Chapter 3: First Episode: Chapter 3 (2/2)

Moranzo was like that, regarding O’Neil Andrew Morisette’s promise; he was more concerned about the pension and the manor located in one of the famous tourist hotspots. He knew that if Oscar could describe it as ”Exceptionally generous” then it would definitely be that. He really no longer wanted the position as warden. Oscar also spoke very clearly, so what else is there left for him to complain about? This outcome was already better than what he had hoped for.

Count Moranzo Hanning experienced all the emotional ups and downs until his emotions finally settled down, and he became like a noble.

”I am very honored to be favored by you. My dear Oscar, if it is as you said, I am willing to gladly accept it. I will follow all your arrangements. Moreover, you should trust me, as I have yet to refuse even one of your wishes, have I not?” The Lieutenant General wanted to leave that place soon.

”Yes! Yes! You have never disappointed me, and what you have said is right.” A rare sincere smile appeared on the little chubby, Andrew’s face.

”May I know how would you operate? Please do not be offended. As the proverb goes, curiosity killed the cat. But I am really very curious. Those who are not guilty are naturally easier, but as for the special people you mentioned, Oscar, they are very difficult to handle. You know, His Majesty the Emperor has already deployed an army and gained complete control of these lunatics’ fort, and this seems to have diminished all our hopes!” Lieutenant General Moranzo Hanning voiced out the problem that had been bothering him. It was impossible to rescue the repeated offenders who were under high surveillance. He had handled an external movement that attempted to rescue criminals. The planning took ages. With all the preparations done, failure was not an option. Although the Lieutenant General was involved in the rescue, but knowing all the prison guards, he knew that there was no chance of success.

Despite having the crown of King of the Underworld, a few of Oscar’s attributes were still stagnant at 15 years old. So the 15-year-old child showed the outsiders that his intelligence was not lacking.

He really hoped to use his genius plan. After all, Count Moranzo Hanning’s lips were well known for being cautious. However, when he saw the Attorney General’s contemptuous look, he changed his mind. Let this extremely hypocritical bastard pay for his crimes!

The imperial envoy, Lieutenant General Marquis Van Earl, was displeased with O’Neil Andrew Morisette for making him reveal the whole plan. But he could not find any reason to refuse, and this put him in quite a difficult position. However, the Attorney General was used to obstacles and would not show weakness before a child who only appeared somewhat scary. He put on the expression he usually used when debating in court, finished the good wine in the crystal glass in one gulp, then used his usual tone to start off the discussion.

”Your distinguished general, you should know that as compared to the little thieves you’ve dealt with before, our Sir O’Neil Andrew Morisette is undeniably a genius. This plan is unbelievably concise. Please believe me if I say so, because this is really too simple.”

As the Attorney General was making a show with his words, he failed to notice that O’Neil Andrew Morisette was giving him a hostile look. It was obvious that this count looked down upon the child before him. He did not think that everything was planned by the child, so when trying to make it difficult for him, he did not hold back at all. This was a costly mistake, as he would pay with a violent death in the near future.

Light Calendar 8 April 791, a team of inspectors from the Empire’s Ministry of Justice arrived at Damorga prison, in the province of Damorel in the Titan Empire. It could be that these men from Dulin wanted to maintain an air of mystery among the locals, for they all had the same cloak draped over them. The hoods of their cloaks were pulled low. And thus, the young soldiers of the Imperial guard would not simply gape at the men’s appearances. Following their arrival, there were all sorts of rumours being spread in Damorga prison. There were many soldiers who saw them confidently claiming that they were indeed secret agents from the Ministry of Justice and that they were secretly here to deal with certain serious offenders. Otherwise, there was no reason to explain why these men needed to hide their faces with hoods. Only secret agents carrying out their mission would be like this. They were afraid of revenge from the people of the underworld. So they made themselves look like thieves. Overall, under mere speculation, the Imperial envoy that was granted permission through passes signed by the Empire’s ruling High Official of the Ministry of Justice himself, at 7.24pm in the evening, appeared at the gates of the last checkpoint to enter Damorga prison’s inner fort.

