DISAPPEARING GENERAL

THE shuttle that Wulfric and Edmund where in, landed on a mountain. Edmund actually barely even managed to do that because there's barely any energy fuel left in the tank of the shuttle. That's why after entering the planet's atmosphere, he made the shuttle land on the closest and tallest place he could find. Thus, the mountain.

Edmund was just glad that his driving skill was good or else they might not be able to land safely. What would happen to them then? If they sustained serious injuries and wasn't able to get immediate treatment, the injuries might become permanent. But knowing the general, he probably wouldn't get any serious injuries even if he fell from such a tall height. Then wouldn't that mean that he would be the only one injured? He let out a sigh of relief. It's really good thing that he had a superb driving skill.

It was already near the break of dawn when they landed. The moment they got out, the general kicked him to hunt food for breakfast. The general didn't like to eat nutrient solution. So, even in Beowulf, he had his own chef that made his food. Now that he thought about it, he wondered what the general ate during the past month that he was gone. Anyway, he knew that complaining wouldn't have any result, so, with tears in his eyes, he dived into the forest to hunt wild game.

And now, he returned with a hopper bunny. It's similar to a rabbit but much bigger and had stronger legs for hopping. But the meat basically tasted the same. He glanced at the general who seemed to be sleeping on the shuttle's roof.

Edmund sighed, put down the dead hopper bunny and started to skin it. After he was done, he built a fire and barbecued the hopper bunny. Soon, the smell of the hopper bunny's barbecued meat filled the surrounding. By the time he was done, the sun was already rose on the sky.

"Is it done?" Wulfric asked sitting up and then jumping down effortlessly.

"Yes, General," Edmund answered, putting off the fire.

Wulfric walked to the spot where Edmund did his barbecuing and then plopped down. He was about to take a leg but was stopped by Edmund.

"General, before you eat, you should promise that you won't beat me up if it doesn't taste good," Edmund said.

It took quite a lot of courage for him to say that. But if he didn't and the general didn't like the taste of the barbecued meat, he was afraid that he would be beaten up much worse. So, he had to take precautions. Although he wasn't that good at cooking, he could barbecue just fine. Probably. But just in case it didn't taste good, he had to say that beforehand to the general.

Wulfric snorted. "Your skin is really getting thicker and thicker by the minute."

But he didn't reject what Edmund said, making the other let out a sigh of relief. He took a piece of leg and rudely bit into it. The elegance and glamour of the royal family was nowhere to be seen. He chewed for a bit and then his eyebrows scrunched up, clearly showing that he didn't like the taste.

"You really are starting to be a little smart, aren't you?" he said to Edmund, pertaining to the way he made him promise to not beat him up if the food he made was not good.

"Yes, I think so too," Edmund replied shamelessly.

Although he didn't like the taste, Wulfric still continued to eat.

As the two were eating, Edmund just realized that he hadn't contacted the lieutenant yet and told him what happened to them. He quickly opened his Terminal and tried to connect to the lieutenant's Terminal.

After just a second, a virtual screen appeared on top of his Terminal, which was a bracelet by the way. On the virtual screen was a man with blue-gray hair and a pair of dark-green eyes hidden beneath a pair of silver-rimmed glasses. He looked serious and severe, like a person who couldn't take a joke and wanted everything to be done perfectly.

"Liuetenant!" Edmund greeted.

When Leland saw Edmund's bald head, he almost laughed. But he resisted the urge. Laughing at your subordinate was certainly unbecoming of someone in his position. So, he just cleared his throat to hide his momentary gaffe.

"Have you found His Highness?"

"Yes, Lieutenant. I found him at a Lawless Den. We were already on our way to our flag ship when we suddenly encountered a problem."

Leland hadn't had time to celebrate that Edmund actually did his job properly and found the prince when he heard the word 'problem'. "What kind of problem?"

After hearing Edmund's explanation, all the praises he had for the other completely vanished. He just knew somewhere along the way this guy would do something idiotic. But since he did find the prince, he also didn't plan to berate him. At the end, he could only say;

"Send me your coordinates and I'll send someone to retrieve you."

"Yes, Lieutenant!" Edmund said, saluting. "But, Lieutenant, are you not going to punish me?"

Leland raised one of his brows. "Do you want to be punished?"

Edmund immediately shook his head. "No, absolutely not."

"Then don't ask," Leland said. "Let me talk to His Highness. He's there with you, right?"

"Yes. The General is eating right now."

But when Edmund turned to the place where the general was sitting, the other was no longer there.