“I, this…”
Wilson widened his eyes, his face turning from red to pale.
Of course, this was unacceptable!
Who didn’t know that His Highness Crown Prince Ryann was the Empire’s strongest individual combatant, a walking humanoid bomber without any risk of malfunction.
Who could confidently say such things without the Crown Prince himself on the front lines? Only fools and madmen.
“It seems you also understand that it’s not permissible.”
Jiang Jianming lowered his eyes and glanced at the palm of his right hand, where the special black leather showed no scratches at all.
Just now…It wasn’t him gripping Ryann’s crystal bones; it was the crystal bones resting in his palm.
So, His Highness knew from the beginning that he would reach out.
Therefore, before he could react, Ryann first retracted the crystal bone from Wilson, and the second time was just for show.
“In terms of mecha piloting skills,” Jiang Jianming sighed and lowered his right hand, “I’m certainly not as good as you. Even His Highness Crown Prince himself might not be as good as you.”
Wilson gritted his teeth and looked down, “I…I dare not.”
“But is having excellent skills enough to be the exclusive mecha pilot for His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Wilson was stunned for a moment, almost blurting out “Isn’t it enough?” Fortunately, he knew better than to say something so foolish and swallowed his words.
The next moment, he saw the black-haired youth in front of him giving him a cool glance, as if he had already read his inner thoughts.
Jiang Jianming shook his head, first with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, then sharpening.
“His Highness the Crown Prince is not just a conventional ‘heir to the throne.’ He possesses the Empire’s strongest crystal bones, is accustomed to personal combat, and is a proud and self-confident individual who often makes unexpected moves on the battlefield.”
“As His Highness’s mecha pilot, can you execute seemingly absurd orders without hesitation?”
“When faced with an extremely crazy order, how do you determine if it’s within His Highness’s capabilities or if he’s pushing himself too hard?”
“When should you execute without hesitation, and when should you staunchly oppose?”
“If you execute, can your actions truly complement His Highness, and if you oppose, can your words and actions truly dissuade His Highness?”
“The battlefield is ever-changing, do not underestimate these questions.”
The questions came out like a series of piercing arrows. Wilson was dumbfounded, speechless.
And as the last word fell, Jiang Jianming also calmly shifted his gaze away.
Turning around, he found Ryann standing behind him, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
So Jiang Jianming smoothly took a step towards that side, lowering his head and neck.
This posture brought him close to Ryann’s embrace, and he casually placed his right hand on the other’s chest, hooking onto the golden chain on the Crown Prince’s outer garment.
“Your Highness, please don’t be sulking. Give it a try with His Excellency Wilson.”
He whispered softly, “Just consider it as making me happy.”
Ryann looked down at him condescendingly, repeating as if chewing the words, “Make you happy?”
Interesting. He expected the other would come to persuade him, but he didn’t anticipate this strategy of acting coquettishly.
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, gracefully and sternly took the disabled human’s hand, removing it from his body.
As if holding evidence of a crime, he clasped Jiang Jianming’s hand in his own palm, squinting mockingly, “Is Little Excellency too spoiled and arrogant?” (TL: haughty because of one’s master’s love and indulgence)
“Why should I give up my habits and preferences just to please you?”
****
Silver Big Dipper’s Second Fortress, underground mecha training ground.
The Crown Prince sat expressionless in the main cockpit of Slash Comet, flexing his fingers.
Beside him, Wilson sat in the co-pilot seat, looking somewhat numb. He had just experienced the power of Ryann’s pillow wind and was now in a state of semi-collapse.
(TL: pillow wind-means words encouraged by a wife or mistress on the pillow. It usually refers to interfering in the husband’s affairs.)
Although he got what he wanted, the idea of the mighty new human yielding to the weak disabled human, the esteemed Crown Prince bowing to the Crown Princess’s sweet words and smiles—this was something he couldn’t understand or accept!
On the observation seat, Jiang Jianming sat relaxed, holding a thermos cup in one hand and operating the dedicated light brain with the other.
His posture was leisurely, his brows relaxed, and his voice warm, as if he was just there to watch a mecha show.
“Are you both ready? I’ll start you off with a few drone obstacles—set at the highest difficulty level for you two. Shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Ready, let’s begin.”
The Crown Prince seemed quite straightforward, never feeling embarrassed about “listening to the lover’s words” and even seemed somewhat proud of it.
He turned to Wilson and added, “I won’t let emotions onto the training ground, nor will I vent my anger at you for occupying an unwarranted position.”
