"Church’s year 797, the 8th day of the 2nd month. It was the fourth day since I stayed at the Grizzly Fortress. Today, I am finally able to get to know of the secret testing ground of the Sukhoi family. It’s no wonder why there is no furnace and ironwork factory at the Grizzly Fortress. It’s because the people of Sukhoi had emptied that dead volcano behind the fortress in a period of two centuries. The blacksmiths of this family utilized the fiery underground lava in the mountains to melt metal and produce all sorts of excellent weapons. Of course, after two hundred years, this is no secret to the spies in every country. It’s only that I just knew about it."
"Church’s year 797, the 9th day of the 2nd month. The letter I wrote for father had finally been sent out. I used three days to write this long letter that had more than ten thousand words. It is only to deliver a truth to father and the family: Even though the dawn of the age of fire weapon is a long journey, the armed forces of the Narcissus County must find a new road to develop from its previous fundamentals!"
"Church’s year 797, the 10th day of the 2nd month. I have been waiting for so long. Krapitch’s Second Division of the Fourth Corps, Eleventh Military District finally appeared at the side of Sui Mountain, which is far away from the Grizzly Fortress. If Krapitch took the night route, we will be able to meet each other in the afternoon tomorrow. This is truly something worth celebrating! Oh right! Today I received the joint letter sent by Sasha and Antonia. Oh, God of Light! Everything seems to be getting better!"
"Church’s year 797, the 11th day of the 2nd month. For a whole week, I finally have a basic understanding of the Sukhoi family, one of the Northern Big Three. Let’s not talk about Vijdeline. She is definitely an odd one! Also, she keeps avoiding me! So I can only observe other members of this family. I realized that they are the combination of hedonism and materialism. So there is only a small part of people that are bearing the responsibility of taking of their family’s firearms business. Another part of the family only exists in this world to waste money. If I disregard the expenses of the people of Sukhoi, and let’s just consider the Harp Palace. I estimated for a bit: even if this Palace is the belonging of the imperial family, Sukhoi had still nevertheless paid an astronomical amount of gold coins for the decoration of the Palace every year! In the future... If I don’t have enough money to spend, I wish the people of Sukhoi will still be so generous!"
Gazing at the moon at the arched platform by the cliff was supposed to be a relaxing thing to so. Actually, even though it was only five in the afternoon, the sky had already gone dark. Save for some residual heat left, the sun had taken away all colors between the sky and the earth. The moon hung lowly on the sky. Its body was accompanied by the giant cloud of stars of Sagittarius. Not long after, the moon slipped into Orion. Following that, a piece of weirdly-shaped cloud swept through the sky and the moon completely disappeared.
What does the young man of Sukhoi family love to do? Oscar finally understood why Torry’s character became the way he was. The Prince believed that the primary reason was that the people of Sukhoi loved to party. They loved the party that was free and without limitations.
Today was the birthday of a Sukhoi Viscount as well as a day suitable for gathering. On top of that, it was a place suitable for a good party! After the old men had given their blessings, they left the small mansion. They had all been young once, so they knew what the young men in the mansion would do. Even though these old men excitedly looked forward to it, their energy and healthy body had completely depleted during their youth! Even though the youngsters who rested in bed even before middle age were not the specialty of the Sukhoi family, there seemed to be a lot of this kind of people in this family.
There were approximately twenty rooms in the two floors of the small mansion, but this did not stop the young men from doing their businesses. At the corridor, the junction, the dark bedrooms, the narrow bathroom, every corner was filled with young men and women hugging tightly together. Some of them knew each other for a long time, some just met each other at the party.
At the dining hall of the mansion, the party was still going on. But you should mind your feet as you entered the dining hall. The glass debris and plates all over the floor would unknowingly kill you. The young men who loved the fool around gathered at one place. They were yelling and cheering for a lady who dressed extremely sexily in loud voices.
The host had a pureblood Sukhoi Grizzly Bear. This cute Grizzly was only one year old, but it was an expert at drinking and eating meat. And what was that lady who held her skirt and stood on the table about to do? It was actually a wager of the host. The Grizzly Bear and the girl each held a bottle of strong Whisky in their hands. Whoever could down it wins. If the girl won, she would receive a gold jewelry of three hundred grams; if the bear won, the girl would spend a good night with all men present here.
