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

Chapter 52 His control over people's hearts was simply unparalleled!

“I know you have seen through all the Allied forces’ schemes, and as a prisoner, I am not worthy to make any demands of you.”

“But if you agree to send agents to rescue my family from the Kingdom of Victoria, I, Will Hoffman, am willing to swear to you in the name of the Hoffman family that I will offer all my loyalty to the great Empire and fight to the death for it.”

"So, please, in view of my good attitude in surrendering, grant me this humble request. I'm begging you, esteemed Warrant Officer John!"

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Will Hoffman, a man revered as a model soldier by his fellow soldiers in the Fifth Army, now delivered a humiliating surrender declaration to the enemy commander, utterly devoid of dignity.

But only Will knew that in front of the 'sneer' of the Imperial Demon who had seen through everything, there was something else entirely.

As a mere mortal, he had no choice but to admit defeat.

This is probably his fate!

Thinking of this, Will couldn't help but let out a bitter and desperate smile.

?

Dude, what nonsense are you spouting?
What do you mean I see through everything? What secret agent?

Do you want to listen to what you are saying?
My initial intention was simply to obtain Allied funding from you. The reason I called Dick over was only to use him to break down your psychological defenses and force you to reveal the true whereabouts of the gold.

I really didn't expect your mission to be to assassinate me!

John was roaring inwardly, and his expression was incredibly complex.

At that moment, he truly realized how cruel fate had been to him.

He simply wanted to retire peacefully at first.

But why, why did things turn out this way?

John fell silent.

He felt he really had to hurry up and offer tribute to the Three Pure Ones, otherwise, if this absurd fate continued to develop...

It's likely that within two years, he will become a true lackey of the empire.

This shouldn't be happening, O great fate, why do you have to play such a cruel trick on me?
However, John's troubled silence was interpreted by Will as a test of his own worth.

It seems that this insidious and cunning imperial demon is pondering whether it is worthwhile for him, now with a severed arm and a prisoner of the empire, to use the empire's mysterious agents.

For a moment, Will felt a chill run down his spine.

He couldn't help but start thinking.

The demands made by a prisoner who has been completely controlled and has lost his usefulness.

Even if the prisoner is willing to provide intelligence related to the enemy.

But compared to the cost of exposing the Empire's secret agents, the other party's so-called loyalty might not mean much to him.

After all, he has not only lost his soldiers, but also lost an arm, making him a useless piece of trash.

Does someone like him still have any value to be won over?

Therefore, the more Will thought about it and put himself in that situation, the more desperate he felt.

At that moment, he realized that perhaps he could never escape the fate of death.

All he could do was pray that the other party would have mercy and spare his family, considering his obedient cooperation.

Just as the desperate Will was about to reveal the whereabouts of the other three units of the Fifth Army with a bitter smile, and then, under the enemy's arrangement, shoot himself to death in exchange for the survival of his family,

However, John's next words instantly made him realize that the imperial monster in front of him was far more cruel than he had imagined!

"Major Will, right? Wendy told me that your unit was wiped out by our magic soldiers about half an hour ago."

"In other words, only those present knew about your capture; it didn't leak out, right?"

"So, I think that compared to surrendering to the Empire outright, it would be a better outcome for both of us if you took the opportunity to escape from the mountains due to the magic soldiers' negligence and successfully returned to the Allied forces, wouldn't you say?"

John smiled broadly and spoke to Will.

In fact, this idea came to him suddenly in a flash of inspiration.

Upon hearing Will's desire to defect, his first reaction was to refuse.

After all, he already has enough military achievements. If he were to uncover the Allied forces' treacherous plot and capture the enemy major at this point...

Even someone with a modicum of common sense would know that even if he submitted a reform bill to Dormammu...

However, given his 'prophetic' command skills, the other side would never easily agree to let him leave the Seventh Air Force. Instead, they would groom him as the successor of the Seventh Air Force.

Once he is locked up in the army, all that awaits him is endless war and defeat.

This is completely contrary to his retirement plans.

Therefore, he used his extraordinary wisdom to think about it.

The astute Warrant Officer John felt he needed to use this "victory" to recruit Will as a spy, moving it from the open to the underground.

Only in this way could he prevent Emperor William from bestowing lavish rewards upon him upon learning the news.

This would allow Dormammu to enact reform laws, withdraw from the battlefield, and become a political officer, thus achieving his goal of retirement!

Of course, John's reason for proposing Will as a spy was not only to ensure a smooth retirement.

More importantly, it is...

John also wanted to use this method to test Roxie, who had inexplicably decided to kill him. If Will failed the mission and managed to escape back to the Allied forces, and was subsequently silenced by Roxie, then it would prove that the plan was indeed personally ordered by Roxie.

Because John knew Roxie's personality very well, the strategist of the main group, he understood that, given Roxie's arrogance, failure would never be allowed to exist in his vocabulary.

Therefore, if Will, who knows the details of the mission, returns after the mission fails, then death is certain to await him!

