Chapter 140: Episode 16: Chapter 4 (2/2)
”Is Marshall Alan opting to lure out Dulin's enemies with a staged defeat? Not only will these people demolish his position of the Military Affairs Chancellor, they will also doubt his external policies!”
”That's right!” Oscar finished a glass of grape wine and cried out in satisfaction. ”Alan's appetite is still that big! Launching new rounds of offenses with the incomplete recovery of the Northern force, it seems that these military risks driven by haste do match the Silver Fox's personality! But Alan has never acted with uncertainties, what could can his aim be if not to restructure the Northern Army! As for the capital …”
Oscar paused. The conversation here on involved Alfa III His Majesty's conspiracy. To speak in front of Alanis meant he would have to reconsider his words.
”The Capital has His Majesty overlooking it. I have been suspecting His Highness would raise a new political storm to eliminate uncertainties among the nobles, and it all seemed to be ready for release upon the news of defeat. Once the news reaches them, Nobles who have suppressed their anger for ages would be triggered and hurl harsh criticism towards the external policies of Marshall Alan and the royal family. By then, His Majesty only has to execute a single crackdown to get rid of gossipers once and for all!”
Alanis nodded lightly, ”To sacrifice the lives of your warriors in exchange for a political plot, is it worth it?”
Oscar remained silent and focused on his plate instead. Nevertheless, he was sure that the news of the North's defeat would signify his time to leave this damned place.
”His Highness! Lady Alanis! Sir Baron!??” excited, First Lieutenant Kirk Douglas barged into the glass house.
”What happened?” Oscar put down his cutlery. With glinting eyes, he sized up the sweating officer.
”Hurry and look! It's Paul versus Monia!”
”Oh no!” everyone at the table shook their heads and sighed.
Oscar thought it was dull, ”Kirk! Is this even news? Two months! When have Paul and Monia not fought?”
The officer waved, ”Your Highness! This is different! Real arms! Monia is serious with Paul!”
”Real arms?” Oscar's eyes bulged in bewilderment. ” Didn't they agree to only a fistfight?”
”It started off like that, but Monia is not letting up her fight!” Kirk gestured with his hands helplessly.
”Oh my God!” Oscar and Messier shrieked simultaneously. No one understood the Westland's King of Assassins better than the former, and the Military Intelligence Bureau's Super Agent the latter.
”We need to go see them! There might even be casualties if it comes to the worst case scenario!” Oscar turned to his wife.
Unbothered by the news, Alanis shrugged, ”Sure! You should go but I'll pass, I am not fond of fights!” the Princess picked up her cutlery again and seemed to not plan on joining the fun. Actually, Alanis had never told her husband that she was fine with Paul but not Monia. She did not like any part of cold Monia and felt like she'd met the horrifying face somewhere else.
The underground warehouse was the only place for shade during summer. The circular hall with an area of one acre used to be the storage of Kenshin Palace. However, the new host had renovated the spot into an arena before he moved in. The wall lights brightened up the arena while blinding fire cast blood-red shades onto the weaponry arranged on the walls. Blade cuts decorated the floor and gashes could be seen on the stone pillar standing between heaven and earth. It could be easily observed that there had been countless ruthless fights. But it was known that His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil seldom visited the arena, thus the people reasoned that the King of Assassins meant to leave the terrifying battle marks to demonstrate his battle prowess and to uphold his name.
Paul casually stood amid the arena, a glistening knight sword in hand. The King of Assassins was sizing up his opponent provocatively. Meanwhile, his opponent was in a squatting position nearby, letting out terrifying battle cries.
Monia Amerson was reluctant to admit that the man's abilities exceeded her imaginations and the word ”forfeit” was definitely not in her dictionary. She was left with her last ammunition as the previous two had failed to hit her target.
Seriously! How did things turn out like this? Monia sighed to herself, she believed that she'd fired accurately! Was he too fast, or were her reflexes too slow?
The former female soldier steeled herself as she wielded in her hands a short and long rapier respectively. While dual rapiers had been designed for females, Monia had only modified the edges to have blood grooves. Even the veteran Sarlat Drosha frowned upon seeing them.
