Titan Beneath the Heavens Chapter 92

War History, simply said, was comprised of nations and war cases. Before talking about a war, what must be asked was always who’s attacking or defending against whom, so it’s important to research the histories of each country. Understanding the political situation between countries would aid us in analyzing the reason for a war.

Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette had entered the history research of his studies. Whether a nation possess the prerequisite to launch a war was largely dependent on the upper level of the political power as well as the military power, but some situations were uncontrollable.

For example, the Deiss Kingdom under the rule of the Ancient Yaran people, the Kingdom pretty much lagged behind in terms of production and political structure compared to the whole of Westland. The Deiss nobles were basically serf owners who obtained land from the King and started organizing serfs to work on the land. During wartime, the nobles would even participate in farmwork themselves.

The Deiss King was the head territory owner, he was like a tribal chief who lived in a castle that looked like a tent. He owned everything in the Kingdom, including the serf owners. In other words, nothing in Deiss was owned by whomever "owns" it.

The army! It was made up of the private armed forces of each lord. Other than that, teutonic nobles under the King could have their own armed forces, calling them teutonic knights in the name of the King. This was an organization brainwashed with chivalry and theocracy. Everyone who had fought them either claimed they were a bunch of lunatics, or claimed they were too dumb for their own good, there were no other responses.

So every time the flames of war started at the border, the King of Deiss would issue mobilization order to his thanes. The thanes would then don their armors and weapons, choose a few of the stronger slaves and give them either a hatchet or a short bow before marching to the battlefield.

Compared to Titan’s political, economical, and cultural development, why would the Deiss Kingdom be so backwards? If there’s anyone to blame, it would be the ancestors of the hardworking, fierce Deiss people. At the end of the mythological era, the Yaran waved goodbye to clanship and entered an early stage of slave society. Their tribes occupied the fertile lands of Nuine River and the wide forests to the north as they turned to a nomadic lifestyle. At the same time, the Divine Roman Empire to the south had completed their expansion via invasion as the territorial Roman people built the massive empire throughout the Westland.

Nine centuries before Church’s calendar, the language of Ancient Yaran had basically taken shape, and they started walking the path the Romans had walked. The nomadic race started attacking the warm south. With their aggressiveness and ferocity, the Yarans soon broke through the Northern Roman land. When these barbaric warriors first saw the large infrastructures and tens of thousands of population in the city, their unenlightened mind told them, all these were the work of the devil! Technically speaking, the attack of the Yaran on the Divine Roman Empire was not an territorial expansion, but a civilization hostility that culminated into a destruction war. The nomads burned every single city that had lost its guards and massacred a massive amount of adults. When the Roman rulers finally amassed enough manpower, their Northern territory had left only rubbles and debris, and the amount of lives list could not even be counted.

To the Romans, their civilization was their pride, but at that point, civilization became their downfall! The whole Empire was covered in a veil of vengeance. The Ancient Romans used stone walls to block the invasion of the barbarians, their cavalry slicing through the nomadic troops with assault formations and lances as long as three meters. The invasion was stopped, and after a brief moment of consolidation, the Romans started their counterattack with half of the Empire’s military power.

The war lasted about a hundred years, the Romans not only chased the Yarans back into their old homes, they also occupied the Nuine River watershed where the nomadic Yaran people lived. It was said that until the Divine Roman Empire crumbled, there were still army fighting with the Yarans.

"And the rest is history!" Marshal Robin Sparse closed the thick book on the desk. "It can be said that these people who defended their country from the Yaran, also known as the Deiss Warriors currently, were the ancestors of the Titan army! The excellent battle power and fighting spirit of the imperial guards were completely inherited from these fierce Ancient Roman warriors."

"Lieutenant General, do you have any questions?" Marshal Robin looked at Oscar who wanted to say something.

