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

Chapter 173 The Hand of Wisdom
After determining the location of the confrontation with the Fifth Legion and gaining the approval of his two super teammates, John originally wanted to gather his troops and rush to the Throat Peak overnight. However, after suddenly recalling Dolan's unusual behavior earlier, he felt that he needed to send Leia to gather intelligence.

After all, he was extremely familiar with the configuration of the Fifth Legion.

Naturally, it was clear that with three super-ranked mages on the enemy side, sending Leia to lead the ground support forces to assassinate Roxie would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.

Rather than risk having his men carry out an assassination mission with a very low success rate and bury this promising squad.

It would be better to let this unit remain inactive and carry out some trivial tasks, thereby arousing Roxie's suspicion.

This led the enemy to leave a super-ranked mage in their base camp to ensure that their battlefield command would not be interrupted by a possible assassination attempt.

In this way, the combat power of the super-ranked mages on both sides can be balanced, and he can further increase his chances of winning.

However, just as John called Wendy over, intending to have her bring the ground support team, he learned an unexpected piece of news from her:

"Huh? Wasn't Lieutenant Leia on a classified mission assigned by you, Captain? Why do we need to call her over?"

Wendy looked at John with a puzzled expression, seemingly not understanding why he would say such a thing.

A top-secret mission?

What top-secret mission?
I do not know how?
John was equally bewildered, but recalling Leia's inexplicable response to him on the battleship Horst last night, he seemed to understand something, and his expression instantly became quite interesting:

Could it be that Leia, that socially awkward but strong girl, came up with some outrageous idea during last night's conversation?

It can't be that the other party thinks Dolan is too much of a hindrance, so they plan to secretly take action to solve the problem once and for all.
Haha, what an absurd thing...

John gave a dry laugh, but his face quickly turned ashen.

It's possible; with that idiot's intelligence, it's entirely possible that he would do that!

After all, that idiot had already done something similar back in Bahamut.

Moreover, in order to fully utilize the combat power of the ground support troops, I granted them a great deal of freedom of movement after arriving in Faoken.

In addition, during the previous power transfer meeting, in order to ensure that the handover of combat power would not be detected by enemy agents, he also issued an order to the ground support forces to clear out local spies in Mad Fang City.

Therefore, the opposing side, who was leading their troops to carry out the cleanup order at that time, had no idea that they had already seized power.

Therefore, it is entirely possible that the other party would target Dolan!
The key problem is that he has only just seized power, and if Leia were to kill Dolan now and expose his identity...

The Independent 3rd Division could easily mutini, which would lead to the complete collapse of its subsequent tactical arrangements.

This is clearly a crisis that couldn't be bigger!
I have to stop that idiot right now!

Realizing something was wrong, John immediately looked up with a serious expression. Wendy, who was also sensing something was amiss and whose forehead was already beaded with cold sweat, forced back her anger and said:

"Wendy, have someone tell that idiot Leia to stop that damn secret plan immediately, right now!!"

"Uh, Captain, this, I might not be able to do this."

After a slight pause, Wendy, meeting John's livid gaze, added awkwardly:
“Just ten minutes ago, Lieutenant Leia placed her communication device in the camp, claiming that the target had appeared and she needed to carry out a secret operation. Therefore, we are afraid it will be difficult for us to contact her at the moment…”

"Idiots, two idiots who could be in a museum!"

John, betrayed by his incompetent teammate, was furious and wanted nothing more than to curse, but he knew anger would do no good. He took a deep breath, forced himself to remain calm, and then glared fiercely at Wendy, who was instinctively clutching her clothes out of guilt. He sighed helplessly, then gritted his teeth and said:

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and find someone for me! If this gets out of hand, you two bastards will be in jail!"

"At least two months, understand!?"

"Yes, Captain!"

……

Mad Fang City, in a luxurious manor in the east.

Lieutenant General Dolan had just taken a hot shower, completely washing away the grime from his body, and felt incredibly happy.

Just two hours earlier, he had actually soiled his pants in public because he hadn't controlled the force of his attack on his intestines.

But compared to the current outcome, he sees this personal honor or disgrace as nothing at all.

Thanks to his perfect performance, he has not only successfully avoided a confrontation with the dreaded Morning Star, but has also found himself a perfectly reasonable reason to stay in the rear.

And, most importantly, with his acting skills that were completely devoid of technique and entirely based on genuine performance, he had completely fooled John Maslow, making the other man obediently become his pistol, taking on this battle with almost no chance of winning under his instructions.

