The General's Disappearance

"So, did you find it?"

"No! Brigade Commander Heradi, do you think the general might have been kidnapped?"

Hearing this, Heradi, who had been looking anxious, burst out laughing, leaving Elkley somewhat bewildered.

"Haha... kidnapping the boss?... Haha..."

Seeing Heradi laughing so hard he was doubled over, Elkley couldn't hold back any longer. He loudly asked Heradi, "Brigade Commander Heradi, was my question really that funny?"

Heradi clutched his stomach, bent over, and forcefully suppressed a laugh. However, instead of directly answering Elkley's question, he countered, "Do you know how terrifying the boss's strength is?"

Although Elkley had witnessed Sordil's strength once, he wasn't sure just how powerful Sordil was, so he shook his head. Seeing this, Heradi straightened up and said to Elkley, "You don't know, but I do! Not just me, the entire Bell Dragon Rider Regiment know, which is why the Old Two... uh, no, the First Division Commander, let the two of us search slowly, instead of mobilizing the entire army to search together!"

Hearing this, Elkley became even more interested in just how powerful his general was, so when Heradi suddenly stopped talking, he hurriedly pressed on, "Just how strong is the general? Tell me quickly!"

"Just how powerful is the boss? Alright! Since you want to know, I'll tell you something, and after you hear it, you'll know just how terrifying the boss is!"

After carefully examining the surroundings, Heradi leaned close to Elkley's ear and whispered, "Just half a month ago, our Bell Dragon Rider Regiment, with over a thousand members, ganged up on our leader, but in less than fifteen minutes, we were all lying on the ground."

"That terrifying?"

Upon hearing Heradi's words, Elkley stared at Heradi in disbelief and exclaimed in astonishment.

Heradi didn't answer him. Instead, he sneered and said, "Terrifying? The more terrifying part is yet to come! In that one hour, we didn't even get a touch of the boss's clothes before we were taken down! Do you still think anyone can kidnap the boss?"

"Hiss"

Elkley gasped, trying to calm his trembling fear. That day at headquarters, the general had wiped out the 'Rebel Army' of the 1st and Third Division with a wave of his hand. Elkley had immediately recognized the general as a top-tier fighter, but he never imagined the general's strength would reach this level! Looking at the smug Heradi opposite him, Elkley suddenly felt a pang of doubt and whispered, "Brigade Commander Heradi, although I'm not very well-educated and not particularly bright, you should at least come up with a plausible story to fool me! Oh, over a thousand people besieging one person and being completely defeated in less than fifteen minutes, without Consecutive Pairs clothes—how is that possible?"

Heradi, who had been waiting for Elkley to praise his leader, was immediately enraged upon hearing Elkley's words. He pointed at his subordinates who had come out with him and said, "If you don't believe me, Ail, you can ask any soldier in our Guard Brigade whether that incident happened or not, and see if I, Heradi, am lying!"

Seeing Heradi's reaction, Elkley began to believe what Heradi had just said. Just as Elkley was about to apologize to Heradi, a soldier from the Guard Brigade suddenly ran over and whispered a few words in Heradi's ear. After the soldier finished speaking, Heradi's face, already flushed with anger, turned even redder, then suddenly darkened, and then turned white. Finally, he dejectedly said to the soldier, "Take us there quickly!"

Seeing Heradi's face change as if in a Sichuan opera, Elkley's apology stuck in his throat, unsure whether to say it or not. Just as he was struggling with this dilemma, Heradi spoke first, "Brigade Commander Elkley, it's not too late to say whatever you want to say when you see the general!"

Before Elkley could inquire about Sordil's whereabouts, Heradi followed the soldiers forward, leaving Elkley no choice but to follow behind. After navigating through a series of alleyways, the three arrived at a shop. Upon seeing the waiter greeting customers at the door, Heradi collapsed to the ground with a thud, and Elkley's jaw slammed back down to the ground.

"Is... is that really the boss up ahead?"

The stone statue Heradi, now completely white, stiffly raised its right hand, pointed at the waiter in front of it, and spoke haltingly.

"It... it shouldn't be, right? How... how... how could the general... possibly..."

Looking at the smiling person not far away, Elkley stammered.

Unfortunately, the words of the soldiers beside them forced the 'cruel' truth into their minds.

"Brigade Commander, that guy really is the boss! He's the one who pulled me into that shop just now, otherwise I wouldn't have believed he was the boss!"

Unwilling to admit the truth, Heradi immediately jumped up from the ground and shouted, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Our boss is wise and mighty, with unparalleled combat power. Even when all of us joined forces, we couldn't do anything to him. How could he be trapped by a restaurant owner? This can't be true!"

Hearing Heradi's words, Elkley nodded frantically. Although he didn't think Sordil could rival a knightly order, judging from his performance at headquarters, General Oddek was at least a top-tier fighter! How could such a person be trapped by a restaurant owner and become a waiter at the door?

Just as the two were vehemently denying that the person in front of them was Sordil, the 'waiter' whose attention had been drawn by Heradi's roar rushed to Heradi and said with tears streaming down his face, "Heradi, you've finally come! That's wonderful!"

Hearing the other person's words, Heradi's heart shattered completely. He suddenly threw himself at Sordil, crying and sobbing, "Boss, is it really you? How did you end up like this?"

Sordil clutched Heradi's head, sobbing loudly, "It's all because of that idiot Kurelle! The night before last, after I finished writing my appointment letter, I felt a bit hungry, so I dragged that guy Kurelle out to eat. That idiot Kurelle told me to find a shop and wait for him, and he'd come find me later. So I found this shop, but I was so hungry, so I ordered some food. But after I finished eating, he still didn't show up. I wanted to go back and settle the score with him, but just as I was about to leave, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't brought any money with me, so I had no choice but to stay here and wait for him."

"And then what happened? General, why did you..."

Seeing the two of them crying in each other's arms, Elkley blurted out the question.

"And then? What else could happen! I was treated like a scoundrel who tried to dine and dash, and they forced me to stay here as a waiter!"

Upon hearing Elkley's question, Sordil replied irritably.

Heradi looked at the pitiful Sordil and said, "Boss, with your strength, who could stop you if you wanted to leave? How could you...? Could it be that the owner of this shop is a peerless master who even you, boss, can't beat?"

"No, that's not it! I just feel that it's only right to pay for meals. I'm already in the wrong for not paying for my meal, and if I beat them up on top of that, I'd feel uneasy. That's why I voluntarily stayed here to work and pay off my debt. Okay, enough about that. Heradi, go and pay me back. I'm going back to settle accounts with that idiot Kurelle!"

"Yes, boss!"