Chapter 104: Twelfth Episode: Chapter 4
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Church Calendar Year 797 twelfth day of the second month. Yesterday I did not sleep well. I was dazed and tired all day long. The people of Sukhoi was preparing the funeral for the pair of unlucky siblings. Hilarious! Vijdeline actually cried until she fainted when she saw the bodies of those young siblings. At that moment, I had a strong urge to throw up. I wanted to puke everything that was not digested in my stomach towards the face of Lady Vij. The truth had proven that she is nonetheless a bitch.”

Church Calendar year 797 thirteenth day of the second month. I thought long and hard about it. I still couldn’t understand the true intention of Vijdeline. Paul already had a conclusion. The blood stains on that napkin belong to a human. Even though I am still a little in doubt, but according to Torry, his sister really didn’t have any close friend of the opposite sex and the so-called lovers. Vijdeline spent most of her time in the lab at the Designing Bureau.”

“Then…. Can I take it this way? This Lady House Mistress only used her virginity as a card to play in order to carry out a daring trade! She depends on the productivity and the technological workers in which Sukhoi represents; she hopes that I will become the General of the Narcissus Knights in the future. At the same time, she wants to have a place among the highest administrative level in the Andrew family or even in the whole Empire.”

“I must admit! This is the perfect chance to step up the influence of the family! The Sukhoi is not lacking financially. They neither lack in human talent and technology. What they lack are the military forces that are able to defend against the two giants around it and the foreign forces. But the fallen and the contented attitude within the Sukhoi is probably the main reason Vijdeline is looking for allies quickly. Without a strong aid from outside adding to the increase in consumption within the family, the Sukhoi’s good days will surely come to an end if this situation persists. Of course…. Vijdeline understood this completely!”

“Then! Combining with Andrew was undoubtedly the best choice for the Sukhoi family! And Vijdeline’s smartest point is that her words made me cast no doubt on her. Coming together with her will surely bring benefit for my family! It is because of this point that she exaggerated the truths without limit. This is to create the illusion that the age of firearms is about to dawn and cause the intention of wanting to succeed quickly in me! This is to say that the ‘love’ between them in that evening on the eleventh is undoubtedly her final move. Maybe…. Sleeping with him is already silently approved by the decision maker of the highest level in the Sukhoi family. Or else, a Lady will in no way have….. the courage of sleeping with a man that she has just known for a week.”

“Church Calendar Year 797 fourteenth day of the second month. My Red Tiger and the infantry division of Colonel Krapitch Drake have finally completed our final preparations. Maybe it will be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. We will able to continue our journey with the Individual Infantry Brigade of Steinberger family! To be honest, changing the planned journey was not my original intention, but after knowing the Sukhoi family, I’ve already lost interest in the other two giants! Maybe…. The Jebron family with high military strength will be different, but I truly can’t anything worth anticipating for. Thus, I decided to change my plan and follow the First Individual Brigade of Loantz Infantry to visit the northwest border of the Empire. I want to have a look at the Steinberger family which has produced so many heroes for many generations. This! This is truly what I am looking forward to.”

Under the magnificent Pinehill Peak, there was a small and quiet mountain pass. This small mountain pass was merely a narrow opening that was wide enough for only six horses to walk through at the same time. An interesting thing was that there was a wide area of flat land in the mountain pass. However, this flat land was not as peaceful as the quiet mountain alley. There were many huge holes with varying depths on the ground. The color of snow had long disappeared. Even the frozen soil was full of holes.

“Is this hell?” Oscar left his warm carriage unwillingly. When he just came off his carriage, he was shocked by the scenery he was seeing. “Look at these withered trees full of serrated marks. What kind of fierce beast had maimed them to this extent?”

Oscar said as he looked in question at the smiling Duke Sukhoi. “Sir, I believe that regardless of the season, no grass will grow at this place! Also, I notice that the Guards unit of the mountain pass is at least the size of a Corps. What is this place?”

“Your Highness! You are correct!” Duke Roleighanc nodded. “This is the cannon ground. But please do not misunderstand about this. This is the place to test the cannon, not to produce cannons.”

“No wonder!” Oscar was surprised. “So these holes on the ground were caused by the fortress cannon?”

