𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲'𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 || 敵の旦那様 (𝐁𝐋) ✔ [COMPLETE]

15. Amid the flames

"So then, let him die."

That was the General's first thought when he heard what the guard had to elucidate.

However, as the gist of the situation set in, General Haoran placed one of his gigantic palms over his face. What was this man up to now? Was this perhaps deliberate? Part of the Silver Mountain's schemes to bring the General down?

He couldn't be sure.

But whatever the case, if that bastard were to die under his care because of something obviously ambiguous like an accident, he might as well go and declare open war against the Silver Mountains. He couldn't risk the peace his emperor had so gratuitously acquired.

Hence he couldn't delay things any further; the first course of action of a rescue mission is to ensure the safety of the 'victim', and they're considered victims until proven completely guilty. He threw a bag of gold at the guard, who was nimble enough to bring the message directly to him, and his eyes gleamed in happiness.

"Where is His Highness?" He asked, putting on his armor and a gunny bag resistant to fire as he directed his eyes at the guard who brought the message.

"His Highness said he'd be visiting the stables down the farmlands of Lord Dan." The guard answered enthusiastically, now elated by the sudden unexpected gift, said, "That's what he said, but... we spied on him like the Imperial General asked us to and saw him walking towards the arsenal."

"The arsenal?!" General Haoran got up, thunderstruck, and he walked up to the man threateningly. "Are you telling me that the place that caught fire was the arsenal entrusted to his Imperial Royal Majesty?"

The guard visibly panicked and began shivering, "Yes, Your Grace! That- that is the place."

As soon as General Haoran heard that, he abruptly ordered a hundred of the most capable rescuers to gather weaponry and get the horses ready for an immediate mission, with tension oozing across the air. He also requested the assistance of the well-dwellers, a group of people specialized in the supply of well water for fire accidents and sudden wildfires that affect the barren areas of the Blazing Sun Empire.

If the Arsenal was involved, then this probably didn't have anything to do with the Silver Mountains!

He mounted his horse and rushed through the blazing hot air in a frenzy, holding the saddle in one hand and clutching his imperial sword, his eyes furious. This was a trap set up by his own people to disgrace himself in front of the emperor.

It was probably those shameless rats who call themselves "Ministers and Courtiers of the Monarch" that were behind this!

He whistled loudly, an ear-piercing whistle that almost all of the hundred men behind him recognized. As soon as the soldiers identified it, they exhaled sharply and broke the rescue troop into three solid formations that ran in three different directions. They saddled their horses and immediately came to a stop, circling the General in a semi-circular arc as the heads of the three formations—the Lieutenants—got down and bowed in front of him, awaiting orders.

"We're less than 200 feet away from the scene of the accident." The voice of the general rang with a sense of lurking blood thirst. "It seems some rat of the royal court wants to sully this honorable general's name and become an active threat to the safety of the Empire of the Blazing Empire by daring to set fire to something that belongs to His Majesty." He looked ahead and unsheathed his monstrous sword as he said the last bit. "One to guard the front, one to the sides, and one to the rear. Bring me whoever you find suspicious, alive. But they can have a few limbs missing," he sneered.

His lieutenants got the message. The guy should not have all his limbs intact.

"Yes, General!" all three of his lieutenants roared. As they were about to head out, Lieutenant Shen Yue hesitated for a bit and asked, "General, what about your husband—I mean the seventh Prince Fu Lin—his highness?"

General Hoaran froze. "What about him?" he asked stiffly.

"You—Your Grace just said," Shen Yue swallowed. "You just said... to bring whoever was suspicious alive, but not, uh, completely healthy." He hesitated again "Does that apply to him too?"

"I said to whoever was suspicious." His lips rolled coldly. "And that means anybody who is suspicious. Is there anything that the Lieutenant doesn't understand?"

Shen Yue got goose bumps as he nodded hurriedly, "Yes, General."

At that moment, several tens of his men and all three of his lieutenants understood one thing: Their general absolutely hated his husband.

The troops set off, and General Haoran too mounted his horse once again, riding through the thick meadows and vegetation. Although he would like to chop off that mosquito bastard's arms and legs at will, there was a reason why he asked his soldiers to catch anyone and everyone indiscriminately—he wasn't sure of Fu Lin's intentions.

Traditionally, the monarch bestowed different responsibilities on different officials within the Empire of the Blazing Sun as an emblem of trust between the subordinate and the ruler. And among the responsibilities so decreed upon the general, the imperial arsenal was the most significant, and anything happening to a token of such significance was tantamount to destroying the good relations between the emperor and the general.

Therefore, time and time again, there have been attempts to harm the arsenal by the different court officials who were jealous of the relationship between the emperor and the general. Because of the constant state of war, the arsenal's belongings have been in complete use, and nobody has had the chance to do anything about it.

Now, however, peace had been established, and General Haoran knew that the arsenal would be targeted, so he set up a structure where the arsenal would be deemed safe. The only means of destroying the arsenal is to burn it down completely, as other means of physical thievery and ruination were impossible; the arsenal ground doesn't permit anybody other than the emperor and the imperial general, or anybody directly authorized by them.

Because of this, the few hundred feet from the arsenal were devoid of human life, and not even guards were appointed to the arsenal; it was completely barred territory for any civilian of the Blazing Empire except the General and his monarch. Anyone wandering in it unwarrantedly was asking for death.

Unless they were there to harm the arsenal, that is.

Earlier, when the general emphasized that anyone who is suspicious should be detained and treated as such, it was precisely because he had no idea what that mosquito bastard thought. If Fu Lin had any sign of suspicion, the consequences cannot be avoided—his former social position is of no importance within the Empire of the Blazing Sun.

However, it did not escape the General's consciousness that he didn't speak one word about Fu Lin's safety with his subordinates, and he didn't feel particularly worried about it. The Arsenal was rebuilt by the General with an internal gunny bag structure and is now resistant to fire. Therefore, even if a fire broke out, if Fu Lin had no signs of a misdeed, he should be able to take cover within the arsenal. Anybody with an ounce of intelligence would absolutely know that the inner arsenal was the safest place.

Even without that, the general somehow believed he would survive not just a fire but even a flood or earthquake.

That was until he rode his horse and stood at the edge of the gates into the arsenal, overlooking the monstrosity of flames that engulfed the arsenal. The leering flames sprung out of the arsenal like a snake hissing with its venomous tongue, and the scorching fire current poured out of all the doors and windows, not sparing one inch of the arsenal. Even its interior was completely consumed by the heat.

It was then that General Haoran remembered something crucial.

Even a mosquito bastard like him with a high knack for survival is not immune to the throes of death.

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Fu Lin the next chapter: *Dead and turned to a spirit, coming to haunt the general for the 'so then let him die'* 

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