9th Month, 17th Day, it was a fine day, Vielonna bathed in the cleansing sun, the air was filled with a summery scent.
No, it's the smell of Golden Tis!
Georgio Verones thought happily. When he arrived at the trading hall, Marquis Janin of West Percy was already there, waiting for him. Following RuPaul Roy's instruction, Georgio bought canvas sheets worth 1.9 million Golden Tis from an underground store, then passed the receipt to Marquis Janin.
Georgio didn't know how RuPaul Roy got hold of so many canvas sheets, but he knew that the old thing and his friends definitely had a plan for them. In addition, he also knew that those rich, filthy squatters in the trading hall will soon have their wings burned.
After finishing the transaction, Marquis Janin transferred 1.9 million Golden Tis, in the form of money order, into the system of the bank of which Vielonna Trading Hall patronize. The money order could only be cashed in after noon, however, because the treasury of the trading hall only opens for an hour every day between noon and evening.
The banking industry of the Titan Empire was formed in the middle of the 6th Century when naval trades started gaining momentum and took over as the dominant form of trading systems. The Kingdom of West Percy sent exploration fleets to open up the trade route to the Far East, causing an influx of luxury items, but the merchants of Westland were still using weights to calculate the monetary value of merchandises. To simplify major trade deals that use a lot of gold, the first bank was established, setting up accounts for each and every merchant, carrying out credit assessments, conducting currency exchange, so on and so forth. In short, after a whole century of development, the banking system in Westland had been so polished, it's almost perfect.
The banking system Vielonna Trading Hall subscribed to was undoubtedly one that holds the most authority. One could exchange their money into six dominant currencies in Westland with it, and at the same time recognizes letters of credit by a dozen of different banks.
Money order is one form of letters of credit. For example, the one Marquis Janin held, the money order with 1.9 million Golden Tis, was issued by Seahorse Bank of West Percy. Vielonna Trading Hall recognizes Seahorse Bank, and thus it issued Golden Ti based on the same amount in the exchange. If Seahorse Bank denied the issuance of 1.9 million to Vielonna Trading Hall, it would have lost the credit it requires to stay in business. This was the standard for the banking industry, as listed in the agreement between the nine major banking groups in Westland.
Vielonna Trading Hall only needed to do one thing in this banking system, that is to examine the authenticity of the money order from Seahorse Bank. Specifically how the examination was carried out was unknown to the public, as it was the internal affairs of the banking system. This information was listed as having the highest level of confidentiality and was kept classified by the whole industry. Fake letters of credit would only bankrupt the bank, so these old-timers treated credit as their lifeline. They followed the business etiquette strictly without fail, at least that's what it appeared to be.
No matter what, the money order, valued at 1.9 million Golden Tis, that Horsesea Bank issued was authentic, Georgio was only notified by the trading hall after a two-hour wait.
The young man who was on his way to being a millionaire raised his glass at Marquis Janin.
"Let's have a toast! May we have a fruitful collaboration!"
"That's right! Cheers! Let's have fun working together!" Major Janin Sherman raised his mug happily.
The two successful merchants sat in a tavern, their lunch had been going on since noon. The tavern, named Dora's Meatballs, was built in the deep end of the Broken Dream Avenue, about forty meters displacement from the marble steps of Vielonna Trading Hall. Merchants and traders who spent a whole morning in the trading hall often visit the tavern, asking for a glass of peppermint wine as they enter the door.
"Peppermint wine, ol' Corr!" they would yell their orders, "And a plate of Dora's Meatballs please!"
Ol' Corr immediately scribbled on his order chit, then passed it to a serving lad to bring to the kitchen.
"Why did you change all your staff?" asked some of the frequent guests.
Ol' Corr bowed respectfully, "It just had to be done, sirs, I can't do anything about it!"
Truly, there was nothing he could have done. The First Ambush Team of Special Combat Brigade directly responsible to the Military Intelligence Bureau had entered the tavern, expressing interest in the geographical location of the tavern and the well behind it.
Ol' Corr wanted to complain. Which of his ancestors built the well? Isn't that just bringing misfortune to their descendants? Dora's Meatballs is one of the older establishments on Broken Dream Avenue, ol' Corr was the fourth generation tavern master, and the only one to have met with this trouble.
"We'll give you a thousand Golden Tis! Aside from you, I want everyone else fired until we had left this establishment!" was the exact words the military officer said. With that said, ol' Corr couldn't determine if they are real soldiers, that's because these guys' faces all look as stiff as a machine, their actions as precise as a standing clock.
For a whole week, these "terrorists" worked on the well! What were they trying to do? Did they want to drill a hole like rats do? There was only an underground waterway that leads to god knows where!
What a joke! A treasure in there? Ol' Corr had never heard of it! The tavern master glanced at the kitchen resentfully, they should be finished by now, right? With some years on his face, ol' Corr started worrying, his polished instincts had never failed him.
On the other hand, Georgio and Marquis Janin clicked their glasses together, emitting a bell-like tone as the crystal glasses clinked. That tone was the signal they were waiting for!
"Commander of the Guards, the Chief of the Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau, Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette's order!" Big Worm Blasky produced an operation plan to his ambush team members.
"Codename: Crown!"
"Crown!" the soldiers who filled up the backyard of the tavern bellowed all at once!
Church's Year 798, 9th Month, 17th Day. It was 2:21 in the afternoon when Georgio and Marquis Janin left Dora's Meatballs toward Peter Dynasty for their 1.9 million Golden Tis.
At the same time, Operation Crown had officially launched.
Blasky looked at the deep well beside him before projecting his sight toward soldier who participated in this operation. The best swimmers in the Special Combat Brigade were here, every single one of them could swim like a shark. At this point, the soldiers had all finished putting on their dark brown sharkskin underwater suit. With superb elasticity, these sharkskin suits were indeed the best equipment for diving.
Fifteen soldiers stood around the well with their own weapons and some funny-looking tools, led by Ferdin, a hulking man and the son of a fisherman.
"Ferdin, good luck!" Blasky held onto Ferdin's hand tightly, "Remember what Marshal said before we left, what's important is your warriors' lives. If the operation is failing, retreat immediately!"
Ferdin's eyes turned sharp, "Please ask the Marshal to not worry about us!"
Blasky nodded, "Good!" He handed a rubber hose to Ferdin.
Ferdin took the hose, and just like their countless times of practices, he easily found the copper tube wedged into the rubber hose that was his mouthpiece for breathing underwater.
Ferdin and his fourteen men let down their sharkskin hoods after each of them had found their copper tubes.
Being the first the enter, Ferdin held the longest rubber hose in the world, measuring more than two hundred meters. The Staff Sergeant held the copper tube tightly in his mouth. It was dark underwater, but he already familiarized himself with the ins-and-outs of the waterway. Breathing in the air in the hose, Ferdin kept moving forward slowly.
One by one, the other soldiers jumped into the well. Water splashed all over Blasky, but he did not mind. He instructed his men to continually release the rubber hose into the well. Knowing there was still some distance from their destination, he silently wished them success.
***************
After yet another procedure to verify their identity, and another trip past the three unpenetrable doors, Major Janin Sherman and Master Geo finally arrived at the giant metal door under the companionship of a Paladin.
It was Major Janin second time visiting this underground castle, but everything was new to Georgio. On their way here, dear Master Geo had been squealing at the littlest of things like a country bumpkin in town. He even ignored the Paladin's instruction to stop touching things. To that display of ignorance, Major Janin only smiled. He knew Geo's performance was on point without a hint of being over the top.
Three gatekeepers were already waiting by the gate when they arrived. The clerk from Peter Dynasty signaled to them to start. As usual, the gatekeepers turned the keys, and the whole underground space was echoing with the deep, dull cranking of the metal mechanism.
Janin Sherman observed everything with a hidden smirk. He wanted to shout, "Don't move! This is a hold-up!" but he knew that was something only an idiot would do. He was smart, as smart as a tactical prodigy, he was very proud of his robbery plan.
Before this, not even Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette would believe someone could actually break into Peter Dynasty and successfully burglarize it.
The Prince held a private military meeting at midnight not long ago. Janin Sherman still remembered everything that happened.
