Rowena bit her lip and decided to answer her father's question, "Why the rush, Father? Aren't we still a long way from getting married?""Asking his family to come to the palace can be done when the time is near," Rowena continued.Keannu snorted, "I'm not talking to you, Rowena. I'm talking to Riley Wood.""You must not interfere in this matter. This is a matter between the parents," Monica chimed in.It was obvious that her mother wanted to get to know Riley's family so she supported her husband's right decision.Thoughtfully, Riley finally said, "I can't tell you yet, Your Majesty. You already know that we ... as prospective soldiers are forbidden to communicate with our families outside the palace.""We are only allowed to communicate after we complete the selection. So-""Oh, I know what you're going to say. Well, we'll wait until after you've been sworn in as a bodyguard in this palace," Keannu cut in impatiently.Andrew Reece frowned, starting to think seriously about the young
Offended at being accused of fear, one of them said, "Fear? Gosh, what are we afraid of?"Alen kept smiling, "Alright, then just wait for the next selection."However, the young man named Michael Hickson who seemed to be the leader of the group of youngsters said, "Is there any guarantee that you won't cheat?""Cheating? How can it be called cheating when no one wants me here?" James said without turning around.Riley grimaced.James casually continued, "Trust me! Almost everyone here wants to send me home. Maybe, if possible, they're the ones cheating to get rid of me, not me."Michael couldn't reply.Meanwhile, his other friend was still saying, "Oh, it could be that your father still has people who are loyal to him. So, that person is helping you here."Oh, James couldn't take it anymore. Alen also didn't want to hold James back anymore because he knew James had the right to defend himself. "What did you say? My father's confidant?" James repeated the question as he turned around.
Riley Mackenzie couldn't give his response because he was too shocked. "Oh, don't show that stiff expression, Wood!" James said with a frown.Riley just shrugged, still looking reluctant to respond to James' words.Meanwhile, there were so many prospective soldiers who showed expressions like they wanted to go home.A young man from dormitory one named Seamus Fork had raised his hand."What is it, son? What do you want to ask?" Greg asked with an annoying smile.Seamus had very pale white skin, but Greg's announcement had made his skin look even paler than before.With trembling lips he asked, "Are you serious about sending us into battle, Commander?"The smile on Greg's lips instantly vanished, "Have I ever joked about something like this, young man?"Seamus gaped, but he quickly controlled himself and asked again, "But, Commander. We're ... just prospective soldiers. How can we be sent to war?"Another added, "That's right, Commander. We ... haven't even practiced much. Our abilitie
"Tomorrow morning," Greg replied without taking his eyes off the two candidates who stood out the most among the others.Indeed, the shock immediately hit Riley and James."Tomorrow morning, Commander? How can we improve our skills in one night?" James asked as he now had a look of shock on his face although Greg could tell there was no fear in the young man's eyes.Greg simply replied, "Nothing is impossible. After all, this is a war that was never predicted before. We don't have enough time to prepare."Greg Sehel's words were enough to send chills down the spines of almost all the very young prospective soldiers. However, none of them chose to resign and go home.One of them said, "I've come this far. How can I go home?""My parents will kill me if I go home for fear of going to the battlefield," another said.Alen, who was actually still overcome by fear, also muttered, "I came to this palace to defend this country. Perhaps this is the time to prove that my purpose has never change
"He's great, really great. He got two girls now," James praised while nodding and also laughing loudly.Alen responded, "You lost to him on this one. Oh, but ... you always lose to Riley.""Alen Smith, why do you have such a sharp tongue?" James replied who immediately put on a pouty face.Alen just chuckled in satisfaction at having mocked the young man. However, his laughter immediately stopped when he realized something. "James, wait a minute!""Why?" James asked curtly."Riley is already the king's future son-in-law and almost all the residents of this palace already know about it. So ... what if someone gossips about him and Mary Kesley?" Alen said.Hearing that, James, instead of being confused, burst out laughing. His laughter did not stop, even when Alen was glaring at him. "You like it when your friends get into trouble!" Alen said with a wry smile.James nodded vigorously, "This is one of the most fun pastimes. Believe me, his love troubles are a real entertaining."He conti
Mary Kesley could easily guess where Riley Mackenzie was headed. She shook her head, "You can't go in there, Riley."Riley's eyes were perfectly wide. In a disappointed tone he asked, "Why can't I?"Mary sighed and explained, "A royal identity card is required to go in."Riley could only complain, "Why is it so difficult?""The rules are like that. But, don't worry. Once you have the card, you can enter the royal library whenever you want," Mary explained.Riley smiled wryly, "I can't wait. I really need that information today, Mary.""Well, then you'll have to bury your curiosity," Mary retorted.Riley gave an exasperated snort. "It's not about curiosity, it's about knowledge that might help in the war."Oh, instantly Mary found it difficult to deal with the son of her mother's best friend.The girl clucked her tongue and said, "Riley, you're just an aspiring soldier. You don't need to do that. General Reece is already thinking about it.""I know, but I still want to help. Maybe this