“That’s right!” Roleighanc smiled in pride. “How is it, Your Highness? Isn’t it magnificent? Think about it. If this is the battlefield, the enemy concentrated at those holes will turn into ashes.”

Oscar rubbed his hands excitedly. “Yes! Yes! I definitely believe in it! Is it that General Endorph of Steinberger family wanted to test the quality of the cannons? What are we waiting for then?”

“Hehe! Your Highness, do not rush! Do not rush! It’s easy to get into trouble when you do things rashly. That is a weapon of gunpowder. People will die if anything bad happens. I have seen it a lot of times! So…. We must be careful when it comes to cannon testing! If not, I guarantee what would happen here!”

Oscar nodded understandably. Torry once said that the igniting gunpowder for guns and cannons were still unstable. It seemed that Duke Roleighanc did not exaggerate the facts.

Finally! The cannon unit arrived! But the thing that confused Oscar was that this cannon unit seemed to appear right out of the ground. No one noticed how they got into the testing ground.

“Could it be that…. These hills around the mountain pass are also empty within? Just like the mouth of the volcano at the Pinehill Peak behind the Grizzly Fortress?” Oscar could not help but guess this way. “Maybe…. This is the place the Sukhoi family hide their secret weapons! If not…. How do the soldiers pull the cannons into the testing ground, considering their weight? Unless…. The cannons are already there in the first place!”

Oscar raised a lightweight single-hole telescope. This must be a rare item! Still, remember the Teddy Lolo Club? The owner of the Club wanted to let his guests observe the auctioned items more carefully, so he prepared an expensive telescope worth thousands of gold for rooms further away from the stage. Oscar loved this little thing. At that time, he did not even think of the appropriateness; he simply took the little telescope out of the club without telling anyone. Even so, the owner of the club did not dare to say a word.

“Look at that! They…. They tore the thing that covered the cannons open… Is that canvas?” Oscar asked Duke Sukhoi who was beside him observing the usage of a telescope.

“Not really! That is a special-made cloth that is water-resistant. We call it cannons’ cloth.”

“Cannons’ cloth?” Oscar pursed his lips. “Such a nice name! I like it. I shall make one another day!”

The Prince’s word made the military officers around him laugh. Everyone was excited for no reason. After all, no matter if they were the generals of the Narcissus Knights or the family warriors of the Steinberger family, they had never truly seen a weapon initiated by gunpowder.

Oscar gave the telescope to his military consultant who kept pacing around at the same place. The so-called King of Infantry, General Gondol Abassia took it with a heavy heart. Even though he had been keeping a low profile these few days, this General was more passionate than anyone else about gunpowder weapons! As an excellent commander of the infantry unit, no one could understand more about the destructive attack on the infantry unit by the fire weapon like Gondol Abassia.

“Your Highness, they are filling the ammunition into the cannons!” General Abassia clearly stated what he saw. “The ammunition is filled in from the mouth of the cannon. Then…. A soldier…. Is he cleaning the barrel? I don’t know what the black stick the soldier is holding is for!”

Duke Roleighanc turned to the Prince who wore a questioning expression. “Your Highness, the stick with black brushes can definitely clean the barrel well. But its most important use is to compress the ammunition so that the ammunition stays at the correct position at the ignition parts! This is extremely important. If the ammunition is not at the correct ignition position, then only the God of Light will know where it will fly towards. I once saw an ammunition fall from the mouth of the cannon out onto the ground after ignition. The people were so terrified then! I was right at the place not more than four or five meters away from the cannon! Luckily, it didn’t explode, or else….. I would probably get an early retirement!”

Oscar laughed. He urged his military consultant to continue reporting the situation.

General Gondol Abassia shut one eye tightly. It was obvious that he was doing his best to observe through the single-hole telescope.

“Hmm…. They are currently filling in the gunpowder at the leading position located at the back of the cannon. There should be a hole. This hole will lead to the ignition parts. Am I right, Sir Duke?”

Roleighanc nodded. “That’s right! You are absolutely right! At the back of the cannons, there is a hole that is specifically made to allow gunpowder to be filled in towards the ignition parts. After filling in the gunpowder according to the fixed amount, then we connect it with the line. This way, there’s only more step left and that is light up and fire!”

