A small, quiet and comfortable village sat at a highland by the side of the northern highway in Dulin City. In the outskirts of this small village, there was a two-bedroom house that was bright and neat with brown-colored blinds. Beside the house was a small garden. It was divided equally into small boxes that were planted with vegetables.
There was a huge grape shed outside. On the eighth month until the end of the tenth month every year, different species of grapes would mature accordingly. These grapes were all labeled. Some were consumed whilst some were used to produce wine. There were also three gigantic oak trees in front of the house. For four seasons in a year, once the sun was out, the huge shade would cover the small house. On the other side of the house lay the flower garden that was full of blooming flowers. All of these highlighted the comfortable atmosphere that was neat, warming and simple.
I forgot to tell everyone. The master of this house was named old Parry. He had already lived for thirty years. But today, Year 796 ninth day of the eleventh month, if our estimation was accurate, then old Parry was about to bid farewell to his small house.
"Do you know what day it is today?" Oscar stared at Count Rudolf Hoss who was sitting on the other side of the carriage.
"What day? Is there anything special today?" The head of the spies raised his eyebrows.
"At this time in Year 791, you even participated in my birthday celebration! Don't tell me that you forgot!"
"Of course I didn't! Happy birthday, Your Highness!"
Oscar slapped his forehead. "Should I say thank you? Oh god. I should have joined the birthday ball my classmates threw for me. They have prepared for it for so long! I should have... Fine! Something must have gone wrong. Why would I come to this god-forsaken place with you? I must not be in my right mind!"
"Alright, young man!You've been complaining from the moment you boarded my carriage. I am sorry to disturb your birthday party, but this is the arrangement of Alfa III His Majesty. Do you want to complain to His Majesty?"
Oscar turned his head away in dismay.
"Alright! Don't make such a sour face. I swear this will be over in a minute!" Rudolf Hoss said as he made a hand sign to a servant outside of the carriage.
After this, he turned back to the little Prince. "Your Highness, you can call this action as anti-terrorism or also arrest. Because under normal circumstances, these foreign spies only have two jobs. The first is to collect information about this country. Secondly, it is to carry out all sorts of destructive plans. Thus, we will make appropriate arrangement in every aspect according to the overall ability of our enemy."
The carriage stopped by the highway quietly. The young Prince pulled the window of the carriage open. The chilly air of the eleventh month immediately made its occupants shiver.
"How many people are there in the small house?"
Rudolf Hoss looked at the direction of the house. "Four. Three are enemies. A guy in red is my direct informant."
"Etha or DeKTer?"
"DeKTer!" Count Rudolf Hoss' expression became twisted all of a sudden. It seemed that he had a very ‘memorable' encounter with DeKTer.
"These DeKTer spies might really have taken the wrong medicine! They've become extremely active in their endeavors these few years. They were the one that injured Marshal Alan last year. My secret investigators caught more than thirty lower tier members of DeKTer during the process of investigation. Now..... Hehe! If this action is successful, you will soon meet the main person-in-charge of DeKTer's Dulin branch."
"I am looking forward to it," Oscar said as he flexed his muscles.
The spies of the Secret Service Department all wore skin-tight black shirts and armor that were covered with camouflage paint. The agile spies carefully approached the lonely wooden house. This was a full action team. Eight members covered for each other. They used their short swords to break into the fence, then jumped up onto the eaves without any sound. The leader of the action team used a small mirror to signaled light for his comrades from afar. Almost immediately, Team 2 and Team 3 moved out as well.
Team 2 was responsible for sniping. They jumped out of a hole by the highway. Eight team members chose three oak trees respectively. They used human ladders to climb up the tree at lightning speed, then spread their wide sniping crossbows open after positioning themselves.
Team 3's responsibility was to circle behind the house. They safely crossed to the garden in the back. Two members received a connection from the action team upfront at the two sides of the house. The rest of the members were all scattered all around the back garden.
"Listen carefully, the people in the house! We are secret investigators from Titan Empire. We suspect that you are carrying out illegal intelligence activities. Put down your weapon and walk out of the house!"
Rudolf glanced looked at the messenger officer of this action and peered at the silent house. He shook his head and made a hand sign that hinted ‘continue'.
The messenger officer received the order. This loud guy shrugged. He was rather nonchalant at his job because he had not met any foreign enemy that resisted in all these years he'd served the Secret Service Department.
"Listen carefully, the people in the house! We already know your identity. Resistance is futile. This is the last warning. If you still stubbornly resist, we will....."
The words of the messenger suddenly stopped. A sharp arrow pierced his throat. At the hole by the highway, shadows flickered, but it appeared that no one planned to help this poor guy. The loud messenger officer curled up on the ground in pain. He gulped down the wave of blood and water strongly and soon the blood began to conglomerate. His breathing became ragged and finally, he stopped making any sound.
"They don't want to talk." Rudolf Hoss tore his gaze away from the body of the messenger officer.
"I saw it!" Oscar rolled his eyes. He didn't understand why the Emperor would want him to observe this. Even though this was a classic arrest action, but even if he was the one doing it, he wouldn't have done it any other way than Rudolf Hoss. Thus, "Damn it! Why am I here? Today is my birthday!" Oscar complained in his heart.
"Report, Chief! The arrow is shot from the crack of the top floor of the wooden house. That sniper is probably hiding between the plywood. The action members on the trees cannot see his position. Also, look at that! There is smoke coming out of the chimney!"
Rudolf Hoss had a cold look in his eyes. "They are starting to clean out the documents! Quick! Begin action immediately!"
"Yes, Sir!" This servant waved to the other side of the highway.
After a series of sharp noise, six three-feet-tall tanks rode up to the highway. These tanks were advantageous weapons for dealing with small-sized buildings. It used human power to start up and had a strong outer shell made of wood. There was also a gigantic crossbow on top of the tank. It could fire a kind of thick hooks and strings that had been improved.
Six tanks quickly rolled down the highway. They stopped at approximately twenty meters away from the wooden house. Following the tank were all six supporting teams of the Secret Service Department.
The vibrating sound of the machine made everyone tremble. Oscar also had his eyes wide open. He finally found something interesting!
"Fire!" Along with the order of the captain, six hooked strings were fired towards the wooden house with great force. The iron hooks in which its diameter was about ten centimeter easily pierced into the outer wall of the small house. Action Team 1 who was hiding at the side since just now rushed towards the hole at this moment. Every one of them chose a hooked string, then they pressed the gear attached on the hooked string that was exposed outside of the wall with force. The serrated hooked string bounced open and clung to the inner wall of the wooden house tightly just like a monster baring its fang.
The captain screamed an order again. The winch on the gigantic crossbow began to rotate. The iron chains that connected the hooked strings became tighter. Soon, the outer walls of the wooden house began to crack. All of a sudden, the winch turned in high speed, bringing an extremely strong force for the six iron chains. Along with a few loud bangs, dust and wooden shreds flew all over the place. The outer walls of the small house crumbled completely!
"Don't move!" "Everyone don't move!"
Every spy in their respective action team did not care about the dust. They rushed into the scene whilst stepping on the crumbled wood planks!
Maybe the people were shocked by the terrifying ‘hook'! The people in the house did not resist. But when the heavy mist caused by the dust began to dissipate, the spies realized that someone had already controlled the small house.
This was a guy in a red shirt. He had the owner's neck in his hand. His other hand did not forget to hold a short sword against the owner's neck. The remaining two people in the house glared angrily at this guy who had still been one of them just now. But soon enough, the sound of wind from a swinging stick was heard above them. The team members of the Secret Service Department did not go easy on them!
Old Parry heard the hover of his comrades. He did not speak but simply felt the coldness on his neck quietly.
