“Thank you,” the Fifth Princess continued walking into the building. “Come on, let’s see what my husband is up to. He must be working hard lately. I brought my father’s new edict. After this war, he will return to the central capital and take over the Mechanical Manufacturing Department. But I think this might just be a transition. I might prefer him to take over the Logistics Department. What do you think?”
The Machinery Manufacturing Division is in charge of issuing production permits and licenses for all mechanical parts, which gives it real power, but it is not a core department.
But the Logistics Department is different; it is under the Standing Committee of the Military Commission and holds real power.
Duke Storm neither confirmed nor denied this, saying, "Whatever makes the princess happy."
Chapter 851, Fragments of Qing Chen's Fate
The Marquis of Bolton's office door was wide open, and the clean-cut, handsome marquis sat in front of his computer, issuing instructions over the intercom.
It looked as if he was remotely controlling the entire outpost.
When the Fifth Princess entered the office, the Marquis of Bolton's focused demeanor made her somewhat dazed. For a moment, she almost believed that all these achievements were made by her husband.
But after she came to her senses, she smiled and pulled the Marquis of Bolton up from his seat: "Am I not as important as my work?"
The Fifth Princess had to pull the Marquis of Bolton back up, because she knew that if she didn't, her husband wouldn't be able to keep up the act any longer...
Marquis Bolton stood up and embraced the fifth princess with a beaming smile: "Oh, my dear..."
The Fifth Princess laughed and said, "There are other people here too. Duke Storm has also come to visit you, his war hero."
Marquis Bolton's gaze passed over her shoulder and landed on the towering Duke of Storms at the doorway: "Your Highness, it's been a long time."
Duke Storm looked around the office and said with a smile, "Your Excellency, you endured humiliation for three years and finally eradicated all the long-standing problems at Outpost 9. I admire your perseverance. I apologize for impeaching you back then."
Marquis Bolton smiled elegantly and said, "Duke Storm, please don't blame yourself. You impeached me back then for the betterment of the kingdom."
Duke Storm sat on the sofa and asked with a smile, "Where is His Majesty's edict to Marquis Bolton? It's time to open it and take a look. With Marquis Bolton's talent, staying at the outpost is definitely a waste of his abilities. The King should give him a more important wartime position."
Marquis Bolton's eyes twitched slightly, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.
Leaving the outpost is like leaving your comfort zone. Qing Chen has just finished settling things in here, so he can finally enjoy the superconducting world.
This time, his achievements were so great that he had to go to the front lines and take on even greater responsibilities...
This news would be good for others, but for Bolton it was like a bolt from the blue!
The Fifth Princess turned to look at Duke Storm: "It seems the Duke already knows where my husband is going?"
Duke Storm smiled and said, "It was a suggestion I made to His Majesty specifically by phone."
The Fifth Princess lowered her head, tore open the wax-sealed edict, and whispered, "Immediately appoint Marquis Bolton as commander of the Third Division, and have him investigate the rules of Area B79 within 14 days..."
She suddenly looked at Duke Storm: "You want my husband to go to his death as cannon fodder?"
"What are you saying, Fifth Princess? This is a gift I'm giving to Marquis Bolton," Duke Storm shook his head. "The commander of the Third Division doesn't need to personally explore the rules, so there's no need to worry about his safety. As for the rules of the Forbidden Forest in Area B79, my subordinates investigated them thoroughly last week and reported them to Marquis Bolton. This is another achievement. Your Highness, this is my gift, just icing on the cake for Marquis Bolton. The commander of the Third Division will be transferred to be the commander of the First Army Group, and that position is currently vacant."
For a moment, Bolton was unsure whether the Duke of Storms was friend or foe.
Ordinary minor nobles would naturally be afraid to go to the Third Division, after all, it was a concentration camp for cannon fodder, and going in meant almost certain death.
However, as the saying goes, "the division commander remains, but the soldiers come and go." The cannon fodder of the Third Division died one after another, but the division commander never changed or died.
Moreover, the former commander of the 3rd Division had accumulated countless merits by sacrificing lives, and was promoted to the 5th rank of Marquis before going to the 1st Army Group as its commander.
The merits of the Third Division are easy to obtain; all you need to do is use human lives to test out the rules.
