The whole 'Iron Castle' is boiling, those nobles who come to comfort the front-line officers and soldiers, although they are all people of the vassal and aristocratic grades of those big families, but there are still some powerful people who have strength in various families and can speak in it, plus this condolence group includes almost all the family members of the imperial capital, naturally there are a lot of relatives with the front-line generals, just entered the 'Iron Castle', those people in the condolence group immediately dispersed, like a swarm of flies, making the whole 'Iron Castle' noisy. The most important person, Medusa, was taken into his mansion by Oliver to rest for a while, and the knights of the Knights of Radiance were specially arranged to live next to the mansion, so that they could protect Medusa nearby.

Jerry grinned and dealt with a few people sent by his family, and greeted Ray: "Cough, Ray, thank you for your hard work... Hehe, it is said that she is the first beauty of the imperial family, especially the cousin of His Majesty today, this identity makes many people covetous... Don't we need to arrange the work of the guards? However, I think the young men around her are good-looking, and they are useless. ”

Ray shook off the snow and mud on his boots, shook his head and approached Jerry, and in Jerry's extremely guarded eyes, he slapped him on the shoulder with a heavy slap, and said with a smile: "County Lord, it's a big beauty, but I don't like her type, it's quite suitable for a little white face like you." County Lord, if you can mix up the position of Duke by yourself, or wait for you to take over the Duke position of your family, hehe, the County Lord and the Duke will marry a legion commander, it is a very cost-effective deal. ”

Lomat laughed softly, laughing mercilessly at Jerry. Jerry spread out his hands and said helplessly, "Okay, okay, whatever you want to make fun of me." Do you still need safe work? If the county lord loses a hair, I'm afraid we're all in big trouble. ”

Ray shook his head and didn't speak, and Ingle said harshly: "Lord Jerry, I don't think you have to worry about the safety of that county lord. Although the people around her are a group of straw bales, but thousands of Radiant Knights surround her, I am afraid that no one has been able to silently hurt the beautiful county lord through the interception of so many people... My lord, no one would be interested in her hair, and as for her chastity, it may be the most valuable treasure in the entire condolence group, but I can't be sure if this treasure actually exists. ”

The few knights beside Jerry who were in the same place changed their faces when they heard this, and they looked at Ingle as if they were looking at monsters. Jerry glanced at them fiercely, and sternly warned them that it was strictly forbidden to say anything related, and then he looked helplessly at Ingle, who had a mysterious look, and sighed and said: "In public, Ingle, don't make trouble for Ray, right? ”

Lei smiled, shook his head, gently stretched out his hand and pushed Ingle behind him, and said with a smile: "No matter so much, in short, this county lord is here, and it is a big trouble for us." I can only arrange about 8,000 Radiant Knights to live near her, and the defense of that territory has to be rearranged, Jerry, I ran errands, and I will let you do the new defense arrangement. Hehe, create an opportunity for you to have a good relationship with the county lord Lala. ”

Jerry laughed and scolded: "Go, go, go... However, it's really a problem, and the Judgment Fighter was originally stationed there, so it looks like I'm going to have to discuss it with a few adults. Jerry frowned and pondered, originally an overall defense system had been formed in the 'Iron Castle', and now thousands of glorious knights were stuffed in, as if a stone was suddenly stuffed into a well-functioning mechanical system, how awkward it was, especially the combat effectiveness of these knights, it was really unreassuring, and the city had to protect them more, which was a headache to think about.

After a while, Jerry finally sighed helplessly: "These glorious knights, are they here to escort people, or are they here for us to protect? The last few words, Jerry whispered. Ray looked at him with a smile, gloated a few times, put his arm around Jerry's shoulders, and pushed him into the city.

A herald who had arrived with Medusa hurriedly ran over and ordered loudly: "His Royal Highness the county lord has decreed that a large banquet will be held tomorrow night, and at the same time, His Royal Highness the county lord will award medals to a group of generals who have made meritorious contributions on behalf of His Majesty Shagru, and I hope you will attend on time." The generals who greeted the city gate in a mess and the nobles of the condolence group bowed slightly at the same time and promised loudly. The two old mages on the city, Soke and Carrelon, looked at the mess near the city gate, and couldn't help but sigh in their hearts: "Aren't these people from the condolence group here to make trouble?"