"Tell me your identity!" A team leader used a light-weight crossbow and pointed at this traitor of the foreign enemy from afar. He had not understood the situation. It was not his first time seeing the criminal took advantage of the hostage to run away.
"Only the head of Titan's Secret Service Department Count Rudolf Hoss know about my identity. You can tell him this!"
Soon, a team member ran from outside and spoke lightly to his team leader by his ear. This team leader immediately put down his crossbow. "Hey! Respect for you, brother! You avoided unnecessary sacrifice on our side. Actually, we all knew you exist in this action, but..... You know. Safety is the most important. I am simply being sure."
"It's alright. But you should thank the God of Light! I am a person who doesn't exist!" This guy in red pushed old Parry that was in his hands out. The members of the Secret Service Department immediately pinned him down on the floor, then quickly tied him up tightly.
When old Parry struggled to stand up, he suddenly spat at the face of the traitor. The guy in red avoided it, but old Parry was not able to avoid his revenge. The redshirt snatched a thick lead stick from the hands of an action member. It was until this stick had been deformed that he stopped beating Parry.
The trace team that was responsible to clean up the scenes came in. They began to search every nook and cranny of the rooms carefully.
"Let us see!" Rudolf Hoss strode into the small house, followed by O'Neil Andrew Morisette.
"Old Parry?" Rudolf grabbed the person's hair that was sticky with blood and water. "The person-in-charge of DeKTer based in Dulin?"
Old Parry weakly shook his head. "I..... normal..... farmer! I want..... Justice..... I.... want..... lawyer!"
Rudolf slammed old Parry's head on the floor heavily. He turned to ‘red shirt' in question.
"Hey. Did you break his brain or something? I've never heard about a spy that was captured wanting to get a lawyer for himself."
‘Redshirt' shrugged at the highest ranked officer. "I think. There is another possibility. That is I haven't beaten him enough!"
"That's right! That is the correct logic!" Rudolf nodded his head. He turned to a team leader. "Bring old Parry back to Dulin. Don't forget. Make him feel pain!"
"Yes, Sir. Be rest assured. We know what to do!" The team leader said as he bowed to the Chief.
"Alright! Give me your crossbow!"
Even though this team leader did not understand the situation, but he still handed his crossbow to Rudolf.
"Get out! All of you, get out! Everyone in this house, get out! Quickly!" The head of the agents shouted in a loud voice suddenly. But he let little Oscar who was about to leave stay here. "Your Highness, you don't have to!"
"Redshirt, how was it?" Until the people were far away from them, Rudolf began to greet his private informant. But as he spoke, he pointed the crossbow at his capable man.
"Alright. But I know I won't be soon." Redshirt looked at the arrowhead helplessly.
"Don't complain to me!" Rudolf triggered the bow. The arrowhead pierced into human's body with unbelievable speed and landed solidly in the connecting place between his clavicle and shoulder.
"Ouch!" Redshirt shouted exaggerated as he held onto his injury. "Sir, can't you tell me before you do it?"
"I said don't complain to me!" Rudolf pointed the crossbow at the back of the house. "I prepared horse and medicine for you. Half an hour later, the Ministry of Justice will send people your way. I don't want you to die in the hands of those soldiers, so you better run fast. Find the unit of your higher-ups and rest well. There won't be anyone from our side contacting you lately. You know what I meant right? Don't fall into their easy trap! Also, if you can't receive the confidence of the higher-ups, leave some marking at the contact point. I will get someone to get your body."
"Thank you..... Thank you for your blessings." Redshirt gritted his teeth as he ran towards the back.
The sound of hooves became further and further away. Soon, they could not hear anything anymore.
"Hey! Can I leave now?" Oscar swung his angular General's hat impatiently.
"Of course. But bring me as well!"
"What more do you want?" Oscar scolded him in a loud voice. He did not want to be with the head of the Secret Service who always had a pale face all day long.
"Today is your birthday! Of course, I am going to your birthday party. It is not too much of a request, is it?"
Oscar waved his hands. "Alright! Alright! Come along! To be honest, I must admit that this is my most unfortunate birthday ever!"
"Stop it! You should have learned a lot from today." Two officers were chatting as they walked towards the direction of the carriage.
"Yes! Yes! The tanks are interesting."
"Nothing more?"
"No! There's really nothing more!"
"O God of Light! His Majesty will be so disappointed!"
"Enough! Don't try to use His Majesty to mock me all the time!"
"I didn't!"
"No! You do it all the time!"
....
In the end.... Oscar's 21st birthday passed by unhappily. Indeed, his classmates prepared a fun place for him, but when this Prince brought Count Rudolf Hoss whose face was like a ghost to appear at the grand ballroom at Lobb Oscar Hotel, the people who did not understand the situation chose to keep their silence. The soldiers quietly avoided them. They'd all heard of the head of Secret Service Department in several famous cases against soldiers before. It was better to avoid this sort of person.
The little miss ran away from the place with the excuse of feeling unwell not long after the ball began. She thought that since she had a lot of time to spend with her brother, facing the blood-sucking, twisted demon here would cause the God to abandon her!
Princess Catalina asked Oscar by his ear. "That guy who seems as if he lost his mother at a young age. Who is he?"
Oscar shifted to one side. "That is Rudolf Hoss. You must have heard of him before."
The head of Secret Service came towards them in a stride as if he was cool. "Your Highnesses, speaking behind a person's back will be scolded by the God, especially Princess Catalina. Do you know that? Just this afternoon, Prince O'Neil and I organized a successful arrest move. Our opponent was the person-charge of DeKTer based in Dulin. Even though one of them ran away, but the main criminals had already been arrested."
Princess Catalina glanced at little Oscar who was playing with his wine glass and at Rudolf Hoss who ‘lost his mother at a young age'.
"I am sorry Sir Count. I do not understand the reason you are telling this to a foreign student like me."
Rudolf shook his head. "You are smart. Bring a message to Mr. Vanlu of Dulin's Carlos Street House 31 for me: if he wants to keep all of his limbs intact, don't do anything that destroys the local law."
Princess Catalina wanted to avoid the threatening of the head of Titan's Secret Service Department, but she knew she could not. This was the first upfront threat she had ever faced in her life.
"Sir Count, first of all, I do not know that Mister of whatever street he is in Dulin. And that is to say I won't be able to deliver the message for you; Second of all, my royal surname is Holmes, then can I interpret what you have just said as a threat to me or the West Percy Kingdom?"
Rudolf Hoss gazed at little Princess in front of him funnily. West Percy? Will he even be afraid?
"Your Highness, if Etha's action in Titan is still as daring as they were before, then my Secret Service Department will initiate a complete annihilation of Etha on this whole land. Do you understand? This is a threat!"
Catalina trembled slightly. She looked at Oscar who was by her side. This guy actually kept silent all this while.
"I.... I am feeling a little unwell. Goodbye!" Catalina knew that she came to the wrong place today.
"Hey! Listen to me!" Oscar turned his gaze away from Catalina who went further away, then he lied on the sofa, exhausted. "Are you listening?"
"I am listening!" Rudolf Hoss sat beside the Prince as if they were old friends.
"Is it fun bullying a little girl?"
"Of course!" Rudolf Hoss smiled as he nodded. "Didn't you notice the poor look she had just now? It was as if she was so furious yet she could not say anything. Oh god! I knew that you have missed the most beautiful scene in this world."
Oscar sat straight. "Then.....According to what you said, things like rape, sexual harassment, sexual abuse and physical abuse... These things that the girls absolutely cannot accept are wonderful?"