Behind the wide open floor-to-ceiling window, Oscar and Paul silently watched everything that transpired in front of them. Hehe. The girl had already thrown up very badly, yet the bear was still holding the wine bottle! She suffered a great loss. The young men of the Sukhoi family and their friends happily held the girl up. A pale guy then put the girl on a table and then relieved his belt as if no one was beside him. Today was his birthday. He totally had the privilege of enjoying this unconscious sleeping beauty first!
Oscar turned his head away. He sighed. As compared to these people, Walking Stick Torry was, in fact, a gentleman! This was one hell of an understanding.
Below the platform across the garden was the cliff. It was freezing here. Oscar and Paul carefully avoided those girls who had their clothes wide open and showing off the two ‘grapes’ on their chest. The Prince knew that there was no proper girl amongst these people. The ladies and Madame of the Sukhoi family had their fixed lovers. They all hid in warm rooms. Meanwhile, those in the hall and the garden were all actresses and women singers. In other words, they were all people who used their body to earn a living.
"Paul, who invited me?" Oscar doubtfully looked at his temporary secretary.
"Er… Generally… It is an exquisite invitation that has Sukhoi family crest."
"That is to say… You did not take note of the signature on the invitation?" The Prince had his eyes wide open.
"That is… That is… An invitation that has a golden crest."
"Oh, God of Light!" Oscar held his forehead, "Look at what kind of place you brought me to! Look at those people and those women! This is a complete orgy party. What do you want me to do now? Look at the moon? Or taste the wind?"
Paul scratched his head. He truly did not know there would be people who used such formal invitation to invite the Prince of this Empire to participate in this sort of gathering.
"If I apologize to you now… Will you accept it?"
Oscar tiredly rolled his eyes at the King of Assassins, "Or else what can I do? Isolate you? Why are you standing here? Get the carriage! We have to leave this damned place quickly!"
"Are you about to leave?" Behind the bush in the garden, a pleasant woman’s voice could be heard suddenly.
Oscar turned his head in surprise. Paul was cautious as well. From the sound of the footsteps, there were more than one person at that direction.
Two people came out of the bush. A man and a woman. The woman had a tall figure and her posture graceful; the man was exceptionally tall and well-built, but the pock on his face was extremely displeasing.
"Your Highness, I suggest that you stay here. Maybe… You will have unexpected gains the next moment," Lady Vijdeline Van Sukhoi said as she took off her felt cap on her leather cape.
Oscar kissed the back of Vijdeline’s hand. Even though he did not show much expression, the young Prince knew that he was beyond happy. If… Lady Vij wanted to discuss some matters with him, then there was no need to choose such a misleading place in the first place, "Maybe this Lady is about to open a check for him!" Oscar excitedly thought about this.
"Your Highness, do you mind accompanying him upstairs? This is not a place to talk. I am about to freeze to death!" Vijdeline took back her slightly shivering hand.
"Ola! This is my fault!" Oscar quickly turned his body to one side with the mansion at his back.
Vijdeline casually spread her hands at the tall man with pocks beside her. "This is Viesharl, the master of this mansion. You can call him Flea."
"Flea?" Oscar took a glance at the man. Such a weird nickname!
The Prince flashed a smile, "Hehe! I already met this Sir at the dining hall of the mansion."
The 'Flea' took one step forward and bowed respectfully to the Prince, "Your Highness. Lady. Please, this way."
At the side of the rooms of the small mansion, there was a wall of trees in the garden. The big Viesharl took a lot of effort to open up a road between the walls of trees. Oscar smiled a little. A hidden staircase could be seen now behind the walls. The stairs twisted and turned, leading to the top floor of the mansion.
"The floor is slippery. Your Highness, Lady, please take note of the ice frost on the stone stairs. This place is very isolated. Usually, no one will come to this place! Please be rest assured. No one will disturb you here." Flea said as he lighted up the stairs with his lamp.
Along with the sound of the key, Viesharl opened the door of the top floor in surprise, "What is this? Why isn’t the door locked?"
At the light of the lamp, a woman’s scream and the cursing of a man could be heard in the room.
Vijdeline, who was a little frustrated, used the tip of her boots to step on Flea’s foot heavily. "Damn you! Didn’t you say no one would come here?"
