Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Kazimir smiled bitterly; his loyalty, his abilities, his identity, and his future had all been branded with Cohen's mark.

The core decision-making circle of the House of Nobles, valued by Heisenberg, deputy director of the intelligence agency, general manager of the Constantine Special District, and helmsman of the Holy Radiance Academy?
These seemingly dazzling halos, in front of Cohen and that soul contract, are like candles flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

All his glory and power rested on Cohen's whim.

Now that he's on Cohen's ship, all he can do is try his best to make the most of this irreversible path.

Play every role Cohen assigns him well, and carry out every instruction Cohen gives him.

Hopefully, Cohen will remember his contributions and say a few good words for him to the great God of War.

Cohen seemed to understand Kazimir's inner struggle and prayers, a slight smile playing on his lips as he patted Kazimir on the shoulder:

"Rest assured, the God of War will always favor you!"

After a pause, Cohen suddenly remembered something important and asked another question:
"Oh, right, there's one more thing, according to the usual practice of the Imperial Military Affairs Department."

Newly transferred officers of the rank of colonel or above to the Ministry of Military Affairs are required to be personally summoned by the ministry leaders to demonstrate their importance and to be assessed.

You are a colonel and regimental commander of the Northern Army Group of the Empire, a champion of the entire army's martial arts competitions, and a meritorious officer who shone brightly in the Silver Group of this year's Noble Martial Arts Festival, winning glory for the military.

With such a resume and such a status, it's highly likely that Prince Heinz will personally receive you.

This is a golden opportunity; you should seize it.

Before His Highness the Prince, you must not only demonstrate the proper military bearing and strength you possess, but also cultivate a relationship beforehand, allowing the Prince to see your capabilities and perceive your value.

"Building connections?"

Kazimir paused slightly, then subconsciously asked:

How do I pull it?
His Highness the Prince holds a high position and wields great power; his resolute character means that ordinary flattery and fawning would likely only backfire…

A glint of something unreadable flashed in Cohen's eyes. He leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and whispered a few words of advice to Kazimierz.

Kazimir's face showed a strange expression. He remained silent for a good ten seconds before raising his head and looking at Cohen with a complicated gaze:
"Your Majesty, if I may ask a question I shouldn't, is there also a Kuomintang agent planted around Prince Heinz?"

Kazimir was deeply troubled. It was hard not to suspect that Cohen knew about such a highly confidential matter, as it made one wonder if he had also planted someone around Prince Heinz.

Cohen gave a cryptic smile and patted Casimir on the shoulder:

"Work hard and look at your current status—the vice president of the Noble Academy's intelligence agency, the chief administrator of the King's Tempest District, the de facto leader of the Holy Radiance Academy, and a rising star in the military with high hopes."

With the backing of the House of Nobles, the military, and Her Majesty the Empress, I can't even imagine how high you'll rise in the future.

Kazimir opened his lips, but after thinking for a long time, he still didn't speak, his face full of complicated emotions.

……

After several days of competition, the top four teams in the Legends Group have been officially determined.

Among the four finalists, the one that surprised everyone was probably the Emerald Duke Belmotti Vineyard from Effie.

She overcame all obstacles and easily crushed all her opponents. Even Lieutenant General Moore, a famous general in the Central Empire's military, could not stop this woman's advance.

Besides Belmody, the other three are Fyodor, the "Energizer" of the Central Empire, Zeb Kruger, the "Trickster" of the Eastern Empire, and Oberon Hansen, the "Star Druid" of the Western Empire.

They are all legendary extraordinary individuals who have long been famous on the mainland.

The competition is still being hosted by Archmage Victor, and the group assignments have been announced.

The first match is between Belmotti and Oberon Hansen, the "Star Druid" of the Western Empire.

As the two stepped into the "Final Arena," the surrounding scenery began to shift and rise.

Before long, it turned into a desolate and endless desert.

The scorching desert air twisted and rose.

