Chapter 758: Maximum Fruits of Victory!

Chapter 758: The Greatest Spoils of War!

Cullen put down the pen in his hand and massaged his wrist.

Right next to Cullen's desk, there was a small writing desk.

At this moment, little Conna also put down her pen, rubbing her tiny wrist and mimicking Cullen's exact movements.

Purr had taken Kevin to the desert, leaving behind a massive amount of "holiday homework." Whenever conditions permitted and Purr contacted Cullen via the communication array, the cat would specially make time to check on little Conna's learning and homework progress.

During the last check, having noticed little Conna's slackness, Cullen, who was taking a shower in the inner room of the office, could still clearly hear Purr's roar:

"Conna, if you dare to slack off again, I will stop fighting this war and come back just to beat you!"

Perhaps having been a cat for too long, returning to the battlefield environment was equivalent to reclaiming youth. Cullen could clearly perceive the change in Purr—well, the cat had become more radiant and cheerful.

Anyway, since that time, little Conna's subjective initiative for learning had suddenly intensified.

Just then, little Conna looked up and found Cullen watching her. At her tender age, with her hands resting at her sides, she faced her freshly completed homework and let out a sigh that shouldn't belong to someone her age:

"Sigh..."

It wasn't the pretentious sigh of a child unaware of the fierce competition in society; instead, it sounded like the gloomy melancholy of a middle-aged man being forced to keep pushing forward by his wife.

Truth be told, Cullen even wondered if this method of education was a bit too much.

Potential height, bloodline purity, and the level of inheritance—all these objective factors were right here. The girl clearly only needed to munch on pills on time and in proper quantities every day to ensure good development, and she would naturally become a powerful giant dragon upon reaching adulthood.

Yet now, she not only had to master multiple languages but also excel in various professional disciplines. Even the students at the University of Order didn't have a workload as heavy as little Conna's current studies.

But Cullen had no say in the matter of education. At most, he just paid attention to teaching by example in daily life. As for the educational plan, he wouldn't take it upon himself to make any modifications. Since Purr was helping him raise the child, he had to provide enough respect. It was just like his attitude toward how Alfred and the others handled things—he tried his best not to micro-manage or bypass authority.

In the past, he used to wonder why the Whiplash would raise Auggie to be so stupid. Now he understood. With a busy schedule and limited energy, the Whiplash didn't have someone like Purr around like he did.

For a normal person to discipline a dragon race that was inherently rebellious to the bone, they were really dreaming. In the dragons' cognitive view of life, humans were barely any different from ants on the ground. They would fear the strong, but those powerful existences capable of making them tremble did not fall into the category of humans in their understanding anyway.

However, the little bone dragon was intelligent. From learning to speak to beginning to study basic arrays, how long had it actually taken?

"Cullen, does life really need to be this tiring?"

Cullen nodded. "Bitterness first, sweetness later."

"But the pills are already very bitter."

"The pills you think are very bitter are precious treasures that many dragons couldn't even obtain half of in their dreams."

Little Conna pouted. "I can't outtalk you."

"That's because you know what I'm saying is right, and you are still willing to be reasonable."

"What is sweetness? Is it just to grow up well?"

"Do you think Auggie is living a good life right now?"

Little Conna shook her head. "That stupid dragon seems to have been nesting in the water puddle inside the office the whole time."

"Study hard, and in the future, I will give you a position so you can do things too."

Hearing this answer, little Conna retorted:

"I suffer now just so I can continue to suffer for you in the future? Where is the sweetness?"

"It's here with me."

Little Conna: "..."

Cullen left his desk and said, "Let's go. Since today's homework is finished, let's stretch our legs."

"Aren't you going to work anymore?"

"Guests are arriving today, and they need to be received."

"Oh."

Little Conna packed her stationery and books into her backpack, zipped it up, and put it on her back. On the back of the backpack, Xili had used needle and thread to sew a golden retriever pattern.

