Chapter 108

Kevin and Little Spoon walked along, chatting and laughing. To Little Spoon, Kevin was the author of a book she enjoyed; to Kevin, Little Spoon was the first reader to ever respond to his work, albeit by attempting to assassinate him. They talked about life and the situation on the continent, enjoying each other's company.

Regarding the political situation, Little Spoon had quite reliable information channels, while Kevin was relatively cut off. It was said that bandit activity within the Loubaole Kingdom had quieted down significantly, while the Lebozier Kingdom remained plagued by internal conflicts. They had managed to quell things temporarily by plundering a smaller nation, but it was not a long-term solution. Additionally, Little Spoon’s cousin, Sunny—the one Kevin once tutored—had finally succeeded in getting admitted to the Royal Academy this year, which was a piece of good news.

Before they knew it, they had reached the summit of the second hill. Little Spoon pointed forward: "Look, that’s your flag over there. You can manage the rest of the way yourself."

Kevin nodded and followed her gaze. It was likely the Third Battalion of the Thunder Knights, the unit under House. It was also the regiment currently being led by the Staff Officer. Kevin had originally been under the Staff Officer’s command, but after losing contact midway, he had requested orders directly from the Commander-in-Chief and had been under his direct command since.

"I’ll be going then," Kevin said with a nod. Since he knew the location, he couldn't keep troubling her, and Little Spoon likely had plenty of cleanup work to attend to.

"Sure, take care," Little Spoon replied, then added, "Oh, right, take these extra grilled meats." She handed him a pot of meat along with the pot itself.

Kevin waved his hands in refusal. "So much? Is this really alright?"

"Oh, it's fine," Little Spoon said dismissively. "You know, whenever there’s a big mission, like a banquet for the nobility, the cooks usually eat all the leftovers themselves anyway."

"You seem to know a lot about that," Kevin laughed.

"Well, I’m just a kitchen hand, so I see plenty," she chuckled. "Even if you can't finish it, you can share it with your comrades."

Kevin smiled and accepted the gift without further protest. He then recalled something. "By the way, there’s a barrel of chimera acid. I remember leaving it with you, right? When I wiped out a battalion for the first time, I asked you to notarize it, and it’s been with you ever since."

"Yes," Little Spoon nodded, "but I can't return it to you. The higher-ups have declared it a prohibited item; it cannot be held in personal possession."

Kevin felt awkward. "It’s not actually mine; it needs to be returned. That includes the two spatial rings I have. Come to think of it, my three donkeys are missing, too."

"Take it slow. Get the people back first, and we'll handle the supplies collectively later," Little Spoon replied.

The two waved goodbye. Kevin, in a good mood, walked down the hill and ran into the Staff Officer. He saluted, saying, "Staff Officer, I’ve returned."

"Where the hell have you been?" the Staff Officer barked, his face dark.

It was like a bucket of cold water on a good mood. Kevin was baffled. "I couldn't establish contact with you, so I contacted headquarters and was placed under their direct command."

"Hmph," the Staff Officer sneered. "Oh, wonderful. Direct command from headquarters? It seems you’re ready to be a battalion commander yourself. Ha."

Kevin found this absurd; his shift in command had been authorized by headquarters. What was this? He couldn't be blamed for the Red Army’s failures, could he?

The Staff Officer walked off without another word, clearly in a foul mood. Lieutenant Colonel House followed along, merely glancing at Kevin without speaking. Kevin didn't stand on ceremony and walked right beside them. In terms of rank, Kevin was a novice, but as the head of an independent department, he was entitled to walk alongside them. This action, however, made the Staff Officer frown.

"Lieutenant Colonel House," Kevin asked in front of everyone, "why did the unit lose contact? Were you wiped out?"

House looked at the Staff Officer, then replied helplessly, "Our communication mage was unfortunately killed in action, and we couldn't contact any other units."

"Oh," Kevin nodded, then looked surprised. "Does that mean you were all alive, but no one attacked you? You just stayed put until the end?"

House glanced at the Staff Officer and gave a bitter smile. "More or less."

Watching his expression, Kevin sensed there was some hidden frustration; they had clearly fought such a stifling battle that they were too embarrassed to talk about it.

Kevin looked back at the soldiers. Indeed, they all looked dejected. The Blue Army had maintained air superiority throughout the exercise; if the Thunder Knights had been moving about, it was impossible they wouldn't have been discovered. Discovery meant death, and since they hadn't died, there was only one explanation: they had been hiding somewhere until the exercise ended.

If that was the case, it was truly frustrating. Kevin sneered inwardly but kept his peace, walking along with the group.

A while later, the First Battalion of the Thunder Knights joined them—the unit led by General Oude’s eldest son, which had been wiped out by a forbidden spell at the very start. Soon after, the Second Battalion arrived; they had been reassigned to the rear and had perished while taking out the Blue Army’s infiltration unit, at least accomplishing something.

