Chapter 17

You Came from Brittany

As Ning Luo's words fell.

Bang!

Colonel Bart’s corpse dropped heavily to the ground.

No one had yet reacted, not even Colonel Cavaillé, who stood frozen in place. Major Alvin was completely dumbfounded—he had originally thought this would be the perfect chance to curry favor with Ning Luo. He never expected Ning Luo to simply kill Colonel Bart outright. Major Alvin didn’t dare think further. Sometimes, knowing more was beneficial; but knowing too much, on the contrary, was dangerous. This matter was far beyond anything he had the qualifications to get involved in.

After a deathly silence.

The surrounding soldiers and officers from the Military Discipline Office started to move, intending to rush forward. A captain killing a colonel—this was nearly unheard of. The soldiers’ instinct was naturally to subdue Ning Luo and leave the matter for a military tribunal or the General Staff to decide.

However.

Colonel Cavaillé raised his right hand to stop everyone.

The surrounding soldiers immediately withdrew.

But Colonel Cavaillé said nothing. He merely stood by, quietly waiting for Ning Luo to handle the situation. Even if he held any dissatisfaction, he had to ensure Ning Luo’s authority remained unchallenged.

Ning Luo put away the documents and stepped forward. His left hand was folded behind his back, his right hand resting in front of him, and his gaze swept across the officers of the Military Discipline Office.

“Lieutenant Colonel Feil, from this moment on, you will take charge of the Military Discipline Office.”

As the Deputy Director of the Military Dispatch Office, Ning Luo held authority over all personnel appointments in the army. He naturally had the power to appoint a new head for the Military Discipline Office.

He didn’t wait for the officer’s response.

Ning Luo turned and continued speaking to Major Alvin.

“Major, please take me to the Military Police Office.”

“Ah… Yes!”

Major Alvin was indeed frightened by Ning Luo. This situation was already beyond his understanding, and he was starting to regret it. Power struggles at this level were never something he had the right to be involved in. If even a colonel could be killed so easily, then what chance did someone of his rank stand?

But now, he no longer had the privilege of choice. If he dared to refuse, he believed Ning Luo would not hesitate to kill him on the spot.

This time.

The road ahead was filled with a long silence.

It wasn’t until much later that Colonel Cavaillé finally spoke.

“Captain, I need an explanation.”

Ning Luo paused slightly.

“I don’t have time!”

Then.

He continued walking forward with Major Alvin.

Ning Luo's words—"I don’t have time"—carried two layers of meaning.

The first was literal: he truly didn’t have time to explain things to Colonel Cavaillé.

The second, deeper meaning, was that the entire empire, the Western Front, and the Brittany Fortress itself didn’t have time.

Colonel Cavaillé took a deep breath. As the Chief of Combat Staff under the General Staff, he wasn’t a fool. Of course he understood what Ning Luo meant.

At first, he had been puzzled as to why Ning Luo was trying to establish a power structure.

Now, Colonel Cavaillé understood. Ning Luo had never intended to build some so-called power structure. He didn’t need to care about such a structure at all. What Ning Luo needed to do was to completely dismantle the power structure of the Brittany Fortress—through sheer force.

According to Ning Luo’s rotation system proposal, carrying it out would be extremely difficult.

It would shake the military’s entire hierarchy from top to bottom. Those in power would never willingly hand over that authority to Ning Luo.

And Ning Luo didn’t have time to play power games.

The Head of the Military Discipline Office was a crucial position—a hub linking the military's different power factions.

Ning Luo had killed Colonel Bart, who held that very role.

In doing so, he severed the military power structure of Brittany Fortress at its core.

At the same time—

It was also a warning to the other high-ranking officers: if Ning Luo could kill a colonel on the spot without a second thought, then those officers who planned to feign compliance while secretly resisting had better think twice.

Colonel Cavaillé drew another deep breath.

“I will report this truthfully to General Asfled.”

...

Colonel Cavaillé did not try to stop Ning Luo from heading to the Military Police Office.

Colonel Bart was already dead. If he tried to stop Ning Luo now, wouldn't Bart's death be in vain?

Since Colonel Bart was already dead—

His death had to be used to its fullest effect.

Colonel Cavaillé had to cooperate with Ning Luo to get through today first. Only then could the Military Dispatch Office carry out its work smoothly in the future. For that, sacrificing even a colonel—or a general—would be worth it.

In war, human lives were the least valuable thing.

