Chapter 212: Twenty-fourth Episode: Chapter 4 (2/2)

It was mentioned before that the Kingdom of West Percy has gained a comprehensive cultural vision and national civilization while gaining an enormous material wealth. It was seen in their attitude toward religion, where the initial religious reforms' trend and free independent movement were noticed. In the next few centuries, historians and sociologists would regard this early religious reform movement as a democratic movement against feudalism and anti-religion rights. However, in modern times, in the view of His Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew and the think tanks who served him, what West Percy encountered was only various lunatics that born out of the religious reform trend and this free independent movement.

These lunatics were divided into two: the first was the radical reformers who secretly read and interpret the scriptures and demanded the overthrow of the Roman Vatican spiritual blockade; the other was the unique product of the current religious policy of West Percy. The poor people of the True God misinterpreted and organized various gospels in a demand to be independent, aiming to establish their own kingdom that unified the religion of True God between the church and state.

In comparison, the situation of the latter was wretched. The attacks launched by them were also the most extreme and tragic. Among these secret organizations constructed by the pagans, ”Pilgrimage Party”, the ultimate paramilitary organization, has always been the spiritual leader of this religious independence movement in West Percy, as well as the most determined advocates and promoters of the ”Holy War”.

”Not only that...” Major General Janin Sherman announced as he marked on the portrait sketching spread on the desk with the tip of an inked quilt. ”Five days ago, the inspector of the Internal Security Department found this person in the market of Vielonna.”

Prince O'Neil frowned as he glanced at the portrait for a moment, and passed the painting of that haggard-looking man to the militaries on his left.

His Highness spat out his cigar and brushed off the soot that fell on his body. Then he looked at the head of International Operation Department and head of National Internal Security Department from the Secret Operations Office thoughtfully.

”Sir Brayson, can you and Baron Qureio confirm that this is that man - Adoleh Shane?”

The head of International Operation Department Baron Qureio just took a look at the portrait in his hand and nodded toward his Chief, ”Yes! This is the madman!”

Oscar shifted his attention back to the leather scroll on the table which read - Adoleh Shane; age and birthplace unknown; the leader of the ”Pilgrimage Party”; suspected to be behind the scenes of the arson attacks on the Horibier Cathedral in Church Calendar year 796; the principal offender of the explosion in Port of Basel in Church Calendar year 797; the organizer of the armed riots in the Isar district; the principal offender of the Musta Prison escape; the murder case of Semenuhin Church; the explosion of the Saint Sebastian's Cathedral; the arson of Charlem Palace…

”Ola...” Oscar moaned. He hasn't finished reading yet, but this shocking resume has shown how dangerous the man Adoleh Shane was.

”One problem!” The Chief of Military Intelligence Bureau said as he lifted a finger, ”What was he doing in Vielonna? He will not find his oppressed Pagan brothers in Titan.”

Viscount Lukas Diyabaker returned His Highness three fingers, considering the answer to this question included three aspects.

”First!” Viscount tapped on a part of the map that represented the territory of West Percy. ”The Pilgrimage Party's paramilitary organization has long been defeated by Etha, Adoleh Shane's visit to Titan is likely for the purposes of seeking asylum. It is hard to imagine how he escaped Etha's pursuit in West Percy!”

”Second!” Lukas frowned his beautiful eyebrows and shifted the map so that the area of Vielonna was clear to see on the desk. ”There must be a reason why Adoleh Shane appeared in Vielonna. It is quite possible that... he has set up a new terrorist attack plan, and his target is Vielonna.”

The military officials present began to whisper. They have never confronted religious extremists before, and the experience of their West Percy counterparts in this was limited although successful. There were no enough precautionary measures that Titan military authorities could draw lessons from.

”Go on!” Prince O'Neil impatiently waved to the crowd of nervous officials.

”Yes, Your Highness!” Viscount Diyabaker had the habit of leaving the most probable explanation in the end, and by now his face was full of worries. ”The third possibility! The spokesman of Pilgrimage Party and Adoleh Shane himself have publicly stated that if our country launched a war against Slovenia, and destruct the religious freedom and national harmony over there, the Pilgrimage Party will retaliate against our country!”

”Pfft...” Oscar gave a snort of disdain, ”does this guy know where his asshole is? In his mouth?”

The rude comment of the Chief of Military Intelligence Bureau made the officials laughed, only Colonel Lukas still had a cold expression on his face.

”Your Highness!” the university student looked over with great concern. ”Your Highness, our military intelligence authorities have never dealt with a suicide terrorist attack before! And... things are definitely not as simple as they seem on the surface. However, there are always hints to be found! For instance… the explosive carriage of Pilgrimage Party.”

”Explosive carriage?” Oscar widened his eyes.

