Inside the council chamber of the Imperial Palace in the Imperial Capital.
" General Budo, you witnessed what just happened. What are your thoughts on Lin Feng?"
Minister Honest frowned slightly and looked at Budo.
It took General Budo a long time to come to his senses.
Not only General Budo, but all the officials in the court were still in shock from the recent events.
This is only natural; anyone who saw Lin Feng defeat that ' Night Raid ' in such a short time would have the same reaction.
"I don't know how to evaluate this man... His strength is beyond my ability to presume to judge."
"Oh? You mean, Lin Feng is far too powerful compared to ordinary officials, is that right?"
"It's more than just a little; this is simply not the efficiency of a teenager, or even a recruit. It's said he's only been in the Imperial Guard for less than a year, this is truly..."
Seeing General Budo's surprised face, Honest felt only excitement.
" General Budo, don't you think Lin Feng's strength is too strange?"
"What do you mean by this, Minister?"
Actually, from the moment Honest asked Budo to check Lin Feng's movements, Budo already didn't understand Honest's intentions.
But what came next made Budo realize that Honest seemed to have become suspicious of Lin Feng.
"The fact that he was able to capture all the Night Raid at such a speed certainly doesn't mean he colluded with the Night Raid team, but it's also possible that he planted a spy within the Night Raid."
"Although this person is extremely capable, he is too unpredictable and treacherous in his actions. I think it would be very difficult to cultivate the composure and steadiness of the ' Jaegers ' force under his command."
Honest stroked his beard and said this with a smug look on his face. Even a fool could tell that Honest was about to weaken Lin Feng's military power.
Granting such military power to a man of such terrifying strength would put Honest in a very dangerous position.
" General Budo, I am now sending you to Esdeath's quarters to summon her. I have assigned her official duties today, and she won't be going far even if she leaves."
"Clear."
After hearing Honest's order, Budo stepped out of the conference room.
'Hehe, how should we play this game next...?'
Minister Honest was silently calculating.
To execute Lin Feng Lin Feng so soon after he had made such a great contribution would be an extremely rash move and would lack any legitimate justification.
The reasons for eliminating Lin Feng and weakening his power can be rethought every day; now, all that's needed is to strip this man of a portion of his military authority.
So I have Esdeath and General Budo as my two cards, and I even have my own and the Emperor's Teigu that I haven't used yet.
In a four-on-one situation, no matter how strong Lin Feng is, he can't be arrogant for long.
Moreover, this calculation is based on the assumption that Lin Feng has ulterior motives.
If Lin Feng is as loyal as General Budo, even to the point of blind loyalty, then his own scheming would be completely unnecessary.
His plan was almost flawless; no matter how Honest examined it, there were no flaws. He laughed heartily with satisfaction once again.
"Where's the wine? Go get me the wine right now!"
"Yes--!"
Before he had finished speaking, several wine glasses inlaid with gold and jade were presented, and various wines of different temperatures and flavors were placed in front of Honest in luxurious vessels of all sizes.
In the Imperial Capital palace of the capital, he was a figure equivalent to the emperor.
"That's more like it--"
"Report! General Esdeath has arrived!"
Outside the door, behind a muscular, armored middle-aged man, a tall, fair-skinned girl with long, icy blue hair stepped through the doorway.
She exuded an icy aura, and although the soldiers present knew it wasn't murderous intent, they still couldn't resist the chilling feeling.
"Minister Honest, what is it? I'm very busy today."
"You can ignore all your previous work now, because I'll be giving you new tasks!"
Minister Honest chuckled maliciously and handed Esdeath a jug of hot wine.
"I have ordered that Esdeath's ' Jaegers ' force be temporarily placed under Lin Feng's command, with the aim of eliminating the ' Night Raid ' organization, as you have already heard."
"As fellow Imperial Generals, it seems Lin Feng's intelligence-gathering abilities surpass yours, Esdeath —he has successfully completed my mission, annihilating the ' Night Raid ' organization."
Esdeath was startled upon hearing Honest's words.
Even a seasoned general who has seen countless storms would find it hard to imagine that a newly appointed general could achieve such an extraordinary feat.
"Hehe... Is that so..."
"This drink is to celebrate the destruction of the Night Raid organization. And with the mission to eliminate ' Night Raid ' over, the management of the ' Jaegers ' organization will once again return to your hands, Esdeath!"
" Esdeath, you are an excellent instructor. Use your talents! You are more suitable than Lin Feng to train the ' Jaegers ' troops!"
"Snort..."
Esdeath grasped the wine Honest offered, and the once warm drink instantly turned ice-cold.
Not only did a thick layer of frost immediately form on the wine glass, but the wine itself almost froze.
'Let's skip the flattery. Compared to his achievements, do I seem like a failure now? Ultimately, it's a lack of intelligence gathering capabilities.'
Although she knew that Honest was trying to weaken Lin Feng's control over the military, Esdeath's focus was still on her own incompetence.
If he had been able to eliminate these cancerous growths earlier, Lin Feng wouldn't have had the chance to gain the respect of the court officials.
"Report! General Lin Feng has arrived outside the palace gates!"
"Snort..."
Upon hearing that Lin Feng was about to appear, Esdeath's anger flared up immediately.
But now that Lin Feng has clearly accomplished a major feat, it's unreasonable to cause him trouble immediately. This made Esdeath even more furious.
After about half an incense stick's time, Lin Feng strode in from outside.
A silver button on his black coat stood out, making him look more energetic than before.
"I'm back. Looks like the meeting isn't over yet."
"You've come at the perfect time, Lin Feng!"
Minister Honest raised a glass of cold wine as he spoke.
" Lin Feng, the ' Jaegers ' unit is a special security force established to hunt down criminal organizations. Now that their mission is complete, they will be returning to Esdeath's command. Quickly drink this cup of wine as a farewell gift to them!"
"A farewell banquet?"
Lin Feng stared at the wine glass for a moment, wondering what tricks that old fox Honest was up to, and then smiled faintly.