I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 165 Insects are only fit to be decorations on streetlights!
"!"

Upon hearing this, Ian froze on the spot, his eyes beginning to flicker uncertainly.

In fact, after John called him over, he had considered that John might offer him various conditions, such as developing him into a multi-faceted spy and using him to gather intelligence within the Conservative Party.

After all, given the methods this rising star of the empire had previously demonstrated, it was quite normal for him to be developed into a pawn infiltrating the opposing party.

But he never expected that the other party would directly invite him to join a new intelligence agency that was approved by His Majesty William and was responsible for the intelligence and counter-espionage of the three armed forces, and that he would be appointed as the minister immediately.

This can no longer be called a surprise, but a shock.

Regardless of John's true purpose in extending this invitation, Ian understood from the information John had just provided that if he, as an external intelligence agent for the Conservative Party's intelligence department, accepted John's invitation this time...

That means he was practically throwing himself to the stake.

After all, it was common knowledge among all officers in the empire that the conservatives disliked the reformers.

If the agency John mentioned, responsible for intelligence matters for the three armed forces and called Imperial MI5, is indeed formally approved and established.

Without a doubt, once the conservatives learned of this, they would try every means to bring down this institution.

After all, once such an intelligence organization responsible for supplying intelligence to the three armed forces is established, Emperor William will abolish the intelligence departments within the various legions of the empire due to their redundancy and complexity.

A large portion of the nobles within the conservative party will have their rights reduced.

However, it is well known that these nobles, who pride themselves on their long history, may not be very capable of doing anything serious, but they are not only very adept at dealing with their own people, but also very cunning.

As the three intelligence chiefs of the Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau's Fifth Division, they will undoubtedly become the primary targets for assassination in the future.

The situation can be described as extremely dangerous.

After all, although a large part of the conservative party consists of short-sighted fools, it does not mean that their power is weak. On the contrary, the core power of the empire is currently in the hands of these great nobles.

Whether it's the air force controlled by the Caster family, the army controlled by Duke Mosilis, or the defense and security forces currently controlled by the Lart family, the combined power of these three families accounts for almost four-fifths of the Empire's combat strength.

And this doesn't even include the other large nobles within the conservative party, whose forces and factions were not established under a military guise but were privately formed.

It was precisely because of the deep-rooted influence of these vast networks within the empire that Ian chose to become a pawn of the Conservative Party after receiving their invitation to join him.

On the other hand, the reformists had no other trump cards besides Duke Ostan's Imperial Navy, now the Third Air Force Army, the Royal Secret Surveillance Force directly under His Majesty William, and other scattered local family forces supporting His Majesty William.

Although Duke Mosilis seems to have had a conflict with Prime Minister Wolf in recent years, which has led to a weakening of cohesion within the Conservative Party, Duke Mosilis even deliberately claimed to be ill and did not attend the last Imperial Diet meeting.

But Ian also knew that this discord was only superficial.

After all, even if Prime Minister Wolff and Duke Mosilis had conflicting views on governance, their interests were aligned and their goals were the same.

The conflict between the two sides will only fully erupt after the reformists are overthrown.

In addition, the current heir of the Ostan family has been wavering in his attitude, and there were even rumors recently that he seemed to be in secret contact with Minister Michel.

Although it was later confirmed by the person involved as a rumor, this is undoubtedly a dangerous sign.

However, the current Duke of Ostan's health is deteriorating due to injuries and a curse.

Even with the care of the Empire's top medical team, he could barely maintain his condition, but his advanced age of eighty-nine was enough to extinguish all hope.

In other words, the reformists, or rather the royalists, currently lack the capability and means to protect a newly established intelligence agency from assassinations by the conservatives.

The position of minister may seem prestigious, but in reality, it is a position where whoever takes office is likely to die.

Any intelligent person would probably not agree to such an absurd request.

If we analyze the situation based on past trends, that is indeed the case.

But now, an unusual turn of events has occurred in the clash between these two parties. The 7th Air Force, which should have been defeated, unexpectedly won the Battle of Walden, while the 1st Division, which should have been defeated, achieved a near-impossible turn of events under the leadership of an air force major who appeared out of nowhere.

And, as expected, the enemy will then transform into a ferocious wave, completely annihilating all enemy forces currently located in Faoken Bay.

If the person who extended this invitation today were not John Maslow, but any general of the Empire...

Ian will definitely feign surrender on the surface, but will then try to escape and rejoin the conservatives in exchange for the safety of his family.

After all, he would only agree to a position that was destined to have no future, unless he was out of his mind.

It would be wiser to betray the party and die in the power struggle, instead of surrendering to the enemy and enduring humiliation, and then assassinating Senator Mister at the opportune moment to complete the revenge.

Unfortunately, this possibility was lost after John Maslow came along.

He didn't believe he could hide anything from this person, who had been chosen by the previous Demon King as a candidate for the Minister of the Empire's unique secret intelligence force.

It's highly likely that the other party will eliminate him before he develops any disloyalty.

Therefore, from beginning to end, he only had one outcome.

That is to offer loyalty to the other party, and only to the other party!

After quickly sorting everything out in his mind, Ian looked at the man in front of him with a calm smile, as if he had the world in his hands, and felt an unprecedented sense of awe.

He then took a deep breath and responded in a deep voice:
"Your Excellency John, if you do not mind, Ian Grant is ready to serve you at any time."

“Very good, that’s a wise decision. As the ninth holder of the Iron Wreath in the Empire, I assure you, Lieutenant Ian, that you will never regret the decision you’ve made today!”

John wasn't surprised by this expected answer; he simply chuckled and nodded.

Before the other party could continue to express his loyalty, he raised his hand to interrupt:

"Of course, I know that Lieutenant Ian, you must be very nervous right now, well, you could even be described as terrified."

"After all, the conservative party currently wields considerable power in the empire, and it is quite normal for you, the new head of the Imperial Military Intelligence Department's naval intelligence division, to be targeted for assassination by your political enemies."

"However, you don't need to worry too much about this, because the Black Hawk Unit soldiers, as the Empire's strongest assassination force, will show those insects who are trying to hinder the Empire's progress a real hell."

"Furthermore, given my past as a commoner in the Kingdom of Brown and my experience of being raised in an imperial orphanage, I don't actually have a strong halo effect on those conservative nobles."

"In my view, setting aside political parties, there are only two kinds of imperial nobles."

"One type is the nobles who, like us reformers, strive for the advancement of the empire."

"Another type is those who try to hinder the empire's progress because of personal or family interests."

"The former are the nobles worthy of my, John Maslow's, respect. As for the latter..."

At this point, John paused slightly, meeting Ian's gaze, his lips twitched slightly, and then he uttered a sentence in a contemptuous tone that made everyone's pupils shrink:

"In my opinion, those who try to hinder the empire's progress, or any forces that do so, are not worthy of being called nobles at all; they are nothing but a bunch of worthless insects!"

"As for these insects, there is only one fate the Empire will give them."

"That is, to become the best decorative item for the streetlights on the streets of the Empire!"

"Lieutenant Ian, this is my answer to you, and also the guarantee I can give you!"

Meeting Ian's shocked gaze, John slowly stood up from his chair, then walked over to him, extended his hand, and smiled. His tone was calm, yet it inexplicably instilled in Ian a feeling of inexplicable fervor.
"So, welcome to MI5. Now we're on the same side, Lieutenant Ian Grant!"

……

(End of this chapter)