Chapter 36:

While Murphy led the spoils of war and survivors back to Kadman City, the subsequent ripples caused by the successful ambush were subtly changing many things. In the pioneering outpost of the Eastern Prussia region bordering Transia, a commander wearing the uniform of a lieutenant colonel of the Goldflower Kingdom strode quickly to the frontline commander’s office, clutching a document and straightening his bearing. After confirming everything was in order, he knocked on the closed door. This was not just due to good upbringing and personal habit, but also because the lieutenant colonel was about to meet General Loren, a commander who demanded strictness in all matters. From the post-action review of every military operation to the patrol routes of the military police in the outpost, even the seating arrangements of the officers’ occasional gatherings. If the small and large commanders of the Pioneering Corps, or even the rank and file, did not want to be reprimanded or punished by the stern general, it was undoubtedly the right attitude to do their best in their duties. General Loren had a famous saying: “Death will always favor those faithful to their duties.” This saying gives a glimpse into the general’s character. “Enter!” A low voice came from the office. The lieutenant colonel entered, crisply saluting the general seated at the desk examining a map, and loudly reported: “Reporting to the General! The frontline special service report has arrived, including an encrypted message that requires your immediate attention!” He then lowered his voice and said: “The content is about those ‘cargo’.” “Hmm?” The general, who had been examining the military map, looked up at the sound, revealing a face in the prime of life with sharp features. Not exactly handsome, but his chiseled features like those carved by an axe, his classic square jaw, and his well-trimmed sideburns gave him a rugged, old-fashioned, and stern air of gravity. He tossed aside the pencil he had been holding, stroked his proudest possession, his mustache, jumped off his chair, straightened his general’s shoulder boards, and strode over to the lieutenant colonel. Finally, the general looked up at him. Well, everyone had heard the rumors that General Loren Fredrick had a courage and strength disproportionate to his height, and this was not just flattering praise. It was actually a statement. The supreme commander of the Goldflower Kingdom’s armies, the most trusted commander of King Louis, the rising war star from the Old Guard, the absolute pride of the Greenleaf Corps – General Loren, who had built the Pioneering Corps from nothing and trained it into the kingdom’s premier military force during the Ten Years’ War, was a Halfling! He had half Dwarf blood. This meant that while the general towered among Dwarves, he was utterly tiny next to the 1.93 meters-tall lieutenant colonel. But no one would underestimate General Loren because of it! Just as no one would dare underestimate the lethal battleaxes wielded by Dwarves on the battlefield. Those who dared to mouth off about his height probably wouldn’t live to see the next day’s sun. Additionally, there was an unwritten rule in the Pioneering Corps to avoid using the word “short” in official matters and private conversations as much as possible. Note that this was not a request! Although the general had announced on the first day of founding that he did not mind the soldiers discussing his height, that half-Dwarven blood flowed stubbornly within him nonetheless. And as is well known, Dwarves had a reputation for being petty on the continent. In the third month of establishing the corps, after a brave acting lieutenant was thrown to the frontlines for drunkenly cursing the enemy as “cowardly little rats” in front of the general, everyone understood where the line was drawn. Although that acting lieutenant was lucky enough to survive four bitter battles and eventually get promoted all the way to colonel, it was still a sad story. Now in the office, General Loren stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at this subordinate who was exceptionally tall and annoying, but also exceptionally capable and influential. The lieutenant colonel maintained his military bearing, staring straight ahead without any disrespect the general could find fault with. So General Loren asked in a deep voice: “What’s the problem with my cargo? According to the schedule, they should have arrived in the Anderma Hills area by now.” “The transport convoy was ambushed, Your Excellency.” The lieutenant colonel walked briskly to the military map of the Transia region on the wall, precisely pinning a red tack next to the Foul Swamp. Pointing there, he said to the frowning general: “The incident happened last night, around 9 PM. Sixty elite Blood Vulture Midnight Hunters and their armed Blood Servants attacked the convoy just after it left the Foul Swamp. The Spirit Mage in charge of the convoy put up a decisive defense and ordered the Wolfsbane Clan warriors guarding the cargo to retreat first. But the cunning vampires had already laid an ambush at the end of Smuggler’s Woods, and our brave soldiers ultimately failed. The cargo is confirmed