“Report!” Torry, who had disappeared for the entire morning, finally appeared. He rode up on his horse and only pulled the rein when he was right in front of everyone.

“Father! My cannon testing members have already completed all preparation work. Please, I request for the order to fire!”

“Order to fire!”

“Yes, Sir!” That little jerk Torry made a face at the excited Prince at the side, before waving the red flag of order in his hands in the direction of the cannon unit!

“Doom!” A heavy sound broke the silence of the mountain pass. The hibernating birds in winter suddenly flew into the air. A thick smoke formed from the most leftward cannon of the cannon unit. The snow beside the cannon was also blown into the air by the high pressure of air from firing!

Torry’s flag of order waved and turned lightly in the mountain wind.

“Doom!” “Doom!” “Doom Doom Doom….”

The cannon unit disappeared into the thick smoke and snow haze all around. The people who were observing the testing were still in the middle of the firing range of cannons. When the loud sound was still echoing in the mountain pass, there was a clear sound of piercing wind in the air.

“Swift…. Swift….”

Oscar snatched the telescope from his military consultant! He eagerly searched for the landing point of the ammunition.

At approximately 1000 meters in front of the people, the first ammunition had fallen to the ground! There were no magnificent flames as they’d imagined. Nor there was any ear-piercing wound. The ammunition broke into pieces at that single moment, and the iron nails in the ammunition and metal debris flew in different directions. Even though the light of the fire and dirt that were blown up from the ground had covered everything, but Oscar could still clearly see the trembling of the ground and the power released at that moment of explosion.

“Second one! Third one! Fourth one….” Oscar put down his telescope. He screamed at Duke Sukhoi loudly amongst the rumbling and blasting noise in the whole mountain pass!

“Congratulations on your success! Also, thank you so much! You allow me this opportunity to look at the real fire weapon!”

Roleighanc put his right hand in front of his chest and bowed politely in response to the Prince’s compliment.

It was a successful first round of firing! Torry raised the flag of order once again, but this time the color of the flag had changed.

“Yellow flag! Prepare!” The leader of the cannon testing unit yelled in a loud voice. “Third gunner. Clean the barrel!”

The members quickly began their preparation. Every soldier who was holding a black stick was mixing the ammunition that was in the mouth of the cannons intensely.

The leader’s voice came again. This loud guy made the high officers standing a distance away hear what he said clearly!

“Second gunner. Fill the ammunition!”

Along with the yelling of the commander, the second gunner pushed the black cannonball of eighty-six millimeters diameter into the barrel. Even though their actions were exceptionally quick, but it could be seen from their eyes that these experienced gunners were still extremely careful when they dealt with ammunition!

“Third gunner. Final preparation!”

The third gunner once again ran in front of the cannon and used the iron brushes in their hands to compress the ammunition.

“First gunner. Fill in the gunpowder and place the line!”

Along with the orders of their captain, the first gunner completed the final preparation before firing.

Torry raised the red flag once again.

“Ignite! Fire!”

The blasting sound of the cannon could be heard between the earth and the sky. Each sound shook the hearts of the generals of Titan. They held on to their swords and knives tightly in their hands. It was as if their weapons which had accompanied them in their life-and-death situations would disappear in a blink of an eye.

Even though there was still a long journey ahead for the dawn of the age of fire weapons, at this moment, all warriors who were used to cold weapons asked themselves. “Where will we go tomorrow? Will our next generation abandon the swords and knives that our ancestors depended their life on?”

“A minute and a half!” Oscar estimated roughly. “It took a minute and a half from the first round of firing to the second round! Is this the fastest speed?”

This time Torry nodded. “Approximately yes! My cannon testing unit has played around with these big things all day long. Their operation does not have any extra movement, for that I am sure.”

Oscar turned to Murat. “What is the launching distance for the Red Tiger in a minute and a half?”