It seemed the entire Thunder Knights regiment had no outstanding performance in this exercise. The Thunder Knights were not just any unit; they were one of the three strongest and most elite legions in the country, and this performance was truly mediocre. Moreover, the supreme commander was the leader of the Thunder Knights himself. Logically, a commander leading his own regiment should have provided them with more opportunities or advantages, but that hadn't happened.

In contrast, the Wind Knights had maintained air superiority, completely dominated the skies, and easily taken out the Dragon Hawk Knights. Their contributions were massive; the Blue Army’s tactical core had revolved entirely around them.

This stark contrast was hard for the Staff Officer and others to accept. Seeing Kevin coming down the hill in such high spirits, they naturally wanted to vent their frustration. Unfortunately for them, Kevin was not a target they could easily bully.

"Hey, can you return my spatial ring now?" Sayin squeezed up to Kevin.

The Staff Officer and others looked over in surprise, only just noticing that Kevin was still wearing spatial rings—two of them, in fact. Kevin just waved a hand. "Don't be in such a hurry. Everything inside is a mess; I even stuffed two catapults in there. I'll return it once I've organized things."

The Staff Officer looked at Kevin in astonishment but said nothing. Moments later, a Blue Army officer hurried over. Kevin recognized him immediately as the lieutenant colonel whose spatial ring he had confiscated. Seeing Kevin, the officer rushed over. "Hey, can you return my spatial ring now?"

"Don't be in such a hurry," Kevin repeated. "I've got catapults in there. I'll give it back when we get back."

"Is my stuff missing anything?" the Blue Army lieutenant colonel asked, sounding anxious.

"Uh..." Kevin had to be honest. "Your chimera acid was confiscated."

"How could you do that?" The officer’s face changed in anger. "Don't you keep your word? Weren't you in command of all the catapults of the Thunder Knights?"

"Uh," Kevin replied helplessly, "the Thunder Knights only have one catapult, and it's mine."

The Blue Army officer: "..." Several soldiers who heard this couldn't help but snicker.

"Sir, don't worry," Kevin comforted him. "It wasn't that I lost your chimera acid on purpose; it’s a prohibited item. According to the relevant departments, you are not allowed to hold such high-lethality items in a private capacity."

The officer roared, "If you hadn't brought it out, there wouldn't have been a problem! When it was notarized, wasn't that third party there too? She didn't say anything then. You must have brought it out later to show off, and then it got confiscated!"

"But I used it to wipe out a battalion," Kevin shrugged.

Everyone: "..." The statement was quiet, but it hit with deafening impact. Everyone went silent, their gazes snapping toward him.

"You... what did you say?" the Staff Officer interjected, looking incredulous.

"What did I say?" Kevin smiled. "I said I only have one catapult here?"

"No, the sentence after that!" the Staff Officer pressed.

Kevin knew exactly what he was asking, but he chose to play dumb to tease him. "After that? Don't be in a hurry, sir?"

"Did you say you wiped out a battalion in this exercise?" the Staff Officer asked directly.

"No," Kevin denied flatly. "I definitely never said that."

"Then what did you just say?" the Staff Officer sneered.

"I said I wiped out two battalions in this exercise," Kevin replied calmly.

The crowd went numb again. The Staff Officer blinked, then laughed, clearly not believing it. "Fine, say whatever you want." He wanted to offer a few more sarcastic remarks, but then thought: *What if it’s true? I’ll be the one left looking foolish.* He bit back the rest of his sarcasm.

Nearby, Sayin crept over again. "Hey, my thing—you didn't lose it, did you?"

"What thing?" Kevin asked, puzzled.

"That thing... you know," Sayin gestured awkwardly.

"That?" Kevin knew exactly what he meant but kept playing dumb. "Oh, don't worry, I didn't touch your money."

"It's not the money! It’s that! That!" Sayin grabbed at the air with both hands, struggling to describe it.

"Oh, I didn't touch your weapons or equipment either, I'll return them in a bit," Kevin answered.

"No, it's that, the really pretty one, that..." Sayin looked around awkwardly and tried his best to gesture.

Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared, and General Oude teleported in, looking expressionless. Everyone immediately stood at attention, saluted, and shouted, "General!"

"Mm," the General nodded. "Let's go, we're returning."

Seeing the General arrive, Kevin didn't want to be near him; he always felt a bit of fear toward his direct superior. He retreated to the back of the line, where the catapult was stationed anyway.

Seeing Kevin leave, Sayin tried to follow him to keep asking, but was stopped by the General. "Sayin! Where are you going?"

"Uh, well," Sayin stammered, not knowing how to reply.

"Get back to your post! I'll deal with you when we get back," the General said, his face dark with genuine anger.

When the General was angry, no one dared to speak. The Thunder Knights' performance in the exercise had been subpar, and Sayin was trembling, feeling as though his future had turned pitch black.

