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Chapter 46 Imperial Capital Garrison

Back at the inn, Renn, Ellina, and Bersalia began to review the events and exchange information.

"The so-called 'commemoration of the Amazons' is actually just a group of noble ladies and young women finding an excuse to curry favor with each other," Berthalia said casually. "Most of them are only pretending to be interested in the history of the Amazons' suffering, and they want to use this to show their empathy and compassion in order to quickly get closer to other noblewomen."

“Not surprising at all,” Ellina commented coldly.

As an executioner who suppressed slaves of other races, she had witnessed far too much human suffering and felt that the Amazon tribes were not particularly pitiful.

Is being kidnapped to be a wife and have children considered pitiful? Then what about being captured, having your hands and feet chopped off, being hung on a rack and tortured? What about being forcibly humiliated, having your mind destroyed and being tamed into a mentally challenged animal?
"I think that Empress has quite a bit of ambition," Raine sneered. "She even wants to appoint me as the commander of the capital's garrison."

"Wait a minute," Bersalia asked in surprise, "Is the situation in the capital really that dire? To hand over command of the garrison to a complete stranger we've never met before?"

"Because His Majesty's personality leans towards taking risks," Renn said calmly. "Of course, it also shows that the royal family does not currently trust the two legions near the capital."

Currently, the two major field armies stationed near the capital are the Third "Imperial Guard" Army Corps and the Sixteenth "Lunar Goddess" Army Corps.

The Imperial Guard Legion, whose members are orphans personally selected by the royal family for military training, has always been the most favored legion of the emperors; the Luna Legion, on the other hand, is the oldest and most loyal legion in history, having made the most contributions to the empire.

If even these two legions cannot gain the emperor's trust, then the situation in the capital, hidden deep beneath the surface, may already be extremely complicated.

"Wait a minute." Ellina suddenly narrowed her eyes. "You agreed?"

“Otherwise?” Raine said, spreading his hands. “Could I refuse the Queen’s orders?”

“You promised Dia,” Ellina said sharply, “that you would help her solve the White Walker problem on the rainforest peninsula.”

"Really?" Renn asked in surprise.

Ellina reached for the gun.

“Don’t worry.” Raine didn’t continue to tease her, but just smiled and said, “The rainy season is still two months away, and I’ll find a reason to go to the rainforest peninsula then.”

“You had better keep your promise,” Ellina said coldly.

“Don’t be foolish. I had already begun preparing to deal with the White Walkers before you were even resurrected.” Raine began to issue orders. “Besalia, continue to build relationships with the other members of the Guild, and pay close attention to the movements of that Queen.”

"Ellina, get ready. Once the official orders are given, come with me to take over the Imperial Capital Garrison."

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The empire's seven border provinces still practice the traditional feudal system. Nobles have the power to make decisions on all matters within their territories, and they are only responsible to their own lords.

The situation was different in the four border regions of the empire. Successive emperors had strived to completely centralize power in the four border regions under the imperial family, and by the time of the current emperor Nilocas's grandfather, a comprehensive imperial civil service system had been established.

Personnel, finance, military, and law were all handled by professional imperial civil servants, thus completely stripping the nobles of the four borders from the power system. They were left only with ownership and the right to the profits from their territories.

It's like a king in a constitutional monarchy, who nominally owns the entire country, but in reality, he can't do anything except make money.

The imperial civil servants, collectively despised by the nobles of the four borders, were a bureaucracy forced to be highly dependent on imperial power. With the Empress's intervention, the appointment letter for Rein Fahre as commander of the Imperial Capital Garrison was issued the following morning.

"Is it really that fast?" Elrina became increasingly aware that something was wrong. If it were the ancestral elven empire's court, when the emperor wanted to appoint a minister to a certain position, he would always have to test the opinions of other stakeholders. Otherwise, even if the radish was forcibly planted in the hole, someone would inevitably come to loosen the soil afterward.

How could the human empire be so efficient in administration?
“It seems Her Majesty the Queen has been holding back for a long time,” Renn said with a smile. “Let’s go, Ellina.”

"Come with me to the military camp of the Imperial Capital Garrison."

The Imperial Capital Garrison is one of only two military units within the capital, responsible for maintaining order and managing the city. The other is the Royal Guard, responsible for protecting the royal family. Considering the thriving commerce in the capital, being a garrison soldier is clearly a lucrative profession; they can make a fortune just by regularly taking a cut from the shops.

The previous garrison commander was a man who knew this all too well. In just three years in office, he bought seven houses in the capital, kept six mistresses, and fathered more than a dozen children.

Ultimately, he fell from power because he was unable to solve the serial murder case in the southern city, which led to numerous reports of dereliction of duty from the public, and His Majesty the Emperor ordered him to resign.

With such a person in charge, one can guess what kind of valuable people are under his command.

When Raine and Ellina stepped into a military camp in the capital, they saw the guards sitting together playing cards and gambling, completely unaware that someone had entered the camp.

“Ellina,” Raine said gently, “defeat them.”

Ellina walked forward expressionlessly.

Moments later, panicked shouts of "Who are you?" "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" and "Arrest her!" echoed through the military camp.

In Ellina's view, these imperial guards were not even as good as the human slaves of yesteryear. Although the latter were poorly equipped and malnourished, they were never lacking in the courage to fight the enemy.

As for the human guards in front of them, they were fully armed with swords and armor and had burly figures, but they had no courage to charge into battle. They overturned tables as cover and cowered behind them, shouting and yelling, as if trying to scare away their opponents, Hakimi.

It's hard to imagine that the descendants of humans who could destroy the Elf Empire would turn out like this.

Disappointment flashed in Ellina's eyes, just as she heard someone shout sharply from the other side:
"Who are you to dare attack the capital's garrison!"

"I am the newly appointed commander of the garrison." Raine unfolded the letter of appointment sent by the Queen, making it clear to the guards opposite him. "And who are you?"

"We are guards from the garrison..."

"Lies!" Renn roared menacingly. "The Imperial Capital Garrison is an elite force that protects the people of the capital and maintains order. How could they possibly be drinking and gambling in the barracks in broad daylight? You must be imposters, street thugs! Ellina, take them all down!"

Ellina stepped forward.

She held the spear upside down with one hand, the blunt end of the shaft pointing towards the enemy. With thrusts, parries, jabs, chops, and swings, she disarmed the enemy with a single strike, and the next blow struck a vital point, causing him to fall to the ground instantly.

Soon, there was no one left in the camp who could stand.

Raine slowly sat down in the chair, his gaze sweeping over the guards who were wailing incessantly.

It's clear that these guards are all in excellent physical condition. After all, they spend their days collecting taxes from shops to make money, so they certainly don't skimp on food and drink; hence, they are all incredibly robust.

The downside is a lack of combat experience.

With two imperial legions stationed nearby, no monsters or bandits would attack the capital. The city's thugs and gangs wouldn't be foolish enough to attack armored and sword-wielding guards; they would most likely surrender on sight.

He had neglected training so much that when faced with an ancient hero like Ellina, who was highly skilled in martial arts, he couldn't even organize a basic defensive line.

Next, I need to establish the commander's prestige within the garrison, then put military training back on the agenda, and also solve the serial murder case that occurred in the southern city (which is within the garrison's duties).

Moreover, all of the above must be completed before the rainy season ends in the rainforest peninsula, otherwise it will inevitably delay the important task of fighting the White Walkers.

Tsk, I really don't want to waste too much time on these useless people.

“Ellina,” Renn said again, “watch closely, anyone who dares to stand up without my permission will have their legs broken.”

(End of this chapter)