altaran Navy, but with this defeat, they simply did not have many powerful ships left at their disposal. All 3 of their 150-gun ship of the lines had also been sunk despite being the biggest and most armed warship in the region.

Everyone in the room knew they were in the defensive. Their entire country had been driven up to a wall once the Indonesians intervened due to the gamble they made in Rodenius. Now, they had once again lost another chunk of the navy and their capital, Esthirant, which was once to be considered the 'Jewel of the Crown' due to the wealth and prosperity that was concentrated there, is now being bombed by the enemy.

The mood of the room continued the sink and some even fell into a state of defeatism until the door to the meeting room is suddenly opened. It revealed to be a young man, who carried a piece of paper.

"I'm sorry for the interruption, but I have grave news from the Governor of Kooze, Sir Frederick!" He said as he opened up the paper letter.

The atmosphere of the room sank even further as the young man stated his purpose. It's another bad news on top of another one. At this point, one wouldn't even surprised if another one came after this. After all, the Empire is starting to crumble in their point of view.

"Please give us the news.." Ludius said with a sigh as he calmed down.

The young man would then give the news, "The people of Kooze has started a rebellion! Sir Frederick is in dire need of reinforcements from the capital to deal with the threat!"

"Tell him that it's impossible for us to send reinforcements. I do not want to hear any requests for surrender." Ludius said, denying the poor governor from his aid.

For the past months, Parpaldia has been facing against raids from the Altaran Navy ever since their defeat in the Altaran Channel, which became worse as they lost another battle in Sios. Additionally, the lost of a huge chunk of their navy in the most recent naval battle is expected to make the situation worse.

The Altaran Royal Navy has been raiding the coastal cities and trade routes South and West of Parpaldia. So far, the raids have claimed a number of losses of both men and ships alongside damages to their cities and the interruption of trade routes. As far as the Altarans were concerned, their tactics have been extremely effective against the weakened Parpaldian Empire.

"I.. I see.. I'll send this right away." The boy said, taken aback by the reply.

With the defeat of almost 100 warships in a single battle, Parpaldia simply had no way to crush rebellions in its colonies overseas. Additionally, the naval raids by the Altaran Navy in their western and south-western coasts were giving them even more pressure. Any safe transport of troops from the mainland to Kooze is currently impossible considering the situation of the war.

After the door closed, Ludius asked the people in the meeting, "Do we have updates on Project Sea Fortress?"

Fleet Admiral Sius, who is attending the meeting answered, "Yes, your majesty. The shipyards in Duro is about to finish constructing the ship. We predict that we can launch her in 2 days."

"I'd like to have the ship assigned to the fleet in Duro. We cannot let the city be bombed at any cost." Ludius ordered.

The meeting inside the mansion continued as they discussed a number of countermeasures in response to a possible landing by the coalition forces.

Kooze Territory, Parpaldian Empire, March 13th, 1640

Lazarus

The former capital of the Kooze Kingdom and now the capital of the Parpaldian Kooze Territory, Lazarus, is in chaos. There were a number of buildings which had collapsed due to cannon fire alongside some corpses of civilian and rebels. On the streets, barricades and barriers made out of all kinds of materials could be seen with Parpaldian soldiers standing behind it as they stared down a mob of rebels chanting and waving the flag of Kooze

In the city, there is a fort which was built when Kooze was still an independent country. Between the city and the fortress, a moat is present which could be crossed via a bridge. On the bridge were Parpaldian soldiers who stood behind wooden barriers and sandbags as they stared down the crowd on the other side of the bridge. In the area, a tense atmosphere could be felt as the crowd expressed their anger.

For the most part, the soldiers held their fire, although there were some corpses on the bridge as some reckless rebels had decided to try charge at the soldiers alone.

On the bridge, two Parpaldian soldiers stood by and conversed to each other.

One of the Parpaldian soldier sighed, "Hey, how long do we have to do this? We've been standing watch for a few days now."

The other one shook his head, "I don't know, but I guess we're going to stay here until reinforcements come or we manage to strike some deal with these rebels."

"Can we even hold them off? I heard that a lot of soldiers were moved to the mainland because of the war.. We don't have much supplies left either."

"Listen.." One of the soldier said as he looked at his colleague at the eye, "Our job is to make sure the governor stays safe."

"You're right.. I hope this situation will be over soon."

The two continued to talk to each other, discussing a variety of topics. Fortunately for them, the situation hasn't turn into chaos, but they knew that if the crowd decides to storm the fortress, then it would be very bloody.