As soon as Archmage Victor's familiar announcement faded, two figures appeared on the newly formed, vast expanse of yellow sand.

The sky hung low and oppressive, with a dim sun hanging on the horizon, casting a hazy yellow light that dyed the undulating sand dunes a withered dark gold.

The yellow wind, carrying fine sand grains, whipped up swirling sand vortexes that moved like ghosts.

Bermotti was still wearing a dark purple dress, and her stunning beauty appeared even more breathtakingly cold and aloof against the backdrop of the twilight desert.

Oberon Hansen of the Western Empire was like a silent ancient tree in the wilderness. He wore a long robe woven from ancient tree bark and starlight, and although he was not tall, he exuded a profound aura that resonated with the heavens and the earth.

His withered, tree-like cane rested casually on the scorching sand, his eyes reflecting the entire sky.

He stood there, becoming one with the desert beneath his feet, as if he could summon the power of the stars in the sky at any moment.

Oberon's extraordinary profession is "Astral Druid," a unique branch of the Druid order.

They not only revere Mother Earth and all living things in nature, but also turn their gaze to the vast and boundless starry sky.

They believe that the stars are a projection of natural cycles on a cosmic scale, and the ultimate manifestation of the origin of life, the trajectory of destiny, and the world order.

The Star Druid guides the forces of nature by observing the stars and understanding the workings of constellations, gaining inspiration and power from them.

Oberon had also watched the matches before Belmotti's semi-finals and was well aware of his opponent's strength.

They launched an attack right from the start of the match.

He parted his lips slightly and uttered a low chant, at the same time gently tapping the withered wooden staff on the ground.

In an instant, the scorching, lifeless yellow sand, centered on him, seemed to be infused with a continuous stream of vitality.

The moss, emitting a soft blue-green fluorescence, spread rapidly at a visible speed, covering large areas of sand.

The air began to fill with the scent of damp earth and a sense of vast starlight.

Belmod's lips curled slightly, and she raised her slender hand.

The shadow beneath her feet suddenly deepened, and dark matter from the abyss of the underworld seeped out from it.

Wherever the dark matter passed, the moss that Oberon had just nurtured, which emitted a faint glow, seemed to have been splashed with strong acid, making a sizzling sound that made one's teeth ache.

The blue-green fluorescence quickly dimmed and was then completely swallowed up.

Oberon took a deep breath, a deep sense of shock surfacing in his eyes, and abandoned his probing thoughts.

A strange hum, seemingly resonating from a distant galaxy, emanated from his throat, carrying a powerful force that reached straight to the soul.

His eyes shone brightly, as if countless stars were exploding within them.

As far as the eye could see, space began to distort slightly, as if it were entangled by invisible star trails.

His slightly hunched posture instantly straightened, like the trunk of the World Tree supporting the heavens and the earth, and his right hand, gripping the oak staff tightly, was suddenly raised high above his head.

The ancient star patterns on the staff now seemed to be infused with liquid starlight, lighting up and burning in streaks and lines.

The entire staff seemed to have transformed into a scepter that could manipulate the stars.

"In the name of the ancient stars, Starry Forest descends!"

Oberon Hansen's legendary domain, Starry Woodlands!
The eternal night suddenly descended upon most of the desert, and the phantoms of towering trees rose from the ground.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of moss, and a stream of liquid starlight flowed through it, its murmuring water carrying the whispers of the universe.

The sky transformed into a rotating star map, with clearly visible constellations and nebulae radiating a distant and ancient power.

A vast, tranquil, and endless aura of life swept out.

However, this sacred sight, which is enough to make mortals worship, is completely unable to dispel the darkness on the other side.

Belmod remained completely shrouded in darkness.

Space was distorted, as if leading to hell.

The faint wails of the dead and the shrieks of immortal vengeful spirits could be heard, and icy negative energy burst forth with a chill that could freeze the soul.

The projection of the underworld abyss was firmly nailed to the edge of the starry forest, like a giant maw devouring the light.

