Vader would go out and patrol every time dusk came.
Most of the time, he would circle Neverwinter with two or three of his subordinates. But sometimes, he would choose to head out alone—in theory, he was already the chief of the police department and the third most authoritative person within the kingdom"s Security Bureau, so he didn"t need to do any patrols personally. But he continued to do so as he preferred to get himself involved in the field rather than doing paperwork in the office.
He had already been in Neverwinter for a year and a half, and there were two things here that impressed him the most. The first was the exponential rate at which the city was expanding. It took him only half an hour to walk around Border Town when he first arrived, but now it would take him at least three times as long just to circle the city. That"s not even including the harbor to the South and the farmlands to the east.
Secondly, the law and order of Neverwinter could only be described as amazing. The most common crimes were theft and brawl, but they were also the most serious ones. Crimes such as homicide, robbery, kidnapping rarely happened. The security of Neverwinter had deteriorated before when there was a ma.s.sive influx of refugees, but with the combined efforts of the police department and the Witch Union, the troublemakers were swiftly dealt with.
His Majesty"s promise on solving every single crime was not a bluff. In the face of Summer"s retrospective ability and Vanilla"s tracking ability, no criminal was able to escape the law. Due to the high risk and cost of crime, coupled with zero tolerance for Black Street Rats, Neverwinter"s public security was able to experience a visible improvement.
He insisted on his daily patrols as he wanted to feel this peace—he would feel an immense sense of pride and satisfaction whenever he saw the carefree pa.s.sersby strolling around late at night and seeing the trusting look on their faces as they saluted to him.
He was surprised himself that he could turn out to become a law enforcer respected by all instead of ending up a street thug that was condemned by the public.
He had never experienced such a feeling when he was in the patrol team.
Both of these jobs were designed for the same purpose. Even the procedure and the tasks were similar, yet they lead to entirely different results.
The main difference would probably be the capabilities of the rulers.
"Chief, should I go with you?" he was greeted by Whistle who had just dispersed his troops outside the city hall.
"Oh? Are you not going to spend time with that lady today?"
"You... even know about that," Whistle"s face suddenly began to turn red, "Well... it"s not necessary to stay together every night."
Some of the pa.s.sersby burst into laughter at his remark.
"Then you"d better be careful, or else she will get stolen by someone else."
"Shut... shut up!"
Vader shook his head with a smile. " I"ll be fine to patrol alone today. You should finish up and head home."
"Well... in that case, thanks, Chief!"
Looking at Whistle"s back as he went away excitedly, Vader became a little emotional. When he had first left Valencia, he was alone and had thought that he would spend the rest of his life in solitude. He did not expect that he would be able to accomplish so much in his life. He started to consider finding his significant other after buying an adjoining house for his father Cacusim and himself.
Just as Vader was about to walk out of City Hall, a shrilling alarm suddenly went off in the city.
"Woo—woo—"
His face froze.
The sound of this alarm was utterly different from the ones that were used before. It consisted of a crescendo that was in an endless repeat. It was the kind of sound that would not be forgotten when heard once—it represented the highest level of alert that was not heard even in the Months of Demons. In fact, he had only rehea.r.s.ed it during a drill, so this was the first time he had actually heard the alarm blare across the city.
According to procedures, when the highest alarm sounded, Neverwinter would be placed under martial law. The city gates had to be all closed. The police would be responsible for clearing the streets, while the First Army would form a defensive perimeter.
"Cheif!" Whistle and the rest that were with him rushed out of the office.
Vader turned around and saw that the entire City Hall was at a standstill. Everyone was so overwhelmed and stunned that they were frozen stiff on the spot.
His Majesty is now leading the troops to recover the Kingdom of Graycastle, so this is definitely not a drill!
Just what exactly had happened that would make the Garrison sound this alarm?
d.a.m.n it, it just had to happen now when Neverwinter is at its most vulnerable!
He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Stop standing there! Hurry up and get into action! Whistle, recall everyone that"s on vacation! Firehead, take the rest and follow me to the wall! Do what you did when we carried out the exercise. Do you understand?"
Vader"s thunderous voice not only awakened the police members from their daze, but it also shook the city hall officials into action.
"Yes, I understand!"
The City Hall became busy instantly, but Vader was in no mood to bother about those officials. He rushed out of the castle area with a group of police.
When he saw the confused residents on the street, Vader felt completely stressed out.
Since this alarm system was only put into practice after the new year, it had not even gone through a citywide drill. Perhaps His Majesty did not expect such an emergency to happen so soon. But now that it did, it can only be considered as a careless mistake by the Garrison. If the decision were up to him, he would have sounded the regular alarm bell at the same time, as to evacuate the people wandering on the streets.
But anyways, now was not the time to complain. Vader clapped his hands and made the surrounding residents focus their attention on him. "Everyone listen up! Go home right now and stay indoors! This is an alarm of an enemy attack. I repeat! Everyone go back home now!"
"Go home immediately and don"t stay here!" Firehead and the rest also started to follow his example and shouted out to warn everyone.
Fortunately, the police department had the trust of the residents. Coupled with the fact that the administrative department had also gone through multiple drills with the routine alarms, everyone started to move to the residential quarters after hearing the warnings.
In this manner, a group of people started to shout as they ran towards the city wall.
The soldiers were everywhere on top of the city wall, and flags were flapping widely against the setting sun. The artilleries on the platform were readied and aimed towards the vast gra.s.sland in front, waiting to fire as soon as they see any slight movement. Witnessing this scene, Vader was able to calm down a little.
As long as the First Army was around, no army can breach through this invincible defense line.
This was a point proven battle after battle.
The police quickly committed themselves to on-site security and ensured a minimal level of order... But Vader was puzzled as to why while the highest level of alarm was sounding, the gra.s.slands and jungles of the Western Region remained motionless.
Where are the enemy?
In the meantime, another group of people started quarreling in one of the meeting rooms at the Lord"s castle.
"Because of an unknown witch"s mumbling, you triggered the alarm of the highest level?" Barov looked at Wendy with an expression of disbelief. "Do you know how much trouble and loss this will cause us? We don"t even know whether this woman named Lorgar can be trusted. And if I"m not mistaken, your only evidence is her sleep-talk! It"s ridiculous to shut down half of Neverwinter only based on this! How do you expect me to explain this to His Majesty if we end up not being able to accomplish our previously a.s.signed tasks?"