Hell Cars Aren't Meant to Be Enjoyed Alone

When John led the 14th Squad to the assembly point, everyone else in the unit was already fully equipped and ready to go.

A total of six hundred men were participating in this joint operation. Aside from the 120 Mage Soldiers, the remaining 480 were ordinary soldiers from the army's auxiliary units.

Perhaps because Bahamut Town was too far away, Dormammu had also arranged for four military trucks and two jeeps.

Two of the trucks were specifically for food and ammunition. Since there were rivers along the route, they had brought only a small amount of water for emergencies.

After giving a brief mission mobilization speech before the six-hundred-man formation, John climbed straight into a jeep. Then, with a spirited wave of his hand, he gave the order to move out.

Four Mage Soldiers responsible for reconnaissance activated their magic backpacks and soared into the sky, flying ahead of the formation to scout the way.

Escorted by the admiring gazes of the Empire soldiers at the outpost, John's force soon vanished into the end of the road amid clouds of yellow sand.

"Fuck, what kind of goddamn jeep is this? Doesn't it have any shock absorption?"

"This is fucking worse than making me walk!"

"This garbage vehicle can go to the front lines? Is the Empire Logistics Department full of shit for brains?"

Two hours later, at four in the afternoon, near the Dom River on the Western Walden Front.

In the back seat of the jeep in the middle of the formation, John felt the violent jolts from the moving vehicle. His ass had been bounced sore the whole way, and his heart was filled with regret.

Then, through the window, he caught sight of Wendy, who was currently mingling with the army troops. She held a Magic Rifle and wore a sneaky expression, occasionally glancing furtively at John's jeep.

There was still a smug grin on her lips, like a husky that had successfully wrecked the house and was waiting to see its owner lose their temper.

Thinking of how, when he had invited Wendy to ride in the jeep at the start, that stupid pig had repeatedly waved her hands and refused on the grounds that soldiers could not ride with commanders—then had inexplicably given him a meaningful look—

The clever Warrant Officer John understood everything at once.

So this idiot knew that Empire jeeps could practically shake a person's guts out, which was why she had refused to ride with him?

She knew and didn't report it, all because she wanted to watch her superior make a fool of himself?

Heh heh, Wendy, you stupid pig. Very well. Very, very well.

After meeting his gaze, Wendy guiltily looked away and put on a serious expression, scanning the surroundings as though she were carefully observing this area already cleared by friendly forces for possible enemy soldiers.

Feeling his sore, swollen ass, a sinister smile slowly appeared on John's face.

He had decided. In a moment, he would use discussing the mission as an excuse to let the troops rest in place. After he finished explaining the next phase of the plan to Laiya, when they set off again, he would definitely drag Wendy, that stupid pig, into the jeep and make her share the "paradise" he was currently enjoying.

After all, as a commander who cared deeply for his subordinates, how could he possibly keep such "preferential treatment" all to himself?

Besides, Wendy was his "dearest" vice-captain.

He had to bestow the appropriate "honor" upon this stupid pig so everyone would understand just how kind a commander Warrant Officer John was!

"What's going on? I was fine just now, so why does my back suddenly feel chilly? Did I forget to wear a shirt?"

Among the formation, Wendy, who was putting on a show of scanning the surroundings, suddenly shivered for no reason.

She scratched her neck uneasily, but the chill did not fade. Instead, it grew stronger with every passing moment.

As though she sensed something, Wendy could not help secretly looking toward John's jeep. When she saw him staring at her expressionlessly—

That gaze was like a hyena that had been hungry for three days staring at the rear end of an antelope that had just dropped a pile of dung. It was filled with ferocity and determination.

The instant anyone met that gaze, they would know that unless he achieved the goal of digging into the target's ass and crap, this guy would never let it go!

Especially when she saw that the brilliantly clever yet incredibly petty Warrant Officer John wore a terrifying death smile on his face.

At that moment, Wendy, who had originally wanted to play a trick on her captain and let him experience the hardships every commander had to endure—

Instantly realized that she was finished.

