Chapter 146: Episode 17: Chapter 1 (2/2)
Oscar avoided the glob of saliva. The young Marshall rolled his eyes in exasperation, he did not like to deal with dull men.
”Hand him over to Edward. And! Don't annoy me with these matters anymore!”
Diener Edward had zero tasks and had been discussing the human anatomy with the Poison Doctor Percy. However, it was challenging for the two to come to an agreement as Edward was accustomed to torturing minds and bodies from the outside whereas the Poison Doctor Percy focused heavily on pathology and drug reactions.
”Sir, the Marshall asked me to hand him to you!”
”Put him there!” Edward answered as if the subject was a lifeless object.
”Oh! Okay!” 'Fire Eyes' Ash scratched his head. He was a little scared of the gentleman's tiny room, which was occupied by countless cutting tools in all shapes and sizes. There were the narrow ones for the respiratory tract, thick ones with saw teeth for the head, crescent-shaped ones for the knee and sickle-shaped ones for shaving bones. Ash retracted his lingering stares not because he was uncomfortable, but because he had no knowledge of tools other than those few.
Deiner Edward touched his victim with icy cold hands. His victim shivered but gave away no doubts from his eyes.
”What other orders do the Marshall have?”
Ash shook his head, ”Sorry sir, the Marshall said nothing!”
”Well then, what do you think?” the diener promptly got himself a blade which was seven centimeters long and two centimeters wide.
”Me? I think this guy may be the bandits' spy!”
”Let's confirm our guesses then!” Edward turned to face the captive. His face which was marred by scars was filled with anticipation.
Piercing cries echoed through the hotel where the Prince would be staying temporarily. All the staff hid. Only the soldiers and the Prince's friends were busying themselves.
Oscar lifted his head from the book and frowned upon hearing the painful cries, one after another.
The empathetic Kirk quickly explained, ”The ladies have gone outdoors, they have been invited by the local farmers. You don't need to worry a thing.”
Oscar relaxed his gaze and immersed himself in his tasks.
”Reporting!”
”Results are out?”
”Yes, Marshall!” Fire Eyes Ash wiped away the sweat from his forehead, ”A spy of the Southern thugs, but that fellow wasn't sure where his people would be.”
”Oh! Let's wrap it up then!” Oscar waved about and called at the Scout leader, ”You don't look good, have a good rest!”
A pant could be heard from Ash before he answered, ”Yes!” It seemed that even the veteran Special Warfare officer was affected by Edward's ways.
”Now throw these things away!” the Diener Edward last instructed as though he was treating a piece of old cloth.
On the troop's last day in Yang, His Imperial Highness Prince rose from bed very early. He consoled his complaining wife and proceeded to prepare for the move.
The Lieutenant General dispatched to take charge of the campsite in Yang was not young. In the living room, the lonely man was waiting for the Prince and the Commission Officers coming from the central part of the Empire.
The day's plans were like this: His Imperial Highness Prince was to represent the royalties and Imperial Guards and inspect the metal smelter of the central camp. The inspection would be in the morning, followed by lunch in the afternoon and a final review in the evening. After the reviews, the Prince would be on his way.
First Lieutenant Kirk Douglas was circling outside Oscar's bedroom and this greatly bothered the Prince.
”What happened?”
The great swordsman came up to the Prince with high spirits, ”Marshall, there's a letter from General Murat!”
”Oh! My Red Tiger!” Oscar cheered. He had been waiting for this day, ”Pass me the letter!”
Kirk brought the Prince a big envelope and stared at the Marshall in anticipation.
Oscar scanned through Murat's handwriting. Satisfied, he folded the letter, ”Discard it!”
Yes, Marshall, but … did General Murat say anything?”
”Yep! Your uncle says the Red Tiger is all fine. This bastard Alan really left my Red Tiger behind to defend the rear of the Northern army, but Murat was far smarter! He led everyone back through the other direction!”
”Hahahaha!” First Lieutenant Kirk laughed loudly, not minding his position. At the same time, he was also a little concerned, ”This … Isn't this defying battlefield commands?”
”Whose commands? Mine?” Oscar's eyes were glinting dangerously, ”Kirk, I'll have you remember that there are only my commands here, nobody's else! Understand?”
”Yes, Marshall!” Douglas hastily stood to salute. ”Marshall, do you still have any orders?”
”Let's go now to see what the Yang camp is hiding!”