Murat sighed. “Your Highness, I know what you are thinking. You must think that if the Knights overcame their limited sprinting speed, they totally have the ability to dodge these cannon fires. But did you notice the base that the cannons are put on? I think that that is the base that can adjust the firing range of the cannons. Usually, the knights will reach their maximum sprinting speed at a distance three to four hundred meters away from the enemy base camp, but the fortress cannon can cover a range of two kilometers in radius. Then…. How many shots can the opponent make from the time I begin to move out until reaching the maximum speed on the battlefield? And how many soldiers I will lose because of this?”

Oscar could not answer anything. He truly had no idea how to calculate the destructive force of the cannons.

“We… We can still charge forward!” The stubborn young man gritted his teeth as he said this.

The Prince’s Military Consultant General Gondol Abassia turned towards them. “Your Highness, if our enemy set up the cannons at the back of an Infantry formation and there is solid wood or traps in front of them blocking the knights, do you think we have a chance of outrunning the firing range of the cannon?”

Oscar swallowed in difficulty. He used all his brain cells and carefully searched every military knowledge that he had learned. But after a while, he gave up the debate painfully. There was no answer at all to General Abassia’s question!

The prince turned his frustration in his heart towards the few unlucky Division Captains of the Red Tiger.

“Hey! You! Are you all mute? Can no one answer this question? If this is the battlefield, are you just going to die like this?”

Facing the furious Prince, the few generals of the Red Tiger Assault Division lowered their heads. They were experienced fighters on the battlefield. They had never once show fear in front of enemies that was ten times better than them! But the blasting of the cannons was still ringing in their ears. It was not that they were not willing to think of General Abassia’s strategy. They did not want to face such a thing at all!

“Your Highness! Your Highness!” Roleighanc of the Sukhoi family finally spoke. “Why such anger? You should feel lucky! The number of fortress cannons in this whole world is a little bit more than thirty. Our great Empire possesses half of this! You should be happy!”

Oscar turned to him in a sudden movement. “But what about in the future? Ten years later? Hundred years later? If we still can’t find the solution to the question, what should we do?”

Duke Roleighanc shook his head slightly. “Your Highness, I must admit that you are over worrying! A hundred years later, if our country still has an increasing production of steel and gunpowder, then I believe that we will still be the strongest country in the Westland.”

Oscar turned his head away in disdain. “I think…. At that time, the Engels have already controlled a huge area of sea and the Hoillanders have possessed firearm units for more than hundreds of thousands of people.”

“So what?” Torry jumped off his horse. “Your Highness! Then so what? Do you know why Sukhoi Designing Bureau put in all their energy into the study of cannons? Because my sister once said that cannons are the final power in deciding the fate of the battles in future! I believe Sis Vij’s judgment because she has never been wrong before! She…”

“Enough! Don’t talk about her!” Oscar suddenly got furious without any reserve.

Torry and his father looked at each other. Upon seeing the expression of the Prince, what exactly happened between Vijdeline and him? Those who were sensitive all thought about this.

After a while, Oscar finally broke the awkward silence.

“I am sorry! I…. I admit that I am a little paranoid! The excitement when I saw the firing of the cannons had quickly disappeared! In exchange was the coldness that bit at the bone! I don’t understand. I always have a foreboding feeling. I don’t know what this is about as well!”

The young Prince seemed not to be finding excuses for his unknown anger. He sighed depressively.

“Alright, everyone! I have caused trouble for everyone. I apologize!”

Duke Roleighanc and every military officer present forgave him.

“Then…. Sir Lieutenant General Endorph Diaphise!” Duke Sukhoi turned towards the general of the Steinberger family that had not spoken a word while standing at the side. “How is it? Are you satisfied with the testing result of the fortress cannon? If you don’t have much opinion, we will carry out the exchange this afternoon.”

Lieutenant General Endorph nodded determinedly. “I am extremely satisfied with the testing result. I believe if the head of the family is present, he will think the same as well! Then I shall follow the instructions of Sir Duke. We can definitely carry out the exchange this afternoon.”

Duke Roleighanc nodded his head. He enjoyed the company of this Lieutenant General. This guy was a standard occupational soldier. He had never spoken any useless words and all that he said was straight to the point!

“Then…. Your Highness? Do you have any opinion?” The Duke turned to little Oscar who was quiet again.