"Everyone, set up camp and rest where you are! Also, Wendy Brown, get your ass over here! Right now, immediately!"

"Wah, Captain, I was wrong! I really won't dare do it again! Please spare me! I don't want to ride that kind of hell car! Please!"

You fucking know it's a hell car, so why didn't you warn me before we left? You stupid pig deliberately wanted to see me make a fool of myself, didn't you?!

Since you watched this warrant officer suffer with your eyes wide open, then don't expect to get off easy either, you idiot subordinate!

As the saying went, blessings were shared and hardships were endured together.

So prepare yourself to suffer with me, you damned bastard!

By the riverbank, Wendy looked at John with teary eyes and a pitiful expression, continuously begging miserably for mercy.

John remained unmoved. He merely sneered as he pulled at her chubby little round face, completely ignoring her tear-streaked, ugly display of begging.

Only after her little face had been pinched bright red did he withdraw his merciless iron hand from her plump cheeks.

Before the grimacing Wendy could accuse her captain of abusing his authority and making the army rest merely to punish a subordinate—

John turned his gaze toward Laiya, whom he had sent someone to summon, and nodded slightly.

"You're here, Warrant Officer Laiya. I called you over because I wanted to take advantage of the soldiers' rest period to discuss some of the arrangements for the rest of this mission."

"As for the suppression mission in Bahamut Town, I have a few ideas that may require your cooperation."

"..."

Hearing that, confusion flashed through Laiya's eyes.

In her view, their mission this time was simply to suppress and govern the town of Bahamut.

Under normal circumstances, once they led their troops there, all she needed to do was follow Warrant Officer John's instructions and lead the Mage Soldiers in using their overwhelming force to slaughter every enemy in that town who tried to resist to the bitter end.

After that, Warrant Officer John would issue the appropriate governance policies based on the local conditions and turn this Kingdom town into one loyal to the Empire.

That would mean their mission had been successfully completed.

There should have been no need for any extra actions at all.

However, considering that Colonel Jett had said Warrant Officer John was extremely skilled at using schemes and had wildly unconventional ideas—

Although she was puzzled, she did not think too much about it. She obediently walked over and stood before John, watching him curiously.

She also wanted to hear what special ideas the genius Warrant Officer John had for this mission.

"Um, Captain, should I step aside?"

Seeing that John had important matters to discuss and realizing it was no longer appropriate to joke around, Wendy immediately became serious and cast him an inquisitive look.

Though she enjoyed teasing her petty captain, she never took official matters lightly.

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You tricked me once and now you want to run away? Not a chance. Besides, the two achievements you earned are enough to get you promoted. Sooner or later, you'll have to learn how to be a commander. Stay right here and don't go anywhere. Understand?"

John widened his eyes and spoke viciously to Wendy.

He had already seen through this stupid pig's plan to seize the chance to flee and leave him to "enjoy the hell car" alone.

But he would never give this idiot a chance to escape.

John Maslow had always meant what he said. No one could stop him from sharing "happiness" with his subordinates!

"Captain, you're so petty. You can't even take a joke. Besides, I don't want to be a commander. Riding that kind of hell car every day, by the time I retire, my ass will probably split into eight pieces..."

Wendy pouted and muttered a few objections. But when John raised his brows, looking ready to use his merciless iron hand on her again, she immediately put on a surrendering pose.

Then she obediently covered her round little face and stood beside John, pretending to be dead.

"..."

Watching their interaction from the side, Laiya could not help curling her lips slightly. A trace of envy flashed through her emerald-green eyes.

But she knew full well how unlikeable her personality was. She also understood that such warm scenes were nothing more than an unattainable dream for her.

Furthermore, the mission she carried on her shoulders doomed her to never be as relaxed and carefree as they were.

Thinking of that, Laiya silently sighed in her heart.

The smile on her lips gradually faded.

"Ahem. Sorry you had to see that, Warrant Officer Laiya. Now, let me explain my own thoughts first."

Once Wendy, that idiot, stopped making trouble, John cleared his throat and laid out the thoughts he had organized along the way.