"I’m thinking, the invasiveness of the Deiss people were well-documented, so even if the Roman Empire struck down their advances, but as you know, military suppression cannot completely stop the development of a race, the Deiss…"

"I know what you’re trying to say!" Marshal Robin motioned Oscar to sit. "The underdevelopment of the Deiss was not only because of the war, but everything had to do with the war. Concerning this ancient civilization, they have the Olliers on their north, the Faran, the Rielese, and the Hoillanders on their south, the Czerrocan on their east, the Titan on their northeast, and the Wedish on their west. Look! All these countries that surrounded Deiss, every single one of them had fought with the boorish Yarans. When Deiss first entered monarchy, their situation was much worse than they are now, no one would acknowledge the legality of the Deiss King, even the Church was just keeping watch. That was why Deiss had been yelling that the Titan was a threat, and that the other countries could only live if they produce another powerful nation to compete with Titan."

"But the Olliers wouldn’t budge, would they?" One of the students asked loudly.

"That’s another question! We will look into it when we talk about the war history of the Olliers. Back to the Deiss!" Marshal Robin drew a circle on the map with his pointer. "The underdevelopment of the Deiss was only natural, after losing to the Romans, they still launched attacks everywhere else, so of course they would lose! However, their barbaric invasions had left every nation they’ve dealt with a lasting impression, like the Gauls of Faran, they were arch nemesis with the Yarans. So until now, among the Westland Kingdom Alliance, the Deiss was the least welcomed. That’s not only their army, but also their half-baked nobles."

"But… If all the nations were on guard with the invasive Deiss, why do they still want to sign the offense-defense alliance with them against the Titans?"

"Lieutenant Colonel! I see you! Congratulations! This is perhaps the most naive question I have encountered in my entire teaching career!" Marshal Robin shot a glare at the officer who raised the question.

Torry leaned against Oscar, "Hey, buddy, this geezer is harsh."

Marshal Robin waved his pointer, his voice booming, "Don’t forget, we are looking into the histories of different nations. In the matter of national interest, there’s no everlasting friendship or enemies between nations! I have been emphasizing this a lot, but it seems like none of you got it!"

"The tactic of the Deiss was simple. They attach themselves to the majority and go against the minority! This is the safest way to keep themselves unharmed in any historical periods. We have to admit, the Deiss did very well in that regard! Class dismissed!" Marshal Robin walked off the stage as he finished, and the officers started to make noise.

"We’re done! Let go get a drink!"

"No! Let’s go swimming! The weather is nice today!"

"You wanna camp? I can get a few nice girls to go with us!"

"Class monitor! Do you have any suggestions?"

Oscar pulled out a huge cigar from beneath his seat, as if he was performing magic. "I’m going to hell, anyone coming?"

Looking at his darkened face, people started gossiping. "What happened? Is something wrong with him?"

"Torry, any idea?"

"Ah…" Torry smiled helplessly, "He had another fight with Her Highness! I heard they threw pillow at each other! That’s it! Don’t say I said it…"

"Torry said His Highness

fought with Her Highness!"

"Wrong! He said they started fighting in bed!"

Torry wanted to slap himself. He had better distance himself with Oscar for some time.

It soon came to the 4th Month of Year 793. On the carriage back to Dulin, Oscar counted with his fingers, Year 791… Year 792… Year 793, 4th Month… Haha! I have been out of prison for three years!

"Torry! Have you… said anything wrong recently?"

The wretch sitting opposite of the Prince immediate put on a smiley face. "Heh heh heh! Your Highness, are you referring to the part where Her Highness were throwing the pillow?"

Oscar didn’t seem angry, he nodded lightly. "I think it is! Do you know what they were saying in Sparjoxin?"

Torry grinned awkwardly, "Those twerps do like to gossip about famous people like you, don’t worry about it too much!"

"But I can’t ignore it with you!" Oscar stared at the Viscount dangerously.

"What… what are you saying?"

"Oh… nothing. You do realize we’re on a bridge?" Oscar opened the carriage door.

"Your Highness! This is dangerous!" Torry glanced at the rapid stream below the bridge.

"I know that!" Oscar grabbed onto Viscount Sukhoi’s collar with a crazed grin.

"I… I… Heeelllp…"

With a yelp, water splashed as high as a person’s height. The Prince’s carriage had stopped on the side of the bridge, and Oscar looked at the struggling Mr. Walking Stick, pleased.

"Hey! The water is not that deep! If the God of Light doesn’t want to keep you, look for me at Dulin’s Teddy Lolo Club!"