"That's about right! It depends on which perspective you are using to enjoy this matter. You must learn to search for the aesthetic in the midst of pain. Even though the aesthetics sense will soon be destroyed completely, but the beauty that exploded at that moment will allow an ultimate satisfaction to your heart and soul!"
Oscar stared unbelievably at this head of Secret Service whose eyes seemed to be shining. This kind of people, he..... He had seen a lot in Damorga.
"Alright! Your Highness, you are the future Chief of the Military Intelligence, and also my closest colleague. This is why I am telling you this. These things can only be understood by those good at thinking and analyzing. If you are interested, welcome to my house." Rudolf took a note out. "This is my home address. You better keep it in a safe place, but I think you should burn it once you have memorized my address. This is because not many people in the whole Empire knew where I live."
Oscar finally understood why Rudolf Hoss would approach him. It appeared that he already knew that the Army Division was about to establish its Intelligence Bureau. But.... There was some illogical part of this matter. Since Oscar would divide some of his power and became a strong competitor of the Secret Service Department, why would Rudolf choose to keep such a friendly yet not too close relationship with Oscar?
"That is your home?" Oscar finally noticed the address on the note.
"Why? Is there a problem?"
Oscar looked at Rudolf, terrified. "Dulin's official newsletter had reported for more than once that this is the castle of the Count Vampire!"
"Oh!" Rudolf covered his forehead. "Unfortunately, you also know about my nicknames! But do not mind about this. I only often put broken limbs around the castle. Moreover, there are Paladins on guard. Any normal person will not be able to enter. Those rumors allow me to have a safe and comfortable environment to live in. I can even carry out some arts creation when I am free."
"Which area of arts?" Oscar sat a little further away from the Count Vampire.
"It was the things that I mentioned just now. Why? Are you interested now? I have all sorts of beautiful dolls. They are all exquisite products. Under the control of steel wire, they are able to walk and dance! When you are controlling them, you can imagine their figures when they were alive. You will know at that time. Life is fake! Pretentious! It is a trap God created to fool the people. Dolls are the perfect final destination!"
Oscar heard about the matter of turning beautiful ladies into terrifying dolls. Maybe he was still young at that time. He could not recall what sort of matter was that. But today, on his own birthday party, when Rudolf Hoss excitedly talked about this with him, he suddenly wanted to throw up.
"Alright! Today is your birthday. I have already passed my present for you to your butler. You will love it! Then..... Let's leave it here! I shall leave. I still need to rush back to Dulin and interrogate those DeKTer all night. To be honest, if it wasn't for them to emit such a nasty odor, I will definitely turn all of these unlucky dudes into dolls."
"Ola! Yes.... You definitely will!" Oscar who was a little dazed sent the head of Secret Service to the main entrance of the hotel. When the carriage of the Count Vampire disappeared at the end of the road, Oscar finally threw up. He took deep breathing as he looked at the dirty things on the floor. The Prince swore to himself that no matter where and when he must be cautious against Rudolf Hoss as if he was tiger or wolf! Maybe... It was not enough to be cautious. Facing such monster whose mind was full of crazy and twisted thoughts, destroying him was the final way of dealing with him.
When Oscar went back to the ball, he surprisingly noticed that all the lights had been turned off. The ballroom that was full of the voice of crowds was empty as if it was haunted. The Prince shook his head hard. It seemed that Count Vampire had creeped him out too badly.
All of a sudden, the curtains of the small stage in the ballroom swung open. Oscar knew there was a band over there originally, but.... Was that Sasha?
As expected, it was little miss. She pushed a cake that was nine-levels-tall.
"In this world.... There is always something truly wonderful!" Oscar said as he walked towards his sister.
"Girls should not do such things!" Oscar kissed little Sasha sweetly.
"Happy birthday!" The most beautiful smile lit up the little miss' face. The light on the cake reflected upon her snowy white cheeks.
"Didn't you go home?" Oscar happily hugged Sasha tighter. If it was possible, he wanted to just hold her like this.... Until forever! Of course, it was nice to stay like this until next morning, but this was simply a thought of the young man.
The lamp was lit again. A group of military officers who were wearing all sorts of military uniforms rushed towards them. They were Oscar's classmates. They used the military way to celebrate the birthday of their representative officer. These fun classmates lifted Oscar so that he could blow the candles of the cake from the highest level.
Oscar used a lot of energy to finally blow out all twenty-one candles all over the cake. He noticed that at the lowest level of the cake, his classmates had used frosting to leave their signature on the cake. He happily received this special birthday present.
"Hey, an Authentic Rum can be kept over two hundred years. Can this cake keep for that long? Maybe..... After half a world, if you all are still alive, you will be able to have a taste of creamy fruits cake of Year 796 on my birthday ball."
"Oh no! That will poison us all!"
"So! Your Highness, you need to finish it all!" The mad Chief of Staff Colonel Tantalus Piche said as he chose a piece of cake. But he did not pass it to the Prince. Instead, he simply put the cake on the little Oscar's head.
The ballroom suddenly fell silent. This joke..... seemed to be a little overboard. The people looked at Mad Tatan in worry.
Oscar used his sleeve to wipe his eyes that were covered with cream. "It seems that... I can never finish by myself!"
Before the people came to their sense, Tantalus already ran into the crowds.
Oscar who had nowhere to release his anger had no choice but to choose a major as his revenge target. Soon, a childish cake fight began! The classmates of the Military Academy screamed and jumped happily like a child. They had never allowed themselves to behave this way for a long time. Five years could change many things. Time could build friendship, expand one's mind and make one relax. No matter what, the friendship between the classmates could be counted as one of the most sincere and loyal emotions in this world. Its beauty brought about fragments of memories in many times, especially for soldiers. No one here knew what would happen to them in the next moment. Then at this moment of gathering, they could treat it as a release of emotion and a beautiful ending.
Sasha actually took off her shoes and stood on the tall cake table. It was lucky that no one threw ‘bombs' at her. But this girl was one who loved to fight as well. She quickly broke down the cake and delivered the cake to every person who reached their hands out to her. After thinking about it, if the little miss did not help with the backup support, it was afraid that this fight would not be able to continue anymore.
"He is there! Tatan is there!" Sasha said as she threw a piece of cake at a corner.
The people quickly found the initial person to blame. Poor Tatan was immediately engaged in a difficult battle. He attracted the force of more than half of the ballroom.
"Bring him here! Quick! This is the order of your representative!" Oscar also jumped onto the cake table. His weight made the table swung incredibly that shocked Sasha so badly she quickly hugged him tightly.
Tantalus was dragged towards the cake table by numerous hands. Oscar looked at this daring guy with a smile!
"Poor Tatan, what more do you want to say?"
"Hail to the Guards!" Tatan almost screamed this sentence.
"Hail to the Guards!" Numerous voices in the venue also agreed to this, but Oscar shook his head.
"You damn kid who thought you are so smart! You had the wrong idea!" Oscar said as he threw the whole cake table onto Tatan. "Advance.... Guards!"
"Hahahahahahah!"
At a moment, there were lots of screaming and yelling in the venue. It was as if it was a party of the devils!
The wind in late night in the eleventh month was swift and chilly. Lobb Oscar Hotel prepared high-grade charcoal and kerosene in every guestroom. It was right in the luxurious presidential suite at the top floor that fire broke out once. The classmates who had not gone home happily lied and sat on the sofa. They were slowly tasting coffee and wine.
Oscar thought about a lot of things while in the bathroom. He thought about his life at the University Town. He thought about the things that happened in these years. To be honest, when he soaked in the warm bathtub, he always thought he was dreaming. That was correct! Dreaming! Everything was as surreal as a dream. Some things. Some people. In a nutshell, they were involved in strange relationships. There was some sort of necessity that was unable to be clarified in this.