Prince O'Neil's marshal outfit had been unbuttoned on the top, his ornamental sword had been left on the couch, the room had smelled of a mixture of cigar and humidity. Major Janin knew about the copper pipes in Serevan Palace that was used to send cold air around, and copper pipe was an excellent conductor for sound too. To prevent the possible eavesdropping, Prince Oscar had stopped the cooling system and blocked the copper pipes.
This had been the first time the Major met the Commander. Before this, his understanding of the Commander had been from rumors in the bureau and from the small book detailing the Battle of Saijo Mountain. Janin felt this young marshal must have been a sensitive, witty young man. If one avoided looking at his eyes or listening to his voice, he'd have looked just like any other young nobleman.
"Major Janin, I'm glad I met you. Show me your plan, let me see if you are really a genius or just another idiot with his head in the clouds." was Marshal O'Neil's first sentence in the private meeting. Most other officers lowered their heads as soon as he said it. They had no workable plan on breaking into the underground vault of Vielonna Trading Hall, so they were the idiots he spoke of.
Major Janin immediately gave a salute and flipped open the vault's floorplan on top of the table. There was no need for any courtesy. If the Marshal wanted to break into the place, it must mean he was an adventurous lunatic!
"Luckily, me too!" thought Janin.
"Marshal, everyone, as was mentioned, since we had already ruled out breaking in from the outside, we need to get to it from the inside!"
"We knew that!" Prince Oscar had kept his impatience quite a while, apparently. He shot Janin a glance, "That's why we're waiting for your explanation."
"Marshal, this is my plan!" Janin was still a major at this point, but he already had the courage and spirit to look at his commander in the eyes.
As the three massive locks opened, the gatekeepers stood aside methodically. It was a necessary action, as the air in the vault would still contain all sorts of harmful elements, and without Oxygen. It seemed it's the same underwater.
***************
In the backyard of Dora's Meatballs, the water rippled in the deep well that leads to the underground waterways. It was known that the underground waterways were interconnected. After a full day of searching and having lost three special forces soldiers, Ferdin finally found the tunnel beneath the treasury, the waterway at the beginning of the road to "the Crown".
The underground waterway was almost void of light, its water pressure and the cold temperature causing Ferdin and the fourteen other warriors to shiver unstoppably.
Finally, a metallic clank of a latch was heard through the dark underground tunnel. The sound seemed to travel slower in water, but it was surprisingly booming!
Ferdin was so nervous, he thought he might even bite off a piece of the hose he needed to survive. After fumbling around for a while, he finally found the soldiers behind him. According to plan, Ferdin and his comrades started to wade through the water, slowly making their way through the tunnel.
A few minutes later, the tunnel gradually became narrower. With his previous experience, Ferdin stretched his arms out to his side and found them pushing against the chilly stone walls, which meant he had entered the segment of the tunnel which was dug through manually. Not only that, there was a dim light breaking the water surface.
The timing was as expected, the door to the vault was opened at the exact time they had anticipated. Ferdin approached the flickering light at the top of the waterway, he knew those were the lights inside the vault.
***************
Major Janin walked in front of the drawing board hung up in the middle of the room and addressed the Commander and each officer.
"Firstly, we need to understand the internal structure of the vault," said Major Janin as he flipped over a piece of the drawing board. "The treasury wall was comprised of three layers — brick, marble, and steel, so this would negate any possibility of using explosives to gain entry. Therefore, my choice of entry would be... Underground!"
"Underground?" Marshal O'Neil retorted immediately, "There is an iron gate weighing several hundred kilograms underground, and we all knew it was connected to an underground waterway, but how do we destroy the gate?"
Janin Sherman smiled knowingly, "Marshal, the correct question to ask, is why the vault has a gate that leads to an underground waterway."
"Why?"
The Major flipped open another piece of the drawing board, "Because that's an important component of the vacuum mechanism!"
"Look here!" Janin pointed at the complicated machinery on the drawing board, "I don't know who designed this thing, but undoubtedly, he's a bloody genius! The principle behind the vacuum mechanism is simple because it does not really make the space vacuum, it only fills the treasury with poisonous gases! It'll poison the intruders with these gases, and then-"
"Hold on a second! What gases? Where do the poison gases come from?"
"Marshal, I was getting to that point!" Janin Sherman flipped the drawing board again with confidence. "This is the boiler room of the Vielonna Trading Hall, where it produces warm bath water for the merchants in the trading hall free of charge. Not long ago, I discovered something weird. The boiler room would consume a large number of charcoals every day, those they use for boiling water, but its smokestack barely produces any smoke throughout the day. Or rather, its smoke billows at a very strict schedule — every day from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.!"
"The same period when the treasury opens!" the sharp Prince O'Neil yelled.
Janin nodded, "That's right, Marshal! I believe you have guessed this, the boiler room is the other huge component of the vacuum mechanism. They create poisonous gases through burning charcoals and then sealing the smokestack. With nowhere else to go, the poisonous gases can only go through a secret pipeline that leads to the sealed vault, effectively protecting it with these invisible killers. I have researched the internal structures of the vault, there are several small windows on the roof of the vault, which I'm guessing are smoke vents. The poisonous gases probably entered the vault through those, but the windows were too narrow for humans to pass. This effectively cut off the possibility to enter the vault through the windows."
"Clever! What a clever designer!" sighed Prince O'Neil. "No wonder we couldn't see how the vacuum mechanism work from the blueprint, its functioning normally was entirely dependent on a missable boiler room!"
"Next is my proposal of operation!" Janin knocked on the drawing board, which had already turned into the conceptual diagram of the vacuum mechanism. "Now that we know the boiler in the boiler room provides protection to the vault, we can understand the secret pipeline leading into the boiler room as the exit for the poisonous gases. Whenever the treasury is opened, the gatekeepers would wait for a little while, that's when the poisonous gases leave from the smokestack!"
"And now that the poisonous gases had left, fresh air would need an entrance!"
"That gate connecting to the underground waterway!" Prince O'Neil squealed again in comprehension.
"That's right, Marshal!" Janin Sherman beamed. It was so easy speaking to intelligent people. "That waterway is the entrance for fresh air, there is a sluice controlling that gate. Whenever the treasury is sealed, that gate will be closed; when the treasury opens, that gate will open, letting in the fresh air!"
"So, Marshal, officers!" Janin punched at an entrance marker on the blueprint of the treasury.
"If we want to enter the vault without being affected by the poisonous gases, we'll have to destroy this steel gate!"
***************
The half-submerged steel gate had completely opened up, just like how it was described in the operation plan. Staff Sergeant Ferdin had observed the location for a week, he was really impressed with Major Janin who came up with the idea.
The red light in the vault shone out of the iron grill and onto the rippling water. The workers were moving sacks of gold hurriedly, not even the duty-bound Paladins noticed the bubbles breaking the water surface. The presence of bubbles would indicate there were unidentified visitors inside the tunnel, and the visitors had further plans.
Ferdin repeated what he did in the simulations, he slowly searched the wall and soon found the mark he left on the steel gate.
A soldier kept up with him. Even though he was shivering from the coldness, his eyes flickered from beneath the water. He untied the tool strapped to his torso. The action seemed so easy to do on land, but in the freezing water, it was extremely difficult. However, the tool this soldier took was only a piton. He slotted the piton in the gap between the steel gate and signaled Ferdin.
As soon as Staff Sergeant Ferdin saw the signal, he started to work. His job was to destroy the capstan the gate utilizes to seal the waterway.
The capstan was built into the inner side of the wall. It could be seen slightly at the moment. This was the result of the soldiers' several days of work as they dug a hole in the stone wall to be able to fit a person. Staff Sergeant Ferdin wiggled his way into the area, bringing along the rubber hose that connects all the way to outside. Ferdin inhaled the fresh air from inside the hose that brought about the attractive smell of Dora's Meatballs.
Ferdin tugged at the chains that were connected to the capstan. He had tried it before, there was no way it could be destroyed underwater because it was hard to focus one's strength on one point underwater. He did not even think about cutting the chains with his teeth. He took out another piton, slotting it between the chains and the capstan.
