Without further delay, Riley immediately replied, "I'll explain after the pins are distributed."Alen and one of the other future soldiers volunteered to help Riley distribute the pins. It turned out, however, that in addition to the pins, they also received another identifier in the form of a blue cloth to be tied to their arms.This scarf allowed them to identify their teammates. They also had the task of memorizing the identifiers of other groups."I want to capture group nine," a soldier said after each group's ID was displayed on the monitor.Alen, who had finished distributing the pins and returned with one in his hand, said, "Why is that?""It seems to be the weakest, look at him! The leader of that group is not one of the top candidates," the soldier explained.Riley immediately looked at the screen and recognized the candidate because he had been in the same building during training some time ago. But his eyes widened when he read the young man's name."Justin Donovan," Riley
Riley immediately replied, "Maybe they discussed their strategy on the way or when we arrived at De Frost Forest."When Riley said the name of the forest, everyone fell silent. Riley knew immediately that they had probably heard stories about the forest.So Riley decided to ask, "Has anyone been to this forest?"Warren was shocked, "Are you crazy? Why are we going there?""That's right. De Frost Forest is a direct border area to the Erest Kingdom, a kingdom that once overpowered our kingdom," someone explained with a horrified expression.Alen nodded and answered, "It was there that General Reece was hit by an explosion that damaged his face and he had to undergo a major operation.Riley knew that too. His father, William Mackenzie, had once told him about his meeting with Andrew Reece after he had decided to retire.William couldn't recognize Andrew because his face had completely changed. But even though the forest had a bad history, it was still one of the training grounds, sometime
When she heard the words 'final inspection', Rowena, who was still sitting there with her mouth shut, immediately swallowed hard. She actually started to sweat, even though it wasn't hot in the room.Then she also heard Keannu say again, "The inspection was done by someone not related to General Mackenzie, the results should be accurate."Greg took a deep breath, "If that's the case, then Mary Kesley is innocent. My God, Your Majesty. You have punished this innocent girl."Keannu shook his head quickly, "I didn't punish her, I just made her unable to do her job for a while so she would admit what she did."Andrew Reece replied, "I understand what you are doing, Your Majesty. You would think that Mary Kesley, Amanda Clark's daughter, would help General Mackenzie's son.""Of course she would. Amanda is friends with General Mackenzie, they are very close. In fact, she was the one who gave General Mackenzie the name 'Stewart'. So it's natural for me to suspect her, isn't it?" Keannu said,
Rowena wanted to refuse, but the girl could not, for she had been forced out and escorted to her residence by a number of soldiers on the king's orders."Oh, this sucks!" the young girl grumbled as she entered her residence.She put on a sullen face, so annoyed that her personal attendant, Celia, asked, "Why do you look annoyed, Your Royal Highness?"Rowena stared at the young girl in disbelief, "You still ask, Celia? Oh my!"Celia winked, not knowing how to respond.The princess bent her face, supporting her head with her right hand. She also muttered softly, "I am not angry with my father, I am angry with myself."Celia nodded and immediately replied, "For protecting the would-be warrior who saved your life, Your Highness?""It's not that, Celia. It's just that I was ... upset that I didn't know his identity in the first place. And now I'm confused, I ... was somehow involved in forging this young man's identity. If my father finds out, he will definitely punish me for sure," Rowena
However, someone else said, "Hm, maybe he decided to back out earlier, but then he changed his mind and well ... they came late in the end."The rest of his friends responded with mocking laughter and Jason could only let out a long sigh."Hey, what are you looking at?" James suddenly said in a louder tone until the group members who were talking about Riley no longer dared to open their mouths."If you can't concentrate, you'd better raise the white flag and quit this group," James said in a sharp tone.The future soldiers were even less willing to move and just stood stiffly while listening to the chairman's words.James glanced at Riley who soon left the plane. He was relieved. He's finally here, this challenge wouldn't have been as much fun without him, James thought.Truly, the only opponent he thought was comparable to him was Riley and somehow Riley always made him a person who always tried hard.It's like saying it was Riley who gave him the spirit to get up. In fact, it was a
The budding soldiers of the group of four gave James a disapproving look, but then they heard Jason speak up, "Riley's the smart one, he's the leader. I bet he came up with this strategy too."James hated to admit that Jason's opinion was actually true, so he just cleared his throat and said, "Never mind, there's no need to think about what the other groups are capable of. Let's strategize something just as great. Let's regroup quickly and listen to me!"Having no other choice, they immediately turned their attention back to James.The other groups, intimidated by Riley and Justin's strategy, quickly decided to change their strategy so they wouldn't lose.In the forest itself, Riley ordered, "Split up now! And remember, if we get the target number of flags, stop immediately and do the second mission.""Ready, understood," the would-be soldiers replied in unison.They split up, with Alen sticking to Riley, who was paired with him. "How do we know we have 20 flags, Riley?" Alen asked wi