When Ning Luo arrived at the Military Police Office—

Under normal circumstances—

As head of the Military Police Office, General Codrington should have arrested Ning Luo immediately and delivered him to a military tribunal for trial.

However—

Upon arriving at the Military Police Office, one could witness a scene rarely seen under ordinary conditions.

A young man wearing a captain's insignia was followed by a colonel and a major, and a general came out in person to greet him—with a flattering expression on his face.

“This must be Captain Ning Luo, I presume? I’ve heard General Allenby mention you. Truly, a hero in his youth.”

“General Allenby mentioned me?”

“Of course. That was already a month ago,”

General Codrington emphasized.

Ning Luo naturally understood what General Codrington meant. What Codrington was implying was that his loyalty lay with General Allenby—he was aligned with Ning Luo.

From General Codrington’s perspective, things looked very different than they did from Colonel Cavaillé’s.

Colonel Cavaillé had been brought in directly by General Asfled.

But General Codrington was different.

He originally belonged to the faction of General Hastings, the former Chief of General Staff. However, due to the disastrous defeat at the Samat River, the entire General Staff had resigned in disgrace. Those who weren’t part of the General Staff, including former members of the logistics department, were now all living in a state of constant anxiety.

However—

Their luck was both good and bad.

When General Asfled had just arrived at the Brittany Fortress, the Brittany Campaign broke out immediately. This left him with absolutely no time to deal with the military’s internal affairs.

And just moments ago—

General Codrington of the Military Police Office had received some key information.

The newly reformed General Staff had just established a Military Dispatch Office. Colonel Cavaillé was appointed as its Director, and the Deputy Director was a young captain named Ning Luo.

Then—

That young captain personally executed Colonel Bart of the Military Discipline Office.

General Codrington had access to more information than most. For example, General Allenby had previously summoned him to investigate the sudden death of Lieutenant Colonel Wolsey, the head of the Logistics and Finance Department. He also knew that the Chief Logistics Officer of the Logistics Planning Bureau was none other than this Captain Ning Luo.

Most importantly—

Across the entire Western Front Corps, including the Brittany Fortress, there was no official personnel record for Captain Ning Luo. That fact alone spoke volumes.

But General Codrington had no time left to dwell on it.

Because Ning Luo had already arrived.

Ning Luo’s black eyes swept over General Codrington, scrutinizing him.

“General, I’ve investigated you.”

“There’s no need to go to such trouble, Captain. If you’d like to understand us, I’d be happy to visit you myself,”

General Codrington immediately shifted the topic.

He absolutely couldn’t allow Ning Luo to say such things in front of everyone. The General Staff keeping personnel files on all officers was something everyone knew but was never spoken aloud. To make that explicit would cross the line.

Fortunately—

Ning Luo didn’t pull out any documents. He simply said to General Codrington:

“General, I am the head of the Military Dispatch Office. I must ensure that the orders of the Dispatch Office are carried out with absolute obedience. What I mean is… absolute.”

General Codrington understood what Ning Luo was saying.

The newly established Military Dispatch Office would be to the overall army what the Logistics Planning Bureau had been to the logistics system—a full-scale reform body. The Dispatch Office had no intention of wasting time on enforcement. It would ensure obedience through absolute force.

All Codrington could say was that the young man in front of him was truly ruthless.

He had originally thought Ning Luo was merely a representative of General Asfled. He never expected that Ning Luo was actually the one wielding real power in the Military Dispatch Office. Otherwise, there was no way Ning Luo would have claimed, right in front of Colonel Cavaillé, that he was the one in charge of the office.

General Codrington immediately said,

"The Military Police Office will unconditionally comply with the orders of the Military Dispatch Office."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

With that—

Ning Luo turned and left.

"Major Alvin, let’s visit the other departments."

"Yes, sir!"

...

Throughout that single day, Ning Luo personally visited the Dragon Cavalry Regiment, the Military Discipline Office, the Military Police Office, the Military Intelligence Office, and the Military Communications Office—leaving every one of them thoroughly shaken.

The power Ning Luo held was unlike any other.

Even if General Asfled were to punish these high-ranking officers, at most he would remove them from their positions and transfer them to a military tribunal or the Senior Officers' Committee. But Ning Luo demonstrated his absolute authority through absolute violence.

Of course—

On the surface, it seemed this authority had been granted by General Asfled. But in truth, it had been granted by the war itself.