Where the two meet, starlight and darkness are annihilated in a frenzy, stirring up waves of distorted energy storms.

Oberon felt immense pressure emanating from that dark abyss; the power that devoured all life and dismantled the rules made him feel unprecedented pressure.

He held his withered wooden staff high, his expression more solemn than ever before:
"In the name of the ancient galaxy, World Tree Sapling, manifest!"

The legendary figurative object of Oberon, the World Tree Sapling!
In the very center of the Starry Sky Forest, where the space rippled like water, a sapling exuding an indescribable majesty sprouted from the soil.

Although it is only about ten meters tall, it seems to be the heart of life in the universe.

The tree trunk is made of condensed stardust, constantly flowing and changing; the leaves are models of the slowly rotating Milky Way, scattering starlight; the gnarled roots are deeply embedded in the flowing stream of starlight, drawing upon the infinite origin of the universe.

Most notably, the sapling was surrounded by several constantly rotating, complex star-patterned halos, emanating a powerful life force.

Faced with the arrival of Oberon's World Tree sapling, which was as awe-inspiring as the creation of the universe, Belmody's face remained calm, without any extra emotional fluctuations.

His hands slowly opened, as if embracing the void.

Immediately afterwards, a crack silently opened in the space, and a huge, cold, and eerie vertical pupil slowly rose from it.

A cursed force field that could freeze one's soul instantly spread out.

Cursed Eye!

Oberon, locked onto by the Cursed Eye, instantly felt a bone-chilling cold that pierced through his starlight-protected barrier.

This is not a matter of physical coldness, but rather a withering that originates from the level of the soul.

The starlight and sand surrounding him instantly dimmed and lost their luster, falling down as if their life force had been drained.

The moss and stardust foliage at the edge of the Starry Forest, which had been emitting a soft glow, began to show signs of withering. The World Tree sapling seemed to sense a great threat; its branches and leaves moved without wind, emitting a rapid, alarm-like buzzing.

Oberon's pupils contracted sharply. His proud, vibrant stellar power was suppressed as if it had encountered its natural enemy under the gaze of this cold and eerie eye.

A chill ran through him, and he forced himself not to look at that vertical pupil that seemed to plunge one into an endless abyss.

He slammed the withered wooden staff into the starlight moss beneath his feet, channeling all his energy into the somewhat shaky World Tree sapling.

The star map halo surrounding the sapling spun rapidly, emitting a dazzling golden light.

A golden barrier composed of countless tiny starlight runes suddenly unfolded around the World Tree sapling.

It was like an inverted giant bowl enveloping Oberon and the core area of ​​the entire Starry Forest.

Inside the barrier, time seemed to freeze—Oberon's natural recovery speed increased several times over, while the dark erosion and soul-pulling forces of Belmody outside the barrier were instantly and greatly slowed down.

The legendary rule that Oberon comprehended: the cycle of life!

A look of surprise flashed in Belmod's eyes, and the vortex in front of the Eye of Curse suddenly increased its rotation speed several times over.

There were no earth-shattering explosions.

Suddenly, an indescribable, terrifying suction force arose at the center of the vortex.

The first thing to be hit was that solid golden barrier.

The radiant light of the barrier, imbued with the power of stars, was being frantically devoured by the vortex.

The starlight runes flowing across the barrier began to thin at a visible rate, and the barrier itself began to twist inward, emitting a piercing shriek as it struggled under the strain.

Next came the projection of the World Tree sapling.

The majestic sapling phantom began to shake violently, and the stardust that made up the trunk and leaves was drawn out strand by strand by an invisible force, and then forcibly drawn into that cold vortex.

The miniature galaxy leaves began to crumble, and the rotating star map halo broke apart inch by inch.

Oberon's face turned deathly pale instantly, as if he had been struck by a heavy blow.

The World Tree sapling is the embodiment of his legend.

For a legendary-level transcendent being, a legendary artifact is equivalent to the brain and soul of a mortal.

