When the new recruits saw that the marshal himself had appeared, everyone didn't dare to slack the slightest bit. They all immediately straightened to their best postures as their eyes followed the figure the strongest dragon in the empire.
But once the marshal faced them, they didn't dare to look back at him instead and lowered their head with their eyes glued to their feet and faces and palms sweating cold. With only his gaze, he immediately sent a chill of pressure to all of them.
"Raise your head."
Dantalion's voice reverberated into everyone's heart as if his command was unquestionably absolute. Even the generals and the soldiers that had seen the general once in a while were still overwhelmed with undiminishing reverence.
"If you do not even dare to look at your superior in their eyes, how can the empire trusts you to face our enemy?" Dantalion sternly said.
The new recruits stiffened. Aiden was the first to raise his head to look straight at Dantalion with firm eyes. Following him, the recruits raised their heads one by one. The fairies were more hesitant, but they still braved themselves to look up albeit most of them could only look beyond Dantalion or just his feet.
Only once everyone had their eyes on him did Dantalion start his speech.
Bai Liang always felt that his master was the most handsome when he stood above others and all attention was on him. Whether when he was accepting his award as a film emperor, when he led the war on the battlefield, or right now when he was simply giving a motivational speech.
In their original world, even though his master was the most powerful, those people treated him with disrespect because of their pride, envy, and fear. They didn't want to lose face to the genius cultivator younger than them and feared the future where he stood above them. As a result, they framed him, smeared his name, and ostracized him to turn the world against him. And once they found that he was already stronger than the rest of the world combine, they started targeting the person he held dear instead.
Bai Liang's hand tightened on his tablet and lowered his gaze.
If he had stayed by his master's side that day instead of answering those people's provocation, his master wouldn't have qi deviated from their lies. He would've been able to rest his heart at ease.
However strong he became, he would always be his master's weakness. He thought that, at least, he could spare his master from the misfortune of meeting him in his reincarnations, but when Han Yi-Shen kissed him that night, he became unwilling to be selfless.
"Cain, what's wrong?"
Bai Liang came out of his thoughts to find that Dantalion had finished his speech and stood in front of him with a heavy face. Thick worry could be seen in his eyes which he tried to conceal.
Dantalion covered Bai Liang from the crowd and asked in a low voice, "Is this still too burdensome on your body? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Bai Liang smiled helplessly and shook his head, "No, Sir Dante. Only that, the past is catching up to me. Forgive me for being distracted."
Dantalion felt his chest being prickled with thorns and gently placed his hand on Bai Liang's back to guide him away, "It was me who should have been more thoughtful. I will finish my work shortly and we can go home early."
Ivan watched their retreating backs and fixed his glasses thoughtfully. He kept his mind to himself and went up the platform to finally close the welcoming ceremony. The new recruits were to return to their respective division and followed their person in charge's arrangements.
***
To ensure that he wouldn't get any disturbance from other people that coveted him, Bai Liang had been living together with Dantalion under the marshal's own arrangement. He became both the corps' chief assistant and Dantalion's private assistant.
After working for a few weeks, Ivan had transferred all of Dantalion's private and official matters to him. He had also memorized, not only all the assistants in Tempest Corps, but all the soldiers along with their jobs and positions.
He made sure that Dantalion would never get swamped with work and arranged his schedules and all the documents with the highest efficiency so that he had proper breaks, meals, and free time.
As a result, Dantalion who had missed his chance to develop any hobby went for inspection in his free time. The soldiers didn't dare to slack off from the second they woke up until the minute they return to bed.
Being Dantalion's assistant was also beneficial for his task. He could watch over Aiden and Noah and prevented most of the things that strayed from the revelation. For now, those things were still small issues that would only impact their relationship rather than the overall trajectory itself, but they being together was also an important aspect of the world's fate.
Bai Liang was rearranging Dantalion's documents by his side when he looked at the time. He went to the door and opened it just as the kitchen staff arrived with both of their lunch. He took over the food cart and brought it to the small dining table at the end of the office.
"Sir Dante, it is time for lunch," Bai Liang arranged the dishes and cutleries on the table.
Dantalion put his screen to sleep and went to sit at the dining table. Bai Liang sat across from him and they ate their lunch together.
Bai Liang's communicator rang and he opened it to check it briefly. Since becoming Dantalion's assistant, those who wished to reach out to the marshal would go through him, so he couldn't ignore any notification that entered his communicator.
"Sir Dante, the grand marshal has summoned you for a meeting after lunch with the 2 other marshals. It is regarding the upcoming corps evaluation," Bai Liang said. "I have cleared your schedule for the entire afternoon."
Dantalion nodded in acknowledgement. He then asked, "Do you know what a corps evaluation is?"
"Every 5 years, the three corps of the empire will be evaluated and ranked. In joint missions, the authority of the corps will follow in accordance with the highest-ranked corps taking the lead," Bai Liang answered. "It will also determine tech upgrade and development priority as well as the budget division for the next 5 years."
"Yes, correct," Dantalion affirmed. "Although the rules and terrains differed each time, the format will always be a battle royale of the 3 corps. During the evaluation later, I want you to assist Ambrose."
Bai Liang knew that Ambrose was the head of Tempest Corps' medical team. She was a blonde-haired woman with a dominant personality, quite the opposite of people's image of fairies. Everyone in Tempest Corps, except for Dantalion, called her Lady Ambrose.
"Yes, Sir Dante," Bai Liang accepted the task.
The two of them finished their lunch shortly. Bai Liang called the kitchen staff to take back the empty dishes before preparing for Dantalion's meeting.
He locked the door and activated the sound isolation of the room from the control panel next to the door. He then closed the window shutters and dimmed the light before returning to Dantalion's side to wait for the meeting to start.
"Cain."
"Yes, Sir Dante?" Bai Liang readily leaned down to him.
He thought Dantalion was going to say something when he slowly reached up and gently brushed the corner of his lips with his thumb. He saw the sauce on it when Dantalion retrieved his hand and casually licked it off with his tongue.
"Are you a child?" Dantalion lowly chuckled and continued his work like nothing happened.
Bai Liang covered his mouth with the back of his hand and felt his cheeks become slightly warm. Why was the fact that Dantalion wasn't doing it on purpose made his heart flutter more?
Not wanting to lose, he lowered his hand after calming his heart, "Excuse me, Sir Dante."
Dantalion looked at him in askance, "Yes, Cain?"
Bai Liang leaned closer until they were only 3 inches away, stiffening Dantalion in place, before lowering his head with a smile and reaching out to his collar, "This stain on your uniform is more important."
Dantalion, "…"
Feeling the thumping of Dantalion's nervous heartbeat, Bai Liang cleaned the non-existent stain with a satisfied heart. A few seconds later, he felt a soft touch on his ear and slowly turned to Dantalion without avoiding it.
Realizing what he did, Dantalion stiffly retract his palm, "Forgive me…I did not–"
The holographic projector suddenly flashed across the desk as the meeting started, freezing the two in place. Watching the two people 'calmly' pulling away from each other, the grand marshal and the 2 marshals fell silent.
Did the sun rise from the west this morning?