Along with the woman's cries, the blades cut forward one after another, targeting the King of Assassin's heart and his despicable eyes. Paul slightly turned his body for his knight sword to parry blows from both sides, igniting sparks along the clashing edges. Within the duration of the short-lived sparks, King of Assassins retreated a few steps.
The woman's sight followed her opponent's motions tightly, and her blades seemed to move faster than her neural transmissions. Just as Paul stopped retreating, sharp blades reappeared before him. The short rapier was closing in on his abdomen while his knight sword barely blocked the long rapier's blow.
Once again, Paul stepped backward and seemed to have identified the pillar's location beforehand. The King of Assassins turned abruptly. Borrowing the momentum, he leaped onto the pillar and hurried away.
A shadow fell behind Monia. Without glancing behind, the female soldier cut backward but the long rapier missed and dropped. Monia could not believe her eyes when she saw Paul's feet on the narrow blade.
It happened in a sheer moment! Again, Paul borrowed momentum from the blade, jumped, and kicked Monia to the dark corner.
Almost immediately, the wobbly Amerson flung away her short rapier and whipped out her gun. While the red phosphorus of her nail paint ignited the gun fuse, she got up to aim at her target, only to find that the person now standing in front of her had changed! She barely managed to adjusted the muzzle's direction before the bullet fired and zipped past His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette's ear.
”Monia! Enough for the day, keep your guns.”
The female soldier got up, kept her weapons as told, and saluted the Marshall with her best posture.
”Oh…” Oscar whined, ”Monia! Do not forget! You are not a soldier anymore! And! Never take out your guns unless you're in a pinch, what would the people think of it!”
”Yes, Marshall!” Monia straightened and saluted. Opposite her, Oscar could only shake his head.
”Paul! Come with me!” Oscar grabbed the delighted King of Assassins roughly.
Monia stared hard at Snowstorm but collapsed after one step. It seemed that her fall just now was rather heavy. Sarlat Drosha, Shaw Curlink, Poison Doctor Percy and few other busybodies quickly went up to her. From First Lieutenant Amerson's point of view, for the Super Agent to not reject men's help meant that these were her trusted comrades. Only fellows like Paul were lower than low.
Snowstorm gazed at the limping woman as if he wanted to say something. In the end, nothing came out of his mouth. Oscar noticed hints of concerns in the King of Assassin's eyes. Having gone through similar experiences, His Imperial Highness Prince smiled softly and pulled his old friend away from the shady arena.
”She will be okay, won't she?” Bingo! Paul finally asked after the carriage had started moving.
”She who?” Oscar was flipping through documents and did not even lift his head by an inch.
Paul angrily grabbed the documents away from the hands of His Highness, ”Hey! You know who! I'm talking about Monia, would she really be injured?”
Oscar rolled his eyes and retrieved his documents, ”Paul, my friend, you are the one who's acting oblivious! Judging from Monia's strong character, she will never show you her weaknesses. Her collapse just shows how serious her injuries are, at the very least, she will have a few broken bones.”
”Oh…my God of Light!” Paul trailed away but brought the conversation back on track soon after, ”I didn't mean to be so harsh either, but you saw, didn't you? She was really coming for my life! I would be seeing blood if I didn't get serious!”
”That's your business!” Oscar grunted impatiently and now lifted his head. ”Old friend, do you … do you like her?”
”Are you kidding me?” the King of Assassins glanced at His Highness arrogantly.
”You know I'm not!” Oscar gave a hard, serious look at Paul, who was in a daze. ”You do like her, but at the same time you couldn't express yourself accurately, so you chose a more aggressive means to conquer her, or maybe you were trying to attract her…”
”Enough of you!” after cutting off the Prince's words impatiently, he realized his foul mood was getting the better of him.
”Hehehe!” with ill intentions, Oscar laughed. ”Paul, we've known each other for seven years, I do think I have the rights to comment on this matter. You've fallen for my Military Intelligence Super Agent, don't even trying denying!”