”My respected gentlemen, I am tonight’s commanding officer of the inner fort. I’m ranked Lieutenant Colonel. As for my name, all of you probably already know it. In order to avoid any unwanted events, all the members of the guards of the inner fort are confidential. You can address me by my rank. Could everyone please present your passes? This may delay your time, but it is required. We ask that you respected gentlemen give your cooperation.”

One of the Lords that looked like an officer gave a cry of discontent. ”Then could you please hurry up? Mr. Lieutenant Colonel! We have already passed nineteen security checkpoints. A full hour and we barely even covered 500 meters. Even the Imperial army does not have such tedious inspections. Don’t tell me that you’re not clear about our identities?”

The Lieutenant colonel and another two captains carefully checked through their passes and did not even lift their heads.

Just when the officer was starting to get angry by their disrespectful behavior, the Lieutenant Colonel lifted his head and gave a respectful bow. ”Your identity is clear. You are the Ministry of Justice’s prison plague prevention and cure bureau, Sika Shamila. Forgive my ignorance! You may pass through, but the rest of the gentlemen would have to wait a while.”

Sika snatched away his pass, and crossed the inspection point with arrogance.

After sending all the men one after another into the enormous fortress, the Lieutenant colonel and all the soldiers standing at the sentry post breathed a sigh of relief.

”Okay! Everyone knows what you got to do! The Boss’ order was that from now onwards we are to seal off this inner fort. No one is allowed near the gates, and this order is effective until the day we retreat. Are we clear?”

”Clear!”

”Very well! Go keep watch, like a true guard. Even in your dreams you wouldn’t have imagined you would get this opportunity to be a guard at Damorga prison. But the truth is, all of you are only worthy to mine for coal. However, Brother Balance and our elders needs you to be good guards, so you should cherish this opportunity well!”

”Yes! Lieutenant Colonel!”

Sir Leon Arsea Crelini was imprisoned in Damorga prison with the criminal charge of tax evasion. The allegations of the Ministry of Justice towards Sir Arsea were definitely unjust. This was because no one had ever collected tax for his trades. The elders in the Imperial Tax Bureau had never heard of this man, but in the Ministry of Justice, this man’s name was well known. The Crelini clan controlled close to seventy percent of the whole west land’s opium market. The old Crelini’s young son always played a critical role in the clan. The old Crelini, for the sake of his most beloved son, the heir of the household, launched countless prison raid movements. The Ministry of Justice’s prison, the Empire’s supreme court, Damorga prison’s inner fortress that was impenetrable, all these places had stains of the brave Crelini house’s fresh blood. The insane rescue missions continued until the old Crelini received Brother Balance’s news then only they subsided.

9 months ago, the old Crelini had secretly sent out the clan’s elite and most loyal unit. This unit, at an uninhabited valley, had undergone intense training. Their instructor was said to be a Narcissus Knight who had beheaded countless pagans. Under the leadership of this respected Knight, at the uninhabited valley, they used the simplest of materials to build a fortress. If you have ever seen this wobbly and badly damaged castle, you would definitely gasp in surprise at its resemblance to the world famous Damorga prison.

In this simple castle, everyone was given a definite position. From the soldiers to the officers, a winter’s training allowed them to walk within the castle with their eyes closed. After that, they divided and conquered, marching from Mobustan, they set out towards Damorga. At the outskirts of Damorga, in one of the secluded manors, they mimicked one of the Imperial army’s organizational structures to restructure their group, until Light calendar’s 8 April 791, 3.20pm.

Here, the 1024 members of the Crelini clan’s private soldiers held their forged soldier’s certificate and stared blankly ahead. From that moment onwards, they became the capital Imperial Guards’ fourth defending division. Their responsibilities were clearly stated in the Titan Empire’s army redskin files that were handed out.

The army’s order was like this:

The capital Imperial Guard’s fourth defending division special task force, should immediately set out. On Light Calendar 8 April 791, 5pm, completely take over Damorga prison’s inner fort and other surrounding areas guarding and defending duties. During His Majesty the Emperor's birthday celebration, Damorga prison’s safety and the amnesty order’s steady execution concerns the whole Empire’s stability. May the capital Imperial Guard’s fourth defending division special task force at this crucial moment, take up this responsibility, and bear this glorious as well as arduous mission.

