Wendy felt like she had to be insane. Otherwise, why had she listened to that bastard John and led a group of squad members flying around the combat zone in a rainstorm on a freezing night like this?
What fucking patrol? What chance to help the Empire win?
On a night so dark she could not even see her own fingers through the dense curtain of rain, she would be damned if she could spot some secret Allied Forces squad from the sky.
"Bullshit mission. Bullshit John Maslow!"
High in the air, Wendy wore a black raincoat and carried a Mage Pack on her back, flying alongside the other complaining squad members. Clutching an Imperial-Issue Magic Rifle in her hands, she had already spent half an hour carrying out this patrol in the pouring rain when she could not help cursing under her breath.
The raindrops striking her face felt like blades, filling her with regret.
Looking at the endless darkness ahead, Wendy could practically foresee a future as bleak as an abyss.
Sure enough, if she kept following these Military Academy officers who had nothing but theory and so-called credentials, with not a shred of real combat experience, her chances of getting promoted and making a fortune were absolutely zero!
She should apply to Captain Olaf for a transfer to another squad when she got back.
Wendy could not help sighing inwardly. She had left her hometown so resolutely and chosen to become a Mage Soldier not to muddle through life and wait for death under some stupid superior.
A life whose end she could see at a glance was simply unbearable.
She probably really had developed an intolerance for idiots.
Just as Wendy was thinking of leading everyone through the annoying rain for a little longer before quickly returning to the temporary base to end this utterly pointless patrol—
The next second, a squad member's startled cry came through her communicator.
"Vice-Captain Wendy! Suspicious target spotted at coordinates 45'37, horizontal distance 351 meters!"
No way, they had actually found something?!
Wendy was startled and immediately activated her Magic Eye to look toward the target.
Empowered by magic, the ink-black night gradually brightened in her vision, and everything below came clearly into view.
It was a fully armed Allied Forces squad of roughly fifty men, moving slowly through the rain.
A gray truck sat in the middle of the formation with its lights off. The sound of its engine was perfectly concealed by the endless rain. Like a ghost, it silently crossed the Empire's defensive line and gradually moved deeper inside.
With just one glance, Wendy, a five-year veteran, determined that this was an Allied Forces squad carrying out a secret operation.
And that truck definitely carried something far from ordinary. Otherwise, the Allied Forces would never have risked sending a squad so deep behind the Empire's lines.
At that moment, Wendy had no time to marvel at how her commander, who had only just entered the battlefield, could possess such sharp judgment and predict the Allied Forces' movements in advance.
Her combat experience told her one thing.
This enemy unit was a huge catch. Her moment to earn glory and distinction had arrived!
"Everyone, load armor-piercing rounds! Open fire in twenty seconds! Take down this Allied Forces squad no matter what!"
From above, Wendy looked down at the enemy soldiers feeling their way through the darkness, like ignorant flies flying straight into an invisible web.
As she counted down in her heart, an excited gleam slowly appeared in her eyes.
The instant the enemy entered effective range, she gave the attack order through the communicator without hesitation.
"Fire!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Blooming magical light tore through the pitch-black night. The gunshots, obscured by the torrential rain, were like Death's scythe. Before the Allied Forces soldiers marching with their heads down could react, the strikes from above violently claimed their lives.
Only after thirty members of the squad had their heads blown apart almost simultaneously and fell to the ground in perfect unison—
Did the commander of this Allied Forces squad, tasked with a secret operation, realize that their movements had been completely exposed.
And beneath the enemy's undisguised magical light, he instantly understood that the force ambushing them was no amateur outfit.
They were the Empire's Mage Soldiers, known as the "Demon Legion," enough to strike fear into any Allied Forces unit!
Against monsters capable of flying and wielding large-scale explosive magic, their little army squad had no chance of winning in the first place.
Especially when the enemy had prepared an ambush?
Damn it. Their plan to infiltrate in secret had been flawless, so how had they fallen into an Imperial ambush?
Could there have been a traitor?
The Allied Forces captain could not make sense of it, but as he felt the magical aura above, like Death descending upon them, he realized the operation had completely collapsed and did not continue resisting.
Without another word, he gritted his teeth, threw down his weapon, raised both hands over his head, and shouted toward the sky.
"Don't shoot! We surrender!"
Elm Village, temporary base.
John sat in a chair, leisurely sipping coffee while admiring the rain outside the window.
He knew that under his orders, Wendy and the others were surely suffering through the downpour while carrying out a search mission that had no chance of finding its target.
Perhaps she was even cursing him in every way possible right now, but John did not care.
