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

Chapter 129 Statement

"!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically. Even Samuel looked at John, who was in the lead, with a shocked expression.

He never expected that this exceptionally intelligent Major John would openly abuse General Tony's authority beyond his branch of service, and even dare to threaten five officers whose ranks were two levels higher than his in public.

This behavior goes beyond mere audacity; it's downright lawless and utterly disregards military discipline!
Feeling the angry or astonished gazes of his colleagues around him, Samuel wanted to bite the bullet and persuade John not to make such a joke.

Before he could even act, Max Leila, the commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment, suddenly stood up, then angrily pointed at John's nose and shouted:
"John Maslow, who do you think you are, to hold a meeting in place of Major General Tony?"

"Also, I advise you not to court death. If you know what's good for you, hurry up and hand over Major General Tony..."

However, before Max could finish speaking, John, sitting at the head of the table, slowly raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

"Snapped!"

The next second, Igonila, who was standing behind him, appeared behind Max as if by magic. Without saying a word, she kicked Max in the back of the knee and then grabbed his hair amidst the shocked and angry gazes of the crowd.

A chilling, sinister smile suddenly appeared on his previously somewhat immature face.

Before Max could struggle with his spell, he grabbed his head and slammed it hard against the conference table in front of him.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Hahaha!"

The dull thud, accompanied by Ignila's maniacal laughter and Max's groans, echoed throughout the conference room.

The other four commanders watched this scene in horror until Ignila grabbed Max by the head and smashed a hole the size of a human face into the solid wooden table in the conference room.

Max had also completely lost consciousness at some point, and Igonila stopped what she was doing. She then stuck out her tongue and licked the blood that had somehow gotten on the corner of her mouth, giving the four silent colonels around her a chilling smile.

Then, he silently approached Max, who was covered in blood, his nose twisted and deformed, and had already collapsed to the ground unconscious, and stood behind him with his hands behind his back.

Then he stared straight ahead at the wall, like a statue that wouldn't move.

At this moment, the five cups of tea that were originally neatly arranged on the conference table were spilled all over the table due to the shock.

The flowing tea, under the influence of gravity, continued to spread and converge, eventually slowly cascading down the corner of the table.

A tiny splash of water appeared, also under the light hanging above the room.

The expressions of the other four leaders, whether fearful or silent, were reflected in the image.

"Incorrect answer. Unfortunately, Colonel Max fell from the 3rd floor tonight because he didn't see the stairs when he went downstairs to get a drink of water. This resulted in a brain hemorrhage, and he is no longer able to continue commanding the 1st Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division."

"Therefore, the position of commander of the 1st Regiment is temporarily put on hold. After the meeting, I will make a reasonable reassignment to the position based on the opinion of Major General Tony, who is currently being treated by Lieutenant Wendy, the professional physician of the 1st Magic Battalion, due to a relapse of his old illness."

Facing the gazes of the crowd, John, standing before the head of the table, spoke with a smile. Although his tone was perfectly calm, it sent a chill through the crowd, a chill they had never felt before.
"Furthermore, why can't everyone sit down and have a proper cup of tea? Is it because the tea doesn't suit your taste? Or is it..."

John paused slightly, then glanced around at the silent crowd, a slight smile playing on his lips:

"Do any of you have any complaints about me as the host?"

"..."

The four commanders' breath hitched, but feeling John's chilling gaze, even these battle-hardened generals who had long forgotten fear felt a chill run down their spines.

Even Samuel couldn't help but swallow unconsciously.

At that moment, he suddenly regretted attending the meeting. Because this wasn't a meeting at all; it was a blatant power grab!
But after seeing the meaningful look John gave her, and considering John's actions that night, as well as Lieutenant Wendy of the 1st Magic Battalion's conflict with the 1st Regiment's squad during the day, she realized that John was a very special person.

At that moment, as if he had finally figured something out, Samuel slowly widened his eyes.

He then suppressed his excitement and shock, and calmly walked to the conference table amidst the astonished gazes of his three colleagues.

He then took a deep breath and, under everyone's gaze, suddenly raised the teacup in front of him and drank it all in one gulp.

He then sat down in the chair with an air of ease, his gaze fixed on Major John, who was nodding and smiling at him from some unknown time, sitting in front of him, like a most loyal listener.

"..."

Seeing Samuel's actions, the other three commanders exchanged glances for a moment before reluctantly drinking the tea in front of them, which they didn't know if it had been spiked.

Then he looked nervously at John, who was sitting in the seat of honor.

"Clap clap clap!"

"Very good. Although the meeting did not proceed as perfectly as I had expected due to Colonel Max's unexpected injury, I have seen everyone's sincerity. Now the meeting can get down to business."

Seeing that everyone had obediently entered and waited for their turn after his scare tactic, John didn't make things difficult for them any further.

In fact, even if Max hadn't spoken out angrily just now, he would have used the excuse that the other person hadn't looked at him when he sat down to get Ignila to punish him.

After all, the fact that the other party had the Laila family name was enough for John to disqualify them from participating in the meeting.

Moreover, during the daytime looting, Colonel Max's 1st Infantry Regiment was the one that used the most violence in the looting incidents.

Clearly, compared to the other four regiments, Max's 1st Infantry Regiment was obviously Tony Lyra's elite force.

In his plans, the other party was never even considered.

Therefore, Max was rightfully to become the sacrifice.

John, however, never expected the other party to be so foolish as to skip even the effort of getting him to open up and label him.

However, in reality, things were not much different from what I had expected.

You could even say the effect is better?
John pondered for a moment. He first glanced at the four colonels in the room who were looking at him with suspicion and uncertainty. He didn't continue to press him, but slowly sat down in his chair, then smiled and addressed the crowd:

"I believe everyone here is intelligent, so I won't go into the details of what just happened. I also understand that you are all very curious about why I would do something so dangerous."

"To put it simply, just an hour ago, I received intelligence from the spies I had previously placed within the Allied forces."

"Currently, the Allied Seventh Legion has arrived in Morningstar Territory and joined forces with the remnants of the 101st Division of the Morningstar Clan. They are also gathering troops and marching towards Horseshoe City. They will officially arrive within seven days and launch an attack on our army."

"After I reported to Major General Tony, his response was to withdraw from the battlefield and escape by warship. Therefore, in order to uphold the glory of the Empire, I had to use some special means to prevent the hard-won victory of our army from falling back into the hands of the Allied forces."

Seeing the astonished or thoughtful expressions on everyone's faces, John tapped the table, making some noise to draw their attention to himself, before calmly speaking:

"To put it simply, I intend to prepare the 1st Division to engage the Allied 7th Army. Those of you present, who support this and who oppose it, may now express your opinions."

"Please note that this statement is entirely voluntary and not mandatory, so everyone is welcome to speak freely, and I will take it into consideration as much as possible."

……

(End of this chapter)