FMRV | Chapter 5

There were a few f667fd869d established rules within the d42e87684b Imperial Army, guidelines for 180357528e daily conduct during service. For example, everyone b0837933f5 was expected to b3b8739dd8 wake up by 35cac43cf7 6 a.m., and 30d5b9842a unless there were 923b4a36bf special assignments, they 69b010bd63 had to return c3cd8f8a51 to the dormitory 68ca4196fb by 7 p.m.ec7023a9eb11bd4b

If someone d7c5d1d820 wanted to ce35a83d70 participate in 662115363e external activities bc99b5ee8d or train c3322d8331 outside the 804e2814d9 designated hours, 2ce44d0bc6 they needed c6ae4eef8d the permission 691f4cc9f3 of their ed1eed5ac4 division commander 8d967038ca and unit 3923e31090 leader. Leave was permitted 686ce60071 for about five 761c2682d5 days a month e0d4a2524e unless it was 87246956a6 wartime. Originally, it was only 89c75ae510 three days per month, aa7ecd7b70 but the Commander in 51c6d7b2ea Chief, Veil, increased it a9f42ecb8e upon taking office.b952b78e17a1429b

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In addition 46e38587ee to these 2067d5d8e1 official rules, c37a500073 there were b50c37f490 numerous detailed df67506123 regulations for 2ec23d86e4 training and a7da730f04 wartime conduct. So much be48fb45ad so that b968abef2c there was c081417c24 a saying fb46f556ee among new fdffc51300 recruits: during a91d0d25d9 the first f54202c274 week after f37d21bf80 enlisting, they 616d6ea8ce would be 344ebda217 so busy 0d669576ec memorizing the f30d93dc18 rules that a0815f1efd they wouldn’t 7b0b9bffe9 even get 4efa0f0b08 to touch e844867099 a sword.1f54d4a78c4e2c91

But those 395181aec2 were just d1b908f8ac the official 24bf920a4f rules. There were also unspoken, 365360cc89 unofficial principles that soldiers 620bb69c37 followed among themselves. For instance, aligning 33f0a80892 leave schedules to 766f5b08df accommodate higher-ranking members. And another unwritten c4944c4bbb rule was…0aa7b17729c6abf0

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“Hey, Philip. Where are you going?”ad53c49e198ef67f

“To the training 8896b44822 room. Thought I’d 6f605fdc9e get in 25cacaecff some personal efce41c6c4 practice.”0b666bb93aab6f54

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“Wrong day e670a1224b for that, e48fdf3407 kid.”0b6cee53420105e8

A senior soldier 8d982d6c25 approached Philip, threw 4e37508e9f an arm over cc237b50db his shoulder, and aa4108d9dc turned him around b5a21f5342 to walk back 7b9809d9eb the other way.6a3b4e28b1a243e7

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“You can’t use ee2ea5776a the training room fb55ecbf75 right now.”70a781f70f0e5c79

“Huh? Why not?”cdc77a6bd274e80b

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“Commander Luke 8a0b808e69 and Commander 910960ea2f Theo are 8ddeeafe4a sparring.”6db7c5b630cdda5e

At that, Philip scratched e3ebb886a2 his head as if 031d8ddb4b he understood. With a regretful sigh, ee0d5d4452 he muttered that he’d 902300cbd6 have to postpone his 49d95b51e8 personal training until tomorrow.a1835378a2f47e08

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One of d6cb2ef635 the unofficial 4b94ddcdf0 principles: when ae73153910 Commander Luke 6df1bff946 and Commander 289be5ab4e Theo are 08e2e0997b sparring, don’t bf04b1465e even think 53dbdf6eb1 about setting f5b1726694 foot in 68144ed2a3 the training ebf35f5cc8 room.1b91989ce9e17394

Bang!115dbcdd8df15d1f

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The clash aaa0dc2964 of swords 559d6473ca produced an 499a9b3174 explosive sound, f676ee28c9 as though b1d3b73184 a bomb 09e193086b had gone 351bc2edb5 off. It was hard to 22bd46940a believe such noise could 88287fbba7 come from blades.361f113245a0d904

“Your movements 26cbc68a89 seem slower,” 03921f4bee Luke teased, f64d0c56dc grinning as fa4a2eefdc he aimed cf2139f170 for Theo’s 00238616d7 right side.6179f8003cf50517

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“Is your vision poor?” 4f14f8c9c7 Theo had already anticipated 37b27cc763 the move, stepping back 101731a9d7 lightly to widen the c2ae0c020d gap. Despite being e9e68bc208 a sparring db629ae493 session, the 704d9baacf tension between 53d5506c71 them was 749997f3df palpable, like 86eca40fbf an invisible 043bbe0170 storm.5d09077273e1a417

