Mistaken Identity?

Inside Ship A73.

Lister took a sip of the green tea on the table; a debriefing meeting for the entire army was underway in the control room.

"... in the final battle to kill Marquez, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Weiss, Captain Lister turned the tide..."

Major Kaya read out a detailed report on the final battle.

At this point, everyone's eyes turned to Lister.

In the past, only Captain Boren and his two executive officers appeared on the Ship A73's projector; today, Lister is also qualified to attend such a general operations meeting.

He is also the lowest-ranking officer present in any holographic projection so far.

But the respect in everyone's eyes for Lister was no less.

Whether it's the Central Army or the Civilization Army, within the Federation Military District, absolute strength is the fastest way to gain the respect of others.

As a result of this major battle, the Central Army currently has three medium-sized ships and two small ships that have survived.

As for the Arcane Civilization Army, only three small ships remained surviving.

While it may seem that their survival rate was higher than that of the Central Army, the fact is that, apart from their A73, the other two aircraft were only able to survive because they were unable to participate in the final core area battle.

It can be said that this recruitment mission was a Pyrrhic victory, or at least a barely successful one!

Of course, in Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's eyes, it was actually not too bad.

After all, he had retained the three medium-sized ships, while the small ships were not even in his consideration; they were merely pawns.

"Alright!"

Major Kaya put down the folding screen in his hand and looked around.

That concludes the report.

"Does anyone have any differing opinions? Please point them out now."

"Major Kaya? Is there something... amiss with what you said in your report about Captain Lister?"

"Isn't the content a bit too little? And it doesn't fully showcase Captain Lister's achievements!"

The fact that a deputy captain of the Ship SA107 spoke up at this moment was somewhat unexpected for Lister.

This isn't to refute his claim that the report contained a lot of information; rather, it's to speak up for him.

"Major Leo, when providing feedback in the report, just mention the points you are dissatisfied with."

"If Captain Lister is not satisfied with his part, he can bring it up with me himself."

"Captain Lister, do you have any objections to the final operational report?"

Major Kaya stared directly at him, clearly trying to put pressure on him.

However, upon meeting Lister's calm and unwavering gaze, and recalling the fearsome swordsmanship he displayed on the battlefield, his momentum momentarily weakened.

These post-battle reports are less like battle debriefings and more like reports on the distribution of military merits.

As the most crucial operational report, its contents will be archived after being approved by all senior officers.

Lieutenant Colonel Weiss then drafted the allocation of military merits based on the report, which was then submitted to the Federation Military District for verification before the final allocation of merits was determined.

"I have no objection."

Lister nodded in response without much hesitation.

In fact, he felt the report was quite objective, only highlighting some aspects of Lieutenant Colonel Weiss's leadership.

As the leader of this mission, this distinction is unavoidable.

In any case, Lister himself had made all the key contributions, and in some aspects, he was even given special consideration, which meant that he deserved more military credit.

I felt I already carried enough weight in this most important report, and I didn't think about asking for anything more.

"Whew!"

Seeing Lister nod in approval of the report, Major Kaya silently breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the other officers at the holographic conference still refused to agree.

Especially with Major Leo leading the way, everyone began to speak and express their opinions.

Lister understood their meaning: he believed that he was the one who killed Marquez, so his report should contain more information than that of Lieutenant Colonel Weiss.

Instead of the current situation where his own contributions and role are ranked after Lieutenant Colonel Weiss.

In reality, Lister himself didn't care, since the fact that the First Army for all missions would belong to Lieutenant Colonel Weiss would remain unchanged.

He has already reached the limit of military merit, and these titles, as well as the quality of the decisive battle report, are of little significance to him.

Major Kaya was in an awkward position after receiving criticism from several other lieutenant commanders.

Lister felt more like he was being used as a pretext to express his dissatisfaction with the Ship S27 as a whole.

As for the other officers on Ship A73, including Captain Boren, their expressions were unusual at that moment.

The feeling that the Central Army collectively sought justice and credit for their Civilization Army officers was simply incomprehensible.

For a moment, I even felt like I was dreaming.

"Kaya, revise it again."

"Don't try to highlight anything for me. Just report it according to the standards; it should be exactly what it's supposed to be!"

In the end, it was Lieutenant Colonel Weiss who made the decision with a frown.

Major Kaya's decision to act on his own initiative did not align with his wishes.

For him, it was unnecessary; it was merely a report on the final battle.

If he completes the entire recruitment mission, the credit will be his; he doesn't need to argue about it.

On the contrary, highlighting Lister's content can also create a positive connection between oneself and this Quasi-Hegemon.

"Yes, sir!"

Three days later.

After finalizing the locations of the members of the Silver Mutual Aid Society Association, Ship A73 finally broke away from the main force and returned to the Arcane Civilization Domain area.

After establishing a presence at the nearest planetary point, Lister, along with Captain Boren, boarded a teleportation array and headed to the Arcane Civilization's administrative planet (Truth Star).

At the iconic Tower of Truth, a female mage in a red robe smiled and nodded at the two.

"Major Boren, Captain Lister, welcome... welcome, both of you!"

The gentle, polite voice suddenly trembled when it saw Lister.

His expression turned to surprise, and he looked Lister up and down, as if trying to see right through him.

"What's wrong?"

What are you looking at!?

Captain Boren immediately noticed something amiss, frowning and questioning the female mage without any politeness.

Although he belonged to a Level 2 civilization, after joining the Federation Military District, everything was determined by strength and rank.

The rank of major is already quite high, even within the Tower of Truth of the Arcane Civilization.

At least for this female mage, who is similar to a "security guard," their statuses are worlds apart.

Ah~!

"No! I haven't been resting well lately! You've mistaken me for someone else!"

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you both!"

As the female mage bowed her head in apology, her eyes still unconsciously drifted towards Lister.

He wore a black federal standard military uniform, and the captain's rank on his shoulder insignia was clearly visible.

Coupled with his handsome face and composed demeanor, he was indeed very attractive.

But what made her so curious and even lose her composure on the spot was not the other person's appearance or his captain rank.

But she clearly saw Lister two years ago!

As an arcanist, his memory is quite good.

In particular, she has been in charge of visitor access control at the Tower of Truth, and she remembers all visitors, especially those from recent years.

As far as I remember, Lister was clearly just an unregistered citizen of the Federation, who didn't even have a civilization to which he belonged back then.

And now, not only has he become a Level Two Civilization, but he's also a captain in the Arcane Civilization Army!

This astonishing change was nothing short of a fantasy within the Galactic Federation, and even more unbelievable in her eyes!

In the end, she still didn't dare to think that Lister was the same person as the one from the past, and only thought that her memory was wrong.

Captain Boren led the way in, and Lister walked past her.

Beneath an expressionless face, he spoke in a low voice.

"We've met."

"Captain Martin, is he alright?"

Having said that, seeing the female mage still frozen in place, Lister finally nodded silently and followed Captain Boren inside.