Gunpowder Plate Armor and the Magic Revolution

"Go to hell with insulting your navy. Do you bunch of good-for-nothings need me to insult you? Look at the fat, bloated pirates on the Emerald Sea."

"And your tax police force, with the highest salaries in the federal army and the best firearms and weapons, can't even keep the docks safe."

"What's the use of the money you're getting? In the end, we, the Orentia Army, will have to come to the rescue. You might as well just disband your army and give us the money. We'll collect the taxes for you, and we guarantee we'll collect much more than you do."

"Bilkin! Say that again?"

The tax police chief, enraged by the barrage of insults, retorted, "Do you believe I'll report you to General Leopold of the Army and have him dismiss you and put you in solitary confinement?!"

"Go ahead and report wherever you want. If we weren't here today, and Dr. William had died in Monsoon Harbor, you two good-for-nothings would be the first to lose your heads! And now you have the nerve to bring our army lads to investigate?"

Bilkin's words were like daggers, scathing them down to the point that the rear admiral and the tax police chief turned ashen-faced and trembled with rage.

The surrounding army officers also gripped their weapons tightly, glaring angrily at the tax police and naval guards opposite them. The atmosphere instantly became extremely tense, as if a fight was about to break out at any moment.

"Bilkin!"

The rear admiral angrily rebuked, "Port defense and tax police enforcement are governed by the rules of the Navy and the Tax Police Department. It's none of your business, an army officer, interfering!"

"Navy! Tax Police! All officers, get up there and take him down!"

Bilkin sneered, and with a "whoosh," he drew his command sword from his waist. He stood in front of Nozer and the other army officers, holding the sword horizontally.

"None of my soldiers are to be touched. You dare to arrest people right in front of me. If I don't utter a sound, how am I supposed to lead troops in the future?"

The tax police chief was furious. "What are you trying to do, Bilkin? Do you dare to lay a hand on your own people?"

"I advise you not to be the first to arrive."

Bilkin looked at the tax police officers with a sinister smile. "You let your chief arrest them first. Let's see if I dare to draw my knife against him!"

"They've rebelled! They've really rebelled!"

The captain's chest heaved wildly. He turned to Monet, who was listlessly playing with dice with his head down, and pointed at him, ordering, "You, that civil official, quickly restrain him! Don't let him go any further!"

"Who? Me?"

Monet pointed slightly in surprise to himself, then gently shook his head, giving a helpless look. "I'm sorry, but during wartime, civilian officers in the army cannot interfere with the commands of military officers. Surely you haven't forgotten that?"

Monet's words successfully infuriated the captain.

Just as the standoff reached a stalemate, a naval messenger hurried up to the two officers, who were red-faced and arguing, and whispered, "...Lieutenant Commander Graham Eisen, Admiral Leopold's confidant, is here and will be at the dock soon..."

Soon, the two officers, who had been so arrogant and domineering, suddenly lost their booming voices, like chicks whose necks had been choked.

"Graham... how could it be him? Leopold found out so quickly?"

"This is terrible! That 'playboy'... if he finds even the slightest fault, he can sue us to death in a joint military court!"

"So... what do we do now? If this really gets pinned on us, we'll be in big trouble!"

"How the hell should I know!"

These two had already planned to forcibly detain the army officer and create friction, turning the assassination case from one caused by their own dereliction of duty into a conflict between different departments, thus muddying the waters and clearing themselves of any wrongdoing.

But Graham's sudden appearance has clearly disrupted their plans. Their actions are obviously against the Orentia military regulations. They might be able to fool some clueless young people who don't know the law, but they'll be exposed in less than three minutes when they run into someone like Graham.

But what can be done now that things have come to this?

While the two were racking their brains to come up with a solution, a series of crisp, rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from the entrance of the dock, and a pure black steed appeared not far away.

Immediately afterwards, a voice imbued with magic pierced through the entire dock, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.

"I came to the dock on Admiral Leopold's orders to see our Army's newly promoted officers. Why are you blocking them from entering? Is this a new rule for the Navy, or a new regulation for the Tax Police?"

Upon hearing this, the tax police chief and the naval rear admiral exchanged a glance, both seeing a sense of defeat in each other's eyes.

The two men almost simultaneously yelled at their subordinates, "Get out of the way! Make way!"

The tax police and naval guards, who had been standing in a circle with swords drawn, looked at each other in bewilderment and could only reluctantly put away their weapons and step aside, forcibly clearing a path straight to the center of the standoff.

The next second, the tall, pure black horse slowly walked in.

The horse's body was smooth and glossy, without a single blemish. The saddle and reins were inlaid with tiny silver ornaments that gleamed in the sunlight.

The person riding the horse made Norze pause for a moment in surprise.

Because the other party really didn't seem like a military officer.

Graham wore a well-tailored army officer's uniform, with intricate silver thread embroidery on the collar and cuffs, buttons on his chest made of pigeon-blood red gemstones, and the scabbard of his sword at his waist was edged with gold.

He was extremely handsome, with sharp eyebrows and eyes, a high nose bridge, and a neat lip line. His light golden hair was meticulously styled, and his entire body was so exquisite that there was not a single flaw to be found.

Rather than a seasoned officer in the army, he was more like a hereditary nobleman on his way to a dinner party at a wealthy lady's house, completely out of place in this dock stained with blood and filled with the smoke of battle.

Graham gently pulled on the reins, and the horse came to a steady stop in the center of the crowd.

He dismounted gracefully and smoothly, casually placing the riding whip on the saddle, his gaze slowly sweeping across the entire area.

From the assassins' corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, to the soldiers on both sides still holding their swords and guns and looking on guard, to the two officers with livid faces, and Bilkin standing at the front with his sword drawn.

He suddenly laughed, his voice laced with mockery.

"Oh, I thought it was Valencia's army that had stormed Monsoon Harbor. Turns out it's just our Orentia's army and navy, along with the infamous tax police, rebelling in their own dockyard?"

He took two steps forward, first looking at the pale-faced rear admiral and the tax police chief, his tone light, yet every word struck at their sore spots.

"Sirs, Admiral Leopold was very worried when he heard that there were assassins disturbing public order at the docks. That's why he immediately sent me to check the situation. Well... judging from the situation, I guess the Navy and Tax Police have already apprehended the assassins, right? Otherwise, how would they have time to confront our Army?"