Chapter 149: |
A few days ago.
“Qasim.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Otto summoned Qasim, in front of everyone, and addressed him by his proper title.
‘I feel sorry for him, so I’ll give him his due.’
Otto felt bad for Qasim’s struggles, so he decided to give him a chance to make an impact.
By entrusting him with the most important task in clearing the Gurling Archipelago, he laid the groundwork for Qasim to show his capabilities.
“To Chief of Air Staff Qasim. I, Otto de Scuderia, King of the Kingdom of Lota, do hereby appoint you to the position of Captain of the Gendarmerie of the Occupying Forces, effective immediately, with a concurrent position as Chief of the Air Force.”
“…..!”
Otto added.
“Be zealous in confiscating the property of those criminals. Their wealth was earned by committing heinous crimes, so not a single coin should be left unscathed.”
At that moment.
‘It’s about earning money.’
Camille accurately interpreted the intent of Otto’s order.
Otto was serious about taking the pirates’ wealth.
As a testament to this, Otto had even given Qasim a sword.
“Chief of the Air Staff, Qasim, take up this sword.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I entrust you with this sword, and you must not be negligent in your duties.”
Otto handed the dulled [Golden Greatsword] to Qasim.
It had lost all its strength and looked like a stick made of cement, but it was still a sword given to him by the king, Otto.
“I, I’m deeply honored!!!”
Qasim was so overwhelmed with emotion that he almost wept.
By giving him the sword, Otto is delegating his authority to him.
The King trusted Qasim enough to entrust him with a great responsibility.
“My lord, I… Qasim, shall obey and fulfill Your Majesty’s command!”
“Gu, Guuic!”
Peng saluted Otto with a flourish.
‘Why are you saluting?’
‘You’re the Prince of the Peng Tribe.’
“Come here, Peng, you too.”
Otto suddenly realized how cute Peng was following Qasim around, so he plucked some green onions from a potted plant and handed it to him.
“Guc, Gi, Gic!! Gui.”
Peng was thrilled when Otto gave him something, even if though it was a green onion.
“Okay, now go about your duties.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Guic, Gguic!”
Qasim and Peng started rushing out of the main headquarters on foot and hunted down every miscreant they could find.
Then they confiscated all of their wealth, down to the last grain of rice.
The mission Otto had given him had been carried out to perfection.
“It is the King’s command! Sweep it all up, and put red tags on everything that might be of value!”¹
“Guic, Gic, Gu!”
“Understood!”
And just like that, as they were carrying out their task successfully.
“I found you suspicious!”
While confiscating the property of the dastardly traitor Mordred, Qasim detained a suspicious individual.
The results of the interrogation were astonishing.
‘My God, the Oberhauser Corporation is planning a smuggling operation with the Caliphate! His Majesty will be very pleased!’
As soon as Qasim learned of this information, he immediately rushed to the main headquarters to report to Otto.
As Qasim had predicted, Otto was ecstatic.
Why?
Because he’d just found the perfect opportunity to screw over Argonne.
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Otto’s face split into a smile after a long period of time.
“Smuggling. They must have been really in a hurry.”
“The Oberhauser Corporation is attempting a smuggling operation?”
“Yes.”
Otto inclined his head at Camille’s question.
“I hear they were trying to partner up with Avery through Modred.”
“Is the situation at the Oberhauser Corporation so complicated? I don’t quite follow.”
The reason Camille said that was because the Oberhauser Corporation was known for its deep pockets.
As a super-giant corporation that operated on the entire continent, there was no need for them to engage in smuggling.
“They must have been hoarding.”
“What?”
“If they’d excavated the tomb in time to get the treasure, he might have decided on a few items ahead of time and bought them in bulk, then planned to sell the treasure to pay for them. If that had happened, Argonne would have been many times wealthier than he is now.”
Otto had a pretty good idea of the situation Argonne was in, and what had forced her to resort to smuggling.
“But we robbed him of his treasure, didn’t we?”
“You mean he was having trouble paying his debts?”
“Exactly.”
Otto smiled.
“Suddenly, the flow of finances has been tangled, and even the Oberhauser family is bound to have a crisis.”
“It’s a coincidence.”
“I admit.”
It was like catching a mouse by making a small backward step
That vile traitor, Modred, had contacts with the Oberhausers….
“Qasim.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“This is a special first class assignment.”
“What?”
Qasim’s eyes widened.
“If it’s a rank one honor, then….”
“That means you can put two stars on your rank patch from now on. You’re no longer Brigadier General Qasim, you are now Major General Qasim.”
“Huek!”
“You’ve brought me some really vital information, something that will be of great benefit to the national interest. After all the trouble you’ve been through, and the great job you’ve done this time, I think it’s only right that I promote you.”
“Sa… Salute!!!”
Qasim saluted as if stricken by lightning.
“Huhu! To be recognized by His Majesty!
Qasim’s eyes reddened.
Qasim has been repeatedly thwarted and never had a chance to make a real achievement.
But now he’s been recognized by Otto for acquiring information that will be of great benefit to the nation, and he’s even been promoted to General Major.
Qasim is overwhelmed.
“Your Majesty! Qa…! sim, am deeply grateful to you!”
Qasim bowed deeply to Otto.
“Oh my, why are you crying, why are like this?”
“Huhuhu!”
“It’s okay, I know, uh. You’ve been through a lot.”
Otto comforted Qasim.
He knew how much hardship Qasim had been through….
“Then I’ll let you lead this operation.”
“A… Are you sure about this?!!”
“Of course.”
Otto smiled as if to prove it.
