Chapter 164: Nineteenth Episode: Chapter 1 (2/2)

”Have you... have you considered our empire's domestic affairs?” General Eugene was getting anxious as he thought the young commander was too ambitious. The political unrest of the empire was rising to a new high with intensifying conflicts. This was certainly not the best time for any risky military actions.

Oscar nodded again and again, ”This is where our problems lie. If we cannot grasp the political power in the capital at this time when the physical condition of Alfa III His Majesty is at a critical state, and establish the basic framework of the new dynasty, then everything I just said is indeed mere nonsense! But... I'm confident that the future successor of His Majesty and the Empire will not disappoint everyone!”

”Are you referring to His Elder Highness Prince Lobble?” an officer suddenly gave the marshal a scornful side glance.

Oscar's eyes immediately sharpened, ”Lobble is my friend, also the owner of our empire.”

”I am sorry, marshal. I behaved too frivolously!” the officer apologized almost instantly, and made sure His Highness's gaze eased before he returned to his seat.

”Let's not worry about these first. Domestic affairs need to be handled one step at a time, although we must also act quick! We can't afford to spare the enemy any time to respond. We must stabilize the capital as soon as possible.”

Something suddenly flashed across General Eugene's mind. He remembered that albeit His Majesty was gravely sick, he still hasn't passed on yet! Based on his understanding of His Majesty, he would have had everything arranged properly.

”Marshal, do you mean to say… that things in the capital are already under control?”

Oscar shook his head slowly after a while. The situation in Dulin seemed to be in the hands of the emperor. Although this was a not a grave matter, it worried him nonetheless! What if things didn't go as he planned, or some unexpected mishaps happened to Alanis? Perhaps he would be the one being caught at short notice and didn't have time to react!

”Bringing back the topic to Western Kingdoms Alliance!” Oscar turned his head away in annoyance. He didn't want to face the matters in Dulin for now, as he wasn't completely sure to what extent did His Majesty the Emperor hold control over the capital.

”I would like to bring a peculiar thing to your attention!” Marshal of Imperial Guards suddenly hovered his hand over to a vast area on the map. The location he pointed at was Kingdom of Weden situated on the coast of the North Sea.

”In my opinion, the monarch of Kingdom of Weden - the Plantagenet Dynasty - is considered to be one of the most outstanding rulers in the world. The political strategies declared by His Majesty King Leoliam I are out of my expectation every time.” Oscar retrieved another document from his desk. The crowd of military officers was able to vaguely distinguish this finely decorated document as a formal credential.

”I was only analyzing this issue with several military intelligence officials in the morning and we certainly didn't expect such an immediate reply!” the Prince spread out the credential delivered from the Kingdom of Weden.

”I think the whole world is guessing about his purpose when King Leoliam I assigned the long-established Plantagenet Knights into Riel. I believe no one would have guessed the aim of Plantagenet Knights military strategy was not Titan, but the Persians who were located thousands of miles away!”

”What?” almost all soldiers voiced out their shock.

”That's why I said His Majesty King Leoliam I of Plantagenet Dynasty is the most outstanding monarch of the current era. He is too clear-headed that it's almost terrifying!” Oscar's voice was low, as he was reminded of that fact that King Leoliam I was only two years older than himself. This king would certainly perform some incredible things in his future political career.

”This credential is the Kingdom of Weden asking for military back up! Leoliam I was extremely earnest in his correspondence. He illustrated through fact about the generations of friendly relations between Weden and Titan, as well as elaborated Plantagenet Dynasty's determination and courage in joining the eastern battle formation. However, in comparison to all these, what attracted my attention the most are the conditions offered by Leoliam!”

”What sort of conditions?” General Eugene didn't suppose the Wolf of the North Sea would offer His Majesty any local delicacies. They were talking about the descendants of barbaric North-landers, the close relatives of Yaran people. The blood that flowed through their king and nobles were nothing compared to the ruling class of traditional monarchy.

”The Plantagenet Knights would unconditionally obey the commander of Eastern battle formation and the Titan army, under the terms that he could construct a castle named after the King of Weden on the seized Persian land. Apart from this… I believe that Her Majesty Empress Rolyn Kate would be elated at this news! The people of the North Sea offered to marry their royal family member which is crowned 'Mermaid Princess' to her second son!”