“Me? I have no opinion. I shall see to your arrangement! But…. I will like to ask Sir Lieutenant General Endorph!” Oscar said as he turned towards the general of the Steinberger family.

“Since you can carry out the exchange this afternoon, then are we able to get on with the journey tomorrow?”

Lieutenant General Endorph looked at the Sukhoi military officer who was responsible for the experimental plan this time. “You should ask this question to Major Torry. My unit can definitely depart tomorrow, but if problems occur to the cannon, then…”

“There’s no need to worry at all!” Torry came forward. “There will definitely be no problem! My testing unit and I will accompany you on this journey. We will only leave when we have trained the first badge of gunners in Steinberger family. Along the journey, we will solve whatever problem that arises. I will bring my most skilled technicians. They have the ability to deal with any situation!”

Oscar and Lieutenant General Endorph nodded at the same time. At last, it was the Prince that gave the order.

“Then make it this way! After finishing the exchange, all army units prepare for departure. We will depart next morning according to the route originally planned by Lieutenant General Endorph. Then we don’t have to waste our time to discuss again. Torry!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Major Sukhoi replied.

“Your people are very important. They must be cautious!”

“Rest assured, Your Highness!” Torry bowed to Oscar.

“Your Highness!” Duke Roleighanc could not hold it in anymore. “Your Highness, isn’t your arrangement too rash? Maybe you should begin your journey after the cold phase has passed. Could it be that…. My family’s hospitality towards you has some problem? We made you leave so hurriedly.”

Oscar waved his hands quickly. He knew that the Duke was testing if there was some sort of problem between Vijdeline and him.

“Sir, you are worrying too much! I have a deep impression of your family. The experience at Grizzly Fortress will be my beautiful memory in the future!”

Duke Roleighanc knitted his eyebrows uneasily. “Thank God of Light! Hearing this made me surprised yet honored! But…. Can’t you stay a bit longer? Your departure plan is truly too rushed!”

Oscar bowed slightly. “Thank you for your passionate invitation! You know, the transportation of fortress cannons should not be delayed. The low-temperature weather is about to pass. Departing for our journey at this time will allow us to avoid the possible snowstorm just right. There is no better time than now. Moreover…. There’s a straight 760 kilometers distance from this place to our destination. If we don’t depart soon, it’s hard to be sure what will happen on our journey.”

The Duke lowered his head, lonely. “Alright then…. If you say so! I am truly sorry. I was tied down by all sorts of matters these days. I didn’t even prepare a formal ball for you. I….”

“Sir Duke!” Oscar went forward and patted Roleighanc’s shoulder. Both of them whispered in each other’s ears like children.

“There’s nothing regrettable about this. We will surely meet again! When you have the time to visit Dulin, believe me, I will prepare a young men’s party for you! You know what? Young men’s party!”

Since Roleighanc was not a traditional kind of person, then he naturally knew the meaning behind the Prince’s words.

“Yes? If this is a formal invitation, then I shall anticipate this excitedly!”

“Of course!” Oscar nodded his head in certainty. “I will wait for you in Dulin!”

The high officers of highest tier in the Empire, both old and young, looked at each other and smiled. From the perspective of others, their interaction hinted a sense of collusion.

When everyone had left the testing ground, Lieutenant General Endorph of Steinberger family pulled Torry to one side.

“Young man, we need to talk! I have seen the power of the fortress cannons, but you haven’t talked about the precautionary matter when using the cannon.”

Torry patted the Lieutenant General’s shoulder. “Of course we will talk about it. Just as you said, the fortress cannons have a complicated precautionary matter related to its usage! First, when your cannon unit does not plan to use them, you must place them in a clean and dry place. Also, ‘cannon cloth’ must be put over them! Dirt and a wet environment will cause danger when using them.”

Lieutenant General had even prepared Kraft paper and quill pen. He used his hands to hold the paper and record what Torry explained in lightning speed.

“Secondly, you must treat them like your own children. They can’t get too cold or too hot. They can’t come near to fire and can’t stand rain and snow.”