”I do not! The person I like is Annie! But you're not letting go!” Paul stared back stubbornly.
”Fine!” Oscar replied with disdain, ”I admit that you like Annie but you've become tamer than the Persians' longhair cat in front of her. This is not love, it's a form of admiration. As for Monia? Do you know what you did? For the two months Monia has stayed in Kenshin Palace, you've fought with her every single day! From what I see, Paul, you are doing nothing but demonstrating your masculinity to the female you like!”
Paul was getting a little furious, ”Hey! Do you have to describe me as a beast?”
Oscar shrugged, ”I was just attempting to analyze your thoughts with zoology.”
”You can go to hell!” the King of Assassins almost failed to contain himself.
Again, Oscar let out an infuriating laugh, ”Dear old friend, how else do you want me to say it? Do you want me to propose to Miss Monia Amerson in your stead? Although she will be a great wife, still …”
”What?” Paul cut the Prince off. ”She will be a great wife? What is your statement based on? I only know that Monia Amerson is an extremely lethal gunner.”
Oscar gave Snowstorm a huge eye roll. ”Whatever! I don't believe that you have zero plans for your future!”
------------------------------------------------
”Future…”
Sasha E. sighed in frustration. Never had she felt so depressed and confused. Future? A mere mention of this word at this timing could throw her off!
”Father! To be honest, I'm not sure! I don't have the slightest idea! Where is my future? Even the God of Light may not be capable of answering this question!”
Duke Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel caressed his daughter's hair affectionately. He knew that Sasha's young heart could not bear such a burden.
”Sasha, I'm not forcing you but the situation at hand is like this, you need to consider your future! In fact … you have nothing but two options,” Duke Andrew paused his caressing and faced his daughter sternly. He understood that this was not the time to be gentle.
”One, follow the family back to Narcissus Country and free yourself of Dulin. Two, remain by your brother's side, to endure indifference and ridicule!” Duke revealed the truth without holding back. He saw tears pooling in his daughter's eyes.
Sasha was so lost. Her rationale told her that following her family back home was the wiser choice as her brother already had a wife. Furthermore, her sister-in-law was of noble status. Continuing to stay with her brother would only bring her ridicule and disregard as the people would perceive her as the Prince's mistress. But Sasha's dream had yet to shatter; she still strongly believed that her brother loved her. As long as Oscar treated her as usual, nothing would be unbearable.
”Father! I'm sorry!” the Young Lady made up her mind.
Dortmund sighed. He saw her answer coming but still shed tears of pity for his beloved daughter.
”Sasha! You don't need to apologize! Oscar should be lucky to have your love! I am proud of you! You have become much braver than before!”
Sasha smiled helplessly. Brave? What was the compliment based on? She didn't have the faintest idea of how to face the future.
”Father, I've realized … I can't leave Oscar! Neither a minute nor a second! Am I useless?”
”How are you useless? You've always been a girl who needs affection!”
”Father!” Figg Andrew Tibotty suddenly barged into the small guest room, ”My goodness! Did you make Sasha cry? Oscar's carriage is right outside the residence. When he enters later, he will be complaining!”
Upon hearing that, Sasha quickly wiped her tears dry. Duke Andrew rose from his seat as well.
”Is Oscar already here?”
”Yes! ” Figg nodded at his father.
Dortmund turned to his daughter, ”Sasha, you can return to your room!”
Young Lady knowingly retreated as she understood that the men needed to discuss matters of high importance.
”Good day!” just as Sasha disappeared from the door, Oscar's bright voice sounded from the guest hall.
Donning the same uniform as his father, the young Marshall stood perfectly straight, his belly hidden under the belt securing his Marshall sword.
”Ah … you're here! Come, my boys, have a seat!” Duke Andrew gestured towards his sons.
Figg and his younger brother looked at each other helplessly and moved to sit before their father.
”Look! I've brought you the official authorization letter from His Majesty and Titan's Grand Bishop,” said Oscar while taking out a document. ”This document consists of two copies. This copy is for you, whereas the other being kept by the Imperial Security Division. Which means, from now on, the military operation of the Narcissus Knights is perfectly legal!”