***************
"It's that easy? I mean, it was that easy to destroy a gate that heavy?" Prince O'Neil's eyes widened, he looked at Janin in distrust.
Janin shrugged, "From the structure of the capstan and the gate, it is that easy! The designer must think nobody could ever do anything underwater, so this mechanism is actually quite simple!"
***************
It was Church's Year 798, 17th Day of 9th Month. 3.40 p.m. in the afternoon, Big Worm Blasky looked at his soldiers who were warming themselves up. It was their third time leaving the waterway, even with the assistance of the rubber hoses, no one could stay in freezing water for a whole hour.
"Ferdin, it's up to you now!" Blasky gave his ambush team leader a military salute.
Ferdin did not say anything. His stamina was at its limits, and his frozen body was shaking uncontrollably.
The fifteen soldier jumped into the well once more, praying to the God of Light, wishing for everything to go according to plan.
As the person who initiated Operation Crown, Major Janin Sherman had already left the underground vault with Master Geo, their 1.9 million Golden Tis were transferred up to the ground by the staff of Peter Dynasty. In just a little while, the gatekeepers of Peter Dynasty would have closed the door, and the lock on the metallic gate would be the trigger to activate the vacuum mechanism.
Just like countless days before this, the metallic gate was shut at 4 p.m. sharp. As soon as the lock was bolted, the vacuum mechanism started to run! First, a mechanism connected to the boiler room sealed the smokestack, poisonous gases started entering the vault via secret pipeline as usual. That was followed by the steel capstan rotating and bringing the steel gate to close, preventing harmless air from entering.
The soldiers widened their eyes as they were right under the gate. The cranking of the mechanism sounded like thunder rumbling from underwater, Not only did it agitate their ears, the water pressure also pressed against their bodies.
The capstan was rotating! Ferdin almost yelled. Did the two pitons not work? The Staff Sergeant was not sure, but he knew the capstan must have bent the piton out of shape, he also knew the piton between the gate and the stone wall would soon suffer the same fate.
"Stop! Stop! Stop it you sonovab*tch!"
As if responding to Ferdin's curses, the capstan stopped, and so did the metallic cranking. Ferdin and his soldiers subconsciously looked at the exit.
"We're nearly done for!" the gate stopped with a gap enough for one person to swim through, and the treasury was right in front of them.
"Thank God of Light! Thank God of Light!" Ferdin prayed in a murmur without stopping. He reached out from between the gate, threw the rubber hose aside, and took a deep breath. Hm. There was a sharp whiff of burning charcoal. He extended his arm with a mirror in his hand through the gate.
The mirror circled around, it was safe!
Ferdin took a shovel from his comrade, and forced the gate open! The Staff Sergeant had finally left the water, he was excited and proud! He looked just like he had captured an enemy stronghold! No, not stronghold, it was a room full of Golden Tis!
After confirming that no one was in the vault, he lit the torch covered in oilskin. Using the torch, he lit the few lampstands on the wall. Ferdin was familiar with the placement of the room. With Major Janin's description, he could even walk around without bumping into things with his eyes closed.
Water splashed, other soldiers who had waited for a long while exited the water one after another. The light in the vault was dim and flickering, it seemed the poisonous gases were slowly filling up the room, they need to hurry up!
However... dear heavens! Who could describe what the soldiers see?
Golden bricks were stacked together in neat piles, sacks full of Golden Tis were heaped into hills! Jewelry of all sorts glistened with the goldware and silverware under the torchlight, antiques sorted into rows and famous paintings stacked against each other! It was really a sight to behold!
The shivering soldiers were stunned by all that they've seen, their faces looked especially ferocious in the sharkskin hoods.
"That's enough!" Ferdin hollered, shocking his soldiers back into reality.
"Don't forget the uniform we wear and our mission!"
At their captain's words, the soldiers finally came to their senses. All of them were ashamed of the greed that momentarily flooded their conscience. Without a sound, the soldiers immediately split up into groups as planned. The first group was responsible for the golden bricks; the second group, the sacks of Tis; the third group for the jewelry, goldware, and silverware; and the fourth group handling the antiques and paintings. Their actions had finally revealed the attitude of a soldier — as cold as a machine, as precise as a standing clock. —
***************
"Then..." Prince O'Neil asked again, "what do we do with the booty?" Major Janin's plan sounded flawless, but how was he going to move treasures this heavy?
The Major pointed at the two men guarding the study, "Little Godot and Mendez, they look like they could carry a hundred kilograms each."
"Two hundred!" Little Godot corrected Major Janin, to which Mendez Blane nodded in agreement.
"That's good!" Janin Sherman clapped his hands excitedly, "but two bulls can move about five hundred kilograms!"
"What are you saying?" Little Godot clenched his fist.
"Are you saying we're less than animals?" Mendez Blane rolled his sleeves up.
"That's enough, you two!" the Prince stopped the big men from flipping out, "I think I understand now, Major Janin wanted to use bulls to transport the goods."
***************
Church's Year 798, 17th Day of 9th Month, 4.55 in the afternoon. Dora's Meatballs was closed! This was an unusual event, as the Vielonna Trading Hall had just closed, all the merchants in it would surge out of its entrance looking for food like a pack of hungry wolves. In times like this, why would ol' Corr close so early?
"Ol' Corr! Are you going away for a while?" asked some nosy neighbors.
"No, I'm not going anywhere! Sirs, there is nothing I can do about this... It had to be done!" ol' Corr seemed like he only repeats this.
In the back of the tavern, Little Godot and Mendez Blane leaned against a wall, panting like a lioness in heat. They had just moved a huge stone mill onto a raised platform over the well and hooked the two-hundred-meter cable to it.
"My bulls, it's your turn now!" Big Worm Blasky yelled at his men. Several soldiers immediately herded in some strong, muscular bulls. The ten bulls were specially chosen by Major Janin. After testing, it was found their combined strength was enough to move about two tons of goods.
"Alright! Your mission is to turn the mill and pull the things out from inside the well!" Blasky ordered the bulls as if they could understand him.
At the same time, Ferdin and his team were working diligently, shoving sacks full of gold and golden bricks into a prearranged hemp sack before tying them up, leaving shiny hooks on the mouths.
A soldier pulled out a huge cable from the waterway. It was the exact same one hooked to the stone mill. After being pulled out of the water, it was revealed the cable had steel rings attached to it. The rings were weaved into the cable when it was braided.
The soldiers attached the hooks to the rings as fast as they could, this first round was just to test the cable's actual loading capacity, so the soldiers only secured fifteen hemp bags to the cable, leaving still a large number of items in the vault.
Sounds of whips cracked in the back of the tavern. Then ten bulls started mooing and turning the mill. As the stone mill rotated, the cable on the mill started to be reeled in slowly.
After an indeterminate amount of time, when the bulls were wet with sweat, the first batch of fifteen bags of treasures was pulled out of the water!
Along with the treasures, there were soldiers who made sure the treasures were in good condition. Ferdin took down his hood and kept himself afloat while watching as bags were received by the soldiers outside of the well.
"How was it? How was it?" Ferdin yelled.
Blasky unhooked the bags and sliced one open. What did he see? The Commander scooped a pile of gold onto his hands, he knew this meant Operation Crown was a success!
"Hey, 'how was it,' you asked?" Big Worm brought the gold coins toward the well and threw all of them in.
Gold coins knocked at the heads out of the water like a cascading waterfall, as the soldiers finally gave a cheer of success.
***************
The sunset painted the sky with a shade of vermillion, changing the Serevan Palace Garden into a plethora of colors. Baby roses grew on the shrubs, their red petals turning into a deep purple; sweetbriar roses bloomed on the vines, their pink flowers transformed into a brilliant red; and the maroon-colored Montezuma roses which blossomed everywhere turned into clouds of darkness.
All these were the masterpieces of the sunset! The dazzling sunset glow flooded the city with a reddish tone, burning the Palace, and beautified every girl's smiles.
"Oh, did I recognize the wrong person?" General Vangol Abberning Hagrid emitted a deep grunt, "Miss Elizabeth's beauty was even more stunning than before!"
