The commendation ceremony

Perhaps due to excitement, Kronos Kronos up earlier than usual the next morning, leaving his house just as dawn was breaking.

The West Borough is where various government departments and wealthy businessmen are located, so naturally, the richer and more powerful people are, the better their place of residence is.

When it comes to wealth, there are probably very few people in the entire Loen Kingdom who can surpass the Argel Family, which is why Kronos's Villa is located in the best area of the entire West Borough.

Jason Beria, being a bank shareholder, naturally had a house in a very good location, which is why it wasn't far from Kronos's house.

Kronos ran all the way to the corner of Edward Street, then switched from jogging to walking, and began to stroll around the area.

There are quite a few residents in this area, and each of them is probably of high status, so Kronos must minimize the damage, otherwise he will have to pay a heavy price if something goes wrong.

After wandering around for a long time and familiarizing myself with the surrounding routes, today's task was completed.

Kronos glanced at No. 6 Edward Street, then turned and ran towards his home.

Upon returning home, Kronos Record everything about the area around Edward Street based on his memory.

We've got a general idea of the outdoor situation, but the most important thing is the indoor situation.

This isn't too difficult; you can go to the building planning department to adjust the building structure of that house.

The area around Edward Street consists of standard-style houses, so obtaining the structural plans is not difficult.

Then we need to thoroughly investigate Jason's daily routine. We need to find a time when no one is around to go in and take a look with our own eyes. That way, we can confirm whether there are Secret Room or escape routes inside.

Kronos aimed for a single, decisive strike, avoiding any tug-of-war and minimizing the possibility of accidents.

Therefore, it is essential to have an absolute understanding of Jason and the location of the battle. With the right timing, location, and support, a single strike may be enough to kill him.

After analyzing the Information he had gathered that day, Kronos returned to the task of creating the Scroll.

Two days later, Kronos arrived at the Ministry of Defense Navy Committee, wearing his naval uniform.

It's just a military commendation for officers of colonel rank; it doesn't reach the level of an event organized by the Ministry of Defense and attended by the Prime Minister and the King.

In other words, a few rear admirals and vice admirals would come to the Naval Commission, give a speech, and then the ranks would be conferred.

Philip had already explained the entire process to Kronos, and both of them were here today to attend this awards ceremony.

The only difference is that Kronos was promoted from Major to Lieutenant Colonel, while Philip was promoted from Lieutenant Colonel Colonel colonel.

According to Philip himself, he didn't know what merit he had made; it was just that his warship had sailed around the Sonia Sea, and as a result, many people on board had made meritorious contributions.

Kronos couldn't be bothered to respond to Versailles' words.

This is indeed a common problem in the military nowadays. As long as you have connections, you can accumulate military merits very quickly. If you also have some ability, you may not be able to get a military rank, but your military rank will rise like Rocket.

For example, Alfred. In the original story, Alfred was promoted to major general at the age of twenty-three or twenty-four, which was two years later. But now, he is only Major.

Philip was a few years older than Kronos and Alfred, but he was already Colonel, just one step away from becoming a major general.

Then look at Duke Negan, a naval Admiral, but if you asked Duke Negan to list all the battles he's participated in, he probably wouldn't be able to remember them.

However, all the Duke Negan were generals, and most of them were even Admiral.

This military achievement certainly wasn't earned through his own efforts.

Kronos was used to this; he could do it that way if he wanted to.

If the Marquis Argel were willing, with a little effort, his military rank could be equalized with Philip's based solely on this military achievement.

But Kronos wasn't interested, and the Marquis Argel was happy to keep a low profile.

Kronos arrived at the entrance of the Ministry of Defense, but he didn't know how to find the Naval Committee, and since he didn't see the Negan family's carriage, he waited at the entrance for a while, intending to wait for Philip to arrive.

Sure enough, the Negan's carriage arrived shortly afterward.

Calling it a horse-drawn carriage is a bit inaccurate; it should be described as a caravan.

Thirteen carriages pulled up in front of the Ministry of Ministry of Defense, and people began to disembark one after another.

This demonstrates the strength of the leading Conservative Party aristocracy; in this war, thirteen members of the Negan were awarded ranks for their meritorious service.

Ten of them are field-grade officers, two of the other three are about to be promoted to general, and the third is already a major general and is about to be promoted to lieutenant general.