”Oh no...” said the Brigadier general of the artillery soldiers, Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi, as if he just woke up from a sleep, ”God of Light has mercy on the poor Weden. No matter what the mermaid princess was before, she would certainly become a promiscuous lady if she was to marry 'Silly Two!' He loves to exchange partners with other people, really, what a life! How good would it be if I was born a prince too?”

”Is that true?” Some military officers whose interests were piqued moved closer to the brigadier general of artillery soldiers. They were soldiers, but they were also men. No other topic in the world could be any more fascinating compared to this one.

”Of course!” Torry rubbed his eyes as he spoke, ”Haven't you ever heard of His Second Highness's salon? That place is filled with all kinds of perverted madmen, the things they play...”

Brigadier general of artillery soldier suddenly noticed the vicious smile of His Highness the Prince. He appeared as though... as though he wanted to tear him down into pieces. Torry quickly adjusted his posture upright, ”I'm sorry, just pretend that I've not spoken a word!” The viscount didn't forget to turn to His Highness the Prince's secretary and reminded, ”Paurol, delete this paragraph from the minutes of the meeting.”

Viscount Paurol Jawock rolled his eyes at the brigadier general in annoyance, ”Do you think I'm an idiot like you? I didn't even write a word you said!”

Oscar calmed down the crowd with a wave of his hand, ”Well, gentlemen, whether or not the mermaid princess would become a slut or something else, the Empire finally unraveled the second link in the chain of the Western Kingdom Alliance. Our enemies are dividing internally and this is certainly to our advantage!”

”And then what? Have you forgotten the Deiss?” General Eugene mentioned the empire's feud with caution.

”It's not Aryans' turn yet!” Oscar shrugged indifferently, ”I want to talk about Hoilland! I don't understand how the Hoillanders turn out to be such experts in firearms. They are working on a large-scale manufacturing of firearms, and this means that they have finalized a design on their mini hand cannon. However, our Sukhoi Designing Bureau is still in the experimental stage.”

The Prince looked at the helpless brigadier general of artillery, ”As for the other armaments specialists in our empire... Let's not expect anything more from them! Not long ago, the representatives of the Artemisrae House brought a cannon into my garden as if they were presenting a treasure. To be honest, that cannon is something I would yearn to have! The caliber is 84mm, cannon length is 18m, its velocity at 416m/s, the effective range of pellet is 500m, the shotgun shell is 400m, the pellet weighs 10g, the shotgun shell weighs 8g, the cannon weighs 290 kg…”

”And the result is? What about the result?” Torry stood up excitedly. He had long heard about Artemisrae House's new era battlefield killer.

”And the result,” Oscar spread his hand to the sky, ”is that out of three tested shots, one destroyed my wife's favorite Faran rose flower bed, another made a loud roar and took the lives of several artillerymen.”

”Oh... God of Light!” Torry chanted the name of the God several times. No matter how shameful the Artemisrae House was, the commanding officer of artillerymen paid tribute to those forerunners.

”Ah...” Oscar sighed, ”The security measures of the Hoillanders are outrageously tight. My military secret agents have never succeeded in any major breakthrough!”

The military officials present on the scene offered pieces of advice, but the Military Intelligence Bureau Chief rejected all the suggestions, ”We must rely on ourselves! Unless we wait for each battlefield to happen and then seize the enemy's artillery? I think you all are even more outrageous!”

The crowd kept quiet. Oscar soon realized he had killed the mood, and so he began analyzing the next nation.

”This time, the Ollier people seem to be determined to set the Deiss back to Stone Age.” Oscar pointed to the north-central region of the map. ”Kurezov I gathered 90 Divisions in the usual controversial area on the border between Deiss and Ollier. My God of Light! That is equivalent to the force of 30 Corps!”

The soldiers looked at the map in shock. 30 Corps! That was equal in value to 270,000 people! This way, There could be an Ollier soldier positioned on every square meter of the border between Deiss and Ollier.

A slight sneer crept over Oscar's face, ”That's why I exclaimed that the King of Weden is extremely shrewd. I believe everyone is shocked by the enormous number of 30 Corps, but I don't think the Deiss will! They have a long history of fighting against Ollier soldiers, the Deiss Kingdom doesn't even need to think hard when dealing with these icemen!”

