Chương 65: The Supreme Military Council, and a Punishment Disguised as a Promotion

The Grand Hall of the Solaris Imperial Ministry of Defense sat at the center of the capital's military district, ringed by three-meter-thick walls of black stone. On the ten-meter ebony conference table, a detailed operational report on the Floor 15 incident sat under the glow of magical lamps. Dozens of Marshals, Generals, and top military scholars sat around it, every face carrying the same look of total shock. CLACK!

General Vormund slammed his command baton down on the table, pointing at the summary of achievements.

"Forty seconds to rescue thirty cadets! Zero casualties! One minute forty-five seconds later, a coordinated takedown of the Corrupted Titan Guardian — eighty-eight million Combat Power!" Vormund tilted his head back, voice booming.

"What more evidence do we need?" Vormund pointed at the report.

"The vanguard team failed because they misunderstood the Nameless Doctrine's mobility principle. Lucian Vance identified the problem, reorganized the response, and prevented thirty deaths in forty seconds." He looked around the room.

"Whether we like it or not, the boy possesses strategic talent far beyond his age." He paused.

"I recommend granting him the position of Reserve Tactical Advisor." The Marshals exchanged glances. Normally, a proposal like this would have triggered hours of debate. A ten-year-old student becoming a military officer was absurd. But after reading the battle report again, nobody could immediately find a reason to reject it. The results were simply too convincing.... At the same moment, in the sunlit sitting room of the Vance Office of Ancient Language Research.

Lucian was lying on the velvet sofa with a bunch of chilled grapes beside him. One hand held a trade journal. The other was busy calculating projected profits from three different investments. For someone who had recently defeated a Titan-class monster, he looked surprisingly normal. Almost disappointingly normal. Ting! A dim black Unified System v2. 0 notification appeared before him. [GEOPOLITICAL EVENT LOGGED: ROYAL MILITARY RANK NOMINATION.] ['Author' Class has met the conditions for transformation:] → CLASS EVOLUTION: [BESTSELLING AUTHOR] LV. 1! [New Class effects:] Any text, publication, or contract drafted by the Host automatically gains +50% credibility and social reach. +30% increased rate of asset accumulation from cultural/copyright revenue. Lucian read the new class effect carefully. Then he picked up another grape.

"Good." A pause.

"Finally, a skill that makes money while I sleep." He nodded with genuine satisfaction.

"Exactly the kind of ability a civilized person should have." If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Click. The oak door swung open. A Royal Envoy in gold-trimmed ceremonial knight's regalia entered, both hands raising a crimson brocade box, followed by two guards carrying the royal banner. The envoy stepped up in front of the sofa, cleared his throat, unrolled a gilded parchment scroll, and read aloud in a solemn tone.

"By the decree of Emperor Alaric de Solaris! In recognition of the rescue of thirty cadets and the slaying of a Titan monster at the Jungle Dungeon, the Crown hereby confers upon student Lucian Vance the title of: Reserve Tactical Advisor Major General of the Royal Army!" Lucian accepted the scroll politely. The envoy expected him to admire the golden medal attached to the decree. Instead, the boy immediately turned the document around and checked the final pages. The envoy blinked.

"... Are you reading the benefits?"

"Yes." Lucian continued scanning.

"That is usually the important part of a contract." Base salary: 200 gold/month. Duty: 24/7 active standby at the northern border outpost, ready for deployment on general mobilization order. Legal restriction: Active officers are strictly forbidden from operating private businesses or holding independent commercial accounts. RIP! A sharp tearing sound cut through the sitting room. The envoy watched as Lucian finished reading. A few seconds passed. Then the boy calmly folded the decree. The envoy relaxed slightly.

Until Lucian walked over to the trash bin. Rip. The room went silent. The appointment document was now in two pieces.

"Two hundred gold a month." Lucian looked at the envoy.

"Twenty-four-hour border deployment." He raised another finger.

"And I lose the right to operate private businesses." He placed the torn decree into the bin.

"That is not a promotion." A pause.

"That is an extremely expensive way to become an employee." The envoy stood frozen in place, arms still raised mid-air. The two guards behind him were so shocked they dropped the banner pole straight onto the carpet.

"You... you just tore up His Majesty's decree of appointment?! You're declining a Royal Major General's title because... the salary's too low?!"

"That's right." Lucian picked up his grape juice.

"My current work with the Vance family earns more, gives me freedom, and doesn't require me to stand in a frozen fortress waiting for someone to attack." He took a sip.

"I'll keep my current career." The envoy stared.

"You call this a career?" Lucian looked confused.

"Of course." He pointed at the trade journal.

"Making money is a career." Coo... coo... A magical carrier pigeon marked with the golden flame seal of the Vance estate flew in through the window, landing on Lucian's shoulder, dropping a small piece of parchment. Lucian opened the express letter from his father, Regulus. The Sword Emperor's handwriting was messy but overflowing with triumph.

'Well done, son! Turning down the General's title was exactly right! Crown officers get hit with up to 40% income tax and are banned from holding shares in trade guilds! Stay in school as a regular student so I can keep writing you off as a corporate tax deduction! Just wired fifty thousand gold into your allowance account!' Lucian folded the letter, tucked it into his pocket, and nodded, muttering.

"My old man says something useful once in a while." The royal envoy shakily picked the two halves of the decree out of the trash bin, bowed, and backed out of the room like an empty husk of a man. Less than two hours later, shocking news had spread across the entire court and every division of the Imperial army.

"Young Master Lucian Vance tore up his commission for Major General with his own hands, rejecting glory and supreme military power just to remain a humble student of ancient languages!" The Marshals at the Ministry of Defense, upon hearing the report, all rose to their feet in tears, overwhelmed with admiration.

"A sage of absolute, incorruptible integrity..."

"He cares nothing for worldly fame and power, he only wishes to serve knowledge in quiet humility!"

"The Empire owes House Vance a debt of gratitude beyond measure!" News of "the youth who tore up his own General's commission" quickly spread beyond Solaris's borders, riding the wind straight to the neighboring empires.... Thousands of miles to the north, deep beneath the dark earth of the Demon Empire of Tartarus. Inside the Black Moon Palace, lit by an endless glow of violet torches, Countess Carmilla entered the private study and dropped to one knee, presenting a scroll of parchment sealed with black wax.

A slender hand, tipped with pitch-black claws, reached out from behind a velvet curtain and unsealed the intelligence dispatch sent back from the capital of Solaris. A pair of cold, blood-jade eyes behind the curtain scanned line after line.

'Report on Lucian Vance — Son of Valeria, the Annihilation Knight: Crushed a Titan Colossus in two minutes, refused a Royal Major General's commission with a single word, controls a continent's worth of clean capital flow...' A soft laugh, both eerie and commanding, echoed through the silent hall.

"That boy... truly carries Valeria's blood."