Now, the Duke of Storms has also offered up the time-limited task required by His Majesty's edict, seemingly to help him advance to Marquis Rank 5.
After a moment's thought, the Fifth Princess smiled and said, "Then thank you, Duke Storm."
Duke Storm nodded and stood up: "Then I won't disturb your reunion any longer. I have official business to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
As he left, Black Spider passed a restroom, glanced at the figure cleaning inside, and then continued walking.
...
...
Princess Five and Marquis Bolton stood by the window, silently watching Duke Storm board the airship and return to the Storm Sky Fortress.
Qingchen walked in from outside with a broom in hand and said politely, "Your Highness, it's a pleasure to meet you."
“This isn’t the first time we’ve met,” the Fifth Princess shook her head. “I’ve seen you in a fragment of Bolton’s fate.”
As she spoke, the slender Fifth Princess looked at Qing Chen with an imposing air, trying to discern something from his face.
Qing Chen's heart tightened; he was still unsure what the Fifth Princess had seen.
The Fifth Princess scrutinized him closely, but couldn't discern anything unusual on Qing Chen's face.
At this moment, Bolton asked, "Honey, what do you think of Duke Storm? He's too arrogant."
“At the level of a duke, there is no need to be too polite to anyone other than His Majesty the King. Even my father usually shows them some deference,” the Fifth Princess said. “Currently, his suggestion to my father to promote you to the position of commander of the Third Division is neither good nor bad. I know what he wants.”
“What does he want?” Marquis Bolton asked.
“Whether it was his impeachment a year and a half ago or his transfer of you now using your merits, it was all about wanting to control Outpost 9,” the Fifth Princess explained. “Outpost 9 is a necessary stop on the way from Storm City to the Forbidden Forest. It’s normal that he doesn’t want his escape route and supply lifeline to be in the hands of others.”
Marquis Bolton said with a bitter face, "But I'm going to the Third Division. I've heard that the Third Division is very tough."
The Fifth Princess stroked his cheek and comforted him, "Be good, just hold on until this war is over. Then you can come back to the central capital with me and you won't need to come to the battlefield anymore."
Marquis Bolton: "My wife, you are like the sun in my life, illuminating my path. Without you, my life would be bleak and my future would be fraught with hardship..."
Qingchen stood expressionless to the side, noticing the Fifth Princess blush.
Surprisingly, the Fifth Princess actually fell for this trick.
At this moment, the Fifth Princess looked at Qing Chen: "Do you want to know the fragments of your fate that are related to yourself?"
Qing Chen lowered his head slightly: "I am willing to listen to what the Fifth Princess has to say."
“I saw you kill Duke Storm with your own hands one day, and Bolton was standing right next to you,” the Fifth Princess said with a smile.
Qing Chen laughed: "Princess, you jest. How could a C-rank like me kill Duke Storm?"
The Fifth Princess laughed as well: "It was indeed a joke. What I actually saw was... on a certain day in the future, Bolton was standing in the palace of the Central Royal City to receive the Duke's crown, and you were standing beside him with a smile. This is a fragment of fate that I saw a few years ago. At that time, I was still curious about how this husband became a duke, and I didn't know who you were beside him. It wasn't until I saw your information a few days ago that I realized that fate had given me a revelation years ago."
Now, this fifth princess is clearly more cunning than Bolton, and Qingchen can't tell which of her words are true and which are false.
The Fate Master is extremely mysterious.
The next moment, the Fifth Princess's blue eyes turned black, like the background color of the universe, and within that black there was a dazzling light, like the flowing Milky Way.
Qing Chen realized that the other party was using the Fate Master's abilities to look at him.
Previously, the Fifth Princess saw herself through Bolton's fate, but now, the other party wants to see her fate directly!
He really wanted to take the Three Realms Outer Robe out of his pocket and put it on immediately, but he held back.
Soon, the Fifth Princess's eyes returned to normal, but her expression gradually became somewhat surprised.
Qing Chen slowly asked, "What did Your Highness see?"
The Fifth Princess frowned: "I saw you living like an ordinary person in the Central Royal City, buying groceries and cooking. But strangely, Black Spider and a robot were following you. Isn't Black Spider one of Duke Storm's people? Why is she following you?"