The General looked at the Prince, "You little runt, what have you done to her?"
Oscar laughed dryly, "Whatever you're thinking of!"
General Hagrid roared with laughter, "I'm not you, I don't have the courage to take her in as my daughter!"
Oscar kept quiet, he stared into the depth of the garden as an officer approached. The officer saluted in front of the table, then approached Oscar to whisper into his ear.
"Alright, thank you!" Prince O'Neil could not help but show his excitement.
The officer took his leave and soon disappeared into the bushes, leaving the Prince and General Hagrid in the garden again.
"Alright, I've seen Miss Elizabeth and the fine dinner had been a pleasure," General Vangol raised his cup of coffee, "now can you tell me what you've done?"
Oscar smiled slightly and said, "My First Special Combat Brigade had just completed an unbelievable secret mission!"
"What is the mission?" Vangol took a sip of the Faran coffee with fresh milk.
"We robbed the underground vault in Vielonna!"
"Pfft!" Vangol immediately spat out the coffee. "What did you say?"
Oscar grinned even more.
"You heard me, didn't you? My First Special Combat Brigade had robbed the underground vault in Vielonna, it's the one that was called Peter Dynasty, I believe it was left with not even a copper!"
The Commander of Military District Five stood up in shock. "Do you know what you're doing? Besides... how?"
Oscar looked at the General's face upon which was full of disbelief.
"Initially, I thought it was impossible as well, but I met someone called Janin."
"Janin?"
"Yes!" Oscar smiled at the thought of his military intelligence officer. "Janin Sherman. You will soon be introduced to him because he's now the deputy chief of my Southern branch.
General Hagrid sat down fiercely and closed in with Oscar, "I don't want to be introduced to him! I just want to know what you're doing! At least give me a proper explanation, don't force me to arrest you! You and your men had broken at least ten articles from Titan Codex"
Oscar retrieved his folder from the chair beside him and took out an account folio of Southern merchants.
"First, look at this!"
Hagrid snatched the folio, his strength enough to prove he was not kidding.
"Oh- it's these dishonest traders, but their behaviors were still acceptable, I knew it would be like this! But you-"
"My behavior is unacceptable?" Oscar frowned, "the business giants who gathered in Vielonna colluded together, using the Trading Hall as a front for all their cheating and bullying behaviors! Did you not want to know where the criminals got their combat resources from? It was the black market, and where do the banned goods on the black market come from? Obviously, under your nose."
Hagrid's clenched his fists again, the proof of the merchants' wrongdoing had been crumpled into a ball.
Oscar did not mind hitting the Commander with another blow. He smirked at Hagrid.
"My Uncle Vangol, do you know what we are in the eyes of those business giants? We're clowns! They will come crawling to us with compliments and gifts when they need us, and incite some turbulence among the ignorant paupers when they don't-"
"They will pay for this!" Vangol thumped his fist on the table.
"Yes, they will pay for this, and it's time for us to collect the debt!" Oscar's smile was without any sense of amusement, there was only a warmthlessness that contradicts the sunset.
"Robbing the underground vault of Vielonna Trading Hall is your first step, isn't it?"
"That's right!" Oscar nodded immediately, "the second, third, and even fourth step would require yours and the whole Southern Army Group's cooperation!"
Vangol looked at the young man with an indescribable gaze, "Before you tell me your plan, can you explain why you are only letting me know now?"
Oscar placed his hand on the man's shoulder and stared back without faltering.
"Because I don't trust you. You're a Southerner, and all Southerners understand what the underground vault of Vielonna Trading Hall represents! I wasn't sure if you would sabotage my operation, so... I've decided to tell you now! It is still not too late, my First Special Operations Brigade is still moving the treasures, I'm estimating they will only finish after night falls, so... it is still possible for you to change your mind, as soon as you found the stolen items from the vault, you'll be the savior of the Southern merchants."
Vangol Abberning Hagrid was considering that possibility. If the Vielonna Trading Hall no longer has its financial support, all the business activities would stop, including legal and illegal ones. By that point, a large number of merchants would have gone bankrupt and would have jumped off a building! Some others would have hung themselves! However, why do I have to be to savior? The General thought, could saving the Southern merchants help with the current situation? Besides, to stop this operation would mean to burn the bridge with O'Neil Andrew Morisette. Look at his face, think of his soldiers, it's such a terrifying idea to have! So... what else do I need to consider?
"You win! Tell me what you're planning next!"
Oscar gave his Uncle Vangol a huge hug, the cooperation of the Commander was already within his expectation.
"Operation Crown's second stage, in the dead of night, the Military District Five Defense Force stationed at Vielonna would put Broken Dream Avenue under lockdown. Then, the treasure will be transported in military caravans used for transporting resources."
"Wouldn't that be too obvious?"
Oscar let out another laugh, "Hah! Robbing the Vielonna underground vault? Do you think people would actually believe that aside from us? So what if someone finds out we're transporting stuff? With their intellect, they wouldn't even think we will be transporting the treasures from the vault."
"And then?"
"And then?" Oscar's eyes lost all its brilliance, "tomorrow! The Defense Force stationed at Vielonna would storm the Vielonna Trading Hall one hour after it opens, do not let go of any one person in there! Capture every merchant with their names on the indictment, and at the same time, seize their assets and repossess all their illegal income sources!"
"I need to come up with an excuse!"
"Isn't the underground vault of Vielonna Trading Hall robbed? Isn't that excuse enough for you to mobilize your men?" Oscar lowered his voice like an old man, "as soon as those merchants see the empty vault, they would've flipped all at once, at which point you would start the investigation. Investigations would naturally need to lead to a satisfactory outcome, which would be nice if it were the evidence of those business giants' wrongdoing, isn't it? You could just announce it in public!"
"Hoho, and they would be hung onto trees and splashed with oil for burning by the angry merchants!" Vangol understood every part of it now, "you little runt, you're becoming scarier and scarier!"
Oscar shrugged and said, "It had to be done! Nothing else can be done about this!"
In the small hours of Church's Year 798, 18th Day of 9th Month, the citizens of Vielonna was enjoying a quiet summer night, except for the residents on Broken Dream Avenue. They had been complaining for almost half a night. The military caravans had been clip-clopping non-stop, what is House Hagrid doing, forbidding the opening of windows despite the heat? Are they trying to kill us?
After the final military caravan left the Dora's Meatballs, Big Word Blasky shook the tavern master's hand.
"Thank you for your hospitality the past few days!"
Ol' Corr approached him with a grin, a thousand Golden Tis will soon be in his hands. With his worldliness and tact, the tavern master sighed in a way that suggested his status of a bourgeois,
"Huh huh, sir, it had to be done."
"That's right..." Blasky nodded as he embedded a dagger into ol' Corr's abdomen. Feeling ol' Corr's life force slip away, Blasky sighed.
"It had to be done..."
***************
At the same time, O'Neil Andrew Morisette woke up from his sleep. His bedroom was piled with bricks of gold and an innumerable amount of coins. The young man with a chubby face got up and found the note he left the night before, "Ola! It's at 1397869!"
The Prince grabbed a bunch of Golden Tis again.
"7870, 7871, 7872... 7879..."
Crap! Oscar clutched at his finger!
Which fatso was the one who said it? Sleep to the point of natural wakefulness, count money to the point of spastic stiffness*! Such blissful life could not be accomplished by simply anyone.
Oscar thought, should I do something else in a situation like this? Elizabeth would have sung, so...
Prince O'Neil cleared his throat. Looking around his room covered in shimmering gold, he sang,
"Heeey la la hey la la... The sky wore rosy clouds... The earth nurtured safflowers..."
It was said that, on that particular night, many people had experienced nightmares in Serevan Palace.
No matter what, the Operation Crown on Church's Year 798, 17th Day of 9th Month had made it possible for O'Neil Andrew Morisette to control the five Southern provinces, and in doing so, fortified his political and material influences in his becoming of the ruler of the Empire.
Translator's Notes:
1. "Sleep to the point of natural wakefulness, count money to the point of spastic stiffness". it's a contemporary Chinese expression about being so rich their only work is to count money.