Baron Qureio, the head of International Operation Department took on to the subject and spread his hands reluctantly at His Highness the Prince.

”It is a carriage filled with gunpowder that will be detonated after approaching the target! A diplomat of ours had personally witnessed the scene of the explosion in West Cyprus, but... how should I put this?”

The old man hummed and finally spoke after thinking for a long time, ”No matter what... a tragedy like this should not happen in Vielonna...”

”You missed out a point!” Diyabaker interrupted the Baron. ”The first person who we knew of and used the carriage explosive is Sir James, its inventor. I suspect that Engels' secret operation department has been training the Pilgrimage Party paramilitary organization. Besides... gunpowder is a rarity, and explosives are even more expensive military supplies. Unless the Engels is giving them assistance... the Pilgrimage Party only have means to set churches on fire.”

”Haha!” Oscar's smile was confusing. It would explain a lot if the Engelish was involved in this. It seemed that mistress of Etha was not going to spend a leisure holiday here in Vielonna. However, Oscar could not be bothered about these things. So what if Vielonna became the battlefield for the Engelish and West Percian? If the Pagan terrorists really launched their attacks, then it would coincidentally become the perfect excuse for the well-prepared leader of Andrew House to send troops to Slovenia. Since the believers of True God in the world were all family, their innocent relatives should bear responsibility for the sinners.

”I'll confirm with you for the last time!”

All military officials immediately regained their attention as His Highness the Prince spoke.

”Are our rapid commando troops ready?”

”Report Marshal, our rapid commando troops are all on standby at the camp.”

”We have all the frontline soldiers in place?”

”Report Marshal, our temporary division in Slovenian has confirmed the position of each frontline soldier and are constantly in contact with us.”

”What about our Southern Army Group?”

”Report Marshal, in the depth of the southeast border of the Imperial Guards Ninth Region in Bodega Province, the Southern Army Group was divided into three major camps. In other words, we have eleven crack reorganized troops assembled.”

Oscar drummed his fingers on the table. For now, it seemed that only his Red Tiger has not yet entered the pre-war state, yet... if it was not possible to coordinate the interests of all parties before the war, then the plot against Slovenia would most likely fail. Not only that, the capital's attitude was also worth worrying about. Things would be easier if Silver Sox Alan remained ill and passed, but the latest news from Imperial Army notified that the commander was gradually recovering.

Anyway, the Southern Army Group had already deployed the soldiers engaged in the Lighthouse Strategy near the borderline, while the Narcissus Knights had gathered the forces for the eastern expedition, and the war with the Persians has completely been called to stop. In the northern and eastern direction near Slovenia, Marshal Figg Andrew Tibotty has added an additional 200,000 soldiers to the massive troop. In other words, nearly half of the Narcissus Knights cavalry forces were all surrounding the scheduled battlefield.

***************

Alanis Alfa Morisette I Her Majesty watched helplessly as the feeble old Marshal struggled to sit up on the bed. Alan was old and appeared even more so after being severely wounded. His back hunched, his eyes sunken, and his skinny body was trapped between the blanket and scattered documents on the bed.

Her Majesty handed over the teacup on the bedside to the old man, but Alan did not respond. He was focused on reading the personal letter a child wrote to Her Majesty.

The room was silent for a long time, then Silver Fox struggled to get up again. His shoulder was still covered with a thick bandage. With the assistance of the guard, the old Marshal and the Empress of Empire walked down to the backyard of the Hamilton Palace side by side. The flowers in the garden were blooming in pride, the trees were towering, and the refreshing spring breeze blended well with the warmth of the yellow sun. This kind of warmth that sprinkled on the body resembled that kind of feeling as if the God had just walked past them in heaven.

Her Majesty the Empress took her stroll in a graceful manner. She was still so dignified and beautiful. Not many women in the world could be as distinguished and honored as her, but women in the world did not need to be constantly devoting their thoughts and energy like she was, and women in the world certainly have experienced, even if only once, true love. However, after a long session of pondering, Alanis still could not figure out whether the relationship with her husband was genuine or false, right or wrong... Anyway, it was just one of the other helplessness in life.

”If you can't stop him! You must destroy him!”

The empress was indifferent to the Marshal's exhortation, as she was looking intently at a blooming blue rose!

Blue Rose? The gardeners of the Titan Imperial Family had not found genetically stable buds of this species for centuries. Yet, today she suddenly appeared in front of the eyes of Her Majesty the Empress. When she received full attention as though she was being worshipped, she appeared to be so lonely and embarrassed, even though everyone who had seen her praised her for her beauty, mystery, and fullness.

