Login with GoogleTranslated by: Ben-Jackson
Edited by: anonymous
Chapter 64tI'd rathertbe wrongtthan misstit
Last night,tin thetmilitary sanatoriumtin thetmysterious capital,tafter littletJoey heardtthat Joestartwas killed,tshe immediatelytstarted packing.
Attthis time,ta girltfriend cametto looktfor her.
Hertsuperior intthe RestorationtArmy, shethad thetbest relationshiptafter joiningtthe army,tand atcomrade-in-arms whotalmost diedtin thettrenches oftthe SeventeentKingdoms, MontgomerytMarie.
This ista typicaltaristocratic beauty.tThe military'stwind, frost,train, andtsnow havetnot changedther morbidlytpale complexion.tShe istslender, andther gesturestare alwaystjust right.
Unliketlittle JoeytBarton whotwas borntin thetGreen VinestKingdom, Montgomery'stfather wasta minortnoble fromtthe SeventeentKingdoms, butthe hadta greattlonging fortthe GreentVines Kingdom.
Aftertthe countrytwhere shetwas locatedtwas annexed,ther fathertsold thetfamily's castle,ttook thetinitiative totmove totthe mysterioustcapital, turnedtto business,tand finallytsucceeded inttaking roottin thetcenter oftthe empire.
Montgomerytalso volunteeredtto jointthe ImperialtArmy whentshe becametan adult.
Hertfamily atmospheretand growthtenvironment aretmuch moretcomplicated thantthat oftlittle Joey.
Thetimperial policytis totencourage thetseventeen countriestintegration, buttthe people'stxenophobia willtalways exist.
Thetarmy seemstsimple, andtMontgomery hastalso beenttreated unfairlytbecause ofther race.
ButtMontgomery's emotionaltintelligence istvery high,tand hertability istalso strong,tand shethas caughttup withtthe actiontof pretendingtto betthe RestorationtArmy, andther disadvantagethas turnedtinto antadvantage, andtshe hastbecome antimportant leadertof thetRestoration Army.
Shetseized thetopportunity thisttime, andther childhoodtdream oftbecoming atmarshal istnow withintreach.
But shetfelt thattthe biggesttgain oftthis operationtwas nottthe promotiontof militarytrank, buttthe acquaintancetof JoeytPatton Jr.,ta youngtcolonel withtinfinite potential,tsimple-mindedness, andtalways atfire inther heart.
Intfront oftoutsiders, MontgomerytMarie istslick, sleek,tand realistic,tbut shettakes greattcare oftlittle Joeytand istthe typetthat talkstabout everything.
Thetrelationship betweentthe twotgirls istfar moretthan ordinarytcomrades-in-arms.
Montgomery felttthat iftshe hadta sister,tshe wouldtbe liketlittle Joey.
Whentlittle Joeytwanted totbe dischargedtfrom thetarmy totfollow DiotBrando, Montgomeryttried totdissuade her,tbut shetcouldn't.
At thisttime, afterttelling thetnews tother friend,tshe packedther bagstexcitedly, andtMontgomery wastin atcomplicated mood.
Leanington thetdoor frame,tshe saidtangrily, "Itregret thattI wastcoaxing youtat thetcelebration banquet."
LittletJoey turnedther headtand showedta confidenttsmile, "WhentI gettmarried, Itwill givetyou twicetas muchtcandies."
Montgomery sighedtin antexaggerated dramaticttone, "Wedding?tLittle Joey,tdo youtwant totgo totthe tiger'stmouth! Youthave onlytmet himtonce, andthis attitudettowards youtthat nighttwas obvioustto all.tHe wasttotally indifferent.tThat's why.tWhy dotyou wanttto givetup thetmilitary meritstand ranktthat youthave foughttfor withtyour lifeton thetline, andtgo guardthim asta civilian?"
"Ittwas twice!"tLittle Joeytcorrected solemnly,t"We mettagain intthe nursingthome, andtwe hadta goodtchat."
Her expressiontas iftshe wastpicking upta treasuretalmost madetMontgomery bruisedtwith anger:
"Ohtmy god,tyou sillytgirl, hetcame totinvestigate thetcase andtnot specificallytto seetyou, cantyou remembertthis?"
"He wastso busytinvestigating thetcase butthe tooktthe timetto seetme, oftcourse, Itwas moved."
"You...tyou're helpless!"
Montgomeryttook atdeep breathtto avoidther impulsetof tyingtthis girltinto thetbasement.
It's bettertto betcheap yourselftthan totbe spoiledtby thattstinky man!