Although it's uncertain whether that old fox Bob saw through his ulterior motives, everything is now settled, and even if John Maslow wanted to back out, it would be too late.

"However, to prevent that idiot from becoming desperate and trying to drag me down with him, I'd better get my troops and run away as soon as possible!"

"Moreover, John Maslow annihilated the Seventh Legion just a few days ago. When that damned assassin star of the Allied forces finds out about this, he will probably go crazy and send people to carry out assassinations at all costs."

"As the nominal commander of the Second Army of the Empire, I am afraid that I will become the enemy's weak point."

"Therefore, Mad Fang City may seem impregnable, but it is actually extremely dangerous."

"The longer I stay, the greater the risk of being assassinated will be!"

"Therefore, I must lead my troops to flee immediately after John Maslow leads his army out to war, and head straight for the Silverstone Mine!"

"In this way, based on my diligent exploration of the ore vein over the past few months, I have already become very familiar with where each tunnel in the silverstone mine leads."

"At that time, whether John Maslow is defeated or the desperate Assassin Star tries to assassinate me to stop John Maslow's attack, I can lead my troops to destroy the mine tunnels and escape through the reserved transport tunnels. Then I can take a large amount of money and run away on the merchant ships set up in the port of the Golden Lion Territory!"

"Withdraw with immense wealth, and achieve true victory!"

"This is my true escape route, Dolan Beatrice! Hahaha!"

Dolan, who was secretly burning his underwear covered in feces inside the house, suddenly had a glint of wisdom in his eyes after realizing his almost flawless plan.

A smug, wicked smile crept across his lips.

The thought that he had not only manipulated Bob Ariel, known as the "Thousand-Faced Fox of the Empire," but also John Maslow, whose title was now vaguely circulating among the Empire's high command, was terrifying.

Even the monstrous woman in the enemy army, whom countless people called the morning star of the kingdom, was deceived by him.

Dolan suddenly felt like he was the smartest person in the world.

"But that's normal, after all, this general is destined to be the one to revitalize the Beatrice family!"

After seeing the underwear in the basin, which represented endurance and hardship, burned to ashes, Dolan nodded in satisfaction. However, just as he was about to call his foolish deputy and instruct him to keep a close eye on John Maslow and notify him immediately if he discovered that the man was leading his troops out, he was about to...

At this moment, he suddenly sensed that his unique technique was malfunctioning.

"Hmm? Why have the aura markings on the guards I left in the manor disappeared?"

Dolan was startled when he noticed the anomaly, but he quickly recalled that when his father taught him the family's unique "Hand of Wisdom" technique, he had told him that this situation usually meant that the guard had either been killed or had fallen into a coma.

Even Dolan, who had little combat experience, instantly realized that something was wrong.

Without a second thought, he immediately planned to take out his communication device to notify the guard regiment to come and support him.

However, the moment he pulled out his communication device, a sudden sense of crisis, so intense it made his scalp tingle, arose in his heart.

This caused him to immediately drop the communication device in his hand and lunge directly towards the direction of the latrine.

"Whoosh!"

Almost the instant Dolan made his diving move, a silver streak of light shattered the massive wooden door and then grazed Dolan's back with almost the slightest touch.

"Crack!"

Then he was nailed hard into the wall, leaving a terrifying spiderweb-like crack with a radius of five meters on the thick marble wall in the horrified gaze of Dolan, whose face was covered in filth.

Furthermore, what Dolan found most unbelievable was that the silver streak that caused all of this was actually just an ordinary sword!

The sheer force of the throw shattered a wall that was strong enough to withstand ordinary artillery shells.

If I hadn't received a warning from my family's secret technique and dodged the direction of that attack in advance...

Wouldn't that mean I would...?

"asshole!"

Realizing he had almost been blown to bits, Dolan's face turned ashen, but he couldn't continue cursing, because he had already spotted a figure in his field of vision that sent chills down his spine:

It was a being dressed in a black cloak, wrapped in bandages from head to toe, with a slender figure, and even her eyes were covered by a layer of black veil, revealing no appearance whatsoever.

Aside from being able to tell that the other person was a woman by the curve of her chest that couldn't be hidden by bandages, Dolan had absolutely no other information about her.

But he could feel the undisguised killing intent emanating from the other party, and the tense movements of their body.

At that moment, Dolan realized something profound:
will die!