After Mary said an idea that made Riley pensive, the girl left the area as quickly as she could. She didn't want any gossip to get her into trouble.Riley immediately ruffled his hair in frustration."Why does it have to be like this?" he muttered in exasperation.He was not someone who would take advantage of others for his own benefit. However, he made himself feel better by saying, "Oh, it's not for my benefit. I'm doing this to help find another way to protect the kingdom."With that in mind, he set out to meet Rowena Wellington after he finished his intensive training. "Where have you been?" James asked once he saw Riley returning."She's not heartbroken, is she?" Alen had a concerned expression.James snorted, "He and Mary Kesley don't have a clear status yet. Mary shouldn't have to feel bad.""Hey, that woman is the most complicated human, so who's to say whether she feels bad or not?" Alen retorted.Riley shook his head and looked at the two roommates in turn, "What are you gu
Riley even smiled when he heard it."Oh, that's right. Having skills in two areas isn't bad," a soldier said as he had called himself an aerial expert.Alen nodded enthusiastically, "Oh, I'm right."Riley shook his head and shifted back a little to say, "You ... since when did you become a motivator?"Alen grinned and replied with a very quiet tone, "It's nothing like that. I just don't want our troops to decrease.""It's dangerous if the number of prospective soldiers is reduced," Alen added.Riley chuckled softly, his brain that had been a little full of his plans to get close to Rowena now relaxing a little.He then looked at the monitor again and heard some of the prospective soldiers retreating. Instantly Riley saw Greg's expression and at that moment he was sure there was a hint of disappointment on the stiff man's face.However, Greg didn't say anything about their withdrawal. Once the time was up, he simply said, "Well, 300 prospective soldiers chose to fight with me. So, from
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.
Without looking away, Ben thought hard. James didn't just stand by, waiting for Ben's answer. He himself repeatedly touched the handkerchief to scrutinize it. Not only that, the war general of Ans De Lou Kingdom was also sniffing the gray handkerchief as if he was looking for something.Seeing what James was doing, Ben impatiently commented, "You're not a dog. How can you track someone's whereabouts from sniffing that thing?"James instantly gave Ben an exasperated look, "That's not it. I'm just trying to smell this handkerchief. Who knows ... it might turn out to be a clue.""Then ... did you get a clue after sniffing the cloth?" Ben asked with a casual look.With a look of disappointment, James replied, "No. I didn't. I just smelled the earth."Had they not been in a serious situation, Ben's laughter would have exploded. However, they were working on an important mission so Ben knew he had to restrain himself. He certainly didn't want to be seen as trivializing his friend's rescu
Foei Maccray turned around and looked sarcastically at the junior.When he saw Lory Blackwell's compliance, Foei Maccray smiled wryly as if satisfied that he had succeeded in making one of his juniors submit to his orders.Of course, that made him feel big-headed. Hence, Foei haughtily said again, "Keep standing here until we are out of your sight. After that ... then you can walk."Lory Blackwell did not reply. But Foei took his silence as obedience so he said, "Good! You should obey your seniors' orders."Lory just swallowed without daring to say a word. However, Foei did not need an answer so he just continued walking along with his good friend, Derrick Weybe who looked bored in Lory's neighborhood. The other soldiers followed the two senior soldiers with mixed feelings. Apparently there were some of them who were starting to feel sympathetic towards Lory. But due to their status and class being much lower than the two senior soldiers who were bullying Lory, they chose to be cowa
Derrick snorted in annoyance, while Foei immediately responded, "Oh, you seem to be very timid!" Foei cast his gaze at Derrick and then flashed a smile with a mocking expression. Derrick shook his head, also smiling mockingly."If you're scared, why would you want to participate in this important mission?" Foei said.Lory quickly shook her head, "I'm not afraid ... I’m just-""Huh? Not afraid? Then, why did you just say that?" Derrick cut Lory off, as if he deliberately didn't want to hear Lory speak."You're obviously a coward! Oh my! You should have stayed in the palace and not joined the search for General Mackenzie," Foei explained with a lopsided smile. "Coward!" Derrick taunted again. "A pathetic soldier like you who dares to tell us we're slow? Who do you think you are, my superior?" Foei said with a cold tone and a dismissive expression.Oh, he was really very satisfied seeing Lory's helpless expression.The two men deliberately wanted to humiliate Lory. Their intentions w
Seeing James' confident smile, Ben instantly realized that his best friend was unpredictable. But, when he recalled the relationship between James and Riley in the past, he felt that everything James said was true. Riley had always been completely open to James. The young man only hid one thing, which was the fact that he was William Mackenzie's son. Other than that, Riley had no other secrets from James. Meanwhile, Riley was also the only person who could understand James very well. Only Riley is able to understand every action taken by James and James only wants to talk about things with Riley.So, seeing all these facts, Ben finally nodded, "Okay, then. What should I do?"James snorted and immediately put on a sullen face, "Come on, Ben! I told you earlier."Ben rolled his eyes, "I still don't understand. Please explain in more detail!"With an annoyed expression James replied, "If I had the authority to downgrade soldiers, I would definitely downgrade you to class two."Ben's n