Darkstone Code

Chapter 1460: Chapter 1458: Position

If it were possible...

Everyone wishes to control their own destiny!

The Lemar Republic is located in the central-northern part of the East Ocean, and it used to be a country with little presence.

Because it was too far from the rest of the world!

Far, in terms of its distance and journey to other countries.

Apart from some distant maritime trade, hardly anyone would travel to Lemar, and Lemars wouldn’t travel to other countries either.

With undeveloped technology, people cannot travel far!

Perhaps initially, the furthest people could go was around their living area, but with scientific progress, people are now able to go further.

The world hasn’t changed, but technology has made the world smaller.

Lemars had little to worry about before, but now, they do.

The Lemar Republic consists of nineteen districts of the Lemar Islands, where the Grand President is directly elected by the people of these districts.

Its biggest difference from the Federation is that the people’s authority to appoint or dismiss the president is expanded; they can vote for anyone, not just a party-nominated presidential candidate, including themselves!

However, a directly elected president without a strong political foundation can only be a mascot.

In Lemar’s history, there is no shortage of such mascot Grand Presidents, whose emergence can actually be seen as a form of compromise under intensified party conflicts.

With the mascot assuming office, conflicts between parties tend to ease until they intensify again.

Currently, Lemar’s Grand President comes from Lemar’s largest party, the People’s Aid Party (Supporting National Affairs Party), which consistently maintains a neutral stance.

It was this way before, and it remains this way now.

After they rejected the Federation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ request concerning building fortifications within Lemar territory, they were tense and worried for some time.

But soon, the Federation didn’t show any dissatisfaction with Lemar’s decision, nor did they launch a public opinion campaign or trade sanctions, allowing Lemar to breathe a sigh of relief.

To be honest, the Federation is putting increasing pressure on the international community, and people have witnessed the impact of technology on military and national power!

As some say, isn’t it just that they are technologically ahead of other countries by ten or twenty years?

Is this an unbridgeable gap?

Clearly, it is!

While most countries maintain flat warfare strategies, the Federation has transformed warfare into a three-dimensional battle.

This represents a crushing of dimensions, which is beyond mere strength and technology; it’s a matter of being in different dimensions.

Even now, some countries have caught up, but the gap remains clear.

The Federation’s aircraft types are clearly differentiated, rationally purposed, and skillfully designed.

Seemingly minor differences on the battlefield might require multiples, even tens of times the lives to bridge, and might not fully bridge the chasm brought by these gaps!

Lemars don’t intend to interfere in these wars between world powers; they just wish to live peacefully.

At nine in the morning, Lemar’s Grand President finally awoke from bed.

Lemar doesn’t have much heavy industry; it primarily relies on livestock and maritime products as the country’s main industries.

Here, nearly everyone is a sailor, working at sea based on family, village, or company regulations, engaging in fishing.

The catch is heavily exported worldwide, among which large marine creatures stand out.

Whales, deep-sea elephants, and giant star seahorses (not a typo) are notably major exports.

Overall, this is a tranquil, gentle country without major disputes.

Waking up at nine gives the citizens the impression of the president being "diligent".

It’s worth noting that most people wake up at noon since their leisurely lifestyle has allowed them to develop a habit of getting drunk at night.

Located slightly towards the north, it gets quite cold in winter, so drinking, especially strong liquor, has become a nationwide habit.

Being drunk while watching TV at night is the common lifestyle for most.

In the morning, having driven to the President’s Mansion, the president had just sat down when the telephone in the office outside the secretary’s room started ringing.

He waited for a while, but no one answered; it seemed the secretary hadn’t arrived yet.

He walked into the secretary’s office, looked at the continuously ringing phone, and after a silent pause, he picked it up.

After all, sorting incoming calls should be part of the secretary’s job, but now she might not have woken up yet, so as a diligent president, he could only answer the phone himself.

"This is the president’s secretary’s office..." he routinely introduced himself.

A voice on the other end responded with a standard accent, not local, yet naturally fluent.

"Hello, I’d like to visit the president; what procedures should I go through?"

This question abruptly stumped the president.

How was he supposed to know what procedures were needed?

He had never done this before.

After being stunned for a while, he quickly asked, "Ah, yes, what identity do you plan to use to visit the President?"