”You are trying to say that... the Olliers are only displaying a high-profile battle appearance at Deiss, and then…” General Eugene tapped on the North Sea.

Oscar immediately nodded, ”That's right! If the conditions permit, the next step for the Olliers would be to move towards the west, and strive to get the entrance to the North Sea from the Weden!”

”Leoliam I is truly brilliant!” General Eugene couldn't help but gasp in admiration, ”They are trying to obtain our sympathy and friendship in a humble manner. The marriage of the royal family can practically consolidate the alliance beyond this agreement, and most importantly…”

Oscar chuckled, ”You have realized it too, haven't you? This strategy is not an arrangement that any military commander can arrive at. The Plantagenet Knights will surely appear on the battlefield with the Persians. Once Ollier initiates a war against them, then this main cavalry force can quickly arrive at the northern territory of Persian, and trespass the large area of no man's land in order to enter Ollier's eastern frontier. The Ollier's progress in the development of their eastern territory is evidently slow, and there are not many troops stationed too. The cavalry assault force of the Weden can definitely make a long-distance raid!”

The rest of the military personnel was late to realize this. They uniformly agreed to and praised the Weden's stratagem.

”Kurezov I is a poor man. On his west is Leoliam I, and on his south is Queen Roulexberg who has been well-prepared for a long time. I figure this Ollier king is not going to accomplish anything!” Oscar sighed with anticipation. This was the game between the rulers, it was a game that was both soul-stirring and nerve-wrecking.

”Gentlemen, I have some personal opinions on Her Majesty Queen Opareal Roulexberg of the Deiss Kingdom. This Queen is the first monarch in the Deiss Kingdom that has maintained such a low profile. She doesn't have extravagance entrance, no military guards that surround her all the time, nor is she involved in any scandal. Therefore, I think that she could be our worst enemy! She silently takes care of her domestic affairs, quietly assigns and deploys her troops, and carefully regulate the international relations. It seems to an outsider that she is completely isolating herself from the major political and military events happening in the mainland! The truth is, she has already assigned the date for dealing with the imaginary enemy on the top of her Supreme Command's combat schedule. It's alright if she remains silent, but once she issues a command for battle, I believe that the Deiss Kingdom by that time will become an enemy who we know nothing of!”

”Is this how you really regard the Queen?” the Head of Military Intelligence, Baron Messier, looked at his master doubtfully. He was one of the few people in the world who knew about Prince O'Neil and Queen Deiss hidden past.

Oscar raised his eyebrows furiously, ”Isn't it right?”

Messier immediately lowered his head and remained silent.

The Marshal of Imperial Guards withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, and scanned the territory of Deiss on the map, ”Rest assured, everyone! When all the major monarchies in the West are seeking their way out, Deiss the great wolf suddenly kept its mouth shut! Is this possible? Absolutely not! We must always put our guards up against the Yarans. I believe this is also the reason why Marshal Alan regards the military service in the north with so much importance.”

General Eugene straightened his back and adjusted his position. He had way passed the age where he could be riding along his horse and fighting around, ”My marshal, I could only make up one conclusion based on what I understood from your long analysis.”

Oscar shifted his gaze around with interested eyes, ”What is it?”

”Expand our military forces and prepare for battle! Is there any other possibility?” the Commander of the Southern Army Group was beginning to feel exhausted. ”The Southern Army Group consists of a fixed number of five Regions, fifteen main forces, five building groups, and ten ready-to-go reserve troops. Then...” the old general thought again, before continuing. ”If you deploy accordingly to the forces you demonstrated in the Lighthouse Strategy, we still need to arm at least six to eight more corps! However, I have no idea how to write this report to the military department!”

Oscar smiled slightly, ”The report is meant for Alfa III His Majesty, you just have to slightly pass it through the military department!”

Eugene frowned, ”Marshal Alan will kick my ass if I do so!”

”He couldn't say anything!” Oscar's smile suddenly turned cold, ”Our Military Affairs Chancellor dismantled Sukhoi's ordnance production line and took over the heavily-armored infantry of the Jebron House. The Northern Army Group has become unprecedentedly powerful! He has no reason to stop me from expanding my military in the south. Moreover, if Karl Arnold House, the remaining force of the Big Three, is Marshal Alan's next target, then the intervention of Her Majesty Empress Rolyn Kate would keep him occupied for a while. He wouldn't have the heart to care about other affairs! We'll see!”