By now, Qasim could no longer be called simply a magic swordsman.
The hardships and tribulations he had endured had made him unknowingly stronger, and his laser-firing cubes gave him tremendous destructive power.
It had now grown into one of the pillars of the Kingdom of Lota.
“Qasim, can I leave you in charge of this operation?”
“Yes!!!”
“Ah, my ears.”
Otto exclaimed.
The booming sound of Qasim’s answer was deafening.
*Bleeeep*
For a moment, he thought he might even develop tinnitus….
“Good.”
Otto smiled and commanded Qasim.
“I, Otto de Scuderia, King of Lota, command. Qasim, Chief of the Air Force.”
“Yes, sir, here I am.”
“Chief of Naval Operations Drake, you are to coordinate the capture of the smuggling ship of the Oberhauser. Go forth.”
“Great!!!”
The excited Qasim recited the command to leave and then ran off with a whoop.
“Guic, Guii!”
Peng chased after Qasim as he ran.
‘I want to be praised by your Majesty! I want to be recognized, and I want to do this mission flawlessly, so that I can earn His Majesty’s praise!’
As Qasim ran, all he could think about was earning Otto’s praise.
The praise made him dance.
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With the information in hand, Otto immediately leaked false information to Oberhauser to ensure that the deal would go through.
The Oberhauser Corporation responded as if it had been waiting, and a rendezvous date was set.
Since the news of Pirate Lord Avery’s death hadn’t yet spread outside of the [Gurling Archipelago], Oberhauser has no choice but to trust Otto’s information completely.
A week afterward.
“All Fleets, set sail.”
“Set sail!”
Otto set sail with the [Black Fleet].
He had set out to intercept the smuggling vessels of the Oberhauser Corporation.
The reason for bringing the Black Fleet along was to be prepared for any possible variables.
‘From now on, I have to be more thorough in everything I do. There are always unexpected surprises.’
Otto had learned a great lesson from his last battle with Avery, and was now even more cautious.
*Whoosh!*
Thanks to the presence of the [Red Goddess], the Black Fleet’s sailing speed was incredibly fast.
The sight of huge warships cruising at incredible speeds like a speedboat was a sight to behold.
Is that all?
*Swooosh!*
*Oooohh!*
The fleet sometimes used the [Serpent’s Tongue] to create warp gates in the reefs, which allowed them to travel to the area of operations in a matter of seconds.
It was safe to say that there was now no force in the waters surrounding the [Gurling Archipelago] that could compete with the naval forces of the Kingdom of Lota.
Even if the four remaining pirate lords allied themselves, it was clear that they would not dare to cross the [Gurling Archipelago].
Even the other nations’ naval forces would not be able to overcome the [Gurling Archipelago] with pure naval power alone, unless they had air support.
‘We’ve completely taken control of the southwestern waters of the continent. Hahaha!’
Otto, who was looking out at the sea from the bow of the flagship [Tyrant], suddenly chuckled in disbelief.
He had only set out to secure maritime trade and a trading base for himself, but he hadn’t expected to unintentionally take over a region…
It’s an unintended outcome that even Otto didn’t foresee.
‘It’s like picking up a wallet along the way.’
Of course, if he did happen to pick up a wallet, it would be a true civic duty to take it to the nearest precinct…….
“Your Majesty, up ahead are the trade ships of Ego.”
“What?”
Otto frowned at Drake’s report.
“What Ego’s Merchant Troupe?”
“I’m not sure about that, either.”
“Hey.”
Otto glanced back at Caldwell.
“Have any of your trade ships been passing through this area by any chance? I haven’t gotten any kind of report on it?”
“Not that I know of.”
Caldwell, a key executive member of the Ego’s inner circle, shook his head.
“The waters around here are heavily avoided by trade ships because of Pirate Lord Avery. There’s no way Master Ego would send trade ships here.”
“Is that right?”
Otto scowled.
“These guys are really crazy, and they are now trying to frame us, huh?”
It was obvious, Otto realized, that the trade ships in the distance belonged to the Oberhauser Company.
There was no reason for the Ego to keep the routes of its ships secret unless he was nuts.
Perhaps the Oberhauser’s were hoping to frame the Ego Troupe’s for the smuggling operation if they were discovered……
“Your Majesty, give us your orders.”
Drake said to Otto.
“Surround them.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At Otto’s command, the entire fleet maneuvered in unison and began to disperse.
The fleet, empowered by the Red Goddess, surrounded the trading ships of Oberhauser in the blink of an eye.
“Qasim!”
Otto shouted to Qasim, who was aboard the Red Goddess with his magic swordsmen.
“Take control of all ships!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
As if waiting for Otto’s order, Qasim steered the Red Goddess into the midst of the smuggling ships ahead of them.
And then he led the magic swordsmen in a blink of an eye to capture all of Oberhauser’s smuggling ships.
‘That’s quite impressive.’
Otto marveled as he watched Qasim in action from afar.
‘When did he get so strong?’
Qasim’s combat prowess was extraordinary.
He’d known he’d been growing in power lately, but seeing him in action was more than he’d expected.
‘Is he on his way to becoming a Hero?’
Just at that moment.
*Sparkle!*
Qasim was engulfed in an unearthly light as he fought on the deck of the smuggler’s main ship.
A phenomenon only visible to Otto’s eyes.
The meaning is…
“Hey, don’t awaken so spontaneously!!!”
An exclamation of disbelief erupted from Otto’s mouth.
** ** **
TL/N:
1. They put red stickers on everything they think is of value and can be auctioned off for money.