If this guy, who is suspected to be an Allied assassin, attacks me, I will definitely die!
Therefore, having confirmed this, without any hesitation, Dolan immediately raised his hand and slammed it into the ground, simultaneously unleashing his unique spell with all his might, as never before:
"The will to act with wisdom!"

"bass!"

Almost at the same moment Dolan clapped his hands and frantically unleashed his family's secret techniques, veins bulging, in an attempt to halt the opponent's attack, a crisp sound of a sword being drawn also rang out in the room.

Immediately, a cold light, like dazzling moonlight, swept across the sky and, with a speed that could only be described as rapid, formed a brilliant straight line.

With a force that could terrify anyone, it attacked Dolan's neck.

But soon, a beam of eerie blue magical light burst forth on the ground.

This strike, which didn't use any spells, was enough to kill a mid-level mage in an instant.

But an unexpected event occurred at this moment.

"Whoosh!" The moment the blue magic circle took shape, the wooden bed, bookshelves, and many other objects in the room seemed to be drawn together and began to rapidly converge in front of Dolan.

And it cleverly blocked the charging figure directly in front of it.

Moreover, it seemed that at the same time as the connection was established, these objects were also enhanced and manipulated by magic, instantly forming a giant hand that slammed down towards the attacking figure.

"!"

As if not foreseeing this situation, the charging figure made a brief assessment in his mind and realized that he could not decapitate the spellcaster before the magical palm struck him.

Instead, there's a high probability that they'll be severely injured by that single blow.

So she immediately stomped her foot on the ground, abruptly stopping her charge. Then, instead of slashing horizontally, she thrust her blade upwards, her hand, which exuded a terrifying aura that made even her heart pound, directly upwards.

At the same time, it activated its own technique of stripping away all things.

"Crack!"

However, unlike her expected scenario of evenly matched opponents, or even that she would be injured, her all-out attack...

This magical hand, which exuded immense pressure in both its aura and appearance, failed to unleash any power the moment it made contact with her strike.

Instead, in just a moment, she tore him apart with a single slash.

The ancient and timeless aura generated by the technique vanished completely the moment the palm shattered.

Immediately afterwards, the objects that had formed the magical hand through such exquisite manipulation returned to their original, most simple and unadorned forms.

Under her puzzled gaze, they scattered all over the ground, turning into a pile of rotten dregs.

?

Why is the target's aura so strong, yet its power so weak?

Did I make a misjudgment?
it's wired……

Looking at the scattered debris in front of her, Leia, who was holding a long sword, couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

But soon, as if realizing something, she quickly looked up in the direction where Dolan had been.

Only then did she realize that Dolan, who was supposed to be going all out against her, had somehow escaped!
Moreover, the other party escaped much faster than she expected. In just 3 seconds, the other party had escaped nearly 200 meters in her perception, and the speed was still increasing!

No, we have to kill him quickly, otherwise it will be troublesome when the others arrive!
Leia felt a chill run down her spine, unable to think about why her usually invincible spell had just made a misjudgment.

She immediately pulled her right foot out of the deep pit in the ground, then bent her body slightly, and with one step, she instantly covered a distance of more than ten meters.

Then, under the moonlight, he transformed into a fleeting black shadow, moving swiftly yet silently in pursuit of the direction Dolan had fled.

"despair!"

"Damn the Allies! Damn Leon Lee! Damn Morning Star!!!"

"If you have the guts to send assassins and assassinate me, why don't you target that old geezer Bob and the real commander of the Empire? Why are you messing with me!"

"I'm just a fucking worthless piece of trash, do you guys really need to pay me this much attention? Huh?!"

On the street, Dolan, who was lying on the back of a huge, tan-colored hunting dog and frantically using his magic to command the dog to race desperately toward the troop's encampment, looked utterly devastated.

He never expected that his worries would become a reality so quickly.

He recalled the terrifying slash that the assassin had just unleashed.

If it weren't for his sudden inspiration, using the creative ability of his Wisdom Hand to recreate what his father had shown him during training...

By fully activating the spell, all inanimate objects within its coverage area are instantly imprinted with the spell and transformed into weapons that can be freely controlled, unleashing a crushing attack on the target with pure magical power.

The strongest technique of his family's inherited arts, known as the "Hand of Crushing Domination" of the Empire and possessing strength at the Grand Rank, was called the "Grip of Equality."

He secretly used the aura simulation device his father had left him to bluff and save his own life, which successfully misled the terrifying assassin, allowing him to create a mobile hound using earth magic. He then used the Intelligent Movement Technique on the hound to enhance its mobility, thus enabling him to escape successfully.

