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If he were to take a cold, detached stance as neutral third party, then Raul could empathize equally with both sides' perspectives. For the RPMP, they were just defending themselves against an oppressive government. And for the VMP, they were just trying to enforce the law.

Ideologically, though, it was a bit murkier for him. He didn't really have strong opinions either way regarding economic systems, nor did he harbor much love in his heart for large, money-grubbing corporations.

But at least they weren't working with Abolish or invading their neighboring nations. And unlike the rest of the country, Ridgemark was actually protecting its citizens from violent exploitation. On those points, actions spoke quite a bit louder than words, Raul felt.

These VMP officers seemed to think they were fighting for the sake of the people, but having seen what happened to Miro--and several other villages on the way here--Raul had to disagree.

Unlike Miro, most of them had already been abandoned. That might've implied that the VMP had successfully helped them evacuate, but Raul had seen the decimated homes, the overturned vehicles, the rotting corpses in the streets.

And the mass graves.

If he was feeling generous, then maybe he could argue that the VMP wasn't directly responsible for all that stuff, that Abolish was acting without their knowledge. But that didn't mean the VMP was free of blame, either.

And frankly, he wasn't feeling generous.

In fact, the more he listened to these officers talk, the more irritated he became. Did they really not know what was happening out there? Or were they just so wrapped up in their ideological war that they'd become blind to the atrocities being committed against their own countrymen?

If these had been Sairi soldiers, he would've been ashamed to even associate with them.