Originally, there was also a black cat pattern, but little Conna had picked it off bit by bit while staying up late doing her homework.

Cullen led little Conna out of the headquarters building to the parking lot. As he started the car, looking through the rearview mirror at little Conna sitting in the back, Cullen suddenly felt like he was picking up a child from the Whiplash of Order kindergarten to go home after school.

Driving to the entrance of the Academic Affairs Building, Cullen didn't reveal his identity to go down; instead, he sat in the car and waited.

Little Conna was originally leaning against the seat dozing off, but then, she suddenly snapped her eyes open.

From the steps above, three figures appeared—one man and two women.

One woman was very tall, exceeding two meters, and possessed a voluptuous physique. She was the most perfect interpretation of the male perception of "wild beauty." In fact, she was indeed wild enough, considering she was an adult Frost Giant Dragon.

The other woman was very young, Miss Dana. Her father had once been one of the trusted subordinates of the High Priest, but he betrayed them midway and was purged by the High Priest. The High Priest adopted her, and she enjoyed the affection from the High Priest as well as from Forden and a whole group of uncles. These uncles also really wanted to lock her up in an independent small space so she could live happily.

That man was the actual target Cullen came to pick up this time, the First Secretary beside the Whiplash, Miguel.

Right now, in the desert territory, the Church of Order had two knight regiments, and one of the commanders was Daan. However, although Dana had lived in the military camp with Daan for a long time, she did not belong to the official sequence of the knight regiment.

Therefore, in order to join the battlefield legitimately, she could be considered to have taken a roundabout route, wanting to use the upcoming rotation of the militia regiment in the York City District to allow herself to head to the desert with a new identity.

Auggie was still her bodyguard, while Miguel had specially come over to explain the situation. In truth, he didn't need to come, but he came anyway—he wanted to hitch a free meal.

Cullen drove the car out of the parking space and arrived below the steps. Seeing this, the nearby security personnel immediately walked over intending to drive away this fellow who was "violating parking rules." However, one of them seemed to recognize the license plate of Cullen's Pounse sedan and immediately pulled his companion back.

Cullen rolled down the car window. He didn't even get out of the car to greet them, but instead smiled at Miguel outside:

"Get in."

"Haha." Miguel also didn't seem to expect Cullen to be so casual. He smiled and opened the front passenger door, gesturing for Miss Dana to sit inside. In the end, Miss Dana sat directly in the back, and Auggie sat into the back as well.

Little Conna held her backpack, looking very disgusted by Auggie squeezing over.

After Miguel sat in the front passenger seat, he asked, "Do I need to introduce them?"

"No need, we are all acquaintances." Cullen raised his hand and greeted, "Dana, Auggie, long time no see."

He no longer called her "Lady Auggie," nor did he use the title "Miss." Even with an outsider present, there was no need to adhere to such formal procedures anymore.

Dana replied, "Hello, District Head Cullen."

Auggie, on the other hand, gave a grunt.

Little Conna turned her face to look at Auggie and asked, "Have you regressed to the point where you can't even speak words?"

Auggie felt an instinctive unease when facing little Conna, so she could only state again, "District Head Cullen."

Cullen said to Miguel, "Do you want to rest a bit?"

Miguel replied, "I'm fine, just hungry."

"Mm, I understand."

Cullen drove back to his home in the dormitory building. Following his instructions, Xili had already prepared the ingredients. Next, Cullen would cook personally.

In truth, Cullen had always been very stingy about cooking for outsiders, but this Chief Secretary was clearly an exception. It really wasn't Cullen deliberately trying to flatter him; it was purely because this Chief Secretary, under the premise of being completely unfamiliar with him, had repeatedly pulled strings and paved the way for him.

So while it appeared that Cullen was personally cooking to entertain him this time, in reality, he had hitched too many casual meals from the man in the past, and now it was time to repay the debt.

