Chapter 237: Buy Time

December 28th, 625

As I approached Maxwell – Boris at his side – he eyed me and frowned. 

“You look like shit. Was it that bad?”

“The worst week of my life so far. I need to talk to you about something.”

“Hm. Lead the way.”

“Boris, go ahead and wait in the lounge.”

I gave that order while walking into the mansion with Maxwell. We found ourselves in one of the estate’s greeting rooms where Umara was waiting for us. 

Once the door closed Maxwell asked. 

“What’s this about?”

“I’ve acquired another prime material for a Crown, and I intend to give it to Umara. I want your opinion on it, as well as your help contacting Terrace so I can get it handled for her.”

“…It can be done, depending on the material. I don’t know if you noticed but I added my own materials to your Crown. I won’t send you to him if it’s something ordinary.”

“It’s an Authority 11 King Blood of Unholy Light.”

Maxwell’s eyes widened, my hand lifting. 

“Do you want to see it?”

“No, no I don’t… What state is it in?”

“Completely intact besides some superficial wounds on its body and its head being crushed. It wasn’t even completely drained during the battle, so its power lingers.”

“…Well, I can promise you that nobody except Terrace could possibly handle such a material. It will take time and money, especially for other catalysts and supplemental materials.”

He looked up at me, “Your Crown cost me 70 million coin, and it enhanced much more than just your eyes, but that was with mere Authority 9 materials. This is far, far above that, and it will cost you accordingly, even discounting the service cost someone like Terrace likes to demand. I know you’ve made plenty of coin but this will not necessarily be something coin alone can buy. Is Talexia aware?”

“She is, and she has agreed to provide the funds.”

“Good. Then I will put you in contact with Terrace. Be prepared to hand-deliver the materials straight to him. He will need time to prepare and the cost will be upfront. You will need to discuss payment.”

“That’s fine. I just want to start the process as soon as possible.”

Maxwell nodded, turning to Umara. 

“Do you have any Crowns?”

She shook her head, “No sir.”

“Good. There is a limit to how many Crowns the body can support. I have a feeling that this one will reach yours. It will likely be the only Crown you ever get.”

“Is it worth it? For me to get it?”

“If you’re as amazing of a Warlock as John likes to boast, then yes, it is. The only thing greater is a Crown composed of a fully intact Sovereign-Class. There have not been many of those ever, barely enough to count on two hands within the Church. And since King Bloods often reach the combat standards of a Sovereign-Class due to the sheer power of their Aura, it’s debatable that those are actually better. And those of the Unholy Light bloodline are masters of mana, with some mental manipulation sprinkled in. So it is the most perfect Crown for you, especially since you specialize in Air, Fire, and Water magic. Your healing abilities, when you learn, will become extraordinarily potent.”

Umara’s head fell a bit. 

“Terrace will know more about the effects of the Crown. My knowledge on Unholy Light is limited to combat with it, but that’s more than enough to say it is the greatest material for a Warlock Crown.”

I asked, “What’s the best for summoners? Despair?”

“Indeed, if you are looking to enhance your strengths further. They are nightmares of the mind which makes their Crowns valuable tools.”

“Then maybe I’ll have to find one.”

I commented as Maxwell tapped his Aerial. When he waved at me I brought mine up and received Terrace’s contact. 

I memorized the information and put my Aerial down. 

“Alright, I’ll contact him today. Do you want to go to the Holy See with us?”

“If I don’t have to, no. You won’t need me there, and Terrace will be more than willing to do business with you since the material is one of the best there is.”

“Very well. The only other thing I need from you is time to discuss some things with the advancement formation. I’ve questions.”

“I can remain here then, so long as the Duchess is willing to accommodate me.”

Uamra stood and gave him her promise, and with those plans made we separated. 

One thing down. Now I just needed to start acting. 

I made a quick call to Terrace since I had his info now. Our discussion was straightforward and he was equally surprised as Maxwell to hear that I had an Authority 11 King Blood to work with as a material for a Crown. Given that and my identity, he was naturally very receptive to working with us. 