9th Month, 17th Day, it was a fine day, Vielonna bathed in the cleansing sun, the air was filled with a summery scent.
No, it's the smell of Golden Tis!
Georgio Verones thought happily. When he arrived at the trading hall, Marquis Janin of West Percy was already there, waiting for him. Following RuPaul Roy's instruction, Georgio bought canvas sheets worth 1.9 million Golden Tis from an underground store, then passed the receipt to Marquis Janin.
Georgio didn't know how RuPaul Roy got hold of so many canvas sheets, but he knew that the old thing and his friends definitely had a plan for them. In addition, he also knew that those rich, filthy squatters in the trading hall will soon have their wings burned.
After finishing the transaction, Marquis Janin transferred 1.9 million Golden Tis, in the form of money order, into the system of the bank of which Vielonna Trading Hall patronize. The money order could only be cashed in after noon, however, because the treasury of the trading hall only opens for an hour every day between noon and evening.
The banking industry of the Titan Empire was formed in the middle of the 6th Century when naval trades started gaining momentum and took over as the dominant form of trading systems. The Kingdom of West Percy sent exploration fleets to open up the trade route to the Far East, causing an influx of luxury items, but the merchants of Westland were still using weights to calculate the monetary value of merchandises. To simplify major trade deals that use a lot of gold, the first bank was established, setting up accounts for each and every merchant, carrying out credit assessments, conducting currency exchange, so on and so forth. In short, after a whole century of development, the banking system in Westland had been so polished, it's almost perfect.
The banking system Vielonna Trading Hall subscribed to was undoubtedly one that holds the most authority. One could exchange their money into six dominant currencies in Westland with it, and at the same time recognizes letters of credit by a dozen of different banks.
Money order is one form of letters of credit. For example, the one Marquis Janin held, the money order with 1.9 million Golden Tis, was issued by Seahorse Bank of West Percy. Vielonna Trading Hall recognizes Seahorse Bank, and thus it issued Golden Ti based on the same amount in the exchange. If Seahorse Bank denied the issuance of 1.9 million to Vielonna Trading Hall, it would have lost the credit it requires to stay in business. This was the standard for the banking industry, as listed in the agreement between the nine major banking groups in Westland.
Vielonna Trading Hall only needed to do one thing in this banking system, that is to examine the authenticity of the money order from Seahorse Bank. Specifically how the examination was carried out was unknown to the public, as it was the internal affairs of the banking system. This information was listed as having the highest level of confidentiality and was kept classified by the whole industry. Fake letters of credit would only bankrupt the bank, so these old-timers treated credit as their lifeline. They followed the business etiquette strictly without fail, at least that's what it appeared to be.
No matter what, the money order, valued at 1.9 million Golden Tis, that Horsesea Bank issued was authentic, Georgio was only notified by the trading hall after a two-hour wait.
The young man who was on his way to being a millionaire raised his glass at Marquis Janin.
"Let's have a toast! May we have a fruitful collaboration!"
"That's right! Cheers! Let's have fun working together!" Major Janin Sherman raised his mug happily.
The two successful merchants sat in a tavern, their lunch had been going on since noon. The tavern, named Dora's Meatballs, was built in the deep end of the Broken Dream Avenue, about forty meters displacement from the marble steps of Vielonna Trading Hall. Merchants and traders who spent a whole morning in the trading hall often visit the tavern, asking for a glass of peppermint wine as they enter the door.
"Peppermint wine, ol' Corr!" they would yell their orders, "And a plate of Dora's Meatballs please!"
Ol' Corr immediately scribbled on his order chit, then passed it to a serving lad to bring to the kitchen.
"Why did you change all your staff?" asked some of the frequent guests.
Ol' Corr bowed respectfully, "It just had to be done, sirs, I can't do anything about it!"
Truly, there was nothing he could have done. The First Ambush Team of Special Combat Brigade directly responsible to the Military Intelligence Bureau had entered the tavern, expressing interest in the geographical location of the tavern and the well behind it.
Ol' Corr wanted to complain. Which of his ancestors built the well? Isn't that just bringing misfortune to their descendants? Dora's Meatballs is one of the older establishments on Broken Dream Avenue, ol' Corr was the fourth generation tavern master, and the only one to have met with this trouble.
"We'll give you a thousand Golden Tis! Aside from you, I want everyone else fired until we had left this establishment!" was the exact words the military officer said. With that said, ol' Corr couldn't determine if they are real soldiers, that's because these guys' faces all look as stiff as a machine, their actions as precise as a standing clock.
For a whole week, these "terrorists" worked on the well! What were they trying to do? Did they want to drill a hole like rats do? There was only an underground waterway that leads to god knows where!
What a joke! A treasure in there? Ol' Corr had never heard of it! The tavern master glanced at the kitchen resentfully, they should be finished by now, right? With some years on his face, ol' Corr started worrying, his polished instincts had never failed him.
On the other hand, Georgio and Marquis Janin clicked their glasses together, emitting a bell-like tone as the crystal glasses clinked. That tone was the signal they were waiting for!
"Commander of the Guards, the Chief of the Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau, Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette's order!" Big Worm Blasky produced an operation plan to his ambush team members.
"Codename: Crown!"
"Crown!" the soldiers who filled up the backyard of the tavern bellowed all at once!
Church's Year 798, 9th Month, 17th Day. It was 2:21 in the afternoon when Georgio and Marquis Janin left Dora's Meatballs toward Peter Dynasty for their 1.9 million Golden Tis.
At the same time, Operation Crown had officially launched.
Blasky looked at the deep well beside him before projecting his sight toward soldier who participated in this operation. The best swimmers in the Special Combat Brigade were here, every single one of them could swim like a shark. At this point, the soldiers had all finished putting on their dark brown sharkskin underwater suit. With superb elasticity, these sharkskin suits were indeed the best equipment for diving.
Fifteen soldiers stood around the well with their own weapons and some funny-looking tools, led by Ferdin, a hulking man and the son of a fisherman.
"Ferdin, good luck!" Blasky held onto Ferdin's hand tightly, "Remember what Marshal said before we left, what's important is your warriors' lives. If the operation is failing, retreat immediately!"
Ferdin's eyes turned sharp, "Please ask the Marshal to not worry about us!"
Blasky nodded, "Good!" He handed a rubber hose to Ferdin.
Ferdin took the hose, and just like their countless times of practices, he easily found the copper tube wedged into the rubber hose that was his mouthpiece for breathing underwater.
Ferdin and his fourteen men let down their sharkskin hoods after each of them had found their copper tubes.
Being the first the enter, Ferdin held the longest rubber hose in the world, measuring more than two hundred meters. The Staff Sergeant held the copper tube tightly in his mouth. It was dark underwater, but he already familiarized himself with the ins-and-outs of the waterway. Breathing in the air in the hose, Ferdin kept moving forward slowly.
One by one, the other soldiers jumped into the well. Water splashed all over Blasky, but he did not mind. He instructed his men to continually release the rubber hose into the well. Knowing there was still some distance from their destination, he silently wished them success.
***************
After yet another procedure to verify their identity, and another trip past the three unpenetrable doors, Major Janin Sherman and Master Geo finally arrived at the giant metal door under the companionship of a Paladin.
It was Major Janin second time visiting this underground castle, but everything was new to Georgio. On their way here, dear Master Geo had been squealing at the littlest of things like a country bumpkin in town. He even ignored the Paladin's instruction to stop touching things. To that display of ignorance, Major Janin only smiled. He knew Geo's performance was on point without a hint of being over the top.
Three gatekeepers were already waiting by the gate when they arrived. The clerk from Peter Dynasty signaled to them to start. As usual, the gatekeepers turned the keys, and the whole underground space was echoing with the deep, dull cranking of the metal mechanism.
Janin Sherman observed everything with a hidden smirk. He wanted to shout, "Don't move! This is a hold-up!" but he knew that was something only an idiot would do. He was smart, as smart as a tactical prodigy, he was very proud of his robbery plan.
Before this, not even Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette would believe someone could actually break into Peter Dynasty and successfully burglarize it.
The Prince held a private military meeting at midnight not long ago. Janin Sherman still remembered everything that happened.
