Reactions from All Sides (Part 1)
The Prime Minister stared in astonishment at Belmod on the throne. He never expected that His Majesty the King, who had stood by Oddek just a day before, would turn his guns on Langu. However, the worldly-wise Prime Minister would not rashly ask His Majesty the King's reasons for doing so. He buried his doubts deep in his heart and then bowed to Belmod.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will immediately draft and issue the edict according to Your Majesty's instructions."
Seeing the Prime Minister bowing and retreating, Belmod stopped him and said, "Prime Minister, do not rush to leave. I have some matters to instruct you to attend to."
"Please give your orders, Your Majesty!"
"That's right! Since the Western Border Army has already begun redeploying its forces, I think it would be better to redeploy the other legions as well, to ensure the safety of all territories of the kingdom!"
"Your Majesty, how will the garrison troops in each region be rotated?"
"If the garrison troops in each territory are moved too frequently, it will lead to instability in the army and thus arouse the covetousness of the surrounding countries towards my Kingdom of Tsuyioru Xiu. Therefore, apart from the two divisions of the Western Border Army being moved on a large scale, the other garrison troops in each territory should remain in place, and only the senior officers should be moved."
"Your Majesty understands. Your Majesty will go and draft the edict immediately!"
"Well, in that case, I'll leave everything to the Prime Minister!"
"Your Majesty, I take my leave!"
After receiving Belmod's approval, the Prime Minister bowed and then withdrew from the hall. Once the Prime Minister was gone, Belmod stepped down from her throne, gently patted Sordil on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "I'm sorry! I finalized the troop redeployment plan without your consent. But rest assured, once Langu has recovered from his injuries and is able to handle military affairs independently, I will definitely have him return those high-ranking officers to you!"
Langu, who had been overjoyed to learn that the king had left him the two most elite divisions of the Western Border Army and, breaking the agreement, also given him two-thirds of Langu legion's senior officers, immediately fell silent upon hearing the king's words. However, to his surprise, Sordil, who had won the bet and had the power to decide the fate of the Western Border Army's senior officers, showed no joy upon hearing this. Instead, he knelt on one knee before the king, filled with trepidation, and loudly proclaimed:
"Your Majesty, I only intended to use this matter to force Langu to spar with me; I had no intention of interfering with the troop movements. Since Your Majesty has already issued a decree to finalize the deployment plan for the Western Border Army, how can you change your orders so easily because of a joke, thus damaging your imperial authority? Please, Your Majesty, withdraw this order!"
Belmod looked at Sordil with some confusion. She felt she couldn't quite understand the young man before her. Was he truly only interested in sparring and had no intention of vying for power? Belmod was somewhat bewildered, completely unsure how to deal with Sordil next. After a long while, Belmod slowly said, "Since you say so, then let's proceed as you wish!"
Compared to Belmod's confusion and bewilderment, Langu was utterly at a loss for words. He had initially thought it was a trap set by the King and Audidick, a conspiracy to seize his military power. But now it seemed that only the King himself had orchestrated this scheme, and Oddek was merely taking advantage of the situation to kill him. Thinking of this, Langu burst into tears. Not only did the King want to take his military power, but he had also almost been killed by this complete stranger, General Oddek. Langu felt as if he were surrounded by the malice of the entire world.
"Your Majesty, if there is nothing else to instruct me on, please allow me to take my leave."
"Oh! Step back! All of you, step back!"
In a mansion in Philiers
"Are you certain that His Majesty divided the Western Border Army in two, assigning them to the command of Oddek and Langu respectively?"
"Of course I'm sure! According to the servant I bribed, His Majesty has assigned the two most elite divisions of the Western Border Army to Langu, and has put them in charge of garrisoning near the Cuyis Tree Sea. The remaining four divisions are still stationed in the Western Legion under the command of Oddek."
"What about the commission for senior officers?"
"It is said that the king originally intended to have Oddek and Langu compete in a duel according to the bet, and then the winner would distribute the spoils. But for some reason, the king later changed his mind and decided to give two-thirds of the officers to Langu and leave only one-third to Oddek."
"What else could it be? It's simply to maintain a balance of power between the two and prevent one from becoming too powerful and threatening His Majesty's position again! This time, it's probably not just the Western Border Army that needs to be redeployed, but also the other border legions."
"You're right! His Majesty has already instructed the Prime Minister to draft an edict, and the legions in other territories will also need to be redeployed. However, unlike the redeployment in the Western Territory, it will only be necessary to redeploy the high-ranking officers of our legions in other territories."
"That's good! That's good!"
Similar conversations were taking place in several places in Philiers. Some were relieved, others were saddened, but when they thought of Langu's fate, they all instantly felt that their own situation was not so bad.
Kaysir City
"His Majesty the King has decreed that the lieutenant of the Bell Dragon Rider Regiment, Kurelle, shall immediately lead all members of the Bell Dragon Rider Regiment to be stationed in West City, so that they may be called upon by the newly appointed Guardian of the Western Territory General Oddek."
"Your subordinate obeys the order and will lead the Bell Dragon Rider Regiment to West City for garrisoning, effective immediately."
The Black Robe attendant stepped forward and handed the king's decree to Kurelle, then helped him up from the ground and carefully brushed the dust off his clothes.
"Congratulations on General Kurelle's promotion!"
"Not at all! This is all thanks to the General and His Majesty! Also, I hope the esteemed envoy will continue to offer guidance in the future!"
Kurelle carefully put away the parchment order in his hand, and then cleverly handed a bag of gold coins to the Black Robe servant.
"Ah! Ah! Of course! Of course! I will definitely inform the general if anything happens in the future!"
After glancing discreetly at the contents of his pocket and weighing it in his hand, the Black Robe attendant smiled broadly. The two then left the tent, chatting and laughing, heading towards the carriage parked outside the camp. Once Kurelle had seen the Black Robe attendant onto the carriage, he quickly returned to the tent and ordered his men to summon all the Great Captain, company commanders, and platoon leaders.
Before long, the team leaders gathered in Kurelle's tent, huddled together in small groups, discussing what announcements were to be made at the gathering. Kurelle quietly observed the noisy crowd below, not speaking to stop them until everyone had assembled. Only then did Kurelle address them, asking them to quiet down and listen to him.
"Everyone, please be quiet. I have some important news to announce."
Upon hearing Kurelle's words, everyone fell silent, staring intently at him.
"Everyone has just received orders from the capital. The Commander has been promoted to lieutenant general and appointed as the new Guardian of the Western Territory."