What the Yang camp was hiding? The question was straight to the point! The citizens of Yang City had been complaining about the harmful particles and combustion wastes in the air but had never seen any smelting furnaces. What they had seen were only heaps of minerals and all sorts of rare metals transported by the Empire's military trucks.
The Yang campsite was situated in the valley to the West of the city. The huge military camp was comprised of three divisions, which were the standard establishments of a corp. However, the corp was not part of the Guards' battle formation but merely a part of the Titan Empire's Production Group.
Hidden within the valleys, the Yang Production Group dug numerous caves into the firm hills, Other than the furnaces, there were ventilation and irrigation systems. At the side of the military camp, there were a few warehouses that were heavily guarded. Upon Marshall O'Neil's questioning, he was only informed that this was the military's Second Secret Warehouse, storing the expensive and durable metal bows and arrows. Oscar checked the warehouse records and exclaimed, ”Oh! Four thousand six hundred bundles! Fifteen arrows each bundle!”
”Hehe! If everyone were to have one arrow, they can kill one army!”
The military camp Commander smiled and answered, ”Yes, Marshall. It's sufficient!”
”Now this is a real country's warfare reserves! We've mentioned the Morisette royalties' concerns many times, but if the people were to witness this warehouse filled with arrows, they would definitely have a different picture of the war. In fact, the essence of Titan's strength lies at this spot!”
Looking at the warriors guarding the warehouse, they were brought here by the demanding military system. They had been forced to undergo harsh training to serve the Empire's army.
As for the warehouse! Warehouses in the Empire's camp would usually only store two kinds of things; first would be the weaponry reserves, second being the nation's food reserves. These two items were the foundations for long defensive battles or the launching of wars. Without food and weapons, would there be any point in talking about war?
On the lands of the Titan Empire, there were a few other large military bases like the Yang camp, which specialized in production and construction. Their purposes differed with some specializing in machinery, some in production while others in food reserves. Under normal circumstances, most bases would function similarly to the Yang camp, simultaneously handling the manufacturing of military items, transporting resources and providing training to the Guard's army reserves.
After having their faces blackened by the cinders and smoke, Oscar and his officers finally exited the valley, which appeared to be shrouded by layers of black mist.
”Oh! It felt like a walk in hell!” Oscar could not help but exclaim while he was getting into the carriage.
”Hehe! Of course! The Pinehill Peak back at home's much better!” Torry connected with the Marshall's words but soon came to a realization that he had gone out of line, ”Oh! I forgot, the Pinehill Peak has retired!”
Oscar patted his old friend on the shoulders, ”Everything will be fine!” and he said no more.
The lunch gathering was held in the hotel. Yang City was facing a problem as their statuses could not match those of the two powerhouses of the military. According to the Capital's customs, there was no one from the city who could sit alongside the Empire's two royalties of the highest statuses. In the end, the experienced hotel owner figured out a solution. He set up two long tables in the dining hall, one for the guests from the Capital while the other for the local officers.
It was obvious that Prince O'Neil was satisfied with the hotel's arrangement. He got to sit with his family and not the weird local officers with heavy accents.
Served with the local dishes of the Kinostras Province, lunch was scrumptious. A small shining golden bread, of which the people called it ”Nuke”, was also served. Nuke was an ancient unit of measurement, but here it symbolized the baker's exceptional skills.
Other than the sweet bread, the main course garnered the most attention. The dishes included eggplant with minced meat, roasted duck, pigeon pickled with red wine and bamboo shoots served with fresh strawberries.
After the meal, the Prince and his men rejected the local's drinking offers. In the past few days, they had been drinking so much that they were tired of it. Furthermore, the water smelled of ashes and rusting metals.
”This was imported this morning!” the mayor of Yang reminded softly.
Oscar pondered, it would be impolite if he was to reject again. So, he encouraged his family and friends to try the drink and luckily, there was no awful taste.
Looking at His Highness Prince drinking in satisfaction, the local officers all laughed in relief.
It sure was strange! His Imperial Highness Prince had initially planned to head toward the Yang camp's field, but the accompanying Alanis was seen covering her eyes again. The officers who had enjoyed the previous spectacle gathered around the Princess again in hopes of hearing those feminine screams of hers once more. This time, their Marshall had learned his lesson. Oscar immediately discontinued the military review. He then accompanied his miserable wife to board the carriage and head back to the city's hotel.
”Are you sure?”