Inside the Fortress

Inside the fortress, there is a meeting room where a group of people gathered. Sitting by the table, two sides of this conflict were present, which were the representatives for the Kooze rebels and the Parpaldian government of the Kooze territory.

"Now.. Our demands are simple. We want you to leave this fortress and island alongside all of your weapons and we will let you go back to your families." Said one of the Kooze representatives.

The Parpaldian side thought for a moment. They knew if they gave up the fortress and left the island, it would mean that they're essentially giving them independence.

"Can you give us some time to think about this?" Frederick, the governor of the territory, requested.

This seemingly had annoyed the Kooze representatives, "We gave you time in our previous meeting and you still haven't made up your mind?!"

"I'm afraid not.. Such decisions require the approval from the Parpaldian central government and are not easy to make." Frederick said.

"Hmph.. Approval this, approval that.. Fine then, I expect an answer by next week, otherwise we will burn this fortress to the ground."

The Kooze representatives then left the room, unable to come to an agreement with their Parpaldian counterparts. Afterwards, the room falls silent for a short moment until a sigh could be heard from Frederick.

"How long are we gonna keep this up, sir?" A Parpaldian official asked him.

"As long as possible, but I'm afraid we only have a week left. Let's hope that we can hold on until reinforcements arrive." Frederick answered.

"Why can't we just give them what they want? It'll make our lives a little easier." Another official suggested.

A smack on the table could be heard from a muscular official, "Then what? Tell our other colonies that Parpaldia will give them independence?! You know how bad it would be for our stability!"

"Calm down." Frederick said, "Our best bet is to wait for reinforcements. Who knows what will happen if we submit to them."

It's clear that Parpaldia is facing its darkest times and they're trying to delay their answers as much as possible until reinforcements arrive. Frederick knew that if they were to agree to the demands, then it would be another blow to the Empire and they might be treated as traitors.

"When will they arrive anyways?" Another one asked.

"I.. I'm not sure." Frederick answered with a face filled with uncertainty.

Then, the door to the meeting room opened and revealing a middle aged man. Everyone looked at him like they were expecting something.

"Sir, we've just got word from the central government." He reported.

"Please tell us the news." Frederick requested.

"Unfortunately, they're not sending any reinforcements. They have also said that surrendering is not an option."

Upon hearing the news, Frederick clenched his fist, knowing that his delays will be in vain. There will be no reinforcements and time is running out as the day passes. Everyone knew that the order of no surrender meant that any decision to give up the fortress or the island will be met with harsh punishments.

"I should've expected this to happen! We're dead men if we refuse!" An official said, worried of his fate.

"Yeah, I rather just get treated as traitor than be punished by the mob outside!"

Frederick didn't know what to do. With hope of reinforcements gone, it was clear that they won't be able to stamp out the revolt anytime soon. The other officials seemed to share the same sentiment as well.

"Get a hold of yourself!" The muscular official shouted, "Are not a Parpaldian?! We're a proud people who have managed to carve our way in this world! You think we should accept defeat to a group of unruly rebels? To hell with that!"

The officials in the room looked at each other. Indeed, Parpaldia had made itself relevant in the world stage due to its size and wealth. While its age of stagnation certainly made the nation less relevant in international politics overtime, their rapid industrialization and modernization had changed that completely.

"Then, what else should we do? They outnumber us greatly."

"Do you even know what we are in right now?" The muscular official asked, "We're in a fortress! We just need to strengthen our defenses and prepare for the worst. Besides, our troops are far better trained than them."

It seems that the speech had made made the atmosphere of the room better. It's correct that they were in a fortress and that gave them a huge advantage in defense, especially with trained soldiers defending it.

As the officials discussed of their plans, Frederick sat while in deep thought. He knew that time is running out and there weren't many options left. He's split between serving his government's interests and his life.

"Sir, what do you think?" The muscular official said.

Frederick is caught by surprise by the question. He was so deep in thought that he didn't bother listening to the discussion.

"Huh? Yeah, sure." He answered without much thought.

This would make the room erupt in delight, "Did you hear that? We're going to defend until the last man!"

Immediately, Frederick realized he had made a crucial mistake. However, he knew that it was too late as the room erupt in cheers and everyone made their way out of the room.

Frederick sat there, dumbfounded. He knew he wasn't the most competent or capable governor, but he had to do what the central government ordered him to do.

After a while, he soon left the room and went to his office with much to think about.