Oliver welcomed Medusa into his abode with a look of sincere fear, his head almost touching the ground, and his respectful and obedient voice was not at all like the arrogant military chief of the past, and the strange soft tone of contrived was changed to the voice of a normal person: "Your Highness, this is a dangerous place, and it is not very comfortable, why do you want to come in person? Fifty miles to the northwest, there is an army of millions of guilty people." ”

Medusa smiled and looked at Gaddafi and a group of Allied high-ranking officials behind her, and said softly after giving a gentle salute: "Everyone, I'm really a little tired along the way, is there anything you can wait for me to rest?"

Those who can become the commander-in-chief of an army will naturally not be idiots. After a few words, Kazafi bowed respectfully and went out with a few of his lieutenants; Shapoko of the Smart Empire, this old acquaintance of Ray also nodded slightly, and left without saying a word, although Medusa was extremely beautiful, but there was no attraction to him; General Carson of the Wright Empire glanced fiercely at Medusa's face and chest, said a few kind words, and went out after him; The commander of the Duck Empire this time was the son of a prince in their country, the little prince of a dignified country, Ewell, who felt that he was equal to Medusa, and his age matched, and he was about to say a few words with her, but the abrupt beauty is not a good habit of the nobles, he can only say some words of concern gently, and then reluctantly leave; the two commanders of the Lev Empire, Werther, and the Knights of the Rite Empire, are middle-aged, much calmer than Eville, and they only bowed a little and left.

Seeing that all the generals had left their rooms, leaving only her two middle-aged maids and Oliver, Medusa's face immediately turned as stiff as a stone statue. She walked lightly to a sofa and sat down, and said in a cold voice, "That old fellow in the Wright Empire's military uniform is their commander? Hmph, Oliver, you've been here for two months now, what kind of accomplishments do you have? How many generals do you have in your hands?"

Oliver's face was a little ugly, he cautiously walked to a place ten feet away from Medusa, and he didn't dare to straighten his waist and said, "Your Highness, I, I'm setting up a game to let those generals take the bait... I have been vigorously suppressing Lieutenant General Lei, and I believe that my efforts will definitely pay off. I beg your pardon, and I beg your pardon, after all, the army is not our sphere of influence, and it will be very difficult to grasp the capable generals in the army out of thin air. ”

Medusa let out an ugly shrill laugh: "Hehehehe, that is, you have no achievements at all?。。。 In vain, your father has just rewarded your father with a large estate, and I was expecting you to be productive. However, I am a reasonable person, and as you said, we do not have any power in the army, and it will be very difficult to infiltrate the army. Well... However, that doesn't mean I can tolerate your incompetence, so you have to give me an effort, understand?"

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to speak, when Medusa had already ripped off her lambskin gloves and threw them to her maids, and motioned for them to come forward. The two maids approached Medusa indifferently, and served her to take off her windy, heavy leather jacket, and heavy high leather boots. Medusa wore a tight white dress, stretched comfortably on the sofa, looked at the blazing wood in the huge fireplace beside her, and couldn't help but exhale with satisfaction.

Looking at Medusa's delicate and bumpy body, Oliver's eyes almost popped out, but he reacted immediately, and lowered his head in horror, and there was already a layer of cold sweat on his forehead. Medusa looked at the fire and suddenly laughed: "Hehe, Oliver, your enjoyment here is very good, this room is luxurious enough, and it is rare to find such high-quality chopping wood in the palace, look, it seems that each one is of average length and size, it is really interesting." Well, it looks like it's all good old pine, it's very fragrant, right?" Medusa gently rested her right leg on her left leg and shook her foot slightly.

Oliver shook his body and stammered, "Oh, Your Highness, this room was arranged for me by them, and I didn't ask them for anything. As for chopping wood, chopping wood, that is the stump that those soldiers under Lieutenant General Lei practiced their knife skills to chop, and the firewood used in the workshops, residences, and barracks of the entire 'Iron Fort' is like this, in order to prevent the criminals from getting enough wood to build siege equipment, the forests within a radius of hundreds of miles have been cut down, and then Lieutenant General Lei ordered his soldiers... ”

Medusa impatiently interrupted Oliver's defense, and said angrily: "Useless thing, I just said a word, why are you scared like this? Don't I know? Hmph, my swordsmanship is not bad, don't think that I can't see that these firewood are split by extremely fast and accurate knives." However, you said that you are trying your best to suppress Lieutenant General Lei, give me an explanation, huh?。。。 Lisa, go out and ask, which room is my room, tell Andrew to move all my things up, and you look at those idiots, don't let them break my things. ”

