Chapter 15: Consequences

" Halt! " a burly man wearing the same crimson uniform shouted. He has bronze badge on his left chest symbolizing a higher rank than Ruckus. This burly man is also one of the battalion leaders in their camp.

Hearing his superior's command, Ruckus was force to stop his action. He knew that this time , he will be in big trouble. Fighting and argument outside the camp is only possible if no serious collateral damage occurs and if no camp officers are present but on today's event, it seems like luck is not on his side. His superior happens to stroll in the market the same day as him and happens to witness his battle personally.

This same officer have long been eyeing him with contempt and envy. After all, he raised from being a literal beggar into a competent and favored soldier. Despite his young age as a soldier, he is only waiting for opportunity to be promoted to bronze rank. He is a promising soldier with a great future ahead, capable and outstanding than others.

But this time, Ruckus knew that this officer will make his today's battle into a big deal. The worst possible punishment he could receive from this is demotion.

" I will report this to your battalion leader, wait for his notice of summon later " , his superior seriously said. He's wearing a victorious smirk ,within his eyes hide his mockery. At last, his long wait finally yielded and have a reason now to remove this eyesore in their camp. He's long been dissatisfied to this brat. Achieving success and fame in their camp overshadowing his accomplishments despite his young age of seventeen and already looking for opportunity to be promoted to bronze rank same as him. He is certain that this man will surpass him in no time. No, he will never allow this young man to succeed. He hailed from noble household and he got promoted due to his family's influence, he is serving the military for almost fifteen years but only raised his rank into bronze rank, he might be superior than ordinary soldiers but also one of the lowest in military hierarchy.

Military ranking in Valeria Kingdom simply has four stages and can be achieved through military merits , war achievements or personally awarded by his majesty.

Fourth rank has bronze badge which is higher than ordinary soldiers but the lowest position within the military officers. Bronze holders are the leaders of a small battalion.

Third rank has silver badge which is higher than bronze. Silver holders lead and command bronze holders along with the soldiers under them.

Second rank has golden badge which is higher than the other two ranks and only below the black holders and His Majesty. They are the one who commands the bronze and silver holders and only accept commands from black holders and to his majesty.

The First and highest rank among them all are the black badge holders. They commands everyone from lowest to highest rank soldiers. They are the highest rank in military hierarchy but still subject of his majesty. They report directly and listen only to his Majesty's command.

In Valeria Kingdom, there are only four black badge holders and they are the well known four generals. General Hagris who guards and protect the North border of Valeria kingdom, General Lewis guarding South border, General Balcor who guards the East border and General Amon who guards the West border. Their black badges speaks for their numerous achievements and their mighty battle history.

Ruckus immediately travels back to their camp that afternoon. He knew that his superior is seriously going to report him to his battalion leader and had been tattled by now. He assumes that the promotion he is looking forward to will be call off this time and might be demoted instead. After all, the fellow soldiers under General Amon that he fought were all bed ridden for a month or might be dead by now due to too much blood loss.

" Hayss , who said I should be meddlesome anyways. This is what I get from being a busybody" , he remorsefully scolded himself. He surely did not regret beating those young soldiers , what he regrets was beating them slowly which leads to attracting his superiors attention. He should have avoided being caught by finishing them on the spot as fast as possible.

Ruckus arrived at the camp and finally able to rest on his bed after a long travel. He is still thinking what will happen next when he heard a rush knock on his tent and ask him to meet his own battalion leader. He could only sigh as he already expected this. But there is one thing he could never predicted, the punishment he would receive is much worse that what he thought it will be.

" From now on you don't have to come back here in our camp again. " , his battalion leader said casually without looking back at him. He is reading scrolls addressing concers and issues inside the camp.

" Why? Does General Hagris know about this? "he asked taken aback to what his superior said.

" The general doesn't need to know. Such small matters can be handle by me without disturbing the General. I'm your battalion leader so I have the right to decides who deserves to stay in own unit. Our general has more importance thing to do than handling this small matter." he said dropping scrolls he is reading and now looking at Ruckus. 

" How about my merits and achievements? Will you just forget the honors I have done for this camp? , Ruckus voice is filled with sadness and reproach. Despite all the efforts he made for the camp, he was easily thrown away like trash. But what can he do anyway, he is just a soldier without stable backing and connections unlike the others. No matter how good he is, if he doesn't have a connection, he will easily be beaten by someone else who does. He knew about this but didn't fully realize what it meant until now.

" Who is behind my disposal? " Ruckus asked for the last time as he accept his leader's decision. Despite what he did to the soldiers of the western camp, he knew that General Amon would not personally intervene, so he was sure that someone else wanted to get him out of the camp.

" You don't have to know. Just remember that the only reason you were fired today is because you tried to kill a fellow soldier from another military camp." the leader said seriously with a trace of regret on his face. Another excellent and talented soldier will be ruined just because of the envy and insecurities of people of higher rank. He could on sigh in sympathy and regret. He can't help but say another word to help Ruckus understand his situation more. "The tree that grows tallest in the forest, will always be first to be toppled by the winds."

Tree that grows tallest is considered the best in the forest. But because it is the tallest, it becomes more vulnerable to natural threats. So as a person, the greater your talent, the more likely you're going to attract jealousy, criticism, and hostility from other people.

Ruckus deeply understanding now what is truly happening to him have nothing to say anymore. No matter what he says, his fate won't change. Seems like someone in higher rank is targeting him but he cant do anything but accept the truth.

Ruckus sighed and slowly walked out of his leader's tent. His shoulders slumped in disappointment and he was enveloped in emptiness.

He didn't know where he was going and how he was going to start over. The only thing he knew how to do was fight and protect the northern border and nothing else. What should I do now? Where should I go? He asked himself, filled with sadness and fear because his life seemed meaningless.

What else is the point of this life of mine? Should I just die?