It took three days to return from the exercise site at the junction of the three cities to the Thunder Knights' base outside Saka City. Everyone was exhausted from the exercise, so the pace was slow.

The journey passed in silence. When they passed through towns and villages, many commoners came out to watch. They had been there when the army left, too, but then everyone had been sharp and polished in shining armor; now, they were covered in red paint and soot.

Regardless of their appearance, the army was required to maintain a spirited and imposing demeanor. Even in defeat, they had to keep up appearances. There were many knowledgeable people among the commoners, including foreigners and bards who took the opportunity to explain to those around them, and one could hear whispers of "That's the Thunder Knights," "One of the three great knight orders," and so on.

"Eh? The catapult is gone?" a voice in the Ryan Imperial language suddenly rang out.

Kevin looked toward the sound, but only saw a crowd and couldn't identify the speaker. A military exercise of this scale was clearly taken very seriously by foreign powers. It was strange that the army had left with a catapult and returned without one.

There were no other incidents, and they returned to the base safely. There was a mountain of cleanup work; Kevin returned the spatial rings as promised and repaired the catapult. This led to another round of complaining from the Blue Army lieutenant colonel, but Kevin could only shrug, and the man couldn't do anything about it. Once the cleanup was done, it was time for a meeting.

At the meeting, General Oude actually praised Kevin with some grace; after all, the achievement of wiping out two battalions could not be ignored. He officially promoted Kevin to the rank of Lieutenant and awarded him a Third-Class Merit. There were also gold coins and a commemorative medal, though these would be formally presented at the military award ceremony the day after tomorrow.

The crowd applauded. Regardless of what they thought, they offered congratulations on the surface. Especially the Staff Officer, who clapped with a smile—Kevin couldn't tell if that was genuine grace or thick-skinned hypocrisy. Kevin responded with a smile and the usual platitudes about working harder in the future.

Afterward, the meeting didn't discuss the exercise, but instead dropped another bombshell: the King would attend the award ceremony the day after tomorrow, followed by a long speech. The King was the supreme military commander of the Loubaole Kingdom. Although he hadn't watched the exercise, he had clearly been paying attention.

As a recipient of a Third-Class Merit, Kevin would naturally attend. Having always lived at the bottom of society, Kevin found the idea of meeting the King a massive honor; it felt like a different lifetime.

"You know what the King looks like, right?" General Oude hoped he would remain calm. "If not, the back of the gold coin has his portrait. Look at it a few times to get familiar. It's normal to be excited, but remember not to say the wrong thing!"

"Yes!" Kevin nodded.

"You should prepare a speech, just in case. You might not need it, but if you're asked to say a few words, you won't be caught off guard," the General instructed. "I know you're a bard, but this is a different situation. I hope you take it seriously."

"Yes!" Kevin replied.

"After the ceremony, I'll consider adding some manpower to your catapult unit. You can make requests then," the General finally relented.

"Well, I was hoping..."

"I said after the ceremony!" The General frowned. "Shut your mouth now! Dismissed!"

"Yes!"

"Kevin, stay behind!" The General held Kevin back and waved his hand. "Bring Sayin here!"

Kevin sat back down. A moment later, Sayin entered with his head bowed. The General threw three female dolls out of a spatial ring, his face dark. These were clearly the ones from Sayin's ring, which Kevin had confiscated and used on the donkeys to distract the enemy before using the chimera acid to wipe out the battalion. The dolls had been forgotten afterward, but they had evidently ended up in the General's hands.

"Do you have anything to say?" the General asked.

Sayin remained silent, head bowed. Kevin sat to the side, watching the show. He was curious why the General was showing him the scene of him scolding his own son.

"Of all my sons, you are currently the most incompetent," the General began.

Sayin kept his head down.

"I ask you," the General said, "what is the range of a Minotaur heavy bow?"

Sayin was embarrassed and shook his head, not knowing.

"I ask you again," the General continued, "what is the range of an Elven magic bow?"

Sayin bowed his head, too afraid to speak.

"I ask you again," the General sneered, "how far can a standard Ryan Imperial steel helmet withstand our arrows?"

Sayin began to tremble.

"You know nothing, so how can you be an officer? You don't practice your battle qi, your intellect is low, and you spend all day playing with these? Forget it, I won't waste my breath. I'm busy and don't have time to manage you, and handing you to other units would just lose me face. Their subordinates would likely be afraid to treat you poorly out of respect for me. However, I’ve considered it—there is at least one person in my legion who has never given me any face." The General turned his gaze toward Kevin.

Kevin was startled and stood up instinctively.

"Yes, you! Kevin!" the General designated. "You are now a Lieutenant, and he is a Second Lieutenant; you have full authority to manage him! Starting today, he will be stationed at your catapult camp. Manage him well! If he doesn't listen, hit him!"

Kevin: "..."

Sayin turned his head to look at Kevin in shock: "..." (To be continued.)