Chapter Ninety-Two: Allocation of Military Merit

Nav was as calm as still water. He slipped a hand into his trouser pocket, drew out a white handkerchief, and dabbed at his nose. By the time he tucked it back away, the little slip of paper Linchy had slipped him was already resting quietly at the bottom of his pocket.

Straightening his chest, Nav frowned at the so-called severely wounded men strewn across the deck in blood and said, “You are truly unfortunate. How did you run into that barbarian patrol fleet? Hm, at this season, their patrols are not usually so active.”

Linchy let out a long sigh and said gravely, “That is exactly where we need your help. What we encountered was not their ordinary patrol fleet, but the holy guard of Odin Temple, and among them were four temple mages. Honorable Colonel, we need you to write us a certificate stating that in resisting the assault of these Odin holy guards, we expended all one hundred and twenty of our enchanted whale harpoons!”

Nav went blank. He stared at Linchy and drew in a sharp breath. “One hundred and twenty enchanted whale harpoons? And your result?”

Linchy replied with solemn sincerity, “Under the command of my partner Enzo — and I should mention, Enzo is an outstanding student of the Imperial Army Academy, my good brother, who came back with me to spend his winter leave — under his command, we took down two stone titans, one berserk Viking warrior, and two temple mages!”

Shrugging, Linchy added lightly, “As for the ordinary rabble, perhaps several hundred?”

Nav and his adjutant stared at Linchy, eyes wide. If a whale-hunting ship had truly slain so many alien warriors, especially the elite Odin holy guard among them, then the merit would be immense indeed.

Most especially for Enzo, a student of the Imperial Military Academy, to have commanded a whale-hunting ship in such an exploit — there was no doubt that if Nav reported this to the Ministry of War, and if the great men there believed it, Enzo’s military future would be wide open.

“I need proof!” Nav raised his brows and shook his head in surprise. Frowning, he asked, “Where are the bodies?”

Linchy spread his hands. “There is no proof. The bodies were taken away by them. But if you submit this report, then with the Imperial Ministry of War’s network of informants across the Five-Link Islands, it should be possible to verify your account.”

Looking straight into Nav’s eyes, Linchy said in a low voice, “And I will have the Whale Hunter Merchant Association under the Great Windmill of the Sea issue an official notice to the Ministry of War, confirming that it was Colonel Nav who arrived in time and led our brave, fearless sailors in a bloody struggle, slaying a great number of Odin holy guards and driving off those fanatical religious madmen. You will have rendered a tremendous service!”

Nav’s gaze flickered. Linchy leaned closer to his ear and murmured, “The two stone titans that were slain — one of them was in fact cut down by your own hand, was it not? I only need you, in the report you submit to the Ministry of War, to transfer all the merit that belongs to us onto Enzo.”

Enzo stood beside Linchy like a drawn sword. His face was slightly red. For Linchy’s brazen seizure of another man’s military merit, he felt touched, yet deeply ashamed as well. But he knew Linchy was doing this for his sake. Just think of it: a student of the Army Academy, while on winter leave, out of curiosity boards a whale-hunting ship and goes out to sea; in the end, he actually kills a berserk Viking warrior and two temple mages. Such a feat would be enough to put Enzo far ahead of his classmates once he formally joins the army!

Perhaps the moment Enzo enters the military, he could already be wearing the rank of major.

Dragon City, standing to the side, looked somewhat displeased. Killing that Viking berserker might perhaps have been Linchy’s doing, but the temple mage on the dragon boat had been slain by Dragon City himself, undeniably and with his own hand. As for Linchy’s claim to Nav that they had killed two temple mages, there was no doubt that Linchy had counted the mage Dragon City had slain in Viking Axe Gorge as Enzo’s achievement as well.

Openly claiming military merit as his own, and doing it right in front of Dragon City no less — and to seize that merit, he had even secretly bribed an Imperial naval colonel!

“This shameless, despicable bastard — I like him more and more! Hm, what a pity he is not one of us. If he were, and we took proper care in training him, perhaps he could spar with those old foxes and slippery schemers in court!” Dragon City bared his teeth, offering no objection to Linchy’s shameless conduct. Looking up at the sky with profound composure, he nodded inwardly. “Hm, when it comes to barefaced shamelessness, I really am no match for this brat. Who made me, Dragon City, such a magnificent man — one who has always disdained these underhanded tricks?”

A few twitches ran across Nav’s facial muscles as he looked deeply into Linchy’s dark eyes.

Linchy’s eyes were clean, pure, like a mountain stream just freed from winter ice in the spring — crystal clear and flawless, without the slightest impurity. Nav could see nothing in them that could possibly work against him, and so he immediately accepted Linchy’s explanation.

Nav needed military merit. He needed it very badly to shake off his current awkward position. As an Imperial Navy colonel, he was only able to command a patrol squadron — it was a joke, a complete laughingstock. He needed real, substantial merit to add a bold and dazzling stroke to his record. He needed military achievements to give certain people a good lesson, and to provide those who supported him with more usable material.

And this was a young man who understood circumstances and knew how to be accommodating. Nav’s heart grew hot. He thought of that little slip of paper that had made the flesh of his thigh burn, of that marvelous sensation — he knew exactly what it was.

It was nothing more than an official report, after all. As Linchy had said, the Ministry of War had special intelligence channels regarding the killing of stone titans, Viking berserkers, and temple mages; confirmation would only take a few days. He only needed to submit the report upward as Linchy suggested, and there would be little real risk to him.

As for the expenditure of one hundred and twenty whale harpoons, what great matter was that? Enchanted whale harpoons were expensive and powerful, but without their corresponding launchers, they posed no threat and caused no harm to the empire. And in the face of a threat from over a thousand Odin holy guards, it was only natural that a civilian whale-hunting ship would fire every last harpoon it had.

Linchy blinked, then said in a deep voice, “You could even add this to the report you submit to the Ministry of War: that Viking Axe Gorge was destroyed by someone, and that you played a certain role in it. As for the specific details, you may decide those for yourself.”

Nav’s whole body gave a sudden jolt. He stared at Linchy in alarm. How could he not know the name Viking Axe Gorge? It was almost directly across the sea from Dunirc, the most notorious pirate harbor in the Five-Link Islands!

Linchy’s words tipped the balance in Nav’s heart at once. He looked at Linchy with a trace of hesitation, needing to confirm one thing: had Viking Axe Gorge truly been destroyed?

Linchy smiled and looked toward Dragon City. With a helpless flick of his hand, Dragon City sent forth a streak of purple qi. At once, Nav believed every word Linchy had said. With a Heaven-rank knight present, what could possibly be impossible?

* * *

Going to eat now; after that, I’ll keep writing.

At eight in the evening, on channel 2935, let’s all talk nonsense together.