John Felt Capable Again

After learning from Wendy that Laiya, who looked like a complete weakling, was actually an ace recruit—

John instantly realized that his scapegoating plan, which had originally fallen through, could now be put back into use.

Of course, before carrying out the mission, he still had to properly explain things to Laiya, this scapegoat and super bodyguard.

Having one troublemaking Phoenix Chick like Wendy was already exhausting enough.

If another one showed up, he truly could not imagine what kind of hellish life awaited him.

Oh, great gods of this world.

Please directly adjust Laiya's stats so that everything except her combat power is zero.

No, make everything else negative. Negative, okay?

I promise I'll make offerings to you afterward.

John prayed frantically in his heart, then forcefully suppressed his unease. He turned to Laiya, who stood before him with a slight frown, seemingly unaccustomed to being so close to others, and spoke kindly:

"Warrant Officer Laiya, after Wendy's introduction, I now understand your combat ability. Also, would it be convenient for you to tell me what position you previously held in the Black Eagle Special Forces?"

"..."

Laiya did not answer. Instead, she fell silent, staring expressionlessly at John, making it difficult to tell what she was thinking.

Just as John began to feel uneasy under her gaze and wondered whether he had spoken too quietly for her to hear, planning to repeat himself, the chattering Wendy beside him spoke up as if claiming credit:

"I know this! Warrant Officer Laiya was an assault trooper. After all, that's the position that best brought out her strength."

"And her position was one of a kind in the Black Eagle Special Forces. Captain, now you understand how impressive Warrant Officer Laiya is as an ace recruit, right?"

An assault trooper?

I knew that much. There was indeed such a branch in the army's unit structure.

But wasn't the Black Eagle Special Forces the Empire's assassination force?

They weren't an army assault unit, so where did this assault trooper position come from?

This was completely unreasonable!

After all, an assault trooper's main duty was to draw enemy fire for the army, creating opportunities for the main force to advance.

Although this type of soldier was one of the core branches on the battlefield and could play a crucial role in major wars—

Jett's Black Eagle Special Forces were the Empire's assassination force. These people relied on the Phantom Spell Formation, and when carrying out missions, they could walk without making the slightest sound.

Putting an assault trooper in a unit like that was like asking a college student to guard a room full of holiday supplies.

It was nothing but a side effect!

Something was wrong. Ninety percent wrong, at least.

Wait, could it be that Laiya was bad at assassination work, so Jett had specifically designated her as the assassination unit's assault trooper?

Other than that possibility, there really did not seem to be any other explanation.

Thinking this, John immediately turned his gaze toward Laiya. The next second, under his almost ecstatic stare, the silver-haired girl lowered her head and replied in a muffled voice:

"The colonel said that aside from combat, I have no talent in any other area."

"I know I might not be able to help you much with this mission either, but I'll do my best."

For someone with social anxiety, being able to say so much in one go was really not easy.

Not bad. Very spirited!

Watching Laiya, who was so nervous from not being used to talking with people that her clenched hands had turned pale, Warrant Officer John, who had seen through everything, understood perfectly.

But soon, he was filled with an unprecedented sense of happiness.

Assault troopers were great. Assault troopers did not need to think; they only needed to charge into battle.

Warrant Officer John needed talent like you—someone who would not randomly cause trouble!

I thought a burden had arrived, but it turned out to be an epic card.

The feeling of going from hell to heaven was simply amazing. Hahaha!

The little man in John's heart threw back his head and laughed wildly, but none of it showed on his face. He merely coughed lightly, then reached out and patted Laiya's shoulder before smiling at her.

"Don't put yourself down like that, Warrant Officer Laiya. In my opinion, aside from unavoidable factors caused by physical defects, there really isn't much difference in everyone's intelligence."

"Besides, you're still young. You have plenty of time to try all sorts of paths. You haven't even tried or worked hard at them yet, so how can you deny yourself just because of someone else's words?"

"If you ask me, you should relax and have a little more confidence in yourself."

"Colonel Jett is just a guy with nothing but missions on his mind. You can treat that one-sided evaluation of his as complete bullshit."

"After all, in my view, anyone can be absent from this joint operation, but Warrant Officer Laiya—only you absolutely cannot be absent!"

John spoke with absolute conviction, his tone full of sincerity and seriousness.

Bullshit. If you didn't come, who the hell would I find to take the damage?

It couldn't be me, could it?

With combat power as pathetic as mine, Sellviya, that dragon-girl, would probably send me to meet the Three Pure Ones in under three seconds.

"Captain, Captain, what about me? Me? Wendy is important too, right?"

Seeing John praise the new deputy so highly, Wendy seemed to feel that her position as Warrant Officer John's number-one follower was being challenged. She hurriedly asked, her large eyes full of expectation as she looked at him.

She was John's old subordinate. Although they had only known each other for two days, she had still arrived before Laiya.

As an old subordinate, how could she lose to a newcomer?

Even if the other party was an ace recruit, that would not do!

Wendy kept cheering herself on internally while nervously watching John, waiting for the warrant officer's answer.

"Mm, yes, yes, Wendy is important too. You're my right-hand woman, so this operation definitely can't do without you either!"

John replied with a stiff smile, but inwardly, he was gritting his teeth in anger.

