Damn! I Was Just Joking, You Actually Summoned It for Me?

"What the heck! I was just joking, and you actually pulled it off?"

While Murphy was busy rescuing survivors from the ruins of Cadman City's outer districts, elsewhere, in a Pioneer Legion fortress in East Prussia—the very place that had triggered the disaster in Cadman City—Major Frazer was on his last shift.

He was still wearing a crisp military uniform, even the emblem on his collar meticulously arranged. He was currently on duty in the fortress's secure intelligence room, with a neatly packed suitcase placed by his feet.

There were still four hours left until his shift ended tonight. After that, he could finally go home with the first batch of soldiers being recalled.

As Marshal Loren's trusted confidant, whom he had personally promoted during the Ten Years' War, Major Frazer was not being treated unfairly. The General had spoken with him yesterday. After three months of rest at home, he would be reinstated with the rank of Vice Captain.

With such a rapid promotion and the support of his family, he might even have a chance to become a Commodore before he turned fifty.

It was like riding a rocket.

Unfortunately, opportunities for such rapid advancement would likely be fewer from now on, as the war was over.

"I wonder if the young lady my family arranged will like stories from my military service?"

The Major's thoughts drifted as he flipped through documents.

No matter how composed he was, he was still a young man. Furthermore, a letter from his family had clearly stated that he had a very important mission during his three-month leave.

That mission was to get married quickly!

Ideally, he should get married within a month and resolve the issue of offspring within three months. This way, even if something were to happen to him on the battlefield in the future, as a member of an ancient noble family of Xilangu, Major Frazer's family would not face extinction of its main lineage.

The Major felt extremely helpless about this.

He was an ambitious person, and after being "trained" by Marshal Loren during the Ten Years' War, he deeply believed that focusing on anything else before becoming a Commodore was a waste of his life.

"Your Excellency, Major, urgent military affairs!"

The orderly's call interrupted Frazer's reverie. Upon hearing the words "urgent military affairs," the Major's body instantly straightened. He sprang to his feet like a coiled spring, grabbed his cap, and followed the orderly quickly to the psionic communication room next door.

On the surface of the instrument, powered by a psionic orb but with a very complex base, blurry reconnaissance images were being projected.

A psionicist in a black uniform was sweating profusely, fine-tuning the perspective, like a desperate editor frantically adding filters and adjusting pixels to make the hopeless image clearer.

But all the young psionicist's efforts had clearly failed.

"What happened? Where is this?"

Major Frazer, who was in charge of intelligence, asked in a deep voice. The psionicist immediately replied:

"It's Transylvania, Cadman City, Your Excellency, Major. The psionic tide there weakened to a observable level an hour ago. As per the General's orders, we conducted an expeditionary reconnaissance.

But, you see..."

He gestured towards the blurry image from the reconnaissance spell.

However, the image was like a pile of pixelated blocks, causing the Major, whose psionic talent was not particularly outstanding, to frown deeply.

Clearly, he had no idea what the psionicist wanted him to see.

But the Major had been working in intelligence for a long time. Even without seeing the specific image, he could grasp the psionicist's meaning. His expression changed, and he asked:

"Something happened in Cadman City? The Astral Tear didn't achieve the intended effect?"

"No, the Astral Tear was an absolute success!

That city is beyond saving. It will become a pile of floating rubble in the astral plane within a week at most. But, Your Excellency, Major, the problem is that we discovered a group of strange individuals gathered at the edge of Cadman City."

The accompanying psionicist simply stopped trying to fix the mosaic that would make even a million editors shake their heads. Using his professional knowledge, he pointed to several dark spots on the image and reported:

"Here, here, and here! Although the severe interference from astral psionics prevents us from obtaining accurate images, based on my professional knowledge, I can assure you that there are activity traces of at least 400 people here."

"400 people?"

Major Frazer narrowed his eyes. He pondered for a moment and said:

"Could they be civilians who survived the Astral Tear? Cadman City had a full 150,000 blood thralls. Even if the entire city was destroyed, it's possible that a few hundred survived, right?"

"That's certainly a possibility, but their movement patterns are wrong!"

The young psionicist in black robes shook his head stubbornly and said:

"If they were civilians, their psionic detection should show scattered, irregular escape patterns. However, as you can see, these people are moving together!

