Claude understood that Captain Durioro wanted him to rush over as reinforcements.
He got up and ordered a signaller to have Dyavid's fully-armed platoon rush to the garrison camp to prevent the frontline command's military law department from taking the four impersonators away.
After that, he brought Siegfeld to Captain Durioro's office. On the way there, he bumped into Moriad and followed Claude to watch the show.
He didn't think that the noble officers would act so quickly. Perunque had only left for three days and the military law department had already come to take away the four unlucky fellows.
Claude had been to Pacathia, the capital of Palo Alto prefecture where frontline command was located. It would take three days and two nights to get from Squirrel Village to Pacathia. That was the speed of a horse carriage.
Even if they rode at full speed, it would still take two days and one night.
It seemed that the noble officers were prepared for Perunque's failure and had arranged for the military law department's men to be stationed in the town near the mountain pass.
As soon as Lieutenant Perrengue left Squirrel Village and exited the mountain path, he had rushed to the town there to meet up with the people from the military law department. That was why the people from the military law department had arrived at the garrison camp of Squirrel Village in such a short time.
In the corridor outside Captain Durioro's office stood a small group of military police in red and black uniforms. They had three black ribbons on their cuffs, which was the special symbol of the military police in the Military Justice Department.
Claude heard someone yell from the office while he was on the stairs, "Captain Durioro, you have to hand over the criminals to us!"
Two military police stood at the top of the stairs, probably under orders to stop others from entering the office.
However, the moment they saw Claude and Moriad's epaulets, they hurriedly saluted and retreated to the side.
The military law officer who gave them the order had forgotten that the military police could only stop soldiers of the same rank as them, but not officers from entering the office.
"What's going on?" Claude entered the office and Moriad closed the door behind him.
There were only three people in the office. Captain Duriolo sat behind his desk without saying a word. When he saw the two enter, he couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise.
As for the other two, they should be the two leading officers from the Military Law Department of the frontline command center. One of them was a lieutenant who looked to be in his late twenties and had a mustache on his face. He was sitting steadily on the single-seater sofa in the office, leisurely enjoying a glass of fruit wine.
Another second lieutenant with a sturdy body was standing in front of Captain Duriolo's desk. He had a ferocious look on his face, and it seemed like he was the one who had yelled out the roar he had just heard.
It was obvious that all the pressure Captain Durioro was under came from this ferocious second lieutenant.
"Who let you in? Scram!"
The ferocious-looking second lieutenant didn't see Claude and Moriad's epaulets clearly. He only pointed at the door when they entered and told them to scram and not get in their way.
Claude glared at him. Before he could say anything, Moriad darted to the front and cursed, "Are you blind, bastard?
Where did you come from? How dare you tell a superior to scram! How dare you go against your superior?! "
It was only then that the second lieutenant noticed that Moriad was wearing the same epaulet as him. He wasn't afraid of insulting an officer of the same rank.
However, when he saw Claude's epaulet, he hurriedly saluted and apologized, "I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't see clearly and thought it was my subordinates who came in. That's why I scolded them for disobeying orders.
Please punish me, Sir. "
Claude only glared at him coldly and didn't return the salute. "Slap yourself. Don't do it again!"
"Yes, Sir."
The ferocious-looking second lieutenant didn't hesitate and slapped himself twice in the face. His cheeks immediately swelled up at a visible rate.
In the Aueran army, the crime of insubordination wasn't exactly a big one, but it wasn't exactly a small one either.
Usually, if one was caught in the act, the superior would punish them on the spot.
For Claude to only let the second lieutenant slap himself twice was considered normal behavior.
Some perverted officers would go out of their way to find trouble with their soldiers and make them stand on their heads, bark like dogs, or even do hundreds of push-ups on the streets.
The ministry of the army had no choice but to come up with a set of regulations to restrict the punishment of superior officers to a reasonable range.
