In the year 487 of the Imperial Calendar, the western hemisphere of the planet Odin is now shrouded in soft darkness. The new Sanssouci Palace, the royal palace of the Galactic Empire, stands under the night sky and looks magnificent and splendid.

It is a self-contained building, surrounded by a number of large and small buildings, surrounded by countless fountains, natural and man-made forests, rose gardens, carvings, flower beds, pavilions, meadows, etc., which are beautiful, and the whole building is shrouded in a faint silver light, which looks quite comfortable.

The palace is the political center of more than a thousand star systems, and although there are some palace buildings nearby, none of them are high-rise buildings, and most of them are underground. The main reason is that the subjects should not be higher than the palace under the emperor's majesty, nor should they overlook the imperial officials from high to low, which is disrespectful. Satellites that travel through the sky must not pass directly above the palace.

There were more than 50,000 retinues and maids in the palace, who were responsible for cleaning, cleaning, entertaining, gardening, and raising deer every day.

There are no elevators or automatic lifts in the palace, so you have to take the stairs to go up and down the stairs. Because the great Rudolph believed that a strong body is one of the necessary conditions for being a ruler, imagine how a person who can't even go up and down the stairs with his own feet can shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the state?

On this evening, the courtiers gathered in the "Black Pearl Room" of the palace to present the staff of the Imperial Marshal to Count Royankram. Count Royankram received this honor for defeating the rebels at the Battle of Asti and showing his imperial might.

Although the rank of the Imperial Marshal is only one level higher than that of the first general, his status is much more noble, and he has an annual salary of 2.5 million Reichsmarks, and all crimes except for the crime of great treason are exempt from punishment. In addition, he could also set up a marshal's office and freely appoint and dismiss the staff he needed.

There are currently four Imperial Marshals in the Empire who enjoy this special honor, and now there are five in total, plus Count Royancram, who is also the deputy commander of the Imperial Space Fleet, and about half of the 18 Space Fleets in the Empire are under his command.

"The Earl rises further, and he is the Marquis. ”

In the corner of this vast "Black Pearl Hall", someone is whispering. This has been the case since ancient times, no matter what the situation and the era, whether it is in a luxurious palace or a slum street.

Tonight, in this black pearl room, all the civil and military officials, the royal family and the magnates were all gathered, and they were lined up on either side of the six-meter-wide red velvet carpet that had been woven by two hundred workers for four and a half centuries, with the palace on one side and the military attache on the other.

In the ranks of civil officials, the first in line is the Marquis of Lidianrad. He was the acting prime minister of the empire, the supreme head of the cabinet, with a pointed nose and eyes, and silver hair, and was seventy-five years old. After the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister stood in the order of Kellach, the Treasurer Firmer, the Interior Clerk, the Judicial Clerk Rumple, the Science Clerk Wilhelm, the Imperial Cabinet Clerk Neugren, and the Cabinet Clerk Qiruma Jack...... Wait a minute.

The military attachés standing on the other side were, in order, Marshal Allenbock, the military secretary, Marshal Stankhov, the chief of the Imperial Army's headquarters, Marshal Kraj, the chief of staff, Marshal Muukenberga, the commander of the Space Fleet, the commander of the Panzergrenadiers, First Admiral Ofresha, the chief of the Guards, the first class Admiral Ramsdorf, the chief of the military police, Admiral Krama, and then the commanders of the eighteen fleets...... At the head of the fleet commander are Admiral Merkatz and Vice Admiral Fafnier, both of whom are scheduled to be promoted to the next rank after today's marshal ceremony.

After everyone heard the sound of the ancient horn, they all immediately stood upright, everyone was silent, and listened to the celebrant shouting: "His Majesty Friedrich IV, the ruler of all mankind, the ruler of the universe, the order of the heavenly realm, and the protector of the law, and the sacrosanct Emperor of the Galactic Empire, has arrived!"

After speaking, the melody of the imperial anthem played, and the ministers bent down and bowed.

The Emperor walked through the carpet, past the countless procession of heads, and sat on the luxurious golden dragon chair in the center of the front.

"Earl Xuanluo Yankram, His Highness Reinhardt!"

This time, the hundred officials did not give the most respect, and everyone's eyes were on the arrival of this young military attaché.

When the ladies saw this young man, they couldn't help but let out a cry of admiration. Even those who were disgusted with Reinhardt, most of the people present, had to privately admit that he was a beautiful man.

His beautiful appearance is like a doll made of the finest white porcelain, but the doll's eyes are not as sharp as his, and his expression is not as resolute as his. If it weren't for the emperor's affection for his sister, Anne Roger, and if he hadn't been born with such an expression, his relationship with the emperor would have turned into a rumor of same-sex love.