Prince O'Neil's marshal outfit had been unbuttoned on the top, his ornamental sword had been left on the couch, the room had smelled of a mixture of cigar and humidity. Major Janin knew about the copper pipes in Serevan Palace that was used to send cold air around, and copper pipe was an excellent conductor for sound too. To prevent the possible eavesdropping, Prince Oscar had stopped the cooling system and blocked the copper pipes.
This had been the first time the Major met the Commander. Before this, his understanding of the Commander had been from rumors in the bureau and from the small book detailing the Battle of Saijo Mountain. Janin felt this young marshal must have been a sensitive, witty young man. If one avoided looking at his eyes or listening to his voice, he'd have looked just like any other young nobleman.
"Major Janin, I'm glad I met you. Show me your plan, let me see if you are really a genius or just another idiot with his head in the clouds." was Marshal O'Neil's first sentence in the private meeting. Most other officers lowered their heads as soon as he said it. They had no workable plan on breaking into the underground vault of Vielonna Trading Hall, so they were the idiots he spoke of.
Major Janin immediately gave a salute and flipped open the vault's floorplan on top of the table. There was no need for any courtesy. If the Marshal wanted to break into the place, it must mean he was an adventurous lunatic!
"Luckily, me too!" thought Janin.
"Marshal, everyone, as was mentioned, since we had already ruled out breaking in from the outside, we need to get to it from the inside!"
"We knew that!" Prince Oscar had kept his impatience quite a while, apparently. He shot Janin a glance, "That's why we're waiting for your explanation."
"Marshal, this is my plan!" Janin was still a major at this point, but he already had the courage and spirit to look at his commander in the eyes.
As the three massive locks opened, the gatekeepers stood aside methodically. It was a necessary action, as the air in the vault would still contain all sorts of harmful elements, and without Oxygen. It seemed it's the same underwater.
***************
In the backyard of Dora's Meatballs, the water rippled in the deep well that leads to the underground waterways. It was known that the underground waterways were interconnected. After a full day of searching and having lost three special forces soldiers, Ferdin finally found the tunnel beneath the treasury, the waterway at the beginning of the road to "the Crown".
The underground waterway was almost void of light, its water pressure and the cold temperature causing Ferdin and the fourteen other warriors to shiver unstoppably.
Finally, a metallic clank of a latch was heard through the dark underground tunnel. The sound seemed to travel slower in water, but it was surprisingly booming!
Ferdin was so nervous, he thought he might even bite off a piece of the hose he needed to survive. After fumbling around for a while, he finally found the soldiers behind him. According to plan, Ferdin and his comrades started to wade through the water, slowly making their way through the tunnel.
A few minutes later, the tunnel gradually became narrower. With his previous experience, Ferdin stretched his arms out to his side and found them pushing against the chilly stone walls, which meant he had entered the segment of the tunnel which was dug through manually. Not only that, there was a dim light breaking the water surface.
The timing was as expected, the door to the vault was opened at the exact time they had anticipated. Ferdin approached the flickering light at the top of the waterway, he knew those were the lights inside the vault.
***************
Major Janin walked in front of the drawing board hung up in the middle of the room and addressed the Commander and each officer.
"Firstly, we need to understand the internal structure of the vault," said Major Janin as he flipped over a piece of the drawing board. "The treasury wall was comprised of three layers — brick, marble, and steel, so this would negate any possibility of using explosives to gain entry. Therefore, my choice of entry would be... Underground!"
"Underground?" Marshal O'Neil retorted immediately, "There is an iron gate weighing several hundred kilograms underground, and we all knew it was connected to an underground waterway, but how do we destroy the gate?"
Janin Sherman smiled knowingly, "Marshal, the correct question to ask, is why the vault has a gate that leads to an underground waterway."
"Why?"
The Major flipped open another piece of the drawing board, "Because that's an important component of the vacuum mechanism!"
"Look here!" Janin pointed at the complicated machinery on the drawing board, "I don't know who designed this thing, but undoubtedly, he's a bloody genius! The principle behind the vacuum mechanism is simple because it does not really make the space vacuum, it only fills the treasury with poisonous gases! It'll poison the intruders with these gases, and then-"
"Hold on a second! What gases? Where do the poison gases come from?"
"Marshal, I was getting to that point!" Janin Sherman flipped the drawing board again with confidence. "This is the boiler room of the Vielonna Trading Hall, where it produces warm bath water for the merchants in the trading hall free of charge. Not long ago, I discovered something weird. The boiler room would consume a large number of charcoals every day, those they use for boiling water, but its smokestack barely produces any smoke throughout the day. Or rather, its smoke billows at a very strict schedule — every day from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.!"
"The same period when the treasury opens!" the sharp Prince O'Neil yelled.
Janin nodded, "That's right, Marshal! I believe you have guessed this, the boiler room is the other huge component of the vacuum mechanism. They create poisonous gases through burning charcoals and then sealing the smokestack. With nowhere else to go, the poisonous gases can only go through a secret pipeline that leads to the sealed vault, effectively protecting it with these invisible killers. I have researched the internal structures of the vault, there are several small windows on the roof of the vault, which I'm guessing are smoke vents. The poisonous gases probably entered the vault through those, but the windows were too narrow for humans to pass. This effectively cut off the possibility to enter the vault through the windows."
"Clever! What a clever designer!" sighed Prince O'Neil. "No wonder we couldn't see how the vacuum mechanism work from the blueprint, its functioning normally was entirely dependent on a missable boiler room!"
"Next is my proposal of operation!" Janin knocked on the drawing board, which had already turned into the conceptual diagram of the vacuum mechanism. "Now that we know the boiler in the boiler room provides protection to the vault, we can understand the secret pipeline leading into the boiler room as the exit for the poisonous gases. Whenever the treasury is opened, the gatekeepers would wait for a little while, that's when the poisonous gases leave from the smokestack!"
"And now that the poisonous gases had left, fresh air would need an entrance!"
"That gate connecting to the underground waterway!" Prince O'Neil squealed again in comprehension.
"That's right, Marshal!" Janin Sherman beamed. It was so easy speaking to intelligent people. "That waterway is the entrance for fresh air, there is a sluice controlling that gate. Whenever the treasury is sealed, that gate will be closed; when the treasury opens, that gate will open, letting in the fresh air!"
"So, Marshal, officers!" Janin punched at an entrance marker on the blueprint of the treasury.
"If we want to enter the vault without being affected by the poisonous gases, we'll have to destroy this steel gate!"
***************
The half-submerged steel gate had completely opened up, just like how it was described in the operation plan. Staff Sergeant Ferdin had observed the location for a week, he was really impressed with Major Janin who came up with the idea.
The red light in the vault shone out of the iron grill and onto the rippling water. The workers were moving sacks of gold hurriedly, not even the duty-bound Paladins noticed the bubbles breaking the water surface. The presence of bubbles would indicate there were unidentified visitors inside the tunnel, and the visitors had further plans.
Ferdin repeated what he did in the simulations, he slowly searched the wall and soon found the mark he left on the steel gate.
A soldier kept up with him. Even though he was shivering from the coldness, his eyes flickered from beneath the water. He untied the tool strapped to his torso. The action seemed so easy to do on land, but in the freezing water, it was extremely difficult. However, the tool this soldier took was only a piton. He slotted the piton in the gap between the steel gate and signaled Ferdin.
As soon as Staff Sergeant Ferdin saw the signal, he started to work. His job was to destroy the capstan the gate utilizes to seal the waterway.
The capstan was built into the inner side of the wall. It could be seen slightly at the moment. This was the result of the soldiers' several days of work as they dug a hole in the stone wall to be able to fit a person. Staff Sergeant Ferdin wiggled his way into the area, bringing along the rubber hose that connects all the way to outside. Ferdin inhaled the fresh air from inside the hose that brought about the attractive smell of Dora's Meatballs.
Ferdin tugged at the chains that were connected to the capstan. He had tried it before, there was no way it could be destroyed underwater because it was hard to focus one's strength on one point underwater. He did not even think about cutting the chains with his teeth. He took out another piton, slotting it between the chains and the capstan.
