Operation Honey Trap vs The Emperor of the Apocalypse-Chapter 227: Preparing for War

"We’re not going to get long at all to get these recruits into shape," Alton warned Delphi, as they surveyed the soldiers on day three of their return to headquarters.

"I know," she pursed her lips. "The Emperor will want to overwhelm us before we have time to get a proper defence organised."

"Hopefully he underestimates us. Our biggest advantage is the tubiàn and the element of surprise they’ll give us. It’s hard to see how he could have got wind of them yet, so hopefully we still have that ace up our sleeves."

"That assumes Bo hasn’t turned state witness," Delphi frowned. "Baer had credible intel he’s working at the palace, which means he’s definitely won the Emperor’s favour and overcome the Emperor’s suspicion about him working for us."

"Hm," said Alton noncommittally, not willing to badmouth Bo.

"You’ve said before he has a sick mother and a younger sister who are reliant on him. It’s not that big a stretch is it?" she asked him.

"I just don’t think he’s that type of man," said Alton, not wanting to pick a fight. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Well he’s the type of man to try and abduct Feifei, so I wouldn’t put anything past him."

"Seen from another angle, he could have been trying to protect Feifei by getting her away from the Rebellion and back to the Island," said Alton reasonably.

"Away from her best friends and the only family she’s got, and against her will?" Delphi was incredulous. "I don’t know why you keep trying to defend him Alton. He’s not a nice man."

"Well, he’s the father of Feifei’s baby and he was one of my best men, so I prefer not to think the worst of him until the allegations are proven."

"Let’s wait and see what happens during the final showdown. Can I at least say, ’I told you so,’ then?"

"If you insist. But only if you’re right," he smirked, raising one eyebrow at her.

"Ooh. Challenge accepted. I can’t wait to accept my reward of immense satisfaction when the man turns out to be a traitor and I will very definitely remind you of this conversation."

"Right back at you, babygirl," he gave her a look that was laden with sexual intent. "Assuming I’m right, I’m very much looking forward to seeing how you’ll deliver the ’immense satisfaction’ you’ll owe me..."

"The satisfaction comes from being right. There are no ’extras’ for the winner."

"I beg to differ. I’ll need some creative thought on your part to reach the heady heights of immense satisfaction that I’ll be owed when I win."

"Stop talking dirty and focus on these green recruits," she rolled her eyes at him.

"You’re making me into a pent-up schoolboy, woman," he huffed. "Why did you have to insist on sleeping in the women’s dormitories when you have your own single room, General?"

"It’s a little thing called ’solidarity’. It helps build morale before we’re fighting elbow-to-elbow for our lives with these soldiers."

"Yes, alright. Although I think spending every waking moment with them is probably enough. Do you really have to spend your sleeping hours with them as well."

"We need to focus at the moment anyway. Hanky panky is a distraction."

"For a girl maybe. Not for a man. For a man the frustration is a distraction and the hanky panky is the release. After hanky panky with you, I’m calm and focussed," he grinned suggestively.

"Is that right, James Bond? Well, I’m afraid you’re going to need to learn to hone your fighting skills on the blade of frustration."

"That sounds incredibly painful, not to mention dangerous."

"It was a metaphor. I’m not suggesting you fight with your penis," she said witheringly.

"That’s good, because I think it would be a losing strategy."

"Come and look at this unit Casey’s leading for the Clan," she changed the subject. "They look to be in great shape. I’m thinking we can create a couple of elite fighting units with your men and the palace girls as one, the Clan warriors as another, and potentially a third taken from the first recruits that Lili and Cormac have been training. The elite units can spearhead the fighting. That way we’re not salting the green soldiers through any of the critical battle lines where they might crack undress pressure."

"Great idea. I’ve been thinking about where we should draw the enemy to as well. After this inspection, come up and I’ll show you my proposal in the war room. I’m suggesting Mount Arapiles where Pittman was heading. It’s the nearest high ground to HQ. I think we need to get out of the headquarters onto open ground or they could lay siege to us and trap us in there. I know we have a lot of food, but a war of attrition is not what we want."

"Completely agree. We need to confront their army and have a resounding win. One they can’t easily recover from. That’s not going to happen shooting arrows from the roof of the bunker. We need more tubiàn to bolster the troops though. I’ll head out first-up with Miro and a few of the girls on dragons to see if we can rustle up a lot more of them."

"Not without me you won’t," Alton said implacably.

"One of us needs to stay here and keep the training on track. Not to mention planning for Mount Arapiles."

"Niko and Feifei can keep the training on track, and we’ll strategise into the night tonight, for as long as it takes. We’re a team, and you’re not heading out into the outback without me. Don’t bother asking me again," he said, pre-empting her protest.

She closed her open mouth, her words of argument dying on her lips. She could see he had not the slightest intention of changing his mind.

Feifei rode up beside them on Rulli, Kai following close on her heels on his dragon. He looked like he was still finding his feet controlling the war beast.

"Just pull on the reins like a horse, Kai," called Feifei.

"I know Feifei, I am, but this guy really likes to fight with me. It’s like he wants to be the boss."

"That’s Marana," Delphi said to Alton. "He’s just young and full of testosterone. I remember he was a real show-off from the moment he joined us. Miro," she called, "tell Marana to settle down and do what Kai tells him to? They’ll need to work together hand-in-glove when the fighting starts."

Without making a noise, Miro communicated with Marana and the beast pulled up alongside Rulli like a lamb.

"Thanks General," Kai panted, "what a nice change. Every time I ride him it’s like a battle of wills."

Delphi watched the boyishly pretty man look at Feifei from under his thick hair. If she wasn’t off the mark, he was crushing on Feifei. She smiled happily to herself, pleased that Feifei had attracted the affection of this handsome young man who was a highly skilled archer. She only hoped Feifei could open her heart to another man now that Bo had deserted her.

Kai’s adoring look wasn’t lost on Alton either, who was more troubled by it, and his brow wrinkled with concern.