The invitation from the Princess's sleeping chamber was delivered to the study right on time as the clock chimed. The officers gradually stood up one after another, as they knew it was the marshal's wife way to issue the guests to the door. Any further opinions by this time would have no choice but to remain unsaid until the next appropriate occasion. Oscar responded to the generals' mocking with a pleasant smile. He personally sent each officer to the door and the commander didn't forget to shake hands with everyone. It was him who arrange these ordinary military men on an extraordinary chariot!

The rolling of the wheel moved in a regular manner like a pendulum, yet the changes of second hand were apparent and continued on no matter what. It was the history creeping up to take control of the entire situation.

Oscar tiptoed into his sister's bedroom silently. In the same customary gestures performed over the years, he planted a light kiss on Sasha's forehead as he blessed his beloved woman with a good night of sleep, before quietly withdrew from the room.

Who would have guessed Elizabeth and Trinity were not in their respective rooms? He made a mental note to pursue the matter tomorrow as the young prince finally felt exhaustion when he entered his wife's bedroom.

”My baby! Are you asleep? Why didn't you burn some lamps? It's cold the fall!” the young man murmured as he crawled into his bed, but was shocked by the warmth underneath the quilt.

”What are you doing? Is this asking me to move to the guest room?” Oscar scratched his head as the woman sprawled herself on him.

Trinity was nearly naked, and she staggered over the man's waist. Suddenly she pulled off the man's robe in an aggressive manner. Oscar sniffed at the girl's hair and picked up a strong smell of hashish.

”Whose idea is that?” Oscar turned to the princess who was lying on his left, but Alanis only grinned innocently. She stretched her thigh out from her nightdress and rubbed her soft skin against her husband's stiff muscles.

”It's you!” Oscar gritted his teeth and turned to his right. His ”young daughter” who was nibbling Trinity's groin looked exactly like a wild little cat that craved for milk.

”Then I'll begin with you!” the excited man had forgotten all about his exhaustion and sleepiness as his male hormones erupted within his body like a volcano. He pushed Elizabeth's hair and pressed it roughly against his bed. It was only until he had satisfied his pleasures after rounds of rough sex that he began to think about the rationality of this whole incident. By this time, the man was embracing his wife, and the beautiful princess naughtily licked at a drop of sweat from the man.

”You are trying to please me! Why?” Oscar lifted his wife.

”Be gentler... because I'm happy!”

”Why?” Oscar ignored the frowning princess.

”Oh my God,” Alanis finally began pleading, ”are you trying to murder your own son or daughter?”

Oscar blinked in confusion as he didn't seem to understand what she meant. The eyebrows of the princess knitted even tighter now, ”You... why did you stop?”

The man looked at the male organ which had separated from his wife's body, ”Or what? You want me to spit at my child?”

Alanis fiercely bit on her husband who always spoke as he wished, and then broke out into laughter with the soon-to-be father. At this time, another tipsy lady joined in, and so Oscar had to start going on the offensive.

However, this round of attack was interrupted by a loud rap at the door. The irritating noise seemed to have magnified in the quiet palace. The annoyed prince grabbed his marshal's sword and opened his door with impatience.

”Give me a reason!” Without warning, Oscar placed the tip of the blade on the neck of Baron Messier, the Head of Military Intelligence. He failed to understand why this guy was being so ignorant.

”What about an encrypted urgent letter from the Imperial Secretariat?” Out of kindness the pale-faced chief of the military intelligence helped his master to remove the piece of clothing on his head, but the unlucky man quickly realized it was a woman's underwear. His face grew even paler as he was in dilemma to whether lay down the piece of clothing or cast it aside.

”An urgent letter from the Imperial Secretariat?” Oscar grabbed the white envelope but was slightly confused at the color choice. What did a white colored encrypted urgent report mean?

Messier pointed at the envelope, ”If you think an encrypted urgent letter from the Imperial Secretariat is not a good enough reason... then I'll add another point.”

Oscar's eyes widened as he waited for the answer.

”This is the critical notice of the dangerously-ill Imperial Emperor, Alfa III His Majesty!”