“On top of that, firing! Don’t think that the firing process is as simple as a few steps. If things go wrong, there’s only one result: cannons are destroyed and people die! So you must be extra careful during the firing process! The people carrying the ammunition must not be disabled. The ones who clean the barrel must not be too strong. The people who fill the gunpowder and connect the line must not be a mathematics idiot. If they fell or pushed too hard or made a mistake with the amount of gunpowder…. Hehe. Cannons are destroyed and people die!”

“Next, it is the problem about the distance between each firing! The quality of the barrel can withstand twenty-nine continuous shots. Remember! It’s twenty-nine! Not twenty-eight nor thirty! It’s the number in between! After this, you must stop firing and wait for the barrel to cool down naturally. You must remember this! Don’t think that you can use the snow to cool it since it’s winter now. In that way, your cannons are as well as destroyed! If you can’t wait that long, then the remaining temperature of the barrel will be too high. When you tried to carry out firing again, I am sorry! Cannons are destroyed and people die!”

“And then, it comes to the problem with the setting of the cannon base. Don’t worry about this! Amongst the people that I will bring includes experienced designers and architects. They will tell you at which place the cannon base should be set up and how to build it. There’s only one thing you should note here: it is to not move the cannons as you like. They must be fixed on the base. If you move these big guys as you like according to the needs of battle, then once the inner parts of these cannons happen to go out of their place, I am extremely sorry! The next time you fire them, the cannons will be destroyed and people will die!”

Torry who had been talking non-stop could not help but stop when he said this. He finally noticed the expression of Lieutenant General Endorph. Apparently, this General had stopped recording since a while ago. He was simply staring at the major of the Sukhoi family!

“I am sorry! Was I too fast?” Torry scratched his head.

The stunned Lieutenant General Endorph finally came back to his senses!

“Oh no! No! I am just…. To be honest! In your opinion, this thing….. is this thing suitable for actual battle? Its usual maintenance is already a pain! If a war truly broke out, they must have a fixed firing rate and time lag. This…. This all shows that they… will not be a lot of help! They can only make a small impact on the attack units! Moreover… what if it rains or we have to battle in the snow, then….. Am I supposed to hide them in my bedroom and then defend against the enemy?”

Facing the question of a war veteran, Torry began to stutter.

“Oh… Urgh… This….. That….. Ahh… Hmm!”

“Please! What are you trying to say?”

Torry scratched his head. “What I am trying to say is that….. Except that it is a little unthinkable to hide them in the bedroom, most of the things that you mentioned are all true!”

Endorph lowered his head and sighed. “I can’t believe this! The first badge of cannons that we put so much effort into getting our hands on them from the Army Division is actually a bunch of useless things!”

Torry smilingly held the Lieutenant General’s shoulder. He began to express his scoundrel nature.

“Alright alright! This is the first badge of fortress cannons in the military history of the Empire after all. Didn’t you say so yourself? You complain to me, so I will complain to my father and my father will complain to the Empire’s Army Division of the higher level. Things are just like this. No complaints mean no improvement! You bring these babies home then feed them well! When the time comes, these fatty kids will not disappoint you!”

Endorph looked at the cannons unit base at a distance away. He made a sad expression and sighed again. “Yes! Yes! Young friend, what more can we complain about? I hope these fatty kids won’t have any sudden problems!”

Torry nodded. “You are right! But I must remind you that there’s only one such situation!”

“Don’t tell me it’s ‘Cannons will be destroyed and people will die’?” Endorph was near to his breaking point!

Torry shrugged and spread his palms. “You are right. This is the conclusion of testing. There shouldn’t be any other situation.”

Endorph could not hold it in anymore. He lay down on the snowy ground.

**************************************************

Pinehill Peak glowed in the moonlight. From a col a distance away from the peak, if you walked along the curvy mountain roads, you would find numerous caves that were wide open like fierce beasts. They would breathe out a hellish aura at you. If you pause to listen for a while, the mountain wind would screech through the caves, but the sound of ironwork can be easily distinguished. In the far depths of these caves, lies most secretive ironwork factory of the Sukhoi family.

