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

Chapter 62 What? We won?

In fact, John was not surprised that Siegfried would agree to his request.

After all, he knew the dragon hunter's character well and knew that the other party was not the kind of ungrateful wretch.

However, he did not expect that the seemingly timid and cowardly village chief Ernest would actually support this matter.

Does the other party feel that the empire is powerful and want to pledge allegiance?

He also said that he had long intended for Siegfried to join the army.
Surely it couldn't be that he was influenced by his own personal charm?

John couldn't help but laugh at the thought. He felt that the last one was really absurd. He had only been in contact with Ernest for less than two days. If he could win over Ernest with his personal charm in such a short time, it would be impossible.

Wouldn't he be even more awesome than the guy with the mustache from his previous life?
This kind of lie might fool others, but can it fool yourself?
Shake your head, letting go of the trivial thoughts in your mind.

Inside the moving jeep, John glanced through the window at the soldiers at the back of the column. He had borrowed a spare uniform from one of the army soldiers and changed into it. He carried a large maroon bow on his back, and his long blond hair was combed back. He looked clean and neat, with sharp eyes.

With his towering figure exuding an aura of power, and the silhouettes of the nine Stone Village hunters behind him, John couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

In fact, he had not originally intended to recruit the young people from Stone Village other than Siegfried into this temporary squad.

Furthermore, regarding his inability to formally recommend Siegfried to join the Magic Soldier Squad and to place the Imperial Seventh Air Force directly under Emperor William, all conscription and enlistment authority must be subject to special review by personnel dispatched by His Majesty the Emperor's Inspectorate, and their political background must be confirmed before they can be admitted.

At most, he could only classify the other party as an unofficial member. Only after Siegfried officially passed the selection test for the mage soldier of the inspection force could he transfer him to his own command. He told Ernest about all these things.

Upon hearing his truthful answer, he knew clearly that Siegfried was fighting for him this time, but he was just a ragtag soldier who might not even be able to earn any military merit.

Instead of showing any reluctance, Ernest became even more enthusiastic, and no matter what John said, he insisted that John bring along the other hunters from Stone Village.

He also highly praised the young men's tracking and combat abilities, as if afraid that John might refuse.

Finally, unable to resist the old man's repeated requests, John had no choice but to agree and temporarily incorporate Siegfried and his 10 men into his own army.

Although things didn't go quite as planned, Siegfried's involvement made all the difference.

With this dragon hunter who, even after being severely debuffed in the later stages, managed to single-handedly blind the right eye of a Serbian who had completely transformed into a dragon, and then paired with Leia, who, although she never appeared in the original work due to the failure of the Battle of Walden and the annihilation of the Black Hawk team, was still considered an ace recruit.

With these two attacking together, and with the combined assault of 120 magic soldiers, they were able to achieve their goal.

So, there shouldn't be too much of a problem with my attempt to capture Serbia, right?
Thinking of this, John couldn't help but frown, and a hint of worry flashed in his eyes.

His biggest concern now is whether Leia has met with Serbia or whether the two sides have actually fought.

However, John felt that with his prior warning, Leia shouldn't be so foolish as to be completely unprepared and killed by Serbia in a single encounter.

After all, according to Dick and Major Will, who is currently on a 'special agent mission' under his orders.

Roxie's target for this assassination mission is himself, and he is unlikely to take action against Leia, who is leading the troops, until he actually sees him.

Perhaps, these two haven't even met yet.

But even John himself couldn't say for sure about such things.

Even if he could foresee the future, he couldn't guarantee that things would actually unfold the way he predicted.

If Micah discovers that Leia is leading the troops, not him, and mistakenly believes the plan has been exposed, he might decide to take revenge on Leia. This is a possibility. Although he wants to believe in Leia's abilities, she's not a member of the main group, but a minor character who hasn't even appeared in the background story.

Compared to Serbia, who is also a member of the main group, John finds it hard to believe that the other party could be Serbia's opponent.

It would be quite an achievement if, thanks to his warning, one could avoid being killed in one hit and escape successfully under the cover of the magic soldiers.

Moreover, it's already 1 p.m.

But at this time, Leia did not send a messenger to deliver a message to him.

This made John feel very uneasy, even somewhat panicked.

He dared not let the communications officer contact Leia now, for fear of hearing the news that Leia had died in battle.

I can only keep checking my watch, using this meaningless act to stop myself from thinking too much.

At the same time, the soldiers were urged to quicken their pace and reach that damned town of Bahamut as quickly as possible by forced march.

He tried to arrive at the battlefield before Baron Micah could sit still and make a move against Leia, and to save Leia's life by providing support, which he had betrayed, and to try to capture Serbia Reinhardt alive.

"Hopefully, it's not too late!"

John murmured worriedly in the back seat of the jeep.

However, it seemed to confirm Murphy's Law. Just as John was secretly praying that the communications officer wouldn't come to report to him, a gust of wind blew by.

Immediately afterward, amidst John's grim expression, Mia, the communications soldier from Squad 14, hovered above the jeep window.

The other person first politely knocked on the car window, and after receiving a nod from John, they respectfully asked:

"Captain, Warrant Officer Leia just sent a message. Would you like to hear it now?"

"...Read it!"

John could only sigh when he realized that things were beyond redemption.

Oh well, failure is failure. I just hope everyone is alright.

"Reporting to Warrant Officer John, under your wise leadership, I have successfully arrived at the town of Bahamut and just now successfully defeated the enemy's guard force and a red-haired half-dragon named 'Serbia Reinhardt.' I was unsure if he was the target you mentioned, so I did not kill him directly but captured him and personally guarded and interrogated him to prevent any possibility of escape. Although I have suffered some minor injuries, my overall condition is good and I am ready to accept new missions at any time..."

Thankfully, he only suffered minor injuries. Although the battle was lost, it's good that he's alright...

Ok?
Wait, something seems off?
John, belatedly realizing what he had just heard after hearing Leia's message that she was safe, stared wide-eyed at Mia, who had a terrified expression on her face.

The intense shock made his voice tremble involuntarily:

"If I heard correctly, Mia, you, you just said that Leia won?"

No way, they can win this?
Are you sure you're not kidding me?!
……

(End of this chapter)