Claude turned his gaze to the mustached first lieutenant on the sofa. The man was rather tactful. He put down his glass and stood at attention. The moment he saw Claude look at him, he saluted. "Greetings, Sir Claude."
Claude returned the salute. "You seem to know me?"
The first lieutenant replied with a smile, "Of course. I can't think of any other captain who can stand here with a Knight's Medal on him."
Although they were both captains, Durioro was one rank lower than the chief of the garrison battalion.
It couldn't be helped. It was an unspoken rule in the kingdom's army. The rank of the garrison battalion was automatically one rank lower than that of the regular army.
That was why Durioro needed Claude's help. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the confidence to face the two officers from the frontline command.
Because his rank of captain could only be considered the same rank in front of this mustached first lieutenant, and because the other was from the frontline command, he was automatically one rank higher. Therefore, even the fierce-looking second lieutenant had the courage to roar in front of him.
He was a captain of 1st Ranger Tribe, directly under the frontline command and personally commanded by the first prince. It was an experimental unit of the kingdom's regular army.
His rank wasn't any lower than that of the frontline command and he even had a Knight's Medal on him. Even a captain would have to greet him, let alone a first lieutenant and a second lieutenant.
Claude nodded. "Are you from the frontline command's military law department?
Please show me your military identification and identification. "
"You …" The second lieutenant with swollen cheeks wanted to say something. It was obvious that he was furious, but he was stopped by the stern gaze of the mustached first lieutenant.
"Of course. Please check it. These are our military officer IDs and identification documents." The mustached First Lieutenant readily took out his military officer IDs and identification documents.
The identification wasn't big. It only had a simple record of his rank, name, age, unit he belonged to, and a few other details.
The identification document was twice the size of an officer's pass. It recorded the person's appearance, height, specialty, graduation, internship, and other details, as well as the position he held in the frontline command.
"First Lieutenant Giprick Sha Levenster, staff officer of the frontline command's military law department," Claude read out.
"That's me, Sir Claude." The first lieutenant nodded with a smile.
"Check it again."
Claude handed the military ID and identification documents to Duriolo and said to the mustached first lieutenant, "I'm sorry, First Lieutenant Giprick. We have no choice but to be cautious. After all, there was an incident of someone impersonating an officer a few days ago. I'm sure you've heard about it.
That's why we checked your identities multiple times. We don't want to make the same mistake again and become a laughing stock. "
Giprick smiled awkwardly. "It's only right. There's no harm in being careful."
"What about you?" Claude turned to the burly second lieutenant.
The fierce-looking second lieutenant wasn't of noble birth. His name was Bekimillo Nitaya and he was also from the frontline command's military law department.
However, he wasn't a staff officer but an executive officer. It seemed that the squad in the corridor was under his command.
Duriolo had already checked their military IDs and identification documents. He nodded to Claude to show that there were no problems with their identities.
"Alright, I believe you're from the frontline command's military law department.
So, what business do you have here? "Claude turned from guest to host and automatically replaced Durioro as the host.
Giprick looked at Durioro and saw that he didn't react, as if he was handing the reins over to Claude. Giprick smiled helplessly. "It's like this, Sir Claude. We were patrolling in Alfistershire when we came to Rosa. We heard that someone impersonating an official of the kingdom had happened here, so we rushed over to retrieve the criminal and bring him back to the frontline command's military law department for investigation."
Claude smiled. "Oh, so it's about that. No wonder you guys threw a tantrum at Captain Durioro. Is it because he doesn't want to hand the criminal over to you?
Actually, this has nothing to do with him. I have the final say in this matter. Even if he agrees to hand the criminal over, it won't matter. "
Giprick's face darkened. "Sir Claude, what do you mean by that? Are you going to interfere with our work?
That's against military law! You should know the consequences! "
"My work?
Hehe … Since you say you're doing your work, then show me the authorization letter and the order to hand over the criminal.
Without the authorization letter from the ministry of the army and the first prince's order, don't even think about taking the criminal from us. "
"Sir Claude, please don't be unreasonable," Giprick said sternly.