The people had their own feelings in their hearts, and Reinhardt walked calmly and forcefully, with the mighty momentum of a military attaché, and he walked to the front of the throne, inwardly careless, but outwardly kneeling on one knee respectfully and politely.

He set up his posture and waited for the emperor's orders. As a matter of formality, his subordinates were not allowed to speak before the emperor had spoken.

"Count Royankram, what a remarkable feat!" said in an impersonal manner.

"Don't dare to be! It's all due to the blessings of His Majesty!" Reinhardt's answer was also very impersonal, but it was the result of his secret calculations and self-restraint. For this unwillful statement, the other party can not comprehend, and will only make everyone around feel disgusted. For Reinhardt, the importance of the emperor was as light as a feather, and what really mattered was the piece of paper that the master of ceremonies recited.

"You have been successful in the crusade against the rebels in the Asti Star Domain, and Count Reinhardt von Royenkram has been promoted to Imperial Marshal and served as Deputy Commander of the Imperial Space Fleet, and half of the Space Fleet is under your command. On March 19, 487 A.D., Emperor Friedrich IV of the Galactic Empire. ”

Reinhardt straightened up, stepped up the stairs, and respectfully accepted the order of appointment. The scepter was finally awarded to the marshal, and from this moment on, Reinhardt von Royenkram officially became the marshal of the Reich.

Reinhardt smiled brightly on the surface, but on the inside he was not satisfied. Because this is only a small first step on his way to his goal! He has finally taken power from the incompetent man who took his sister!

"Oh ho! Twenty-year-old marshal!"

Whispering in a low voice was the commander of the Panzergrenadiers, First Admiral Ofresha. He was nearly fifty years old, with a fierce body, and his left cheekbone had been hit by a laser shot from the Allied forces, and the scar was fresh and purple. He deliberately did not heal his wounds in order to boast to others that he was a battle-hardened general.

He deliberately instigated the general, who had half of his troops snatched by Reinhardt.

The commander of the Space Fleet, Marshal Mukenberga, raised his half-white eyebrows slightly. "Although the words are good, the military talent of that blonde boy is indeed undeniable! Now, he has defeated the rebels, and the battle-hardened Merkatz has nothing to say about such skills!"

"You can see that his teeth have been pulled out. ”

Everyone looked at Merkatz, who stood quietly in the ranks of military attachés, and Ofresha lashed out at him mercilessly.

"Although our side won, it was only once, so it was purely accidental! According to my opinion, it was purely because the enemy was too incompetent! No matter what the outcome is, victory or defeat is relative!"

"It's too loud!"

Although the marshal rebuked him, he did not deny the content of the speech of the first rank general. It was not easy for the noble-born or very old generals to accept Reinhardt's exploits leniently! However, the marshal felt the need to change the subject.

At this moment, the voice of the master of ceremonies sounded again: "Admiral Wilieber Yusim von Merkatz." Qing was meritorious in the crusade against the rebels in the Asti Star Domain. He was promoted to the rank of general of the first class. On March 19, 487 A.D., Emperor Friedrich IV of the Galactic Empire. ”

Merkatz calmly stepped forward and knelt down on one knee, and the master of ceremonies took off his rank of general, and took the rank of first rank of general from the tray on one side and put it on for Merkatz. The veteran stood up and gave a military salute to the emperor, then retreated to his ranks.

"Viscount Fafnier, Lieutenant General Rudolf von Fafnier. Qing was meritorious in the crusade against the rebels in the Asti Star Domain. He was promoted to general. March 19, 487 in the imperial calendar. The master of ceremonies shouted out the last edict in his hand.

Fafnier stepped out of the ranks of military attachés, and his rather handsome appearance attracted many noble ladies, as for his "prodigal prodigal, the most unbounded disgrace of the nobles", "love to visit low-class brothels", etc., rumors did not seem to be much among this group of noble ladies...... It's just that this guy has never flirted with any aristocratic woman before......

The tall figure knelt down on one knee, waiting for the master of ceremonies to take off his rank of lieutenant general, and at this time, the emperor on the golden throne spoke: "Qing is a wonderful person, looking forward to the future struggle of the Qing family." ”

"The subordinates are terrified!" said Favinir in a smooth voice, but the Emperor laughed even more happily with an empty laugh.

This time, First Admiral Ofresha did not say anything to Marshal Mukenberga, and the expressions of the three marshals were almost the same toothache. The rest of the noble officers also had the expression of eating a worm, and they could clearly hear in the whispers: "This bastard is already a general! The face of the empire is finished!"

