Monday morning.
Pritz Harbor, Oak Island, Royal Navy base.
Early that morning, over a thousand naval soldiers packed the base's drill ground. As far as the eye could see, figures crowded the grounds in an impressive display.
On the raised platform beside the drill ground, naval officers watched the soldiers below. Some smiled, some remained silent, some wore grim expressions, and some kept glancing toward the road outside the base.
The drill ground buzzed with voices.
The soldiers sat or stood, discussing why they had been assembled that day.
"Does anyone know why they gathered us here today?"
"Isn't it obvious? Some bigwig must be coming for a visit."
As several soldiers joked among themselves, an older-looking soldier scoffed. "You don't know? A new admiral is coming to the base today."
The soldier had bronze skin and patches of sunburn on his arms. He looked strong, with thick strands of hair. Though he sat on the ground in a seemingly casual manner, his eyes were remarkably sharp.
He was a veteran with extensive combat experience.
"A new admiral?"
"Which officer got promoted this time?"
"How come I haven't heard anything about it?"
The soldiers exchanged glances and shook their heads, indicating that they knew nothing about it.
The veteran shook his head with a smile. "You rookies have only trained for three months and haven't even been on a battlefield. Isn't it perfectly normal for you not to know about these things?"
"Let me tell you."
"I heard the new admiral was transferred here from the colonies on the Southern Continent."
The veteran chuckled.
Just then, someone said quietly, "I heard he's a young nobleman."
"What? So it's another noble brat coming to pad his résumé," a soldier said disdainfully.
The veteran glanced at him. "There are real men among