Seeing the strange expressions of his two junior soldiers, Shin added, "Life as a palace soldier is not easy."A sigh was heard from the soldier who used to be a medical staff. The palace regulations did allow every soldier who finished their training period to get married. There are no regulations that prohibit them from living a normal life like the rest of society.However, in their first year of marriage, they were forbidden to bring their wives to live in the palace. The soldiers' wives could only enter and live in the palace in the second year of their marriage. But, they were not able to stay without permission. They had to undergo tests and examinations until they were cleared. However, once they were granted permission, they would be given the freedom to live in the palace with their husbands indefinitely and have the right to use the palace facilities provided by the kingdom. "General Reece is not married. Why should I?" Shin explained as he saw the shock on the faces of
James was even more inflamed when he heard these words full of sarcasm. He immediately detached himself from Riley and said, "You're class one soldiers, but why don't you use your brains to think?"The staff glared angrily, "Young man, watch your language!""Why should I?" James retorted as he was now free of Riley, "You don't watch your mouth when you speak.""James," Riley called.James turned his head, "Why? Do you want me to stay silent when we're even accused of being a treasonous force? I ... can't let them do that."The soldiers of the class one laughed condescendingly. "You're ... hm, James Gardner. Gardner.""Did you hear his last name that I just said?" the red-haired soldier continued.A staffer with a pistol in hand frowned, "Uh, so you're the one ... the traitor's son?""You're-"James' face turned red due to the anger that had overcome him. Riley clenched his fists, barely able to control himself anymore.Meanwhile, Ben and Shin also looked just as angry as Riley or Jame
Seeing James remain silent, Reynhard grinned once more, displaying his canines as if he was ready to tear James apart.The man felt that he had succeeded in scaring James so he confidently said, "Oh, good that you're scared now. You should know better, Gardner.""Don't think you're safe, just because you're friends with a future king's son-in-law!" Reynhard said, seemingly having the upper hand.The still silent James finally raised his face, looking into Reynhard's eyes with a flat expression.However, the young man still said nothing until Reynhard finally chose to speak again, "I ... may not dare to face Wood, but you ... a traitorous son of a bitch like you I can easily conquer."The man who was one of class one soldiers was about to smile, but he didn't because he suddenly heard James laughing out loud. In fact, his laughter was so crisp that the bewildered Reynhardt looked at him with a gaze full of astonishment and confusion, "What are you laughing at?" James stopped his laug
Riley didn't answer and that made Reynhard feel victorious. He haughtily added, "Wow! How pathetic! I guess you won't be able to do anything without-""If that's what you think, then I wouldn't blame you," Riley cut in quickly, making several senior soldiers immediately sneer at him.Reynhard smiled dismissively, "Oh, so you admit it." "Of course, why would I deny it? It's the truth," Riley retorted, making Reynhard's friends look down on the young man.Reynhard laughed sarcastically, "Uh, I see. You are really disgusting, Wood. "You pathetic soldier! Using your position to get special treatment." A friend of Reynhard's said while staring with a mocking expression.Some people laughed mockingly, but Riley didn't seem to care too much.However, after letting the people have their fill of laughing at him, the almost-twenty-two-year-old said, "Indeed, being a future king's son-in-law is quite an advantage for me after all."The people fell silent again, watching Riley intently.Riley t
Alen immediately shook his head, replying stammeringly, "N-nothing, General Reece."Andrew Reece looked suspicious, but the war general chose not to discuss it too much. He simply said, "Well, then please rest. Tonight you must listen to further war instructions from your seniors."James frowned in surprise, but Riley first commented, "Will the war strategy be conveyed by the seniors to ... us as juniors, General?"Andrew turned to Riley and smiled gently, "Yes. In thirty minutes, I will call the commanders along with some seniors to discuss the matter. Afterward, the seniors will call their colleagues and you as their juniors to explain what I have to say."Listening to the explanation, James suddenly became somber. While Alen let out a long sigh, realizing that their situation was not good.Meanwhile, Riley seemed to be as calm as ever and even replied, "Yes, General.""Alright, relax first!" Andrew told them.Before exiting the tent, Andrew walked towards Riley. James and Alen sta
Riley was speechless, completely unable to refute James' words.The young man then let out a long breath.James sighed seeing Riley's soft gaze towards him, "Hey, listen. I know that my father did wrong, but ... that doesn't mean that people have the right to say that he's the worst general. Right? After all, he has protected this kingdom. He also risked his life.""I ... just hope that people not only see my father's faults, but also see what he had done. Is ... is my wish too much, Wood?" James continued with a desperate tone in his voice.Riley was saddened by James' small wish that so many people had never considered. But he still tried to respond by saying, "No. Your father deserves an honor. I understand."James froze in his seat but he did not give any reaction.Riley continued to say carefully, "But you also have to understand that not everyone thinks the same way, James.""I know that," James replied without turning to Riley.Not wanting to make the atmosphere uncomfortable,