A slightly shorter middle-aged maid walked out briskly, taking away the pile of clothes that Medusa had taken off. Oliver lowered his head and stammered, "Your Highness, your room is on the top floor... ”

Medusa interrupted him mercilessly, and a fierce light of impatience flashed in her eyes: "Oliver, my father said that you are a shrewd person, but I don't see where your shrewdness and ability are. Talking about the point, don't mention those inconsequential things, of course, if you arrange a room that doesn't satisfy me, I'll naturally punish you at that time, but now, tell me the point, do you understand what the point is?"

The cold sweat on Oliver's forehead dripped down his sideburns at once, and he quickly explained: "Your Highness, yes, yes... Here's the thing, the current Five Beast Legion is monolithic, and Ray and Jerry, as well as the old man Gaddafi have become the spiritual leaders of the entire Imperial Army. Although His Royal Highness has placed me in the army, I do not have the ability to find people willing to join me in the Five Beast Legions, unless I can artificially create a situation of division and antagonism. ”

Oliver immediately analyzed the issues he had discussed with Sharjah: "Your Highness, as long as I create a kind of antagonism in the army between me and Lei, and at the same time use the power of the military officer in my hands to make everyone understand that I have some strength that can compete with Lieutenant General Lei, then a five-beast legion like an iron plate will be opened by me and split into two camps... Among them, there will naturally be the kind of people who want to be promoted and make a fortune by virtue of me. Even if they themselves think that General Lei is their idol and regard me as their enemy, as long as I can make them feel that I have the right to influence the distribution of several vacant army commanders, their family will force them to take refuge in me. ”

Medusa laughed like a spring flower: "Okay, as long as they show you a little bit of cooperation, you can use the contract to control them in your hands, isn't it? Hmm, as long as you can control some more high-level generals in your hands, then you will also have influence over the army, and your father can indeed influence the appointment of those vacant army commanders... Hehe, your plan is not bad, although it is a little negative, but according to my opinion, it is absolutely feasible. Oliver, your head, is not broken, and there is still value left on your neck. ”

Oliver exhaled softly and said with a smirk: "Thank you for the compliment, I will definitely do my best for His Highness." However, I really don't understand a question, maybe it's a bit abrupt, but ... Seeing that Medusa's eyes were looking at him very softly, Oliver boldly asked, "If His Royal Highness has the ability to influence the appointment of those vacant commanders, then why doesn't His Royal Highness the Prince directly... Look, can you explain a little bit about your doubts?"

Medusa lazily leaned on the armrest of the killing, sighed and said, "Oliver, why are you starting to be confused again, that's right, as the uncle of the current emperor, my father has the ability to influence some things. But you fool, can my father control the army so blatantly? and my father doesn't need to rebel, so why do this? My father just wants to have more influence in the empire, and let everyone remember that there is such a Prince Andrei, and it is not a fun thing to arouse the suspicion of my cousin for such a trivial matter. ”

As she spoke, Medusa seemed to become more and more angry, frowning and whispering: "Besides, which of the diners under my father's command, including you, can be qualified for the position of the commander of the legion? Oliver, tell you to lead the army to attack the criminals, do you dare? Call Andrew's idiot? His strength is not as good as mine, I am at least a swordsman with the strength of the fourth order of bronze, and what about him? Come on, my father's subordinates can't find such people... Well, stop asking these irrelevant questions. In short, you have to win over a few more important generals for me, and influence the family behind them through them, no matter what means you use, as long as you can achieve your goal, your father promised you a county territory, it will definitely be fulfilled. ”

In Oliver's repeated words of thanks, Medusa stood up impatiently and walked barefoot towards the door of the reception room. Her feet floated in the air without touching the floor, and her body was shrouded in a faint white light, which was enough to ensure that she would not get cold in the cold wind. Oliver looked at the scene in front of him in surprise, and glanced everywhere, the middle-aged maid behind Medusa was withdrawing the seal in her hand with an indifferent face, obviously these two little magic were released by her.

Oliver was amazed by the strength of the maids beside Medusa, and did not dare to say more or see anything more.

