Punishment!

Augie dove downward, lunging toward the giant python upon the surface of the sea ahead. Her massive body bore down like an entire mountain range collapsing. Without any need for the short girl's commands, the giant python instinctively began to evade. The oppressive aura of an adult dragon was an absolute nightmare to most monster beasts in this world. Augie naturally had no intention of letting it slip away so easily. A distinctive luster gleamed across her dragon scales as her draconic spellcraft activated. In an instant, along the path of the python's escape, the sea froze over, and thick walls of ice rapidly surged upward. The giant python braced itself and smashed through one ice wall, only to find a second and a third waiting in its path. It hesitated, and the consequence of that hesitation was that more and more ice walls sprang up around it, rapidly sealing off any room it had to maneuver and escape. The short girl thrust both arms upward. In the next moment, a flock of crows appeared in the sky, rapidly converging into a massive black curtain. Yet before the curtain could initiate its next move, Augie exhaled a terrifying torrent of frost, instantly shattering the dark shroud and sending crows frozen into solid lumps of ice crashing into the sea in great swathes. The Whip-Wielder might have neglected Augie's soul, but he had never mistreated her body; she too had grown up on an abundant diet of medicinal pills just like Little Kanna. To her, these monster beasts could hardly be considered opponents in the first place. Moreover, summoned phantoms of monster beasts could exert at most thirty to forty percent of their true bodies' strength, making them even less of a match. The young man looked at the elf girl beside him and yelled, "What are you standing there for?!" The elf girl immediately answered, "He's a lord!" "Didn't you hear what Uncle Prysen said? That's the Whip-Wielder's frost giant dragon, but the person on it isn't the Whip-Wielder!" The elf girl bit her lip and replied, "A Regional Chief is a lord too!" With that, the elf girl placed her bow and arrow on the ground and dropped to her knees, clearly abandoning all resistance. Seeing this, an expression of utter disbelief crossed the young man's face. "Alyosha, if your father saw you daring to kneel down and surrender, he'd be trembling with rage!" "If Father knew I dared to raise a hand against the Lord Regional Chief, he would kill me!" "You..." "Andrew, give up resisting. Jensenny, you listen to me too!" Seeing this, the short girl knelt down as well. The moment she knelt, the cornered giant python below lowered its head too, submitting to the frost giant dragon above. Yet the young man named Andrew had no intention of kneeling. Using an amplification spell, he shouted upward, "Are you Karen, Regional Chief of Yorktown Region?" Karen heard him but gave no reply. However, he also noticed that two people below had already prostrated themselves. Under these circumstances, regardless of whether they had knelt because they knew they were no match for a frost giant dragon and had run out of options, it at least downgraded the severity of the matter—turning what was a riotous disregard for order into mere youthful impulsiveness and mischief. Still, there was one troublemaker who looked completely defiant. Andrew continued to shout, "Regional Chief Karen, I am Andrew, captain of a Whip of Order squad in a Tier-7 frontier space! I heard your name long ago, but I don't accept why you get to become a Regional Chief just by killing a few people and claiming a few heads out in the mundane world, while I have slain countless monster beasts in the frontier space, yet still have to call you 'milord' and kneel to you in salute!" Augie's voice sounded in Karen's ear. "Listen to that. He doesn't respect you." Frontier spaces were categorized from Tier 1 to Tier 10 based on resource richness and threat level, ranked from lowest to highest. There were even frontier spaces beyond Tier 10—namely "Heaven," which had been carved open by the God of the Abyss in ancient times. To serve as a Whip of Order squad captain in a Tier-7 frontier space at such a young age meant this young man indeed possessed capital to be proud of. Yet even Karen was mindful of the hierarchical order within the Church of Order when in public. This Andrew had already crossed into brazen insolence. "Regional Chief Karen, I hereby challenge you to a duel!" With that, Andrew made a formal dueling gesture. Then, before Karen could even respond, the phantom image of a black phoenix appeared behind him. Empowered by the black phoenix, he was cloaked in dense Flames of Order as he surged rapidly upward. He was gambling—gambling that Karen wouldn't let the frost giant dragon attack him. Karen took a few steps forward, walked past Augie's head, and entered a free fall from above. The distance between them closed rapidly, an impact imminent. "Kanna." "Coming!" The little bone dragon circling nearby swiftly drew near. Karen raised his right hand toward her; the moment her massive skeletal frame made contact with his right hand, it melted instantly, permeating into Karen's body. Simultaneously, Karen opened the palm of his left hand toward the space below. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A colossal, serpentine bone cage materialized in an instant, directly engulfing Andrew. With a swift constriction, it crushed all the surrounding Flames of Order. Andrew found his limbs and neck locked tight by bone, with dense barbs piercing into his body, completely suppressing any movement of spiritual power within him. In a mere instant, a single exchange, the outcome was decided. A patch of black mist formed beneath Karen's feet, his lower half misting away to arrest his descent, leaving him floating right before Andrew. "This isn't fair! You cheated! This isn't fair! You used that bone dragon as a helper!" Karen pointed behind him and asked, "Didn't you summon that black phoenix as well?" "It's my contracted partner! It isn't a helper!" Kanna's voice rang out from within the bones: "And what do you think I am?!" Livid, Andrew shouted, "Again! Neither of us uses any helpers!" Karen smiled. "It seems the monster beasts of a Tier-7 frontier space are very easygoing, always granting you a second chance." "Fine if you're not willing! Hmph, coward!" Karen's expression didn't change as he silently raised his hand once more. Just then, the giant hand in the sky swept downward. Sensing it, Augie instinctively moved to spread her wings and intercept. Although she felt Karen had always bullied her, at a moment like this, she considered herself on his side. "Augie, don't move." Karen stayed Augie's movement, remaining motionless himself. He didn't believe that this region's Guardian would dare lay a hand on him, the Regional Chief, in broad daylight. After all, the Guardian was no ignorant child. Sure enough, the finger didn't actually strike toward Karen. Instead, it stirred up a razor-sharp astral wind that curved around Karen and whipped violently into Andrew. "Pffft!" Andrew immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood. Kanna's binding hadn't truly harmed him yet, but the force channeled by the giant hand broke numerous bones throughout his body. It wasn't enough to leave permanent damage, but the injury was genuinely severe, and the victim would suffer agonizing pain. "Uncle Prysen..." Andrew couldn't comprehend what was happening. His head hung low; blood seeped not only from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, but even from the pores across his skin. The Guardian's voice sounded once more, but this time it wasn't a lofty, booming amplification; rather, it was confined to this small perimeter. "Regional Chief, his father and I were once the closest of partners. I implore you, do not cripple him." Karen pressed his lips together. In this moment, he gained a deeper understanding of the Guardian—the man had actually seen through his intention. When Karen raised his hand just now, he had planned to destroy the circulation of spiritual power within Andrew. This wouldn't have been an abuse of vigilante justice, because according to the Code of Order: When a devotee of Order loses their way and loses faith in Order, their entitlement to continue wielding the power of Order should be revoked. In other words, such a person was no longer fit to retain power beyond that of an ordinary mortal. Furthermore, Karen and Andrew belonged to the very same apparatus. As his superior officer, disciplining him was entirely within his rights—it was "internal discipline." Disciplinary action against internal personnel within the Whip of Order didn't even need to go through the Tribunal's procedures. Karen said, "He failed to educate his child properly." "He will apologize to you in person." Karen was not familiar with this Guardian, because in the past, the Regional Guardian had always been a figure he and Neo needed to avoid. In several later events, the Guardian had often stood on the opposite side, and Grandmother had even fought him. Most importantly, the Guardians of every region reported directly to the Temple, and the relationship between the current High Priest and the Temple was well-known throughout the church. Karen had to avoid suspicion; not every connection was appropriate to maintain. Yet there was no denying that the Guardian had humbled himself considerably, not only using honorifics but adding an earnest plea. Karen would have actually preferred the man to be firmer—that would have made him easier to deal with. After a moment's hesitation, Karen said, "Since they don't know the purpose of the main entrance, hang them from the hotel gates. For three days, they are forbidden to touch the ground, and forbidden from food and water." "Thank you." The Guardian didn't bargain any further. He was likely nursing a severe headache over these three youths as well. Though he never participated in any of the region's activities day-to-day, he had always "lived" in this region, so he naturally understood very well what kind of stature the Regional Chief before him held here, and how formidable his current momentum was. Besides, he couldn't fathom how his dear friend had raised his son. Seeing the Whip-Wielder's mount right before him, how could the boy dare yell about dueling the person riding it? That wasn't just showing contempt for a Regional Chief—it was showing utter contempt for the Whip-Wielder! Promptly, the black hole in the sky vanished, signifying the Guardian's departure. Karen gestured for Little Kanna to release the binding. The heavily injured Andrew plummeted straight down, but true to their comradeship, the two girls below immediately moved to catch him. From such a height, and