Gunpowder Plate Armor and the Magic Revolution

He suddenly stood up, pointed at the group of dejected directors in front of him, and began to curse them without any regard for his image.

"Can any of you explain to me why the Navy and Tax Police are going against the Army and taking their anger out on the Port Authority? They even forced me to swallow my pride and go to the Emerald Palace to apologize to the Army on behalf of the Navy."

"What? Have you all become mute? Speak up! You're usually so smooth-talking, what's wrong with you now? Did you put glue on your lips?"

The office remained silent. The directors looked at each other, none of them daring to be the first to speak.

Finally, the port authority chief, who was standing at the front, could not bear the heavy atmosphere any longer. He forced himself to take half a step forward and offered a soft, evasive explanation.

"Chief, this... this can't be entirely our fault. The security deployment at the dock is jointly handled by the Navy and the Tax Police Corps. Our Port Authority is only responsible for berth scheduling and merchant ship registration. These kinds of emergencies are really beyond our control..."

"Bullshit! You idiot! Is that what I asked?"

Ma Long's eyes widened, and he grabbed a teacup from the table and threw it, which landed right at the feet of the Port Authority Secretary.

"Security isn't under your jurisdiction, is it? You knew that before? Then why didn't you have them take the body to the Navy Headquarters? Why did you have the Navy take it to the Port Authority? Now look what's happened, the blame is all on us. The Army told the Navy to solve the case, and the Navy is telling us to solve the case."

"Are you a crime-solving expert? Or do you think I'm some kind of great detective who can dig things out of dead people's mouths?"

The Secretary for Port Authority was knocked so hard he staggered, his face turning deathly pale. He immediately lowered his head and dared not utter another word.

He took a deep breath, then pointed to another document, his anger flaring even more. "Those bastards from the Navy and the Tax Police, they're always swaggering around the port, but when something goes wrong, they're the first to try and shift the blame onto us..."

Ma Long became increasingly angry as he spoke, and kicked the solid wood cabinet door next to him with a loud "bang".

The directors present all looked increasingly grim, their heads hanging even lower.

He cursed until his throat was dry, and without a teacup, he simply grabbed the teapot on the table and gulped down large mouthfuls of cold tea.

Looking at the group of useless people in front of him who only knew how to bow their heads, he felt his temples throbbing and his head about to explode.

"Stop giving me that useless advice."

Malone sat back down in his chair, rubbing his throbbing temples. "Originally, the Army was demanding that the Navy solve the case quickly, but now, you bunch of idiots have taken all the blame..."

"Whoever can come up with a plan, step forward and speak. If you can't, hand in your resignation now and get out."

The directors looked at each other, none of them daring to speak.

The Secretary for Revenue took the initiative to speak, "How about... we arrest a few more army officers who were present at the time, torture them, and make them confess some of their crimes? That way, we can give an explanation to both the army and the navy."

The moment the Inland Revenue Secretary uttered those words, a collective gasp filled the previously silent office.

All the directors turned to look at him, their eyes filled not with approval, but with raw shock and disbelief as if they were looking at a madman.

Even the Secretary for Port Authority, who had just been scolded so badly he couldn't lift his head, couldn't help but glance at him, his lips twitching as if he were looking at a fool who was willingly jumping into a fire pit.

Ma Long was stunned for two seconds, then suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter, as if he had heard the most absurd joke in the world.

"Great! Excellent!"

He rushed up to the Director of Taxation and slapped him hard across the face, causing the director to stagger back two steps, clutching his face, with five bright red finger marks instantly appearing on his cheek.

"I think you've been at the port authority too long; your brain's been soaked in seawater and ruined!"

Malone pointed at his nose, spitting all over his face, "Torture them? Make them confess? Do you know what you're talking about?!"

"Admiral Leopold's own son is inside, along with a current major general from the 'Emerald' Legion. Oh, and there's also a former 'Tsunami' level mage from the Mage's Association. Are you going to torture them to extract confessions?"

His voice rose higher and higher, until it was almost a shout: "You want everyone in the port authority to go to a military court and be hanged along with you, is that it?!"

The Secretary for Inland Revenue's face was covered in Malone's saliva, but he didn't dare to reach out and wipe it away.

He originally intended to take a shortcut, thinking that as long as those inexperienced new officers admitted to "improper handling and exacerbating the conflict on site," the port authority could shift the blame.

"Commander-in-Chief, please calm down! Commander-in-Chief, please calm down!"

The Director of Security, who was standing nearby, quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, but was glared at by Ma Long.

"Calm down? How can I calm down?"

Ma Long kicked over the low stool next to him. The wooden stool slid a long way across the floor, crashed into the wall, and broke in two.

"Keeping a bunch of useless trash around only makes me angry. If I were to lay a finger on them, the army would immediately roll up the cannons and raze the port authority to the ground! What? Have you had enough of living? Or are you hoping the navy can help us?"

Just as Ma Long was about to unleash a torrent of abuse, his deputy suddenly pushed open the office door.

"Chief! Lieutenant Colonel Graham requests an audience! He wants to discuss the dockside assassination."

"Which Graham?"

"That Graham from the War Department."

"...Okay, tell him to wait in the reception room, I'll be right there."

After dismissing his deputy, Malone lowered his eyes, looking at his group of useless subordinates, and then thinking about the new civil and military officers in the army in recent years, the difference was like heaven and earth.

Putting everything else aside, just look at Graham, who gives the entire Navy a headache; he's a hundred... no, a thousand times better! Ten thousand times better!

Once upon a time, Orentia's naval forces were world-renowned. How did they end up like this?

Are they really living too comfortably?

Malone didn't know why he suddenly started thinking about this problem at this moment.

He was probably too angry to think straight.

He was a naval officer who had fought alongside Admiral Herb Lancaster against Imperial ships.

We were so full of youthful vigor back then!

I wish I could get back on the ship.

Marlon thought to himself, "It's a pity I'm too old now... really too old..."

So old that all I can do is sit here in this tiny office and watch this bunch of idiots passing the buck and shirking responsibility.

Sigh... A good daughter-in-law has to keep things from both sides, and she has to bow her head when necessary. What else can she do but bow her head? Is she really going to just stand by and watch the army and navy of Orentia openly split apart?

But after bowing his head and apologizing at the Emerald Palace this time, he probably won't be able to stay in the Navy's high command anymore. Rather than being attacked and ostracized by his colleagues until he has no choice but to resign, it would be a little more dignified to resign voluntarily...