Chapter 396: Dead Man Walking (3)

Chapter 396: Dead Man Walking (3)

The box opened, and a pillar of silver light rose from within.

It was a badge of rank, a badge with a silver Rose of Sharon embroidered on it.

It was the symbol for the rank of Major.

"...This?"

Vikir looked up, and Lt. Colonel Bastille opened his mouth with a friendly smile.

"I see your construction progress has been over 100% every time, and last month you finally hit 200%?"

"Thanks to the good work of my colleagues."

"Hahahaha – how humble, I love that kind of comradeship. Anyway, how can I keep a competent subordinate who outperforms everyone else by double or triple every month as a lowly guard?"

The ability to organize and lead prisoners is how a guard is judged.

Vikir was recognized for both his resourcefulness and his integrity.

Lt. Colonel Bastille is also an adjutant in Colonel D'Ordume's line, and Colonel D'Ordum is currently devoting all of his attention to Nouvelle Vague's grand project, the new Level 10.

Lt. Colonel Bastille, therefore, has everything at stake in this massive expansion.

Vikir, who has been able to safely eliminate any distractions and whose workload is far greater than anyone else's, has earned the favor of Lt. Colonel Bastille.

"You're not the kind of person to work with just a dozen low-level prisoners. Even the great masters who united half the world during the Warring States Period began their careers guarding warehouses loaded with military munitions."

"...."

"I can't wait to see what you'll do with the countless guards you'll have, and the countless prisoners under you. Do you know if my unusual choice will dramatically accelerate the construction of Level 10?"

Lt. Colonel Bastille was a seasoned politician.

He saw through Vikir's extraordinary plan at a glance and recognized it as the key to getting the Level 10 completed ahead of schedule.

And that was good news for Vikir.

"I'm going to put everything on the line and make a difference in Nouvelle Vague."

Vikir is honest about the plan he's had since he arrived.

And this brought a smile of satisfaction to Lt. Colonel Bastille's face.

...Chuck!

The rank insignia inside the box hung on Vikir's chest.

Thus, Vikir was promoted from Captain Garm Nord to Major Garm Nord.

It had happened in less than a year, if you don't count the time Garm had been a lowly rank.

"Hahaha. I didn't get promoted this fast when I was a junior guard, either. The only people who ever did it in the first place were Colonel D'Ordume and Colonel Souare... and aside from those two earlier examples, you're probably the first in decades."

"I will work harder."

"Okay then. You have to work hard, now that I'm counting on you and watching over you. How sad and frustrated have you been because you haven't had a chance to show off your abilities? If you think about it that way, that guy named Sakkuth, who is no longer around, must have been lucky for you."

"No, I didn't think of it that way."

"Hahaha! That's what I think. I think so. He was lucky for me, because he allowed me to find such a capable subordinate as you."

Vikir looked down at the silver and black Rose of Sharon on his chest.

This insignia of rank, which is made by covering BDISSEM pieces with silver, is quite valuable as a sculpture.

But it was the symbolism of the rank that was important: the various privileges guaranteed by the rank of Major. Điscover new chapters at novelhall.com

For starters, a Major is recognized as the end of the junior guards and the beginning of the senior guards.

After being promoted to Major, a person accumulates a small amount of seniority and is treated as a senior guard, with the following privileges

1. Recruit and impose discretionary labor on up to 108 prisoners within the limits of Level 3.

2. Summarily execute one prisoner for grave inferior offenses, such as refusing to serve or injuring a guard, within the limits of Level 7.

3. Freely move in and out of the entirety of the Labor Camp at any time of the day or night, without needing to report to a superior.

4. Access to the 'Breeding Grounds', 'Execution Grounds', and 'Punishment Rooms' if authorized by the higher-ups.

.

.

Vikir's attention was drawn to numbers one and three of these.

He could conscript prisoners at his discretion and make them serve at his discretion.

"Well, sir. An order has come down from above."

"From above? From who? Colonel D'Ordume or Colonel Souare?"

"...Neither of them."

For a moment, Lt. Colonel Bastille's expression hardened as he listened to his adjutant's report.

"Is this, by any chance, an audit of the specialist?"

"That's right, Lt. Colonel 'Black Tongue' is taking an interest."

Lt. Colonel Bastille covered his face with his hands.

"... What kind of whim did that crazy person suddenly have?"

"They say good things always come with a price, don't they?"

"Okay. There is nothing wrong with military law. Where gratitude is expected for unusual promotions."

The conversation between Lt. Colonel Bastille and the adjutant was becoming increasingly serious.

Meanwhile, watching from the sidelines, Vikir thought to himself.

'...Black Tongue.'

Lt. Colonel 'Black Tongue'. A man with no name and an unpleasant nickname: Black Tongue.

He's one of the top five wardens in Nouvelle Vague and a member of the 'audit team'.

However, the Audit Team is a team and an organization, and is actually made up of only one person, Lt. Colonel Black Tongue.

Another nickname for the Black Tongue is "the jailer who catches jailers".

The Nouvelle Vague has its own system of laws and punishments because the laws of the land don't apply to it, and that goes for the guards as well as the prisoners.

Unusually for a guard, Lt. Colonel Black Tongue doesn't punish prisoners, he punishes guards.

He is the only one of the guards at Nouvelle Vague who is feared, as he investigates internal irregularities, breaches of military discipline, and other misdeeds, and punishes them at his discretion.

But he was also the least known of the five wardens, even more so than Brigadier General Flubber, whose identity was a mystery to the lowly guards, who were never likely to do anything wrong in the first place.

Vikir thought for a moment.

'... Lt. Colonel Black Tongue. Good, because he's someone I'd like to meet personally.'

Unlike BDISSEM. and Flubber, who were essential to meet before jailbreak, Black Tongue had no direct business with Vikir.

However, Vikir had a very personal reason for wanting to see Lt. Colonel Black Tongue.

at that time.

ppudeug-

There was a faint, dull noise.

It was the sound of grinding teeth.

Vikir heard it and turned his head.

There stood Kirko, her face impassive.

"...."

But judging by the faint veins of blood on her neck and chin, it was Kirko who had just been grinding her teeth.

Vikir was just about to call out to Kirko to find out what was going on.

"Major Garm, Captain Kirko. I need to go to the audit room right now."

Lt. Colonel Bastille spoke up again.

"Apparently, your promotion was too quick, and the audit team has raised questions. You have a clean background, a clean past, and a clean record, so there shouldn't be much of a problem, but...."

He trailed off, his voice a little underwater.

"Lt. Colonel Black Tongue. Judging by 'personally', he's a man to be very wary of. Just keep that in mind and go."

An ominous tone that could turn a good mood upside down in an instant.

All the guards, who only moments ago had been looking at them with envy, now look at Vikir and Kirko with sympathy and anxiety.

But. The hound's eyes, facing this overwhelming ominousness, were calm as always.

"I'll be going, then."

No, rather, it glowed with a 'personal' interest.