They seem to have even established a camp in the safe zone at the edge, outside the influence of the astral psionics.

Your Excellency, Major, forgive my bluntness, but this must be someone organizing them.

Or worse, remnants of the Blood Vulture Clan!

Perhaps the Blood Vulture Clan was not completely destroyed!

Those vampires somehow survived, and a more terrifying speculation is that this could very well be the Blood Vulture Clan's self-rescue operation!"

Upon hearing this conclusion, Major Frazer's expression became serious.

He stared at the mosaic image, which was utterly impossible to discern anything from, and said with a headache:

"I will report this to General Loren immediately. Prepare yourself. The General may need to hear your report. Your name is Heru, right? I remember you're from Antani, a very promising scouting psionicist. So, within 20 minutes, do your utmost to restore this mess to a state that a normal person can see clearly!

This promising psionicist, I don't think you'd want to be reprimanded by General Loren for being unprofessional, would you?

This could leave a very bad mark on your internship record within the legion. Do you understand what I mean?"

The psionicist's expression changed. He glanced at the psionic display chart beside him and his face immediately darkened.

He completely understood the importance of the matter, but the problem was, how was he supposed to adjust this mosaic-like thing that directly affected his career?

Nearly an hour later, another important figure within the Pioneer Legion system was led into General Loren's office by a gendarme.

Old Knight Finock, who had returned to the Pioneer Fortress to rest after being in Transylvania, wore a simple linen tunic and exuded a faint smell of alcohol, but the Great Oak Blade, wrapped in sword cloth, was still strapped to his back.

The dutiful gendarme should have confiscated his weapon, but General Loren, looking utterly exhausted, waved his hand and signaled the gendarme not to bother.

These stubborn Old Church Saints, as obstinate as rocks and only slightly less so than dwarves, would never give up their weapons. Moreover, what Old Finock carried was no ordinary weapon.

It was their Holy Blade, a testament to their faith.

"Finock, I know I promised to arrange something for the surviving veterans of the White Oak Legion after the war, and I still intend to honor that promise. However, I'm afraid you must depart immediately."

General Loren sat in his chair, hands propped on his desk. Major Frazer and the black-clad psionicist, who had been driven to despair by editing, stood beside him.

The stern, half-dwarf general spoke to the silent old knight:

"The situation in Cadman City has taken a turn. Intelligence suggests remnants of the Blood Vultures have been spotted. To avoid any further complications, I need you and your most elite hunters to reach there within three days and conduct reconnaissance."

"Three days is fine, but I need to know how far you want me to go."

Old Finock looked up at General Loren and asked:

"Specifically, who is the target?"

"Who else could it be? Grand Duke Blood Vulture Salokdar Collinsman Lasombra!"

The half-dwarf general irritably lit his pipe. He had personally declared the war over with the supposed annihilation of the Blood Vultures, yet now Cadman City was proving stubbornly resistant, beyond his control. This greatly displeased General Loren.

After a puff of pungent, rich smoke escaped his nostrils, he said in a deep voice:

"If Grand Duke Blood Vulture is dead, bring back his body! If he's still alive, finish him off! The pardon request for the White Oak Legion is already en route to Fog City. Following normal council procedures, it might take you and your dwindling veterans two to three months to get a response.

And most likely, it will be a watered-down resolution.

But if you can bring back the Grand Duke Blood Vulture's insignia for King Louis, with this achievement, I believe your group, which has contributed so much to the nation during the war, will undoubtedly receive a special pardon from the Fleur-de-lis Palace."

"Alright!"

The old knight agreed without much hesitation. He nodded at the general and turned to leave, but General Loren called him back.

"Wait, Finock. Major Frazer here will accompany you."

"There's no need, General Loren."

The old knight said bluntly:

"I'll only be taking thirty elite hunters. Most of the veterans will remain at the barracks as hostages, so you don't have to worry about us defecting. Secondly, this Major is just an ordinary person.

He won't be able to handle the hardship of crossing the Andermar Hills to Cadman City within three days."

"I don't distrust you! Finock, we've known each other for over forty years, damn it! I thought we were friends."