Medusa at the gate suddenly turned around and ordered: "Oliver, contact me with the nobles who came with me, and ask them to prepare the banquet tomorrow night, that is the best opportunity for me to communicate with those generals... I want you to understand one thing and cooperate well with my plan. Your target is Lieutenant General Lei, but unfortunately ... A strange smile appeared on Medusa's face: "Lieutenant General Lei is so manly and has such great strength, he is the person I like the most, therefore, what you did has nothing to do with me, I even have to scold you for your rudeness to Lieutenant General Lei, huh?"

Oliver hurriedly bowed, and Medusa chuckled softly and walked out with the maid. Oliver looked at the empty reception room with some hesitation, and whispered, "Oh my God, the person the county lord likes is Ray's gorilla, it's incredible. However, will the women of the royal family have a real favorite person? A gloating smile appeared on Oliver's face, and after a few low laughs, Oliver quickly flashed out of the reception room. Medusa is a person who is extremely picky about the details of life, but she can't be allowed to find any uncomfortable places, otherwise she will be uncomfortable at that time.

While Medusa inspects Oliver's work and instructs him on his next steps, Jerry also meets with an old man in his early sixties in his cramped office. The old man was dressed in a neat black uniform, walked in a standard manner as if he were gesturing with a ruler, and his broad forehead and elegant speech could make anyone who could not recognize his uniform think that he was a wealthy nobleman.

This old man with a standard aristocratic demeanor is Jerry's father's butler Dutu, who also taught Jerry from a young age, and easily trained a playboy in the imperial capital into a qualified knight, and threw him into the army, and finally became a dignified army commander Dutu after a series of bloody battles. Looking at this old man with gray hair, every hair properly combed, and not a single mess, Jerry walked over with a smile, gave him a heavy hug, and asked affectionately, "Dutu, did my father actually send you over? What is it that needs to be done to mobilize you?" As he spoke, Jerry pushed Dutu into his office chair and sat down, ran to the door, and ordered his guards to find some good bottles of wine.

Dutu looked at Jerry with a smile, shook his head and said, "Okay, don't be busy, young master." This time, the master sent me out to ask me to tell the young master, I hope that the young master can work hard in the army. Now your title is already an earl, the lord said, if you can make a contribution again, become a marquis, then it is a great thing, that is a great consolidation for the lord's position in the family... The lord also said that His Majesty has now vacated the seven provinces that participated in the rebellion, and is ready to reward the generals who have made great achievements in this war as a reward for their military achievements, that is, there will be seven new dukes in the empire. ”

Jerry shook his head helplessly, and after pushing the door shut, he leaned against the door and said, "Yes, if I can make a great contribution and be made a duke myself, it will be a great thing, isn't it? I'm now one of the most famous knights in the Empire, I'm still the commander of the Empire, and now one of the three commanders of the Imperial Army. ”

Du Tu smiled, he stood up, walked up to Jerry, stretched out his hand and gently patted Jerry's shoulder, and said softly: "Young master, of course, how can I not be satisfied? However, the responsibility of the family is still on you. The lord hopes that you can be more excellent, in addition to inheriting the power of the family, if you can get the title of duke again, it will be the greatest honor in the empire for thousands of years. ”

Du Tu smiled and said: "There are thousands of noble and noble families in the empire, and there are more than two hundred families with the title of duke, but the family with the title of double duke is really unheard of... Moreover, even if it is a duke, there is a difference between high and low status. The old man's father, that is, the young master's grandfather, his duke title is the most glorious kind, such a duke with real power and territory, the entire empire is thirty-four families. If you can obtain the title of a duke again and get a fief of a province, then for the entire family, it will not only be an honor, but also bring great practical benefits. ”

Jerry shrugged his shoulders and said with a hippie smile, "Oh, old Dutu, yes, yes, for the good of the family, I understand, I will do it." Fight hard, this is what the Empire requires of our knights. I'm going to teach those damned filthy sinners a hard lesson and let them go back to their hometown. Come on, I can tell you unequivocally that the position of the seven dukes, me, Ray, and Lord Gaddafi, the three of us should be fine, right? We will definitely get the position of that duke, as long as we don't lose the battle. With a smirk, Jerry opened the door, took the two bottles of red wine from the guard, and closed the door tightly.

