Award Ceremony

West City, General Staff

"Lockett, is it true that the First Division defeated the other three divisions and captured their division Division Commander?"

Before anyone could be seen, a question, both surprised and delighted, reached the ears of everyone in the staff. Chief of Staff Lockett immediately stood up and led the main members of the staff towards the door, preparing to greet the bigwig who had asked the question. But they had only taken a few steps when a silver-white figure had already floated into the room with incredible speed.

Lockett hurried forward, ready to report what had happened yesterday, but when he saw Sordil's attire, all his words caught in his throat. The staff members following closely behind him, like Lockett, stared wide-eyed at Sordil, who was wearing pink pajamas not far in front of them.

Just then, a series of exclamations and hurried footsteps came from outside the gate.

"General, your clothes!"

"General, the clothes!"

A moment later, the man Lockett had sent to deliver the message to Sordil rushed into the hall, panting, carrying a military uniform. Hearing the man's shout and glancing at the clothes in his hand, Sordil suddenly realized what he had just done. A flash of silver light, Sordil, standing in the center of the hall, vanished without a trace, along with the military uniform that had been in the messenger's hand.

"Bang"

At the same time, from the depths of a corridor to the left of the lobby, the sound of a door closing echoed. The people in the lobby exchanged glances, all seeing a hint of surprise and amusement on their colleagues' faces. Then, everyone clutched their mouths and stomachs, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. But no one dared to laugh out loud; after all, the 'Heradi Tragedy' was still fresh in their minds, and no one would risk their life by laughing.

"Squeak"

The door opened, and Sordil, dressed neatly, reappeared before everyone. Everyone immediately stopped trembling, looked up at the sky, and began to process their lingering laughter. Sordil didn't bother arguing with these idle fellows. Instead, he gathered his thoughts and said to Lockett, "Lockett, bring me all the battle data from yesterday. I need to verify the truth of what happened myself."

"Yes!"

The chief of staff answered Sordil's question loudly, but a hint of amusement lingered in his voice. Seeing Sordil's increasingly grim expression, Lockett dared not linger any longer and quickly disappeared into the lobby. The remaining staff members followed suit, quickly heading to their work stations.

An hour later, Sordil finally finished reviewing yesterday's combat data. He leaned back in his chair, rubbed his sore eyes, and said to Lockett, "Go and inform Kurelle that the application to end the exercise has been approved. Have him bring all the troops back; I want to hold an awards ceremony for him."

Just as Lockett was about to turn and leave to relay Sordil's orders to Kurelle, Sordil stopped him and continued, "Also, keep this operational data as a classic case study for officers promoted later."

"Understood! If the general has no further instructions, I will go and make the arrangements immediately!"

Go!

Red Army temporary camp

"Old Two, has the eldest brother agreed to end the exercise?"

Seeing Heradi burst into the tent in Huo Huo, Kurelle and Anna both burst into laughter, and neither of them answered his question.

"What are you two laughing at? Did I say something wrong?"

Seeing Heradi's face flush red and on the verge of exploding, Anna wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes and asked haltingly, "Heradi, when... when... when did we defeat the other three master groups?"

Upon hearing Anna's question, Heradi answered without hesitation.

"We started our operation around 11 p. m. last night and ended the battle at 3 a. m. this morning. Is there a problem with that?"

Faced with the clueless Heradi, Anna had no choice but to ask again, "Heradi, what do you think the teacher was doing at this time?"

At this moment, Heradi finally realized why Anna and the other woman had burst into laughter after hearing his question. He suddenly raised his right hand and slapped his forehead, repeatedly making "ouch" noises. Just as Heradi was making his unique self-criticism, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from outside the tent. A moment later, a member of the staff, his face flushed, entered the tent and handed a parchment scroll to Kurelle.

"Ha ha!"

After carefully reading the contents of the scroll, Kurelle threw his head back and laughed uncontrollably. Anna quickly snatched the scroll from Kurelle's hands to verify her suspicions. A moment later, with the addition of 'Kurelle Two', the laughter in the tent became even louder.

West City, East Gate

"Lockett, shouldn't they be here by now?"

"Reporting to the general, according to the messenger's report, Division Commander Kurelle and his men should arrive here in about fifteen minutes!"

Lockett stood behind Sordil and spoke cautiously.

After receiving an affirmative reply, Sordil's body gradually rose into the air, then flew over the city wall and landed on the ground. Upon landing, two brownish-yellow lights surrounded Sordil's hands, and then, in the open plain, a high platform slowly rose from the ground. Not long after the platform was completed, plumes of dust appeared in the distance along the road.

A quarter of an hour later, a magnificent army appeared below the platform; it was the victorious First Division. However, besides the army, there were also their 'spoils of war' and some special guests who did not belong to the Western Border Army.

After the troops arrived below the platform, they quickly divided into four square formations. Once in formation, Kurelle, mounted on his warhorse, slowly stepped out of the ranks, saluted Sordil on the platform, and then shouted loudly, "Kurelle, Division Commander of the First Division of the Western Border Army, is hereby ordered by the General to lead all members of the Western Border Army participating in the combat exercise safely back to West City. Please give your instructions, General!"

Looking at the imposing ranks below and feeling their soaring fighting spirit, Sordil saluted all the members of the Western Border Army. Then, he commanded Kurelle, "Rank up!"

Once Kurelle returned to his unit, Sordil stood on the high platform and addressed the soldiers below, saying loudly, "Soldiers of the Western Border Army, you have worked hard!"

As Sordil finished speaking, the soldiers below the stage straightened their backs, their eyes fixed on Sordil. In this silent way, they conveyed their answer to the general on the stage.

"Just a few days ago, I said I would give you opportunities to showcase your talents and realize your dreams. Did I deliver on that promise?"

"We did it!"

A thunderous roar erupted from the audience in response to Sordil's question. Sordil nodded in satisfaction and then continued his speech.

"However, we are an army, a unit! So in addition to individual bravery, we also need cooperation and unified command. Only in this way can we become an invincible army. Therefore, I have arranged cross-country training to enhance your collective consciousness and arranged live-fire exercises to strengthen the cooperation between different units."

"You all certainly didn't disappoint me; you performed exceptionally well! So now it's my turn to fulfill another promise I made!"

"I, Oddek, in the name of the highest commander of the Western Border Army, hereby formally confer upon the First Division the title of the main force division of the Western Border Army! And grant the First Division priority in the selection of personnel and priority in the use of military supplies!"