He also reaffirmed the fact that it would be the perfect Crown for a warlock. I was excited for Umara, but she didn’t seem to like hearing things that only ensured she would get it. 

I understood her reservations but I was in no mood to let her battle me on this. She was going to get the Crown and I would rest easy knowing she was much more powerful than me. 

Terrace and I quickly set up a time and place to meet so I could hand off the prime material. I also got an estimate for how much this was going to cost. After telling him that Talexia was footing the bill he told me that he would discuss some things with her in regard to payment beyond coin. Still, a hundred million coin was looking like the downpayment with what little we discussed. 

It was a project that would take Terrace and a team of his people over a week to prepare for and that was after the days it would take to acquire the materials to process the King Blood’s corpse. After all, as it was now it was poisonous. They would have to purify it like they did White Crystals and then add supplementing materials so it would integrate with Umara’s body. 

This would not be a small undertaking, and I was told that the burden on Umara during the surgery would be immense. But it was all a worthwhile challenge. The reward was too great to not take full advantage of the opportunity. 

After sorting out the details I needed to I ended the call with plans to fly to the Holy See in two days. Terrace would start gathering the materials he knew he needed now. He was eager to move as fast as he could because he was going to make bank on this operation. 

After that I still had the rest of the day, so one of the first things I did was assemble everyone who would be questioned about the fall of the Treehouse and the subsequent retreat. 

There had yet to be any other generals from the Treehouse discovered alive, so chances were that they didn’t survive after I made the decision to split off from the rest of the retreating force. It could be said that we had deserted them, even though I’d say it didn’t matter if we did or not. Regardless, there was a need to get our stories straight, semantically at least. 

Things like saying that we had been driven away from the rest of the force instead of deliberately leaving them behind. Things like saying we moved to reinforce the village instead of leaving the Stronghold early. Things like making sure they knew that all the generals had decided to make retreat efforts. We needed to make sure that they couldn’t pin any blame on us or hit us with desertion accusations. 

Our biggest key detail was the fact that the Sovereign had ordered the retreat. Polly had been there during that meeting, so everything after that was essentially free for us to bend for our protection and benefit. 

Then it was just the little details. I made sure that Jaya, Polly, and Jasmine wouldn’t spill the beans about the King Blood’s corpse, or that we had even fought one. Jaya was the one I was most worried about, but despite her reactions to what I did during the final phase of our retreat from the village, she seemed to want to remain in my camp. 

Even if she did spill the details, so long as I got the corpse to the Holy See, I had no worries, not even regarding the Third Claw, who I knew would probably be involved in the investigation, directly or not. 

To that end I ensured that Talexia would be present for every questioning. I wouldn’t give the Third Claw nor the Royal Guard room to do anything to my people. 

With that, we were prepared for tomorrow’s investigation. The rest of my day was spent talking with Maxwell and receiving a report from Boris regarding project progress at Wonderland. It seemed it was coming together nicely. They already had functioning prototype tanks and artillery built, and even seemed to have figured out the propellant issue. I had much more to add when I got there but it was nice to know that the personnel we had stationed there were living up to their proclaimed skill and putting in their money’s worth. 

In fact, so long as I was able to properly use the next few months, we’d quickly be on track to building up an entire division of armored tracks just a few months afterward. The efficiency and speed of magical industry was unparalleled. It had taken only a few months to get planes out, just a month or so more to get bombs fielded. That was half a year to go from no planes to planes already becoming an integral part of warfare. 

The goal was to combine this magic with real industry. If I could do that, it wouldn’t be far fetched to build up an entirely new army within the Kingdom’s military based around armored warfare. 

If I had that level of industry, then I was certain that another catastrophic defeat like that at Purple Sky and the Treehouse would never happen again. 

I would render numbers obsolete. I just needed a bit of time. 

These next two months would be crucial, the foundation by which I catapulted my budding military industrial complex forward. 

……

…

December 29th, 625

The day came, and those from the investigation team arrived. 

As expected a full General arrived along with some Colonels and other intelligence agents under the Royal Guard. They were armed with Orbs and video devices and ready to record our every word. 