Obviously, overthinking took a lot of time of the Prince. When he wore neatly and walked into the guest room, his enjoyable classmates had mostly fallen asleep.
Colonel Tantalus Piche. He was probably the bravest and meticulous war strategist Oscar had ever seen.
Colonel Krapitch Drake was the Division leader of infantry in the Military District 11 of the Guards. He was the commoner military officers that had the quickest promotion in the military history of Titan. Oscar knew that he was an expert in infantry strategy and coordination attacks of all sorts of army units.
Mendas Bronste was already a Lieutenant Colonel. This big guy still admired the Narcissus Knights just as before. Every night, he had to memorize the law of Narcissus Knights once before going to sleep.
Even though General George Romiero was a major general, once he received his graduation certificate, becoming a lieutenant general would not be a difficult thing. He was the most stable commander of the knights Oscar had ever seen. The people always said that the knights were good at attacking, but only this General was good at putting his knights' formation in defense.
It seemed that only Major Tove Van Sukhoi was not around. But worry not, he had a duty to his own homeland. According to him, he was doing a good job.
Having seen little Oscar, the people greeted him kindly.
"Alright! Alright! I am moving out tomorrow. Take the time now to say what you guys have planned in the future!" Oscar poured a glass of refreshing fruits wine for himself.
"Your Highness!" The first to speak was naturally the loyal Mendas Bronste. "I have already delivered my resignation letter to the military district I belong to. I already packed all my things! You must take me in!"
Oscar reached out his hands to the simple Mendas. "Welcome to my family."
Mendas swung his head around, unsure of what to do.
Tantalus at the side could not hold it in any longer. He used his finger to poke Mendas's forehead. "What are you waiting for? This is a formal invitation to the Andrew Family. Haven't you always dream of joining the Narcissus Knights?"
"I.... Can I??"
Oscar nodded.
Mendas held the Prince's hands like a devout believer. He lightly kissed the back of Oscar's palm, then now he was officially a knight of Andrew.
"Then..... Tatan! How about you?"
"I heard that..... You asked for an inspection job from Alfa III His Majesty? Is that true?" Tatan frowned. No one knew what he was thinking.
"Yes! My father and my mentors all agreed to this. Experiencing a different life of battle at the borders and fortresses was a rare opportunity for me."
"That is indeed true!" Tatan nodded. "But.... Please forgive me, Your Highness. I have already applied to Marshal Robin to stay at the university. Marshal Robin still needs a teaching secretary under him. You know what? I am starting to love the life here. Even though the quality of students is not consistent here, but the environment of the university is still much better than that in the military district."
"Ola!" Oscar nodded. "This is a good option."
"Then....."
"Your Highness!" Even before Oscar finished his sentence, Colonel Krapitch Drake already stood up. "Your Highness, don't you think bringing a whole knights division to inspect the northern border is an extremely dangerous thing to do? The people of Deiss at the borders have always played with fire."
Oscar was not sure what this commoner military officer was planning to say. The Prince enjoyed the company of this officer was probably because he saw the shadow of Division Commander of Snow Lion Hyatt Brandy in him. But, this Colonel Krapitch was much more thoughtful and sleek than Hyatt.
"There is some abnormality with the actions of Deiss. I am well aware of that." Oscar was still aware of this.
"Your Highness, I must add a few words to that!" Mendas Bronste also stood up. The size of this big guy made the whole living room's brightness to dim slightly. "The news you received is definitely false. The northern military district is good at arranging war reports. Lying about the war situation to receive an appraisal. Lying about the estimated situation is even more obvious! My colleague whom I worked with previously was enlisted in the northern Army Group's War Division. In his letter, he mentioned that the tentative attack of the Deiss at the border has escalated to the scale of a division. This is no longer confrontation at the border!"
"Are you sure?" Oscar was a little moved. He was not that clear of the northern military district.
"I knew that friend since I was young. He will not joke around with me about this sort of thing. When I saw the war report of the Army Division that still talks about the small-scale fighting on the northern border, I totally knew that the military district was doing the thing they are best at."
"They..... Why are they doing this?" Oscar looked at Mendas unbelievably. "Don't anyone cares? What is the Army Division doing? That old fox Alan won't notice this!"
"Your Highness, you don't understand the north. It lies..... The east border of the Empire is under the influence of the Narcissus Knights whilst the northern matter is the family matter of the Big Three."
"The Big Three? This is my first time hearing this."
Mendas Bronste shook his head helplessly. "Your Highness, before your inspection, I suggest that you do thorough research on the army forces of the Northern Army Group. The Big Three comprises of Karl Arnold family in which Her Majesty the Queen belongs to, the Sukhoi family that deal with arms, and Jebron family that owns the largest fortress in the land."
"But.... Isn't the strongest city in the land Andrew Haila?" Oscar gazed at Mendas in doubt.
"No! Your Highness, Andrew Haila is an old city. I am talking about the fortress. Even though after Warren Fortress is completed, Jebron family has to give the title to it. But until this point in time, the Bron Fortress that is built four hundred years ago by this family remains as the largest fortress in the land."
"So, Your Highness....." Krapitch Drake could not wait any longer. "You can request His Majesty the Emperor to bring my infantry unit when you go north. At least, it will be safer this way."
Oscar nodded slowly. He more or less understood the intention of this commoner military officer. Following a Prince, a well-valued officer by the Emperor's side would allow more promotion opportunities for him.
"Krapitch, if you are sincere and hardworking in all aspect, you sure can break the tradition that the highest promotion a commoner military officer can get is Major General."
Colonel Drake saluted politely. He understood the meaning of the Prince. "Thank you, Your Highness. I will use my true actions to prove to you my ability."
"Hey! Hey! Young man, there's still me!" General George Romiero finally could not stand the loneliness. "I get promotion slowly yet in a very stable way. Fast is not necessarily a good thing. Everything should go at its own pace."
Krapitch thought about it. He smiled at the General but said nothing in return.
"Moreover, a slow promotion is not my problem. I truly did not have many presentable results at the southern Army Group these years. The generals of the military district have already gotten used to cowardly living their lives. It's all the fault of the rebel army. They keep causing trouble at full force. It will probably take eight to ten years to completely stop this chaos!"
"What do you have in mind then? Hang your tail between your legs and go back to the south? You will get hemorrhoids after some time!" Oscar said as he poured a full glass of wine for General Romiero.
"What choice do I have?" The old General was almost fifty years old now. He did not have much strength to follow young men. "I was born in the south and grew up in the south. The University Town is the furthest place I have been. It's better for me to go back to the military district. My youngsters must miss me so much. Actually, I have been missing them as well. My second-in-command is useless. It will be too late if I don't go back!"
Oscar scanned his classmates. This Prince raised his wine glass.
"My friends! Tomorrow we will go on to our respective future. I am honored to receive the support of two of my classmates. Let us cheer to that!"
"Yes!" "Yes! Cheers!" A few people agreed to it.
"Wait!" Tantalus yelled all of a sudden. "Before we cheer, shouldn't we have some slogan and message?"
Oscar scratched his head. "It's fine with the message. The God is with us! As for the slogan...…"
"I know!" Tantalus shook the cake debris off him. "Guards! Advance!"
"That's right!"
"Advance! Guards!"
The wine glass collided heavily. Oscar was unsure of his choice, but he knew there was nothing bad about it. The truth would prove this fact. History would let Tove Van Sukhoi, George Romiero, and Tantalus Piche return to the side of the young Prince. They would stay together with Murat Bedoya, Eugene Mir Bradley, and Robin Sparse, and became the strongest military generals under this Prince. Their names would forever be engraved in this history due to their excellent successes in three future defense wars of Titan Empire.
