“Has the tally of merits been finalized?” Seth Knight sneered.
“It’s… it’s been finalized!” the Minister of Military Affairs squeezed out, his voice cracking like a dying drake.
Anything to survive.
He scrambled on all fours toward the holographic terminal.
His chubby fingers stabbed frantically at the keyboard.
A flash of venomous malice flickered in his downcast eyes.
“Major Steve turned the tide! His merit reaches the heavens!” The minister looked up, his screech echoing through the hall.
“He is hereby promoted ahead of schedule to PDF Major General with full authority! He will command the hundred-thousand-strong garrison of the 17th Defense Zone!”
*Hum—*
The holographic projection flared to life.
Two massive, golden-red general’s stars levitated in midair.
The bald adjutant clenched his fists, his breathing turning shallow and rapid.
The eight soldiers flushed red with excitement.
Supreme commander of a hundred thousand troops!
This was a meteoric rise!
Before their grins could even fully form…
…the minister braced himself against the table, stood up straight, and suddenly assumed a cold, businesslike expression.
“However…”
“With the recent escalations on the hive city’s periphery, the Department of Military Affairs’ resources have run completely dry.”
“Given that General Steve enjoys the profound favor of the Ecclesiarchy…”
“…the military funding, equipment upgrades, and even the daily basic rations of this hundred-thousand-strong army…”
“…will no longer receive a single coin from our department.”
“All expenses must be fully self-funded by the Major General!”
The true trap was sprung.
In the corners of the hall, the trembling nobles and high officials instantly widened their eyes.
Then, suppressed snickers began to spread.
This wasn’t a promotion.
This was a blatant attempt to drive someone to their grave!
A hundred thousand fully armed grunts.
In a single day, they would devour a mountain of supplies that could sustain an entire Underhive sector!
Without pay or rations, even the most loyal unit would mutiny within three days.
When that happened…
…the starving, unruly soldiers would swallow this new commander alive, leaving nothing but chewed-up bones!
It was a flawless death trap disguised as high praise.
The bald adjutant’s burgeoning ecstasy instantly froze.
His face paled to the color of ash, and his hand instinctively drifted toward the bolt pistol at his waist.
Yulia was also stunned.
Having grown up navigating the cutthroat circles of the nobility, she knew all too well how terrifying an unpaid army could be.
The minister patted his round belly, his smile twisted with smug satisfaction.
As long as the kid accepted the commission, he was as good as dead.
Silence fell over the hall once more.
Everyone waited to see Seth Knight lose his composure in despair.
“Hahahaha!”
Seth Knight suddenly burst into laughter.
It was incredibly wild and arrogant.
Far from showing any anger, he strode right up to the terminal.
*Click!*
Seth Knight ripped the black-gold keycard out of its slot.
This chip, branded with the Aquila, was the absolute authority to command a hundred thousand troops.
He held up the keycard, his gaze sweeping over every high-ranking official present.
“Since the Military Department won’t give me a single dime, I actually have to thank you.”
“Listen up.”
“From this day forward, these hundred thousand men are my personal private army!”
“I will feed my own troops, and I will call my own shots.”
Seth Knight patted the stiff, chubby cheek of the Minister of Military Affairs.
“In the future, if your department dares to meddle in my defense zone or redeploy even a single soldier of mine…”
“…I will treat you as heretics obstructing the Ecclesiarchy’s holy crusade.”
“And I’ll slaughter every last one who comes!”
The spectating nobles stared, dumbfounded.
They looked at Seth Knight as if he were an irredeemable lunatic.
Using the count’s estate to fill the bottomless pit of a hundred-thousand-strong army?
Even if he sold off the entire Spencer family, he wouldn’t last a single month!
…
The Spire, Count Spencer’s Spire Manor.
Inside the observation garden on the highest floor.
Only the Sister of Battle remained nearby.
Seth Knight stared into a full-length mirror.
Looking at Steve’s face reflecting back at him, he said, “I’ve worn these rags long enough. It’s time to take them off.”
The Sister of Battle stood to the side, not understanding what he meant.
The next second, Seth Knight’s mind triggered the system.
[Deactivating: Painted Skin Card]!
A blinding, dazzling storm of golden psychic energy suddenly erupted!
The Sister of Battle instinctively shielded her eyes.
As the golden light dissipated, a tall, erect young man in combat boots stepped out from the residual psychic aura.
Black hair, black eyes.
His face was sharp and chiseled.
The muscles on his arms and chest bulged with sculpted definition.
Simply by standing there, an aggressively masculine, suffocating presence seemed to materialize and fill the entire room.
The Sister of Battle covered her mouth, her eyes shining.
This console held the highest level of authorization to connect to the military intranet.
He pulled up the holographic keyboard, plugged in the major general’s black-gold keycard, and typed in a tactical command encrypted at the highest level:
[Army-wide Announcement: Effective today, Major General Steve, answering the call of the Ecclesiarchy, has entered a state of Holy Prayer (indefinite seclusion).]
[Command: During this period of seclusion, all powers of life and death, logistical deployment, and internal governance of the 17th Defense Zone’s hundred thousand troops are fully delegated to the supreme trusted adjutant—Commodore Seth Knight!]
He pressed Enter.
The command uploaded.
Seth Knight turned around and pulled a sharply tailored, grimly imposing black officer’s trench coat from the armaments locker behind him.
With a swift motion, he flung the trench coat over his shoulders.
Then, he picked up the black-gold keycard that symbolized command over a hundred thousand troops, clicking it cleanly onto his tactical belt.
The cuckolded son-in-law?
The spineless freeloader?
That chapter was completely closed.
At this moment, the black-haired youth stood under the lights.
Shielded by the absolute protection of Imperial law, wielding absolute authority without any need to report to his superiors, the PDF Warlord, Commodore Seth Knight, had officially taken the stage.
…
However, this personnel briefing titled “Mysterious Adjutant Seth Knight Assumes Absolute Command” was immediately copied and secretly delivered to the Minister of Military Affairs.
*Crack.*
The crystal goblet in the minister’s hand shattered under his grip.
Expensive red wine mixed with blood, dripping onto the carpet.
“Seclusion? Delegating absolute authority to some adjutant who appeared out of thin air?!” The minister roared, losing his composure.
“Can anyone tell me who the hell this Seth Knight is?!”
…
Seth Knight looked at the system interface hovering on his retina, a bloodthirsty smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
[Current Remaining Card Draws: 1111!]
What did an army of a hundred thousand beggars matter?
As long as he pulled cards to summon troops, he could solve the funding and manpower issues overnight.
Suddenly, *beep, beep, beep!*
The encrypted communicator hanging from his chest let out an incredibly sharp, frantic blare.
Seth Knight pressed the receive button.
Instantly, the desperate cries of the black-market merchant Viper came through, punctuated by the roar of gunfire, artillery, and shrill screams!
“My Lord! Help!”
“We got the high-purity palladium! But…”
“…we’ve been intercepted at the core gate of the Mid-hive main elevator by elite private forces sent down from the Spire! They’re led by a PDF Colonel!”
“Not only have they seized all the cargo, but they’re also threatening to call in heavy orbital bombardment to level the area!”
“They’re declaring you and the entire garrison of the 17th Defense Zone as rebels, calling for an immediate purge!”
“…”
The signal abruptly went dead.
Seth Knight’s eyes instantly turned cold as ice.