The General's Wife Wants to Leave-Chapter 42: Some unfamiliar faces

It had been widely known that Archess was a kingdom that had the strongest army on the Maldava continent, while Terra was inferior in terms of army strength.

After having been invaded by the Valthian Empire, Terra focused on strengthening its navy forces. frёewebnoѵēl.com

Reinvigorating the navy was necessary because Terra was located on a peninsula, so control of the seas was essential for a victory on land, especially in the southern sea, the Russcean Sea, which was the borderline between Terra and Valthian.

Besides, it had been reported that the Valthian Empire had not given up on conquering Terra although they had been subdued by the joint forces between the Terran and Archessan armies, under General Canillas von Rodega as the army commander.

The willingness of Archess to cooperate with Terra was not without purpose. If Terra was conquered by Valthian, it would open a greater opportunity for them to invade and conquer Archess, as Archess was the immediate neighbor of Terra, right on its northern side.

The Valthian Empire was an enemy that could not be underestimated as its territory across the Russcean Sea was as large as the union of Archess and Terra. Therefore, the Terran navy should be strengthened to defend along the border coastline.

But strengthening the navy itself was not enough if the army was weak, as a naval ambush that shipped the Valthian army to invade the land of Terra might occur like last time. Therefore, combined forces between the army and navy between the two kingdoms should be strengthened.

The city port of Seidel was situated on the shore of the Russcean Sea and it was built as the naval base for the fleet of Terra. To reach Seidel, Canillas had to head to the southern region of Terra and it would take him one day if he went there on horseback from Barasca, taking about two more days if it was reached by carriage.

Canillas departed on horseback with five of his men-at-arms as he left Fabio and one of the men-of-arms named Luca at the de Lara mansion to guard his wife.

They arrived in Seidel in the afternoon and their arrival had been waited by a senior general of Terra, Sir Rudolpho Clementine, and a few soldiers from his regiment at the gate of the city port. It seemed that he had received an order from King Ordoba to welcome the prominent general of Archess.

Canillas was dressed in ordinary attire, not in a uniform, as he went with his main purpose of going to Terra for personal matters. It was also his purpose to silently voice his mind, informing the King that he was serious about his original agenda for visiting Terra although he was not that insane to totally rebel against the King’s order.

Noticing the Terran soldiers welcoming him, Canillas and his men-at-arms dismounted their horses. While his attendants kept on standing beside their horses, Canillas strode forward to meet the assigned General who was approaching his direction.

As they were facing each other, both of them offered salutes. "Welcome to the city port of Seidel, General von Rodega. It is a great honor to have you here," General Rudolpho Clementine respectfully greeted Canillas after offering his salute, extending his hand for a handshake that was immediately received by Canillas. A kind smile was formed on the senior General’s lips.

"It is a great honor for me to be here, General Clementine. Thank you for your hospitality," replied Canillas to the older man, without returning the smile, to which the senior General seemed fine with the stony and aloof expression of the younger General.

It was not the first meeting for both of the Generals as they had been together in the battle against Valthian that had occurred for a few months last year. Therefore, although General Rudolpho Clementine was older than Canillas as he was in his late thirties, he did not feel offended by the behavior of General Canillas von Rodega, as he knew that, although this young man had a nonchalant manner, there was no arrogance in him.

He had also proved that he was a wise and brave leader who had led the Archessan and Terran soldiers to victory with his thorough calculation and tactical skills, allowing them to defeat the Valthian troops and make them retreat from the land of Terra.

"Would General von Rodega proceed with the order of His Majesty the King right away or do you need some time to rest?" asked the older General.

"No, General Clementine. I prefer to proceed with the tasks immediately," answered Canillas, without slight hesitation, as he wanted to finish this task as soon as possible so that he could go back to Barasca where his wife was recuperating.

General Clementine nodded at Canillas’ response. "Then, I will show you the way to the naval base of Seidel. This way, General von Rodega," said the senior General.

With that, the Generals together with their attendants got on their horses, entering the city port of Seidel toward the naval base where the military-related discussion would be held.

Arriving at the naval base, General Clementine first guided Canillas and his attendants to their assigned rooms that they would occupy during their stay in Seidel.

After asking his men to rest as he thought that the military task had nothing to do with them, Canillas was guided by the senior General to a meeting room, in which a few military officers of Terran were seated around a large rounded table.

Some of the faces were found to be familiar to Canillas, while some were foreign, and Canillas guessed that they were the Terran navy whom he had not had the chance to work together with yet. And his guess was right, as when they were introduced by General Clementine, they were indeed navy soldiers, who ranked from lieutenant to admiral.

Canillas was introduced to each soldier who attended the meeting by General Clementine. When it was the turn for Canillas to be introduced to a young captain, whose face was unfamiliar to him, Canillas caught that he subtly sized him up before changing his demeanor in a swift moment when their eyes met.