Oscar shut the door immediately.

"Uh huh!" As the carriage restarted its movements, Snowstorm hmphed lightly. "It’s time to teach this kid a lesson! Bullies should be treated as such."

Oscar shrugged unperturbed. "Actually… I only take care of him because of House Sukhoi. Every year, there were a large number of orders from House Andrew to the military, who then passed the orders on to different arms seller. House Sukhoi was definitely one of the biggest provider."

"So… you don’t treat him as a true friend?"

"Of course I do!" Oscar shook his head and waved his hand. "You should be able to tell, I do treat him like a friend! That’s because… with some things, you need a thug to do the work!"

"Like the girl in ice statue? Stop kidding me!" Snowstorm scoffed in disdain. He had killed plenty of people, but he would never torture people in such cruel fashion. Ricky had mentioned it to him, and Paul had never given Viscount Sukhoi even a smile since. To the King of Assassins, only a beast would treat a girl whom he had intimate relationship with in such merciless manner.

"Ice statue?" Oscar was slightly taken aback, but he turned away immediately, "Stop talking about it! Like Torry said, the God of Light didn’t keep her to himself, she was saved!"

Snowstorm’s eyes bulged. "Is that true? I’ve only heard about it now!"

Oscar stared at the scenery outside, slightly concerned. "That’s right! Aeolia had confirmed it. She hated the treatment of the girl more than anyone else! She spent two whole months to locate the farmer who saved the ice statue, but do you know what the farmer replied?"

"What did he say?"

"Three days after the incident, the ice statue he salvaged disappeared!"

Snowstorm nodded in understanding, "I think the Secret Services took it, are they usually that quick to act?"

Oscar didn’t show any expression on his face, "I’ve learnt not to underestimate the Secret Services, there had been too many incidents! We can only follow that explanation, even Aeolia had given up. Do you know? That ice statue would only be a disaster to the upper class, do you think she would forget how Torry tortured her?"

"You mean to say you’re afraid she would seek revenge on us… what didn’t kill her would’ve crippled her! At least with her age…"

"I’m not afraid! Vengeance had nothing to do with a person’s age! I had held more hatred at her age, but I still… never mind! I don’t want to talk about it." Oscar dismissed it with a wave. "I’m just concerned about the future of Sukhoi, that imbecile, he should think about these things more! He’s even older than I am by a few years, how could he be so immature?"

"I can see that!" Snowstorm looked at the Prince, slightly surprised, "You regard that viscount as someone more than friends!"

"Maybe…" Oscar gave it a thought, "Perhaps, I saw a little of me in him."

"Let’s talk about something else." Snowstorm perked up all of a sudden. "What about… what are you going to Dulin for? Does your trip have to be so mysterious?"

"Hahah!" Oscar clapped his hands happily. "You finally remembered to ask! However… I will not tell you!"

The King of Assassins slapped his hand against his forehead, "Oh, for heaven’s sake! There you go again! Can you not leave me hanging?"

It is 11th Day of 4th Month, Young Lady’s birthday! Her Year 193’s birthday was different from her other birthdays, she’s seventeen years old! Following the traditions of House Andrew, as a direct descendant, Sasha would be able to hold her coming-of-age celebration this year!

Presents all the way from the Narcissus County had arrived Sparjoxin. Nine whole carriages of presents made Oscar think someone was moving in with him. Princess Alanis had been busy with planning the grand celebration, the Red Tiger’s presents to Young Lady were also prepared. Oscar looked around and realized only he hadn’t prepared a gift for Sasha.

Sasha. There’s no way he would delay that!

Teddy Lolo Club, The Lair, Dulin. The club was the most eye-catching building second only to the opera house the baron resides in the Lair. The street where the club was located was controlled by the infamous Teddy gang. The gang was a gang of outsiders, its members were centered along the coastal areas of Italia and Faran, operating as pirates and smugglers. However, Teddy Lolo fancied the small area called The Lair. One of his sons was handling things in the club.

Teddy Lolo Club was just a normal entertainment club, but the weird thing was that the club always rest on weekends when people were most outgoing. Anyone who knew insider news would know, every weekend, powerful people of Titan Empire gathered in the club for its weekly auction sessions.

