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He kept eavesdropping for a while and heard similar discussions being held. Different perspectives on who should do what and how they should do it. The way some of these guys talked, they made it sound like if only they were the ones in charge, then the war would've already been won.

But one thing was consistent, at least: their hatred of the RPMP.

These VMP officers were believers in their cause--that was for sure. And the RPMP, being led by a small group of powerful companies in Ridgemark, represented the exact opposite of what these guys were supposedly fighting for.

Raul had already heard about the ideological divide between Vantalayan government and Ridgemark many times, but hearing it from this side was a bit different.

"Burns me up," said one officer among a small crowd eating at a table. "Selfish bastards. And for what? To fill their coffers? Our brothers fight and die, sacrifice their lives for the future of our country, and those traitors in Ridgemark have the gall to claim that they're the ones fighting for the people?!"

"Aye," said the one next to him. "They only care about money. Hallick's got it right. They're inhuman. No compassion in them. No sense of right or wrong. At this point, I wonder if they even have red blood in their veins."

Graham Hallick was the Vantalayan Prime Minister. He was the one who'd been spearheading the effort to centralize almost everything in the country over the last few years. The banks, agriculture, entertainment--one industry at a time, every company in the country had been forced to employ a "team of government liaisons" who would ensure that "the needs of the nation came before the needs of the company."

And apparently, economic growth had been explosive. Until Ridgemark broke away, that was.