As long as the tangible form of the legend remains, the legend will never die.

Conversely, an attack on a physical object is equivalent to a threat to a legendary-level life form.

The World Tree sapling was eroded, and the force acted directly on the very essence of his soul.

The barrier of "eternal life," which should have resisted all forces of destruction, was utterly useless in the face of the deadly aura emanating from the Eye of Curse.

Crack—Boom!

A sharp cracking sound was followed by a violent energy explosion.

The golden barrier, which carried Oberon's beliefs and laws, shattered with a deafening roar, turning into countless golden stardust fragments that were then completely swallowed up by the icy vortex, as if it had never existed.

The World Tree sapling, now free from the barrier's protection, let out a mournful energy shriek, its entire form becoming blurry and transparent, and the rotating star map halo on it completely extinguished.

Oberon coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with starlight, his breath instantly weakened to the extreme, and his body swayed precariously.

The magnificent scene of the Starry Sky Forest began to flicker violently, and countless towering starlight trees quickly turned into ethereal stardust.

The flowing stream of starlight dried up, cracks appeared in the eternal night sky, and the entire realm began to collapse and dissipate like a shattered mirror.

Oberon's figure was exposed in the rolling yellow sand. He stood up with difficulty, leaning on a withered wooden cane, his eyes filled with shock.

His body trembled violently from the backlash of the primal power, and the icy erosion from the Eye of Curse lingered within him, tearing his meridians and soul apart.

He lost, lost so completely, so decisively!
His proud power of the stars was utterly powerless against those cursed eyes from the underworld.

Oberon could sense that this was not a difference in strength, but a difference in the level of rules, a complete crushing of the lower rules by the higher rules.

Victor Ereshkigal's calm and composed voice rang out at the opportune moment, piercing through the dimensional barrier:

"The Western Empire, Oberon Hansen, the 'Star Druid,' has suffered a collapse of his domain and disintegration of his power."

The winner is—Grand Duke of Effie, Belmody Vineyard.

The audience, comprised of powerful figures from various factions, remained completely silent.

It was yet another uneventful and crushing defeat.

The Emerald Archduke of Alfie, Belmotti Vineyard, advanced strongly to the Legends final with an even more decisive and devastating victory than before.

She declared to the entire continent—she is the undisputed strongest legend of this year's Noble Martial Arts Festival!
In the audience stands Fyodor, the defending champion who will face Zeb Kruger, the "Trickster" of the Eastern Empire, in the next match.

As he watched Belmody's figure disappear, a hint of undisguised fear appeared on his face.

He knew better than anyone that the domain and rule power that Belmodi had demonstrated had already transcended the realm of the legendary rank.

Her legendary domain may indeed evolve into a complete hell in the future!

……

(transfer order)
Imperial Military Affairs Department
Document Number: Military Personnel Transfer Order [Continental Calendar 333] No. 078

Classification: Confidential.

Imperial Military Affairs Department Personnel Transfer Order

Recipient: Colonel Kazimir August, Commander of the Special Operations Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division of the Northern Army Group.

Issuing authority: Personnel Department of the Imperial Military Affairs Ministry.

Issued by: Prince Heinz Klein, Minister of the Army, Grand Marshal (Seal)
Date: 18th day of the Frost Month, 333rd year of the Chinese calendar

Transfer Decision: In accordance with the "Regulations for the Appointment of Imperial Officers" and the Ministry of Military Affairs' Resolution No. 1024-09 on the allocation of strategic personnel, and with the approval of Prince Heinz Klein, Minister of Military Affairs, the following officer positions are hereby adjusted as follows:

Former position:
Colonel Casimir August, commander of the Special Operations Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division of the Northern Army Group.

Transferred to another position:

Senior Staff Officer of the Strategic Planning Division of the Imperial Military Affairs Department, maintaining the rank of Colonel, but promoted to the rank of Director-General.