There were numerous crossroads in the caves. Sukhoi did not arrange for guards at the caves because those who were not familiar with the geography would have a hard time looking for the correct route towards the ironwork chamber in the caves. Getting lost was normal here. In these complicated routes in total blackness lay countless bodies of spies and adventurers. So, don’t be surprised if you found white bones sometimes because this was not murder. It was simply the give and take of nature. If you had bad luck, you would naturally be abandoned by the God.

This was a solutional cave that was formed by the cooling of lava. At its surface, there was a pool of hot spring water that spewed steam. It also had a circular patio of around ten meters wide in diameter. Moonlight glistened over the area nonchalantly and illuminated the hot spring water, forming a bright, white and thick pillar of light in the steam. This pillar of light pointed straight at the top of the cave. There were strange and alien rocks all around this solutional cave. Only a small crack at the opening allowed a person to pass through.

Oscar followed the light of the fire torch closely. He hesitated for a while in front of the crack. But when the firelight was about to disappear, the young Prince quickly forced his body through this narrow crack.

“How is this place?” Vijdeline made a twirl beside the hot spring water. After flowing in the wind, her beautiful dress fell back nicely to accentuate its master’s body curves.

Oscar shrugged. “This is a good place to have a date, but… My organs are almost squeezed out from the protruding rocks when coming into here.”

Lady Vij laughed. “It’s because your small tummy takes up too much space. Promise me to get rid of that fat quickly!”

Oscar spread his hands nonchalantly. “Hearing from you! Look at yourself. Your bra is almost worn out. They are the things that truly take up space.”

Vijdeline placed the torch on the ground. She gracefully walked towards the young Prince. The Lady used her hands to cup her breasts. Along with the pressure she applied, the already full breasts were made fuller to a new extent!

Oscar pursed his lips tightly. He admitted that the Lady’s action caused an urge in him to commit sins, but no matter what. The Prince was convinced the Vijdeline was a bitch.

“You’re saying that….. They are very large?” Lady Vij’s voice was extremely light!

Oscar buried his head into the large breasts in front of him. He mumbled something dazedly.

“What did you say?” Vijdeline held the man’s head up from her embrace. She lovingly touched the man’s hair.

“I said… Why did you lie to me?” Oscar opened his lost eyes. To be honest, even though he had already reached a conclusion about the nature of this Lady in his heart, there was still another voice in him that reminded him that this conclusion was wrong.

“I think…. I am in love with you!” Right after Vij finished her words, she was pushed backward by the Prince in a large force.

“This is not the correct answer to the question! Tell me? About the Hoillanders and Engels. Why did you lie to me about these problems?”

“Did I?” Vij leaned against the wall of the solutional cave. She was not at all angry. “What I am saying is the development trend that is most correct. The metal reserve of Engels Kingdom was not much. Mining is also very difficult for them. As compared to other resources in the country, it is much more depleted. They must expand their survival space into a foreign country. The fire weaponized navy is the only path for this Kingdom to join in the fight. As for the Hoilland Kingdom, its sea trade has almost matured and is waiting to be further developed. Its problem with Engels and West Percy is increasingly dangerously day after day. If they do not expand the use of fire weapons, Hoilland has no chance of survival surrounded by strong countries!”

The Lady took a breath. “I want to ask! Your Highness, where have I been wrong? And in what way has I lied to you?”

Oscar stared into Vijdeline’s eyes without turning away. “Time! Time is the most important question! You lied to me on this important question! You let me believe that my family had no room to develop. You let me believe that my family will fall into the dangerous situation of falling apart during the age of war when fire weapon is focused! Lady Sukhoi, I admit that your strategy has succeeded! Even though I have just came to understand this.”

Vijdeline stood in front of O’Neil Andrew Morisette. In her eyes were immeasurable confidence.

“Your Highness! Am I wrong? Even though fire weapons have become popular throughout the whole land, do you think the Morisette Imperial family would still be the strong support for Andrew when the Persian was getting weaker every day? Would they still arm Andrew during that time? Do you think the Morisette Imperial family would be willing to see the Narcissus Knights who have their own cannon units and soldiers armed with fire guns? You are a member of Andrew and also a member of the imperial family. You should be clearer than me about this!”

Oscar could not say anything in return suddenly. This Lady was just as he described. Far-sighted! Intelligent!