Luxury items from the Far East always show up in the auctions. After the Far Eastern Road was cut off, anything from the East would be sold at an ungodly price! Teddy Lolo not only had all sort of genuine Eastern items, he also had items which many Westerners had not heard of, increasing the collectors’ interest.

Oscar remembered the birthday gift he gave Sasha after he was released. It was an Eastern miniature art that could rival a city! Sasha loved it so much, but she no longer carried it around due to the attention it attracts everywhere she went. There was once a lady who tried chasing the bug that landed on Young Lady’s hair, and as expected, the lady was embarrassed when she found out the truth.

"So… what do we have today?" Oscar leaned against the couch in the private room, scanning the Teddy Lolo Jr. standing respectfully beside him.

"Esteemed Mr. Balan-"

"Stop that!" Oscar pulled Teddy Lolo Jr. to sit beside him, interrupting. "You can address me Mister, or even Your Highness, whatever, but please don’t address me with that nickname."

"Yes! Mr. B uh… Your Highness!" Teddy Lolo Jr. covered up his mistake by turning the page of the items catalogue. "Let me introduce you to the few items worth your attention! This one is an Eastern painting of a lady, my experts determined it should cost about ninety thousand Gold Tis."

"Whew!" Oscar whistled. He turned to Snowstorm on his side, "I say, my friend, Dulin’s price increased so rapidly! Did we bring enough money?"

Teddy Lolo Jr. laughed at the joke, "Your Highness, I don’t think anything would be able to stop you no matter how expensive it was! Baron Thomas had already informed us to checkout with him after the auction had ended. Just bid for it if you like something."

Oscar and Snowstorm smiled, catching each other’s gaze. It’s much easier this way! Oscar was genuinely worried his check was too little.

"Baron Thomas also warned us against cheating Your Highness with imitations. He said we’d be closed down if we do!"

Oscar dismissed it, "Thomas worries too much. Ignore him, I trust Teddy Lolo!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Teddy Lolo Jr. opened up the catalogue again. "This is another treasure from the East, I think you’d like it. It’s not an artwork, it’s also not a craftwork, but an Eastern item used by the army! It was hypothesized to be a weapon, although not even my experts could tell what is exactly is. It’s already really old!"

Oscar’s interest shot up to a sort of a boiling point. "It’s used by the Eastern army? A weapon? Could I have a look at it?"

Teddy Lolo Jr. gave an apologetic look, but Oscar immediately realized his overreach. The auction had not even started, this request would be a breach of rules.

"Ola! Apologies, I meant it would be nice if you could describe the item to me."

Teddy Lolo Jr.’s smile came on immediately. "Of course! It’s about 1.2 meters in length with a metallic body, on one end of it was made of wood, but there was some mechanism inside of it too, it’s like… like a pike? But it’s also… Hmm. I think you should wait until it was unveiled. It doesn’t look like any weapons we’ve seen before, I had my doubts about its ability to hurt." Oscar could only drop the subject after listening to the description. He looked at some other items in the catalogue, but Oscar knew his plan to choose a present for his sister was foiled the moment Teddy Lolo Jr. closed the catalogue.

There was still some time before the auction starts, but the hall was already full of people who wanted to see the famed auction hall. There were high-ranking nobles like Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette, and also businessmen renowned for their wealth, as well as leaders of major guilds and syndicates. Teddy Lolo Club welcomes any visitors, as long as they could afford their wares. Teddy Lolo Club doesn’t ask the background of their customers. However, if you showed up dressed like a vagabond, and without an invitation, Teddy Lolo Club will not hesitate to show you the exit.

"Let me go! Do you know who my friend is? Let go of me!"

The major players all glanced at the entrance, it looked like it was only some drifter with unfortunate timing. Viscount Sukhoi’s rogue-play only invited punches from real gangsters in the depth of The Lair. When His Imperial Highness Prince O’Neil finally came to his rescue, Viscount Sukhoi had thrown up all the river water he had swallowed, and colors returned to his face.

"Thank you!" Torry clutched at his stomach, panting deeply. "I feel so fricking better now!"