”Alright! Now show me the troublesome tasks you've assigned your family!” the Narcissus Knights' Commander received the document of the highest order and threw it over to Figg after just two glances.
”Honestly, why are you in such a rush to mobilize the family's armed force to attack Persia? This has been questioned several times by the staff officers back in home base, as they do not think that it is a good time for an invasion at the moment,” General Figg looked at his brother with doubts.
”Don't just question. What do you think?” Oscar flung the question back to his brother.
Figg shrugged in indifference. However, his face, previously scarred by a machete, was now overtaken by ferocity, ”I don't have any views, I only know that hitting the Persians once in a while is absolutely necessary!”
It was a rare occurrence for Duke Andrew to not lecture on his second son's misbehavior. Instead, he nodded in agreement.
”That's true!” Commander of Narcissus seemed to have decided. ”Persian's civil war has severely destroyed the nation's productivity. The private armies of the Great Kings from the borders often harass our cities, they are robbing us of our resources!”
Oscar nodded, ”It seems that my guess is correct, the Persians have long fought in factions. Their wealth is drying up day after day and as well as their population is outflowing. Is this not the best time to attack?”
Dortmund shook his head in disagreement, ”Not yet! The best time is when the Persians voluntarily invite us to intervene in their conflict!”
”You must be joking!” Bewildered, Oscar's eyes bulged. ”Are you saying that Persians will come to request assistance from their nemesis???”
”Correct!” Duke Andrew laughed. ”My children, your understanding of the Persians is indeed still shallow indeed. Persia is what we call the land in Central East whereas Persian Empire is the name we attached to the multiracial nation. It was said that the Persian Empire consisted of more than four hundred races, all of whom were united by the power of religion. In the recent years, as the civil war escalated, many small clans have sought for Andrews' protection! These clans were oppressed by Persian nobles in the past and were always seeking for chances of for resistance! The home base has proposed that we wait for the bigger clans to cry for help before launching our attack on Persia!”
”I understand!” Oscar finally got the idea. ”Special warfare! Isn't this the concept brother proposed? To utilize the sentiments of small and medium Persian clans to our advantage! This is definitely a great idea, but we have no more time to waste! If we don't want to fall on the royal family's bad side, we have to keep ourselves occupied for the meantime!”
”I get your meaning too!” Dortmund waved at his son. ”Alfa III's sure has a limit to his patience, just look at how he dealt with the Ministry of Senior Nobility and you will know! If we don't feign loyalty, he will surely take more drastic measures against our family.”
”To be frank … this is not what I'm worried about! The royalties can never hide their plans from me so I will work against the disadvantages he created for our family,” Oscar said cautiously, ”I'm just thinking about your unpleasant trip to Dulin. What internal impacts will it have on our family?”
Duke Andrew fell silent. What a great question! Would the family's internal conflict escalate or diminish? Before returning to the base, he found it difficult to answer.
At that moment, Figg suddenly grinned. It seemed that he had understood.
”Didn't younger brother already considered this question when he was developing this strategy? The East's advancement can temporarily cool down the family's internal conflicts regardless of our knights' thoughts! Once they get the bugle call to charge, nothing else matters to them! There are times when the brains of these guys are simpler than that of a child, giving them some hardships doesn't do any harm either. With their spare energy, just let them vent on the Persians!”
”But we can't deny one fact!” Duke Andrew knocked on the table. ”Internal conflicts within the family exist one way or another! What the advancement does is only softening the conflict's external impacts and this problem will be exposed one fine day! We can always cleanse the stubborn and dangerous members. However, we can never curb the spread of conservatism and extremism.”
Oscar sighed, ”Is there no better option than cleansing?”
Figg and his father shook their heads.
The young Prince held his head in distress. He never wanted to resort to violence and dirty tricks whenever it concerned his family. In the depths of his heart, he prayed to God to not have to act against his wishes in the future. If things were really like what his father and brother have said, he was left with no choice. The end result would be the one he hated the most!