General Loren slammed his fist on the desk, seemingly hurt by his old friend's words. Then, he waved his hand, and Major Frazer and the psionicist left the office.

After they departed, Marshal Loren jumped down from his chair and walked over to Old Finock, explaining in a low voice:

"You are good hunters, but you're not good at summarizing and reporting. Major Frazer specializes in intelligence work, and he will help you prepare a polished mission report that will go directly to King Louis's desk.

Trust me, in your current situation, this is very important.

Secondly, Major Frazer comes from the Cappe Family. They are the staunchest royalists, and they and their allies hold seventeen seats in the Grand Council. Currently, their factories across all provinces of the kingdom are producing a continuous stream of supplies for the Pioneer Legion.

If things go south, the friendship and protection of the Cappe Family will be enough to save you unfortunate souls from being completely wiped out.

Do you understand?

To be frank, Major Frazer is going there to gain some prestige.

The young talent I've taken a liking to needs a brilliant military achievement as a wedding gift from me. As for you, after the war, you've lost your usefulness to the country, and I can no longer protect you.

You need a new patron to survive safely in the kingdom as free men.

The reputation of the Old Church remnants isn't good.

Even if you don't care, you should think about your hunters."

When no one else was around, the old knight was no longer so cold. He sighed and said softly to General Loren:

"But you know we are loyal, Loren! You witnessed all the absurdity ten years ago. You know we have been loyal from beginning to end.

I can bear it, but these children shouldn't have to suffer all this!"

"I know, I believe you, but others don't."

The half-dwarf general shook his head.

"The Old Church's rebellion was sealed ten years ago, Finock. You have to accept that fact. Listen to me and complete this mission well! His wise Majesty will see it, and he will give you loyalists a chance.

I firmly believe this.

Make sure to protect Frazer!

This young man is very talented. He's nothing like those disgustingly stubborn Saxon nobles.

Outside the office door, Major Frazer watched the black-clad psionicist crying with his face in his hands. He took out a handkerchief and handed it to the other man, comforting him with a sigh:

"Don't cry, Lord Heru. The General is strict, but he also praised your keen senses."

"But the General said I was unprofessional and that my scouting spells were worse than his thousand-year-old grandfather's eyesight. I'm definitely not going to graduate, boo hoo hoo."

The young psionicist cried heartbrokenly and said despairingly:

"I'm the hope of my entire village! I've disgraced myself completely. Major, you're a good person, but you don't need to comfort me. My life is ruined. I'm going to find my townsfolk and have a serious drink.

Sigh, I hope my aunt won't laugh at me."

"Captain! The Legion Commander just summoned all the veteran captains! It seems there's an urgent mission!"

In the military camp outside the Pioneer Fortress, Captain Natalie, a Witch Hunter who had just finished her recovery training, was eating a cold late-night snack. Ambo, a Scout who shared the same barracks, hobbled quickly up to her mysteriously.

Ambo, who had injured one eye during a previous interrogation, wore a black eye patch. She leaned down with a serious expression and whispered to her captain:

"I overheard some of my companions privately passing messages. The Legion Commander might be selecting elites for another mission."

"Oh? Where to?"

Natalie put down her spoon and pushed her hair back, revealing scars on her cheeks and eyes. But honestly, these scars didn't detract from her overall appearance; they only made her look more formidable.

The Gray-Haired Demon Hunteress, as players called her, asked hoarsely. Ambo hesitated and whispered:

"I have a young acquaintance who's an accompanying psionicist with the Pioneer Legion. He was reprimanded by General Loren for being unprofessional and was in a very bad mood. When he was drunk and rambling, I overheard some details.

The mission is supposed to be a return to Transylvania!

Specifically in Cadman City, General Loren seems to want to confirm the annihilation of the Blood Vulture Clan, but our

Legion Commander hasn't summoned us."

"We have to participate!"

Natalie immediately clenched her fists. Everything that happened in Morland Village and Smuggler's Woods ignited a fire in her heart. She said sternly:

"We have to settle the score with those vampires ourselves! I'll go find the Legion Commander, and you go find Norman and Potter. We must participate in this operation!

That Murphy...

For Old Joe's spirit in Avalon's Holy Temple, I must catch that culprit!"