( Max's POV )
Max looked at the gathering of Garrison Commanders and lieutenants and nodded his head at the salute that he received.
Unlike his previous deployment, where he served with troops only of the Titus clan, this time the troops under him were from various clans though majority of them were from the Titus clan.
One could notice how difficult life was on planet Maralago by noticing the physical conditions of the soldiers serving on the planet, as not a single soldier appeared to be obese, while several had glistening white scars on their exposed skin.
The white scars were testament to the battles they had fought and survived.
It was survival of the fittest on this planet and only the toughest, meanest bastards could thrive in an inhospitable planet like Maralago where war and conflict was the only constant.
" At ease " Max said as he paced around, thinking of what he was going to say to the troops today.
" I'm Captain Ravan, and I've been deployed here for one reason and one reason only.....
So make no mistake ladies and gentlemen, when I say one reason, it's not a reason that affects just me but it is rather the same reason which you all will live for from this day forward, so listen very carefully.
The reason why I'm deployed here is to gain territory and change the momentum of this war.
I'm not here to hold the lines we have at present
Not here for scouting missions
I'm here to fight back!
You understand? " Max said
" Sir yes sir " some energetic people from the crowd replied.
" I asked, DO YOU UNDERSTAND " Max shouted once more
" SIR YES SIR " the entire crowd replied.
" Good, then I expect you all to start preparing from today itself.
You have to be ready to be called upon at a moment's notice, you have to be ready to bring your A game and slaughter those barbarians who live illegally on vampire lands.
I'll be there to lead you into battle.
I'll be there at the very front of the fray
But you all will have to cover my back too" Max said as he energised the whole crowd with his speech
Max made his intentions clear from day one, that his only goal was to take back lands from the enemy's hands, and that he was going to waste no time in trying to do so.
***********
( Marcus's POV )
Marcus blanked out when he saw Max, for a good two minutes he was stunned and completely phased out until many seconds later his consciousness returned.
Max's speech made him sick as he could not wait to punch the living crap out of him for making his life this miserable.
If it were not for Max, he would still be the heir of the Aurelius clan and would not have faced the wrath of his father. It was a grudge that could not be settled with words or actions, it was a blood feud that could only end with death.
If Marcus still had his status as the Aurelius Clan young master he would have Max stripped and flailed to death right this instance, however, the cruelty of fate made it so that at this instance Max was actually his superior while he was a nobody.
For the first time in his life Marcus had to force himself to stay calm and bide his time as he seethed in anger the more Max spoke.
Marcus did not actively listen to a single word that Max spoke as he kept spamming inspect spells upon Max trying to get an idea about his strength and level, but it was to no avail, no matter how many times he tried to, he could not detect Max's stats.
" Dismissed"
Marcus heard this word as the rest of the officers around him began to move around making him realise that the morning meeting was over.
Choosing to ignore Max for now, Marcus decided that he should pursue friendship with Asiva first and deal with Max later as he moved towards the spot where he had seen her prior to Max's speech and was glad when he saw her still at the same spot with the same group of people around her.
Marcus halted his footsteps when he realised that a conversation with Asiva was not going to end up well with Severus and her friends around her, as not matter how Marcus tried to explain himself it would be impossible to do so with protective men around her.
Not wanting to enter into an altercation so early in the morning, Marcus reluctantly decided to give up on the idea.
Despite everything wrong that had happened this morning, Marcus still had a bright smile on his face just because the love of his life Asiva was present in the military camp as well.
In Marcus's mind, if he managed to win Asiva's heart in this inhospitable place without his status and without his money, then it would mean that he had found his one true love.
In his entire life, he had never chased a woman as a lover, he had never charmed anyone with words or tried to gain their affection because whoever he desired he was able to conquer easily.
The only exception to this norm was Asiva, a woman who would not submit to his wishes and turn into his biggest obsession.
Since he could not approach her at the moment with all her friends around her, Marcus decided to wait and silently tail her after the crowd departed and find the perfect moment when she was alone to start a conversation.
Although he had done some terrible things to Asiva, Marcus genuinely believed that with his good looks and his charm he would eventually be able to win Asiva's heart if he tried hard enough, but little did he know that the masked man that he hated so much had already beaten him to the punch on this endeavour as well.
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/// A/N - This bonus sponsored by Zippo2019 please thank him in the comments for this one.
I'm terribly sorry for being a day late on delivering this bonus, when my health recovers I'll make sure to make this right ///