"It's our job to bring the criminal back to the military law department for investigation. We don't need any authorization letters or orders from the highest commander.
Please cooperate with our law enforcement work and hand over the four criminals to us. Otherwise, we will punish you according to military discipline for the crime of interfering with public affairs! "
"Interfering with official business?
What a heavy crime … "Claude didn't seem worried in the slightest." Don't think I don't know that the four criminals are directly under HQ.
As colleagues, you should avoid arousing suspicion and not rush over to take the criminals. Are you trying to clean up your own mess?
If we hand the criminals over, I believe we won't hear about any follow-up to this case.
If we ask, the reply we'll get will be that there's no such thing.
So, I'm sorry, sirs. Please go back to where you came from. This is no longer something you can interfere with, nor is it something you can handle. "
Giprick glared at Claude. "Sir Claude, I'll ask you again. Are you really going to stop us from doing our work?"
"Heh, you're doing your work?
Claude shook his head. "I'm not trying to stop you from carrying out your duties. I only want you to complete the procedure. Please show me the authorization document and the order from the highest commander. I'll hand the criminal over to you right away."
"Very well, Sir Claude."
Giprick stared at Claude and said word by word, "You are now charged with obstructing official business and obstructing law enforcement. I hereby announce your arrest in the name of the military law office. Please come with us to HQ for investigation!"
"Bullsh * t!"
Moriad, who was standing at the side, couldn't contain his anger. He suddenly rushed out and punched Giprick in the face, knocking him to the ground.
It happened so suddenly that nobody expected Moriad to be so impulsive.
Claude hurriedly grabbed him to stop him from moving forward. Beating up a superior military law officer wasn't a small crime.
"You … Ugh … You dare hit … hit me …" Giprick fell to the ground and covered his face. Moriad's punch had landed squarely on the bridge of his nose. It seemed to have crooked his nose, causing it to bleed profusely.
With great difficulty, he got up from the ground and pointed at Claude and Moriad with eyes full of hatred. "Capture them, Lieutenant Becky Milo! What are you still standing there for?!"
"Yes, Sir."
The burly and fierce-looking Becky Milo didn't charge forward. Instead, he reached out with his right hand and a short gun appeared in his hand.
His other left hand was not idle either. He struck a match on the table next to him, and a flame lit up. Then, he lit the match on the short gun.
"Hands up!" Becky Milo pointed the gun at Claude and Moriad.
Bang! The sound of the gun rang out in the office.
Claude looked at his own body in shock and then at Moriad, who was standing in front of him. He didn't see any wounds on him.
Instead, it was Second Lieutenant Becky Milo who fell to the ground with a bloody bullet hole in his face.
The gun in his hand fell to the ground as well. The match on it was still burning. It wasn't in a firing state.
Claude turned around and saw Captain Duriolo holding a short musket in his hand. He was staring blankly at the body of Second Lieutenant Bekimillo on the ground.
Seeing Claude look at him, Durioro mumbled, "I … I only wanted to hit his hand, but … but I didn't think I would hit his face …"
"You, you actually, actually killed Second Lieutenant Becky Milo …" First Lieutenant Giprick was trembling all over. Now that someone had died, things were really getting out of hand.
He didn't feel the pain in his nose anymore. He pointed at Claude and screamed, "Help! Help!"
The door opened, but to the Captain's surprise, it wasn't the military police who came with them, but Dyavid, who was armed to the teeth.
"Where are the military police at the entrance?" Claude asked.
"We disarmed them. They're squatting in the hall downstairs," Dyavid replied nonchalantly.
"What do we do now?" Claude asked Durioro.
Captain Duriolo finally snapped out of his daze. He pointed at First Lieutenant Giprick and said, "Capture him first. I'll immediately send a messenger eagle to the Ministry of War and accuse them of using the name of military discipline inspection to kidnap us and force us to release the four criminals pretending to be official officers of the kingdom …"
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