Ray leaned lazily against the wall once again, squinting his sleepy eyes and watching the well-known "Star Engraving" squad's training exercises. Although he had been assigned to the fortress's internal affairs office, his specific job was to serve the "Star Engraving" squad by fetching tea, delivering water, sweeping floors, and folding blankets. "So, I'm really here to serve the young masters and misses," he thought bitterly as he received his appointment letter. However, he soon discovered the benefits of his job because his file was personally delivered by Officer Elliot, who specifically instructed, "This person is sent by the Marshal." So, his only job now was to sit on the sidelines and pour water for the Star Engraving squad.
"What a happy job! Miss Elodie is about to swing her sword again, and her chest jiggling is so captivating! Princess Anya is chanting spells! Ah, her little mouth is so cute! If that bastard Clomis were here, he'd definitely lose control!" Ray drooled, staring infatuated at every move in the field.
"Evan, that bug is drooling at Princess Anya again!" Neil stopped commanding his puppet and gestured to Evan.
"Never mind, puppet master. There's no need to get into a quarrel with a bug; doing so would only bring the bad smell onto ourselves.” Evan put away his longsword and wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve.
"To emphasize again, I am an Alchemy Puppet Master, Evan! But don't you think that kid deserves a beating? If it weren't for the fact that he's Marshal Lunde Stead's illegitimate child, he would have been beaten dozens of times already!"
"What? He's the Marshal's illegitimate child? I heard he's Officer Elliot's catamite. Who told you that?" Evan asked curiously, taking the water handed to him.
"Look at his tender skin and white face. He doesn't have any resemblance to the Marshal at all, and looks more like a catamite."
"Really? So Officer Elliot likes that sort of taste, huh! I've also felt that the kid deserves a beating these days... Why don't we team up, puppet master, and find an opportunity to play a prank on him, and vent our anger on behalf of the misses?" Berlioz, who was not far away, joined in, apparently intrigued by their conversation.
"I am an Alchemy Puppet Master, Berlioz! Deliberately playing tricks on a servant? Don't you think it's beneath your dignity as the Fourth Prince? Just let someone beat him up tonight.”
"Actually, I did give orders last night. I temporarily found two officers from the Southern Kingdom in the Alliance Army to help me vent my anger." Berlioz said somewhat embarrassedly, causing the other two to become curious.
"And then? "
"The kid slipped away faster than an eel! He went back to the fortress before night fell, and there was no chance to start!"
"Ah, spit! What a disgusting guy! He has no ability, but relies on selling his ass to climb to this position! Calling him a bug is really an insult to bugs!" Evan spat angrily at the ground after hearing this, and glared viciously at Ray, but Ray seemed completely oblivious to his hostility, and continued drooling at the girls.
"Let it go, Evan. There's no need for us to stoop to the level of a servant. We are now the "Star Engraving," a team entrusted with great responsibility. The eyes of the entire continent are watching us, so let's not stir up unnecessary trouble." Neil patted Evan's shoulder again, and the three of them glanced contemptuously at the lewd figure under the wall before returning to their training.
"It seems they all want to help you, Anya!" On the other side, resting together, Celina whispered to Anya with a smile.
"Deliberately making things difficult for a weaker person is not helping me, but a boring show-off, Celina. Even if the actions of that servant are offensive, their way of discipline is a bit excessive. It's all about showing off in front of us, no different from the behavior of small nobles." Anya shook her head, not agreeing with Celina's statement.
"All right, Anya, I know you have many principles! But that little bug is really annoying. He drools when he sees you and Elodie, but he doesn't react at all to me and Avey! Hmph!" After saying that, Celina jumped over to Avey, looked her up and down, and deliberately spoke fiercely, "Avey, you tell me!"
"Ah, I-I don't mind, Celina." The short Avey stuttered in fright, shrinking beside Elodie, who then gently stroked Avey like one would a kitten."Ugh, how boring! It's time for dinner; let's go, Aniya!" Seeing that she could no longer "torment" Avey like before, Selena grabbed Aniya and dragged her quickly towards the dining hall.
"Ah, slow down, Selena! Wait for Iro`, and Avey! You're always so eager when it comes to meals; lunch isn't going anywhere!"
Marshal Rondstadt was still working on battle plans in front of the sand table late at night when Elliot walked in.
"Ah, Elliot, have a seat. How was the training for our little ones today?" The Marshal kept using the sand table without looking up.
"Their combat skills were already quite good, and after a few days of practice, they can already outperform your personal guard!"