***************
"It's that easy? I mean, it was that easy to destroy a gate that heavy?" Prince O'Neil's eyes widened, he looked at Janin in distrust.
Janin shrugged, "From the structure of the capstan and the gate, it is that easy! The designer must think nobody could ever do anything underwater, so this mechanism is actually quite simple!"
***************
It was Church's Year 798, 17th Day of 9th Month. 3.40 p.m. in the afternoon, Big Worm Blasky looked at his soldiers who were warming themselves up. It was their third time leaving the waterway, even with the assistance of the rubber hoses, no one could stay in freezing water for a whole hour.
"Ferdin, it's up to you now!" Blasky gave his ambush team leader a military salute.
Ferdin did not say anything. His stamina was at its limits, and his frozen body was shaking uncontrollably.
The fifteen soldier jumped into the well once more, praying to the God of Light, wishing for everything to go according to plan.
As the person who initiated Operation Crown, Major Janin Sherman had already left the underground vault with Master Geo, their 1.9 million Golden Tis were transferred up to the ground by the staff of Peter Dynasty. In just a little while, the gatekeepers of Peter Dynasty would have closed the door, and the lock on the metallic gate would be the trigger to activate the vacuum mechanism.
Just like countless days before this, the metallic gate was shut at 4 p.m. sharp. As soon as the lock was bolted, the vacuum mechanism started to run! First, a mechanism connected to the boiler room sealed the smokestack, poisonous gases started entering the vault via secret pipeline as usual. That was followed by the steel capstan rotating and bringing the steel gate to close, preventing harmless air from entering.
The soldiers widened their eyes as they were right under the gate. The cranking of the mechanism sounded like thunder rumbling from underwater, Not only did it agitate their ears, the water pressure also pressed against their bodies.
The capstan was rotating! Ferdin almost yelled. Did the two pitons not work? The Staff Sergeant was not sure, but he knew the capstan must have bent the piton out of shape, he also knew the piton between the gate and the stone wall would soon suffer the same fate.
"Stop! Stop! Stop it you sonovab*tch!"
As if responding to Ferdin's curses, the capstan stopped, and so did the metallic cranking. Ferdin and his soldiers subconsciously looked at the exit.
"We're nearly done for!" the gate stopped with a gap enough for one person to swim through, and the treasury was right in front of them.
"Thank God of Light! Thank God of Light!" Ferdin prayed in a murmur without stopping. He reached out from between the gate, threw the rubber hose aside, and took a deep breath. Hm. There was a sharp whiff of burning charcoal. He extended his arm with a mirror in his hand through the gate.
The mirror circled around, it was safe!
Ferdin took a shovel from his comrade, and forced the gate open! The Staff Sergeant had finally left the water, he was excited and proud! He looked just like he had captured an enemy stronghold! No, not stronghold, it was a room full of Golden Tis!
After confirming that no one was in the vault, he lit the torch covered in oilskin. Using the torch, he lit the few lampstands on the wall. Ferdin was familiar with the placement of the room. With Major Janin's description, he could even walk around without bumping into things with his eyes closed.
Water splashed, other soldiers who had waited for a long while exited the water one after another. The light in the vault was dim and flickering, it seemed the poisonous gases were slowly filling up the room, they need to hurry up!
However... dear heavens! Who could describe what the soldiers see?
Golden bricks were stacked together in neat piles, sacks full of Golden Tis were heaped into hills! Jewelry of all sorts glistened with the goldware and silverware under the torchlight, antiques sorted into rows and famous paintings stacked against each other! It was really a sight to behold!
The shivering soldiers were stunned by all that they've seen, their faces looked especially ferocious in the sharkskin hoods.
"That's enough!" Ferdin hollered, shocking his soldiers back into reality.
"Don't forget the uniform we wear and our mission!"
At their captain's words, the soldiers finally came to their senses. All of them were ashamed of the greed that momentarily flooded their conscience. Without a sound, the soldiers immediately split up into groups as planned. The first group was responsible for the golden bricks; the second group, the sacks of Tis; the third group for the jewelry, goldware, and silverware; and the fourth group handling the antiques and paintings. Their actions had finally revealed the attitude of a soldier — as cold as a machine, as precise as a standing clock. —
***************
"Then..." Prince O'Neil asked again, "what do we do with the booty?" Major Janin's plan sounded flawless, but how was he going to move treasures this heavy?
The Major pointed at the two men guarding the study, "Little Godot and Mendez, they look like they could carry a hundred kilograms each."
"Two hundred!" Little Godot corrected Major Janin, to which Mendez Blane nodded in agreement.
"That's good!" Janin Sherman clapped his hands excitedly, "but two bulls can move about five hundred kilograms!"
"What are you saying?" Little Godot clenched his fist.
"Are you saying we're less than animals?" Mendez Blane rolled his sleeves up.
"That's enough, you two!" the Prince stopped the big men from flipping out, "I think I understand now, Major Janin wanted to use bulls to transport the goods."
***************
Church's Year 798, 17th Day of 9th Month, 4.55 in the afternoon. Dora's Meatballs was closed! This was an unusual event, as the Vielonna Trading Hall had just closed, all the merchants in it would surge out of its entrance looking for food like a pack of hungry wolves. In times like this, why would ol' Corr close so early?
"Ol' Corr! Are you going away for a while?" asked some nosy neighbors.
"No, I'm not going anywhere! Sirs, there is nothing I can do about this... It had to be done!" ol' Corr seemed like he only repeats this.
In the back of the tavern, Little Godot and Mendez Blane leaned against a wall, panting like a lioness in heat. They had just moved a huge stone mill onto a raised platform over the well and hooked the two-hundred-meter cable to it.
"My bulls, it's your turn now!" Big Worm Blasky yelled at his men. Several soldiers immediately herded in some strong, muscular bulls. The ten bulls were specially chosen by Major Janin. After testing, it was found their combined strength was enough to move about two tons of goods.
"Alright! Your mission is to turn the mill and pull the things out from inside the well!" Blasky ordered the bulls as if they could understand him.
At the same time, Ferdin and his team were working diligently, shoving sacks full of gold and golden bricks into a prearranged hemp sack before tying them up, leaving shiny hooks on the mouths.
A soldier pulled out a huge cable from the waterway. It was the exact same one hooked to the stone mill. After being pulled out of the water, it was revealed the cable had steel rings attached to it. The rings were weaved into the cable when it was braided.
The soldiers attached the hooks to the rings as fast as they could, this first round was just to test the cable's actual loading capacity, so the soldiers only secured fifteen hemp bags to the cable, leaving still a large number of items in the vault.
Sounds of whips cracked in the back of the tavern. Then ten bulls started mooing and turning the mill. As the stone mill rotated, the cable on the mill started to be reeled in slowly.
After an indeterminate amount of time, when the bulls were wet with sweat, the first batch of fifteen bags of treasures was pulled out of the water!
Along with the treasures, there were soldiers who made sure the treasures were in good condition. Ferdin took down his hood and kept himself afloat while watching as bags were received by the soldiers outside of the well.
"How was it? How was it?" Ferdin yelled.
Blasky unhooked the bags and sliced one open. What did he see? The Commander scooped a pile of gold onto his hands, he knew this meant Operation Crown was a success!
"Hey, 'how was it,' you asked?" Big Worm brought the gold coins toward the well and threw all of them in.
Gold coins knocked at the heads out of the water like a cascading waterfall, as the soldiers finally gave a cheer of success.
***************
The sunset painted the sky with a shade of vermillion, changing the Serevan Palace Garden into a plethora of colors. Baby roses grew on the shrubs, their red petals turning into a deep purple; sweetbriar roses bloomed on the vines, their pink flowers transformed into a brilliant red; and the maroon-colored Montezuma roses which blossomed everywhere turned into clouds of darkness.
All these were the masterpieces of the sunset! The dazzling sunset glow flooded the city with a reddish tone, burning the Palace, and beautified every girl's smiles.
"Oh, did I recognize the wrong person?" General Vangol Abberning Hagrid emitted a deep grunt, "Miss Elizabeth's beauty was even more stunning than before!"