The letter clearly bore the Titan Empire’s military affairs chancellor, Marshal Vann Hewitt Alan’s own signature. Moreover, it was stamped with the emperor’s customized seal used to deploy troops – the golden lion official seal.

When the capital Imperial Guard’s fourth defending division special task force showed up in the Imperial Guard’s Lieutenant General Moranzo Hanning’s office, the Lieutenant Colonel himself had his doubts about the sanity of the situation. Under the distinguished Lieutenant General’s confidential secretary, Captain Vick’s arrangement, he and his fake army, at precisely 5pm, entered Damorga prison’s inner fort. The highly skilled narcissus knight’s training results were shown to all. This private force only took less than 4 minutes to occupy the enormous fortress. That made the confidential secretary continuously give them the praise they deserved as the capital defenders’ elite.

The fake army’s Lieutenant colonel, after securing the fortress, the first thing he did was to make a special mark outside the planned prison doors. At this time, if there were anyone who came close to the important people that they were to rescue, the soldiers under him would not hesitate to rise up and attack. Seeing that everything was within his control, Sir Major ordered the men under him to open the fortress’ fifth floor, cell number four’s prison doors. Locked up inside was his close childhood friend.

Although Leon Arsea Crelini heard the unusual inner fort’s clamor, but after a while it quieted down, yet he still could not help but worry. Would the situation really be as what the brother mentioned? He had been imprisoned for long enough! He had before himself his biggest hope in the past seven years, and he did not want to pretend anymore. If this time was like the previous times, ending in failure, this strong man had already made up his mind to commit suicide. He yearned for freedom, but freedom had never been this close. If he still had to cross arms with failure, the immense disappointment would have crushed his spirit. How would he still have the courage to struggle for survival?

Arsea’s anxiety was interrupted by the bang of the prison door. He carefully identified the Imperial Guard officer who appeared at the door. The officer stepped out from the shadows into the light of the torch. The Lieutenant Colonel’s friend, finally after staring blankly for a few seconds, frantically threw himself on him. The Lieutenant Colonel embraced the clan’s heir tightly and allowed the strong, courageous man’s surge of tears to be shed on him.

”Is this all for real?” Lieutenant General Moranzo Hanning was still baffled about the order signed by the minister in charge of the army and His Majesty the Emperor.

”Really? You’re really naïve!” Marquis Van Earl could not tolerate his slow reaction. ”You should be quite clear about the Imperial Army’s structure. Tell me, a teacher only has three groups, so this capital teacher’s fourth group, is it possible to exist? Do not think about that transfer order document anymore. Our Sir O’Neil Andrew Morisette paid a huge price to get His Majesty the Emperor’s official seal from the hands of the Imperial Palace’s chamberlain. As for the ‘Silver fox’ Alan’s signature, that is even better, is it not? O’Neil! Among your underlings there should not lack experts in document forgery right? Oh! That’s right! After everything is over, could you introduce me to get to know the man who made the military order document?”

The coldness in Oscar’s eyes was enough to freeze a lion. His good mood was ruined by the Attorney General, who thought so highly of himself. It has been very long since anyone could calmly stand before Oscar and mock and ridicule him. Those who are ignorant are innocent, but if you were to pay more careful attention, then you will realize that the ignorant ones usually die cruelly. This inspection official was truly ignorant and thought that Oscar’s status was just a slightly more respected prisoner.

”Could it, could it be that it ends like this?” Lieutenant General Moranzo Hanning, Damorga prison’s previous warden, unconsciously added another word before his name. Damorga prison’s inner fort that was as difficult to capture as if there was a moat, was taken over by a fake army. Thank the God of Light; luckily this did not happen when he was still in office.

”No! It has not ended! It will never end!” Oscar stared expressionlessly at Marquis Van Earl’s eyes, and coldly answered the previous warden’s question.

Van Earl felt an inexplicable chill. As the Ministry of Justice’s Attorney General, he had countless dealings with criminals, but he had never saw a pair of eyes as these. In these pair of eyes, his observation skills that were his pride, could not find a single thing. Those pair of eyes was like black holes, about to gobble up every inch of his flesh. His ears felt as if they heard a beastly roar. For the first time, Marquis Van Earl started to wonder whether the astronomical sum of money that he was promised, and could never acquire in many lifetimes, would have to be exchanged with his life.