”Even if I destroy him... Andrew is still Andrew!” Alanis finally sighed and looked away. ”Since Marshal Figg has already invested 200,000 soldier forces, even if Oscar is gone, he will still send his troops to Slovenia.”

”That is not legal! Also -”

”Do you think Andrew will care?” the Empress's cold retort shut the old Marshal's mouth.

After what seemed like forever, Silver Fox Alan finally sighed with impatience. The current Andrew was indeed unable to be controlled, but did that mean they should just sit back and ignore it?

The Empress looked around and noticed the tall palace was covered in the glory colors from the heaven. The sculptures on the palace walls were marked by the erosion of wind and rain. The gold lion in the fountain stood alone courageously. It had the imposing manner of a leader, but, in the eyes of the Empress, the golden lion was near to exhaustion, just like her state of mind. Even if the sky was bright and sunny, it felt like an endless night in her heart.

”My Lord Marshal! Stick to your own affairs! Stop testing my husband's patience. If you irritate him, even I cannot imagine what he will do!”

”Haha! What will he do?” Alan laughed disdainfully, but the sudden movement agitated the wounds on his shoulders, and the excruciating pain made the strong old soldier grimace.

”He will lead his knight to take down the entire Balgan Peninsula, and then use the looted gold and spoils of war to further fill the pockets of the southern nobles. Then -”

Alanis turned her head around as she really wanted to hear what her husband would do next.

”Then it's hard to say...” the commander of Imperial Guards sighed heavily. ”We'd better pray for the Lighthouse Strategy of Prince O'Neil to be a success. Should there be any mistake... the western countries will not miss this opportunity to reopen the Anti-Titan Alliance and drag our country into the biggest fight of the entire human history!”

”World war...” when this word rolled out of Her Majesty's tongue, she was amazed at her own calmness. She thought she could not face such a war.

”Yes, a world war!” Alan suddenly smiled, as he realized something now things had unfolded... As a soldier, he has spent a lifetime longing for this day.

”Are we ready?”

The Commander of Imperial Guards shook his head. He retrieved the personal letter that the child wrote to Her Majesty.

”It seems like now... only the southerners are ready!”

The Empress nodded helplessly, ”The reserve soldiers in the Narcissus county are of high quality. Once trained, they are ready to go to the battlefield! Oscar first move is already sending out 100,000 soldiers, how did he even come up with such a plan!”

Alan laughed more bitterly, ”The Titan Codex does not limit the Imperial to conscript soldiers from the feudal state of Andrew. It was really a brilliant move by His Highness the Prince! Now that he has this precedent, it will not be a problem for him to bring in his soldiers into the Imperial territory in the future!”

Her Majesty the Empress nodded ever so slightly. She walked closer to the Marshal of Imperial Guards and then linked her arm around his like a young daughter.

”What are you worried about? Why can't you tell me clearly?”

The Silver Fox patted Her Majesty on the back of her hand, ”I'm just afraid that your husband will bully you!”

Alanis gave a pleasant and beautiful laugh, ”He loves me, so even if he bullies me, it's just -”

”Do you still believe that O'Neil Andrew Morisette loves you?”

The Empress of Empire subconsciously turned away under the scrutiny of the old man. She knew that she had been lying to herself so hard, but she had no choice. It seemed that the question of whether O'Neil Andrew Morisette loved Alanis was not only a problem between the two of them but a historical issue that determined a political transformation. In facing this issue, both parties involved chose to deceive themselves and each other. Their association was not usual, their marriage was entangled with various interests, their identity... this was the root cause of all troubles for them. On one side, Her Majesty was the Empress of the Morisette Dynasty, and on the other as the leader of the empire's first warlord family. Their combination was destined for one to sacrifice as to accomplish the other's glory.

History should apologize to those who yearn for love and praise love. This was because O'Neil Andrew Morisette and Alanis Alfa Morisette had been doing everything possible to avoid love and deny love! The occasional embraces and concerns could only be considered as a compromise of each other's soul at that moment.

Do not be deceived by the anxiety and jealousy of Her Majesty, let alone the words of the psychiatrist of His Highness the Prince! In this world, there was love because of life and there was life because of love! There were no people who did not know how to love, even the clumsiest person would love in their clumsiest way, but... Oscar and Alanis were the leaders of Andrew and the empress of the empire, they had to sacrifice one as to accomplish the other's glory. Therefore, these two people who were destined to never sacrifice for others could only choose to deny love, and doubt the existence of their love. They thought they had no alternative other than looking for a reasonable excuse to explain their selfishness, but this was only a self-deceiving excuse.

However, of course, maybe Oscar had never truly loved Alanis, but God of Light praised love, as this was the greatest gift God had bestowed on the human world. Oscar would definitely find himself a woman that would make him intoxicated and love crazily, but… perhaps now was not the time.