After Philip alighted from the carriage, he saw Kronos directly. He gave a few words of instruction to one of the older members of his family and then walked towards Kronos.

"Kronos, why didn't you go in?" Philip called out before he even reached Kronos.

Kronos shrugged. "I don't know the way, and since you haven't arrived yet, I'll wait for you here."

Philip chuckled. "You're definitely the strangest one among the nobles. As a naval officer, you don't even know where the Naval Council is."

"Heh, is this my fault? You should blame your uncle. I didn't want to be a Navy Major anyway," Kronos sneered.

Philip was speechless for a moment. There was nothing wrong with what he said. His uncle had given him the title of Major when he was plotting against Kronos, which had almost caused a conflict at the time.

Seeing Philip speechless, Kronos laughed heartily, "Alright, lead the way, I'm tired of standing here."

Philip glared at Kronos, then walked into the Ministry of Defense.

The Department of Ministry of Defense's directly subordinate agencies include: the Defense Staff, the Naval Committee, the Army Committee, the Air Force Committee, the Office of Budget and Management, the Defense Science Bureau, the Equipment Procurement Department, the Arms Control Office, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

These departments cover all aspects of the country's military, and Kronos had dealt with people from them before, back when he was at the Royal Navy Base.

The Ironclad Project at the time involved the Defense Science Bureau, the Equipment Procurement Department, and the Arms Control Office.

So this wasn't Kronos's first time contacting the Ministry of Defense, but it was his first time actually being inside the Ministry of Defense building.

Philip was aware of this situation, so he explained the layout of the building to Kronos as they walked.

Philip clearly had extensive connections within the Ministry of Defense; the two of them strolled around the building and ran into several acquaintances who came to say hello.

Kronos followed Philip all the way into the Naval Council.

The Naval Commission occupies the most offices in the entire Ministry of Defense, with two entire floors dedicated to the Navy.

After all, the Loen Kingdom has the most powerful navy, with the support of countless nobles.

Philip led Kronos into the Naval Committee's meeting room, where there were about forty or fifty officers of naval rank and above, all of whom were being honored that day.

In fact, this war was concentrated on the Southern Continent. The navy participated, but it was mainly the Sonia Fleet. Their commendations should have been held in Bayam.

So who are these people who received honors in Backlund?

What kind of opportunity allowed them to fight in the Southern Continent, achieve merit, and then return to Backlund before receiving their commendation, finally being honored in the Ministry of Defense building?

Okay, those who know, know; I won't say any more.

Philip pulled Kronos to sit in the conference room and said to Kronos, "I heard from my father that your achievements are genuine. Are you interested in vying for a position here?"

Kronos knew Philip was referring to the Naval Commission or the Ministry of Defense, so he smiled and shook his head, "I'm not suited for this kind of work. It's too mentally taxing. I'd rather save my brain for later. All this scheming and backstabbing every day, I'm afraid I'll go bald prematurely."

"Intrigue and backstabbing? No, the environment in the military is quite good, unlike the serious disputes in politics," Philip said, stroking his chin.

Kronos pointed around and asked, "Working here, aside from wearing a military uniform, what else does it have to do with the military? In the end, it's no different from politics."

"The life of a frontline soldier is indeed better, but I don't like that kind of life. There are too many restrictions. Besides, I have no desire for power, so I'm quite satisfied with my current life and don't need any changes."

This wasn't the first time Kronos had said such things, nor was it the first time Philip had heard them, but he still wanted to try it out with Kronos.

If one day Kronos agrees, then he might have another companion, a helper, on this journey.

But since he got the same answer, Philip wasn't discouraged; Kronos was still the same Kronos.

The commendation ceremony began shortly afterward.

Three generals in naval uniforms entered the conference room: two major generals and one vice general.

After he sat down, a long, eulogistic speech ensued, far more Hypnosis than a meeting of the Higher Education Committee, so Kronos unsurprisingly fell asleep.

With its head tilted back and mouth agape, it made a gesture as if it were about to roar to the sky, a unique posture that startled all three generals.

Others might not know, but the three of them knew who this person was: the sole heir to the Marquis Argel, whose promotion was strongly recommended by Admiral Amyrius. Therefore, they didn't want to embarrass Kronos in public, but instead tried to give Philip, who was standing next to Kronos, a meaningful look.

Philip suppressed a smile and gently nudged Kronos.