lost.” “Then how did this information get back?” Instead of dwelling on the loss of the expensive cargo he had procured, General Loren asked: “So the convoy didn’t suffer total annihilation? If some of them survived, why am I only getting this poor report? Who was the enemy commander in charge of the interception? And who was the last vampire to have contact with the cargo? Most importantly, what about the battle process? Are they just glossing it over with the two words ‘decisive resistance’? There must be treacherous ministers around the King and in the Great Council!” The young lieutenant colonel cried out indignantly: “How can those complacent bastards at the rear end the war just as we’re about to win? No, those greedy fools have betrayed and sold us out!” “Silence!” Hearing his subordinate officer go too far, General Loren barked sharply. He took out a dwarven pipe and toyed with it, glancing at his subordinate before drawling: “Yearning for war is the nature of the young. Mastering war is the duty of a commander. Enjoying war is the privilege of veterans. But seeking war without considering the consequences, tsk, that is pure folly. The entire nation has been in a state of war for ten years. His Majesty’s pace of reforming this newborn country has been delayed for too long. It is fitting for this muddled war to end now. As for the reason, it is not what you think, Frayzer.” General Loren sighed, lit his tobacco, and through the haze of smoke, handed the lieutenant colonel the half-drawn military map from his desk. The latter took it, scanned it, and his eyes widened. He exclaimed voicelessly: “This! The Kingdom of Nordtov has sent troops?” “Yes, on the eastern front of the Portia Federation. As we speak, that young but ferocious ‘She-Wolf’ Queen’s elite Winter Wolf Corps has crossed the military buffer zone from the Ice Bay all the way to the Transia line. They will strike this decadent giant hard from behind Portia, per the king’s pact with the She-Wolf forged just two months ago after the Third Saxony Campaign ended.” The general puffed on his pipe, explaining slowly: “The Pioneering Corps doesn’t even need to advance further. We just need to garrison and maintain the kingdom’s occupation of Eastern Prussia, Saxony, and Cato. Leave the rest to those barbaric, warlike northerners. They’ll help us crush Portia’s last resistance. Of course, the Ice Bay region and Kafhoka Plains will be theirs as spoils tossed to the hungry wolves. The entire Portia Federation will become history after this battle. As for Transia...” The diminutive general turned to look at the map hanging on the wall. The Transia region on it was long and narrow, bordered by the Ice Bay to the north and the Dark Mountains to the south. Situated in the very center of the continent, it was like a “natural barrier” separating the Goldflower Kingdom’s newly acquired territories from the two mighty human nations of Nordtov and Goldflower. General Loren stroked his mustache and chuckled coldly: “The domains of two lions cannot directly border each other, as that would only provoke fiercer conflict. But neither side is ready for the next war yet. Therefore, the Transia region will be carved out as an autonomous territory, perhaps even a duchy. Who knows? The next war will be fought at the negotiating tables of politicians, with their tongues and the pens in their hands deciding victory. But Frayzer, the war for us soldiers is already over.” The lieutenant colonel listened in silence to the general’s explanation. He knew General Loren intended to use him to pass this news down to the Pioneering Corps’ middle ranks, to preemptively placate bellicose, glory-seeking officers. He himself was quite satisfied with the outcome. After so many years of warfare, truth be told, he was sick of fighting too. When the war began, he had been a student studying at Shaldor Harbor. But now he was of marriageable age, the most ludicrous part being that the bride chosen for him by his family was reportedly excellent in every way, yet the problem was that he had virtually no say in this arranged marriage at all! He felt absolutely no involvement! However, outwardly the lieutenant colonel still said indignantly: “But just let them go like that? General, those damned vampires just stole your cargo and trampled all over the Pioneering Corps’ honor. End it like this, and the soldiers won’t be satisfied. As you’ve taught us, a soldier’s honor is paramount! We can lose our heads, but not our knees!” “Of course I won’t let them off so easily. I only said the two kings plan to dismember Portia. I didn’t say I’d allow those vampires to keep lording over this benighted land unchecked.” General Loren flashed a cold smile, picking up a pen from the desk and toying with it. With a casual flick of the wrist, it struck the map with a thunk, pinning itself right on the location of Kadman City. He said: “Lieutenant Colonel Frayzer, help me contact the Circle Tower’s dispatched Spirit Mages and the Patriarch of the Wolfsbane Clan. I want to initiate D-Plan! We may not be able to march into Kadman City as victors, but I will make those insolent vampires realize their era has ended. Ended by my corps personally!”