Chapter 266

Anyway, he's married to someone who received Special Merit now, so a hero doesn't dwell on past glories.

Mu En then asked, "Did Daddy receive any rewards for receiving the medal?"

Leon nodded. "Yeah, money, food, clothes, all sorts of things. My teammates say I always look like I'm coming here to buy supplies whenever I leave the Imperial City."

Mu En covered her mouth and chuckled, "Daddy must have been a very dashing and suave person when he was young."

"What are you saying? Your dad isn't young anymore?"

"He's already a 23-year-old uncle~"

Leon pinched his daughter's cheek. "I'm an old man at twenty-three, so what are you at twenty-two? Hmm?"

"She's the older man's daughter."

While the father and daughter were joking around, there was a new commotion at the gate of the Imperial City.

The two stopped and looked down.

It was a relatively simple horse-drawn carriage. After it came to a stop, three people got off.

Leon glanced at the three men's clothing and observed their posture and gait, guessing that they were probably veterans who had just returned from the front lines of war.

As for whether they belonged to the Dragon Slayer Army, he couldn't tell.

However, Mu En recognized the three guys at a glance.

"It's 'Three-Base Special Operations Team'," Mu En said seriously, referring to the not-so-serious group name.

Leon was taken aback. "Pheasant? What pheasant? Honey, are you starving?"

"It's not a pheasant, it's 'Sanji'."

Mu En explained earnestly, "Five years after you disappeared, Daddy, the Empire gradually gained the upper hand in the Human-Dragon War, all thanks to these three people."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "They... are very strong?"

"Well, according to the survivors of those defeated tribes, these three guys are ridiculously strong, giving the feeling of returning to the 'era ruled by black armor'."

Daddy also misses the era when black armor ruled.

After a moment of silent reflection, Leon asked, "Do you have specific information about these three people?"

"Hmm... I only know their names."

Mu En thought for a moment and said,

"Gini, Gitei, Gimei."

"... That name sounds so familiar. It reminds me of someone I used to know."

Casmod, bring your second daughter to court.

"The Three-Base Special Operations Team is just a nickname based on the names of those three guys."

Three days later, the father and his three daughters reunited.

Noa explained the details of the three guys to Leon.

"Their real code name is 'Sharp Knife.' As the name suggests, the three of them are elite soldiers trained by the Empire fifteen years ago, five years after you disappeared. Each of them possesses extremely strong individual combat capabilities."

After a pause, Noa added, "Some people say... they even surpassed the black armor of that time."

"Uh-huh?!"

General Leon was wide awake as soon as he heard this.

"Who said that? Who said that?"

Noa had anticipated his reaction, so she simply shrugged and said, "That's what defeated Dragon Race say."

"However, although these guys are very strong, the power they use... doesn't seem to be very stable."

Aurorla adjusted her glasses and said, "I happened to witness their battle a few years ago. The three of them worked together flawlessly, but halfway through, Captain Gini's power seemed to suddenly go out of control, ultimately causing the battle to end abruptly. And, big sister, you've had that feeling too, haven't you? The power they used—"

Noa picked up where her sister left off, adding, "They don't belong to them."

"Not belonging to them? What does that mean?"

"It's just a feeling. Their magic is strange, but I can't quite put my finger on why," Aurorla said. "Well, that's not the point. The point is that the Vanguard Special Operations Team came to the Imperial City this time, presumably to earn merit and be awarded, right?"

Just as Leon had told Mu En a few days ago, ordinary soldiers fighting on the front lines, no matter how high their rank, were not allowed to freely enter or leave the Imperial City except when receiving medals.

Whether you're Sanji, Shanji, or Sankun, none of them will do.

"Are you trying to sneak in during the awarding ceremony?"

Leon said, "That's probably not very realistic. The investiture ceremony will also be held inside the Imperial City, and during that time, everyone entering and leaving the Imperial City will not need to carry any weapons, and they will be searched."

Noa shook her head. "Entering the Imperial City is no longer possible. That barrier is far too complex; even Xiao Guang couldn't break it. So we can only resort to the second strategy we had before: capture and interrogate people."

"Arrest those three guys?"

"No, the three members of the Vanguard Special Operations Team also don't know the location of the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale."

Noa said, "But their boss should know."

"Boss?"

"A man named Nacho Salaman," Noa said. "He's currently in charge of liaison between the Dragon Slayer Army and the Imperial City. Theoretically, the entire Dragon Slayer Army is under his command. Nacho—hmm? What's with that expression? You seem to know this Nacho?"

Leon stroked his chin, frowned slightly, and nodded. "Yes, twenty years ago, he was just a civilian employee in the Dragon Slayer Army. I never expected him to have risen to the position of the Dragon Slayer Army's political Queen."

'Queen' or 'top leader' is just an easy-to-understand title.

In reality, managing Dragon Slayer Army of hundreds of thousands of dragon slayers requires far more than one person.

Leon's specific official title back then was 'Field Commander,' which can be simply understood as 'When the guns start firing, even if the division commander comes, he has to listen to me.'

As for those outside the battlefield, there are countless officials, both high-ranking and low-ranking, in charge.

The position Noa just mentioned, "responsible for liaison between the Dragon Slayer Army and the Royal Family," can also be understood as a kind of "top leader."

So this Nacho... rose from a junior employee to one of the bosses, and he's a guy who's focused on his career.

"The higher his rank, the more likely he is to know the location of the Heart-protecting Dragon Scale," Aurorla said.