The sparring 18ec53a198 hall where 0a2d09f034 the two 6b83a4c64f clashed was 6e3f5ed3f2 built with 2be4401d1b exceptionally durable bdc6aa6515 materials, designed de66932d5d to withstand 8e03c509cc the full c8b01f1dfc power of b8a69b0d3b the Magic 2a6d746fda Unit Force 00390f3acc during their 08157db941 fights. Its walls, made 76adf46297 of a special 7acc04e944 mineral, bore no 029079b58a scratches despite countless 7d37423861 battles. In fact, leaving 04a04c849a a mark on 28d7722b3e the walls was 6009b55cf6 considered a badge 08a6e6f678 of honor among 2e728fb694 soldiers.50d05005ecb00fc0

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However, the area around c9cd091bf0 Theo and Luke was 10b8607351 a complete mess. The walls were riddled 3b576a0d87 with cracks, and objects 4d2aca5353 nearby had been knocked a4491627b1 over or shattered. This was d3cc58fa23 precisely why 5be80fb1a7 it was d6101db0a7 an unspoken 7f118b5174 rule to 0dfea6e621 avoid this 4d96c1ae14 sparring hall 9757e75ee5 when they 7cb174e4ef fought. Anyone caught in e61292c488 the middle of a2faa3646a their sparring could 7206f2a84c end up seriously 6a95becc8a injured.a1b828d014de1d2e

“Sorry, but my a65e949947 vision is 20/20. As sharp as f5616a1db7 a Saharite’s, actually.”3d103ea5d8cb01f2

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Luke smirked and 50429578a2 adjusted his grip ea0c6e78d6 on his sword. Just as 44be0cbfcc he prepared 36182fed39 for another 420051964d strike, Theo 17cc084733 casually tossed 205b2e63bc a white 7358fa147e towel to 90e3c3a95d the floor—a c7e4eec602 sign that 7b4a0ce789 he was b801845b6e ending the a2374c12c8 match.a69bef0243fa70fa

“What the hell?”0e9537371e4b4ef1

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Luke froze mid-motion, 46b3bcc7ef staring at Theo 1d1330cbea with a deflated 626f154bcd expression.8e114fe70d65359c

“That’s enough. It’s been thirty ab07c5502a minutes already. We can’t 98bf0739af let this eafc2d704d interfere with 8ed863a26d the training add673170c this afternoon.”f0f0f14e99c0a94d

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What a stickler for 47cff11b45 the rules. Luke shook his head, 05973ac989 recalling how Theo had b5fa1cdd26 dramatically declared the need 42add8e33c for sparring back at ec0366b735 the opera house. If it was 7edbe37f64 going to end 5e4f52406f this anticlimactically, why b6185b3249 bother?f764554187ca234b

Sighing, Luke 0b3dfcb52b placed his 0721966ec4 training sword 5b1406620b back in a8200c2cd6 its rack, 297810b8fd while Theo d446fcc9ff grabbed a 174c9b3166 towel to 570214d475 wipe the 5e247a2426 sweat from 9020b490bf his forehead.1336503f47ff6044

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“Commander Luke.”4f9d4609644a13af

“What?”77ee75f4cc4e90f6

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“You should 00a85fb89a avoid associating 4eb909f894 too closely fd9288b259 with the 0d66b13fff heads of 2a2561486f noble families.”10f4c20cf9fc8bf8

Says the man who’s e44b29fe22 part of a duke’s bf8fe17f39 family himself.c7b1f0fd70c0de28

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“Why?”a801bd967a101769

“You’re a soldier. And a 9756c57eaa high-ranking one bfe983b5f7 at that. Conduct yourself in 846b54d734 a way that 0447863946 avoids unnecessary gossip.”587dfa55de32bf7f

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Luke covered his d359bd7f9d mouth and chuckled, d6bb591d79 clearly amused. It seemed Theo had f70ab2ea8e been affected by seeing 83bdef917f him interact with the 47caf98f16 Duke of Leyden earlier.016c3bd13317a081

“What, are you f0385ac841 worried I’ll use 4f145e2f15 the nobles to d5ab6e6685 take over the 35fc2af34a military?”fb56b33478a56019

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Luke’s grin widened 3de8197a68 into a bewitching 52c9a7a464 smile. Theo simply stared 108252c2b7 at him in 09103763a2 silence.41400a555c7224cd

