Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1421 - 1419: The General on the Border

Soron paced back and forth in the room.

One step, two steps, three steps, four steps... slowly reaching the end of the room, he turned and walked back, reaching the other end of the room, and turned again.

Like this, he kept repeating.

He murmured faintly, "Eleven copies, eleven copies..."

Halfway through his pacing, as if hearing something, he tilted his head slightly to look towards the door.

"Tap tap tap..."

The next moment, a hurried sound of footsteps arose, and a wizard in a cyan robe entered. He was also Soron’s subordinate. His name was Abu Yule, strong in power and even stronger in survival skills. Over three years ago, he had followed Soron in the war against the nation and the attack on the Truth Society, even facing off against the Gray Mist.

Of course, he was no match for the Gray Mist, but surviving the battle with it, besides luck, was also undeniable evidence of his capability. In that fight, to resist the Gray Mist’s attacks, he hysterically layered energy shields on his body, reaching dozens of layers, earning himself the nickname "Hundred-Shield Wizard" or "Iron Shell Wizard." It was a jibe at his abandoning offense completely for survival.

He wasn’t angered by these somewhat insulting monikers, instead calmly accepting them. For the past three years, he delved into various defensive spells, making his nickname well-deserved.

In his view, a wizard doing anything to survive in battle isn’t shameful; after all, only by staying alive can one accomplish anything else, only by living does one have fighting power.

Holding a gold-embossed paper, Abu Yule entered, seemingly unable to withstand an attack from a certain direction, his face turning somewhat unpleasant.

Soron glanced at it, didn’t look at the content, but as if knowing what Abu Yule had brought, said, "The twelfth order?"

"Yes, General," Abu Yule nodded, "The same content as before, but..."

"The wording is more severe?"

"Yes."

"Alright, noted." Soron casually said, waving his hand and pointing at a round table in the corner, "Put it there, no need to read it — since it’s the same content, reading it would be a waste of time."

"Yes." Yule replied, stepping over to the round table Soron indicated, placing the paper with the Shaya order on top of a pile of similar papers already there.

Afterward, Yule turned to Soron, about to speak but hesitated.

"If you have something to say, just say it, no need to hold back."

"Yes, General," Yule exhaled, saying, "I wanted to ask, are we just going to keep stalling like this? It’s been three days, already twelve orders from Shaya, something unprecedented. From this, we can see how much Shaya values this issue. Dragging it out like this isn’t good for us, for Reef Rock Castle, or for the entire military."

"I’m well aware of this, Wizard Yule," Soron responded, resuming his pacing, speaking as he walked, "Don’t say Shaya sent twelve consecutive orders, even two consecutive ones show Shaya’s stance.

You should know the cause of this matter — after the new emperor’s ascension, they’ve been purging disobedient forces, hence the Judgment Court went to Shalin Atlant City to capture a fugitive who once served the Fourth Prince.

Unexpectedly, the fugitive wasn’t captured, and a member of the Judgment Court was detained there for hard labor. More tragically, a Deputy Judge, apparently from the Antonio Family, due to injuring an official of Shalin, was killed outright. The Chief Judge mysteriously disappeared in Atlant City, their fate unknown to this day.

These circumstances are a blatant insult to the Judgment Court, and behind the Judgment Court stands the new emperor, undoubtedly a slap in the face to the new emperor. Naturally, the new emperor is furious, hence ordering us to send troops to show Shalin some ’colors’ and demand an explanation."

Reaching the room’s end, Soron stopped his pacing, not turning around, facing away from the cyan-robed Wizard Yule as he continued, "Actually, the new emperor is still probing Shalin. The previous attempt to catch the fugitive by the Judgment Court was a probe of Shalin, which failed. The new emperor didn’t give up and started a second probe. He’s trying to gauge Shalin’s attitude, to what extent they are steadfast, and whether they are still willing to be under the Alliance’s rule."

Slightly pursing his lips, Soron turned back, gesturing for everyone in the command room to leave, leaving only Wizard Yule, squinting as he said, "Honestly, the new emperor’s move is also a probe on us, the military, and Reef Rock Castle. Three years ago, victory over Sika in the national war and exterminating the Truth Society was supposed to be a great opportunity for the Alliance to strengthen. But who knew, first Emperor Peter died, then the Prince was assassinated after ascending, leaving Shaya in chaos.

In the subsequent two-plus years of power struggles among various factions, the Alliance continually weakened, until the new emperor’s recent ascension, allowing for a short reprieve. In this process, I continuously guarded the military, keeping them from engaging in political faction battles, lest the Alliance fall into civil war or even split.

I believe this was the right course, but everything has pros and cons—keeping the Alliance united and not letting the military be too affected are the pros, the downside being... the new emperor doesn’t trust the military anymore.

This time, sending us to Shalin is partly to test Shalin’s attitude and partly to test ours. That’s why there’ve been twelve orders in three days."

"So General... why do we keep delaying instead of following orders?" Yule puzzled, then considering a possibility, his eyes narrowed as he tentatively asked in a low voice, "Our military has always been loyal to the Alliance, right?"

Soron looked at Yule, staring directly at him, the air pressure in the room dropped a bit, then he chuckled lightly, "Of course. Wizard Yule, rest assured about this, the military will always remain loyal to the Alliance."

"However..." Soron shifted his tone, "Loyalty to the Alliance does not completely equate to loyalty to Shaya, much less to the current new emperor."

Yule’s breath caught, watching Soron, his hands subconsciously clenching — a reflexive move to activate his energy shield.

Undeniably, Soron’s words made him feel a sense of danger, that an indiscreet remark might lead to being silenced. Even though he considered himself a trusted aide of Soron’s, the implications in Soron’s words were chilling upon contemplation. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Soron glanced at Yule, lightly shaking his head, somewhat impatiently saying, "Don’t overthink it, Wizard Yule, I have no intention of rebelling! It’s just that the chaos over these three years has made me have some doubts and thoughts."