Flea showed a bitter expression. Mistress’s stomp was not comparable to anyone's! Viesharl, who had no other choice, could only express his frustration at the top floor. He raised lamp with a twisted expression. "Who is fooling around here? Get out of here now!"
"You stinking Flea! Can’t you leave us in peace?" The man wore his shirt as he walked towards the door. Using the light of the lamp, he could quickly recognize the Lady who was blocking at the door. Just like a frightened thief, this kid, who was still happy just now, stuck close to the wall immediately. He was frightened to the point he was trembling.
"L-Lady… Oh no! M… Mistress!"
"Where is the other one?" Vijdeline’s voice was extremely cold now.
A lady whose dress was messed up walked into the light.
"Vij… Sister Vij!"
"Don’t call me sister!" Vij leaned against the door, distasted. "You are blood-related brother and sister! Look at you guys! Is this a show? Go back to your home to mess around!"
This sibling bowed to the Mistress hurriedly. They thought they were lucky. If this matter was found out by others, they would definitely be punished by the family.
The wall of trees shuffled. After making sure that the troublesome people had gone further away, Vij turned to Flea who was standing respectfully by the side with a cold face.
"Shut them up."
Viesharl frowned in difficulty, "Lady, they are members of the family after all. Just a warning should be…" Big Flea, who wanted to help those two young people, met the gaze of the Mistress. He subconsciously shivered!
"Yes… Yes, Mistress! They won’t speak anymore before the dark came. Please be rest assured!" Flea changed what he said. He already knew no one could alter the fate of that siblings.
Vij nodded coldly. She took the lamp from the hands of Viesharl, then he shut Paul and her attendant outside of the door. When this beautiful lady turned around, Oscar, who was silent all this while, saw a smile that was exceptionally beautiful like an Edelweiss.
"I apologize, Your Highness. You saw it. Corrupted, fallen, indulgent couple! It’s enough! The bigger the family business, the more these piles of rubbish exist!"
Oscar sat on the only bed in the room. He gazed at the Lady who was leaning against the door with a smile. He was already sure that he was going to have some good luck!
"Vij, you must come visit Narcissus County if you have the chance! I believe Andrew’s way of managing the family will give you some idea of it."
"Yes! I believe so!" The lady walked over. She placed the lamp on the small chest drawer by the bedside, "The Andrews have always been called the God-chosen warriors! I want to have a look at his courage and power!"
Oscar placed his hands backward on the bed. He did not say anything. He simply looked playfully at this strange lady who was brave and meticulous yet cruel like a Grizzly bear.
Vij relieved the button on the leather jacket and the soft coat dropped to the floor. It was no wonder that this lady was freezing in the garden. She only wore a cotton dress under her coat. The Lady easily pulled her white sleeves off. She raised her skirt without any embarrassment, then took off her underwear. Then now the honorable Lady Vijdeline was completely naked. Even though the man in front of her had not seen her most secretive place, Vij knew that she looked no different than those lowly women in the dining hall of the mansion. Upon thinking this, Vij finally stopped her action, her face slightly burning.
Oscar would not be embarrassed! He enjoyed the naked body in front of him fully. The young Prince held the Lady’s beautiful thigh and placed it by his side. This way, the shivering Vij became even closer to him.
"Is this a check with no end date that can be converted anytime? Or is this a fixed amount check that is saved for a long period?" Oscar raised his head. He met the gaze of the Lady that was dazed yet determined.
"Ask the bank!" Vij jumped on the bed. She used her beautiful legs to hold onto the Prince’s waist and pressed her red lips on the mouth of this honorable young man.
After a series of crazy kisses, Vijdeline finally could breathe. She took deep breaths as she tasted the saliva of O’Neil Andrew Morisette. It seemed that… There was no taste that she found bad.
The Lady was held sitting on the lap of the man. She lowered her head to relieve the button of clothes that held her breast.
"Don’t think that I am an easy girl. I already passed the age of imagining and dreaming!"
Oscar used both of his hands and carried the white and huge breasts of the girl, "That is to say what I am getting is a proof of confidence?"
Vijdeline smiled cunningly, "I said. Ask the bank!"
Oscar turned over and pressed the Lady under him. "Little guy, I will make you admit it!"
