Cant's Worries

In the Carn City, troops were patrolling everywhere. The entire Second Legion had been mobilized to search for hidden locations throughout the city, as if they were looking for someone.

A young man with dark red hair stood at a crossroads, his face serious yet revealing a hint of anxiety.

Just then, an officer ran over with several soldiers. The red-haired young man looked at him and asked, "Ribelius, have you found Zapar?"

The officer who ran over was wearing a set of chainmail that looked quite old. He was a tall, handsome, and elegant middle-aged man. Anyone could tell at a glance that he must have been a very handsome man when he was young.

Ribelius shook his head. "Cant, I've searched the entire western part of the city, and I haven't found any trace of Zapar. Do you think it's possible that he escaped from the city?"

The red-haired young man was the heir chosen by Count Carter and the Regimental Commander of the First Regiment of the Second Legion, while Ribelius was a supporter of Cant and the commander of the Third Regiment.

After listening to Ribelius's words, Cant didn't say anything, but instead fell into deep thought.

Ribelius was not surprised to see Cant like this; Cant was a very focused person when he was thinking and would not pay attention to others.

Ribelius stood aside and waited. After a short while, Cant looked up and said, "Zapar won't run away easily. He and Karanga stole the Second Legion's Legion Commander's seal because they wanted to do something with it. He won't give up easily. He must still be in the city."

Ribelius what Cant was saying. "But Cant, we've searched the whole city, even the Karanga Personal Guard camp. Where else could he be hiding?"

Cant fell silent and looked towards the south of the city, and Ribelius followed his gaze.

Then Ribelius suddenly gasped. "Cant, you don't suspect Gerard and Hulk, do you?"

They've already directed you under Legion Commander Carter's orders and even helped you place Zapar under house arrest. I don't think they'll release Zapar again; it wouldn't benefit them at all.

Gerard and Hulk were the Third Regiment and Fourth Regiment of the Second Legion. They had previously served under Zapar, and both supported Zapar when Zapar was acting as the Legion Commander.

However, after Count Carter expressed his intentions, they obeyed Count Carter orders and switched their support to Cant.

Ribelius had no intention of covering for the two men, but he was worried that Cant would develop a grudge against them. After all, they were both old subordinates of Count Carter, and they had always known the Count's thoughts, so they certainly wouldn't continue to support Zapar.

Cant shook his head. "I don't doubt Gerard and Hulk, but Ribelius, after all, Zapar has always been in charge of the Third Fourth Regiment, and he still has considerable influence over these two regiments. Many of the battalion Battalion Commander and Squad Leader of these two regiments were appointed by him."

Is it possible that Zapar bypassed the two men and secretly hid under the cover of officers from those two units?

Ribelius thought about it for a moment and felt that Cant made sense, so he immediately took his guards and headed south.

"Where are you going, Ribelius?"

Cant called out to him.

"I'll go find Gerard and Hulk and have them lead a team to check their own troops. I think that should be enough to find Zapar."

Cant quickly shook his head. "It's okay to find those two, but don't alert them. I plan to take this opportunity to pull out Zapar's cronies and the tentacles planted by the War Department or duchy, such as Karanga."

Ribelius was somewhat bewildered. He could understand gathering Zapar's confidants, but he didn't quite understand the following sentence. What did it mean to "pull out the tentacles of the duchy"? Wasn't their Second Legion the army of the duchy?

Is Cant going to betray the Duchy and side with the Northern Frontier Allied Army and Count Colt?

So, should I Ribelius, follow or not?

Is this also Count Carter's intention?

Unaware of what was happening, Cant 'Ribelius imagination ran wild.

However, Cant quickly offered an explanation. "Our Second Legion was rebuilt by Teacher Carter, and from the beginning, it was separate from the War Department, operating in a semi-independent state."

The teacher deeply abhorred the existing factional infighting within the duchy and the current Grand Duke Mora's behavior.

He wanted the Second Legion to be loyal to the Duchy, but also to have autonomy and the ability to refuse unreasonable orders.

Ribelius followed Cant's words and recalled Count Carter's past words and actions, realizing that this was indeed in line with Count Carter's thoughts. However, he also thought of Count Carter's current serious illness and couldn't help but feel sad.

Seeing Ribelius's expression, Cant knew he was thinking of Count Carter again. He patted Ribelius on the shoulder and said, "Don't be sad. Teacher is just not feeling well and is too tired. Maybe he'll feel better in a few days."

Cant comforted Ribelius with words he himself didn't believe. Ribelius was such an emotional person; he was an old subordinate of Count Carter, loyal and devoted to him.

Ribelius composed himself. "I'll go to Gerard and Hulk right now and tell them to keep an eye on their men. Don't rush to find Zapar and the others; let's see what they're up to."

"Okay, that's what I mean."

The two then left the intersection separately.

Cant returned to the city lord's mansion. After entering a room, he asked the maid at the door, "How is the Count?"

The maid bowed and said, "The Count has been in a semi-conscious state all day. We have given him wheat porridge made with milk and wiped his body."

Cant sighed, waved for the maid to leave, and went straight into the room.

There was a large bed in the room, and on the bed lay an old man with white hair and beard, thin limbs, and dark skin, fast asleep.

Cant came to the bedside and looked at the old man with a sad expression. He was none other than Earl Count Carter, the Legion Commander of the Second Legion.

Cant knew that Count Carter's illness this time was not an ordinary one. The old man had fought for the country all his life and suffered countless injuries and illnesses. This time, he was over sixty years old and still had to come out of retirement.

After leaving the mountain, he gathered a large number of his old subordinates and rebuilt the Second Legion. This process really took a lot of effort, and later he even led the Second Legion directly to the front line.

Although it was unlikely that a battle would take place here, Count Carter still diligently commanded his troops to carry out defensive work.

Perhaps due to overwork, Count Carter's health suddenly collapsed not long ago, and he was bedridden for a long time. At first, he was at least conscious, but recently his condition has worsened, and he often falls into a coma for several days at a time.

During this period, Zapar began to take over the management of the Second Legion from Count Carter. In fact, no one would say anything about this, after all, Zapar was also an old subordinate of Count Carter, his qualifications were not in question, it was just that his ability was lacking.

As a result, Cant discovered by chance that Zapar had been in contact with the Prime Minister of the Duchy and was even leaning towards Prime Minister, which seriously went against Count Carter's ideas.

Cant told Count Carter about it while he was sober, but to his surprise, the Count handled it so decisively, directly ordering him to be elected as the Legion Commander, demanding the support of all Regimental Commander, and placing Zapar under house arrest.

Count Carter then fell into a coma again and has not woken up since. Cant, who was about to start his duties, discovered that the Legion Commander's seal had been stolen by the former Personal Guard Karanga.

Before he could even begin the search for Karanga, Zapar had also escaped house arrest and disappeared, leaving Cant in a difficult position.