The General looked at the Prince, "You little runt, what have you done to her?"
Oscar laughed dryly, "Whatever you're thinking of!"
General Hagrid roared with laughter, "I'm not you, I don't have the courage to take her in as my daughter!"
Oscar kept quiet, he stared into the depth of the garden as an officer approached. The officer saluted in front of the table, then approached Oscar to whisper into his ear.
"Alright, thank you!" Prince O'Neil could not help but show his excitement.
The officer took his leave and soon disappeared into the bushes, leaving the Prince and General Hagrid in the garden again.
"Alright, I've seen Miss Elizabeth and the fine dinner had been a pleasure," General Vangol raised his cup of coffee, "now can you tell me what you've done?"
Oscar smiled slightly and said, "My First Special Combat Brigade had just completed an unbelievable secret mission!"
"What is the mission?" Vangol took a sip of the Faran coffee with fresh milk.
"We robbed the underground vault in Vielonna!"
"Pfft!" Vangol immediately spat out the coffee. "What did you say?"
Oscar grinned even more.
"You heard me, didn't you? My First Special Combat Brigade had robbed the underground vault in Vielonna, it's the one that was called Peter Dynasty, I believe it was left with not even a copper!"
The Commander of Military District Five stood up in shock. "Do you know what you're doing? Besides... how?"
Oscar looked at the General's face upon which was full of disbelief.
"Initially, I thought it was impossible as well, but I met someone called Janin."
"Janin?"
"Yes!" Oscar smiled at the thought of his military intelligence officer. "Janin Sherman. You will soon be introduced to him because he's now the deputy chief of my Southern branch.
General Hagrid sat down fiercely and closed in with Oscar, "I don't want to be introduced to him! I just want to know what you're doing! At least give me a proper explanation, don't force me to arrest you! You and your men had broken at least ten articles from Titan Codex"
Oscar retrieved his folder from the chair beside him and took out an account folio of Southern merchants.
"First, look at this!"
Hagrid snatched the folio, his strength enough to prove he was not kidding.
"Oh- it's these dishonest traders, but their behaviors were still acceptable, I knew it would be like this! But you-"
"My behavior is unacceptable?" Oscar frowned, "the business giants who gathered in Vielonna colluded together, using the Trading Hall as a front for all their cheating and bullying behaviors! Did you not want to know where the criminals got their combat resources from? It was the black market, and where do the banned goods on the black market come from? Obviously, under your nose."
Hagrid's clenched his fists again, the proof of the merchants' wrongdoing had been crumpled into a ball.
Oscar did not mind hitting the Commander with another blow. He smirked at Hagrid.
"My Uncle Vangol, do you know what we are in the eyes of those business giants? We're clowns! They will come crawling to us with compliments and gifts when they need us, and incite some turbulence among the ignorant paupers when they don't-"
"They will pay for this!" Vangol thumped his fist on the table.
"Yes, they will pay for this, and it's time for us to collect the debt!" Oscar's smile was without any sense of amusement, there was only a warmthlessness that contradicts the sunset.
"Robbing the underground vault of Vielonna Trading Hall is your first step, isn't it?"
"That's right!" Oscar nodded immediately, "the second, third, and even fourth step would require yours and the whole Southern Army Group's cooperation!"
Vangol looked at the young man with an indescribable gaze, "Before you tell me your plan, can you explain why you are only letting me know now?"
Oscar placed his hand on the man's shoulder and stared back without faltering.
"Because I don't trust you. You're a Southerner, and all Southerners understand what the underground vault of Vielonna Trading Hall represents! I wasn't sure if you would sabotage my operation, so... I've decided to tell you now! It is still not too late, my First Special Operations Brigade is still moving the treasures, I'm estimating they will only finish after night falls, so... it is still possible for you to change your mind, as soon as you found the stolen items from the vault, you'll be the savior of the Southern merchants."
Vangol Abberning Hagrid was considering that possibility. If the Vielonna Trading Hall no longer has its financial support, all the business activities would stop, including legal and illegal ones. By that point, a large number of merchants would have gone bankrupt and would have jumped off a building! Some others would have hung themselves! However, why do I have to be to savior? The General thought, could saving the Southern merchants help with the current situation? Besides, to stop this operation would mean to burn the bridge with O'Neil Andrew Morisette. Look at his face, think of his soldiers, it's such a terrifying idea to have! So... what else do I need to consider?
"You win! Tell me what you're planning next!"
Oscar gave his Uncle Vangol a huge hug, the cooperation of the Commander was already within his expectation.
"Operation Crown's second stage, in the dead of night, the Military District Five Defense Force stationed at Vielonna would put Broken Dream Avenue under lockdown. Then, the treasure will be transported in military caravans used for transporting resources."
"Wouldn't that be too obvious?"
Oscar let out another laugh, "Hah! Robbing the Vielonna underground vault? Do you think people would actually believe that aside from us? So what if someone finds out we're transporting stuff? With their intellect, they wouldn't even think we will be transporting the treasures from the vault."
"And then?"
"And then?" Oscar's eyes lost all its brilliance, "tomorrow! The Defense Force stationed at Vielonna would storm the Vielonna Trading Hall one hour after it opens, do not let go of any one person in there! Capture every merchant with their names on the indictment, and at the same time, seize their assets and repossess all their illegal income sources!"
"I need to come up with an excuse!"
"Isn't the underground vault of Vielonna Trading Hall robbed? Isn't that excuse enough for you to mobilize your men?" Oscar lowered his voice like an old man, "as soon as those merchants see the empty vault, they would've flipped all at once, at which point you would start the investigation. Investigations would naturally need to lead to a satisfactory outcome, which would be nice if it were the evidence of those business giants' wrongdoing, isn't it? You could just announce it in public!"
"Hoho, and they would be hung onto trees and splashed with oil for burning by the angry merchants!" Vangol understood every part of it now, "you little runt, you're becoming scarier and scarier!"
Oscar shrugged and said, "It had to be done! Nothing else can be done about this!"
In the small hours of Church's Year 798, 18th Day of 9th Month, the citizens of Vielonna was enjoying a quiet summer night, except for the residents on Broken Dream Avenue. They had been complaining for almost half a night. The military caravans had been clip-clopping non-stop, what is House Hagrid doing, forbidding the opening of windows despite the heat? Are they trying to kill us?
After the final military caravan left the Dora's Meatballs, Big Word Blasky shook the tavern master's hand.
"Thank you for your hospitality the past few days!"
Ol' Corr approached him with a grin, a thousand Golden Tis will soon be in his hands. With his worldliness and tact, the tavern master sighed in a way that suggested his status of a bourgeois,
"Huh huh, sir, it had to be done."
"That's right..." Blasky nodded as he embedded a dagger into ol' Corr's abdomen. Feeling ol' Corr's life force slip away, Blasky sighed.
"It had to be done..."
***************
At the same time, O'Neil Andrew Morisette woke up from his sleep. His bedroom was piled with bricks of gold and an innumerable amount of coins. The young man with a chubby face got up and found the note he left the night before, "Ola! It's at 1397869!"
The Prince grabbed a bunch of Golden Tis again.
"7870, 7871, 7872... 7879..."
Crap! Oscar clutched at his finger!
Which fatso was the one who said it? Sleep to the point of natural wakefulness, count money to the point of spastic stiffness*! Such blissful life could not be accomplished by simply anyone.
Oscar thought, should I do something else in a situation like this? Elizabeth would have sung, so...
Prince O'Neil cleared his throat. Looking around his room covered in shimmering gold, he sang,
"Heeey la la hey la la... The sky wore rosy clouds... The earth nurtured safflowers..."
It was said that, on that particular night, many people had experienced nightmares in Serevan Palace.
No matter what, the Operation Crown on Church's Year 798, 17th Day of 9th Month had made it possible for O'Neil Andrew Morisette to control the five Southern provinces, and in doing so, fortified his political and material influences in his becoming of the ruler of the Empire.
Translator's Notes:
1. "Sleep to the point of natural wakefulness, count money to the point of spastic stiffness". it's a contemporary Chinese expression about being so rich their only work is to count money.