After that, the woman’s soft breath could be heard from the room. Then, the sound of the heavy breathing of the man could be heard. A pale big hand ran up and down the naked back of the woman. The woman’s leg was raised high and stretched open, embarrassed. The man pressed on her. The woman reached out her hand and quickly found the hard part of the man! But the man seemed to be in no hurry. No matter how the woman touched him, he did not want to enter the passage that led to happiness.
"Please! I do not have much time!" The prideful Lady told him lightly, "My father is very strict. I escaped his watch with much difficulty. So… Please! Quickly!"
Oscar raised his head from the snow mountain. There was still a string of silver saliva connecting Vijdeline’s breast to the edge of his mouth.
"Then please tell me! What is this?" Oscar held his hard part. He kept rubbing it at the source of happiness of this lady.
"Oh god! You devil!" Vijdeline trembled violently. She held the man’s body tightly and bit the man’s shoulder strongly with her teeth.
"Alright! Your win! You are right! This is our proof of confidence! You have my promise!"
Oscar pressed Vij’s curled up body back to the bed. Now that he received her promise, then…
"What is this? You… You should’ve told me!" Oscar looked at the connecting place between Lady Sukhoi and stared into the eyes
eyes of the sexy Mistress. The touch of the body would not lie. When the Prince entered her, he met a poor disturbance. This slight resistance told Oscar that it was the symbol of virginity. The lady under him was not as crazy as she seemed to be.
"I… already told you! I was not an easy… girl!" Vijdeline gritted her teeth. This feeling of being pierced open was not fun, "What are you waiting for?"
Oscar kissed the Lady’s lips with pity. He must rearrange his attitude towards the girl beneath him. She was a virgin. This showed that when the holy first night came, the Gods would be with her at the faraway heaven. When the date of marriage arrived, the God of Light would praise love and blessed the couple. When a person betrayed the other, the God of Light would send curses and diseases to that person. The description in the Holy Bible was of no laughing matter. Toward such action of fulfilling the duty of after-marriage before marriage, the servants of the Gods had rights to judge upon both the man and woman according to how bad the situation was.
Towards a Prince and a Lady, such coming together could be seen as the promise between each other or simply fun for a while. But no matter what, if such matter was spread amongst the high-tier society, then it was a catastrophe for both the man and woman! Especially the Lady, she had not for a single moment forgotten that the man who held her was the fiancé of the Princess of the Empire. And that Princess was known for her absolute way of doing things!
"Ha… Ha… Ha…" Oscar was breathing heavily just like a drunken bull. It was just like the mountain behind them. He had already released all his life and energy during the intense intercourse. "Listen… Listen! What… What is that sound?"
Vijdeline turned her head towards the direction of the window of the top floor. Her sweat beads were evaporating. Between her legs flowed blood and bodily fluid that represented desire.
"What are you saying?" Vijdeline was not at all fully conscious yet. She lied on Oscar’s arm and stuck her hot body on the young Prince who held her. It was as if she wanted to melt into his body and became his bone and blood.
"Listen! The horns. Intense horns!" Oscar turned his head again towards the direction of the window. "Listen… It’s here again! Two long ones, two short ones followed by a long one. What do they mean?"
Vijdeline finally raised her head from the man’s arm. She began to identify the sound of horns carefully.
"Damn it!" The Lady jumped off the bed in a sudden movement and began wearing her clothes in lightning speed. "Damn it! Why is there a war alert? Why would the Fort Tower blow the war alert? Oh my god! The last time I heard this sound of the horn was when I was still little."
Oscar also realized the seriousness of this problem. He also dressed up quickly.
As expected, just when both of them were dressed properly, Flea’s voice rang from outside of the door.
"Lady! The Duke’s messenger is waiting for you at the carriage!"
Vijdeline opened the door but returned to kiss Oscar on the lips. This Lady ran down the stairs with a series of cheerful laughter. At the walls of trees, Lady Vij who just became a woman did not forget to send flying kisses to her young lover.
"My dear! You should walk the other side. Don’t let anyone see you!"
Oscar placed both his arms at the balcony near the stairs. He waved his hands at the beautiful woman who became gradually cheerful.
Vij went over the walls of trees and happily raised her skirt and did two and a half rotation with the dance step of a waltz.
"Hehe!" Oscar laughed lightly at the figure of the Lady, but he immediately stopped his smiling expression. The Prince turned to Paul, "Check if the blood on this napkin is animal blood or human blood."
