Gary Davis shook his head with a super confused expression. He couldn't guess what might have happened. He himself did not know James Gardner very well. He entered the palace when James Gardner had just resigned from the post of deputy general of war. So basically he had only met James a few times. It was different with Riley Mackenzie. He had met Riley countless times. In fact, it could be said that he already knew how Riley behaved. However, he could not think of anything about James Gardner. He was just like a blind man when it came to James. "Even young General Mackenzie is not suspicious of you. He's been in the palace longer than that general. I don't understand," Elena said, who also hadn't found the answer to the question that was bothering her.She also still didn't understand. However, a thought occurred to Gary. "Maybe I was in too much of a hurry, Gran," Gary said suddenly.Elena frowned, "What do you mean, Gary? What kind of hurry?"Gary sighed softly, "Approaching
Although they seemed confused by the war general's order, they still unanimously replied, "Yes, General."It wasn't long before all the soldiers formed a line where they would prepare to search for Riley Mackenzie as ordered by James Gardner.Most of the first class soldiers did not hesitate to do the task, but there were some of the class two soldiers who seemed to be unsure of what they were going to do.Two of them were Foei Mccray and Derrick Weybe."I don't understand why General Gardner is searching the forest. How could General Mackenzie be here? This doesn't make sense," Derrick said, who had just lined up facing the front of the forest.The twenty-six year old young man was in the front row with his best friend so they could still talk in a fairly low tone of voice.Foei nodded in agreement, seemingly thinking the same as Derrick, "He's probably too frustrated to pick a spot."Derrick exhaled harshly then glanced towards the front where several class one soldiers seemed to be
Seeing James' confident smile, Ben instantly realized that his best friend was unpredictable. But, when he recalled the relationship between James and Riley in the past, he felt that everything James said was true. Riley had always been completely open to James. The young man only hid one thing, which was the fact that he was William Mackenzie's son. Other than that, Riley had no other secrets from James. Meanwhile, Riley was also the only person who could understand James very well. Only Riley is able to understand every action taken by James and James only wants to talk about things with Riley.So, seeing all these facts, Ben finally nodded, "Okay, then. What should I do?"James snorted and immediately put on a sullen face, "Come on, Ben! I told you earlier."Ben rolled his eyes, "I still don't understand. Please explain in more detail!"With an annoyed expression James replied, "If I had the authority to downgrade soldiers, I would definitely downgrade you to class two."Ben's n
Derrick snorted in annoyance, while Foei immediately responded, "Oh, you seem to be very timid!" Foei cast his gaze at Derrick and then flashed a smile with a mocking expression. Derrick shook his head, also smiling mockingly."If you're scared, why would you want to participate in this important mission?" Foei said.Lory quickly shook her head, "I'm not afraid ... I’m just-""Huh? Not afraid? Then, why did you just say that?" Derrick cut Lory off, as if he deliberately didn't want to hear Lory speak."You're obviously a coward! Oh my! You should have stayed in the palace and not joined the search for General Mackenzie," Foei explained with a lopsided smile. "Coward!" Derrick taunted again. "A pathetic soldier like you who dares to tell us we're slow? Who do you think you are, my superior?" Foei said with a cold tone and a dismissive expression.Oh, he was really very satisfied seeing Lory's helpless expression.The two men deliberately wanted to humiliate Lory. Their intentions w
Foei Maccray turned around and looked sarcastically at the junior.When he saw Lory Blackwell's compliance, Foei Maccray smiled wryly as if satisfied that he had succeeded in making one of his juniors submit to his orders.Of course, that made him feel big-headed. Hence, Foei haughtily said again, "Keep standing here until we are out of your sight. After that ... then you can walk."Lory Blackwell did not reply. But Foei took his silence as obedience so he said, "Good! You should obey your seniors' orders."Lory just swallowed without daring to say a word. However, Foei did not need an answer so he just continued walking along with his good friend, Derrick Weybe who looked bored in Lory's neighborhood. The other soldiers followed the two senior soldiers with mixed feelings. Apparently there were some of them who were starting to feel sympathetic towards Lory. But due to their status and class being much lower than the two senior soldiers who were bullying Lory, they chose to be cowa
Without looking away, Ben thought hard. James didn't just stand by, waiting for Ben's answer. He himself repeatedly touched the handkerchief to scrutinize it. Not only that, the war general of Ans De Lou Kingdom was also sniffing the gray handkerchief as if he was looking for something.Seeing what James was doing, Ben impatiently commented, "You're not a dog. How can you track someone's whereabouts from sniffing that thing?"James instantly gave Ben an exasperated look, "That's not it. I'm just trying to smell this handkerchief. Who knows ... it might turn out to be a clue.""Then ... did you get a clue after sniffing the cloth?" Ben asked with a casual look.With a look of disappointment, James replied, "No. I didn't. I just smelled the earth."Had they not been in a serious situation, Ben's laughter would have exploded. However, they were working on an important mission so Ben knew he had to restrain himself. He certainly didn't want to be seen as trivializing his friend's rescu
Ben quickly racked his brain, thinking of the right way to put James at ease. But before he could come up with a good line, he heard James say again, "Or ... is he angry that I took his current position? But, ...."James shook his head weakly, "There's no way he's angry because of that right? Moreover ... he knows very well that I never wanted her position. He must be-""Stop thinking like that, James! Are you stupid?" Ben said in an annoyed tone.James was about to respond, but Ben raised his right hand as if asking James to be quiet for a few moments.James seemed to understand the meaning of Ben's gesture and he let out a long sigh.Ben swallowed before explaining, "James, you know Riley doesn't care about the title 'War General' either. Basically, both of you are not crazy about positions."James faltered. Ben was right. How could Riley be disappointed and angry with me over this damn title? That doesn't sound like 'Riley Mackenzie', James thought.The young man exhaled harshly.