With that, the cork was opened, and Jerry stuffed a bottle for Dutou. Du Tu shook his head with a smile, looked at the wine bottle full of cobwebs and dust in his hand a little helplessly, took a sip of the bottle lightly, put the wine bottle on the table, and said with a smile: "Naturally, if nothing else, among the seven new dukes, there will definitely be no shortage of three commanders." But the old master wants the young master to work hard, because the seven provinces also have good and bad differences. If it is divided into these three provinces in the northwest, although the minerals are rich, they are too far away from the imperial capital and their influence is not enough. ”

Jerry was silent for a moment, and took a heavy sip. Du Tu pulled out a full map of the empire on his desk, pointed and said: "As long as the young master can make great military achievements, then he may get the territory of the four major provinces in the east close to the imperial capital, any province can be connected with the current family territory, the young master should understand that there are many benefits like this... Jerry nodded, signaling that he understood what the benefits of the two territories being connected were. It is nothing more than that a large amount of domestic tariffs can be left, which will be of great benefit to the family's economy, and a strong joint private army corps can be established militarily, and the family will have a lot of say at that time.

Seeing Jerry nodding, Dooto smiled and reached for his wine bottle, but looking at the dust on the wine bottle that symbolized the old wine logo, Dooto shook his head, put his hand on the corner of the map naturally, and said: " If the young master doesn't work hard, then many families in the imperial capital will not be happy to see our family's two territories together, even if the young master can get a province in the end, but after the efforts of those nobles, you may be assigned to the northwest province, then this is not something that the master wants to see. Only if the young master has made a big enough contribution to make those nobles in the imperial capital have nothing to say, can the master's wish be fulfilled. ”

Jerry nodded heavily, looked at the map on the table, and said in a deep voice, "Dutu, don't worry, I will try." I have the Praetorian Guard and the Silver Wolf Legion, 600,000 elites, and I will let the sinners know what death is. A lot of credit is on the god-given grassland, and I will get the biggest share. ”

Du Tu looked at Jerry's face full of fighting intent with satisfaction, nodded again and again and said, "Yes, yes, young master, I believe you can do it, you have always been the pride of the master and me... The lord still has something for me to tell you, that is, if the young master's military merits are big enough to get greater military power in the military department, it is also a very important weight for the master to smoothly take over the power of the family... What the young master knew, the matter of the young master Jerry, made the old man and some people in the family very unhappy, although His Majesty appointed the young master to be the heir of the family, but after all, the young master's grandfather was the grand duke with royal blood, and it was still unknown whether His Majesty's order could absolutely affect his old man's decision. And the young master is away with the army, and the young master's uncles and uncles are in the imperial capital every day, and the old master is busy increasing the strength of his private army, so he has no time to talk more in front of his old man. ”

Jerry frowned impatiently, and said gloomily: "Is it that my precious uncle and comfort have any ugly words sent to my grandfather's ears? Don't worry, Dutu, I'll let my grandfather know who is the most suitable heir to the family. There is no one but me who is suitable to inherit the rights of our family, and who among the cousins of the family now has such an achievement as me? Aren't they all busy playing with women in the imperial capital?" Jerry snorted angrily, raised the bottle and took a big sip, his eyes flashing, not knowing what he was thinking.

Dutu looked carefully left and right, and Jerry whispered, "Don't worry, there are thirty top players outside my office, and there are five hundred loyal guards outside this building, who can eavesdrop on our conversation?"

Du Tu smiled a little embarrassedly, he opened his mouth, hesitated for a while, and then said a little unnaturally: "In addition to the above explanation, the master has some things for me to tell the young master, but these words are really a little... The master may also be worried too much, in fact, there is no too serious problem, these words should not have been told to the young master, but since the master commanded, then, young master, I will still tell you, but, those things, really... ”

Jerry looked at Dutu angrily and asked, "What's the matter?" Dutu, you say, you say, what can't you tell me? Don't worry, tell me, there's nothing you can't say. ”

Du Tu sighed, as if he had aged several years at once, and said: "Let's put it this way, young master, when your uncles were in the imperial capital, they said that the current military strength of the sinners is not enough to mention, and the coalition forces of the entire continent will definitely be able to eliminate those sinners, and this is a good opportunity for their sons to make meritorious contributions." So the young master's nine cousins are already ready to follow the next batch of troops from the empire to deliver supplies, they are walking slowly, and it will take about ten days to get here... The old man said that it was a means for his brothers to fight against the young master, and he wanted to let the young master's brothers make some merits and compete for favor in front of the young master's grandfather, after all, his old man is still very proud of the young master's achievements... The master said, if they come, I hope the young master will treat them well and take special care of them... Dutu looked at Jerry with a slightly unnatural expression.

