Chapter 531 Separatist Movement
Wilbur’s smile faded when he saw the “X” mark on the table. As the commander of Yaleview Army, he had an army of more than six hundred thousand men under him. Being second only to the commander-in-chief, he was on par with Jonathan in terms of status.
Being such a high-ranking officer, he had seen it all, and nothing could really easily arouse his interest. Asura’s Office was the exception.
With the intensification of the in-fighting within Chanaea, it was expected that sooner or later, Yaleview Army and Asura’s Office would come face-to-face in confrontation.
Thus, Wilbur, as commander of Yaleview Army, would naturally be interested in information about Asura’s Office. He looked at Joshua warily and said, “Commander, if it is about Asura’s Office, I would like to hear about it.”
Asura’s Office was set up less than two years ago, but within that short time, it had unified all the armies in Chanaea other than Yaleview’s.
On many occasions, Wilbur had planned to get some men to infiltrate Asura’s Office to spy on them for him. However, it wasn’t easy, as the general population highly regarded the newly established Asura’s Office.
Trying to overthrow such an organization would be almost impossible. He never thought Joshua actually had the means to get access to insider information about Asura’s Office. Belatedly, he realized he had underestimated Joshua.
Within a decade, Joshua had risen from a deputy director to the position of commander-in-chief. To achieve that feat, besides the support from respectable families, it was only reasonable that he also possessed the necessary abilities and skills.
“I just received information that Jonathan had ordered all his undercover spies in Yaleview to retreat, evacuating all his own men. So, you should know what that means. They’re getting ready for war,” Joshua shared.
Wilbur was a tad disappointed with the information that Joshua shared. He initially thought Joshua had some highly confidential information, so the revelation of such inconsequential information was a big let-down.
Even if Joshua had not revealed that to him, and if the spies of Asura’s Office retreat en mass the next day, it would be obvious. As such, that information wasn’t very valuable to Wilbur.
Joshua noticed Wilbur wasn’t impressed with the information he shared, so he added, “One more thing—monitor the Eastern Army in the Northeast. According to my sources, there are unusual military maneuvers in that area, so they could be planning a separatist movement.”
Wilbur’s eyes narrowed when he heard that.
“Karl is planning to betray Asura’s Office? Would he dare to do that?” he asked in astonishment.
“It’s merely my guess at the moment as I do not have evidence to back it up now.” Joshua solemnly added, “Lately, Eastern Army has been very active. Our latest intelligence revealed that Karl’s family had gone missing for almost half a month. A few days ago, he captured Aidan, the commander of Medved Army, but the latter managed to escape during the hearing and made his way back to the north of River Onxy.”
Wilbur’s mind was rapidly analyzing the information as Joshua spoke, and he was quick to link the dots.
“You mean Karl may have made some sort of a deal with Aidan?” Wilbur muttered as that thought came to his mind.
When he looked up, what greeted him was the frosty look in Joshua’s eyes.
“Wilbur, did you just address me as ‘you’?”
At that instant, the world seemed to be frozen in time.
Wilbur felt his spiritual energy boiling over and then being drained out of his body. All of a sudden, he felt like a deflated balloon.
He stood up, bowed slightly at Joshua, and apologized, “It was a slip of the tongue, Commander. Please forgive me.”
“Hahaha…” Joshua’s stern expression disappeared, and he quipped, “I was just kidding, Wilbur. Relax! Come on, have a seat!”
Wilbur hesitated for a moment, then sat down on the stool again to face the chuckling Joshua.
“As I’ve mentioned, I do not have solid evidence at the moment, so it is just speculation with regards to the situation in the Northeast. However, we still have to take precautions against Eastern Army. From the map, we can clearly see Yaleview is situated right between the Northeast and Central regions. If there is a problem with Eastern Army in the Northeast, Asura’s Office will have to pass through Yaleview to reach them. This, we will definitely not allow,” Joshua said, looking concerned.
“Wilbur, based on the current situation, in the event trouble brews in the Northeast, Yaleview will be caught between Eastern Army and Asura’s Office. Whether we like it or not, Karl will make use of Yaleview to be his best defensive shield. The military powers in Chanaea will be split three ways then.”
As Joshua was sharing his views on the political situation, all the different scenarios of a rebellion by Eastern Army flashed in Wilbur’s mind.
Although Eastern Army had less than one hundred and fifty thousand men, it was the best army in Chanaea.
If Karl really led his men to start a rebellion, the complex geographical features in the Northeast would be to his advantage. The probability of Karl, the Prince of Diyouli, becoming king in the Northeast would be very high.
Since the founding of Asura’s Office, Chanaea had enjoyed almost three years of peace.
Suddenly, the political situation in Chanaea turned from peaceful and stable to fraught with tension.
So the past three years are merely the calm before the storm? Well, what’s so bad about it?
The corners of Wilbur’s mouth lifted, and he couldn’t help but smile.
Heroes aren’t born, but they are created in times of strife and struggle. A war will be to my advantage, so why don’t I add fuel to the fire and help it burn bright?
Back in Jadeborough, many vehicles were parked inside and around the compound of No. 2 Villa. All those vehicles were transporting medical equipment.
After Jonathan rushed back to Jadeborough, he ordered Zachary to buy over No. 2 Villa and made use of their connections to call for all the top medical teams in Jazona. Even the doctors of Asura’s Office were summoned to rush over to Jadeborough.
The reason for all the panic was the lady lying on the sick bed—Sophia.
Jonathan and his team grimly stood by Sophia’s bedside amidst a heavy atmosphere.
Sophia was injured, and her injuries were grave. The bones in both her legs were shattered, and she had chest trauma. To make things worse, one of her broken rib bones had punctured her lung.
If Jonathan hadn’t reached her in time and stabilized her with his immense spiritual energy, she would have already died.
The medical experts present had been in discussion for three hours, but they could not come up with a feasible treatment plan.
Sophia’s life was hanging by a thread, and she was sustained solely by Jonathan’s spiritual energy.
The doctors were worried that if they were to operate on her, they would disturb the flow of that spiritual energy, resulting in instant death for her.
“Our doctors will be here soon, Mr. Goldstein. They should take no more than an hour.” Zachary went up next to Jonathan and updated him in a hushed tone.
Jonathan nodded, his eyes betraying no emotions.
“Have you deciphered the encrypted data sent by 018? Have you located the Osborne family?”