"Hmm, if you want to capture Nacho for interrogation, do you know his route?" Lai Liuling Er'an Siba Ba Si Nan Jinang asked.

"My informant brought new intelligence yesterday: after the medal ceremony, Nacho will host a banquet for the Knife Trio at the 'Hisna Manor' outside the Imperial City. Nacho does this every time they return for the medal ceremony."

Leon exclaimed in sudden realization, "Oh! That's indeed a custom of the Dragon Slayer Army. We did it too back then. So, our chance is at the welcome dinner Nacho is hosting for them?"

"That's right. But even with a clear objective, we still need to develop a more comprehensive and detailed plan, because Nacho will be renting out the entire estate, and the guards will be stationed at every exit."

"Yes, leave this part to me. I can get close to Nacho without being detected," Leon said.

"Okay. Nacho will arrive at the Hisna Manor ahead of time, which should be the best opportunity for you to get close to him," Noa said.

Leon was taken aback. "Is this also the intelligence you provided to your informant?"

"Yes, over the years, Nacho has always arrived at the manor early. Not out of politeness, but simply to take control of the banquet."

Noa shrugged. "This guy seems to want to control everyone and everything, no matter where he is."

"To be able to find out so much about the background of the Dragon Slayer Army Military and Political Queen, I'm getting more and more curious about you as an informant."

Leon asked leisurely, "So, when can I meet this mysterious big shot?"

"No rush. Once we capture Nacho and she finishes her work, we'll probably be able to meet her."

Noa said, "Until then, you can raise your expectations as high as you like."

Leon thought that if his eldest daughter had been born in a peaceful era, she would probably have become an excellent serial novelist.

She understands riddles so well.

Noa then provided Nacho's itinerary and schedule to help Leon develop a more specific plan.

After determining everyone's responsibilities in this operation, the father and daughters talked about the Vanguard Special Operations Team they had just met.

"Although they are nominally subordinate to the Dragon Slayer Army, they are not bound by the Dragon Slayer Army and are directly under the command of the royal family."

Noa said, "Fifteen years ago, the Knife Trio emerged out of nowhere, and with power comparable to the old Dragon King, they won one victory after another on the Human-Dragon Battlefield."

Aurorla added, "A few years ago, Aunt Ischa was also pressured by these three guys and led her people to migrate to the heart of the Dragon Race territory, where it was safer. But this was just a delaying tactic. If the current pace of progress continues, in less than ten years, the Empire will have penetrated even deeper into the Dragon Race."

"By then, it will be no use hiding anywhere."

Leon began to think.

The Knife Trio only became active on the battlefield five years after their disappearance.

He had never heard of these three people's names during Leon service.

Could it be a peerless master secretly trained by the empire?

Not necessarily.

If they were the Empire's secret weapon, then why didn't these people lend a hand when General Leon wreaked havoc on the Empire, purged traitors, or fought against Stark?

Therefore, it is highly likely that these three people grew up in the five years after his disappearance—or rather, they acquired such powerful abilities in some way.

"You just said that the power of the Knife Trio doesn't feel like it's their own?" Leon asked.

"Yes. When we use magic normally, the steps can be simply understood as 'gathering power, and then releasing power'."

Noa said, "But what I got from them was the feeling that 'they were using power from somewhere before releasing it.' And they would have uncontrolled reactions to that power, which was very abnormal."

"Didn't your informant find out any details about their past?"

Noa shook her head. "No. The Knife Trio really did appear out of nowhere, giving no one time to react."

Aurorla's expression was grave. "They are very strong, as other Dragon Race survivors have said, strong enough to rival the ancient dragon kings."

Mu En sat to the side, her long legs curled up, her hands wrapped around her knees. Faced with the serious atmosphere of the discussion, she didn't dare to say anything out of turn and could only listen silently.

But she was also very clear about the strength of the Vanguard Special Operations Team.

If I end up having to fight these three guys, I don't know if I can win.

"Dad." Aurorla broke the slightly oppressive silence.

"Um?"

"I just saw you spacing out. What were you thinking about?"

"Ah... I was just thinking about something from the past, it was quite interesting." Leon sat cross-legged on the ground, head down, and chuckled as he spoke.

Noa blinked. "What's making you laugh so happily?"

"You."

"I?"

Leon looked up at his eldest daughter. "The Vanguard Special Operations Team, there are three of them, which reminds me of the time Noa fought three people at the Saint Hiss Academy when she was a child."

Upon hearing this, the pink-haired girl immediately shook off her gloom, "What? One against three? When did Big Sister ever fight three people at once? I've never heard of that before! Tell me more!"

Leon vividly recounted Noa's glorious achievements to his youngest daughter.

After hearing Aurorla patted her eldest sister on the shoulder repeatedly, "As expected of you, the Queen of the Melkwy family!"

Noa blushed slightly at the praise and turned her head away, her proud expression exactly like her Mom's. "Don't talk nonsense, it's just about opposing school bullying."

"So, I don't think there's anything to be afraid of with that Vanguard Special Operations Team. If necessary, Daddy will show you what it means to take on three opponents at once, a family tradition."

Noa was taken aback. "Wow, why is Old Deng so arrogant?"

Oh~~~

I understand.

This is exactly what Mom meant when she said that if he was allowed to build up his mana bar, he would become incredibly arrogant.

However, his arrogance was based on his strength.

As this man's daughter, Noa never questioned his power.

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