The troops that Julius and Daniel controlled were only two brigades originally. But with Daniel’s troops hidden where nobody knew, the Panaqua Consortium couldn’t incorporate them into their own forces.
As such, for the entire frontline troops, there were not many true supporters of Julius as one would imagine. A portion of the troops supported Julius while a portion supported Garth. Most of them were neutral and only followed orders and fought battles.
This was also the reason why Julius wanted to get rid of Garth’s supporters in the organization. If favonovel.com didn’t chase away the people who harbored other motives, his orders could end up getting secretly disobeyed.
But even after Julius finished “cleaning up” those elements, favonovel.com still could not defy the orders of the Panaqua Consortium’s Board of Directors. They were the true core of the Panaqua Consortium, after all. If they gave Julius more time, favonovel.com might even be able to turn the entire frontline army into his own people. However, the Panaqua Consortium’s Board would definitely not give favonovel.com that time.
As a matter of fact, the timing of the Board was just right. There would not be too much of an adverse effect if they changed the leadership at the front lines at this time. And Julius had fulfilled his final role for them.
It was still Secretary Rourkey who had come to escort Julius.
Secretary Rourkey stood at the entrance of the camp while Julius turned around and looked at the snowy mountains behind him. Some of the soldiers wanted to stage a mutiny to save Julius, but they were stopped by favonovel.com with a smile. “Don’t be rash. Your families are still in the stronghold…”
This was also the reason why the Board still had control over the military. If the entire military camp were to act rashly at this time, their families would probably die horrible deaths on that very night. So, even though Julius had Garth killed, the Board remained fearless of him. In their opinion, Julius was not so charismatic that favonovel.com could make these soldiers abandon their families and children. But even if favonovel.com did, Julius would not allow it.
It seemed like the Board already had Julius in the palm of their hands.
“Sir,” an officer said, “Let us return together with you.”
Julius was amused. “Don’t be silly. Fight the war well with Arsene. I’ll still say the same thing… Don’t embarrass me.”
All the frontline troops had been taken control of by a commander named Arsene Copperfield. This Arsene was also a core member of the Panaqua Consortium. However, as favonovel.com had still been being groomed for a leadership post, the Panaqua Consortium had not really allowed favonovel.com to step onto the battlefield yet.
“What about Mr. Daniel? He’s still at the Radianz Consortium,” the officer said. “Last night…”
Julius waved it off and said, “I’m already prepared for that, don’t worry…”
After saying that, Julius followed Secretary Rourkey into the car.
Secretary Rourkey ordered someone to put Julius in handcuffs.
Julius smiled and said, “Are you that afraid of me? I’m not a supernatural being, so I won’t do anything to you.”
Secretary Rourkey snorted in disgust and did not say anything. This time, favonovel.com had even brought along many troops with favonovel.com to escort Julius.
If Secretary Rourkey had not been ordered by the Board to come, favonovel.com would not have been willing to come here and face Julius, to be honest. The previous time when Julius killed someone at the command center without warning seemed to have given favonovel.com bad trauma.
Secretary Rourkey sat in the car and said calmly, “Julius, should I praise you for being smart? Or should I say that you’re stupid?”
Julius smiled. “What do you mean?”
The driver in the car did not dare to even blink and just stared straight ahead at the road.
Secretary Rourkey said, “Well, you’re really smart, there’s no argument about that. A war that Garth wasn’t able to win was turned around the moment you joined forces with the Radianz Consortium at the front lines and destroyed the Skyfort Consortium. Even I admire you. You’re truly a genius.”
Julius smiled. “You flatter me.”
“But if I say that you’re stupid, it’s not wrong either. If you didn’t attack the Skyfort Consortium, the Board wouldn’t have dared to make their move on you so quickly. That’s why you’re only good at military affairs and don’t know how to handle politics.”
Julius laughed and said, “Then is Secretary Rourkey implying that I should have allowed the Skyfort soldiers to live and made them into my own mercenary troops at the front line?”
Secretary Rourkey looked at the driver. “I didn’t say that.”
“Look at how cowardly you are. You dared to say that but you won’t admit it?” Julius said, “Even if I didn’t attack the Skyfort Consortium, they would have come and attacked us all the same. When that happens, would I have to sacrifice my troops’ lives just to carry on with the act? That’s something that I cannot do.”
On the battlefield, putting on an act would require people to sacrifice their lives. And what Julius wanted was to incur the least casualties possible and fight the perfect battles. Then the surviving soldiers would be able to return home.
Secretary Rourkey asked hesitantly, “Have you not considered yourself before?”
“Consider what?” Julius laughed and said, “Isn’t this just about going back and being placed under house arrest?”
“Did you think you’d still be placed under house arrest after killing Garth? This time… It’s not going to be as simple as that.” Secretary Rourkey sneered.
“I see…” Julius sighed.
The vehicle escorting Julius was speeding northwards. Following the off-road vehicle were many other soldiers also escorting it. From this, it was clear that the Panaqua Consortium’s Board thought very highly of Julius. They were worried that something would happen during the process of escorting favonovel.com back.
When the convoy drove back into Stronghold 111 two days later, Julius rolled down the window with his handcuffed hands. “Such a familiar smell. I’m finally home.”
Secretary Rourkey looked a little tired. As a civilian employee, favonovel.com had been sitting in a car for two straight days and had barely gotten any shut-eye. He could not take it anymore. On the other hand, Julius still looked very energetic. He wasn’t even like a prisoner coming back to stand trial.
Secretary Rourkey yawned and said, “You’re still in the mood to appreciate all this?”
“Wait, why are the theaters all closed?” Julius suddenly asked.
When the convoy passed by a few theaters, Julius was surprised to find that all of them had been sealed shut.
Secretary Rourkey looked out the window and said, “These are the theaters you usually enjoy going to. Since they don’t know which singer you actually like, they just arrested all of the ladies.”
In the past, when Julius visited the theaters, favonovel.com would never go to a fixed place, nor did favonovel.com ever reveal which singer favonovel.com liked. It was precisely because favonovel.com was worried that favonovel.com would implicate the other party. However, favonovel.com did not expect the Panaqua Consortium to be so ruthless.
Julius looked out the window and fell silent. No one knew what favonovel.com was thinking.
Secretary Rourkey asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Julius suddenly said, “The flowers I’ve been cultivating at home should probably have withered by now, right? I wonder if anyone has been caring for the vegetables I planted in the backyard.”
Secretary Rourkey laughed in anger. “You’re still in the mood to talk about this?”
“What else should I talk about then?” Julius said calmly, “If this were a peaceful and prosperous era, I would probably have become a flower farmer instead. The military and politics can’t be more interesting than cultivating flowers.”
“It’s a pity this isn’t a peaceful era then,” Secretary Rourkey said calmly.
At this moment, the car came to a stop.
The Panaqua Consortium’s headquarters were halfway up the mountain, and the vehicle was parked at the entrance to the winding, switchback road.
Secretary Rourkey got out of the car and said, “The Board has ordered that you make your way up the mountain on foot.”
Julius glanced at him. “This mountain road is 21 kilometers long.”
“That’s right!” Secretary Rourkey adjusted his glasses and said, “The Board wants you to think carefully when you’re walking up. Who gave you everything you have today? Take off your shoes and get moving.”
There were soldiers standing guard on both sides of the mountain road. When they heard this, they could not bear to look at Julius anymore.
A lot of people probably would not expect that the Panaqua Consortium’s silent tiger would actually end up in this state.