Lory Blackwell paused, trying to compose himself.According to what he knew, the forest located in the border area close to the Mecco Kingdom was an uninhabited forest. The dense forest was a wild forest inhabited only by animals. Although soldiers from the two kingdoms, Ans De Lou Kingdom and Mecco Kingdom, did check regularly, it was still very rare.So, it was no surprise that Lory thought he had misheard. "Probably just a hallucination." The young man said quietly and nodded, reassuring himself.However, after a few seconds he heard the same voice again, "Hey, I'm over here."Lory's eyes widened. He became very alert.On such a dark night, of course he couldn't see very clearly so he could only squint and hold his gun tightly. But, from the voice of the person, Lory guessed that the voice was coming from his right so he turned his head to his right. As he climbed up the large tree that he used as cover, he did notice that there were several other large trees in the vicinity.
Ben immediately grimaced. Meanwhile, Alen and Shin laughed crisply together. Then, Diego pretended to look up.However, Reiner boldly replied, "It's not about feeling sorry for you. I ... just think Riley is too much."James clucked his tongue and took the empty seat next to Diego who immediately turned to him with the same look."That's his right," James replied, sounding casual."Rights? What right do you mean, the right to put his best friend in trouble?" Reiner replied cluelessly.James shrugged, "I've been causing him trouble for the past few years as well."Shin widened his eyes, "Hey, what are you talking about? What trouble? He-""I left this palace and let Riley handle all the problems in this kingdom by herself. I mean ... I know you guys have always been there for him and so many great warriors have helped him, but ... yeah it's still hard for him," James explained after cutting off Shin's words that he hadn't finished yet.
Reiner frowned when he saw James' expression which he found very strange. Moreover, he also saw how James' lips suddenly formed a smile."What's wrong with you?" Reiner finally chose to ask.James once again smiled at Reiner, making Reiner wink.Reiner also got goosebumps instantly. "What's wrong with you? Don't tell me you're going crazy, James!"A sigh was immediately heard from James. He snorted in exasperation, "Damn it! I still have hopes of meeting Riley, even if it's not now. Why should I go crazy?"Hearing that, Reiner let out a sigh of relief. Because, James' nagging was one of the ways that showed that his good friend was really just fine. "Then, why are you being like that? Smiling horribly. Very strange, just so you know! Not like your usual self," Reiner explained, who still looked a bit horrified.James grinned again, revealing his row of clean teeth. He then said, "Oh, it's about Gary Davis. You ... just made me realize something, Rei.""Realized? About what?" Reiner a
Instead of answering James Gardner's question, Xylan Wellington said, "I ... I know what you're trying to say, General Gardner."Great, so what's the answer? Reiner thought, starting to feel lazy.James raised an eyebrow, "Yes, Your Majesty?"Xylan sighed softly, then closed his eyes for a few seconds. After regaining control of himself he replied, "It was my negligence, General Gardner.""Negligence? About what, Your Majesty?" James asked, sounding like he wanted a clearer answer."My sister. I ... know she has done wrong," Xylan said quietly.The viceroy bowed his head for a few seconds, while James remained silent, waiting for him to speak again.And without James pressing him, Xylan said, "I've actually noticed something strange about her. This ... even, before you set out to find my brother-in-law again, General Gardner."James' eyes widened instantly, but he still refrained from commenting.Xylan cleared his throat softly before continuing, "But ... even when I felt something wa
Hearing the new war general's question, Xylan Wellington laughed awkwardly.It was a laugh that didn't really come off, in fact, it sounded so strange that it made anyone who heard the viceroy's laughter confused.Reiner also looked at Xylan with a strange gaze while James did not even blink. The look in his eyes showed a demand.A demand for an explanation from Xylan regarding what he had just said.When he saw that urgent questioning look, Xylan finally stopped laughing. He cleared his throat softly before saying, "Hm ... I know from the main soldier.""The main soldier?" James repeated as he frowned.Xylan gulped and smiled clumsily, "The king's court soldiers, General Gardner."Oh, that wasn't really what James meant. He knew without even asking that the main soldiers were the palace soldiers specifically assigned to escort and guard him.There were usually five of them and one of them was required to stay by his side
