Chapter 143 Chaos and Confusion in the Center (2)

Rishun’s expression hardened at Iron’s rude words. He slammed his fist on the table with his face red in rage.

“That’s rude! Right now, you’re…!”

Iron’s mana began to fill the room the moment Rishun tried to say something.

Rishun, who was just barely able to climb to the 5th Stage because of his experiences as a division leader, was no match against Iron.

Iron pressed Rishun with his overwhelming mana as Rishun looked at him with eyes that were burning in fury.

“Keuk! You…”

“Division leader.”

Iron looked at him coldly.

Cold sweat suddenly poured down from Rishun’s back as his eyes began to fill with fear from the look that Iron was giving him.

Iron lowered his momentum only after seeing the fear in his eyes.

“I clearly saw that you abandoned your soldiers. The only ones that you took away were your officers and knights…”

“That… That’s something that can’t be… helped. I need to at least preserve the elites for the future…”

Rishun tried to make excuses when he felt that the pressure weighing down on him was getting lax. However, Iron just looked at him coldly. It was as if he was looking at Rishun as if he was a bug that he could crush anytime he wanted.

“So, why are you crawling back here to become a commander when you sacrificed your soldiers and ran away?”

“……”

Rishun couldn’t say anything at Iron’s words.

“Your bullshit might have worked a bit if you had joined the Central Army in the southern region after running away but… Ah, that’s not what you did either? You just hid without knowing what to do. That’s why I’m asking you, why did you come crawling here to ask for troops?”

“You’re going too far. I’m still a division leader…”

“If we’re going to nitpick about the laws and order of the military, then you should have been beheaded already. Be grateful that there’s not a nick on your neck right now.”

Iron’s spoke roughly as he increased his momentum.

“Get you and your officers out of here by tomorrow or tell them to keep their mouths shut. Otherwise…”

Iron grabbed Rishun by his collar.

“I will behead each and every single one of you according to the laws of the military.”

He let go of his collar and stood up from his seat.

“You must be busy, it’s better if you stand up and leave now.”

Rishun’s eyes shook as anger once again filled his head at Iron’s smile.

“Do you think you will be alright after treating your superior like this?”

“Superior…”

Ariel’s expression distorted after hearing Rishun’s words. She felt like she wanted to beat Rishun, who couldn’t understand what he had just done.

“My swordsmanship is at the 6th Stage.”

Rishun turned silent at Iron’s words.

“There’s also my divine beasts, holy power and many other advantages added on top of my pure 6th Stage swordsmanship. I have also been serving in the military for a while now and have proven myself as a worthy commander, you know?”

Generally, all of the division leaders in the Northeast should at least reach the 5th Stage. However, they would immediately be promoted to division leader even if their merits were insufficient the moment they entered the 6th Stage.

But Iron was also equipped with a lot of experience in wars and battles on top of being on the 6th Stage. And he was also a worthy commander.

“I have also accumulated some achievements and contributions.”

Iron took out his necklace as he said that.

The iron cross that was inlaid with all four jewels showed just how much he contributed in the Northeast. In fact, he had received all the medals that he could receive in the Northeast, with the exception of the Silver Eagle Medal, the medal that showed that one had been acknowledged by the entire Empire.

Usually, if an officer had received all of the medals possible in the area that he was stationed in, he would be given the honor of leaving his name in Command. And Iron had already done something like that at the age of 20.

“I can just go up and become a division leader if I wish it to be.”

“……”

“If I ask for a seat in the Center, they will give me the division leader position right away. But do you know the reason why I’m satisfied with just one star?”

Rishun’s mouth remained shut at Iron’s question. All he could do was look at him.

“I’m satisfied with my one star not because the Central Army is rotten but it’s because I wanted to stay in the Northeast.”

“……”

“So, you better shut your mouth and do what you’re told to do.”

Rishun had no choice but to leave with resentment when Iron dismissed him with those words. Ariel sighed and closed the door that Rishun had left open in his wake.

“Will it be alright?”

“What?”

“I don’t think he will stay still?”