“Didn't I hear wrong?” a class two soldier commented in a surprised tone.While another also said, “How can an aspiring soldier get a chance to fight with the War General?”“You're right. Previously, none of the prospective soldiers could participate in the real battlefield, but now they can. Then what is this again? Joining the main army? It's unbelievable,” a class one soldier asked. He looked unhappy with the division of the soldiers. He even rolled his eyes when some soldiers praised James.James heard all the ramblings and still couldn't believe it himself. He then asked, “Are you sure you didn't misread, senior? It is impossible I am placed into-”“You think my eyesight is so bad that I can't read properly, Gardner?” the staff said in an offended tone.James was even more confused but he could not ask more. He knew from the staff's expression that he did not want to talk to him more.Riley saw that the situation might get out of hand due to that decision so he quickly said, “N
Riley was silent for a few seconds and that immediately made Ben say again, “Which group does he belong to?”Riley reluctantly answered, “Group three, senior.”Ben sighed but nodded to himself. He was a little disappointed with the division of soldiers, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it.“He doesn't seem sad or disappointed with the results,” Riley said, trying to make Ben much calmer.Ben smiled, “I know. He's never protested about the division of the group since long ago.”He paused for a few seconds and said again, “Well, sometimes he does say he doesn't like it or looks worried. But she really doesn't care about this kind of thing.”Riley understood it too, but strangely it was Ben who looked sad. The young man did not understand why Ben was lamenting Shin's fate.However, then Ben suddenly said, “Shin really wanted to be one of the medical staff.”Riley was wide-eyed in shock, “Why didn't you tell the commander?”Ben suddenly wore a sad expression, “He can't retu
Ben didn't know how he should respond to his friend's words, but all he could do was go over to James and pat him gently on the back repeatedly in an attempt to calm him down."He's really not coming back, Ben.""No, he's not. It's just-""He wouldn't give that kind of message if he didn't mean what he said," James cut Ben off.Ben sighed softly, "James, what I meant was ... he probably doesn't want to be looked for anymore because he wants to go back to the palace himself."Ben's words made James, who had been so frantic, straighten his back. The war general then turned to Ben and responded, "What do you mean?"Ben wasn't sure what he was thinking but he said it anyway, "I think ... he just wants to go home alone."James paused, trying to digest his friend's words."Tell you what ... how about we just go back to the palace, who knows if Riley might actually be home," Ben explained.Ricky and Steven Drilon were silent as they listened to Ben's words.They also didn't have time to reac
Ricky Drilon could only stare at the question.Oh, he often found himself in a confusing situation. But, he had never once felt depressed.Though he was also very often faced with a difficult choice. However, again, such things could be resolved well without any inner turmoil.However, one question asked by Riley Mackenzie put him in his most difficult phase. "Why are you doing nothing? Who are you going to obey? Me or General Gardner?" Riley repeated his question.Ricky swallowed harshly, getting more and more confused.His forehead was furrowed, clearly showing a great deal of indecision. He repeatedly smoothed his hair in just one minute. That made Riley smile strangely, "So, what? Who are you going to choose to obey?" Ricky bit his own teeth.How is this? What am I supposed to do? And why am I in this situation? Ricky thought.He looked indecisive, full of doubts. Riley himself looked very calm and relaxed at Ricky's confusion."Why aren't you answering me?" Riley asked with a
Ricky didn't answer James' question immediately, instead he looked back at Steven, his brother. From the look in his eyes, it was clear that the young man was seeking Ricky's approval. Apparently, James Gardner noticed this habit and with an exasperated look on his face, he commented, "Come on, do you have to have a discussion before answering a simple question like the one I asked you earlier?" "Don't you have your own opinion?" James continued in a cold tone. Ricky and Steven's faces turned a perfect shade of red. Ben grimaced at James' assertiveness but he didn't make an interruption. Not wanting to make James even angrier, Ricky finally replied, "If it's an ordinary person, we can probably still go after him. However, if it's General Mackenzie, I ...." The young man did not dare to continue his words. From the look on his face he looked hesitant until James continued his words by saying, "You're not sure we can catch up with Riley?" Ricky stammered, "Absolutely, General Gar