"While traveling, I carefully reviewed the intelligence in the mission briefing. Combined with my personal understanding of the Allied Forces, as well as some information Major Kode provided during the meeting, I discovered that Bahamut Town, the target of this mission, may not be as simple as it seems."

Seeing Laiya's expression gradually turn serious and realizing that she had been drawn in by his lie, John felt reassured. He took out the map he had prepared in advance, then signaled with his eyes for Wendy, who was pretending to be dead, to serve as his assistant. Once she held the map up and spread it fully before the two of them—

John pointed at Bahamut Town on the map and slowly spoke.

"Before the Battle of Walden, Dragon Eye Domain, where Bahamut Town is located, belonged to Baron Hardman of the Golden Rose Kingdom. According to my investigation, House Hartman has a history of nearly five hundred years in the area. It can be considered an ancient noble family."

"Of course, now that the Allied Forces have been defeated and Walden Territory has been occupied by our army, politically speaking, their noble status only qualifies them to become prisoners of our forces. If they cooperate actively, we can grant them some preferential treatment."

"But that isn't important. What matters is here."

Under Laiya's curious gaze, John slowly moved his finger down to an area marked on the map with crossed swords. His expression turned solemn.

"Last night, while our forces were counterattacking and occupying Lake of Magic Power, two companies from the 13th Battalion led by Captain Baronov defeated part of the Allied Forces Fifth Legion's main force. Due to insufficient ammunition, they were preparing to withdraw to the nearest supply point and reorganize their formation. On their way back, they were ambushed by an Allied Forces squad at this location."

"Other than Captain Baronov himself, both companies were wiped out there. Furthermore, after the Fifth Legion's main force eliminated those companies from the 13th Battalion, the scouts reported that the enemy soldiers seemed to vanish. Their traces disappeared completely from this front. I don't think I need to explain what that means."

"That's right. I suspect there is a strong possibility that the Fifth Legion's main force is hiding inside Bahamut Town. They may even have already bribed the villagers in the four villages under Bahamut Town and turned them into informants. The moment we enter Dragon Eye Domain, they will learn of our movements immediately and prepare either an ambush or a retreat!"

Facing the stunned looks of the two women, John spoke with absolute certainty.

However, it was a lie.

As a veteran player of this game, John understood the Allied Forces even better than the Empire did.

Therefore, he knew that after being defeated on the Walden Front and losing the Anti-Magic Device, the Allied Forces leadership had lost any means of countering the Empire's Mage Soldiers. No matter how unwilling they were, they would never hide their remaining forces inside Walden Territory.

Even if they truly intended to station troops in ambush and launch a counterattack against Walden Territory, they would never place them in an out-of-the-way place like Bahamut Town.

Not only was this place far from the nearest Allied Forces gathering point, but it was also surrounded by mountains. There was practically no road capable of transporting equipment on a large scale.

So unless the Allied Forces commander had water in his brain, he would never hide the Fifth Legion's main force in such a godforsaken place.

The most likely situation was that a main force from the Allied Forces Fifth Legion had been beaten into a frantic rout by the Empire's Mage Soldiers and had fled into this mountainous countryside in desperation.

When they were preparing to withdraw and rendezvous with the other legions, they had luckily run into the 13th Battalion led by Captain Baronov and casually given the unlucky Baronov an "FBI, open the door!" As a result, that unfortunate captain had been reduced to a battalion commander without troops.

But after wiping out Captain Baronov's soldiers, as long as those people were not idiots, they would definitely have withdrawn immediately through the mountain roads.

The key was that the Empire did not know that.

That was why they had mistakenly judged the place to be dangerous, resulting in this suppression mission.

But to John, that was a good thing.

What he needed was precisely this sort of misjudgment.

Because only then could he reasonably justify his plan to split up the troops!

At that thought, the corners of John's lips curled upward.

As he looked at Laiya, who was frowning in thought, his gaze gradually turned malicious.

My dear scapegoat, Warrant Officer Laiya Binote. Are you ready to welcome the defeat that belongs to you?

(End of Chapter)