As the drums began to roll, the auction started!

"Is my taste really that unsavory?" Without anything to do, Oscar asked his friend.

"Mm… Hm… Umm…" Torry only made nonsensical sounds, but Oscar ignored it. "I wouldn’t even look at these things twice, but why- oh look! That old fart and the other older fart started biting at each other! I don’t understand these people!"

Whining aside, Oscar’s eyes was still fixed onto the stage. The normal stuff in shops don’t deserve to be on his sister, so if Oscar couldn’t get anything from Teddy Lolo Club, he would really be out of ideas! It was a laborious task to find a good present for a girl one likes, if he misstepped, it would be a disaster.

"Next up!" The auctioneer announced grandly, "A platinum necklace from the best jeweler of Italia! You should be able to see it clearly from your seat. The chain weighs 191 grams and the pendant weighs 174 grams! A sculpture of the God of Light was etched into the cross, can you see it? There are 365 days in a year, and the birth of the God of Light took 191 days, his ascension to Godhood took 174 days. This is to say, this necklace is crafted for the God of Light Himself! The bid will start at 8,500 Gold Tis!"

As the starting bid was announced, the crowd started riling up. If the necklace was blessed by the God of Light, 8,500 Gold Tis was too little a price. This could only mean two things, either the necklace is flawed, or it was a stolen loot! Everyone in the hall knew what business Teddy Lolo runs, but as someone who’s got a name in the world, they don’t mind how the items came about.

Oscar lowered the monocular and passed it to Snowstorm by his side. "Look at this! Why does it look familiar?"

To take control of the situation, the host spoke again. "Please settle down, the Teddy Lolo Club is renowned for its credibility. The low starting price we have set was only because of the letters ‘C.A.M.’ engraved into the back of the pendant. It’s the name of the jeweler, but that caused the value of the necklace to drop."

Snowstorm had already lowered the monocular, sharing a look with Oscar. Jeweler their asses! C.A.M. is the initial of Caro Arsia Manuel, the Italian Princess! He had almost

had almost lost his life to this necklace, so he will never misidentify it! But how could this happen? The Italian Princess valued this necklace as much as her life, how did it turn up in Teddy Lolo Club’s auction?

A fashionably-dressed noble youth extended one of his fingers, motioning to add a whole integer on the largest digit on top of the starting bid.

"9,500 Gold Tis from the Faran Prince of Kristen County! 9,500 Gold Tis! Anyone with a higher bid?"

Everyone in the audience shook their heads at the excited host. They were real collectors, only the young ones would love these shiny trinkets, for example, the Faran Prince, he was well-known for his love of attention in Faran.

"Wake up, you luckless toad!" Oscar shook Sukhoi as violently as he could.

"Oh, God of Light have mercy! Can’t you do this lighter? I’m awake, I’m awake! I just had a headache!"

Oscar clicked his tongue at him. "Look at that cockering garnished rooster! I know you haven’t met him, but have you heard anything about that Prince Kristen of Faran?"

"Ah… The brother of the Faran King, heir apparent of the throne due to lack of suitable candidates."

"Oh…" Oscar nodded. "Who cares! This lout can stuff it! The necklace is my friend’s!" He said as he extended three fingers at the host, waited for him to be noticed, and retracted his last finger. That meant adding three thousand to the last bid, and then round down.

"Oh… The lord from private room number one offered 12,000 Gold Tis!" For some reason, the auctioneer sounded like he was hesitating.

Almost immediately, Prince Kristen showed four of fingers and retracted one.

The auctioneer got his results, adding four to the largest digit and rounding down…

"50,000 Gold Tis? Your Highness! Are you sure?!"

Kristen nodded confidently, not forgetting to shoot a glance at the private room upstairs. Everyone in the audience would definitely be able to afford the price, but as a royal of Faran, he had already sent a strong signal of his intention to acquire it. As expected, the other attendees let out a low squeal, they knew the necklace is very important to the Prince.

Oscar pretended not to notice, his stretched his palm toward the host and flicked a single finger up lazily.

This meant… he wanted to add one to the last bid by one digit higher! The host discreetly tried to wipe away the sweat dripping down his forehead.