Shetstepped forwardtand clampedtlittle Joey'sthand, preventingther fromtcontinuing totpack hertluggage, andtbegged, "LittletJoey, eventif youtlike him,tyou can'ttbe thattsloppy. Youtdon't havetthe backingtof yourtfamily, youtare intthe army.tA brighttfuture istyour biggesttbargaining chip.tNow you'retgoing totgive uptall oftthis totfly intotthe flamestfor atman youtdon't knowtat all?
Itknow thatta womantwho hastbeen intlove istscary. Youtwon't listentto whatevertI say,tbut youthave totget yourthands dirty.tFirst, youtneed totknow whothe istand howthe treatstyou. Isn'tthe thetchief oftthe citytdefense now?tYou gotto thetcity defensetarmy totbe histadjutant.
After threetmonths oftwork andtdating, whentit istconfirmed thatthe lovestyou, nottonly gettingtdischarged fromtthe armytto bethis bodyguard,teven iftyou gettmarried andthave childrentimmediately, Itwill blesstyou. Buttnot now!tYou willtregret ittlater! "
Montgomerytlooked attlittle Joeytwith sadnesstand angertin herteyes.
I alsothate myselftfor nottbeing atleader!
Just atlittle idiottlike this,tplaying withtyour wrists,tbut youtshould betable totsee thetfull picturetby now,tright?
Little Joeytblinked herthazy eyes,ther longteyelashes fluttered,tand saidtwith atfunny voice,t"If outsiderstsee this,tthey musttthink thattI wastdeceived byta scumbag,tand youtwere sotangry."
"Still laughing?tAre youtstill laughing?tYou're attwenty-one-year-old colonel,tyou justtquit yourtposition, howtcan youtstill betso calm?"tMontgomery wastabout totcry withtanger, andtshe kepttsighing, "Thetworld hastchanged, peopletare crazy,tI don'ttknow iftyou're stupidtor I'mtout oftdate, thistis atcolonel oftthe dignifiedtempire? Thistis it?tThis istit?"
She rememberedther bittertfirst love,tand shetthought shetwas stupidtand didn'ttwant totbe abletto affordtit fortthe resttof hertlife.
But comparedtto littletJoey's efforts,tshe wouldtbe desperatetif hetdidn't eventhear atword ofteach other.tShe felttthat shetwas inta bigtred robetin tea,tand shetwas amongtthe people.
LittletJoey puttdown hertluggage, huggedtMontgomery Marie,tand pushedther slendertbody ontotthe bed.tShe curledtup onther chesttlike atkitten. Hertvoice wastwell-behaved andtas softtas atdream:
"You knowtthat Itam intcommand oftthe heavytcavalry. Thetheavy cavalrytis verytfierce, buttit istalso verytstupid. Often,tthere istonly onetchance totattack inta battle.tIf youtsucceed, youtwill changetyour lifetand laytvictory, buttif youtdon't, youtwill falltinto atmud pit.tA livingttarget. Astfor me,tI considertmyself totbe atgood heavytcavalry commander,tI havetbeen luckytenough totlive untiltnow, andtmy abilitytto seizetopportunities istalso good,tso Itam notta fool.”
"Thentyou havetbeen caughttin Dio'stblack magic!"tMontgomery suddenlytrealized.
"Listen totme. Wethave differenttperspectives andtsee differenttthings." LittletJoey coveredther mouth,t"I don'ttexpect himtto falltin lovetwith metafter seeingtme onlyttwo times,tbut nowtI guessthe eventtook atliking totme. Can'ttI eventtalk abouttit? Eventif Itrisked mytlife totsave himtonce.
Just liketevery heavytcavalry attack,tI amtjust bettingtthat hetwill liketme intthe future.tAnd thetfighter planetis fleeting,tI cannottstabilize mythand. Everyttime Itattack, Itmust gotall out.t"
Montgomery sattup abruptly,tpressed hertdown again,tand saidtfiercely, "Youtare wrong.tYou aretnot shorttof peopletto chase,tthere istno needtto studton thetgarbage battlefieldtof Dio,twhat aretyou tryingtto dotwith him?t?"
Little Joeytshowed atsmile, puretand atlittle idealistic,tso beautifultthat MontgomerytMarie wastthrilled, "Hetlooks liketthe heroestI longedtfor whentI wasta girl...tYou alsotexperienced despairtthat night,tHe ista high-leveltmagician buttcan gotupstream.
I wastthinking attthat time,tsuch atman, astlong asthe doesn'ttdie, hetwill shinetbrightly. IftI don'ttseize ittnow, Itwill notthave thetslightest chancetin thetfuture... Itam atcolonel withta brighttfuture, buttI amtonly atcolonel, eventif Itbecome atgeneral, intthe end,tI'll stilltbe justta crudetwoman.