The war between the Empire of Albion and the Kingdom of Fontaine was one of total destruction. It had mobilized virtually all the nation’s resources and power to support the war effort. In the face of such a massive war, every shred of morality and restraint was being eroded, step by step.

In peacetime, killing a colonel in full view of others would be unthinkable. Under normal circumstances, General Asfled would never entrust such overwhelming power to Ning Luo—let alone stake the empire’s fate on him.

Only in a deadlock so dire, so without recourse, could someone like Ning Luo be granted such terrifying power.

Just as Ning Luo had once said to Priscilla—

This war had long since become twisted. A war that had dragged on for thirty-three years had blurred all lines of importance. Things once deemed critical now seemed trivial, while things once considered insignificant now carried the weight of mountains.

At Brittany Fortress, the life of a colonel, the life of a soldier—

Wasn’t worth mentioning.

But procedures still had to be followed. Colonel Cavaillé submitted a report on the incident to General Asfled.

On July 2nd, 1063—

The Albion Imperial Army General Staff issued a resolution.

Captain Ning Luo’s rank would be reduced to Second Lieutenant, and the new head of the Military Discipline Office, Lieutenant Colonel Feil, was tasked with conducting a full investigation into the matter between Colonel Bart and Second Lieutenant Ning Luo.

This was essentially a notice to the entire Western Front army.

As for Captain Ning Luo—

No, now it was Second Lieutenant Ning Luo—the disciplinary action taken against him was a demotion in rank.

If that could even be called a punishment.

After killing a colonel, Ning Luo wasn’t suspended, nor was he handed over to a military tribunal. He was merely demoted. But did military rank mean anything to Ning Luo in the first place?

No.

Ning Luo remained the Deputy Director of the Military Dispatch Office, still wielding full authority over army personnel appointments and military deployment. In fact, the General Staff had further reinforced Ning Luo’s authority—for instance, officially confirming Lieutenant Colonel Feil, Ning Luo’s appointee, as the head of the Military Discipline Office.

Assigning Lieutenant Colonel Feil to investigate Ning Luo? Even if Feil had a death wish, he wouldn’t dare.

How could anyone seriously expect the newly appointed head of the Military Discipline Office to investigate the very man who had just publicly executed his predecessor?

Who in Brittany Fortress would dare investigate Ning Luo now?

That kind of courage probably came from homesickness.

Moreover—

The phrasing used in the General Staff’s announcement made things even clearer.

According to military documentation protocols, different terms are used to convey the weight and authority behind a decision. For example:

"Order" is the most common military term, used for formal instructions and disciplinary actions.

"Notice" is for explaining or circulating a decision.

"Announcement" is more formal, used for public declarations.

But "Resolution" signifies a collective decision made after internal discussion and consensus by the General Staff.

The military document concerning Ning Luo used the term “Resolution.” The implication was obvious—it wasn’t an arbitrary decision made solely by General Asfled, but a consensus reached by the entire General Staff, indicating their full support for Ning Luo’s actions.

In truth—

Even General Asfled hadn’t expected Ning Luo to actually kill a colonel.

Had Asfled been present, he would never have allowed Ning Luo to execute Colonel Bart. But he wasn’t. And Ning Luo had already done it. What was done, was done. As Colonel Cavaillé believed: if Bart’s death couldn’t be put to use, then he died for nothing.

As long as they could win this war—

Then everything would be worth it.

...

To Ning Luo, Colonel Bart as a person was unimportant.

What mattered was Bart’s death.

Simply put, Bart was unlucky. He just happened to be the one in charge of the Military Discipline Office. Ning Luo didn’t care what crimes Bart may or may not have committed—what he needed was someone of high enough rank, someone central enough in the power structure, to be killed as a symbol. Only then could the Military Dispatch Office’s absolute authority be made clear.

Colonel Bart just happened to hold that position.

Of course—

If Bart had been clean, if Ning Luo had truly found nothing on him—not even a minor flaw—then Ning Luo would not have killed a good officer.

In that case, it might have been General Codrington of the Military Police Office who ended up unlucky. And if not him, then someone else in the chain would’ve been next—there would always be someone whose faults Ning Luo could dig up.

No flaws?

Could a war like this really have lasted thirty-three years with no flaws?

After that—

Ning Luo didn’t continue pressuring the rest of the high-ranking officers.

Because Colonel Clayton, the liaison officer, had arrived.

It was time for Ning Luo to face the test that fate had prepared for him.