"Hey, I should have said that. You made a sudden turn," the man said angrily, still not getting up.Not to be outdone, Alen replied again, checking his hand that was a bit sore after the collision, "What am I supposed to signal? And how should I give a sign? This isn't a highway and I can't honk to warn you.""Don't you have a flashlight or something?" the group member was not to be outdone by Alen.Riley, not wanting this to become a big problem, immediately said, "Alen, stop it!""Craig, stop!" another group member said after he had picked up his dropped bag.Even though it wasn't very bright in this part of the area, Riley could still see the face of the young man who had just opened his mouth. It was Justin Donovan.Justin stared at the two people and looked surprised, just like Riley, who hadn't expected their paths to cross."Oh ... Riley Wood." Justin said with a small smile.Riley was stunned, "You know me?"Justin chuckled, "How could I not? You're ... very famous. There's no
Alen replied, "We saw it first. You guys-""But we were the first to arrive, so you can't call us sneaky," the tall young man replied, holding back an annoying smile.Alen was about to reply, but Riley beat him to it, saying, "Let's go somewhere else!""Riley, come on!" Alen said with a pitiful look on his face, knowing that Riley was about to give in again."Alen, come on!" Riley said in a tone that didn't seem to want to be contradicted.With that, Alen turned and followed Riley away. At the same time as they ran, the insidious herd laughed at them.Alen gritted his teeth, "Look, they're laughing at us.""I don't care," Riley replied as he ran. He kept checking his surroundings."But I do care, I don't want us to be mocked and belittled like this, Riley," Alen replied irritated.Riley sighed, "Then what do you want us to do? Fight with them? Even though we don't know if there is a flag or not? Hell, Alen. We're just wasting time.""Better to search another area. Remember, we're racin
Gary Davis replied with a serious expression, "Your Honor, I apologize if you find my words presumptuous, but ....""Just say it! Say everything you want to say!" Xylan commanded.From the tone of his voice, Xylan clearly sounded impatient. "I'm ready to listen! And ... I won't get mad at you, don't worry!" Xylan added after he saw the hesitant look on Gary's face.Xylan thought maybe Gary was afraid that he would be punished if he said what was in his head so the future king's salon had to reassure Gary for the young man to be braver.Gary nodded, looking relieved. At least he had an assurance that he would not be punished. "Your Highness, you ... will be made the new king of Ans De Lou Kingdom. You are still very young and you yourself must have guessed that ... that ... I am ...."Xylan clucked his tongue impatiently, "Just say it! I have no problem. Just take it easy!"Gary nodded again and continued, "There are some who don't like you. Although ... for now things aren't looking
Hearing Gary Davis' answer, Xylan Wellington frowned.Is this really the same young man who always gives me good solutions? Xylan wondered.The future king looked deeper and deeper at Gary and finally raised his right eyebrow when he realized he had thought something stupid.More and more Xylan realized that Gary Davis might indeed be smart and dexterous and quite knowledgeable. But, such an intelligent person could also have an innocent nature like the young man had just shown himself."Your Highness, why don't you answer my question? Am I-""Forget it!" Xylan cut in quickly.Gary scratched behind his ear in confusion.Xylan sighed and said, "Gary, are you anxiously awaiting the announcement of the changes in staff and palace officials later?"Gary frowned, quite surprised by Xylan's question.The young man opened his mouth and stammered, "Your Royal Highness, I ... I'm just ...."Just by looking at Gary's expression, Xylan instantly knew that his guess was correct. The young man di
"Of course it is. Otherwise, how could his café business be successful?" Diego said, who seemed to be satisfied with the results achieved by James, his best friend.Reiner became more interested, "How? I mean ... you know he's ... well, he can't be polite and he tends to annoy people. So, what did he change?"Diego looked like he was about to answer, but Shin suddenly said in an incredulous tone, "Oh, wait a minute. He manages the cafe business together with his mother, right? Uh, I'm sure the customers come to his place because of his nice mom."Ben nodded in agreement, "I've never met James' mother, but ... considering James is like that, I'll take Shin's word for it."Diego immediately put on a sour expression, looking rather annoyed. This was because his own friends apparently didn't know James very well.However, he was the one who was witness to how James had changed so much that he felt the need to set the record straight."Hey, I'm telling you seriously. James, who is the owne