A small, quiet and comfortable village sat at a highland by the side of the northern highway in Dulin City. In the outskirts of this small village, there was a two-bedroom house that was bright and neat with brown-colored blinds. Beside the house was a small garden. It was divided equally into small boxes that were planted with vegetables.
There was a huge grape shed outside. On the eighth month until the end of the tenth month every year, different species of grapes would mature accordingly. These grapes were all labeled. Some were consumed whilst some were used to produce wine. There were also three gigantic oak trees in front of the house. For four seasons in a year, once the sun was out, the huge shade would cover the small house. On the other side of the house lay the flower garden that was full of blooming flowers. All of these highlighted the comfortable atmosphere that was neat, warming and simple.
I forgot to tell everyone. The master of this house was named old Parry. He had already lived for thirty years. But today, Year 796 ninth day of the eleventh month, if our estimation was accurate, then old Parry was about to bid farewell to his small house.
"Do you know what day it is today?" Oscar stared at Count Rudolf Hoss who was sitting on the other side of the carriage.
"What day? Is there anything special today?" The head of the spies raised his eyebrows.
"At this time in Year 791, you even participated in my birthday celebration! Don't tell me that you forgot!"
"Of course I didn't! Happy birthday, Your Highness!"
Oscar slapped his forehead. "Should I say thank you? Oh god. I should have joined the birthday ball my classmates threw for me. They have prepared for it for so long! I should have... Fine! Something must have gone wrong. Why would I come to this god-forsaken place with you? I must not be in my right mind!"
"Alright, young man!You've been complaining from the moment you boarded my carriage. I am sorry to disturb your birthday party, but this is the arrangement of Alfa III His Majesty. Do you want to complain to His Majesty?"
Oscar turned his head away in dismay.
"Alright! Don't make such a sour face. I swear this will be over in a minute!" Rudolf Hoss said as he made a hand sign to a servant outside of the carriage.
After this, he turned back to the little Prince. "Your Highness, you can call this action as anti-terrorism or also arrest. Because under normal circumstances, these foreign spies only have two jobs. The first is to collect information about this country. Secondly, it is to carry out all sorts of destructive plans. Thus, we will make appropriate arrangement in every aspect according to the overall ability of our enemy."
The carriage stopped by the highway quietly. The young Prince pulled the window of the carriage open. The chilly air of the eleventh month immediately made its occupants shiver.
"How many people are there in the small house?"
Rudolf Hoss looked at the direction of the house. "Four. Three are enemies. A guy in red is my direct informant."
"Etha or DeKTer?"
"DeKTer!" Count Rudolf Hoss' expression became twisted all of a sudden. It seemed that he had a very ‘memorable' encounter with DeKTer.
"These DeKTer spies might really have taken the wrong medicine! They've become extremely active in their endeavors these few years. They were the one that injured Marshal Alan last year. My secret investigators caught more than thirty lower tier members of DeKTer during the process of investigation. Now..... Hehe! If this action is successful, you will soon meet the main person-in-charge of DeKTer's Dulin branch."
"I am looking forward to it," Oscar said as he flexed his muscles.
The spies of the Secret Service Department all wore skin-tight black shirts and armor that were covered with camouflage paint. The agile spies carefully approached the lonely wooden house. This was a full action team. Eight members covered for each other. They used their short swords to break into the fence, then jumped up onto the eaves without any sound. The leader of the action team used a small mirror to signaled light for his comrades from afar. Almost immediately, Team 2 and Team 3 moved out as well.
Team 2 was responsible for sniping. They jumped out of a hole by the highway. Eight team members chose three oak trees respectively. They used human ladders to climb up the tree at lightning speed, then spread their wide sniping crossbows open after positioning themselves.
Team 3's responsibility was to circle behind the house. They safely crossed to the garden in the back. Two members received a connection from the action team upfront at the two sides of the house. The rest of the members were all scattered all around the back garden.
"Listen carefully, the people in the house! We are secret investigators from Titan Empire. We suspect that you are carrying out illegal intelligence activities. Put down your weapon and walk out of the house!"
Rudolf glanced looked at the messenger officer of this action and peered at the silent house. He shook his head and made a hand sign that hinted ‘continue'.
The messenger officer received the order. This loud guy shrugged. He was rather nonchalant at his job because he had not met any foreign enemy that resisted in all these years he'd served the Secret Service Department.
"Listen carefully, the people in the house! We already know your identity. Resistance is futile. This is the last warning. If you still stubbornly resist, we will....."
The words of the messenger suddenly stopped. A sharp arrow pierced his throat. At the hole by the highway, shadows flickered, but it appeared that no one planned to help this poor guy. The loud messenger officer curled up on the ground in pain. He gulped down the wave of blood and water strongly and soon the blood began to conglomerate. His breathing became ragged and finally, he stopped making any sound.
"They don't want to talk." Rudolf Hoss tore his gaze away from the body of the messenger officer.
"I saw it!" Oscar rolled his eyes. He didn't understand why the Emperor would want him to observe this. Even though this was a classic arrest action, but even if he was the one doing it, he wouldn't have done it any other way than Rudolf Hoss. Thus, "Damn it! Why am I here? Today is my birthday!" Oscar complained in his heart.
"Report, Chief! The arrow is shot from the crack of the top floor of the wooden house. That sniper is probably hiding between the plywood. The action members on the trees cannot see his position. Also, look at that! There is smoke coming out of the chimney!"
Rudolf Hoss had a cold look in his eyes. "They are starting to clean out the documents! Quick! Begin action immediately!"
"Yes, Sir!" This servant waved to the other side of the highway.
After a series of sharp noise, six three-feet-tall tanks rode up to the highway. These tanks were advantageous weapons for dealing with small-sized buildings. It used human power to start up and had a strong outer shell made of wood. There was also a gigantic crossbow on top of the tank. It could fire a kind of thick hooks and strings that had been improved.
Six tanks quickly rolled down the highway. They stopped at approximately twenty meters away from the wooden house. Following the tank were all six supporting teams of the Secret Service Department.
The vibrating sound of the machine made everyone tremble. Oscar also had his eyes wide open. He finally found something interesting!
"Fire!" Along with the order of the captain, six hooked strings were fired towards the wooden house with great force. The iron hooks in which its diameter was about ten centimeter easily pierced into the outer wall of the small house. Action Team 1 who was hiding at the side since just now rushed towards the hole at this moment. Every one of them chose a hooked string, then they pressed the gear attached on the hooked string that was exposed outside of the wall with force. The serrated hooked string bounced open and clung to the inner wall of the wooden house tightly just like a monster baring its fang.
The captain screamed an order again. The winch on the gigantic crossbow began to rotate. The iron chains that connected the hooked strings became tighter. Soon, the outer walls of the wooden house began to crack. All of a sudden, the winch turned in high speed, bringing an extremely strong force for the six iron chains. Along with a few loud bangs, dust and wooden shreds flew all over the place. The outer walls of the small house crumbled completely!
"Don't move!" "Everyone don't move!"
Every spy in their respective action team did not care about the dust. They rushed into the scene whilst stepping on the crumbled wood planks!
Maybe the people were shocked by the terrifying ‘hook'! The people in the house did not resist. But when the heavy mist caused by the dust began to dissipate, the spies realized that someone had already controlled the small house.
This was a guy in a red shirt. He had the owner's neck in his hand. His other hand did not forget to hold a short sword against the owner's neck. The remaining two people in the house glared angrily at this guy who had still been one of them just now. But soon enough, the sound of wind from a swinging stick was heard above them. The team members of the Secret Service Department did not go easy on them!
Old Parry heard the hover of his comrades. He did not speak but simply felt the coldness on his neck quietly.