"The… the lord in private room number one offered… offered 150,000 God Tis!"

Kristen glared at private room number one, but Oscar had already slinked back into the shadows of the room.

"Brother Bal- no, Your Highness! You have got to help me!" As the organizer of the auction, Teddy Lolo Jr. almost started to beg as he entered the room.

Oscar looked at the heir of the smuggling family. He noticed earlier, when Kristen glared at him, he also exchanged a glance with Teddy Lolo Jr.

"Tell me. What’s the matter?"

"You know… My family has a lot of businesses in Faran, so we can’t possibly refuse His Highness Prince Kristen’s gift…"

Oscar understood immediately. "You mean… the necklace was put here by Prince Kristen and he’s using your auction to buy it off of you."

"That’s… right." Teddy Lolo Jr. wasn’t sure if he should continue explaining, but this concerns his reputation! If Brother Balance doesn’t intend to give up the necklace, it would be a disaster!

"The reason is this, the Italians had been scrounging around for the necklace for about two months. The news had been spread so wide, Prince Kristen can only show the necklace publicly through us. When the Italians inevitably ask my clan about it, we’ll just find them a thief!"

The Prince had raised the bid to 200,000 Gold Tis! Noise started bursting out from the crowd, who would’ve thought a platinum necklace would set the record for the highest price of the day?

Oscar peered at the Prince downstairs, and then looked at Teddy Lolo Jr. with his pitiful face. Oscar was a smart person, he already guessed what the rooster wanted to do. A lost treasure that was found after two months would probably cause the very gruntled Princess Caro Arsia to throw herself at him! Oh, how Prince Caro Arsia had suffered for the past two months! What have this idiot prince done? One cannot simply use any means to steal a woman’s heart! Oscar sighed, it had been a while since he met someone so shameless.

However, if he doesn’t let go… Teddy Lolo Club would be held responsible by that Kristen. Besides, Kristen would do whatever it takes to get it back. It wasn’t worth it to fight him with money, nor was it realistic. Oscar had an idea, he guessed how the prince got his hands on the necklace, it had to be stolen from the princess. So…

"200,000 Gold Tis calling once… calling twice…"

"Paul!" Oscar pulled the King of Assassin’s ear to him. "Ask Thomas if he has agile thieves. By the time we leave Dulin, I want that necklace with me!"

"Sold!" The auctioneer knocked his gavel onto the wooden block. "Item number twenty one is now owned by Prince Kristen of Faran Kingdom!"

Due to the necklace having the highest turnover of the night, the audience gave it a standing ovation, and Prince Kristen stood to greet everyone before bowed slightly to private room number one. It was apparent he found out who occupied the room. Oscar showed himself from the window and motioned for Prince Kristen to take the prize.

Staring at the young figure, people started postulating who it was who occupied the room. Even though Prince Kristen only bowed as a gesture of cordiality, but is there anyone who deserve a bow from the Prince of Faran?

Oscar flashed a smile at Snowstorm. "Hah! Looks like the rooster knew I’m not an easy target. He wouldn’t bother to bow otherwise."

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The auctioneer’s voice boomed across the hall. "Apologies, our second item had just been shattered during the transport here by a damnable apprentice! Heaven have mercy! The item is archaic, it didn’t survive the fall!"

The auctioneer had just enough drama in his voice, but anyone who knew the business would have guessed, item number two must have been bought by someone else, every auction hall had done that before. This has nothing to do with reputation, some things can be irresistable.

"...we had to "...we had to remove item number two from the catalogue! However, to compensate for your time, the damned apprentice had been staked on the stone wall at the back alley of the club, everyone is welcomed to have a look!"

The speech from the host riled up the crowd even more!

"That’s right! A clod like that should be hanged!"

The crowd went even wilder as time goes by!

Oscar grinned, receiving the wooden box about 1.5 meters in length from Teddy Lolo Jr.. He knew his patience would pay off. After all, the same objective would be met, so why not strive for an even better outcome? Oscar was much more mature than before! Some time ago, he might threaten Prince Kristen with a knife on his neck and grab the necklace from him. Anyway, Teddy Lolo Jr. was really a understanding person. Oscar was really satisfied with his way of repayment!