Dana was much more mature than when they first met at the Earth Vault Church, but her nature remained the same. After arriving at Cullen's home, she directly asked Cullen:

"Lord District Head, why don't you find a larger house to live in?"

Cullen replied, "Because the Lord District Head is afraid of being assassinated."

The dormitory building stood directly opposite the headquarters, tightly integrated with the defensive spell arrays. Furthermore, the entire building was occupied exclusively by Cullen’s men, making any assassination attempt on him here no less difficult than a direct assault on the Whip of Order headquarters itself.

Since being ambushed once on his last return journey to the Allen Estate, Cullen had faced two more assassination attempts to this day.

One had been thwarted by Philomena, back before she had departed for the desert;

The other ended with Little Kanna wrenching a head off, snapping it clean with a crisp *squelch*, the young girl hoisting the blood-spurted corpse aloft as if it were a firework.

There were three other attempts that the Whip of Order had uncovered and dismantled before they could even be set in motion.

Assassinations of this caliber were not likely to increase in intensity, for true experts understood all too well the sheer difficulty of targeting Cullen and the dire consequences even if they succeeded; in the eyes of many outsiders, the Church of Order’s ongoing campaign in the desert was still an act of vengeance for the assassination of the Vofuren family.

"Are you actually afraid of that?" Diana asked, somewhat curious.

"I am afraid of the hassle."

Cullen tied on his apron and began to stir-fry the dishes.

Miguel stepped up to the kitchen doorway of his own accord and asked, "Do you need a hand? I happen to be quite adept at cooking myself."

Cullen glanced at him, confirming that he was not merely feigning politeness, and said, "Help me sear the chicken chunks first."

"Right, no problem."

Diana asked, "Does Uncle Foden know that the two of you get along so well?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Diana regretted them.

Miguel remained silent, while Cullen replied, "Is that the kind of question a child like you should be asking?"

"I am not a child," Diana retorted.

"If you have not learned how to speak properly, then you are still a child."

Diana let out a huff and said, "I have no idea what Uncle Foden sees in you. Before I came here, he even went out of his way to mention you in front of me."

This was clearly Miss Diana’s attempt to patch over her previous slip of the tongue.

To her, Cullen was not just any district director; after all, while directors of the Whip of Order were not numerous, they were not rare either. Yet Cullen was the only one who had ever struck her like a golf ball, sending her flying through the air.

Miguel spoke up, "From now on, there will be a regular meeting in the middle of every month. I will notify you of the specific date and time, and you had best not miss it casually."

Miguel was not at all worried about Diana running off to tell tales. He had come this time under the direct instructions of the High Whip to formally confirm Cullen’s entry into the inner circle; one could say he was here on orders to cultivate their relationship.

"Truly? Secretary-General," Cullen said with a smile. "Am I able to join now?"

"It is a privilege personally acknowledged by the High Whip."

"Very well, I understand. Thank you, Secretary-General."

"I really did not do much, ha-ha."

Diana did not linger by the kitchen door any longer. Instead, she moved to the sofa and scrutinized Little Kanna, who sat there reading a book. Leaning down, she asked the young girl:

"Do you know that, originally, you were supposed to belong to me?"

Little Kanna countered, "In your dreams?"

Diana’s chest heaved with indignation. Augie sat beside her, merely watching, silent.

The dishes began to come off the stove.

Little Kanna climbed down from the sofa and began walking in and out of the kitchen, carrying dishes and setting the table. As she passed Augie, she said to her, "Are you a cripple?"

"What?"

"Do some work."

"I am a guest, not a servant."

"We are the hosts, and we are not servants either."

Augie had no choice but to get up and help.

Once the food and utensils were arranged, everyone prepared to take their seats. Cullen and Miguel engaged in a polite back-and-forth over precedence, which left Diana and Augie, who had already seated themselves, looking rather awkward.

"Miguel, you are the guest."

"No, Cullen, I am merely here to scrounge a meal."