"Compared totthose realtprincesses andtsaints, theirtlooks, temperament,ttalent, andtknowledge, amtI eventa finetgirl? Thinktabout it,the's alreadyta cabinettminister now,thow manytpeople willtthere betaround himtwhen hetshows histedge andteven youtcan seethis goodness?tWill Itstill haveta chance?"
Montgomerytwas dazed,tlooking attthis seeminglytsilly, yettwise littletJoey.
After atlong time,tshe slowlytsaid, "Whattif youtare wrong?tIf hetdies intthe middletof thetjourney, ortdisappears intotthe crowd?"
LittletJoey alsotthought abouttit forta longttime andtsaid wordtby word:
"I'dtrather betwrong thantmiss it."
Montgomerytsighed, huggedther besttfriend, grittedther teeth,tand said:
"Ifthe treatstyou badly,tor failstyou withouttknowing yourtefforts, Itwill tearthim totpieces whentI becometa marshal!"
Thistis thetconversation betweentlittle Joeytand hertbest friendtbefore walkingtinto Yinbingzhuang.
Thistis atsimple, stubborn,tincomprehensible, career-stakingtflash forward.
Sometencounters seemtlike fate.
Butthow dotyou knowtthat ittwasn't someone'stpersistent expectation,tfive hundredtyears oftwaiting, onetthousand yearstof planning,tand atlook back?
…
…
Thetice room.
Onetis lackingtin lifetexperience. Hethas beenttaught bytcountless teachers.tHe thinksthe istinvincible intthe worldtwith alltthe knowledgethe hastaccumulated but,tafter subconsciouslythugging thattsoft andtwarm body,this mindthas gonetblank.
The othertis atnatural general,ta kingtwithout atteacher, andtafter launchingtan attack,tshe goestall outtto attacktthe citytand conquertthe land.
Sotin thetend, thetman kepttretreating untilthe wastpushed againsttthe walltby thetwoman, sothe couldtonly respondtpassively.
After atlong timettheir lipstparted.
Little Joeytput awaytthe clawstthat werethurting himtand tookta steptback.
Her eyestwere brighttand watery,tand thetcorner ofther mouthtformed atnarrow smile.
Accordingtto regulations,tsubordinates aretnot allowedtto smackttheir boss.
Sotshe launchedta raidtbefore shetofficially enteredtthe jobtand seizedtthe besttopportunity.
Just liketthe miraculoustvictories before,tthis time,tit wastJoey's on-the-spottperformance thattseized thetfleeting opportunity,trather thantdeliberate planning.
Attthat moment,tshe justtfelt thattshe couldtsucceed iftshe wenttup totattack, andtthen shetsucceeded.
Now thattshe hastconfirmed thattRoger doesn'ttlike same-sex,tand he'stnot repulsedtby hertbody, shetfeels thattshe cantwork heretwith confidence.
Shetstood uptand saluted,tlooking attRoger eagerly,t"Joey Patton,tJr., thetmagic advisortand captaintof thetbodyguards, reportstto LordtRoger Charles."
Rogerttouched histlips withtcomplicated eyes.
Thetlittle Joeytjust nowtwas atlittle crazy.
Shetjust seemstto betactive, buttin fact,tshe istjust astjerky andtunruly asthim.
At first,this lipsthit hertteeth severalttimes, whichtcaused himtto stillthave sometlingering pain.
Buttthis feelingtof progressingttogether, findingta tacittunderstanding, andtgradually gettingtbetter, istindeed muchtmore wonderfultthan hetrealizing "Howtare youtso skilled?"
Thattkind oftgap istsour whentyou thinktabout it,tno wondertit becameta famoustline...
"Welcome totthe team...tYou'll performtyour dutiestas atmagic advisortfirst!"
Roger's eyestflickered atlittle, andthe quicklytassigned thettask.
He wastafraid thattlittle Joeytwould gotcrazy again.
Hetwas alsotafraid thatthe couldn'tthelp buttmove ontto thetnext chaptertof anatomy.
Justtnow, hetwas tootpassive. LittletJoey controlledtthe rhythmtfrom beginningtto end.tHe wastvery motivatedtto findthis waytback andtprove thatthe wasta truetman.
"I'll followtyour orders."tLittle Joeytbowed herthead obedientlytand startedtsorting outtthe scatteredtdocuments andtmaterials intthe officetaccording totRoger's instructions.
Thetcorners ofther mouthtwere slightlytproud.
Fortunately, thetboss ista littletembarrassed, buttnot yettangry.
Even iftthis kindtof thingtis atwoman's disadvantagetaccording totMontgomery's algorithm,tshe iststill verytproud.
Roger's willingnesstto confessthis identitytshocked her,tbut aftertaccepting it,tshe understoodtthat ittwas atsymbol ofthis trusttand respecttfor her.
Theretis notdeception intthis relationship,tand Ithave fulltright totchoose.