Alen did not immediately answer the question of his senior and good friend. He seemed to think for a moment before finally giving an answer, "It's like you don't know James.""What do you mean?" Shin replied while blinking.Alen snorted impatiently, "Shin, James is unpredictable. You must also know that sometimes he can do things that no one would ever think of. So, how can I guess what he might do?"Shin was stunned. The young man smiled wryly, "Damn, you're right about that. He is indeed unpredictable."In the end, the two people did not ask James any questions about what they discussed. When the funeral was over, they all returned to their respective places. However, not James Gardner. The young man who was the war general of Ans De Lou Kingdom at that time was seen walking towards Xylan Wellington's residence.Of course, this led to various speculations among most of the palace residents. It was not only the officials and staff of the palace who began to notice the irregularitie
"It will, Diego," James replied."He can wait," James repeated with emphasis.Diego didn't seem convinced by James' answer.James was usually reluctant to go into too much detail about what he was thinking. However, Diego was one of his best friends so he didn't want to confuse his best friend.So, James said, "He's not an easy guy to beat, Diego. And ... there's one thing you need to know.""What's that?" Diego asked with one eyebrow raised."His own father, I mean General Mackenzie told me that his son ... will not die easily," James explained.Diego was so dumbfounded that he didn't dare reply.James was sure his job of explaining was done, but he still added, "If the greatest and most powerful general the Ans De Lou Kingdom has ever seen said that, then there's a very good chance that Riley is still alive out there."Diego was silent for a few moments.But then he said, "If General Mackenzie believes that, we have no right to doubt him.""You're right, Diego. Therefore, we just ha
William's lips lifted upwards once again, forming a warm smile."James, without me explaining it, you ... must know it yourself, right?" William said softly.After that, the old man who was once the strongest soldier in the kingdom patted James on the back and then left James pensive.The young man swallowed hard. Suddenly he remembered all the things about Riley, more precisely their friendship that they had established since the beginning.All those memories came back. One of the memories that bothered him was when they were still not officially inducted into the army. At that time he was upset and made the stupid and desperate decision to attack the enemy as proof that he was different from his father. Then, the only person who really cared about him was Riley. He was the one who sacrificed himself to save him. At that time, he and Riley were both aspiring soldiers. Neither of them had the slightest experience on the battlefield. But, Riley was still looking for him.Uh, when he
James Gardner nodded, "Yes, Your Royal Highness. May I do so?"Xylan Wellington quickly nodded, "Go, General Gardner. You can talk to him."James was grateful that Xylan did not hold him back."Thank you, Your Highness," James said as he quickly left the crown prince along with three first-class soldiers to guard him.Indeed, the three soldiers were certainly no match for him. However, he chose to trust the three of them.Luckily, it turned out that William Mackenzie who looked much older by a few years was also looking for him so their meeting did not encounter any obstacles."General Mackenzie," James greeted the father of his best friend respectfully.William Mackenzie smiled faintly and replied, "General Gardner."James nodded, "You … are you alright, General?"William returned a smile and said in a low tone, "How can I be fine when I have some problems, General Gardner?"James frowned, looking rather confused.Not wanting to riddle and confuse James, William quickly explained wit
James suddenly gave Gardner a lopsided smile. He knew it was not easy being Xylan Wellington's shield. But, he really did not expect that the crown prince who he thought was so smart was also so innocent.His intelligence seemed to be inversely proportional to his knowledge in terms of understanding the world around him.However, he had already decided to replace Riley in order to make up for the few years of time he had wasted so he should try to be patient.Thus, he calmly replied, "You should start thinking about the matter of all of their opinions, Your Highness.""Why should I?" Xylan retorted, who did not seem to accept James' words.James bit his lower lip, feeling the need to suppress his irritation even more. Come on, James. Don't give up so easily! James thought to himself."Because you are the future king and will soon inherit the throne of this country. So, you should start thinking about what they think of you," James replied.Xylan was about to reply, but James was fas
The indecision on Xylan Wellington's face was evident. James Gardner, who felt that he had succeeded in making the crown prince realize the big mistake Xylan was about to make, called out, "Your Highness."Xylan flinched slightly when he heard his name being called by James.The young man turned to James, but still did not open his mouth.At that moment, James Gardner was certain that Xylan would change the decision they had just discussed.However, he suddenly saw Xylan smiling at him. That of course made James blink his eyes in confusion.But, within seconds, his confusion was answered. He heard Xylan say, "General Gardner, what you said is true. Everything is right. I ... might get some opposition for choosing Gary Davis as the king's advisor."He nodded. James immediately got a bad feeling that he didn't want to imagine."But, General Gardner. I have found no other good candidate than Gary Davis for that position. And ...."He paused for a moment, seemingly thinking about somethi