Iron smiled when he heard the worry in Ariel’s voice.

“It would be good if he won’t stay still.”

Murderous intent flashed in Iron’s eyes as he said that.

Ariel nodded quietly. She could see that Iron intended to kill Rishun the moment he made a fuss. Seeing this, her stance became a bit more comfortable and relaxed.

“It will be a problem if we kill him if he does not cause any problems.”

“I know. He’s a noble bastard and he’s also from the Central Army. He knows how to play politics. He will keep on bothering and messing with us but he won’t cross the line.”

Iron looked out of the window and watched Rishun, who just got out of the building.

“He won’t cross the line. However… if he continues to play politics even though he has already crossed the limit that I can tolerate… it would be hard for him to keep his neck intact, don’t you think?”

“When will that be?”

“The day the Center becomes useless.”

Iron answered Ariel with a relaxed smile on his face.

Not long after, the things that Ariel expected to happen occurred.

Rishun was greatly insulted and couldn’t bear to stay still. He did not believe that Iron would truly kill him despite receiving the threat of beheading. So, he wanted to vent his anger. And since he was experienced, he moved diligently and thoroughly without crossing the line.

Since he couldn’t stir the public opinion in the city, he decided to cause chaos with the public opinion in the other regions. This fact even entered the capital. Of course, no newspaper dared to miss any news related to Iron, the hottest topic and figure of the Center.

[ Hero Iron. Is he a self-righteous person? ]

This line was posted in the morning headlines.

A lot of people were paying attention to any news related to Iron.

The opening expressed bitterness against Iron and slandered him with plenty of rumors. The article spoke of Iron insulting and fighting against his superior. Although the article only mentioned that it was an officer and a commander, everyone knew that it was talking about Rishun.

More and more people began to criticize Iron and blame him in the Center. They questioned if he had any connection in the capital to act that way. They argued that Iron’s authority should be restricted, swaying the public opinion and telling them that it was a problem for Iron to command the Central Army troops.

Of course, this news also appeared in Soren.

“Hmm… Isn’t there really a problem with a Brigadier General commanding a corps?”

“That might be true but he’s doing something…”

“Hmm… I don’t know. Well. the superiors will take care of it.”

“That’s right. We should just do what we’re told to do.”

The public opinion was divided.

It was a fact that a brigade leader was not truly supposed to lead a corps-level troops. So, Iron was truly at a disadvantage if they truly dug deeper into this matter. Because of this, the citizens were not sure if they should side with Iron or not.

Of course, the Central Army officers also secretly expressed their dissatisfaction with Iron’s control over the troops. Those who played politics and those who had grabbed onto their chosen lines were people who couldn’t control their greed. They wanted to claim their rightful throne and command the troops and reap the benefits.

But those with a little bit of sense and brain were firmly standing behind Iron. These people knew that if Iron and his Special Mobile Unit left, the Death Corps would immediately invade the territory. Even if they were at the corps-level, they knew better than anybody else that they would collapse the moment Iron left. Their knight order, magic corps, aerial forces, and artillery unit would immediately fall and collapse. After all, they were just a paper tower that could topple over with just a slight breeze.

They should know the importance of Iron and his Special Mobile Unit but more and more people were making the wrong choice. It was because they were anticipating the fact that they could jump on the Center’s boat if they did so.

And for the Special Mobile Unit, it was extremely frustrating to watch all of these unfold. And the one who couldn’t control his temper the most visited Iron immediately.

“Brigade Leader!”

An agitated Cardro slammed the door open.

“I’m busy, why?”

“Are you just going to wait and see? We should just kick them out!”

“Are they bothering you?”

Iron grinned when he heard Cardro’s words.

“Yes. They’re bothering me. Why should we get treated like this because of them? It would be a hundred times better if we just abandon this place and head back to the West.”

Iron stopped writing as he looked at Cardro.

“I know.”

“So, why…”

“I’m waiting for the right moment.”

Cardro tilted his head in confusion.

“What do you mean by waiting for the right moment…?”

