“Don't be stupid, Alen! Everyone heard it too. Otherwise, how could everyone look surprised and confused now?” James replied in an exasperated tone.Alen reluctantly agreed to James' words. But, when he really cast his gaze around himself, he found that so many soldiers were talking about the matter. Not only that, even the officials were busy talking to each other until Mary Kesley raised her voice a little to calm things down. Riley sighed, “I don't know what's going on, but ... perhaps General Reece has his own difficulties so he was forced to withdraw now.” Alen suddenly went limp. The young man remembered something.“Maybe ... it's related to the wound,” Alen said in a quiet tone. James once again turned his head towards Alen, “Indeed, is the wound very severe? Hey, but he looks fine.”Alen shook his head, “I'm one of the medical staff who participated in treating his wound and ... indeed the wound is very severe, there is some damage ....”Alen swallowed hard as if unable to
Unexpectedly, Riley casually replied, “James is brave, Alen. You also know how he faced the enemy troops.”Alen frowned, “I know. But ... I mean if James is in the class two place, shouldn't you also be in the same class as him, Riley?”Riley shook his head firmly, “I made some mistakes.”“Which mistakes? You ....”“I caused the death of one of this kingdom's best commanders, Alen.”“No, you didn't. It wasn't your fault, you just-”“It was one of my carelessness in being so slow to understand the possible actions of War General Fermoza. And ... as a result of my carelessness Commander Sehel had to help me and eventually as you know ... he was killed protecting me,” Riley explained, laden with guilt that never left his head.Alen could not reply anymore.After all, everything Riley said was a fact and there was no way he could argue with that.Meanwhile, the dazed James Gardner began to walk towards the waiting king of Ans De Lou Kingdom, Keannu Wellington.The young man who then stood
Xylan instead immediately gave his sister a strange look.Rowena who instead of getting no answer but that annoying look suddenly snorted, “Well, you're the crown prince. Father must have talked to you about it, right?”Xylan let out a long breath, feeling rather annoyed with his older sister's attitude. “Why do you think father would discuss this matter with me, sister?” Rowena held back her impatience and replied, “Oh my goodness. You are the future king of this country, replacing father in the future. The matter of appointing a new war general should also pertain to you.”Xylan shook his head, “Not so. You really don't remember how old I am right now, Sis?”Rowena did not answer.“I'm still fifteen, only turning sixteen in three months. How can I be involved in such an important matter?”Rowena was still reluctant to reply. The princess, who was wearing an ankle-length, long-sleeved violet dress, rolled her eyes lazily. She seemed to feel no need to listen to the explanation of
Alen patiently explained, “Josh Cleve was seriously injured during the war a few months ago.”“He suffered severe brain damage so he had to undergo several surgeries until he finally recovered,” Alen continued.James was dumbfounded. “Severe brain damage? And he's ... now back to being a soldier, is that it?”Alen nodded, “Unfortunately, when the war with the Fermoza Kingdom happened he still had to undergo intensive examinations until he was fully recovered.”Alen glanced at Josh Cleve for a few seconds, and then he continued, “Therefore, he cannot join us against the Fermoza Kingdom.”James still looked curious and couldn't stop asking so he asked again, “Then, what exactly makes him so special that he was chosen as a candidate?”Riley who was also interested turned to Alen, “His age seems to be much older than Reiner Anderson, surely he has given so much service to this kingdom. Right?”Alen smiled at Riley, “Right. Senior Shin told me that Josh Cleve made decisions favorable to th
“This is exciting!” Xylan said, commenting on the announcement with a happy smile.“This is so exciting!” Xylan repeated as he turned to his older sister who was glaring at him. Xylan's smile disappeared instantly.“Why are you looking at me like that?” Xyan asked, somewhat confused.Rowena gritted her teeth and held her younger brother's arm, asking Xylan to come closer to her with her fingers.Xylan questioningly obeyed his sister by slightly lowering his head and then putting his right ear to hear Rowena speak.“Are you crazy?” Rowena said in such a loud tone that Xylan had to move his ear away from Rowena.Xylan suddenly covered his ears and looked at his older sister, “Why did you do that?”“Because you seem to have gone crazy like General Reece who chose Riley to compete with James Gardner. Oh, my gosh! Seriously!”The young girl bit her teeth in annoyance, “What were they thinking exactly? Why can't just one of them be the candidate? Why does it have to be both of them?”The i
Riley gritted his teeth, “You want to throw away a great opportunity like this? You've lost your mind, huh?”James shrugged, “It won't be fun if there's no opponent equal to me.”“You're ....”“We don't have much time, decide quickly!” James urged. Riley exhaled harshly, looking so very annoyed at his friend's obvious stubbornness. Riley understood James' character very well. The young man was not one to lick his own wounds. He was sure James would actually do what he said.Alen himself was not worried about the matter because he was very sure that James would definitely get what he wanted and it was clear that James' wishes were the same as his. So, he just had to wait without interfering.He saw Riley's gaze start to give up. The next few seconds he moved to move forward to James' side, then whispered in annoyance, “I swear I'll kick your leg until it breaks later.”James just smiled happily, “That's if you can do it.”Riley rolled his eyes lazily, annoyed to death at his friend.