After all, once he returned to the legion base following this failed command, Captain Olaf would definitely reprimand him. The Empire's higher-ups would then be disappointed in him, which was exactly what he wanted. So long as he proved his incompetence, he could be dismissed by the higher-ups as a useless fool exactly according to plan, thus fulfilling his long-awaited dream of retirement.
Hmm, it seemed wartime pensions in the Empire were not that generous. And his game character's backstory was that he came from an orphanage.
So he really needed to plan out his retirement life properly.
For now, he should keep his head down whenever possible. If things truly did not work out, he could use his pension to rent a little shop and scrape by.
Once the Fall of the Empire came ten years later and the emperor died, he could become a bard in a tavern.
By then, he could make up stories about the Norman Empire's emperor in his early days: how, to successfully inherit the throne, His Majesty wove straw sandals in the morning and sold his ass at a brothel in the afternoon.
Then, when he got home at night, he discovered that the loyal assassins he had painstakingly trained had been lured away by someone with a single meal. Stories like that would surely earn him plenty of tips and support from customers.
As for whether it was true, unofficial history was still history!
And whether the Empire's remnants might seek revenge? Heh. When the Empire fell, even the Empire loyalists would be watched by secret units as they shot themselves. It was not as if a bunch of ghosts could crawl out of their graves to take revenge on him!
Anyway, no matter what, so long as he could retire, his future would be filled with light and freedom.
After the Allied Forces completely occupied the Empire, he could use his starting capital to speculate on real estate, become a business tycoon in one leap, then keep a few beautiful and adorable beast-eared girls and live extravagantly every day.
How wonderful would that be?!
"To beautiful freedom and the future!"
John raised his coffee cup with a longing expression. But before he could continue indulging in his fantasies of the future, hurried footsteps sounded outside, and the dilapidated door was violently shoved open.
The person who entered was Wendy, whom he had fooled into going out on patrol in the rain. She seemed to have rushed over in a great hurry and had not even had time to change out of her black raincoat. Rainwater continuously dripped from it onto the old wooden floorboards with a pattering sound.
She was still breathing heavily. John frowned at the sight, about to put on the airs of a shitty superior and reprimand her, but the next second, his eyes met her fanatical gaze.
Then Wendy's excited voice rang in his ears.
"Captain John, you're incredible! Under your brilliant leadership, we successfully wiped out an Allied Forces special unit that had secretly infiltrated our lines. Not only did we capture their commander alive, we also seized a large quantity of explosive charges they were transporting for their secret mission."
"I've already had the communications officer report this good news to headquarters. They replied that they would immediately send soldiers to receive us, and they highly praised your exquisite battle plan during the call!"
"Warrant Officer John, with such a major achievement, you'll definitely be promoted to at least second lieutenant this time. You might even make first lieutenant!"
"This is incredible news, Captain!"
Wendy chattered excitedly without stopping, but as John listened to her report, his hands and feet began to go cold uncontrollably, and his head swam.
Good news?
Are you kidding me?
This fucking counted as something good?
What the hell had this stupid pig done, damn it?!
John roared inwardly. Yet faced with Wendy's excited gaze, although he wanted nothing more than to eat her alive, he still had to put on a surprised expression. As though marching toward destruction alongside the Empire was exactly what he wanted, his face twitching, he replied.
"Heh, heh heh. Is that so? Then that really is... very delightful."
Delightful my ass. This was a fucking disaster!
"Yes, Warrant Officer John!"
But seeing her captain's "calm expression," Wendy was somewhat puzzled. They had clearly earned a major victory, so why did this commander not look happy at all? Instead, he seemed somewhat upset, as if his defenses had been completely shattered.
But recalling his earlier "flawless calculations," Wendy instantly understood everything.
He simply did not regard this victory as worth celebrating!
Yes, that was it. It had to be!
Although they had stopped the Allied Forces' secret unit and given the Empire a chance to alter the Battle of Walden—
At its core, this had merely eased the situation. It could not completely reverse the war.
And what Warrant Officer John wanted was not such a minor victory. He wanted to command the entire battlefield!
That was why, after hearing her report, he had shown such disdain!
How calm. How arrogant!
He was not moved by a fleeting victory. Instead, he focused on the bigger picture, maintaining astonishing composure and wisdom at every moment.
So this was what the world looked like through the eyes of a true genius commander?
It was simply awe-inspiring!
Wendy was overwhelmed with emotion, and her admiration for John reached its peak at that moment.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of what Wendy was thinking, the "genius commander" John, standing with his back to his subordinate, slowly raised his head and tried not to let his bitter tears spill from his eyes.
Promotion and a raise? Becoming a first lieutenant?
Are you kidding me?!
He had only wanted to slack off and retire. Things were not supposed to turn out like this!
What the fuck had gone wrong?!
(End of Chapter)
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