To a large extent, military discipline could keep soldiers in line. However, there were naturally limits. While such strict rules might chain those with an Aetherian rank of Arcanist and below, once someone reached the Mystic level they would enter into the ranks of the strongest in the country.
Naturally, that came with sufficient perks to keep the person loyal to the country and the system that allowed him to reach such a rank. Moreover, such people would also suffer from greater oversight due to how dangerous or influential they could be. But a reality that needed to be admitted was that if people at such ranks wanted to break the law, or do something against the rules, it would be harder to catch them.
Kolar was still naturally extremely strict in matters of law and order, but they also admit that no organisation was perfect and there were bound to be people who would misuse their authority for personal gain. Instead of completely clamping down on it, they instead gave additional perks to higher ranked soldiers and officers, creating a sort of legal way for them to use their powers.
Naturally, with such a thing, there also came certain rules that needed to be adhered to, and certain lines that could not be crossed. The very fact that even Sage Morphius could be summoned in front of a panel to be judged was a testament to how serious Kolar was about the law. Providing certain leeway was already very forgiving of them.
But since a lawful route to use their authority existed, it was used openly and frequently - something Darius and the others had come to learn the hard way.
"To resolve such issues among Mystics and above, the Kolari army has created certain pathways. Moreover, there is a great emphasis on families, so as you can imagine, Great Families also get a lot of benefits.
"So, whether it’s because of the rank of their family, or the Aetherian rank of their family head, the influence of the Dom family is far greater than any of us initially imagined. I’m not even talking about getting revenge - I’m here to tell you that our survival itself is at great risk."
Nero looked at Darius solemnly, taking in his underlying meaning. It may not have been obvious, but it was clear that the three of them had been through a lot the past few years.
"What do you mean? I thought that KMA was free from all external influences," Nero said.
Ash nodded gravely.
"It is, it really is. But the rest of Kolar is not. You know how we all thought that the Dom family had illegally acted to get rid of Patrick for whatever reason? Well, as it turns out, as long as you follow general protocols, high ranking officers can easily influence such decisions.
"That means as long as they proved Patrick was guilty, sending him sooner rather than later was a completely justified matter as far as the army and government are concerned. Similarly, we cadets have missions every now and then. As long as they follow the general requirements outlining what kind of tasks we can undertake, having us sent to more dangerous missions is not a problem at all. As long as they keep doing it, sooner or later we’ll be killed, and our deaths will be completely justified."
Nero’s brows furrowed. That didn’t seem right. Such immense leeway in terms of determining orders would eventually cause chaos and disorder - things that no army could abide by.
He voiced his question, and Darius promptly answered.
"Nothing about this is forced. These are missions that someone from our rank and standing has to take regardless of anything else. All they are doing is assigning us to it, making sure we continue taking risks. But even then, they can’t just arbitrarily send you to a mission that will get you killed. We meet the criteria for this mission, which is why we can be sent.
"There’s nothing odd about it. In fact, things like this are pretty common. The Dom family has a lot of influence in and around Aetherpeak, which means that they can buy and sell favours to others as well. It hardly matters whether we fall under their jurisdiction or not - as long as the person with the authority wants to sell a favour to them, they’ll cooperate.
"Since last year, whenever we have external missions, we always end up getting unusually difficult missions. At first, we just thought it was our bad luck. In the end, it’s because of Adrian that we ended up finding out what was happening?"
Nero looked at Adrian, surprised. Had he suddenly changed his ways? Looking at the bashful and embarrassed look on his face, it didn’t seem like it.
"Don’t look at him like that - despite what anyone may think, Adrian has shown exceptional skill in defensive command, not to mention his record for the missions he’s led have been great. He was scouted ahead of time by the Felix corp. Honestly, he was also scouted by the border patrol in Tera corp, but..."
Nero knew exactly what Darius meant to say. The influence of the Dom family in the Tera corp was too significant - they did not feel safe joining.
"Anyway, Adrian got specially recruited so his destination upon graduation is fixed. But, upon getting recruited, the officer revealed that someone had been specifically changing our missions all along. It was only after Adrian gained special recognition that they managed to block all interference.
"I guarantee that we’re not the only ones being targeted like this. After all, we were only Patrick’s friends. The only reason anyone would even pay attention to us at all was because Jacob knew us from school. If anyone in your family is still serving, then I guarantee that they might also be targeted. Even if they try to resist, it’s a matter of power and rank. They have higher power, and higher rank, so it’s not so easy to resist."
The three of them did not have a powerful or influential background. Darius’ father was an Arcanist who worked as a fisherman, of all things. Ash’s family also didn’t have any significant presence in the army, so none of them had any preexisting support. They were just some kids who had been extremely zealous about the army in their youth - now coming to terms with how complex reality actually was.
"I already know all of this, more or less," said Nero finally. He looked at the older cadets who had been implicated in a conflict that originally had nothing to do with him. He would have apologised, but that was useless. So instead, he focused on the future, and improving it.
"That’s why my approach has changed, somewhat. Previously, we had planned that we would avoid attention and silently prepare to get revenge on Jacob. Now we know that’s pretty much impossible. In fact, right now, we shouldn’t even be thinking about Jacob, or the Dom family. Right now, we need to establish ourselves, and get as much backing as possible.
"While the Dom family has some pull, they’re not the only family in Kolar, and it’s not like they don’t have enemies either. As long as we rise through the ranks, as long as we progress step by step, our influence will grow. Big brother Darius, big sis Ash, doofus, throw all thoughts of revenge out of your heads. From now on, we only have one goal: to spread our influence as far and wide as we can across the army and Kolar."
The three of them exchanged glances, though Adrian was the only one doing so with a hanging jaw. Why the hell was he doofus? He was the one getting scouted!
The others, though, were reflecting on how much Nero had changed, and yet, how much he had stayed the same. Even when he was young, he was extremely decisive. Now, he was still the same, but he had much more presence about him, inspiring greater confidence.
"By the way, in case you didn’t know, mom has become a Mystic. Although she didn’t rejoin the army, she has joined the government. Although it’s not comparable to the Dom family, we also have some backing now. Besides that, I’ve also made some acquaintances from various families..."
Nero began to reveal some of his plans to these three. They had suffered because of Patrick, but instead of feeling angry, they came to warn Nero so that he wouldn’t suffer like they did. Still, he did not trust them completely . It wasn’t their fault - Nero avoided trusting anyone completely.
That was why he did not reveal Patrick’s situation to them. Instead, he told them that he had given up on all thoughts of revenge - for now - and that they should too. While that wasn’t true, if they believed it, it would only be better for them. More importantly, they could then focus wholeheartedly on their own development rather than harboring doubt or fear about having their plans discovered.
Not everyone was cut out for such things. While Nero had relied on their help when he was younger, he did not want them to get into any more unnecessary trouble.