"You mean… She… bled?" Paul had his eyes wide open.
Oscar nodded, "There’s nothing strange to this. Many bitches like to fake chastity films with the urine bubble in a sheep’s urinary bladder on their first night of marriage. Then they will cut open a small blood vessel. The men are so happy when they saw fresh red on the white napkin. In reality, they have no idea that their wife has been pregnant for five times and has undergone abortion for four times! There is also an illegitimate child in her hometown!"
Paul looked suspiciously at the Prince. This guy seemed to be… seemed to be abnormal!
"You… Don’t believe in that Lady?"
"Why will I do so?" Oscar asked him back tiredly. At the same time, he put the white napkin with a few drops of red blood in Snowstorm’s pocket. The King of Assassin pulled it out, flustered. He stared at little Oscar’s back. Paul took the white napkin with a strange smell far away from himself. He said to himself unwillingly, "This damn kid. He wasn’t even happy when he took advantage of such good thing!"
The war alert completely changed Grizzly Fortress! The soldiers placed the gigantic rocks that were already prepared in the tunnel on the trailer of the Trebuchet; every warrior at the arrow tower pulled their bow wide with the arrows pointing straight at the opening near the gate of the fortress. After the alert went off, the fortress began the control of light. Grizzly was deprived of all light. The warriors running and moving around the wall of the fortress could only utilize the moonlight reflected on their weapon to barely find their way forward.
Finally, everything became quiet.
"What happened?" Oscar first went into the Fort Tower located on the top floor of the city gate, followed by a group of Red Tiger’s military officers.
"Oh, Your Highness, you came just on the right time!" Duke Roleighanc quickly pulled the Prince towards the window, "Look, is that the whole unit of Infantry Division you are talking about?"
Oscar took a glance at the mountain road. He almost laughed out loud. Numerous fire holders formed a line of burning light. They were advancing forward between the mountains and cliffs. The fire holders created thick smoke. These smoke formed circles of obscure light in the cold night. The moonlight shone on them. The fire and smoke became a haze under the white moonlight.
Oscar truly did not know how to describe this leader of ninety thousands of warriors, "Sir Duke, did you not notice about the amount of fire there is? That is not the light created by a unit of an infantry division. In my opinion, this is possibly a whole unit of Corps."
After saying this, Oscar did not forget to look back at his Red Tiger military officers. Murat and a few Group leader nodded. They knew the Prince’s estimation was not far from the actual situation.
"A... A whole unit of Infantry Corps?" Duke Roleighanc became nervous. He kept looking at his log book, but he truly could not find any order regarding taking care of a whole infantry corps.
This leader of the Sukhoi family looked at those fire that kept closing in on the fortress in confusion, "What should I do? There is no document nor any notice indicating that an infantry corps will visit my fortress at this time. Who are these people?"
Oscar shrugged. There was no war at the time. The unfriendly Deiss people was also five hundred kilometers away from them. He truly could not understand what Duke Sukhoi was worrying about.
"Report!" Finally, a messenger came into the Fort Tower. "This is their official document for entry!"
"Read it!" Duke Roleighanc waved his hand impatiently.
The messenger quickly opened the letter, "To the head of Sukhoi family and every member in the administrative level, due to the many reasons of weather, road situation and transportation, my department decided to take the experiment samples of the certain program earlier than previously stated. For this reason, the First Individual Infantry Brigade of Loantz Front is ordered to provide aid to your transporting unit. Your cooperation is appreciated!"
"Signed by… Old friend. Without thanks! The General of the Empire. Carlangh Steinberger!"
After reading this, the messenger handed the letter to the Duke.
The Prince’s messenger excitedly came closer and spoke into Oscar’s ears with trembled voice, "Your Highness,
"Your Highness, that is the letter from my father. Loantz Front’s First Independent Brigade is led and commanded by my uncle Endorph."
Roleighanc carefully checked the handwriting and the stamp on the bottom. Finally, he nodded. Almost immediately, the Sukhoi military officers in the whole room let off a sigh of relief.
"Rid of the alert and the war flag. Change it to the family’s Harp Flag." The Duke instructed his military officers as usual. "Then… Open up the iron chain that controls the hanging gate. We are about to welcome our guest!"
