Chapter 126 Lieutenant General Rivera
Arlan and Rex narrowed their eyes upon hearing the report.
"Let's go greet the commanding general." Arlan muttered as he stepped out of the office.
Rex nodded his head as he followed Arlan.
Dickoy also walked behind them while wiping off his sweat. He felt a bit nervous after hearing that the general has arrived.
Arlan had seen Lieutenant General Rivera on TV, but he haven't seen him in person.
At the entrance of the arms company, they saw a middle-aged man with a sharp gaze. He was wearing his army uniform with two stars on his insignia. The left part of his face has a burn scar which he got from a grenade explosion during his younger days.
There was a huge rebel force in Maharlika that was being funded by an international terrorist group. They have been causing trouble for the country in the last few decades and Lieutenant General Rivera had fought with them on numerous occasions. He had never lost a battle since he fought with them. His only regret was that the leader of the rebel force was still not captured until now. This guy was responsible for the burn scar on Lieutenant General Rivera's face.
Arlan gave a standard salute to the general. "Greetings, Commanding General Rivera!"
Karl and Dickoy also saluted the general. They were former soldiers and they respected this general for his contributions to the country.
Lieutenant General Rivera also gave them a snappy salute.
"General Rivera." Rex wasn't a military man so he only shook hands with him.
"Commanding General, this person is Mr. Arlan Dominic Roa. He is the new owner of the arms corporation." Dickoy introduced Arlan to the general.
Lieutenant General Rivera was taken aback when he heard this. "Mr. Roa, are you also someone from the army?" He asked. Arlan's salute was very standard and only well-practiced soldiers could do it.
Arlan smiled while shaking his head. "I am not a soldier, but my grandfather was." Arlan's late grandfather was a soldier and he was even an officer.
Lieutenant General stared at him kindly upon hearing his words.
"General, you must be tired from the journey. Please allow me to bring you to our office. We will discuss things there." Arlan made a 'this way' gesture as he lightly lowered his head. Although he was usually carefree, Arlan had so much respect for military men.
Krizia was surprised to see him acting like this. She thought that Arlan would make things difficult for the old general and use Rex's identity to pressure him.
"Alright." Lieutenant General Rivera nodded his head.
In truth, Arlan didn't plan to act like this. He just remembered his grandfather through the old general's image.
"Please get someone to prepare tea for our guests." Arlan whispered to Dickoy before they entered the office.
"Yes, Mr. Roa!" Dickoy nodded his head and left to do the task.
After the commanding general took his seat, he immediately stated the reason for his visit. "Mr. Roa, I came here this time to inquire about the progress of the weapons we ordered to be made."
There were three people who followed the general to the office. They were also high-ranking officers of the army. One was a colonel while the other two were majors.
Arlan pondered deeply upon hearing this. According to Dickoy Tuazon's report, the weapons ordered by the army were scheduled to be delivered in 2 months. "General, to tell you the truth, I think that the delivery of your weapons will be delayed." Arlan muttered in a solemn tone.
The general scrunched his eyebrows. "Can you explain why this is so?" The army's weapons needed to be replaced with new ones. Most of their equipment was old and some of them were no longer usable.
Arlan moved his head closer to the general and said. "General, we have been researching a new aircraft recently and we used up a lot of manpower to build a prototype for it. If we could build this, Maharlika's army would be strengthened considerably."
The general narrowed his eyes while staring at Arlan. "Have you reported this to the president?"
Arlan leaned on his chair and shook his head. "We still haven't made a fully functioning unit so we haven't informed the president about it."
Lieutenant General Rivera nodded his head. "Just what kind of aircraft are you researching that it even needs a lot of manpower? Can you tell me more about it?"
Maharlika's military aircraft was very weak compared to other Asian countries. Most of their aircraft were old models that were bought from Russia and USA so Lieutenant General Rivera was filled with anticipation towards this research that Arlan was talking about.
Arlan grinned as he invited him. "General, how about I show the prototype to you?" He had been preparing this for many days.
"Alright. Let me take a look at this aircraft of yours." The commanding general muttered.
"My pleasure." Arlan smiled as he stood up from his seat. He then brought everyone to a secret facility of the arms corporation. They passed by many security checks and this made the commanding general and the three officers who came with him to be more curious about the aircraft that the arms corporation was researching.
Arlan entered the passcode to the final door. When they entered, everyone saw a wide space and there was an unfinished attack helicopter at the center. There were people in working clothes installing the parts of the helicopter.
Although it was still incomplete, the commanding general and the three officers were stunned upon seeing it. The design was very advanced and the weapons attached to the helicopter looked very intimidating.
"General, this is the Black Dragon Assault Helicopter. Its body is made of..." Arlan gave them a short overview of the helicopter's capabilities and firepower.
"Is what you just said real? Did you guys really produce this attack helicopter on your own?" Lieutenant General Rivera was shocked after hearing the information.
Arlan nodded his head with a proud look. "It took us years to perfect its design and weapon system, but we were only able to start building it with the sponsoring of the De Guzman Family." He turned his head to Rex when he said this.