Tracy’s eyes lit up the moment she heard the three words “On War.”
However, when she saw Wendy’s lazy expression, looking as if he were just trying to scrounge up some pocket money, she nearly choked.
She felt as though she might suffer a brain hemorrhage right then and there.
As an elite instructor of the Central Academy, she knew all too well how barren this world was in the field of military theory.
Because of the constant flames of war and the barriers to passing down knowledge, no systematic work on military theory had ever been born in this world from ancient times to the present.
If anyone could write the first one—as long as the content was even slightly reliable—they would undoubtedly become a founding figure of an entire school of thought.
They would be destined to go down in history, enshrined by all future commanders.
For such a monumental feat, let alone doing it for free, countless people would break their own necks to do it even if it meant bankruptcy or selling their souls.
But this boy… this frail-looking Little Prince actually had the nerve to say he wanted to use this to earn some royalties for snacks?
This was simply a desecration of a holy cause!
The corners of Tracy’s stiff mouth twitched twice as she forcibly suppressed the urge to hang this guy up and give him a thrashing.
She took a deep breath, and then another.
“Very well.” Tracy’s voice squeezed out through her teeth.
“What specific plan do you have for this book? What do you intend to write? If you speak well and satisfy me, your Strategy grade for this semester will be directly assessed as ‘Excellence.’ Furthermore, you will receive the same treatment for all subjects I teach in the future.”
“I will also personally apply to the Academy for a special fund so you can focus on completing this work. After graduation, I will represent the Academy in recommending you to the Imperial Military General Staff. In the future, the position of a Theater Commander-in-Chief would not be out of reach!”
The moment these words were spoken, the air in the entire classroom froze.
Everyone looked at Wendy as if they were looking at a monster.
Excellence credits!
A green light for all subjects!
Special funding!
A job guarantee upon graduation, leading straight to the military’s top brass!
These conditions were so generous they were enough to drive anyone mad with envy!
Wendy, however, merely thought about it indifferently.
Then, with extreme shamelessness, he began to copy the table of contents from Clausewitz’s original work.
“It’s quite simple.” He counted on his fingers, speaking slowly.
“The first step is to use a philosophical way of thinking to redefine war. For example, what is the nature of war? What is the foundation of military theory? What are the core elements of strategy?”
“Then, further subdivide it. For instance, an introduction to combat, the elements of combat, the composition and configuration of different branches of the military, and the rational allocation of troops.”
“Further down, there’s the specific application of tactics. Marching, camping, logistics, the transition between offense and defense, and finally, how to formulate a complete war plan…”
With every additional word Wendy spoke, the stormy waves in Tracy’s heart grew stronger.
Individually, these concepts did not seem difficult to understand.
The Central Academy’s archives were filled with countless battle records that mentioned them to some degree.
But never—never had anyone thought to summarize these scattered elements!
This way of thinking, this height, this scale!
Without a doubt, he was a genius! No, he was a freak!
The female instructor’s dissatisfaction with Wendy’s frivolous attitude vanished instantly.
All that remained was the fanatical expectation for the birth of an epoch-making masterpiece.
She had also come to terms with it.
Talent was something that could not be measured by common sense.
At such a young age, he could conceive what ordinary people could not imagine and do what ordinary people could not do.
Meanwhile, she and the others were sitting on a mountain of gold without realizing it, staring at old piles of paper all day without being able to squeeze out a single original thought.
That was the gap between them.
“Good! Very good!” Tracy waved her hand, cutting off Wendy’s “recitation” with absolute determination.
“I understand! Tell me, how much startup funding do you need? I will personally advance it to you! As long as you can write this book!”
“All future proceeds from this book, royalties, and copyrights will belong to you personally. I have only one requirement: on the title page, note that ‘This book is honorably sponsored by Instructor Tracy of the Central Academy Military Branch.’ That will be enough!”
Wendy was stunned for a moment.
Then, he lowered his head somewhat sheepishly, his gaze falling on his toes, and his voice became a bit bashful.
“Oh, the conditions you’re offering are so generous… how could I possibly be embarrassed enough to ask?”
Seeing his “shy” appearance, Tracy felt a sense of relief.
It seemed this Prince was not a total vulgar person corrupted by money; he still had a bit of a scholar’s integrity.
She was just about to say something polite like “no need to be formal for the sake of a great cause,” when she saw Wendy look up.
A pure and harmless smile hung on his face as he held up one finger.
“Is this amount okay?”
Tracy froze, and then cursed inwardly.
‘I must be blind! Integrity? Integrity my foot!’
On the surface, however, she remained calm.
“10,000 gold coins? Fine, no problem. I’ll write you a check right now.”
After saying that, she turned and walked toward the podium with crisp efficiency.
“Huh?” Wendy looked up abruptly.
He watched Tracy’s decisive back, then looked down at his own lonely finger.
His original intention was… 1,000 gold coins.
After all, the other party was giving him credits and a future.
He figured he would just ask for a little bit of hard-earned money, and 1,000 gold coins was already quite a steep price.
Who knew she would be so generous as to increase the unit by ten times!
10,000 gold coins!
The feeling of having lost 100 million instantly welled up within him.
Had he known she was so generous, he should have opened his mouth wider and stuck out all ten fingers and ten toes!
On the podium, Tracy’s pen flew across the paper.
She quickly wrote a series of numbers on a beautifully printed note and walked back to hand it to Wendy.
“Take this. It can be redeemed at the Royal Treasury of any Kingdom of Man on the continent. The Academy has one of their offices.”
‘So this world has institutions like banks?’ Wendy thought.
‘It seems the road to making the Kingdom of Valoran rise is still long and arduous…’
Wendy pinched a corner of the check, but Tracy did not let go.
The Prince looked up, meeting a face that wore a faint, mocking smile.
“Listen well, kid!” A cruel arc curved at the corner of the female instructor’s mouth.
“If you dare to bring me a bunch of nonsense just to fill up the word count, and what you write fails to satisfy me and all the instructors of the Academy’s Strategy Department…”
“Then, your end will be very, very miserable.”
“I guarantee that even if the Princess of Valoran comes personally, she’ll only be able to collect your corpse.”
“However,” she changed her tone, “if you write it well, the subsequent bonuses will surprise you even more than this number.”
Wendy curled his lip impatiently.
“Fine, fine, I got it. You’re so naggy.”
As he spoke, he gave a sudden tug and snatched the check away.
The Prince lowered his head, carefully confirming the zeros before the decimal point over and over again.
This piece of paper looked lovelier the more he stared at it.
It was so beautiful he couldn’t bear to look away.
“You should also be clear that money isn’t given for nothing,” Tracy’s voice rang out again.
“Before this semester ends, you must hand over the first volume of the manuscript—or at least a complete outline—to me.”
Wendy didn’t even look up, his smile so wide his teeth were showing.
“I know, I know!”
“As long as you know.” Tracy nodded and pulled out another document.
“Sign this. It’s the receipt for the research funds. You guys,” she looked at the other students, “come over and sign as well to act as witnesses.”
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