In truth, if he had not been afraid that leaving this idiot in the unit while he went out on a mission would cause her to create even more trouble for him, John would never have brought her along.

After all, this girl had ruined his plans twice already, proving just how cursed she was.

Honestly, if John had not known that this world had no true villains, he might have suspected that Wendy herself was the villain.

After all, he had only made up that mission on the spot to fool her. How had she found the real target the moment she took over?

And she had done it twice! Between the two incidents, she had dealt a devastating blow to the Allied Forces where the protagonist faction was located. If that wasn't villain behavior, what was?

So there was definitely something wrong with this girl. He would have to watch out for her more in the future!

Otherwise, one day this idiot might corrupt him into becoming the leader of the villains, and then he would have nowhere to cry.

John warned himself inwardly. Wendy, however, had no idea that the Warrant Officer John she admired was badmouthing her in his heart.

After hearing John acknowledge that she was also an important member of the mission, she immediately raised her little head proudly and shot Laiya a look that said, See that? I'm Warrant Officer John's most trusted subordinate. A newcomer like you can't compare to me.

However, Laiya paid no attention to Wendy's provocation.

After hearing John's words of comfort, she froze in place. She seemed not to have expected that someone like her, who possessed no talent for command, could be so firmly chosen by this man—someone even Colonel Jett could not help but call a true genius.

Having long grown accustomed to being denied, she was momentarily dazed, his words continuously echoing in her ears.

An indescribable, strange emotion suddenly welled up in her heart.

For some reason, her nose also felt a little sore.

Feeling these strange changes in her body, Laiya could not help but panic.

Just as she was about to turn and flee this tent that was making her feel strange, heading to the room where she practiced spell formations and trying to use its comforting darkness to return herself to normal—

The next second, when her anxious gaze met John's in the air, she discovered in surprise—

For some reason, all the panic in her heart vanished, replaced by an indescribable sense of security.

So, was that feeling just now an illusion?

Laiya was somewhat confused. She remained silent, simply staring blankly at John across from her.

What was going on?

Why was this scapegoat staring at me? Did I get dirt on my face?

That couldn't be right. When I looked in the mirror after entering the tent earlier, I didn't see anything dirty.

Should I take another look?

Seeing Laiya continue to stare at him without saying anything, John could not help but grow suspicious.

But after thinking about it, there were two people in his tent, and both were women. Looking in a mirror in front of them would make him seem rather vain.

So John suppressed the urge to tidy his appearance. Pretending that he was a little warm, he raised a hand and vigorously wiped his face.

Then he took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. Ignoring Wendy, who was constantly blinking as she "demonstrated her authority to the newcomer," he turned to Laiya, who had fallen into thought, and said solemnly:

"Though I would like to continue talking with you, regrettably, Warrant Officer Laiya, it's getting late. I'm afraid we should set out."

"After all, the other units participating in this operation have already assembled. It wouldn't be very good to keep everyone waiting, would it?"

"So, let's talk on the way."

John clapped his hands, making some noise and pulling Laiya, who had somehow drifted far away in thought, back to reality. After seeing her nod, he turned to Wendy, who was watching him eagerly, and gave his order:

"Wendy, gather the members of the 14th Squad. It's time for us to leave."

"Yes, Captain!"

Meanwhile, just as John was preparing to lead his unit out on this suppression mission—

Bahamut Town, inside the study of a private residence.

"Rustle!"

Under the bright lights, a thin red-haired woman sat at the desk, frowning as she examined the intelligence report in her hand.

When she saw its description of how the Allied Forces' three legions had completely withdrawn from the Walden Front, while the Imperial army had occupied Walden Lake and was now hunting down the remaining troops in the Walden region, her brows unconsciously furrowed tighter.

Only after reading the entire document did she toss the report onto the desk.

Her burgundy eyes looked toward the intelligence report on the table, and a mocking smile slowly appeared on her delicate face.

Then she murmured to herself:

"I thought they would be a good buyer, but in the end, they aren't even a match for the Empire?"

"The Allied Forces? It seems they are nothing special after all."

They had clearly held the advantage in numbers and possessed a device capable of countering the Empire's Mage Soldiers.

As long as they held the line, they could have won the war.

But instead, those people had allowed a squad dispatched by the Empire to launch a surprise attack on the Anti-Magic Device stronghold.

As a result, they completely lost the equipment that could restrain the Mage Soldiers.

In just one night—no, less than three hours—they were beaten into a rout by the Empire's assault.

Even one of their brigadier generals had been captured by the Empire.

Could Allied Forces like that really help her fulfill her wish of overthrowing the Empire?

"Perhaps it's time to find a new place to go."

Sellviya muttered to herself. She slowly rose and walked to the bookshelf, her gaze settling on the map hanging at its very top. She looked at the area representing Bahamut Town, where she had circled the territory belonging to her own forces in red ink.

A flash of struggle passed through her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination.

Just as she was about to order someone to gather the gang members so they could leave Bahamut Town today and seek another path—

Accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, the door to her study was suddenly pushed open.

Then, a tall man entered under the escort of a group of guards.

Under her cold gaze, the newcomer first smiled and bowed to her, then stated his purpose:

"Honorable Miss Sellviya, Baron Hardman has sent me to invite you to the castle to discuss an important matter. Would it be convenient for you?"

(End of Chapter)