"Oh! That's excellent! But there's no need to rush things; let's continue the practice for another month. Life and death on the battlefield can come in an instant, so there's no need to send them to their deaths prematurely." The Marshal looked up, noticing Elliot's hesitant expression, and asked, "What's the matter? Is there something else?"
"It's about Ray. Marshal, after observing him closely for two days, is he really the Black Flag?" Elliot asked without much confidence.
"Well..." Rondstadt had also received reports from his subordinates about Ray's performance over the past two days, which could be described as "good for nothing, cowardly, lascivious, and only ever eating, sleeping, and sunbathing."
"Chris is an old friend of mine; he wouldn't deceive me...but..." Rondstadt started to lose confidence in his claim as he recalled his past interactions with Chris. The two men stared awkwardly at each other until Elliot finally broke the silence.
"Why don't we assign him a task as a test?"
"Good idea! Are there any troublesome tasks at the moment?"
"Lately, there has been a powerful group of wolf cavalry in the Northeast, and we've already lost three scouting squads. Marshal, you know the elite wolf cavalry are slippery when they outnumber you and unbeatable in smaller groups; that's why the commander, Major Lyon, is so frustrated.”
"Alright! Let's send him there!"
~~~~
Rug Blood-Claw, leader of the seventh wolf cavalry squad of the Blood-Claw Legion, enters the Pannini Grasslands for the 15th time in three years.
"Pannini is a great place! Full of countless antelopes and rabbits, it won't be long before this land becomes our hunting ground!" Rug bit into a bloody rabbit leg, throwing another to the eager pack of powerful wolves.
"Boss, over the past two weeks, we've already wiped out two human scouting teams! If it hadn't been for the Blade-Tooth gang stealing our credit, that third squad would have been ours too!" A one-eyed beastman warrior sharpened his curved blade.
"Don't worry, once we've eliminated another human squad, we'll be promoted to Gold Wolf Head!" Rug picked up a rope strung with human thumbs – the way beastmen keep track of their battle achievements.
"The human captives held in recent days have all confessed: this is the road to their Northeastern Camp's supply line. By guarding this spot, we're guaranteed a great harvest!" Rug patted his wolf mount's belly, feeling pity for the human captives that had become nothing but a pile of dung.
"Boss! There's movement up ahead! It looks like it's a human transport team!" A skinny wolf cavalry scout rushed over; he was one of their elite scouts.
"Quick, brothers! Time to work! Once we take care of this, we can return to the Wildlands to rest!" Rug swiftly ordered as his strong warriors emerged from the tall grass and mounted their wolves.
~~~~
"It's a human transport team! Wait for them to advance 100 more meters; in 10 seconds, our wolf cavalry will charge at them and annihilate them from a distance of 300 meters! Get ready!" The tall grass served as the perfect cover for Rug and his men, who eagerly watched the human transport team as if they were a delicious antelope.
"Get ready, get ready, get ready, charge!" Rug roared the command and led the charge, as several black shadows leaped out of the grass with unending howls. The human team noticed the movement and began to form a defensive line in a panic.
But Rug had only charged a few dozen meters when a black spear fell from the sky, pinning him and his mount to the muddy ground of Pannini. The shockwave overturned several nearby beastmen. As the dust cleared, a black flag fluttered in the prairie wind.The sudden change stunned the beastman knights, and the flag representing death left them dumbfounded.
"Ah! It's you bunch of bastards! It took me so long to find you! These past few days, I've been eating well, sleeping soundly, enjoying a relaxing bath, and even watching seductive beauties every day! But you had to come and mess things up for me. It seems you've forgotten who rules the grassland after not causing trouble for a month!" A dissatisfied voice came from behind the knights, and the beastman warriors who lost their leader were all panicked with fear. Black Flag, a faceless hooded church robe, symbolized the Grim Reaper.
"Charge! Break into the humans' midst and take them hostage!" Someone yelled, and all the beastmen suddenly came to their senses, knowing that they only had a few seconds to reach the line of life among the human transport team!
Driven by the desire to survive, all the beastmen charged forward like mad. Some even went berserk, their blood-red eyes staring straight ahead as if it were the exit to hell.
"Hmph!" Ray only snorted coldly, his figure flashed by, and the beastmen at the front were cut into several pieces along with their mounts.
"What a waste of time, I still have to go back and eat dinner!" Facing the incoming wolf riders, Ray snapped his fingers, and the black, hard spikes emerged from the soft soil, impaling all the beastmen on them.
~~~~