The messenger took a few steps back politely. He faced the young Imperial Envoy.
"Your Highness, here is another entry document of another unit. Please take a look at it."
Oscar happily laid the letter open, "As expected of Krapitch Drake! He was late for a total day than what I have expected. Don’t forget to kick his ass later!"
Murat and a few Red Tiger Division leader all laughed. This was truly a matter worth celebrating. The Red Tiger was about to embark on their new journey!
"Let’s go together!" Oscar could already hear the metal clanging from the hanging gate of the fortress.
"Division Leader of the Second Division, Fourth Corps of the Empire’s Eleventh Military District Colonel Krapitch Drake salute to His Imperial Highness Prince O’Neil and Sir Duke Sukhoi."
Oscar pulled out the straight arms of Krapitch and hugged his old friend tightly. Maybe this was not enough. The Prince passionately kissed his old friend’s cheeks.
"Sir Division Leader, how was the journey? Look at the snow on you!"
"Your Highness, be rest assured. Everything went well during the journey! It’s just that… Guess who I met yesterday at the mountain?" Krapitch wanted Oscar to guess.
Oscar gazed at the Brigade Leader who was talking to Duke Sukhoi at one side. "Wasn’t it the Border guards of the Steinberger family? I already knew about this."
"No! Your Highness! You definitely would not guess who I met! Look!" Krapitch smiled as he turned to one side.
A Sukhoi military officer who had been hiding behind the Colonel walked into everyone’s sight.
"Torry!" Oscar took a while to recognize the person. He let out an exaggerated yell!
Torry did not go up to the passionate Prince. He made his uniform’s neckline neat. "Dear Your Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette, Major Tove Van Sukhoi of the Guards salute to you!"
Oscar had to return the salutation to "Mr. Walking Stick" in front of everyone, but he immediately took hold of Torry’s neck in the next moment!
"You damn kid! Save it! Aren’t you coming back next week? Thank god! I thought I was going to miss the chance of meeting you, you jerk."
Upon seeing his second son, Duke Roleighanc came over in surprise. "Hey! Look at this! Little jerk, who gave you the orders to come back?"
Torry quickly got rid of Oscar’s hug.
"Father, look. Those trial product given to the Steinberger family are all produced from my testing ground. Now that the people want to take their orders, how can I not return them? I have brought all the supply cart and workers. Now I am simply waiting for you to pass the products to them. Then, I will follow the Steinberger family’s unit on their journey!"
Oscar blinked. Upon hearing Torry’s words, a new thought popped into the Prince’s head.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!" The messenger Wellington Steinberger came jumping in like a small deer. "Your Highness, please allow me to introduce you to my uncle! Lieutenant General Endorph Diaphise, the Brigade Leader of Loantz’s Individual First Brigade that is the hero unit among the family’s Border Guards battle."
Oscar took note of this Sir Lieutenant General Brigade Leader who was standing straight and saluting to him. According to the description of the Titan Law, only the nobles who had titles above Marquis locally could build an Independent Brigade. That was to say that this unit was the private armed forces of Lieutenant General Endorph.
"Good day, General! It is very nice to meet you!" Oscar greeted him with dignity.
Endorph simply nodded slightly before retreating to the side. When he was standing, he still kept a proper military posture. Oscar could see that this quiet General was the same as his military consultant who was always serious. They were occupational soldiers that were affected by their level and military status.
Setting up parties and balls! This was afraid to be the only thing Sukhoi family was better at doing than creating weapon! Even though most of the Sukhoi people had already enjoyed their dinner, the party to welcome the guest would still have its share of wine and rice. They seemed not to care about the capacity of their stomachs. They drank strong liquor one glass after another and kept having delicious things in their mouths.
Oscar was extremely curious. Why would no one talk about what kind of product the Steinberger family was taking? He asked Wellington, but the messenger’s answer was extremely blurry. He said his uncle simply told him it was a type of new weapon used as a fortress defense mechanism. The overall matter was not mentioned at all.
Oscar turned his head and asked Torry, who actually did not say anything. He simply used his fork to point at his father. In fact, Duke Sukhoi was glaring dangerously at their direction.