James Gardner remained silent, giving no clear answer to Reiner's question.An immediate anxiety struck the ground war commander. Not wanting to be ignored by James, Reiner asked again, "James, tell me. Are you going to stay in the palace? You're not going to leave, right?"He looked anxiously at James who was staring out the car window. However, after he waited patiently enough he finally heard James answer, "I don't know."Reiner's heart was like being hit by a rock instantly."So ... are you leaving?" the man asked in a tone that sounded disappointed."It depends."Reiner, who was still staring at James, raised an eyebrow, looking confused, "Depends on what?"James sighed softly, "It depends on King Xylan's answer."Reiner was getting more and more confused. However, he did not have time to ask further as the car they were in had already entered the main gate of the Ans De Lou Royal palace. Even so, Reiner still did not want to give up so easily so he continued to stick to James e
At first Michelle Veren didn't understand what James Gardner was asking. However, when she saw the look on the general's face, she immediately knew he meant the time of the departure of the three people they were looking for.So, the Veren boutique owner replied, "About an hour ago, General Gardner."Hearing that answer, Reiner immediately went limp. But, it was inversely proportional to James who was even full of enthusiasm. This could be seen from James who even said, "Come on, Rei. Let's go after him."Reiner looked sadly at his best friend and replied, "It won't catch up, James. It's been too long."James did not even listen to Reiner's words and ordered some of his men, "Prepare the car, let's go after them!""James," Reiner called softly.James ignored the call and kept saying to his men who were still quietly waiting, "Find out through the CCTV which area they are currently in. They ... should be visible if they take the highway from behind this building."Reiner bit his own
Unfortunately it was all too late for the young girl to realize. All the words of the girl named Alice Porter were clearly heard by Reiner Anderson and James Gardner.With a dark look on his face, James said, "Miss, you-""No, no. I just misspoke, I ... I don't know anything. You heard me wrong," Alice said, whose face paled even more. Especially when she saw the aura of James Gardner, the terrifying war general, she found it even harder to breathe.Reiner also could not help himself so he said in an exasperated tone, "Tell me everything you know or you ... will know how terrible it is when you face the two of us.""I don't care if you are a woman. I can still find a punishment that you deserve," Reiner continued coldly.Alice swallowed harshly. Of course the young girl was very confused. Moreover, no one was trying to help her at all. All the employees in the boutique looked so frightened that no one dared to open their mouths."Say it now! We don't have much time, Miss!" James gro
James' question immediately made Reiner silent for a few moments. He stared at the boutique with a confused look on his face.Meanwhile, James didn't want to waste any more time so he wordlessly walked towards the boutique owned by Michelle Veren, a forty-year-old female designer who was quite famous in the country.Reiner didn't just stand by and do nothing, lamenting his inaccuracy. He followed James with a small trot right behind James without a word.As soon as James was faster than him to reach the door, he immediately saw the two boutique guards who opened the door for them."Can I help you?" one of the boutique guards asked James."I'm looking for Princess Rowena. Where is she now?" James asked back matter-of-factly as he darted his eyes all over the first floor of the boutique.Although there was a suspicion rising in James' mind, the young man put his anxiety ahead of his suspicion."You're looking for Princess Rowena? Who are you? You-""James Gardner. Royal War General Ans
Reiner Anderson did not answer James' question. Instead, he had a facial expression that looked both hesitant and confused.Of course, that made James Gardner even more annoyed. "Come on, tell me quickly! What's so strange about Princess Rowena?" James urged, impatiently.Reiner swallowed and scratched his ears before answering, "Well, I'm not sure if this is strange to you. But ... I think it's very strange, James."James gritted his teeth in growing annoyance and impatience.Luckily, he didn't need to ask anymore as Reiner added, "So, according to reports she went outside the palace."Hearing Reiner's answer, James snorted rudely. "What's so strange about that? I know she often goes outside the palace."Reiner sighed softly, "Indeed. But, this time ... a few hours ago, she left without a bodyguard. And she ... left with their son, Prince Kharel."Instantly James glared in shock, "What? Are you ... sure?""Yes, James. She just-""How is that possible? King Xylan ... didn't forbid he