Polly was under the most scrutiny but because Talexia was there during the interviews, it remained civil and within reason. There were no direct accusations thrown at Polly which was my biggest concern. 

The interviews went by quickly. Every one of us was asked to recount the events of our retreat and escape and since everyone was on the same page, it went by as I wanted it to. Our asses were covered and I had gone over Polly’s report multiple times, which would be one of the most important documents to come out of this incident. It would no doubt circulate to the King himself. Everyone concerned with the fall of the Treehouse and Stronghold would be reading it. 

One thing I was relieved with was the fact that the Third Claw hadn’t shown up, at least not obviously. They’d be paying attention to everything coming out of this investigation but they weren’t coming to question us in person. Probably to maintain their low profile, or perhaps because that summoner didn’t see a reason to face me directly. After all, I hadn’t done anything obviously treasonous by escaping with my life. I’m sure they placed less importance on the fall of the Treehouse than on me leaking powerful technologies to the Church. 

Either way, I walked out of my interview within 15 minutes of entering. The General, named Landon, shook my hand.

“Thank you, Commander Cooper. Your insight has been helpful.”

“Sure. I’m your last interview, correct?”

“Indeed.”

“Then perhaps you can answer my question. What plans are there for matters of transfer regarding Pollina and Jasmine?”

“Well, they currently have no commanding General so they will be transferred to one. Currently though there are no plans to have them transferred. Orders simply haven’t been given and they haven’t been processed.”

“Who would give the orders?”

General Landon pondered for a moment, shrugging. 

“I’m not sure. Given that this isn’t an issue we would bother the Sovereign with, and the fact that the entire chain of command above you all has been killed, we will likely notify Rear General Herman who is responsible for the allocation of new or free intelligence personnel. He will process the two and then place them accordingly.”

“I see. Come with me for a moment, General Landon.”

I waved, the general following me to Talexia’s study. 

He gave a greeting to her as I closed the door. 

I glanced at Talexia, then at General Landon. 

“General, we happen to have a favor to ask of you.”

“Oh?”

The General was intrigued. A favor involving a high noble like Talexia wasn’t something someone like him would ignore. After all, although the Kingdom’s military was centralized enough to be called a singular entity, it still maintained decentralized groups with different interests. These groups were often defined by the nobles who drove them, nobles who liked having people to do favors for them. 

Those being asked would listen because being on a noble’s good side often meant either rich payouts or greater safety. And with the recent collapse of an entire front that resulted in the deaths of both Generals and Marshals alike, everyone was reminded once more of the painful reality of mortality. The only way to be saved was to have powerful people to latch onto. 

I walked over to Talexia’s large desk and stood at its side, Talexia eyeing the General as he sat down. 

I spoke. 

“You see General, I plan on making a large arrangement with the Kingdom rather soon. You will be one of the few to know but I have certain projects in the works that, while not as revolutionary as the planes have been, will still alter the face of warfare forever. Because of that, I need time. Time away from the responsibilities of the military and the pulls of Rear Generals. To that end, I want to ask you to keep my name from being processed, as well as that of Pollina and Jasmine.”

The General rubbed his chin, glancing at Talexia before looking back at me. She wasn’t actually the one making the request here, but her very presence meant that my words were weighed with her authority. 

“It could be done, Commander. Normally I can afford a couple years to those who wish to dodge assignment, but your names are everywhere. The Rear General will hear of it anyway.”

“Are you saying that the Rear General isn’t open to cooperation?”

“Well…”

His eye glimmered, a small smile surfacing on his face. 

“That’s not entirely true. The Rear General enjoys keeping himself free of outside influence, but small exchanges are not something he is unfamiliar with. There are many a noble who want their children placed in safe positions. It’s just not often that he gets big requests, being that he is only in charge of intelligence personnel.”

“Then consider this an easy transaction. For the task of delivering this message to the Rear General and ensuring it is carried out as I wish, I will reward you as well. I want the papers with mine, Pollina’s, and Jasmine’s names to be shelved. You can create the transfer order, you can even begin processing. But I want the orders to be shelved until I can designate the unit to make the transfer to.”