“Literally what I said. Do you think I’m holding everything in just because of Rishun’s barely improvised schemes?”

Cardro shook his head at Iron’s question.

“Rishun is just a bait. We have to wait if we want to catch a big fish. They haven’t taken the bite completely yet. We have to wait until we get them completely hooked.”

“Is it… the Center?”

Iron smiled brightly.

“Touching the Center… Will it be alright?”

Iron nodded lightly at Cardro’s question.

He had already made preparations a long time ago to give the Center one big shot. All he had right now was the information from the laboratories but he had already prepared a lot of things against them. From the corruption in the support supplies heading to the Northeast to the intentional neglect in sending support during the Great Northern War.

He wanted to use the data from the laboratories as his first counter before weaving in the Center’s corruption and rushing in with more dirt on them so that they would not have any time to counterattack.

‘The final nail to the coffin would be staging a play with the media and telling them of my intentions to go back to the Northeast.’

Cardro shivered when he saw the vicious smile on Iron’s face.

“Oh… Uhm… It seems like you’ve already prepared well.”

“If you understand, then go and ease your subordinates.”

“…Yes, sir.”

Everyone who saw Cardro barging in asked him why he came out calmly but they all went back silently after they caught a glimpse of Iron’s smile. It was an evil and vicious smile that they had seen from time to time. They remembered the times that they thought that they would die after seeing that smile on Iron the day before their training.

All of them nodded their heads. They knew that Iron was exceptional and outstanding. So they stood back and waited calmly for the day when Rishun would cross the line.

Their hopes and wishes came true not long after.

Bang!

“Division Leader Rishun.”

Iron personally stormed into Rishun’s accommodation and stood in front of him with a cold expression on his face.

“The audacity!”

“I am arresting you as a criminal who violated the laws of the military.”

“What… what?!”

Rishun was shocked upon hearing Iron’s words.

“You have concealed and hidden the fact that you have been defeated in the battle of ×× Plains. You have also abandoned your men in the battle against the Death Corps and ran away. You have made the worst decision that a commander should never make.”

“This should be a problem that should be dealt with by the Central Court Martial…”

It seemed like Rishun had already worked with the Center in advance since he took something out. But Iron just continued to talk as if it did not matter at all.

“In addition, in a situation where you have lost your position, you used your former subordinates to extract confidential information from the army and illegally informed the public.”

“This is just a report to the Center…”

“It seems like you have to be reminded properly.”

Iron sat down on a chair and looked at him coldly as he continued to speak.

“If you’re just going to report it, then you should have just sent it to the Capital Command, why did you send rumors to the newspapers?”

“How… How did you…”

“How did I know?”

Iron looked at Rishun with a vicious smile painted on his face.

“Do you want to know?”

“……”

Iron chuckled as if everything was funny when he saw him remain silent.

“I tortured your men just a bit. I just touched them lightly but their tongues immediately became loose?”

Rishun’s eyes widened at Iron’s words.

“I told you before, during our meeting, right? You shouldn’t cross my line.”

Iron stood up and turned around. The knights immediately grabbed Rishun by the armpits and dragged him up. Rishun tried to resist, as if he wanted to show his force as a division leader, but Iron just pulled his sword out coldly.

“I will behead you on the spot if you resist.”

“Do… Do you think the Center will stay still if you do something like this?!”

Rishun spoke furiously but Iron just smiled.

“They will stay still. They can’t afford to care about you right now.”

Iron grinned as he drew the image of the chaotic Center in his head.

Just like he expected, the Center was distracted and in chaos.

“Is it true that you have sacrificed the innocent lives of the Imperial people?”

“Was the evidence that Iron Carter had discovered true?”

“Are there really secret laboratories? Please answer our questions!”

Numerous reporters gathered in front of the Central Government Building. They tried to grab the officials that were on their way to work to answer their questions but all of them rushed forward with their heads bowed down. None of them dared to open their mouths. If they did so, they would definitely be just a cold body the next day.

However, silence was not the answer.

The more silent they became, the more chaos and confusion befell the capital.