Formal routines could sometimes seem tedious and meaningless, yet here they were entirely appropriate, for both Cullen and Miguel needed them during this first private encounter to gauge each other’s temperament and boundaries, forging a deeper consensus for their subsequent unspoken cooperation.

When they had first met today, they were still addressing each other as "Director" and "Secretary-General"; now, they were calling each other by their given names.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Little Kanna went to open it, then turned her head and shouted:

"The real meal-scroungers are here."

Stepping through the door was Mavarro, and at his side was his wife, the former regional director Gaspor.

Miguel, Diana, and Augie all stood up, bowing to Mavarro:

"Greetings, Lord Son of God."

Mavarro waved a hand dismissively, walked over to the dining table to seat himself, and questioned Cullen: "I was still at home waiting for your invitation!"

"I know. You would come even without an invitation."

This meal was thoroughly enjoyed.

Originally, Cullen and Miguel had not intended to focus on the food, but Mavarro and Gaspor had come specifically to eat. The couple would either borrow Cullen’s maid Xili or simply show up at his door to dine, treating the place less and less like an outsider's home.

In particular, Chief Inquisitor Gaspor had noticeably put on quite a bit of weight lately, but this was a well-rounded development, not confined to her belly, so there was no need to worry about a pregnancy.

After the meal, Cullen invited Miguel and Mavarro to drink tea and chat. Miguel had brought the cigars favored by the High Whip, and the three men each took one.

In the living room, Diana and Lady Augie sat on the sofa, left entirely to themselves.

Little Kanna, meanwhile, held a book of legal statutes and was consulting Gaspor, who patiently explained the concepts to her.

Cullen had once suggested to Mavarro that he might try taking Gaspor to the orphanage to see the children, thinking it might awaken her maternal instincts and lead her to a realization that would break her addiction to the syringe.

Now, it was showing results, though the efficacy was manifested not at the orphanage, but here with Little Kanna.

As the instances of scrounging meals grew, so did their encounters. Sometimes, when Cullen worked late for meetings, Little Kanna would be taken by Xili to Mavarro’s house to cook and eat together.

Yet this also carried a side effect: the intelligence of the little bone dragon far exceeded that of ordinary people, and under Purr’s tutelage, she was remarkably obedient and sweet. Consequently, this might give Gaspor excessively high expectations for her own future children, which, once a real child arrived, might well devolve into disappointment.

Augie sat there feeling rather uncomfortable, her eyes tracking Little Kanna’s every move. After all, they were alike, both being kept;

Yet clearly, Little Kanna’s state of life was entirely different from the state of her own childhood as she remembered it.

In her youth, she only knew to follow the High Whip. Wherever the High Whip went, she followed; when the High Whip spoke or held meetings with others, she would sit at his feet with her mouth open, babbling incoherently.

Looking up again toward the inner room at Cullen, who sat with Mavarro and Miguel smoking cigars and chatting leisurely, Augie felt a wave of daze. He climbed so fast... no, he flew so fast.

Mavarro said with a smile, "It seems our High Whip thinks very highly of you, Cullen."

Cullen looked at Miguel and said, "This is all thanks to Miguel’s introduction."

"Do not be so modest; it is still because of your own formidable ability, Cullen."

Miguel remembered that hastily convened meeting of the inner circle. When the High Whip heard Cullen’s seemingly far-fetched words and closed the communication array, how utterly thrilled the High Whip had been.

He even suspected that the High Whip’s subsequent speeches and proposals before the Grand Priest had been inspired by Cullen.

A young man possessing exceptional executive competence, mastered in the ways of the world, and thoroughly proper in his dealings with others.

How could such a person not continue to soar in the future?

"Alright, alright, the two of you bandying civilities back and forth is just tedious. I say, Karen, how is it I get the feeling you won't even be a district director for long before ascending again?

Looking at it this way, if my wife gets pregnant and bears a child now, by the time the infant is born, won't you happen to have reclaimed your original seat?