Instead of answering Shin's question, Riley suddenly threw an annoyed look at James who pretended not to look at her.Instead, Alen Smith took his friend's place and said, “There's something he's been thinking about but ... it's no big deal. Now he's officially a candidate for war general.”Ben nodded in agreement, “Wow! I still can't believe it. You two will compete to be my leader.”“Your leader, senior?” James said with a frown on his forehead.“General War is the supreme leader of all troops, he can only be commanded by the king. Of course he's my leader,” Ben explained.The explanation made James' ears turn red. This was seen by Alen who quickly commented, “Don't be too sure that you are the chosen one. Remember! Your opponent is tough. Riley and ... Josh Cleve.”James snorted in exasperation, looking offended, “No need to remind me. My memory is still very good.”Shin laughed crisply and when he saw that there were not too many people still in the area, he immediately said, “He
Diego let out a long breath, looking as depressed as his friends who were facing the same situation as him.However, the young man replied by trying to remain calm, “The problem of difficult tests will not be an obstacle for us, Riley. It's our second chance so no matter how difficult the test is it won't make us lose our spirits.”James, who had been listening carefully and observing Diego's changing expression, soon realized that there was something far worse than just a difficult selection.“So what's the problem?” James finally asked.Diego again let out a long sigh that made his three friends even more curious. “The main problem is that if we fail, we won't be able to take part in the recruitment next year,” Diego explained with a suddenly grim look on his face.“What?” James glared in shock.“Who made such a rule?” Alen asked with widened eyes as well.While Shin said, “That's impossible. Any prospective soldier who fails will still get a chance to apply with the usual requirem
At first Michelle Veren didn't understand what James Gardner was asking. However, when she saw the look on the general's face, she immediately knew he meant the time of the departure of the three people they were looking for.So, the Veren boutique owner replied, "About an hour ago, General Gardner."Hearing that answer, Reiner immediately went limp. But, it was inversely proportional to James who was even full of enthusiasm. This could be seen from James who even said, "Come on, Rei. Let's go after him."Reiner looked sadly at his best friend and replied, "It won't catch up, James. It's been too long."James did not even listen to Reiner's words and ordered some of his men, "Prepare the car, let's go after them!""James," Reiner called softly.James ignored the call and kept saying to his men who were still quietly waiting, "Find out through the CCTV which area they are currently in. They ... should be visible if they take the highway from behind this building."Reiner bit his own
Unfortunately it was all too late for the young girl to realize. All the words of the girl named Alice Porter were clearly heard by Reiner Anderson and James Gardner.With a dark look on his face, James said, "Miss, you-""No, no. I just misspoke, I ... I don't know anything. You heard me wrong," Alice said, whose face paled even more. Especially when she saw the aura of James Gardner, the terrifying war general, she found it even harder to breathe.Reiner also could not help himself so he said in an exasperated tone, "Tell me everything you know or you ... will know how terrible it is when you face the two of us.""I don't care if you are a woman. I can still find a punishment that you deserve," Reiner continued coldly.Alice swallowed harshly. Of course the young girl was very confused. Moreover, no one was trying to help her at all. All the employees in the boutique looked so frightened that no one dared to open their mouths."Say it now! We don't have much time, Miss!" James gro
James' question immediately made Reiner silent for a few moments. He stared at the boutique with a confused look on his face.Meanwhile, James didn't want to waste any more time so he wordlessly walked towards the boutique owned by Michelle Veren, a forty-year-old female designer who was quite famous in the country.Reiner didn't just stand by and do nothing, lamenting his inaccuracy. He followed James with a small trot right behind James without a word.As soon as James was faster than him to reach the door, he immediately saw the two boutique guards who opened the door for them."Can I help you?" one of the boutique guards asked James."I'm looking for Princess Rowena. Where is she now?" James asked back matter-of-factly as he darted his eyes all over the first floor of the boutique.Although there was a suspicion rising in James' mind, the young man put his anxiety ahead of his suspicion."You're looking for Princess Rowena? Who are you? You-""James Gardner. Royal War General Ans
Reiner Anderson did not answer James' question. Instead, he had a facial expression that looked both hesitant and confused.Of course, that made James Gardner even more annoyed. "Come on, tell me quickly! What's so strange about Princess Rowena?" James urged, impatiently.Reiner swallowed and scratched his ears before answering, "Well, I'm not sure if this is strange to you. But ... I think it's very strange, James."James gritted his teeth in growing annoyance and impatience.Luckily, he didn't need to ask anymore as Reiner added, "So, according to reports she went outside the palace."Hearing Reiner's answer, James snorted rudely. "What's so strange about that? I know she often goes outside the palace."Reiner sighed softly, "Indeed. But, this time ... a few hours ago, she left without a bodyguard. And she ... left with their son, Prince Kharel."Instantly James glared in shock, "What? Are you ... sure?""Yes, James. She just-""How is that possible? King Xylan ... didn't forbid he
Gary Davis did not answer Xylan's question. He just wore a pitiable expression. It instantly brought out the guilt in Xylan Wellington.Oh, no. What have I done? Did ... did I go too far in becoming suspicious of my own personal assistant? Xylan thought to himself as he stared at Gary's innocent face.The viceroy sighed softly. He went back to thinking hard. He tried to remember everything about Gary. He had never made a mistake, not once. He also never did anything suspicious all this time. Gosh, am I suspecting the wrong person? Xylan thought.However, he shook his head quickly as he realized something.But, wait a minute. It was James Gardner who suspected him. He couldn't have spoken carelessly. Otherwise, there was no way he could have been selected as the deputy war general. His instincts must be very strong that he has suspicions of Gary Davis, Xylan thought seriously.He then looked at Gary once more and finally nodded his head.He does look very innocent, but he could be h
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