Just then, Michael sent for Edward, instructing him to get Bella and Lisa ready and send them over. As for the rest of the soldiers, this mission, Michael declared, would serve as a crucial life training. Edward, despite his persistent nagging to come along, was sternly turned down. He was instead commanded to take charge and lead the main army into battle at the opportune moment, and so he reluctantly gave up.
Edward then relayed the information to Lieutenant Leo, Bella and Lisa's direct superior. As expected, some observant soldiers were confused about why these new recruits were being summoned by the Captain, as it was highly unusual. Edward was typically the one who oversaw the soldiers under Michael's command, but this seemed to be an exception. Is the Captain interested in them? After all, they are gorgeous damsels. Indeed, they would be the first women to ever capture the Captain's attention. Seriously, to think I had always assumed the Captain was gay!
"Lisa, what do you think the Captain is calling us for?" Bella whispered, her voice laced with unease. "From the look on everyone else's faces, this is definitely unusual. Don't tell me that after having a conversation with the Demon, now the Devil wants a chat too!"
"How would I know?" Lisa retorted, a nervous laugh escaping her. "Well, to find out, we'll have to go to hell and meet the devil directly. This is one hell of a day."
As they walked, Bella's heart pounded furiously, and she found herself perspiring all over. When they arrived, they saw Michael already in his battle attire, a formidable sight.
"Sir!" they saluted in unison. Michael looked up, his gaze piercing. "We are leaving in two minutes. Get ready." Without further explanation, he turned and prepared to depart for battle, accompanied by only ten other individuals: Michael's third-in-command, Leo, and nine other soldiers. At first, Bella was utterly confused. Was this the total number of us going to battle? Wouldn't we just be lambs led to slaughter? But she dared not ask. After all, no one else was questioning it, and as a new recruit, asking might make her seem suspicious for unknown reasons.
Meanwhile, within the country lay Cadet State, the bustling hub of the nation's business world. In this competitive arena, the most powerful force to have recently emerged was the Noble Empire, spearheaded by its CEO, Davis. He was the youngest and undeniably most powerful man in the state, whispered to possess an almost mythical ability—to "gather the rains with a wave of one hand and scatter the clouds with the other." He had ascended to power at the remarkably young age of twenty-three, and in just two years, he had dominated every significant business sector in the state. In the cutthroat business world, his word had, all of a sudden, become synonymous with law.
His sudden and rapid rise to power within such a short span of two years had sent a massive shockwave through the entire business community. Worse still, no one knew his face or true identity; only his name, Davis, was known. All the "old foxes" within the country's business elite were caught completely off guard by this new name. The heads of every family with a business empire within the state had to call urgent family meetings, for it was an unspoken rule that whenever a new empire rose in the business world, especially one of such magnitude, a significant shift in the state's power circle inevitably followed. New alliances had to be forged, and one had to carefully evaluate the major existing powers before betting their family's fate on them, lest it lead to their doom and downfall. This was simply the law of cause and effect in the state. It was precisely because of such situations that any potential business owners were either usurped or cut down at the root before they could grow too large.
Davis's unprecedented power in the business circle was not merely a threat to the established families and elites; it was a grave concern for the government at large. The government could not condone such an immense display of power. As the saying went, "when a tree grows out more than other trees in a forest, then the wind will have it cut down." As such, every influential associate in the state immediately convened an emergency meeting to begin scheming against this burgeoning force. In normal circumstances, any growing business empire in the state needed a strong pillar of support to even stand, let alone thrive. This support came from pledging loyalty to one of the powerful families that either had already pledged loyalty or had a connection to an even more powerful family in the business world, with the chain extending until it reached the very major, overarching family. This elaborate system existed because the major families wouldn't spare even a glance at any small company or family that offered little or no significant benefits to them.