After a while, the Prince squeezed a word out of his mouth.

“Andrew…. Still has time!”

Vijdeline nodded. “Yes! Andrew still, in fact, has time. But can you add a limit to this time? A century? Two centuries? I can see from the change in the number of weapons bought by the Andrew family that the Narcissus Knights are having the upper hands in the war with Persians! How much time do you think the Morisette Imperial family will give your family to arm your soldiers with fire weapons? To be frank! Andrew! From now onwards, they can only maintain their long-winning record through their own effort. The support from the Empire will become less and less just like the attacks of the Persian until there is nothing left!”

Oscar was taking deep breaths! He was managing his muscles and his pulse rate! At the shadows the Lady could not see, this Prince was already holding the small knife that had poison on it in his hands. In front of O’Neil Andrew Morisette was a devil that could destroy both heaven and earth. Even though this devil had the perfect logic and body that brought out infinite imagination by people, but clearing the threat by this devil and forever let her go to hell was not such a difficult thing to do!

Oscar did not understand! Why was he hesitating? He could not completely understand a monster that he could not see through! She could not be allowed to live in this world! This was the truth! For him and the benefit of the family! The woman in front of him was too terrifying! Destroy her! Destroy her! But…. But why would he hesitate now? The young Prince held his knife tightly. He already could not care about the consequence of his murder being known by others! Destroy her! Completely destroy her! This voice finally grasped the whole mind of O’Neil Andrew Morisette!

Vijdeline reached her hand into her large fur jacket. Just when Oscar was about to attack her, the Lady took out an indescribable thing.

Oscar’s gaze stopped at this thing that he had never seen before. He could clearly felt his strong heartbeat calming down! The Prince adjusted his stiff expression. His hands had already left that weapon that was held behind his waist! With Vijdeline’s intelligence, she would not be completely careless against this dangerous man. The thing in her hands was the best evidence! Oscar believed that that elegantly-made thing was a light-weight fire weapon.

Vijdeline held this light-weight fire weapon in her hands lightly. Oscar did not even dare to move. Would knife be faster than the fire weapon? He did not dare to wage on this! Actually, he believed that even trying seemed stupid and unnecessary.

“I heard that…. You’re leaving tomorrow?” The Lady’s words hinted a softness that had never shown itself before. “Look at this!”

Along with Vijdeline’s actions, Oscar finally stopped his intention to have a go at it completely. This was, in fact, a light-weight fire weapon. To be more specific, this was a light-weight fire gun! Its outer look was extremely similar to hand cannons that Oscar had seen before. Just that its size was one-fourth of that of the hand cannon. Vijdeline put a lead ball of three to four millimeters in diameter into the barrel of the fire gun. Then, she used a small bottle to fill in the gunpowder at the spring parts at the back part of the fire gun. After that, the Lady pulled the slide to its firing position.

Out of Oscar’s expectation, Vijdeline slowly turned the mouth of the gun towards herself after completing all these steps.

“I call it the Delin Type Firearm. You can see that even though its loading process is slower, but you can test its power. You can…. Use this rear sight near the mouth of the gun to aim at the target, then hold the gun just as I did earlier. Lastly, pull the trigger! I believe that you can take a person’s life within twenty meters!”

Oscar’s movement of taking the firearm was extremely slow. He did not understand, but at the same time seemed to understand something.

“You….” The Prince did not know what he wanted to say.

“This is a good weapon for defense. It has never left my side since I built it. Now I am giving it to you! It is normal for the God-chosen warrior to get into life-and-death battle. I do not want to live a life with no one to lean on in the future!”

Oscar looked at the weapon in his hands and then at the quiet Vij. All of a sudden! The man raised his gun in a sudden movement. Under the surprised gaze of the woman, he pulled the trigger.

The blast woke the group of bats at the top of the cave. These messengers from hell stretched their devil’s wings! Along with the screeching noise and the echo of the sound of the gun, the strange yelling of the messengers rose! As if….. it’d taken away the soul that originally belonged to hell!

Oscar stood alone. At his feet lay a beautiful woman. A thin line of blood slowly flowed out from amidst long golden hair. Vijdeline Van Sukhoi had gone completely silent.