Seeing that the rank of general hung on his shoulder, Fafnier stood up and saluted, and couldn't help but smile, and at the same time gestured to his old friend and chief of staff, Major General Gustav von Schutkhajan, who was standing behind him. Immediately, an official who was picketing discipline came out and said: "Viscount Rudolf von Fafnier has lost his dignity in front of him!

"Hahaha, forget it. Today is a day of great joy. I said, forget it today. ”

The "Black Pearl Room" is playing music again. This is an ode to the military attaché who established meritorious service - "Cheer of the warriors of Wang Ergoure".

Colonel Siegfried Gilfias and other vice-palace soldiers waited in the "Amethyst Room" separated by a wide corridor.

Gilfias, who is neither a nobleman nor a general, is not eligible to enter the "Black Pearl Room", but in the last two days, he will skip the brigadier general and go straight to major general, establishing the status of the title of "Your Excellency". At that time, there will also be a place for him in this palatial ceremonial ceremony.

Every time Reinhardt moved up the ranks, he also rose to the next level...... Gilfias's body trembled slightly. Although he did not deny that he was talented, the speed of his ascension was indeed too fast, and he couldn't help but feel sincerely afraid of whether his strength met the requirements of this position!

"It's Colonel Siegfried Gilfias!"

Someone next to him shouted in a low voice.

A high-ranking officer in his early thirties, standing in front of Gilfias. The coat of arms rank is a colonel. He was tall, with black hair mixed with a dash of white hair, hazel eyes, and pale skin.

"Yes, who are you?"

"Colonel Barr von Oberstein!

As he spoke, the man, Oberstein, had a strange glow in his eyes, causing Gilfias to gasp.

"I'm sorry......" Oberstein muttered. Because, he noticed Gilfias's expression.

"The prosthetic eye looks a little malfunctioning, and you're scared, sorry! I'll replace it tomorrow!"

"It's a prosthetic! No, I'm rude......!"

"What's the matter, please don't take it to heart! I have a photosensitive computer installed in it, thanks to it, I can move freely, but my life is too short......"

"Wounded on the battlefield?"

If I had been born in the time of Rudolf the Great, I would have been sentenced to death for the 'Inferior Legacy Factor Elimination Method'!"

His voice vibrated in the air, and it took a long time for Gilfias to take a deep breath.

"You've got a good sir, Colonel Gilfias!" said Oberstein, his voice slightly raised, but still mumbling to himself. "The so-called good commander is a person who can make the subordinates give full play, and looking at the current Imperial Army, there are very few such superiors. However, His Excellency Royankram is different, he is not as frivolous as a young man, but he seems to be very old and serious, and those powerful nobles who only have the consciousness of the gate valve in their heads, I am afraid it is difficult to understand him......"

Gilfias's mind flashed with the warning signs of a "trap", and the man who called himself Oberstein was not sure that he was not a puppet manipulated by those who pretendered Reinhardt's downfall.

"What unit do you belong to?"

He casually diverted the subject.

"So far, he has been in the Intelligence Processing Department of the Commander's Headquarters, but in the future, he has been ordered to serve as a staff member of the fleet stationed in the Iseron Fortress!" Oberstein smiled lightly after replying. "You seem to be on your guards!"

For an instant, the pale-faced Gilfias was speechless, and at this moment, Reinhardt walked in, and the ceremony seemed to be over.

"Gilfias! Tomorrow ......"

He raised his voice as he observed the pale-faced man beside his subordinates.

Oberstein saluted and gave his name, and after a few words of congratulations, he turned and left.

At this time, two generals also walked out of the "Black Pearl Room", and Admiral Fafnier and his chief of staff and old friend, Major General Shotekhao Jane, stepped out of the room at the same time. As they walked, they were still hotly discussing which brothel to go to for a super uncovered celebration and other low-level topics. When he came out and saw Reinhardt and Gilfias, Admiral Fafnier was the first to say, "Salute the marshal......!" He made a gesture of moving his index finger back and forth in the circle of the thumb and index finger of the other hand, and Major General Schutkhajan on the side smiled completely without a figurative smile, and saluted at the same time.

Reinhardt's handsome face was flushed with anger, and he was amazed at the man's unscrupulousness and limitlessness, and deeply admired the man's audacity to "dare to make such a very obscene joke on the marshal......"

"Watch your words, Lord Fafnir!" said Gilfias in a fierce voice. This also surprised Reinhardt, his friend was usually very generous and friendly, and he had hardly seen him angry, and now it was rare to be provoked by the two scoundrels in front of him.

Admiral Fafnier was not a subordinate of Reinhardt, and the nine Imperial fleets assigned to Reinhardt's command did not include the Seventeenth Fleet, which consisted of 12,000 warships under Admiral Fafnir's current command. Therefore, in the end, he was only able to punish Admiral Fafnier with a fine of money for "disrespecting the superior officers", which was almost a military rule for lieutenants.