"Tell me your identity!" A team leader used a light-weight crossbow and pointed at this traitor of the foreign enemy from afar. He had not understood the situation. It was not his first time seeing the criminal took advantage of the hostage to run away.
"Only the head of Titan's Secret Service Department Count Rudolf Hoss know about my identity. You can tell him this!"
Soon, a team member ran from outside and spoke lightly to his team leader by his ear. This team leader immediately put down his crossbow. "Hey! Respect for you, brother! You avoided unnecessary sacrifice on our side. Actually, we all knew you exist in this action, but..... You know. Safety is the most important. I am simply being sure."
"It's alright. But you should thank the God of Light! I am a person who doesn't exist!" This guy in red pushed old Parry that was in his hands out. The members of the Secret Service Department immediately pinned him down on the floor, then quickly tied him up tightly.
When old Parry struggled to stand up, he suddenly spat at the face of the traitor. The guy in red avoided it, but old Parry was not able to avoid his revenge. The redshirt snatched a thick lead stick from the hands of an action member. It was until this stick had been deformed that he stopped beating Parry.
The trace team that was responsible to clean up the scenes came in. They began to search every nook and cranny of the rooms carefully.
"Let us see!" Rudolf Hoss strode into the small house, followed by O'Neil Andrew Morisette.
"Old Parry?" Rudolf grabbed the person's hair that was sticky with blood and water. "The person-in-charge of DeKTer based in Dulin?"
Old Parry weakly shook his head. "I..... normal..... farmer! I want..... Justice..... I.... want..... lawyer!"
Rudolf slammed old Parry's head on the floor heavily. He turned to ‘red shirt' in question.
"Hey. Did you break his brain or something? I've never heard about a spy that was captured wanting to get a lawyer for himself."
‘Redshirt' shrugged at the highest ranked officer. "I think. There is another possibility. That is I haven't beaten him enough!"
"That's right! That is the correct logic!" Rudolf nodded his head. He turned to a team leader. "Bring old Parry back to Dulin. Don't forget. Make him feel pain!"
"Yes, Sir. Be rest assured. We know what to do!" The team leader said as he bowed to the Chief.
"Alright! Give me your crossbow!"
Even though this team leader did not understand the situation, but he still handed his crossbow to Rudolf.
"Get out! All of you, get out! Everyone in this house, get out! Quickly!" The head of the agents shouted in a loud voice suddenly. But he let little Oscar who was about to leave stay here. "Your Highness, you don't have to!"
"Redshirt, how was it?" Until the people were far away from them, Rudolf began to greet his private informant. But as he spoke, he pointed the crossbow at his capable man.
"Alright. But I know I won't be soon." Redshirt looked at the arrowhead helplessly.
"Don't complain to me!" Rudolf triggered the bow. The arrowhead pierced into human's body with unbelievable speed and landed solidly in the connecting place between his clavicle and shoulder.
"Ouch!" Redshirt shouted exaggerated as he held onto his injury. "Sir, can't you tell me before you do it?"
"I said don't complain to me!" Rudolf pointed the crossbow at the back of the house. "I prepared horse and medicine for you. Half an hour later, the Ministry of Justice will send people your way. I don't want you to die in the hands of those soldiers, so you better run fast. Find the unit of your higher-ups and rest well. There won't be anyone from our side contacting you lately. You know what I meant right? Don't fall into their easy trap! Also, if you can't receive the confidence of the higher-ups, leave some marking at the contact point. I will get someone to get your body."
"Thank you..... Thank you for your blessings." Redshirt gritted his teeth as he ran towards the back.
The sound of hooves became further and further away. Soon, they could not hear anything anymore.
"Hey! Can I leave now?" Oscar swung his angular General's hat impatiently.
"Of course. But bring me as well!"
"What more do you want?" Oscar scolded him in a loud voice. He did not want to be with the head of the Secret Service who always had a pale face all day long.
"Today is your birthday! Of course, I am going to your birthday party. It is not too much of a request, is it?"
Oscar waved his hands. "Alright! Alright! Come along! To be honest, I must admit that this is my most unfortunate birthday ever!"
"Stop it! You should have learned a lot from today." Two officers were chatting as they walked towards the direction of the carriage.
"Yes! Yes! The tanks are interesting."
"Nothing more?"
"No! There's really nothing more!"
"O God of Light! His Majesty will be so disappointed!"
"Enough! Don't try to use His Majesty to mock me all the time!"
"I didn't!"
"No! You do it all the time!"
....
In the end.... Oscar's 21st birthday passed by unhappily. Indeed, his classmates prepared a fun place for him, but when this Prince brought Count Rudolf Hoss whose face was like a ghost to appear at the grand ballroom at Lobb Oscar Hotel, the people who did not understand the situation chose to keep their silence. The soldiers quietly avoided them. They'd all heard of the head of Secret Service Department in several famous cases against soldiers before. It was better to avoid this sort of person.
The little miss ran away from the place with the excuse of feeling unwell not long after the ball began. She thought that since she had a lot of time to spend with her brother, facing the blood-sucking, twisted demon here would cause the God to abandon her!
Princess Catalina asked Oscar by his ear. "That guy who seems as if he lost his mother at a young age. Who is he?"
Oscar shifted to one side. "That is Rudolf Hoss. You must have heard of him before."
The head of Secret Service came towards them in a stride as if he was cool. "Your Highnesses, speaking behind a person's back will be scolded by the God, especially Princess Catalina. Do you know that? Just this afternoon, Prince O'Neil and I organized a successful arrest move. Our opponent was the person-charge of DeKTer based in Dulin. Even though one of them ran away, but the main criminals had already been arrested."
Princess Catalina glanced at little Oscar who was playing with his wine glass and at Rudolf Hoss who ‘lost his mother at a young age'.
"I am sorry Sir Count. I do not understand the reason you are telling this to a foreign student like me."
Rudolf shook his head. "You are smart. Bring a message to Mr. Vanlu of Dulin's Carlos Street House 31 for me: if he wants to keep all of his limbs intact, don't do anything that destroys the local law."
Princess Catalina wanted to avoid the threatening of the head of Titan's Secret Service Department, but she knew she could not. This was the first upfront threat she had ever faced in her life.
"Sir Count, first of all, I do not know that Mister of whatever street he is in Dulin. And that is to say I won't be able to deliver the message for you; Second of all, my royal surname is Holmes, then can I interpret what you have just said as a threat to me or the West Percy Kingdom?"
Rudolf Hoss gazed at little Princess in front of him funnily. West Percy? Will he even be afraid?
"Your Highness, if Etha's action in Titan is still as daring as they were before, then my Secret Service Department will initiate a complete annihilation of Etha on this whole land. Do you understand? This is a threat!"
Catalina trembled slightly. She looked at Oscar who was by her side. This guy actually kept silent all this while.
"I.... I am feeling a little unwell. Goodbye!" Catalina knew that she came to the wrong place today.
"Hey! Listen to me!" Oscar turned his gaze away from Catalina who went further away, then he lied on the sofa, exhausted. "Are you listening?"
"I am listening!" Rudolf Hoss sat beside the Prince as if they were old friends.
"Is it fun bullying a little girl?"
"Of course!" Rudolf Hoss smiled as he nodded. "Didn't you notice the poor look she had just now? It was as if she was so furious yet she could not say anything. Oh god! I knew that you have missed the most beautiful scene in this world."
Oscar sat straight. "Then.....According to what you said, things like rape, sexual harassment, sexual abuse and physical abuse... These things that the girls absolutely cannot accept are wonderful?"