”Of course!” with his fingernails, Oscar removed the culprit – a vexatious eyelash from her eyes. ”It's this which went into your eyes!”
”Oh! Thank god!” said Alanis while patting her chest.
”The one who should be thanking the gods is me!” Oscar observed the lone eyelash in scrutiny, ”It's this which ended the absurd performance!”
”Oh yes!” Alanis approached her husband cheerfully. ”Since the weather is so hot, those soldiers participating in the review must hate us! But things are fine now, they will definitely treat us with respect again, or maybe… they might have already fallen asleep somewhere!”
The young Prince suddenly embraced his alluring wife. Without any words, his lips found their way to his lover's chest. Separated by the chest brace with supports made of whalebone, Oscar outlined shapes of his lover's nipples with his lips.
”What's wrong?” the Princess gently caressed her husband's hair, her eyes watery.
”Alanis, I want you! Alanis!”
There, the young couple was at it again!
”That's funny! Such frequent contact! Why is that Her Highness Princess hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy?”
”Percy! This is none of your business!” Sasha E. mumbled lowly. She had been carefree like the other until the nosy doctor decided to butt in.
Percy instantly shut his mouth. Sitting beside the Young Lady was Fenrar Donaute who was holding Sasha's hand while caressing the Young Lady's hair with the other hand. In most's eyes, Sasha was still a child.
The officers sat obediently in the spacious guest room of the hotel, waiting for His Highness Prince and Her Highness Princess to put their abrupt love affairs to an end. However, they seemed to be unbothered by it, or rather it was much better compared to the military review.
”I can introduce my daughter to you!” Brigadier General Luke Citel who sat opposite the Young Lady spoke, ”Of course, if you don't mind another clumsy and illiterate brat by your side.”
Sasha seemed bored, ”Is it Trinity? I like her a lot, but she's in University Town! Isn't University Town at least seven hundred kilometers away?”
”Things will be better as long as you're patient!” Luke Citel was attempting to console the grumpy Young Lady who reminded him of his daughter, resulting in him being protective of her most of the times. ”Trinity is currently processing her transfer application, so she can't leave my side. There are a few prestigious academies in Viellona as well, she'll be rendezvousing with us there.”
”Wait? Again, you want me to wait!” Sasha E. sighed helplessly. ”Ah … how I wish Aeolia's here!”
Nobody spoke this time. As Aeolia had been assigned a confidential task by His Imperial Highness Prince, the soldiers and servants would never speak of the Countess at this timing.
”Why is it taking so long?” Discount Tove Van Sukhoi was losing his patience.
”What are you referring to?”
All of a sudden, footsteps of the Prince sounded. Oscar, who was dressed neatly, appeared in the men's line of sight.
Torry unconsciously peeked at the clock above the fireplace, and this action of his brought laughter to the knowing men.
Oscar blushed in embarrassment and had the sudden urge to kick his Brigadier General of the artillery soldiers.
”Alright! Everyone, get your preparations done! We'll be leaving in ten minutes!”
The soldiers and servants left the place one after another. Oscar grabbed his sister's hand.
”Finished your tasks?” Sasha stared at her brother blankly. ”Did you know? This isn't the Southern travel I've imagined it to be, but rather a torturing test of my will. I'm afraid that there might be a day when I'll intrude into your bedroom and stab your wife a few times.”
Oscar pulled the Young Lady into his embrace, ”To be honest, Sasha, before you stab Alanis to death, you have to be careful too. My wife isn't taking this lightly either, she might want to stab you as well.”
Sasha was baffled by her brother's statements. Did she and Alanis really have to resort to battling against each other, like how men always did?
”My sweetheart, I have a suggestion for you, oh no! A suggestion for the both of you! You two can totally change your mode of interaction!”
Sasha pushed her brother away. She knew that Alanis intended to leave her strong perfume scent on her brother, was that something only female beasts would do?
”I used to get along well with Alanis! But that was before you married her! How do you expect me to face her now, what can I say to her?”
Oscar was speechless and only proceeded to hug his sister tighter. However, Sasha's heart no longer throbbed, and she was increasingly unsure of what her desires of his hugs meant. Reality had always been cruel and just like the faraway overlapping shadows of mountains, nothing could be done to alter their appearances.
Sasha had doubts. In fact, she had been doubting the whole time, would there really be a day when her dreams would come true?
There were only a few days left until they reach Vielonna. Ahead of this route, where would their destination lie?