The most enjoyable reward for Fafnir, who had been promoted to admiral, was that his personal flagship, the Loki, was finally completed. The battleship, which was originally scheduled to be available last year, was not completed until he set off for the Battle of Yasti due to his refit requirements, construction delays, etc., and by the time he completed the acceptance and was put into active service, he was already on his way back victoriously.

When a junior aristocratic officer from the Imperial Ministry of Military Affairs came to "bestow" the battleship as Admiral Fafnier's flagship on behalf of the Emperor, this guy completely tore off the stink of the Imperial nobles' dead face - in this case, it is usually the transferee who buys a valuable piece of art to give to the officer who came to him as a thank you gift, and Fafnir directly took out a suitcase with a large Imperial Mark and threw it to the officer, which made people laugh and cry.

He went to the military port full of joy to admire his personal flagship: the Wilhelmina-class large fleet flagship "Rocky", with a total length of 1,161 meters, a total width of 241 meters, and a total height of 337 meters. In appearance, it is a giant version of the standard battleship, equipped with 16 30 cm neutron beam guns and 4 30 cm caliber railguns, covered with heavy armor, and equipped with four large thrusters. Because it is the latest ship in the Wilhelmina class, it has been specially strengthened in terms of armor and defense field at the request of Admiral Fafnier, and some of the techniques developed from the "Burrenhil" have been used, so the ship's defense power is better than that of the prototype - and the cost is also higher. In the same way, the nuclear fusion furnace that has been improved by using some of the techniques on the "Burrenhill" has been strengthened, and the large thrusters have also been improved, so that the ship's mobility has not decreased after increasing the defense and armor, but has increased slightly due to Admiral Fafnier's request to remove half of the fighters' carrying capacity. Admiral Fafnier's other personal request was to modify the original luxurious commander's cabin, reduce the floor space of the room, and keep only the bedroom, study, bathroom, living room and lounge, but the kitchen and cold storage for the commander's personal food preparation were strengthened...... As a result of the above requirements, the defense and mobility of this Wilhelmina-class flagship have been strengthened, and the carrying capacity has been reduced by half, and the excess space has strengthened the self-sustaining power of this battleship, making the combat duration of this battleship longer than that of the prototype ship, and the command power has also been strengthened a little because the extra space can carry more communication equipment.

In the dockyard, Fafnier asked the crew to paint the work according to his request. Three days later, "Call Fafnir, this bastard rolls over at once!!" the roar of the Commander-in-Chief of the Space Fleet, Field Marshal Mukenberga, almost knocked the ceiling down. Almost at the same moment, "Fafnier, bastard boy, get him for me at once!" Marshal Allenbock, the secretary of military affairs, roared in the same rage.

Fafnir was brought into the marshal's office by Marshal Mukenberga's guards, and roared with rage: "Fafnir! You maggot! you are the greatest shame of the Imperial army! No, you are already the greatest joke and disgrace in the army......

The officers outside did not dare to listen any more, and they asked each other what kind of military rule Admiral Fafnier had committed that had made the marshal so furious.

"Oh, and the Admiral drew a 'Largest Nude in the Universe' on his personal flagship. These were his own words, 'Who called there are no women in the Imperial army!' and the marshal had just inspected the fleet on standby in the dockyard when he saw and heard the admiral making a big deal of nonsense to the others. So the marshal was......"

Marshal Mukenberga's roar continued for half an hour, and then the shouting stopped in front of the headquarters of Marshal Allenbock, who had been ordered to take the general away, and Fafnirti was taken to the office of Field Marshal Allenbock's Ministry of War.

Marshal Allenbock also roared angrily for more than forty-five minutes, and finally the last two marshals unanimously came to a decision: "Admiral Favnir, confinement for a week! The pattern on the flagship must be cleaned!" There is no rule in the imperial military regulations that fleet commanders are not allowed to paint naked women on the flagship, but over the years, there is only Fafnir who has committed this kind of "non-existent military regulations", so he has also become the first general in the galaxy to confiner for a whole week for no reason.

This incident became a famous joke among the Imperial Army, and it spread throughout the Free Planets Alliance after only half a month...... "There are also very cute people in the Imperial Army." These were the words of Colonel Walter von Schenkob, "Maybe we can be friends." These are the words of Lieutenant O'Libi Pobran, "yes, a guy as undisciplined as you are!" Lieutenant Ewan Gonif. "This is the evil result of the dictatorship of the Empire, and in the League of Democracy, it is natural to paint whatever you want!" said a freckled colonel named Dustin Athenabol