Before Wilson could react, he continued, “So if you get scolded next, be sure to realize: it’s a problem with your own abilities.”
Wilson: “…”
Ryann: “Execute the command now—take off.”
The training ground was exceptionally spacious, capable of accommodating hundreds of mechas for combat formations, it was fully equipped with specialized drones for training purposes.
As Jiang Jianming had just issued the command from the light brain, openings automatically appeared in the high walls of metallic gray. Countless black flying craft rushed out like locusts, firing red “attack” beams.
Of course, these beams didn’t have real destructive power, but they left special marks on the mecha’s body. After the training session, it would be easy to tally how many times the mecha was “attacked.”
The silver-gray Slash Comet maneuvered on the ground for a few moments, then shifted to flight mode, swiftly taking off and engaging in combat with the drones in the air.
In the blink of an eye, the crimson crystal bones swung open, and the mecha’s cannon swept through. The black drones fell from the sky like moths with their wings torn off.
At first, Jiang Jianming watched attentively, occasionally making notes. But not even ten minutes had passed before the training ground’s doors opened again.
“Hey! Little brother—”
A tall man with bronze skin and a bright smile bounded in cheerfully.
“Show some respect.”
Zheng Yue followed closely behind, poking him in the ribs disdainfully. “If Colonel didn’t work so hard to bail you out, you’d still be sitting in jail right now.”
“Oh,” Gao Long was still grinning foolishly as he greeted Jiang Jianming, “Colonel!—Oh?” He turned to the field, “It’s pretty intense here! Wow…Whoa! That was close… Hey! That move is impressive!”
Zheng Yue’s disdainful expression deepened, and he said with a hint of helplessness, “Little Excellency, do we really have to bring this guy with us in the future?”
Jiang Jianming smiled but didn’t reply, soothing Zheng Yue with a look and gesturing for the two newcomers he had called over to come closer.
These past few days, he had gathered quite a bit of information and consulted with Lieutenant General Jin and others to understand the intricate relationships within the Lava Space Bandits.
He also resolved his own question—why the nominal leader of the Lava, codenamed “Red Fish,” remained elusive while the young Red Dragon seemed like the actual leader of the bandits.
It turned out that the current nominal leader of the Lava, “Red Dragon,” was not particularly aggressive and had a strained relationship with the former leader “Red Fish.” He had once believed that with the vast disparity in strength between the Lava and the Empire, continuing to confront the Empire would only result in the deaths of his own brothers.
This viewpoint was vehemently opposed by almost all the bandits. Especially after Red Fish’s death and the emergence of the slaughter thief, the bandits were furious, leading to Red family husband and wife being sidelined and even subjected to house arrest.
Typically, in such a situation, the next step would be either a palace coup or a power grab.
However, there was no one within the bandits who truly commanded widespread respect. Several years passed with no clear successor, until the son, Red Dragon, was born—a devil with natural S-rank crystal bones.
The bandits saw hope for revitalization in this infant and were excited like a pack of wolves seeing meat.
They unanimously agreed to groom this young leader into a ruthless, notorious, unrivaled bandit leader.
For this lofty goal, young Red Dragon couldn’t grow up alongside his father.
But the bandits wouldn’t entrust the child to a wet nurse or similar outsiders; they were also apprehensive.
After much scratching of heads, they turned their hopeful gaze to Old Black Sheep—the story went that before joining the Lava, his child was still in infancy.
When Jiang Jianming learned of this internal situation, he instantly thought, “This could work.”
It turned out that Red Dragon was raised from infancy by Old Black Sheep. These two were half master-servant, half family.
And now, Old Black Sheep’s lost son was within the ranks of the Silver Big Dipper Army… If they didn’t seize this opportunity, Jiang Jianming couldn’t even overcome his own hurdles.
However, the specifics of how to handle this relationship needed careful consideration.
“When we’re on the battlefield in the future,” Jiang Jianming set the light brain aside and asked Gao Long, “if your father doesn’t recognize you and instead sees you as an enemy, what will you do?”
“Are you talking about if the bastard dad comes to beat me up?” Gao Long scratched his head, his expression turning fierce.
“I’ll run first, then hide, then… sneak back in,” he flexed the muscles of his right arm, “and give him a good knock, then beat him back!”
Jiang Jianming couldn’t help but chuckle and patted the shoulder of this tall guy.
“Good spirit, just like that.”
He thought to himself: Maybe this seemingly simple-minded Gao Long is actually more clever than Excellency Wilson on the field.
