A Welcoming Gift
A powerful surge of energy erupted from Lister's Shadowless Blade.
That invisible sharpness brought immense pressure and impact to these captains.
This ruthless man dared to cut down even a captain in the Central Army, so the captains had no reason to be complacent.
"Hurry up!"
Oni, who was standing to the side, suddenly lit up and helped Lister push the group in front of him.
After looking at each other for a while, no one dared to make the first move.
Three seconds!
Lister's voice suddenly turned cold and sharp, and the Shadowless Blade in his hand trembled slightly, as if it would strike him at any moment.
Ultimately, someone couldn't withstand the pressure and pushed the blade away from Oni's hand.
His fierce expression suggested he was determined to fight to the death.
A high-energy pulse beam suddenly shot out from his palm, piercing straight through the red-haired captain's chest.
Seeing that someone was taking the lead, the others behind him dared not hesitate any longer.
Each of them launched an attack on the red-haired captain, and after each attack, they seemed to have completely let loose.
Not satisfied with just one attack, he continued to attack, cursing incessantly.
"You fucking bastard, taking money!"
"Who do you think you are! Just because you're wearing the skin of the Central Army, I'm afraid of you?"
Seeing that the red-haired captain was completely dead, Lister then turned to the group of soldiers opposite him.
His gaze swept across them calmly, but the soldiers felt as if they were being stared at by the Grim Reaper, and a deeper fear rose in their hearts.
"My name is Lister, Landing Operations Department for the A73 warship."
"Our warship A73 was docked at a designated location due to Federation Military District recall, and is now being illegally obstructed."
"I'll give you ten! If you don't evacuate..."
He didn't continue speaking, paused for a moment, and then started counting.
"Nineteen..."
The soldiers immediately scattered and fled, and the farce was only temporarily over at this point.
What should we do with the body?
Oni stepped on the head of the red-haired captain, whose face was now unrecognizable, and asked Lister for his opinion with a serious expression.
As for the captains of the other ships standing nearby, their emotions had finally calmed down.
Although it was satisfying to fight back, I can't help but worry again now that I've calmed down.
"Should we send it back to them? Or allow their warship to enter?"
Truman's idea was immediately rejected by Cohen.
"No!"
"Sending it over now would be tantamount to a provocation!"
"Wait! This matter can only be dealt with after the captain returns!"
After saying that, he turned back to look at Lister again.
"Lister, you need to be prepared. If all else fails, go to the B4 special warehouse in advance and wait. I'll keep you updated..."
The B4 special compartment on Ship A73 is an emergency escape compartment.
Captain Cohen's meaning was clear: if things went wrong, they would run away.
Anyway, there are countless wanted criminals in the federal government, so his situation is really nothing to brag about.
Lister frowned immediately.
It wasn't because Cohen told him to prepare to escape, but because he sensed a group of people approaching him from his Killing Intent Wave.
Looking ahead, sure enough, about a dozen lieutenants soon arrived in front of them.
Cohen and his men immediately went into battle alert, as did Lister, whose overwhelming killing intent suddenly pressed down on the group of officers.
The officers who had just arrived initially appeared relaxed, but upon sensing this terrifying killing intent, their expressions immediately changed.
"Friends of the Arcane Civilization Army, don't be alarmed, we're not here to fight!"
A captain led the way to the entrance, glancing nervously at Lister.
It was obvious who was the strongest among them, and he was immediately regarded as the person in charge.
"Don't worry, I was just confirming whether Titus was really dead; I meant no harm."
The captain's eyes were sincere, and there was indeed little malice in Lister's Killing Intent Wave.
After suppressing most of his murderous intent, the other officers finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"My name is Boke, captain of the third Logistics Department squadron of the D15 small destroyer."
"Lister, Landing Operations Department, A73, a small cruiser."
"So you're the Chief of Operations! No wonder you're so powerful; even Titus is no match for you!"
Boke smiled and nodded, offering compliments while ignoring the other captains next to him, showing no intention of getting to know them.
"I didn't kill him, they were the murderers."
Having finally managed to drag several neighboring ships into the fray, Lister wasn't about to fall into any literary trap himself.
"Haha! Minister Lister, relax! We really mean no harm."
"Could we examine Titus's body first?"
"Don't worry, if he's really dead, we might even become friends. I also have a little something to give you as a token of our friendship."
Seeing this, Lister stepped to the side, still somewhat doubtful.
Behind them Oni and Cohen also lowered their combat stance, but their vigilance remained.
Captain Boke was allowed to examine the body.
There's really nothing to see here; this Captain Titus is completely covered in flesh.
Even his signature red hair had long since mingled with his blood, congealing into a dark brown clump that was unbearable to look at.
After a brief look around, Captain Boke raised his hand and waved to the officers outside.
The dozen or so people kept a close eye on Lister while carefully making their way towards the corpse inside.
Under Boke's guidance, one of the lieutenants observed the situation with exceptional care.
After a long while, the group finally got up again.
"Captain Lister, we'll take the body with us!"
"This is a gift for you!"
Notification: You have received a new document.
Is the gift just a document?
Lister had a vague suspicion in his heart, and after a quick glance, he found that it was indeed as he had thought.
The document contained evidence of Captain Boke's various violations of military regulations.
Leaving aside the minor issue of collecting credit points, the most egregious offense included embezzling resources from the D15 cruiser and, most importantly, illegally trading level-three resources from the military region in private.
This reminded Lister of when Lim and Ian tried to bribe him with high-level resources back in recruit camp; it seemed that these resources were leaked out in this way.
So, these people in front of me really are "teammates"?
What he didn't expect was that the officers on the same warship would have such a terrible relationship.
They showed no concern whatsoever for the death of their superiors or colleagues, and were even plotting to kill them.
No wonder Titus is facing off alone today.
Lister and his group indirectly helped the other side.
Now that this red-haired captain named Titus is dead, it's likely that a place has been made for one of them!
"Captain Lister, for the sake of you killing Titus, I'll give you one last piece of advice."
"This information can only absolve you of most of the responsibility, but the specific punishment will depend on Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's mood!"
"Good luck!"
After saying that, Captain Boke left with a satisfied look on his face, leading his officers away.
"Let's go back to the ship and discuss this further."
Cohen immediately advised Lister and the others to return to the warship.
Meanwhile, without any obstruction from the Central Army, the A73 cruiser soon docked on the combat readiness planet and completed the conscription reporting process.
Lister returned to his room first and then copied the document and sent it to Captain Cohen.
Compared to him, Captain Cohen would have a more mature perspective on this matter and be better able to handle it.
After dealing with the situation, I finally calmed down and opened the details of the Third Advancement quest.
"... Current Reputation (233/50000)."
Sure enough! His idea was right!
Lister's reputation increased by 2 points, and a look of joy appeared on his face.
Killing is undoubtedly the most direct way to establish authority, and also a quick way to enhance one's reputation.
Compared to his previous behavior, he now needs to be as high-profile as possible.
More new ideas have emerged regarding this federal mobilization mission.