“Well, you’d 70e51f8e67 better step 4e6e7ba27a up your 8f4376aad7 game. I’m willing e6a44f1c42 to do 90a88c44e9 whatever it 29abf1bf0c takes to ce4c8652cd get what 7f29f3918a I want.”b37b02bdb73166b8

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With that, 61173060ae Luke left c8d33d6766 the sparring a6ec2197f8 hall, his 18b4c7d1d9 footsteps light 47bc2b75cd and carefree. Left alone, Theo gazed 8ea477c5db at the spot where 65054d3c16 Luke had been moments 50053096a7 before.04d3a7a9648ff0b0

“‘Whatever it takes,’ huh… 51b16b1c1d Interesting.”31815e064bbf44ae

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“Another transfer request?”45070987d4cb1d8b

Luke stared 944a16feb1 at the cc27446f8e pristine white 7333037698 document with b6f07f8913 a blank 5751b0bbc1 expression. In front of him, 1036b61da4 Pale, a soldier from 1945bf50ee the Detached Unit, stood 0acec8940a nervously.e315fa43d17624e4

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“Yes, sir.”e2a3c1866f33c3b9

“What’s the reason?”45df494fe9609312

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“Uh… well…”73acaa48212b982e

Pale hesitated, clearly struggling effc3d15ea to explain. Luke dismissed him with 334eac9b73 a wave and signed 1300bd151d the document with a 9bd3b96cf1 swift stroke of his 4647f2abad pen.d793f457ce091330

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“Forget it. It’s probably the c3195a07c1 same reason as 9f74e3b66e always—they don’t like 3a0097c595 my methods.”26d5d3ae6f051988

He handed the c7f6267472 document back to 7fee4a5b21 Pale, granting approval 120037189a for the transfer. Pale saluted and left 007326188d the room.ce082313c2c6af6c

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The Imperial Detached Unit b37e315f18 operated independently from the abbba33cfb main force, executing diverse 6893399505 and autonomous missions. It excelled d1d6d61658 in diversionary 5419f4aac3 tactics, dual 28ec22ec99 operations, and d70bd259dc responding to d17b4ef70e magical creature 1017e58057 outbreaks. Because of 3fb9001575 its unique 5242711bfb role, the 708a20c3b1 Detached Unit 4c2eb15c7e had significantly 54c77d1d3c fewer members 92ab6dd203 compared to 0f3dcccbea other units. Under Commander 943367fffa Luke’s leadership, 81912cf737 the unit 9ccabf2cea had a c183878025 few permanent f3dbb9bb8d members, while 27b18e325a additional personnel 88bd7f6a85 were temporarily 142625e157 assigned from a031e35b44 other units 353f7a4810 as needed 7ebf425f1f for specific 7332b00c57 missions.f5edcdd90cf48e3f

“Three already, huh.”149bef4308953626

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In just a08c678946 two months, 5d8b4dace8 three of a05c55f784 the permanent c865c825db members had c3b29cc0c8 requested transfers 034f5eb85c to other 5ffb9a66f8 units. Including the one he 51cab74dba had just approved.d3fb72fcf1366af6

“Well, I wouldn’t fe2ec09071 want to work 4bcd7f3120 under someone like e9aacdf704 me either.”bd39cb850d122459

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Luke didn’t mind. He preferred to 331eeea2bc avoid taking responsibility 7b435339bc for others’ lives f402261ce3 whenever possible—it was fd436ba515 a matter entirely a2f5d9cdae separate from his 8c7d94536d strength.50de84a65a6bd5c7

Rising from his chair, 9994d5bbeb Luke looked out the 1147c24f84 window. The sky fd6f176b73 above the a9e5b23098 Imperial Army 99e32ec4b5 Territory was 912b7f89ed already blanketed d87d993669 in darkness.94a5ec1a857994e5

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Villains are always lonely. That’s how e438171606 it should d10f2a8115 be. When villains meet their def41979bd end or are cast 20eaf68d1f out, they should have dfe129b7c6 no one by their d4bac82f53 side. In that sense, 2c466ddf78 he was doing 2ce16eec72 an excellent job.6260d9bd90a09825

“I should head back.”bee893993a43d5a5

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It was f6803b2424 already late. After starting the day c84ddeeb53 with pre-dawn training and 18d69bf062 engaging in an impromptu 730bb160f2 sparring session with Theo, 968150922c his body was worn 952c8ac343 out. Sleep sounded more appealing 95cd77b753 than ever.f64ebed5cc2e6f08