"That's about right! It depends on which perspective you are using to enjoy this matter. You must learn to search for the aesthetic in the midst of pain. Even though the aesthetics sense will soon be destroyed completely, but the beauty that exploded at that moment will allow an ultimate satisfaction to your heart and soul!"
Oscar stared unbelievably at this head of Secret Service whose eyes seemed to be shining. This kind of people, he..... He had seen a lot in Damorga.
"Alright! Your Highness, you are the future Chief of the Military Intelligence, and also my closest colleague. This is why I am telling you this. These things can only be understood by those good at thinking and analyzing. If you are interested, welcome to my house." Rudolf took a note out. "This is my home address. You better keep it in a safe place, but I think you should burn it once you have memorized my address. This is because not many people in the whole Empire knew where I live."
Oscar finally understood why Rudolf Hoss would approach him. It appeared that he already knew that the Army Division was about to establish its Intelligence Bureau. But.... There was some illogical part of this matter. Since Oscar would divide some of his power and became a strong competitor of the Secret Service Department, why would Rudolf choose to keep such a friendly yet not too close relationship with Oscar?
"That is your home?" Oscar finally noticed the address on the note.
"Why? Is there a problem?"
Oscar looked at Rudolf, terrified. "Dulin's official newsletter had reported for more than once that this is the castle of the Count Vampire!"
"Oh!" Rudolf covered his forehead. "Unfortunately, you also know about my nicknames! But do not mind about this. I only often put broken limbs around the castle. Moreover, there are Paladins on guard. Any normal person will not be able to enter. Those rumors allow me to have a safe and comfortable environment to live in. I can even carry out some arts creation when I am free."
"Which area of arts?" Oscar sat a little further away from the Count Vampire.
"It was the things that I mentioned just now. Why? Are you interested now? I have all sorts of beautiful dolls. They are all exquisite products. Under the control of steel wire, they are able to walk and dance! When you are controlling them, you can imagine their figures when they were alive. You will know at that time. Life is fake! Pretentious! It is a trap God created to fool the people. Dolls are the perfect final destination!"
Oscar heard about the matter of turning beautiful ladies into terrifying dolls. Maybe he was still young at that time. He could not recall what sort of matter was that. But today, on his own birthday party, when Rudolf Hoss excitedly talked about this with him, he suddenly wanted to throw up.
"Alright! Today is your birthday. I have already passed my present for you to your butler. You will love it! Then..... Let's leave it here! I shall leave. I still need to rush back to Dulin and interrogate those DeKTer all night. To be honest, if it wasn't for them to emit such a nasty odor, I will definitely turn all of these unlucky dudes into dolls."
"Ola! Yes.... You definitely will!" Oscar who was a little dazed sent the head of Secret Service to the main entrance of the hotel. When the carriage of the Count Vampire disappeared at the end of the road, Oscar finally threw up. He took deep breathing as he looked at the dirty things on the floor. The Prince swore to himself that no matter where and when he must be cautious against Rudolf Hoss as if he was tiger or wolf! Maybe... It was not enough to be cautious. Facing such monster whose mind was full of crazy and twisted thoughts, destroying him was the final way of dealing with him.
When Oscar went back to the ball, he surprisingly noticed that all the lights had been turned off. The ballroom that was full of the voice of crowds was empty as if it was haunted. The Prince shook his head hard. It seemed that Count Vampire had creeped him out too badly.
All of a sudden, the curtains of the small stage in the ballroom swung open. Oscar knew there was a band over there originally, but.... Was that Sasha?
As expected, it was little miss. She pushed a cake that was nine-levels-tall.
"In this world.... There is always something truly wonderful!" Oscar said as he walked towards his sister.
"Girls should not do such things!" Oscar kissed little Sasha sweetly.
"Happy birthday!" The most beautiful smile lit up the little miss' face. The light on the cake reflected upon her snowy white cheeks.
"Didn't you go home?" Oscar happily hugged Sasha tighter. If it was possible, he wanted to just hold her like this.... Until forever! Of course, it was nice to stay like this until next morning, but this was simply a thought of the young man.
The lamp was lit again. A group of military officers who were wearing all sorts of military uniforms rushed towards them. They were Oscar's classmates. They used the military way to celebrate the birthday of their representative officer. These fun classmates lifted Oscar so that he could blow the candles of the cake from the highest level.
Oscar used a lot of energy to finally blow out all twenty-one candles all over the cake. He noticed that at the lowest level of the cake, his classmates had used frosting to leave their signature on the cake. He happily received this special birthday present.
"Hey, an Authentic Rum can be kept over two hundred years. Can this cake keep for that long? Maybe..... After half a world, if you all are still alive, you will be able to have a taste of creamy fruits cake of Year 796 on my birthday ball."
"Oh no! That will poison us all!"
"So! Your Highness, you need to finish it all!" The mad Chief of Staff Colonel Tantalus Piche said as he chose a piece of cake. But he did not pass it to the Prince. Instead, he simply put the cake on the little Oscar's head.
The ballroom suddenly fell silent. This joke..... seemed to be a little overboard. The people looked at Mad Tatan in worry.
Oscar used his sleeve to wipe his eyes that were covered with cream. "It seems that... I can never finish by myself!"
Before the people came to their sense, Tantalus already ran into the crowds.
Oscar who had nowhere to release his anger had no choice but to choose a major as his revenge target. Soon, a childish cake fight began! The classmates of the Military Academy screamed and jumped happily like a child. They had never allowed themselves to behave this way for a long time. Five years could change many things. Time could build friendship, expand one's mind and make one relax. No matter what, the friendship between the classmates could be counted as one of the most sincere and loyal emotions in this world. Its beauty brought about fragments of memories in many times, especially for soldiers. No one here knew what would happen to them in the next moment. Then at this moment of gathering, they could treat it as a release of emotion and a beautiful ending.
Sasha actually took off her shoes and stood on the tall cake table. It was lucky that no one threw ‘bombs' at her. But this girl was one who loved to fight as well. She quickly broke down the cake and delivered the cake to every person who reached their hands out to her. After thinking about it, if the little miss did not help with the backup support, it was afraid that this fight would not be able to continue anymore.
"He is there! Tatan is there!" Sasha said as she threw a piece of cake at a corner.
The people quickly found the initial person to blame. Poor Tatan was immediately engaged in a difficult battle. He attracted the force of more than half of the ballroom.
"Bring him here! Quick! This is the order of your representative!" Oscar also jumped onto the cake table. His weight made the table swung incredibly that shocked Sasha so badly she quickly hugged him tightly.
Tantalus was dragged towards the cake table by numerous hands. Oscar looked at this daring guy with a smile!
"Poor Tatan, what more do you want to say?"
"Hail to the Guards!" Tatan almost screamed this sentence.
"Hail to the Guards!" Numerous voices in the venue also agreed to this, but Oscar shook his head.
"You damn kid who thought you are so smart! You had the wrong idea!" Oscar said as he threw the whole cake table onto Tatan. "Advance.... Guards!"
"Hahahahahahah!"
At a moment, there were lots of screaming and yelling in the venue. It was as if it was a party of the devils!
The wind in late night in the eleventh month was swift and chilly. Lobb Oscar Hotel prepared high-grade charcoal and kerosene in every guestroom. It was right in the luxurious presidential suite at the top floor that fire broke out once. The classmates who had not gone home happily lied and sat on the sofa. They were slowly tasting coffee and wine.
Oscar thought about a lot of things while in the bathroom. He thought about his life at the University Town. He thought about the things that happened in these years. To be honest, when he soaked in the warm bathtub, he always thought he was dreaming. That was correct! Dreaming! Everything was as surreal as a dream. Some things. Some people. In a nutshell, they were involved in strange relationships. There was some sort of necessity that was unable to be clarified in this.