with Andrew practically unconscious, crashing onto the water with nothing to cushion the fall would likely have splattered him to death. Karen returned to the beach, where the hotel management stood waiting in a row. "Explain what just happened to the guests and extend our apologies for disturbing them." Many "foreign guests" stayed at the Ankara Hotel, which directly affected the image of the Church of Order. Even in an ordinary hotel, sudden, continuous explosions outside would warrant an explanation to the patrons. "Yes, Lord Regional Chief. We will explain the situation and provide small gifts to express our apologies." "Mm. Prepare a lounge for me first. I need to take a bath." "Please follow me." Though called a temporary lounge, Karen was escorted into the highest-tier suite; one floor further up was the rooftop Ankara Memorial Hall. Having resumed her human form, Augie followed him in and asked in utter bewilderment, "Hey, you barely did anything. Why do you need a bath?" Clearly, Augie thought Karen was being overly fastidious. Yet when Karen took off his clerical robes right there in the parlor, revealing his bleeding arm, Augie immediately shut her mouth. Little Kanna ran over with wide eyes, puzzled. "What happened? Um, was it my fault?" Karen crouched down, rubbed Little Kanna's head, and smiled. "It's not our Kanna's fault. It's mine. I didn't expect our Kanna to grow so quickly." Indeed, Karen hadn't anticipated the little bone dragon growing so fast, so when he borrowed Little Kanna's power earlier, the sudden strain caught him off guard and overloaded his body. "So, you can't eat too many pills." Little Kanna immediately seized upon what she thought was the "main point." Thankfully, she hadn't said, "It's all the bath's fault." "You have to keep eating them. You wouldn't want your body to end up smaller than Augie's, would you?" Little Kanna turned her head to look at Augie. Augie crossed her arms, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly. That remark sounded very pleasing to her ears. Little Kanna, however, retorted, "That's not fair! The big dumb dragon only grows her body, not her brain!" Augie: "..." "Heh." Karen stood up and walked into the washroom to treat his torn flesh wounds. By the time Karen finished treating them and stepped out, Vic happened to have returned. Entering the door, he wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and said, "Chief, that roast meat was out of stock today. What a pity." "Mm, forget it then." "I've investigated the identities of those three: Andrew, Alyosha, and Jensenny. They are members of a Whip of Order squad from the Ariano Frontier Space. Andrew is the captain, and the two girls are vice-captains. Their parents are all commanders of Whip of Order operational squads in the Ariano Frontier Space. The Whip of Order system in the frontier space is slightly different from our region's, but their parents' positions should be equivalent to office directors in our regional headquarters." "Princes and princesses?" Vic smiled. "If measured by the standards of our circle, they really don't qualify." "What did they come here for?" "They received their transfer notices relatively early. To leave the frontier space sooner and see the bustling world outside, they came ahead of schedule. They are part of the batch of Whip of Order personnel we're supposed to receive and retrain, meant to be organized into the militia regiments." "I suspect they aren't an isolated case, which means the upcoming training and integration won't be easy." "This subordinate thinks so too. An environment like the frontier space easily breeds people with rather extreme temperaments. Besides, the grassroots Whip of Order in the various regions used to be fairly subpar, so they generally looked down on them, believing themselves to be the true Whip of Order. However, please rest assured, Chief; most of them are simply proud and arrogant. Those three youngsters are outrageous outliers even among that bunch. Furthermore, since you've already handed the reception over to Mr. Alfred, I believe Mr. Alfred will definitely handle everything well." "Mm." Just then, the doorbell rang. Vic went to answer it and quickly returned. "Chief, the Ariano Frontier Space sent a communication request to the hotel. It's Andrew's father—likely calling to apologize." "You go... Never mind, I'll go in person." Karen stepped into the hotel's communication hall. The staff had already calibrated the array; after activating it for Karen, they withdrew. As the array operated, Karen sat down on a chair. Soon, the figure of a man appeared before him. Only a third of the man's face—no, only a third of his body remained, as though a sharp blade had sliced off a large section of him at an angle. His left arm and shoulder were gone completely. Filling the missing parts was a plant-like mass—a treatment method developed by the Church of Order by adapting techniques from the Church of Life, using plant substitutes to sustain the functioning of a mangled body. This was a veteran Whip of Order; the staggering extent of his injuries was an epitome of the danger level in a Tier-7 frontier space. Upon seeing Karen, the man immediately knelt down: "Lord Regional Chief, this subordinate failed to educate his son, allowing Andrew to commit a grave mistake. This subordinate begs your forgiveness." Karen stood up