Jerry laughed: "Hehehehe, Dutu, my father's original words are probably to hope that I will treat my brothers well, so that they can go back one by one with serious injuries, or even better if they are seriously injured." Well, I see, my father doesn't need to worry about this, don't I know the strength of Edward and the others? Their real strength is still good, but they are really not suitable for this iron-blooded battlefield, they are only suitable for going to the pink goblins and fighting those beautiful women... Dutu, I won't do anything to them, I'll treat them fairly, but since they're in the army, you have to bear all the risks and consequences yourself... I will not forget what you have taught me, and I will surely become a man of noble character and true chivalry. ”

Dutu looked at Jerry happily, nodded again and again, and said, "Yes, yes, young master, just remember these words." The old master is really overly worried, even if those young masters come to the battlefield, how can they make the same contributions as the young master? They are inferior to the young master in all aspects, they can start from the small captain at most, where is like the young master, who can destroy thousands of enemies by launching a campaign. ”

Jerry chuckled softly, he shook his head and said, "Yes, Dutu, they can't have made military achievements so easily. God, who told them that sinners are weak, and who told them that sinners can be destroyed at will?。。。 My cousins, don't pee your pants here, I'm really scared when they see the sinners and orcs who are going crazy, when they see the mighty magic of the elven mages, when they see the eighteen horrible ghost dragons, they faint with fear. ”

Dutu's face changed slightly: "Dragon?"

Jerry laughed softly: "Yes, Dutu, eighteen primeval dragons who were resurrected by the invincible warrior 'Blood Knight' Styx Deth during the primeval god war, last time we learned their power, when we entered the city, did you see those rows of wooden houses and barracks? ”

Du Tu's face changed a little: "Oh my God, is it really a dragon? Those young masters, they can choose the wrong place to get ahead." ”

Jerry talked to Dutu cordially, and told Dutu everything he knew about the strength of the criminals, and Dutu's face turned white and ugly. This kind old butler began to worry about his young master's competitors. In his mind, a legendary dragon is simply a behemoth that can't be resisted, plus the 'blood knight' who makes people feel chills when they hear the name, these monsters are not something that human beings can fight against.

Ray took his subordinates and returned to the location of the office of the Dragon Legion, an ordinary two-story house. One by one, the officers of the regiment rushed in and out of the gate, some were sending documents from the Allied headquarters, some were going to give orders to arrange the day's duties, some were in and out in a daze who didn't know what they were doing, and some heard that their families had sent people over, and they had no intention of handling official business for a while, so they sneaked out to meet with their own family members.

As soon as he walked into his office, Ray had not yet beckoned his close subordinates to sit down, and a herald had already cautiously poked his head in and asked in a low voice, "My lord, didn't I disturb you?"

Ray quickly shook his head and said, "It's okay, it's okay, we just sat down, Kali, what's the matter?"

A man in his thirties, dressed in a butler's uniform, walked in cautiously, looked at Lei and asked, "Young Master Lei?"

Ray was stunned, Lomat rolled his eyes, and several generals next to him were also stunned for a while, because they really couldn't associate the title of Ray with the title of young master. After a long time, Lomat reacted and asked, "Did my father send you to us? Is there something wrong? This is Ray, my brother-in-law." Lomat pointed to Thunder.

The middle-aged man laughed all of a sudden: "Young Master Lomat, this is the letterhead sent to me by the master, and I want to tell the two young masters that you must be careful of your own safety on the battlefield, and don't attack recklessly, especially Young Master Lomat, the master said that your martial arts skills have always been ridiculously poor, and I don't know how you graduated from the Imperial Capital Military Academy, I hope you just need to sit in the office, and you must not participate in the attack and defense of the front line... Eh, I'm sorry, I said the wrong thing. When the middle-aged man saw Lomat's iron-blue face, he reacted immediately, trembling with fright, and didn't dare to speak anymore.

Laughter erupted from Ray's office, and the officers outside the hallway shrugged their shoulders one by one, grinning as they continued to get busy.