Chapter 47: Sixth Episode: Chapter 2 (1/2)
Chapter 47: Sixth Episode: Chapter 2
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
”First Mountain Corps of First Army, District Seven of the Imperial Guards! All reporting to you, Sir! Your Royal highness Prince!”
Lieutenant Colonel of the Guards, Hyatt Brandy immediately went on his knees the moment he saw the Prince. Under normal circumstances, he could simply bow, but the current situation did not allow him to do that. At least, he must act like a sinner in front of the Prince.
Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt did not think he could be forgiven by the Prince and the Princess. Of course, he could not imagine that the military court or the royal family would spare him of his offences. Why? Hyatt lowered his prideful head. The Prince’s group looked like they have just went through an extremely unfortunate event, but at least they were safe now! Who could be more unfortunate than himself?
Hyatt knelt on the floor on one knee. His front chest was held close to his thigh. This Lieutenant Colonel did not even dare to more. Even though this action was extremely humiliating for a soldier, this Lieutenant Colonel knew clearly of his own errors. What thing could be worse than having a foreign armed force appear in his defense area? Oh! Of course there was! The Lieutenant Colonel scolded himself. The worse thing was that this bunch of criminals who came out of nowhere publicly attacked the great royal family of Titan.
Her Royal Highness Princess Alanis, terrified, looked at the little Prince standing beside her with a pursed lip. She felt a little torn. This Lieutenant Colonel undoubtedly deserved to receive strict punishment. When she knew that it was an Italia mercenary group that attacked her, she was in rage like never before. Could it be that her country’s border line was completely undefended?
The gaze of the Princess lingered between Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt and His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil. She hoped that the Prince could say something at this moment. She was afraid that her furious self would make some unwise decision. After all, no one knew what would happen when the commander of the whole squad of army was punished in front of all of them. The Princess pursed her lip. Even though she greatly wished for this Lieutenant Colonel of the Guards be punished right here at this moment, she could not risk the danger of the soldiers turning against them.
Out of her expectations, His Royal Highness Prince O’Neil clumsily helped the Lieutenant Colonel up from his knee. This young lad even got rid of the dirt on Hyatt who committed a heavy offense of neglecting his duty.
”Your Highness...” Hyatt could not even speak a word. He did not know what came to himself, nor did he understand whether the action of the Prince indicated the pardon of his crime.
”First Army, District Seven, Sir Lieutenant Colonel, I have read ”War History of the Alps” before. First, the First Army is the infamous hero squadron of Titan! I still recall that your mountain corps was the only army that successfully overcame the Alps in this world. That was... That was Light Year 667, right?” The Prince chatted with this army about war history unexpectedly.
Hyatt was a little excited. If there was a thing in this world that could make him forget himself, then this thing must be his mountain corps.
”Yes! Your Highness, it was Light Year 667 7th day of 4th month. In order to cooperate with the spring attack of the Empire army of the south towards the Faran Kingdom, our First Mountain Corps of First Army, District Seven successfully overcame the frozen St. Croat Peak of the Alps. Even though that was not the highest peak of the Alps, we were still the only humans who have ever reached that place! After that, by using the word of the war history, the First Mountain Corps rushed down from the snow mountain as if it was a God’s miracle. They began a tough guerilla warfare with the Faran from behind and was able to hang on for nearly two months under the situation where there was a 70 percent loss of soldiers from the war. This situation continued until the Faran officially signed a ceasefire during the Third War between Faran and Titan.”
Oscar truly respected this Lieutenant Colonel of the Guards. Actually this understanding definitely came from the young lad’s admiration towards the ‘War History of the Alps’. The author of the ‘War History of the Alps’ was undoubtedly an unconventional one. He did not fill the whole war history book with the data of both the enemy and our country like the others usually did. Instead, he wrote this officially published reading material of the history in a way of a heroic legend.
”Yes! Yes! The First Army was definitely just as you have said. And you, Sir Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt, I believe that you are more than capable because District Seven would not allow a rubbish to lead such a heroic army. So do not let this event get to you. Neglecting your duty and making mistakes are two different things! Even though it is difficult for you to get rid of the offense of neglecting your duty, but as a soldier, you did not make any mistake! Moreover, your rescue team was very timely. If the military court acted on this case, I will defend you.”
Hyatt once again went on one knee. He wanted to praise the Prince, but he felt all words paled in front of the kindness of the little Prince.
”Get up! Let me see what you have brought for me!” The Prince simply brought the Princess and left. The young lad ignored the Lieutenant Colonel who was still on his knee. He found that Alanis’s expression was still very dark.
The camp became busy once again. The warriors of the First Mountain Corps have joined the rescue team. Even though it was the same hero army, they respected the Narcissus Knight more. Looking at these injured companions was extremely upsetting.
All kinds of cheers could be heard from the forest. The time was Year 791 31st day of 6th month midnight. The Baggage Corps of the First Army have finally caught up to the to the battle front. They seemed to have brought the whole army to this unknown mountain. The army doctor, army judge, tool officer and even the army Priest of the Light were there.The Narcissus Knights passionately welcomed the mountain warriors who lent a helping hand during such a crucial moment. They clearly saw the fatigue on the faces of those mountain warriors after a long march without stopping.
His Royal Highness Prince and a few honorable ladies returned to the camp under the protection of the mountain warriors of the main army. Now there was nothing that could threaten them anymore! The mountain corps who came to support them were the ones with the highest combat ability in Titan. This army once fought with enemies that were ten times more in numbers than them in these mountains for a few months. Even though that was more than a hundred years ago, until now there is none who would dare to challenge the pride of the First Army in this mountainous area.