No, that is not right. It seems your promotions are swifter than my wife's childbearing."

Mavallio intentionally chose this manner to signify to Miguel the intimacy between himself and Karen; he was well aware that secretaries of this ilk were paramount masters of reading the room. In any case, Mavallio understood his own placement—he was merely a mascot, a decorative brush to be swept wherever a touch of presence was required.

Miguel spoke: "When ordinary men attain this height in office, they more often than not find no venue through which to achieve political merit. They can only perform their duties with decorum and bide their time to accumulate seniority. An opportunity like this, where doing well can instantly transform one's circumstance and environment, is exceedingly rare. You possess fine fortune, Karen; you hold two such matters before you now.

Next, it depends on the fruits of the reform, as well as the military exploits of the York City Militia Regiment in the desert. To execute either one well would already suffice to pave the path ahead. If both are executed successfully... then the velocity shall be vastly accelerated."

The first secretary to the Whip-Wielder was personally charting the future course of development for Karen.

Curious, Mavallio inquired: "Why are you so fervent? Tell me, you cannot possibly be wishing that when you are dispatched to the provinces later, you might come down to York City to serve as district director?"

A secretary's rank was not high, yet opportunities were easily garnered. Men like Miguel, and those two skewer-like figures previously swallowed by Augie who tasted of chicken, shared a trajectory of development that entailed seeking an external assignment to gild their reputations after working to a certain stage.

Miguel smiled and said: "Originally I deemed this matter quite remote, but now that Your Lordship the Son of God speaks of it, I suddenly feel it does not seem so far away after all."

"Heh-heh, if you rise any further, considering your age, Karen... you truly possess hope of vying for the position of High Priest."

Upon hearing these words, Miguel ceased to join the conversation. Certain sensitive matters could be spoken of by Mavallio, but not by him.

Karen did not chime in either.

Mavallio, however, found his interest piqued and continued: "I know those people in the temple have a grand headache over our High Priest, hahaha."

"Heh-heh-heh," Miguel accompanied him with a smile.

Everyone understood that Mavallio was referring to the rumors that the High Priest was the "Inheritor" of Lord Tyrannus. The Son of God possessed a voice in this regard, for it was highly probable that the current High Priest, much like himself, was also a Son of God.

Lord Tyrannus was the founder of the Church of Order, which meant the current High Priest likely commanded not only the secular authority of the church, but also the power of scriptural interpretation.

Karen also gave a slight smile, raising his cup to take a sip of water... if he himself became the High Priest in the future, only then would the temple truly understand the meaning of a genuine headache.

"Ring-a-ling..."

"Apologies, I shall attend to a telephone call first."

Karen rose from his seat, walked to the living room, and answered the phone. From the other end came Alfred's agitated voice:

"Master, excellent tidings have arrived from the desert!"

"Speak."

Karen took a deep breath, forcing his tone into stability. Then, with a snap of his fingers, he unreservedly deployed an isolation barrier around himself right before the eyes of everyone in the living room.

"Master, in the plan provided by Commander Neo a while back, did it not mention going to excavate a secret realm of the former Desert Church? It was said to be a place where the ancient desert sages rested together in sleep."

"Yes, I know. Did they dig up anything of value?"

Karen was currently lacking in coupons, earnestly hoping that the "brigand regiment" he dispatched would generate revenue for him at the earliest.

"With the aid of Puer, they breached that secret realm with immense ease, only to discover that the interior was actually a command outpost for a desert rebel organization. They dug up nothing of worth... but Commander Neo led his men to capture the number-two leader of the desert rebels alive.

Master, you must understand that the two Order Knight Regiments have fought in the desert for so long, and though the display appears grand and the momentum full, the desert rebels simply refuse to engage in direct combat with you. Thus, those two Knight Regiments have actually been spinning their wheels all this time.

Therefore, our York City District Militia Regiment, it can be said, has achieved the greatest exploit since Order intervened in the desert war!"