"As a Peng Jieao diplomat..."

Half an hour later, the President sat somewhat anxiously in the office, becoming tense when the other party claimed to be a Peng Jieao diplomat.

At this moment, he was waiting for the arrival of the other party.

He was speculating about what the diplomat would say upon arrival, and how he should respond.

Soon, someone knocked on the door, and the Grand President came back to his senses, saying, "Please come in."

A gentleman who looked no more than forty entered, dressed very appropriately and nobly. Even without speaking, you could sense an extraordinary aura from him.

He must be a Peng Jieao noble, the Grand President thought, and then invited him to sit down.

After sitting down, the Peng Jieao diplomat first complained for a few sentences.

"I called your diplomatic department, but it was always unreachable..."

The President felt a bit awkward, "These days, it’s the fishing season, and the foreign minister has gone back to help."

Lemar is far from the world, and the role of the diplomatic department is very small. The foreign minister even has less power than a police station director of some district.

Not even as much as the assistant to the police station director.

On a regular basis, their external contact might only involve helping find export opportunities for some agricultural products when necessary. Beyond that, they have no strong connections with the outside world.

Closed, simple, and plain, that is the current state of diplomacy here.

Now, just as spring begins, the returning fishing season arrives densely, marking a very important event of the year for Lemar.

It determines the income status of the people in the country for at least the first half of the year. Thus, even the usually idle foreign minister has voluntarily taken leave to go home and out to sea; the President himself doesn’t see any problem with it.

Who would contact diplomatic affairs at such an important time?

Even the Peng Jieao diplomat was stunned, never imagining that the reason his call couldn’t get through was because the foreign minister had gone fishing.

This... alright!

Not wanting to continue the awkwardness, the President said, "So, what is the purpose of your visit this time?"

Very directly, the Peng Jieao diplomat was equally straightforward, "We hope to help you resist the Federation’s invasion..."

With a phrase similar to that of the Federation, the President smiled without expressing a standpoint, "The Federation does not intend to invade us."

"That’s only temporary!", the diplomat was still straightforward, pressing step by step, "The Federation is seeking higher international social status; they will become more aggressive than ever before."

"We recently gathered some intelligence that they are building fortifications in the waters east of Sedolas; you should understand what this means."

The Peng Jieao diplomat’s words left the President stunned; he really didn’t know what it meant, though he knew it wasn’t a good sign.

But that didn’t stop him from also showing a grave expression. Although Lemar’s situation wasn’t as complex as the Federation’s, politicians still needed to have basic acting skills.

"I didn’t know about this!", the President lowered his voice, so that the emotions he displayed seemed to hide a trace of dissatisfaction, some anger!

The diplomat continued to press, "They have regarded Lemar as an imaginary battlefield..."

"No, not imaginary; they intend to use Lemar as the battlefield. Their attitude is as such."

"President, right now, only we can save Lemar!"

Very quickly, the President said he needed to consider and did not immediately respond to the Peng Jieao diplomat, then let the other party leave.

Immediately after, he called everyone and gathered them in his conference room.

When he recounted the Peng Jieao diplomat’s words, everyone’s expressions became... different.

Some showed dissatisfaction.

Some displayed timidity.

Some had an almost imperceptible smile.

In fact, the Peng Jieao diplomat was not entirely wrong, but also not completely right.

When Lemar refused to stand with the Federation, they were no longer allies.

One can’t expect to take Lemar’s thoughts into account, leaving Sedolas undefended, right?

Once fortifications are set up in Sedolas, it means Lemar becomes the front line, and this is inevitable.

In a world-spanning war, no one can remain unaffected (independent of all right and wrong, participating in nothing, and being unaffected by anything). It’s not the Federation’s problem; it’s Lemar’s own problem.

But clearly, the consequences they brought upon themselves now don’t make them very comfortable, and because of this, the President is very dissatisfied.

"First, get the foreign minister back; secondly, we need to contact Bail Federal to ask what they really mean."

The President’s emotions were influenced by the Peng Jieao diplomat, and while he was expressing his dissatisfaction with the Federation’s actions, someone interrupted his speech.

"President, if we do not intend to go to war with the Federation, it is best to maintain our independence on this matter!"

"Leaning towards the Peng Jieao’s position will destroy our neutrality policy!"

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