With that in mind, Jiang Jianming gestured mysteriously towards the training ground and asked Gao Long, “By the way, do you want to pilot a mecha and join the fight?”
“Shh, go pick a model you like and give them a surprise. Dealing with sudden situations on the battlefield is part of the training.”
Gao Long’s eyes immediately lit up.
Excitedly, he dashed off.
“Old Zheng, come over here.”
Jiang Jianming called Zheng Yue over to sit closer and gestured towards the mechas fighting on the training ground, asking, “What do you think?”
Clearing his throat, Zheng Yue sat down next to Jiang Jianming and said, “Well, Colonel, you’ve told me about this in our communications. The Crown Prince and that… ‘Empire’s strongest solo mecha.'”
“Little Excellency, forgive me for being blunt, but do you really think this Excellency Wilson can…”
Zheng Yue’s face was a mix of expressions, and the disdain in his tone hadn’t dissipated since earlier. “This guy’s mecha skills are indeed commendable, but at best, he’s just a soldier with simple-mindedness and brawn, right?”
“Hmm.”
Jiang Jianming nodded, “Actually, I don’t think he can either.”
Zheng Yue was taken aback, “Then why…”
Jiang Jianming thoughtfully unscrewed his thermos cup and took a sip, his expression clear when he raised his eyebrows.
“But this day will come sooner or later. In one or two years, I’ll be too weak to handle high-intensity mecha piloting, and in a few more years, I might be thinking about tombstones.”
“I don’t want the future Crown Prince to always have to go into battle alone.”
Zheng Yue’s eyes widened.
On the field, the rumble of mecha cannons suddenly exploded, echoing for five or six seconds, making people’s eardrums ache.
Jiang Jianming waited quietly for the sound to subside before continuing, “So, what kind of assistant should I find for him… Someone smarter, more thoughtful, or someone less bright but loyal, obedient, completely following orders…”
“Let’s give it a try. It’s not a bad thing to start trying and making mistakes early.”
Zheng Yue was stunned for a while, feeling like he couldn’t breathe.
He cleared his throat and said bitterly, “LittleExcellency, please stop saying such ominous things.”
Jiang Jianming smiled gently, “Alright, I won’t say anymore.”
……
The training continued from the afternoon until dusk.
Wilson felt like he had encountered a devil’s ordeal.
First, the drones, which were still conventional. But soon after—that seemingly gentle and harmless Crown Princess called in a mecha from somewhere and swung an iron fist straight at them.
Five minutes later, another mecha appeared.
Half an hour later, these two mechas withdrew.
Half a minute later, a new batch of thirty to forty mechas appeared.
—These were all meticulously selected Golden Sun Wheel soldiers chosen by Zheng Yue, brought from Aslan. While their skills might not match Wilson’s, they were all professional military personnel.
Without saying much, just shouting out “that guy called Wilson looks down on our Little Excellency,” was enough to rally a significant number of people to give their full effort.
Meanwhile, Jiang Jianming leisurely watched the battle, even having Bei Man’er come over to bring him dinner. The two of them chatted and ate while the training on the field continued.
Wilson was exhausted and frustrated.
He felt like the Crown Princess was targeting him, but he had no evidence.
After all, Crown Prince Ryann hadn’t rested throughout either. He couldn’t just say that the Crown Princess dared to target the Crown Prince together.
Soon, he realized he was wrong.
When the mechas finally landed, Ryann leaned back, panting with closed eyes, clearly exhausted despite being the Crown Prince.
But the young black-haired man in the observation seat not only didn’t come to comfort, but didn’t even prepare to stand up from his seat!
Jiang Jianming smiled and asked, “Your Highness, Your Excellency Wilson, feeling alright?”
Wilson felt like he had swallowed a bitter pill.
He suddenly felt that this Crown Princess was exceptionally dangerous, not a typical disabled human, but a mutated disabled human capable of devouring even the new humans alive.
Ryann quickly grabbed a clean towel from the side and wiped the sweat off hastily, then pushed open the cockpit. “Why did it stop?”
He could sense that the last scenario didn’t end normally, Jiang Jianming had stopped it midway.
“We have a meeting, to discuss the matters you mentioned during the day.”
Jiang Jianming gestured towards his wrist device, stood up, and said, “Lieutenant General Jin asked me to bring you over…I told him to let Your Highness have dinner first, or it would be too pitiful.”
“As for your thoughts on this cooperation, if you could share them while having dinner, it would be appreciated.”