Obviously, overthinking took a lot of time of the Prince. When he wore neatly and walked into the guest room, his enjoyable classmates had mostly fallen asleep.
Colonel Tantalus Piche. He was probably the bravest and meticulous war strategist Oscar had ever seen.
Colonel Krapitch Drake was the Division leader of infantry in the Military District 11 of the Guards. He was the commoner military officers that had the quickest promotion in the military history of Titan. Oscar knew that he was an expert in infantry strategy and coordination attacks of all sorts of army units.
Mendas Bronste was already a Lieutenant Colonel. This big guy still admired the Narcissus Knights just as before. Every night, he had to memorize the law of Narcissus Knights once before going to sleep.
Even though General George Romiero was a major general, once he received his graduation certificate, becoming a lieutenant general would not be a difficult thing. He was the most stable commander of the knights Oscar had ever seen. The people always said that the knights were good at attacking, but only this General was good at putting his knights' formation in defense.
It seemed that only Major Tove Van Sukhoi was not around. But worry not, he had a duty to his own homeland. According to him, he was doing a good job.
Having seen little Oscar, the people greeted him kindly.
"Alright! Alright! I am moving out tomorrow. Take the time now to say what you guys have planned in the future!" Oscar poured a glass of refreshing fruits wine for himself.
"Your Highness!" The first to speak was naturally the loyal Mendas Bronste. "I have already delivered my resignation letter to the military district I belong to. I already packed all my things! You must take me in!"
Oscar reached out his hands to the simple Mendas. "Welcome to my family."
Mendas swung his head around, unsure of what to do.
Tantalus at the side could not hold it in any longer. He used his finger to poke Mendas's forehead. "What are you waiting for? This is a formal invitation to the Andrew Family. Haven't you always dream of joining the Narcissus Knights?"
"I.... Can I??"
Oscar nodded.
Mendas held the Prince's hands like a devout believer. He lightly kissed the back of Oscar's palm, then now he was officially a knight of Andrew.
"Then..... Tatan! How about you?"
"I heard that..... You asked for an inspection job from Alfa III His Majesty? Is that true?" Tatan frowned. No one knew what he was thinking.
"Yes! My father and my mentors all agreed to this. Experiencing a different life of battle at the borders and fortresses was a rare opportunity for me."
"That is indeed true!" Tatan nodded. "But.... Please forgive me, Your Highness. I have already applied to Marshal Robin to stay at the university. Marshal Robin still needs a teaching secretary under him. You know what? I am starting to love the life here. Even though the quality of students is not consistent here, but the environment of the university is still much better than that in the military district."
"Ola!" Oscar nodded. "This is a good option."
"Then....."
"Your Highness!" Even before Oscar finished his sentence, Colonel Krapitch Drake already stood up. "Your Highness, don't you think bringing a whole knights division to inspect the northern border is an extremely dangerous thing to do? The people of Deiss at the borders have always played with fire."
Oscar was not sure what this commoner military officer was planning to say. The Prince enjoyed the company of this officer was probably because he saw the shadow of Division Commander of Snow Lion Hyatt Brandy in him. But, this Colonel Krapitch was much more thoughtful and sleek than Hyatt.
"There is some abnormality with the actions of Deiss. I am well aware of that." Oscar was still aware of this.
"Your Highness, I must add a few words to that!" Mendas Bronste also stood up. The size of this big guy made the whole living room's brightness to dim slightly. "The news you received is definitely false. The northern military district is good at arranging war reports. Lying about the war situation to receive an appraisal. Lying about the estimated situation is even more obvious! My colleague whom I worked with previously was enlisted in the northern Army Group's War Division. In his letter, he mentioned that the tentative attack of the Deiss at the border has escalated to the scale of a division. This is no longer confrontation at the border!"
"Are you sure?" Oscar was a little moved. He was not that clear of the northern military district.
"I knew that friend since I was young. He will not joke around with me about this sort of thing. When I saw the war report of the Army Division that still talks about the small-scale fighting on the northern border, I totally knew that the military district was doing the thing they are best at."
"They..... Why are they doing this?" Oscar looked at Mendas unbelievably. "Don't anyone cares? What is the Army Division doing? That old fox Alan won't notice this!"
"Your Highness, you don't understand the north. It lies..... The east border of the Empire is under the influence of the Narcissus Knights whilst the northern matter is the family matter of the Big Three."
"The Big Three? This is my first time hearing this."
Mendas Bronste shook his head helplessly. "Your Highness, before your inspection, I suggest that you do thorough research on the army forces of the Northern Army Group. The Big Three comprises of Karl Arnold family in which Her Majesty the Queen belongs to, the Sukhoi family that deal with arms, and Jebron family that owns the largest fortress in the land."
"But.... Isn't the strongest city in the land Andrew Haila?" Oscar gazed at Mendas in doubt.
"No! Your Highness, Andrew Haila is an old city. I am talking about the fortress. Even though after Warren Fortress is completed, Jebron family has to give the title to it. But until this point in time, the Bron Fortress that is built four hundred years ago by this family remains as the largest fortress in the land."
"So, Your Highness....." Krapitch Drake could not wait any longer. "You can request His Majesty the Emperor to bring my infantry unit when you go north. At least, it will be safer this way."
Oscar nodded slowly. He more or less understood the intention of this commoner military officer. Following a Prince, a well-valued officer by the Emperor's side would allow more promotion opportunities for him.
"Krapitch, if you are sincere and hardworking in all aspect, you sure can break the tradition that the highest promotion a commoner military officer can get is Major General."
Colonel Drake saluted politely. He understood the meaning of the Prince. "Thank you, Your Highness. I will use my true actions to prove to you my ability."
"Hey! Hey! Young man, there's still me!" General George Romiero finally could not stand the loneliness. "I get promotion slowly yet in a very stable way. Fast is not necessarily a good thing. Everything should go at its own pace."
Krapitch thought about it. He smiled at the General but said nothing in return.
"Moreover, a slow promotion is not my problem. I truly did not have many presentable results at the southern Army Group these years. The generals of the military district have already gotten used to cowardly living their lives. It's all the fault of the rebel army. They keep causing trouble at full force. It will probably take eight to ten years to completely stop this chaos!"
"What do you have in mind then? Hang your tail between your legs and go back to the south? You will get hemorrhoids after some time!" Oscar said as he poured a full glass of wine for General Romiero.
"What choice do I have?" The old General was almost fifty years old now. He did not have much strength to follow young men. "I was born in the south and grew up in the south. The University Town is the furthest place I have been. It's better for me to go back to the military district. My youngsters must miss me so much. Actually, I have been missing them as well. My second-in-command is useless. It will be too late if I don't go back!"
Oscar scanned his classmates. This Prince raised his wine glass.
"My friends! Tomorrow we will go on to our respective future. I am honored to receive the support of two of my classmates. Let us cheer to that!"
"Yes!" "Yes! Cheers!" A few people agreed to it.
"Wait!" Tantalus yelled all of a sudden. "Before we cheer, shouldn't we have some slogan and message?"
Oscar scratched his head. "It's fine with the message. The God is with us! As for the slogan...…"
"I know!" Tantalus shook the cake debris off him. "Guards! Advance!"
"That's right!"
"Advance! Guards!"
The wine glass collided heavily. Oscar was unsure of his choice, but he knew there was nothing bad about it. The truth would prove this fact. History would let Tove Van Sukhoi, George Romiero, and Tantalus Piche return to the side of the young Prince. They would stay together with Murat Bedoya, Eugene Mir Bradley, and Robin Sparse, and became the strongest military generals under this Prince. Their names would forever be engraved in this history due to their excellent successes in three future defense wars of Titan Empire.