This twist of fate was so unbelievable that the Fifth Princess couldn't help but recount it.
Marquis Bolton joked, "Could it be that you, my wife, become the new Empress and then appoint him as the new Duke of Storms?"
Neither Qingchen nor the Fifth Princess spoke.
Everyone knows that the Storm Duke is a hereditary ruler within the family because he possesses the dark magic inheritance of the Arbiters, and there is no such thing as an outsider replacing the Storm Duke.
Only a pretty face like Bolton would have such wild ideas.
The problem is, no one can explain why the Black Spider, who serves Duke Storm, appears beside this 'chief steward' like a subordinate...
The Fifth Princess scrutinized Qing Chen, her mind churning with conflicting thoughts, unable to make a decision.
She suddenly said, "Bolton, pack your bags and get ready to go to the Third Division. Only after you have handed over your duties to the current division commander can you take up your post in the First Army."
Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "There are some things we need to do before we go to the Third Division."
"Hmm?" The Fifth Princess looked at Qing Chen.
But then the head butler produced a list, picked up the internal phone, and read aloud: "Ryan from the Nets, Mason from the Cigar..."
Qing Chen read out more than two hundred names in one breath before saying, "All of them are to be transferred to the reconnaissance battalion of the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Division. They are now required to report to the 'Princess Five' within 15 minutes."
Marquis Bolton asked in surprise, "Who are these people?"
Qing Chen smiled and said, "They are all B-level or higher experts from the outposts, recruited by the minor nobles to protect them. The minor nobles have gone to great lengths to recruit them. Your Excellency Marquis, you are still the commander of the outposts, so you naturally have the right to modify their organization. Instead of protecting those minor nobles, these experts would be better off protecting Your Excellency in the Third Division."
Bolton and the Fifth Princess were dumbfounded after seeing Qing Chen's actions. Even the Fifth Princess hadn't expected that the power of the outpost could be used in this way!
Those minor nobles are probably going to cry!
Qing Chen looked at the Fifth Princess and said, "With these people protecting the Marquis, Your Highness can rest assured. Although the commander of the Third Division is safe, things are different now than before. Giants will take the initiative to attack. The commander will eventually have to enter the Forbidden Forest. If he is ambushed by the giants, the Marquis will be in danger."
The Fifth Princess pondered for a moment and said, "Hmm, what you said makes sense."
The next second, Marquis Bolton exclaimed, "Butler, you are always thinking of me. I am so lucky to have you."
Qing Chen smiled and said, "I'm doing this for myself. If something happens to you, Marquis Bolton, my merits will be lost."
The Fifth Princess silently watched Qing Chen, but no one knew what she was thinking.
Soon, an officer arrived at the office door. He smiled and bowed slightly to the Fifth Princess: "Your Highness, I am Doug Campbell, here to make the handover to the Marquis of Bolton."
Marquis Doug arrived at the outpost with Duke Storm.
Duke Storms even knew in advance who would succeed Bolton, so as soon as the edict was opened, the successor, to avoid any unforeseen complications, immediately came to hand over the reins.
Marquis Bolton looked at Marquis Doug: "I need to go through handover procedures, right? What do you need me to do?"
Marquis Doug said, "That's right. I was previously the commander of Outpost 2, so I am very familiar with how outposts operate. And Outpost 9 is in good order, so there's no need for Marquis Bolton to handle the handover here."
Marquis Doug's implication was: I'm ready to take over; you should go and become my mentor.
The new commander needs to complete the transition of power as soon as possible and keep a firm grip on the outposts.
The Fifth Princess seemed to realize something, and immediately pulled Bolton outside, smiling at Marquis Doug and saying, "Then we'll go to the Third Division. We'll leave things here to Marquis Doug."
After saying that, the Fifth Princess whispered to Bolton, "Hurry up and leave."
In fact, they had just boarded the Fifth Princess's royal airship when they saw through the window a densely packed group of minor nobles storming into the office building with menacing air...
Because of the recent transfer order, the minor nobles were all in despair. The experts their families had found had all been taken advantage of. Who wouldn't be furious?
They're going to appeal to the commander of the forward base!