“Aren’t you living at Miss Olivia’s house now?” Emily Harris’s face was full of kindly smiles. “Let Caleb Blake stay there too, so she won’t be disgraced as a princess!”

A group of people all joined in the teasing. Jack Miller winked at Matthew Foster and said, “What an enviable arrangement!”

Matthew Foster grinned mischievously. “Isn’t it? I heard that demon girl is quite the beauty!” At this moment, he looked nothing like the important general who commanded three hundred thousand border troops.

“Sigh, why does a cushy job like this never fall to our Old Miller?”

“Commander Miller.” David Thompson glared at Jack Miller, wishing he could bite him. “Since you like it so much, why don’t you take the job yourself!”

“No way! The tigress at home is too fierce!”

George Evans also laughed and said, “Dave, since you’re the one who caught her, you should be the one to watch over her!” Clearly, at this moment, he just wanted to get out of it and find a scapegoat, not caring that he and David Thompson were “on the same side”!

David Thompson shot him a fierce glare, but George Evans pretended not to see, shrinking his head into his cotton coat, once again looking like a half-dead invalid.

“All right, as the chief commander, I’ll make the decision!” Emily Harris said with a laugh. “No disobeying orders!”

“Sir…” David Thompson wailed, but didn’t dare say more. The order had been given; disobedience was a serious crime.

“No stealing from the house, you hear!” Raymond Grant said with a sinister, ill-intentioned tone.

“Even if he does, what’s the harm!” Jack Miller seemed to have forgotten his earlier quarrel with Raymond Grant. “Who knows, if Dave becomes the Demon King’s son-in-law, we won’t have to fight so hard anymore!”

“Exactly, exactly! For the sake of the family, Dave, you have to work hard!” Matthew Foster laughed until he was out of breath.

The whole room erupted in a chorus of “hehehehe” — that uniquely male mischievous laughter, making David Thompson wonder if this was really the command post or a private room in a brothel on the street…

The door opened silently, and a cold voice came through: “David Thompson, you’re not dead yet?” The voice was filled with deep-seated hatred and murderous intent.

Someone dared to challenge the attendees at a command post meeting! Even Emily Harris, who was always unflappable, changed his expression and demanded in a deep voice, “Who is it?”

David Thompson had already leapt to his feet, glaring angrily: he recognized Edward Sullivan’s voice!

When Edward Sullivan, one of the Three Heroes of Thompson, entered in his red uniform, everyone felt the temperature in the meeting room drop by several degrees.

Edward Sullivan was tall and walked with a bold, commanding stride, exuding heroic spirit, but his features were somewhat feminine: willow-leaf eyebrows, bright, beautiful eyes, thin lips, a straight and delicate nose, and skin as fair as snow. If not for his tall stature, he would surely be accosted by playboys on the street.

In fact, in his youth, he had no fewer than a squadron of admirers, but sadly, almost all of them were men; the only female admirer he ever had turned out to be a lesbian. People often marveled at how such “delicate beauty” could blend so seamlessly with his wild arrogance and cold demeanor, creating his unique charm.

But at this moment, no one would mistake him for a woman — no woman could possess such intense murderous aura and oppressive force! Right now, every pore of his body seemed to radiate challenge.

He was a formidable general on Emily Harris’s side.

Sweeping a contemptuous glance at David Thompson, he first apologized to Emily Harris: “This subordinate heard that his ‘good friend’ David Thompson, deputy flag-bearer, has returned from the Far East. Eager to see his ‘old friend,’ I could not contain my excitement and ended up disturbing the command post meeting. I humbly ask the chief commander for punishment!”

Although Edward Sullivan was speaking to Emily Harris, his malicious gaze never left David Thompson, as if afraid he would vanish from sight — a testament to the depth of his hatred for this “old friend.”

Almost all the commanders present knew the story: in years past, the three young heroes of the The Thompson Family — David Thompson, Edward Sullivan, and Sterling — had been as close as brothers at the Far East Military Academy, but later all fell in love with the same woman, Jessica Sullivan. After a round of competition, Edward Sullivan won the beauty, and the three became bitter enemies. David Thompson and Sterling were on one side, the victor Edward Sullivan on the other. The two sides fought many secret duels, with casualties on both sides, and their hatred became irreconcilable.

The result was that Sterling pledged loyalty to the family head Charles Thompson, while Edward Sullivan immediately joined chief commander Emily Harris, who, recognizing his exceptional talent, promoted him repeatedly. By the age of twenty-four, he had become a red-uniformed flag-bearer, a trusted enforcer at Emily Harris’s side.

“Edward Sullivan, you’re being far too presumptuous!” Emily Harris said sternly, as if unable to contain his anger. “Do you know where you are? Look carefully: this is the command post! Is this a place for you to barge in and make a scene?”

Edward Sullivan bowed again and apologized: “This subordinate was simply too eager to see his ‘good friend’ Lord Thompson and could not control himself. I am truly guilty and deserve to die a thousand times!” Though he said “deserve to die a thousand times,” there was not a trace of the fear or unease a guilty man should have; his tone was full of rebellious arrogance.

“But I can’t really blame you!” Emily Harris suddenly changed his tone. “You young people are always impulsive. For the sake of brotherhood, there’s nothing you wouldn’t do, right? Since you’re so loyal, I’ll let it go this time. But remember, don’t do it again!”

“Yes, sir! I will never make the same mistake again!”