The whole army protected the Prince and the others down the hill. Oscar could see the Captain of his Knights scolding a small soldier terribly beside the fire from afar. For some reason, the seemingly-friendly Colonel Rayen’s voice was extremely loud.
When the Colonel intended to hit the head of the soldier with his sword hilt, Oscar stopped him just in time.
”Hey! Kamille! Isn’t it over? What are you doing?”
Kamille bowed to the few Sir and Ladies who have just returned, then he took the soldier by the collar. This poor knight already did not have a large build, but he looked exactly like a chick who could not find its home when he was pulled by the Colonel.
”Your Highness! It was this guy. As a scout, he actually could not differentiate the army of our own, he even... even released enemy alert before making sure of the situation!”
Oscar could not help but think of that scene when he ran away in fright just now. So it was all thanks to this knight. The young lad saw that this tall knight seemed to have cried just now. Apparently Kamille scolded him pretty badly.
”Alright! It was not that much of a deal! What would we do if it was really the enemy? I should say he is a qualified scout!” Oscar reined his horse and walked off. He was in need of a camp and an army bed currently. He could no longer take more of this exhaustion.
”Did you hear that? The Prince has pardoned you!” The yell of the Paladin could be heard from behind of Oscar.
”But I can’t forgive you! Go and report yourself to Captain Arden! You will spend the rest of your army journey among the potatoes and onions.”
5th day of 7th month, the Prince and the others could see the station of the First Army.
Dopter, a city in the mountains. It was situated at the west side of the largest lake in the southern mountainous area, Rillson Drake Lake. The citizens of this small city mainly sustain their life by hunting and fishing. At the same time, a small part of their homemade crafts also brought them income for a better life.
Dopter does not have any famous products, and the scenery near it could not be compared to others in this southern mountainous area that was famous for its scenery. But the Dopters have their own pride. As the station of the First Mountain Corps of the First Army, District Seven of the Empire, having an army that was called ‘Snowlion’ was enough for Dopter, this small town that did not have over ten thousand in population, to leave its name in the history of Titan.
The army of the Titan Empire was divided rather clearly. Nineteen Army Districts completely cover the whole land of the Empire. Only the East area was controlled by the largest military force in Titan, and that was the Andrew family. After years of developing, each and every army district has perfected its function and the division of the army force. This was the fundamental reason that Titan could remain undefeatable in the face of challenges from many countries in these few centuries. This was not all the contribution of a single General in the army. Instead it was the ultimate function that was produced when the military forces of Titan carry out their respective duties. These functions were not produced in just one day and night!
The superior knowledge of the Morisette royal family, the most perfect military system in the Westland, the world’s most effective military recruitment system, the military tax imposed on every noble family, the military supply zones found all around the country -- all these created the Westland’s most intricate military machine, and the exceptional power of this machine terrorized every nation who looked up to the holy Titan.
Just take the current Military District Seven as an example. When the Narcissus Knights who suffered a lot crashed into Dopter, the military components on the small land of the Titan Empire began churning at high speed once again after years of silence.
Light Year 791 28th day of the 6th month early in the morning, the captain of the ‘Snowlion’, Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt Brandy, spent forty minutes to confirm the identity of this Narcissus Knight and the letter of request for assistance that was stamped by the royal family and the Andrew family. Immediately after this, which was actually two seconds after he put down the letter, he followed the instructions from the Morisette royal family to declare a state of emergency in the First Army’s territory and the city of Dopter. The areas were to be under the command of the military.
The ninth second after he put down the letter, the Lieutenant Colonel had already given orders to his own troops, and ordered for the ringing of the alert bell that hung by the church in the city.
By the first minute and seventeenth second, the second-in-command of the Lieutenant Colonel brought a knight scout sub-unit and departed. Their destination was the main station of the Military District Seven, the capital of Rylie Province, Fort Stanson. Their mission was to report to the commander of the Military District Seven.
By the first hour Lieutenant Colonel Hyatt put down the letter requesting for assistance, the infamous First Army ‘Snowlion’ completed the gathering and war preparation of the troops. The Lieutenant Colonel immediately advanced his troops to the place of the incident after making sure of the units that would stay behind.
On the same day 11p.m., the investigation sub-unit of the First Army who changed three horses reached Fort Stanson. They finished the journey that normally took two days to finish. The sub-unit of the second-in-command lost three knights because of this. They all dropped off the cliff due to their carelessness at night.
At 11.28p.m., the communication officer at the Command Department of Military District Seven of the Titan Empire announced the cancellation of the rest day and working day and called to gather all soldiers at hand. 11.39p.m., the Commander of the Military District Seven who came from the base gave orders for the initiation of the emergency protocol for all units in the district. According to protocol, all units of District Seven would go into battle mode the first moment they receive the order. The border and the city must be closed off and all transport should be frozen. They could arrest and attack anyone who showed enmity towards the Titan army. 11.40p.m., the Director of Justice of the Rylie Province who was invited here and the officer of the Secret Service Department based in Rylie sent out a messenger to the highest officials in each capital. 11.46p.m., the governmental leader of the Rylie Province and the Military High Officer of the Military District Seven signed an urgent encrypted document together that was sent to the Royal Secretariat.
29th day of the 6th month 4a.m., the First Army from District Seven of the Titan Empire’s remaining two army troops left the station almost at the same time. They sped as fast as possible towards Dopter.
1st day of the 7th month morning, the striker troops of the First Army who just reached Dopter City received the news that the Princess and the Prince were safe. At the same time, the whole area governed by Military District Seven eventually began the alert for war.