“I see… Did you have a unit in mind?”

“No. The unit I have in mind doesn’t exist yet. But I need to make sure that we don’t get moved around until it’s created. I’m thinking around 6 months. Do you think you can talk to the Rear General and arrange that?”

I stared silently at General Landon until he nodded. 

“Yes, I think I can arrange that.”

“Good. Then take this.”

I pulled out a check, the new mode of money transfer since I was forced to leave the Polaris Bank.

It was marked for 3 million coin, and when I handed it to the General, he smiled widely. 

“That will be my incentive for both you and the Rear General. I expect you to divide accordingly, and I expect it to get me what I want. If it doesn’t then I will be speaking with the Rear General personally to find out why he wasn’t sufficiently convinced.”

“Don’t worry, Commander. Your wishes will be properly relayed, and if the Rear General has any issues, I will contact you so they can be rectified.”

General Landon stood, shaking my hand before giving a small bow to Talexia. 

With that, he left. 

Talexia sighed. 

“That was more than you had to pay. I could’ve just asked for the favor.”

“Cash is king, and I want to make sure they do what I want. Besides, I know how much my time is worth. I’ll make that money back within the week.”

“Making that much?”

“Even after all I’ve spent, I’m personally pushing 300 million coin. Sawn started multiplying the prices of the planes and helicopters and yet they’re still selling as fast as we can make them. Nobles are going crazy over them and the flight school is beyond max capacity trying to churn out pilots. In fact, you saved many millions of coin given that I allowed you to make some of the first purchases.”

“I see.”

“So spending a few million to buy myself 6 months isn’t even a decision worth pondering. I won’t be able to do the same for the others since they’re under Gurns but that won’t be much of a problem.”

Talexia turned to me, “You’re going to join special operations?”

“Perhaps, but nothing that’s going to happen from now on will be conventional. I’m planning on creating another division in the military. But first, I need to finish up some projects with Sawn.”

“What project would warrant an entirely new division?”

“The kind that changes how war is fought. But I want to make sure that I also get good people on my side. To that end, I’m hoping to have your help.”

I turned to meet her gaze, “I need you to hold on to Polly and Jasmine, and when this new division launches, I’m going to bring them with me. But I want Polly to get promoted before then so I can maintain proper control over the division as a whole. Do you think you can help with that?”

“…Maybe. Recent events will help with that, if used accordingly.”

“Use them. For all it is worth. If things work out how I want them to I shouldn’t have many problems, but I still won’t stand for dumbasses being placed above me. If there were a good General somewhere I’d take them, but I know of none and I trust none, so I need to make Polly one. If not a full General, then at least a Major General.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say. And it sounds good on paper but nothing will happen unless the right people see a good reason to go along with it. You need to worry about the success of this project.”

“No, I don’t. The project will be a success regardless. It’s technically already one. I just need to put on the finishing touches. What I really need is someone to help me lay the foundation for the future, and you’re the first one I’m asking.”

She went silent for a bit, eventually nodding and turning her head away. 

“Fine. You have my full support. I’ll make some calls.”

“Thank you. Don’t be afraid to use my name and make optimistic promises. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Will do.”

“Are you ready for tonight?”

I suddenly changed the subject, Talexia nodding.

“Yes. Those at the teleporter are ready for us.”

“Good. I sent Boris earlier so he’ll meet us there. After that, you all just need to hang around in the Whetted City for a few days.”

“Are you sure you aren’t being paranoid, keeping things so secret?”

“Very. Any mistakes may lead to me getting branded a traitor.”

“How so?”

“Let’s just say some people weren’t very happy about me rejecting a noble title. With it, they tried to put me on a leash, and so long as I refuse to let them, I’m walking a tightrope. Just trust me. Otherwise I’m going to have to get ready to spark revolution.”

“Fine, fine.”

She sighed as I made my way out. 

The General was going to leave tomorrow morning, and after that I’d be enacting the first phase of my plans. 

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