from his chair, bowed slightly, and said, "I will teach him proper discipline. Please rest assured." At this moment, Karen suddenly felt a glimmer of understanding toward Andrew's insistence on dueling him. His father had contributed so much to the Whip of Order and paid such a steep price, yet he was still only at the level of an office director, while Karen, a peer around Andrew's own age, had already become a Regional Chief. "Thank you for your generosity, Lord Regional Chief. His mother suffered a mishap on a mission when he was very young..." Karen cut him off, saying, "Rest assured. I am merely disciplining him." Relief spread across the man's face. Karen's clear commitment spared him from overthinking further. When he received the message from his former close friend, he had been scared out of his wits. His son had actually dared to provoke a Regional Chief of his own accord—and on top of that, his son would soon be joining the militia regiments under this very Regional Chief's command... It would be the easiest thing in the world for such a figure to have him killed. And even if the chief had no such intention, subordinates seeking to flatter and please a superior might take the initiative to dig a pit and finish him off. "I have other official duties, so I won't chat longer. Take care of your health." "Uh..." Caught unprepared by the Lord Regional Chief concluding with such words, the man momentarily forgot to reply. By the time he gathered his wits, the communication array had already shut down. Riding in the car out of the Ankara Hotel, right at the hotel's main entrance, three young people—one man and two women—hung bound in midair. Blood was still dripping from Andrew. Even while suspended, his two female vice-captains were doing their best to cast healing spells on him. As Karen's car passed by, the two girls immediately froze. Wracked with pain all over, Andrew shifted his gaze toward Karen inside the car. The car came to a stop, and Karen rolled down the window. Andrew spoke up: "Let them down... You only need... to punish me..." Hanging at the hotel gates with crowds bustling past was a humiliating ordeal. Karen replied calmly, "They were dragged down by you." Hearing this, Andrew's expression twisted once more—an agonizing torment for both body and mind. Karen didn't reveal that Andrew's father had just knelt "before him" to plead for mercy. It wasn't that he couldn't bear to provoke the youth further, but that he wished to preserve dignity for that veteran Whip of Order. "Heh... Don't think this... will make me... bend..." "I have zero interest in whether you bend. Once the three days are up, hand in a self-criticism letter to me." "Heh... Keep dreaming..." "If I deem your self-criticism unsatisfactory, you will be stripped of your qualification to join the militia regiments and go to the front." "You!" Evidently, to a rebellious youth who hardly knew the immensity of heaven and earth, losing the chance to enlist and go to the front was the punishment he found most intolerable. "Furthermore, your two vice-captains will also be implicated and stripped of their qualifications along with you." Hearing this, both girls showed looks of shock and dismay. Andrew was furious, glaring at Karen, but this time, he didn't dare say another word. "In three days, I will have someone deliver a copy of my résumé to you. Mark all the areas where you think I fall short of you, tuck it into your self-criticism, and submit them together." Andrew said, "Understood. I will." The window rolled up, and Vic drove the car away. Inside the car, Augie stretched and remarked, "What a hassle. If it were the Whip-Wielder's usual habit, he would've let me swallow them whole as snacks." Little Kanna asked curiously, "Do they taste good?" "Delicious. Tastes like chicken. Want to try some?" "No, no!" Little Kanna hastily waved her hands in refusal, saying in disgust, "If I eat too much of that, I'll turn stupid like you." Augie: "..." Vic said, "Chief, we just received a crow transmission from Leon. The connection with the front line has been established. The meeting can begin as soon as you return, and Miss Purr and the others are ready to join." "Oh gosh!" Little Kanna cried out in alarm. "What is it?" Karen looked down at Little Kanna and asked. "Why was it moved up?" "Because something rather urgent came up, so it was moved forward. After my meeting is over, you can talk to your Sister Purr." "But..." Little Kanna's brows knit tight instantly. "But what?" "I haven't finished making up my homework..." ... Back at the headquarters office, everyone else was dismissed. Little Kanna shouldered her schoolbag and dashed to Leon's office to frantically finish her homework. As the communication array flared to life, a bleary-eyed Neo appeared before Karen. "My Lord Regional Chief, do you know what time it is over here?" "Neo, there's a matter—a very serious one—that I need to ask you right now." "Reinforcements coming?" "I hope you will answer me with all seriousness." "An abnormally massive reinforcement?" "Your answer is very important to me." "It seems Muri isn't qualified to remain supreme commander of the militia regiments anymore, and someone capable of commanding the stage needs to be sent over." "In your head, besides Mr. Philias, do the other few..." "Take it." "What?" "I said you should take it." "Me?" "I know how to fight a war."