Seth had a lot to relay, especially about the Bloodborne and even more so that terrifying draconic being.

He needed to give detail of their encounter, their clash, the weakness of this near-immortal race, the blood world — all of it.

These were cards he could keep to himself, but the stakes weren’t costly to him alone, they were costly to the whole of his species.

On and on Seth went, with a grim tone delivering every detail to the president.

The man just sat silently, his hands clasped, as he listened and digested the information.

By the time Seth was done, the president remained silent for a long few seconds.

And then he spoke... "We have to take drastic measures."

The five stared at the president’s expression silently. This was the most serious they had ever seen the man.

His presence subtly became more stifling. Not that it affected them, but they noted it regardless.

Seth leaned forward, his expression equally grim. "And what do you mean by drastic measures?"

The president turned to stare at Seth, his eyes cold and devoid of emotions, leaving only calculative lights behind that gaze.

Seth instinctively could tell this was the true face of the man behind the charismatic shell. This was the real President Cain.

"That means we do nothing." The president spoke, leaving a long silence afterward.

Confusion clouded everyone’s eyes. "Huh?" They all exclaimed, flabbergasted.

They had just finished narrating their encounter with a near-immortal race that seemed to consist entirely of Awakened beings.

And they had explained how they were attacked by a dragon. And his response was that they would do nothing?

Their heads were filled with question marks.

One couldn’t take this matter lightly. Seth and his team had merely come across the Bloodborne — and coincidentally a dragon.

Who knew how many more countless locations had been claimed by these mysterious powerful races?

How many were they? Where were they?

They needed to make sure they got all of these answers so that when war came, they’d be prepared.

This information was especially important since the continents had merged, and there was no barricade of ocean separating lands.

No matter how they thought it through, the president’s reply just didn’t make sense.

Shouldn’t they be acting now? Why do nothing?

Feeling the questioning gazes settling on him, President Cain felt the need to explain himself, so he started.

"I once asked you all a question on our first encounter. Do you remember?"

Glancing among themselves, they quickly nodded. They recalled it bright as day.

"Good. And the answer to my question — how can the human race be united — was... conflict!" The president sighed, caressing the scar that ran down from his eye to his cheek out of habit.

"I have sent countless envoys before the convergence, even more so now. I have tried all possible ways to contact various countries, but all I got was radio silence..."

Everyone remained silent, listening attentively.

"Though there are some feedbacks from neighboring powers, they had been anticipated, but still aren’t satisfactory...

This leads me to the conclusion that bigger nations refuse to reply because they still have individual interests at heart."

The president’s hands dropped down on the table, still clasped. He stared into the distance vacantly.

"I have tried my best. I have warned them. But since they still choose to hold on tightly to the past, fine — we will let them rule.

They should face the horrors of the earth, and when they crumble, we will pick up what is left."

Everyone’s heart went cold. Wasn’t the president’s solution a little too extreme?

Elaine couldn’t hold in her objection. She spoke. "But aren’t there better, easier ways that wouldn’t cause more collateral damage?"

The president cast his cold gaze upon her, causing a bona fide Awakened being to go stiff for a moment before she quickly recovered.

He shook his head. "You don’t understand. My goal isn’t just unity in name. I want to unite the race in the purest sense!"

On hearing these words, Seth and the others shook their heads right away.

"That’s simply not possible!" Seth voiced with a frown.

And the others agreed. Uniting the human race was possible, but not in the sense the president spoke of.

Humans were diverse social creatures. They had varying cultures, varying religions, varying moral values.

There was no way to fix these contrasting pieces into a whole.

Doing that, you would have to erase a lot of things, make sure they only saw themselves as humans — nothing more.

The president scanned their faces with a deadpan expression. "But it is possible..."

"When the foreign races come knocking and there’s no one to shield them... well, let’s just say even the strongest of metal will bend once put under enough pressure."

His words caused silence. Not one among them in the room could dispute his words.

It might be brutal, but it was the truth. Humans will only let go when there is nothing more to hold onto.

Every nation did a solid job in cultivating national identity among the populace.

And to break that, one needed extreme methods. Once the foreign races attacked, things could go either way...

One: by some miracle, the humans could win the war while still divided.

Or two: the most likely — the human nations crumble one after the other, and they do their best to piece together what is left.

It might sound wrong, but for the greater good, that was the only way.

"But what about the nations who are ready?" Brandon asked after much thought.

The president nodded. "Provisions are being prepared as we speak. Team Alpha is designated to depart for Canada soon. Their job is to create a linking safe zone that connects to the USA.

As for the others below, our agents are in preparation. We trust that no nation that willingly signs the World Government Proposal Bill will be left unprotected and unprepared..."

Relief flooded the minds of the six. At least the president didn’t need to show his ruthless side to every nation.

"But... what if other nations have figures like us? What if they really are able to win this war without us?" Uriel posed a difficult question.

The president’s cold demeanor broke, as a smile stretched across his lips. "Trust me, I don’t underestimate the potential of my race. It’s just that our opponents this time... are just as broken!"