Gunpowder Plate Armor and the Magic Revolution

"Hmph... Graham, what do you think this bunch of good-for-nothings can accomplish?"

When Bilkin saw that it was the Army, he reluctantly put away his knife. "The capture of the assassin is related to them [some organ]. If it weren't for these three young men under my command, that Dr. To would have been chopped up by the assassin long ago. These ingrates not only didn't thank us, but they also wanted to take us all away. What kind of nonsense is this?"

As Bilkin spoke, he turned to the side, revealing Norzer and his two companions, along with Dr. William and Miss Sophie.

Graham nodded to them, then turned to look at the two sweating officers.

"Sirs, Dr. William is a distinguished guest of our Orentia. He was attacked at the Monsoon Port docks. The first to be held accountable are the Navy, which is responsible for port defense, and the tax police, which is responsible for dock security. Do you two have any objections to this?"

The tax police chief opened his mouth, as if to explain something, but Graham clearly wouldn't give him a chance to speak.

"Furthermore, according to Article 6 of the Orentia Military Supplementary Regulations, no person or department has the right to interrogate or detain active-duty officers without authorization from the Supreme Military Court. If an interrogation is necessary, an application must be submitted to the Military Law Department, and the Military Law Department must accompany the officer throughout the process. Which regulation did you two just cite when you ordered the arrest?"

"I...we were just following the rules. An assassination occurred at the docks, and it was necessary for us to investigate all those present in order to solve the case..."

The tax police chief, forcing himself to speak, managed to utter a weak excuse.

"Oh, I see... An investigation is certainly warranted; that's what Admiral Leopold meant as well."

Graham smiled and took two steps forward, standing in front of the two men, looking confident of victory.

"Then, please have both officers report to their respective superiors to form a joint investigation team comprised of the Army, Navy, and Tax Police Department. What do you think?"

As Graham finished speaking, cold sweat trickled down the foreheads of the two officers, soaking their uniforms.

They knew better than anyone else that setting up a joint investigation team of three entities, while seemingly compliant, was actually putting them in a very difficult position.

The attack on the dock was a failure of their defense, and if all the details were brought to light, it's questionable whether they could withstand the charges of dereliction of duty.

Not to mention that they were just trying to muddy the waters and shift the blame to the army. If these thoughts are exposed, they will only suffer a worse fate.

"Well... Lieutenant Colonel Graham, isn't that unnecessary?"

The rear admiral hastily forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, took half a step forward, and spoke with a fawning tone, "They're just a few itinerant assassins. Our tax police and navy can find out about them overnight. We guarantee we'll give the army and the Emerald Palace an explanation within three days... no! Two days! Within two days. Let's not make such a fuss..."

"Making a fuss? Major General, the renowned Doctor of the Republic of Edric was assassinated in broad daylight in the port of our capital, Orentia. In your eyes, he was nothing more than 'a few roaming assassins'?"

"No...no! That's not what I meant!"

The rear admiral panicked instantly, waving his hands repeatedly, now caught in a dilemma.

"That's alright. If you two feel that a joint investigation team is inappropriate, that's simple. I'll submit a report right now to the Supreme Military Council and the Emerald Palace, detailing Dr. William's attack at the docks, the dereliction of duty by the local defense units, and the subsequent attempt to detain the army officer who helped rescue him. The Emerald Palace and the Supreme Military Council will then make the decision. What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, the two officers nearly fainted as if their bones had been removed.

Report it to the Jade Palace and the Supreme Military Council? Then it won't just be a matter of them losing their positions; they might really lose their heads!

"No...no, no, no!"

The tax police chief quickly stepped forward, nodding repeatedly to Graham. "Joint investigation team! Do as you say, Lieutenant Colonel! A three-way joint investigation! Our Navy and tax police will fully cooperate with the Army's arrangements! No questions asked!"

"Yes! Full cooperation! Absolutely no questions asked!"

The rear admiral quickly echoed, all traces of his earlier arrogance gone, "We'll have all the data and personnel ready, and we'll be there whenever you call!"

Graham sighed as he watched the two men back down, and straightened the silver-embroidered insignia on his collar. "Why didn't you do this sooner? Why did you have to make it this ugly?"

"If something goes wrong in the future, instead of trying to find scapegoats everywhere, we should quickly investigate how these assassins infiltrated. Maybe we can make amends."

The two officers dared not linger any longer. They felt that Graham's words were the only way out for them, and they nodded repeatedly as if they had been granted a pardon, not daring to say a single unnecessary word.

He turned around and yelled at his men to retreat, leading a group of disheveled navy and tax police officers, carrying the assassin's body and weapons, and hurriedly left the dock. He didn't even dare to look back, for fear that if they were too slow, Graham would bring up their mistakes again.

The once packed dock was almost empty in a short time, leaving only bloodstains and scattered debris.

Graham turned around, his gaze sweeping over all the army officers present, a gentle smile returning to his face.

"Thank you all for your hard work today. We just barely escaped from Herber City and then this happened. We were almost harassed by our own people. I understand that you're all upset."

"But General Leopold takes the attack on Dr. William very seriously. You were all involved in the incident and are heroes who protected the doctor. It is our duty as soldiers to cooperate with the investigation. Please bear with us."

Upon hearing this, the young officers, who had been whispering amongst themselves, immediately fell silent.

Most of them were warrant officers who had just graduated from military academy and were filled with awe for General Leopold, the legendary commander of the army. Moreover, Graham spoke politely and without any of the sharpness he had shown to the two officers earlier, so naturally no one objected.

Seeing this, Graham nodded in satisfaction and added:

"Don't worry, everyone. The statements will be taken by our Army Law Department staff. They're all our own people, so they won't make things difficult for you. It's just a formality to record the incident clearly. After that, you can do whatever you want. We won't waste your time."

"Did you all understand?"

"clear!"

"very good."

Graham then turned and walked over to Bilkin, patted him on the shoulder as if they were old friends, completely ignoring the look on Bilkin's face that disapproved of his gold and silver attire, which made him look like he didn't look like a soldier.

He knew very well that if he wanted these officers to completely obey him, he would have to deal with Bilkin, this troublemaker.

Despite his many flaws, if we're talking about which centurion is most beloved by his soldiers, no one in the entire Emerald Legion can compare to him.