Oscar who had no other choice could only focus on his food. He would sometimes take a few glances at the door of the dining hall, but he could not see Vijdeline anywhere. The lamp, the beautiful legs, the flat stomach, and the wonderful groin. Everything was simply mesmerizing! Oscar’s eyes were a little dazed. He suddenly thought of the napkin Snowstorm took away. Maybe… He was not in doubt. He was simply afraid to know of the truth.
"This is to say… I am in love with her?" Oscar thought about this difficult question. "Or else... Why would I be so concerned over her sincerity?"
All of a sudden! The door of the dining hall was slammed open by a careless man! The people in the house let out surprised exclamations, especially Duke Sukhoi who acted as the head of the family. He was so furious that his mustache was shaking. When this sobbing young man spoke of his intention, the people of Sukhoi present here had already fallen into a grieving atmosphere.
"What did you say? Say it once more?" A middle-aged woman held the young man’s arm tightly.
The young man was already crying now. "Aunt! I am sorry! Your carriage fell from the cliff. Your son and daughter were in that carriage. Who knows why they were up in the mountain so late at night?"
The woman cried before she fainted! It seemed that the party had finished for the day. Duke Sukhoi apologized to his guest as he must accompany that Madame to take care of the matter of their family members. It appeared that the Duke was not going to get any sleep tonight!
Just when Torry was about to leave with his family, Oscar stopped him.
"Little jerk, this is not your matter! Stay here! Or else your sister will be very unhappy!"
Torry was a smart person. Even though he sat down obediently, but he was still in doubt.
"My friend, the one who fell off the cliff are my cousins. They are usually likable. You mean… My sister…"
"No!" Oscar shook his head at Torry, "I didn’t say anything! Especially about how your sister is related to this incident!"
Walking Stick Torry was a jerk. This guy was extremely sensitive with certain things. He had already understood some deeper meaning behind Oscar’s words.
"Hey…" Torry came closer with a smile. Oscar dodged to one side. Even without seeing each other for two years, this dirty smile of the jerk still indicated that something bad was about to happen.
"Listen to me!" Torry came closer again, "A week! You are only here for a week. You actually know of the unknown secret of Sis Vij, who is just like a ghost. I think… You and her…"
"What do you mean by ‘unknown secret’?" Oscar pushed the stinking mouth away from his ears.
"The incident of carriage falling off the cliff! Vijdeline is my sister! I know here since I was born. You think I won’t see that this is her dirty work?"
Oscar took his wine glass impatiently, "Friend. My friend whom I haven’t seen in two years! Can we talk about other things? Why do you always mention Vij?"
Torry nodded. "Alright! Alright! Since you are the Prince and I am only a Major! Old friend, what do you want to talk about?"
"Little jerk! I already asked just now!" Oscar rolled his eyes.
Torry made a hand sign. The servant all went out of the door and, at last, closed the big dining hall.
"Alright! You wanted to know of the product that Steinberger family took from me?" Torry once again came close to the Prince’s ear. "The experimental project carried out by the Empire’s Army Division adjoined with the Empire’s Confidential Department, the fortress canon of 86 milliliter of caliber! Ten of it! It is about to be transported to the Black Forest Fortress at the northwest border. Do you know that? Such things like fortress cannon…"
"Excuse me!" Lieutenant General Endorph of Steinberger family stood up from the seat on the left of the main dining table. "Your Highness, I seemed to hear of a top confidential information of the Empire."
"That is right, Sir Lieutenant General!" Oscar nodded towards the smart Endorph. "I am about to notify you. As the Imperial Envoy appointed by Alfa III His Majesty, I will observe the transportation process of this experimental trial product. That is to say, I myself together with my whole Knights Division and a whole unit of Infantry Division will complete the journey with you. Then, I will visit Steinberger family’s base camp and a few other large-scale soldier camps."
Endorph was stunned for a bit. The suggestion provided by the Prince was one that could not be rejected by a single person. Maybe… This was not a suggestion at all. This was an order! The Lieutenant General took glances at this young Prince. He realized that this person had already somehow emitted a prideful aura that could not be defended against.
"If you have no objection, then this matter is settled!" Oscar motioned for General of Steinberger family to have a sit.
Murat suddenly diverted the conversation. Even though he was not especially close with Torry, there were still a few chances to meet up.
"If the experiment of fortress cannon is not a secret, then Torry, can you give more detail explanation? What kind of concept is a fortress cannon with 86 millimeter in caliber?"