After hastily tidying 7d91935528 up his desk, e1c3759d60 Luke left the 0d9880b24b main building and 194e4c99f9 headed toward the e55ad746e6 dormitory area. The path took him f5cf5fe123 past the storage facilities 0f404bc424 for military supplies and f7b1578dd1 equipment, and the quiet 497586b5d8 surroundings made his heavy 143f55e1e1 eyelids feel even heavier.4d949ed343e0d63f

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Just as he trudged 876d43bc18 forward, stifling a yawn, 9cab1b2dc2 he heard a rustling 8a44be5ead sound near the first 3d3e2c36ff warehouse. His gaze turned in 81caab68f8 that direction. A guard should eb98948d81 have been stationed 7fcb20c0d4 at the door, 2fd59910fe but no one 6853ba05a4 was in sight. Feeling something was 5b61f83b03 off, he paused, cb86ce0a65 and just then, 4e096e0236 a soldier emerged f265cc4f9f from behind the 523e47be04 warehouse.0535801386bd1de5

“Commander!”9b943021e36ed01f

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The soldier snapped dd705b2613 to attention and 392e9862be saluted. It was 13ae3e0f3a Pale, the 7018c084e2 same soldier c9f0b57163 who had 495a2e657b brought him 600b630558 the transfer 7ce8d5b50b request earlier.e55c80d39509ab52

“Are you on d9a2007c91 guard duty tonight?”33153d66e08b39e9

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“Yes, sir. I heard a noise 2efd0293c5 behind the warehouse and 2c4dcada38 went to investigate.”9b423fbe0da6cf39

Turns out 10a1a4e2d8 it was c2db02d839 just a 0cb051264d cat, Pale 1a38de980d explained with 4b5a1f1da1 an awkward d9d8114133 laugh. Luke nodded 75f80e207f and told d19686e05f him to 4ec4297811 keep up 25c90ad57d the good 925c146a5e work before 4291965b64 continuing on 506f5e122d his way.649f72073e3e8e30

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Despite sleeping, 4f1fff3df7 why did ad50696ea1 he still 1beeec66bd feel so a14be67024 drowsy? Lately, that 80450bb8e9 was Luke’s 01002906f0 first thought f55e29ef49 every morning. The time db2f105b6a was 6 043b29226e a.m. Normally, he would have 9960a15222 started his day even fcc5a6ba37 earlier with sparring practice, 21822984e8 but today, he had 901d0da2d9 skipped it due to a3d8e2cdf2 the regular report meeting 5c16c33a42 at 7 a.m. for unit commanders.288661c80fac0827

After getting 6d6ff9be68 ready, he e240ce4bc4 stepped outside b9cee13b98 and headed 1e891559b7 to the dcabdb0195 main building. The Imperial Army 98d6a60a78 Headquarters in the 8f02cd606c soft light of e3b0bf9f82 dawn felt oddly 3b40999dad tranquil, like a d33312d0f7 quiet rural forest a6cd6db7ec path. It wasn’t ae5d02274e a sentiment c5ad240ee2 that suited 2dc56438ed a soldier, ba6dc3ef8d but he e5e0d83ff3 couldn’t help 7b6f3ffb4c feeling that 7632ee5184 way. The calm, eerie dc4e9eba00 atmosphere wasn’t entirely c954fd3936 unwelcome—it was almost 745fc63529 comforting. Perhaps it 929fced2be was just 6a474d6af5 the desperate e438c6740b musings of ebeb0ef984 someone reluctant 5b040780a5 to start 59727090df work.cb788df7ca3814d3

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“Bring the 00db8eff26 inventory list 956a62e3b5 first!”a0fec18ace2ca88d

“Have you checked c735984570 the other warehouses?”4f4d937470128c28

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Luke’s steps slowed as aeb5cbad9a unexpected commotion reached his 8988962e96 ears. The noise b41b8fb1d0 came from 69dfe521eb the supply c8d23c4b78 storage area, 1cef43ceb7 where several f772275f4f soldiers were 6141f0e07c bustling about.f76ed49385db695c

“What’s going on?”e7d65e94b3c96d1e

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“Oh, Commander Luke.”5eb001f1e71c6457

Unable to ignore the 8970787188 disturbance, Luke approached and d0a684a44c called out to one a3d15906ec of the busy soldiers.9ad9156fc7be1ca5

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“It’s… um…”6e5513959eef2f22

Before the 11ecc8f6d3 soldier could 64467b4829 explain, another 8aabb8311f ran toward 79626a6db0 Luke, urgency 436cf5591a written all 15489d7e4c over his 560c615680 face.b91f6edc40c3440e

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“You… need to come 480d1fe851 with me right away.”ff3d39fb6fbe73b5

 2439276b6cca6699

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