Basis for transfer:

During his service in the Northern Army Group, Count Casimir August led his troops in completing seven major military missions, including the "Defense of Frost Fortress" and the "Black Rock Canyon Assault Operation," all of which were rated "Excellent."
He won the overall championship in the Imperial Army Tactical Competition for three consecutive years in the years 330, 331 and 332 of the Continental Calendar; in this Silver Group competition of the Noble Martial Arts Festival, he represented the Imperial Army and demonstrated extraordinary combat power.

According to the "Imperial Elite Officer Training Program," meritorious officers can be given priority to be transferred to central agencies to enhance the synergy between strategic decision-making and frontline practice. Colonel Casimir August was transferred to work in the Ministry of Military Affairs.

Registration requirements:

Time: Colonel Casimir August is relieved of his post in the Northern Army Group effective immediately. He shall report to the Personnel Department of the Military Affairs Building (1 Glory Avenue, Kuntandin Special District) before 9:00 AM on the 25th of Frost Month, 333 of the Continental Calendar.

Procedure: Bring this transfer order, officer's certificate, and security clearance certificate (issued by the Northern Group Army Headquarters) to the Personnel Department of the Military Affairs Department for onboarding and security review.

sign:

Minister of War: Prince Heinz Klein

Director of the Personnel Department of the Military Affairs Department: Major General Lucas Moretti

(Imperial Klein Royal Family Golden Rose Seal, Imperial Military Double-Headed Eagle Emblem Seal)

This order is copied to the Central Imperial Military Council, the Imperial Cabinet Office, the Imperial Army General Staff Headquarters, the Northern Army Group Headquarters, and the Military Liaison Office of the House of Nobles.

Confidentiality requirements: Information regarding the transfer must not be disclosed to unauthorized parties; violators will be prosecuted in accordance with the Imperial Military Secrecy Law.

(Document delivery confirmation section)
Northern Army Group Headquarters (Receipt): _________________
Colonel Kazimir August signed: _________________
Imperial Military Affairs Department Personnel Office Seal
Frost month 18th, 333rd year of the Holy Radiance Calendar
-
1 Glory Avenue, Juntandins District.

This magnificent building, constructed of dark gray boulders and standing like a colossal beast, is the headquarters of the Imperial Military Affairs Department.

On the towering archway, the enormous imperial double-headed eagle emblem gleamed with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight, its sharp, eagle-like eyes surveying every officer who stepped into this place.

The air was filled with a heavy, oppressive atmosphere, a mixture of iron will, order, and absolute power.

Count Casimir August, dressed in a crisp Imperial Army colonel's uniform and carrying a sharply angled black briefcase, strode steadily into the Ministry of Military Affairs.

As a direct descendant of the August family, Casimir was no stranger to this building.

The August family had served in the military for generations and were deeply entrenched in the imperial military. He himself inherited the title of Earl from his sonless uncle, which paved a smooth path for him in the military.

The Personnel Department is located in Building No. 3 of the Military Affairs Department.

After being identified by the guards, Kazimir was led to a spacious office. Waiting for him was Major General Lucas Moretti, the Director of Personnel at the Ministry of Military Affairs.

Major General Lucas, around fifty years old, with a resolute face, greeted Kazimir with a hearty smile and rose to his feet to welcome him.

"Count Augustus, welcome! Welcome to the Ministry of Military Affairs!"

He extended his hand and shook hands firmly with Casimir:

"You must be tired from your journey. Have you completed all the formalities with the Northern Army Group?"

Kazimir stood at attention and saluted with perfect form and a steady voice:

"Reporting to the Director, everything is going smoothly. Thank you for your concern."

Major General Lucas smiled and patted Casimir on the shoulder, gesturing for him to sit down:

"Haha, no need for formalities. The August family and our Moretti family have been friends for generations. Your father and I were old comrades-in-arms when we were in the Eastern Army Group."

It's truly gratifying to see someone so young and accomplished! (End of Chapter)