Torry used both his hands to draw a round-shaped mouth of the cannons. Its diameter was around 80 millimeter.
"This is the mouth of the fortress cannon. Just by fixing it at the tower of the fortress or at the strong and stiff wall, the objects within two kilometers in front of it would be its target. Moreover, it was winter now. Until the dry and hot season, the fortress cannon shooting range will also increase."
Murat still wanted to ask, but he was stopped by Oscar. This Prince raised his question quickly.
"Torry, you should not talk about Empire’s confidential information or secrets of the family and all that! Just speak the truth! Until this day… how many cannons have the Sukhoi built?"
Torry pinched his lips tightly in difficulty, but when he saw that his old friends in the dining hall al gave him anticipated gaze, this jerk had to grit his teeth and gave them a few numbers.
"17 fortress cannons, 6 specialized cannons still in the designing stages. However, that is the technique my sister stole from the Engels. The technique has not matured. It’s the semi-product at most!"
Oscar stopped the Narcissus officers’ noise. "You mean, after all these years of studying and designing in your family, you have only produced…"
"No! No!" Torry shook his head. "You don’t understand the difficulty of researching and experimenting. Just the designing job of parts of ignition and excitation had carried on for nine years. And the job of studying the proportion of gunpowder did not have much progress. We still cannot produce such stable gunpowder that the Eastern people used. The risk variable is too high. In addition, the metal producing and melting cannot keep up to par with the research. Twenty years! Seventeen successful products. Those are the combination of all energy in my family!"
"Then… Then…" Oscar suddenly could not speak clearly, "You think… How long does it take to used fire weapon to completely arm the Guards?"
Torry shook his head as if it was a rattle drum!
"Your Highness! This is not a matter of time. It is an impossible task! Take the productivity of my family as an example, to fully arm the Empire’s guards must at least take two centuries! However, if the designing technique is shared among the other two largest arm-producers in the empire, then this time can be done sooner by at least half a century! Yet my sister will never share the technique. If she did, she will not be Vijdeline anymore!"
Oscar knitted his eyebrows. "Why is this so? I thought… I thought the age of sword is soon to be over! What you said… is completely different from what your sister described! She said… the Hoillanders had already begun to build firearm army. And the Engels had already used the fire cannons of the latest technology to equip their battleship."
Torry shook his head that his head was about to fall on the ground!
"I am sorry, Your Highness! No matter for what purpose Sis Vij said that I must admit to you that our generation will definitely not see the dawn of the age of firearm. This is a long-term process. According to what I know, my family’s productivity is at the second place in the whole Westland weapon seller. That is to say, the productivity of the whole land is simply this way. No one is ahead of anyone else."
"But…"
"No!" Torry interrupted the Prince, "There are no buts! Even though the Western Kingdom knew of the existence of the firearm, there are not many countries that possess the resources and human capital to study the production of firearm and weapon. Even though the Hoillanders said that they invented the firearm, but they actually simply recovered the eastern fire weapon that is more advanced than fire pistol. As for the Engels, hehe. Even though their specialized cannons are equipped on their battleship, they could not solve the humidifying problem of the gunpowder at all. So, please do not get worried! Also, the Hoillanders, in fact, do have a unit of firearms, but there is only a pitiful amount of more than ten people. Do you think these ten people and more can defeat the whole Westland?"
Oscar suddenly waved his hands. "Then… The age of firearms… What kind of concept will that be?"
Torry thought about it for a moment. "I think that… This is not a problem of concept. It is rather a problem of socialization. When the manufacturing sector in the whole Westland has reached a certain height of their productivity, only then can firearms overtake the age. But now, what we want to do is to gather technique and human capital to build up a firm foundation for the future, large-scale development."
"That is right!" Murat slammed his hand on the table excitedly, "That is exactly how it is! I have always doubted the words of Lady Vijdeline. A dawn of new age requires the accumulation of experience and capital of the overall community. This is definitely a long and difficult process. How can it be as sudden and without reasoning as she described?"
Torry spread his hands. "Who knows what my sister is thinking? Maybe… She just wanted to scare you Narcissus Knights!"
"No!" Oscar yelled in his heart all of a sudden. "She is simply a far-sighted and intelligent bitch who is daring!"