And if Will not only survives but also continues to serve as an officer...

This is sufficient proof that although the assassination attempt on him was carried out in Roxie's name, the actual mastermind behind it was someone else.

In this way, John wouldn't have to worry about having to deal with that resourceful and ruthless member of the main character group in advance.

This is undoubtedly the best outcome for him.

Although this plan was hell for Will himself.

However, considering that the other party was a member involved in the assassination plan, being merciful to the enemy would be cruel to oneself.

Moreover, John himself described himself as despicable and shameless.

Therefore, the intelligent and great Warrant Officer John did not feel any psychological burden about it.

As for the possibility that the other party might survive and resent you, and try to take revenge on you.

Heh, let's see if they can survive in the Fifth Legion, the Allied Forces that suffered the most casualties in the war between the Kingdom and the Empire!

Moreover, even if Roxie truly felt guilty and wanted to give this guy a more important role...

However, with one arm missing, even if the opponent has truly mastered the family's inherited magic formula, their combat power would likely be only half of what it was before, given that they are using magic with only one arm.

Moreover, the other party is just a minor character who didn't even have a chance to appear in the original work.

Does this kind of scum even deserve to worry the shrewd and calculating Warrant Officer John?
Although Warrant Officer John was a bit timid and cowardly, not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry could frighten him!

After all, he was a lawless Paradox Interactive player in his previous life.

Realizing he had everything under control, John smiled kindly at Will's trembling gaze and then gave his hellish instructions:
"I wonder, loyal Major Will, are you willing to accept the Empire's arrangement and, as a convicted criminal, go into the despicable Allied forces to shine for the future of the Empire's unification?"

"!"

devil!

This guy is an absolute devil who manipulates people's hearts!

How could he be so despicable, and how dare he be so despicable!
Will's pupils constricted, and he felt an uncontrollable roar in his heart, but even more so, a deep sense of sorrow.

If initially he only suspected that the Empire had planted a high-ranking agent within the Allied forces because of Dick's performance...

So, after John revealed his plan to force him to become an imperial spy.

His suspicion has now been confirmed!

After all, if the Empire didn't have access to intelligence agents within the Allied forces, how could they have dared to openly make him an Imperial spy?

Unless the other party truly possesses the confidence to monitor his every move anytime and anywhere within the Allied forces and eliminate him at a crucial moment, how could they dare to utter such arrogant words?

Will is now even starting to suspect that his current miserable state is also due to John Maslow's premeditation!
After all, the Hoffman family came from a military family that had fought for the Kingdom of Victoria for generations, but was kicked out of the kingdom's government because their ancestor had offended the new royalists two hundred years ago, and thus gradually declined.

It was their loyalty to the Kingdom of Victoria that prevented them from disappearing completely like other declining families.

And if he, as the heir to the Hoffmann family, were to become a spy for the Empire...

Even if someone were to spread this news, the kingdom's higher-ups probably wouldn't believe it. Instead, they would treat it as a joke to ridicule the empire's foolishness.

After all, how could the Hoffmann family, who had been personally awarded the 'Sunflower Medal' by Queen Victoria XXVI, representing the highest loyalty, possibly betray the kingdom and join the enemy?

And this is probably exactly what John Maslow, that devil, wanted!
To make himself, a descendant of a loyal subject of the kingdom and regarded as a model of loyalty by countless nobles, the mastermind behind the destruction of the Victorian Kingdom.

Once the truth is revealed, the Hoffman family will likely be forever condemned to the pillory of history!

How ironic, how pathetic!
But ironically, this monster's near-perfect control over people's hearts, coupled with the fact that the other party crossed the line of military morality by using family members as a threat, proved too much.

I have no choice but to accept this fate!

At this point, Will even began to resent Lieutenant General Roxie, who had arranged the assassination mission.

If he hadn't received orders from the Fifth Army Corps, if he hadn't been so enamored with their reputation for 'unparalleled strategy', if he hadn't been blinded by that damned thirst for military glory...

Then he wouldn't be in this predicament now!
But it's too late to say anything now.

All that was left for him was the utter destruction of the loyalty that had sustained the Hoffmann family for over a century!

But he was powerless to resist.

"!"

Tears of anguish streamed down Will's trembling face. At that moment, a complex expression appeared on his face, a mixture of despair at the prospect of falling into the abyss and a sliver of hope for survival.

Then, under the gazes of everyone present, some in amazement and others with disdain, he knelt on the ground, dejectedly lowering his head, facing the person in front of him in an almost humble manner.

The imperial demon named John Maslow lowered his proud head and kissed the other's boots with trembling lips, thus showing his submission.

Like an old dog with its spine broken, it can only accept the impending road to hell amidst the devil's snarling laughter.

And with a hoarse, desperate voice, she uttered the answer that this demon who manipulates people's hearts had long awaited:
"I am willing, esteemed sir, Will Hoffman, to serve the Empire!"

……

(End of this chapter)