Benedict Arkitson instantly froze like a statue as if he dared not move his body at all. The thirty-four-year-old senior class one soldier was stunned without being able to issue any rebuttal to the junior soldier's explanation.He thought that he had no reason to doubt Lory Blackwell's words. Meanwhile, the strangely gloomy James Gardner looked the other way, as if reluctant to meet Lory Blackwell's eyes that were staring at him innocently. The young war general then said, "It's Riley. It must be him, it can't be wrong."Lory smiled with satisfaction and nodded with relief. The young man let out a long sigh after his statement was beyond doubt.However, he saw the sad look on James Gardner's face that the war general couldn't hide.He even heard James mutter softly, "It really is him. But ... he must be angry with me. If he wasn't angry, why would he leave?"That of course made Lory very surprised. James Gardner had always been known as a very rigid and cold person. He never imag
Ben winked.Oh, he wasn't the least bit offended by James' words. Instead, he was amazed at how fast James was thinking."So, what should we do?" Ben asked, still with his stupid expression.James was getting more and more annoyed, but still replied in an exasperated tone, "Of course look for him.""But ... you said he doesn't want to see you, so why would you look for him?" Ben replied quickly."To ask him why he would act this stupidly," James replied stiffly.He immediately turned his head and looked straight at Lory who still looked stiff as a rock, "Show me where you last met Riley!""Next-""Take me there!" James cut in impatiently.Lory nodded with a bit of fear. "Come on, hurry up. We can't waste any time," James ordered the few people who were required to follow him. Before starting their journey in search of Riley Mackenzie's trail, James said to Lory, "Walk in front!""But, General ....""If you walk behind, it will slow us down." James explained patiently.Lory nodded an
Lory instantly looked around and realized that he was being stared at by a dozen soldiers who were coincidentally listening to her conversation with Jensen Clown.Lory gritted his teeth, "What's wrong with you?"Jensen stammered as he realized that his voice had attracted all the soldiers around the area to them. He immediately grimaced as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I'm just surprised."Lory rolled his eyes and continued walking.Meanwhile, Jensen was still following him. He spoke again, "You're just joking, right?""Of course you must be joking. How could you have met General Mackenzie. You-""I actually met him," Lory cut in out of sheer annoyance.He turned around and gave Jensen an exasperated look. "Why don't you believe me?""Are you sure? Then ... where is General Mackenzie right now?" Jensen asked further.With an unusually proud expression, Lory replied, "He is now going towards the river. He said he wanted to wash ...."Before he could finish his answ
Lory Blackwell had seen the face of the supreme warrior leader in the Ans De Lou Kingdom, but he had never been that close to the man whose hair looked a little long.He was only a class three soldier, a soldier of the lowest class who would rarely interact with the war general. In fact, he had never even spoken to Reiner Anderson, the ground war commander. His position as an ordinary soldier with no achievements or advantages made it rare for him to get close to great soldiers. "General Mackenzie. It's really you," Lory said once again. Oh, he still couldn't believe what was happening. For him to meet the person standing not far from him was like a very rare dream.He really is Riley Mackenzie, the war general who disappeared without news and is currently being searched for, Lory said to herself. Riley Mackenzie did not respond to the call of Lory Blackwell who was staring at him without even blinking. The war general of the Ans De Lou Kingdom who was also Keannu Wellington's so
Lory Blackwell paused, trying to compose himself.According to what he knew, the forest located in the border area close to the Mecco Kingdom was an uninhabited forest. The dense forest was a wild forest inhabited only by animals. Although soldiers from the two kingdoms, Ans De Lou Kingdom and Mecco Kingdom, did check regularly, it was still very rare.So, it was no surprise that Lory thought he had misheard. "Probably just a hallucination." The young man said quietly and nodded, reassuring himself.However, after a few seconds he heard the same voice again, "Hey, I'm over here."Lory's eyes widened. He became very alert.On such a dark night, of course he couldn't see very clearly so he could only squint and hold his gun tightly. But, from the voice of the person, Lory guessed that the voice was coming from his right so he turned his head to his right. As he climbed up the large tree that he used as cover, he did notice that there were several other large trees in the vicinity.
Ben quickly racked his brain, thinking of the right way to put James at ease. But before he could come up with a good line, he heard James say again, "Or ... is he angry that I took his current position? But, ...."James shook his head weakly, "There's no way he's angry because of that right? Moreover ... he knows very well that I never wanted her position. He must be-""Stop thinking like that, James! Are you stupid?" Ben said in an annoyed tone.James was about to respond, but Ben raised his right hand as if asking James to be quiet for a few moments.James seemed to understand the meaning of Ben's gesture and he let out a long sigh.Ben swallowed before explaining, "James, you know Riley doesn't care about the title 'War General' either. Basically, both of you are not crazy about positions."James faltered. Ben was right. How could Riley be disappointed and angry with me over this damn title? That doesn't sound like 'Riley Mackenzie', James thought.The young man exhaled harshly.