"How much was it?"

"Oh! Your Highness! Why would you ask about that? I can see your eagerness to the necklace, but you helped us in more ways than one today, so let’s not even talk about the price of this thing!"

Oscar declined, it cannot be settled this way. "My friend, if an object is on one end of the scale, I will definitely put in the gold that has the same value on the other end. But, you know, the object that maintains the balance of the scales is our friendship. So, how much would that cost?"

Teddy Lolo Jr. was moved. The person standing in front of him was Brother Balance, one of the Princes in the Titan Empire! On the other end, he was just a caretaker for a club, someone lowly who walks on the fence with the law.

"If… if you insist, but still, please don’t worry about the price! I will invoice Baron Thomas with the purchasing price!"

Oscar nodded, "I won’t take up much more of your time then. Please continue with your work!"

In the dimly lit room, Snowstorm pulled the curtains together, and Oscar opened the wooden box. He didn’t notice it, but Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi had rid himself of his paleness the moment his gaze fell upon the object.

"This thing… exists?"

"What is this? You have heard of this?" Oscar waved the weirdly-shaped pike-thing.

"Careful! Softer! You’d want to be more careful with this!" Viscount Sukhoi delicately picked up the pike-thing like it was his own baby.

"Your Highness! Do you know my father and my few uncles would be so jealous if he saw me holding this thing! It’s only 30,000 Gold Tis? Heavens! To be honest, this thing could easily worth ten of those firearms research groups in the Imperial Academy of Sciences."

"Firearms? I’ve never heard of this!" Oscar frowned.

"Of course you haven’t! It’s got the highest level of confidentiality of the Empire, and my house only know this because we were responsible for its metallic parts."

奥斯卡从塔里手里抢过刺枪."行啦!你总得先告诉我这东西是干嘛用的?叫什么?"

"我...我不是十分确定!"塔里望着"刺枪"直流口水.

"你欠揍是不是?"连暴雪都扬起了拳头."你不确定干嘛做出那副样子?"

"我只见过东方流传过来的一些图画,还有一些根本搞不懂的文字记录.我觉得就是这

件东西!按照东方人的说法,它...它应该叫火...火铳!但我不知道是不是这么发音."

"火...火铳!"奥斯卡模仿了一遍塔里的发音,"哦不!这太拗口了,还不如叫枪

呢!"

Oscar took the pike-thing from Torry. "Enough of that! Tell me what this is used for, and what is it called?"

"I… am not sure!" Torry was almost salivating looking at the pike-thing.

"Do you want a punch to your face?" Even Snowstorm raised his fist threateningly. "If you’re not sure, why make that face?"

"I’ve only seen it from some pictures that came from the East, along with the confusing written records of them. I think it’s referring to this! According to the Eastern language, it should be pronounced hoo-war… hwar-shawn*? I’m not sure how it’s pronounced."

"Hoo… horseshoe!" Oscar mimicked Torry’s pronunciation. "Uh, no. This is too hard, we might as well call it a cannon ball blaster!"

In Oscar’s lack of attention, Torry took the weapon back. After making sure all the parts were intact, he yelled in excitement.

"Your Highness! My lord! Our names will be written into history for this! This is an actual, intact hwooshone! A working one!"

Oscar was slightly excited, "But… it doesn’t have a blade, and it doesn’t look very sturdy. What can it actually do?"

"Your Highness! Oh, God of Light! What can it do? This is an invention of the East for killing! Some…‘cannonballs’ that activate by firing the black powder to kill from dozens of meters away!"

"Really?" Oscar couldn’t believe it, but so claims the son of a weapon merchant family.

"Of course! I wouldn’t lie to you! As the person who discovered it, Your Highness should name it!"

Oscar rubbed his hands together in excitement. "Uh… Hmm… cannon… hand cannon? Let’s call it hand cannon! What do you think? Huh?"

Torry repeated it a few times, and gave Oscar a thumbs-up. "That’s… excellent!"

Translator’s Note:

1. A mangled pronunciation of 火铳 (Huochong). It’s a hand cannon.

Chapter end