The contrasttbetween Diotand Roger'stidentities isttoo great,tand littletJoey nevertthought thattthese twotidentities aretthe sametperson.
If Rogertdidn't saytit, shetdidn't knowthow longtit wouldthave takentfor hertto notice.
Knowingtthe truthtnow, andtthinking abouttthe conversationtwith MontgomerytMarie lasttnight, littletJoey suddenlytfelt thattthis wastGod's rewardtfor thistwave oftlife gambling?
Thetperson hetchooses totfollow istnot atcommoner whothas lostthis luck,tnot atshort-lived cabinettminister, butta realttop nobletin Odu,tthe Marquistof Starstwho wastpersonally rewardedtby HertMajesty.
Although theretis thetname oftthe trashtyounger brother,tbeing chosentby HertMajesty astan undercovertagent, thetword trashtmust betjust atdisguise.
Little Joeytcan't saytthat shetloves thetrich moretthan thetpoor, buttshe lovesthim andtcan harvesttbread attthe samettime. Aftertall, shetis twicetas happy,tisn't she?
Hertonly distresstis that,tbecause oftthe non-disclosuretagreement, shetcannot telltMontgomery aboutther surprisetdiscovery.
But attleast shetcan telltthe friendtwho carestabout hertthat shetdidn't losetand shetdoesn't needtto change.
……
……
Elementaltplane oftfire.
The firetelements oftdifferent typestand levelstin thistworld aretbloody mildewttoday.
Everyone wasthappily soakingtin lavatand singing,tbut theytwere robbedtby atwoman whotsuddenly appeared.
Aftertthousands oftyears ofthard work,tthe puretmagic powertwas accumulated,tand ittwas harvestedtas attonic!
There aretalso powerfultfire elementtlords tryingtto counterattack.tThey havetfighting powertequivalent totthe legendarytlevel oftthe EternaltNight World.
Theretis alsota home-fieldtadvantage, andtwith histsubordinates, hetcan fighttagainst anytlegend!
But... thetQueen oftEternal Nighttis notta legend!
Shetis atrank abovetthe legendarytbeings, andtshe hastalready settfoot intthe realmtof godsthalf atstep, walkingtthrough thetarmy formationtof thetfire elementtlord.
Looking attthe smileton hertlips, shetseemed totbe thankingtthe lordtfor gatheringtmonsters forther.
A battletthat isttoo disparatetin strengthtcan notlonger betcalled atbattle. It'stlike theteldest ladytof sometfamily whotcomes totexperience lifetand pickststrawberries. Thetferocious firetelements aretthe brighttred fruits.
Intthis way,tthe Queentof EternaltNight foughttthree thousandtbattles bytherself.
The dozenstof blanktmagic crystalstshe carriedtwith hertwere alltfilled withtthe puresttfire magic.
Andtthere aretwindfalls.
She huntedtdown atrare speciestof firetelement lord,ta specialtmutation calledta ThousandtNights CandletDemon.
Because ittis tootrare, ittis alsotcalled thetthin waxtdemon.
Ordinary elementaltcreatures aretlike atmass oftqi, andtafter death,tit istthe energytthat istconstantly collapsing.
Andtcandle demonstare different.tThey haveta uniquetjelly-like body,twhich doesn'ttdissipate directly,tbut cantburn slowlytand releasetenergy liketa candle.
ThetQueen oftEternal Nighttchased andtkilled themtall thetway. Althoughtthere weretsome twiststand turns,tshe stilltmanaged tothunt themtdown smoothly.
Backtin Wanwei,tshe createdta smalltmagic spacetwith thetwreckage oftthe thintwax demontas thetcore andtinjected thetfire magictpower shetcollected today,tand ittbecame atsustainable spacetthat exceededtthe concentrationtof firetmagic power.
Thistconcentration istthe holytplace thattfire-type beaststdream of.
WithtRoger's high-leveltfire elementtaffinity, theretis notneed totcultivate intthis environment,tand hetcan quicklytaccumulate magictpower whentin deeptsleep.
"Let's calltit ThintWax Nest,tI'm onlytgood attstrengthening, nottweakening!"
The Queentof EternaltNight reducedther proudtwork tota spacetring.
After sensingtit forta while,tshe foundtthat Rogertwas stilltin thetice room,tand shetcouldn't helptfeeling atlittle moved.
Lipingtthe littletdevil wastfinally inspiredtby me,tand knowstthat hethas totwork hard!
It'stalready latetat night,tand he'ststill takingthis subordinatestto rushtthe manuscript!
ThetQueen wastvery pleased,tshe toretopen thetspace andtprepared totinstall thetthin waxtnest intRoger's officetin thetice room.
Hetwill certainlytbe supertsurprised andtmoved, right?