So Lan thought that after that slash that almost scared him to the point of wetting his pants, his head was probably already on the ground.

Monster! That assassin was a real monster!

No wonder Major General Tony almost lost the battle, no wonder John Maslow was willing to risk a stain on his record to seize power, and no wonder the 1st Division soldiers who originally obeyed Major General Tony were so obedient to John Maslow.

Faced with such a deadly assassination attempt, I would definitely have done the same!
Damn it, how dare they carry out an assassination so blatantly? These Allied forces are openly trampling on the code of chivalry.

They're a bunch of completely unruly beasts!

Where is your aristocratic spirit? Where is your morality?

Where is my way out?!
At that moment, Dolan's heart was filled with intense bitterness.

He began to regret why, after the ceremony of relinquishing power, he had the soldiers take him to a manor far from the garrison under the pretext of recuperation.

Before this, he had never imagined that he would one day long to see a man as much as he does now!
"Hurry up, hurry up!"

Feeling the chilling presence behind him, and realizing that the damned 'Allied assassin' was catching up with him.

Dolan was immediately terrified and, without thinking, poured all his magic power into the hound beneath him.

He also pulled out a life-saving enhancement potion from his crotch, bit off the stopper with his teeth, and then guzzled it into his mouth.

"Ta! Ta!"

Then, whether it was the effects of the medicine or Dolan's will to survive that made him break through his previous limits, he activated the spell to enhance the hounds almost recklessly.

The distance that the two sides were initially closing actually began to widen gradually.

Before Dolan could even rejoice at the prospect of escaping, a whooshing sound that sent chills down his spine shattered right beside him.

"Whoosh!"

"Crack!"

The swift silver light, like a burst of lightning, drew a straight line through the air.

But just as it was about to hit its target, it was blocked by a phantom hand that was entirely gray-black but had an exceptionally heavy aura.

Then came the long, deadly blade that had been thrown, meant to pierce Dolan's heart from behind.

Under the autonomous activation of this true life-saving trump card left by a former Grand-level powerhouse to his good-for-nothing son, the attack was forced to stop.

In an instant, it was gripped by that hellish hand and completely decayed into unrecognizable ashes.

"Clap!"

However, although the attack was thwarted by the Equal Grasp reserved by the terrifying marquis, its inherent impact and shock still struck Dolan solidly.

He was immediately blasted off the spell-wielding hound and thrown onto the street like a rag doll, leaving him dazed and disoriented, even hitting his head and drawing blood.

When he finally regained his senses from the dizziness and was about to endure the pain and continue to use magic to create hounds to carry him away,

Upon seeing the figure wielding a dagger rapidly approaching him, Dolan immediately wore a bitter smile.

He then closed his eyes reluctantly.

At that moment, he clearly realized that he was doomed!
"Ding!"

To Dolan's surprise, however, the expected pain from a severed neck did not come.

Instead, a clanging sound, like metal clashing, suddenly rang in his ears.

?

Dolan opened his eyes somewhat blankly, but what came into view was a tall, imposing man with long, flowing golden hair, wearing an imperial black and gold uniform, standing in front of him, holding a bow in one hand and a sword in the other, confronting the mysterious female assassin in black.

Then, to Dolan's near-ecstatic gaze, this young man, whose appearance and voice exuded an indescribable power, uttered words that made him want to burst into laughter:

“Reporting to General Dolan, I am Corporal Siegfried Fafner of the Magic Camp 1 Ground Support Force. I have come to provide support on the orders of Commander John Maslow.”

"Due to low visibility at night, we were unable to determine your location in time, which is why the rescue was delayed. We hope you don't mind."

"No, you've come at the right time, Your Excellency Siegfried!"

Dolan's eyes were brimming with tears, and in his emotional state, he even addressed the soldier, who wasn't even a lieutenant, with the honorific "Your Excellency."

Judging from his behavior, it's clear that if the situation hadn't prevented it, he could have even kowtowed to Siegfried on the spot to show his gratitude to this savior who had appeared out of nowhere.

"..."

Seemingly surprised to be addressed in such a manner by the lieutenant general, even Siegfried paused slightly.

But soon, as if he had thought of something, after helping Dolan up, who was so frightened that he had physically wet his pants, he turned to look at the officer in front of him who was standing there in a daze, seemingly lost in thought.

Recalling what the battalion commander had told him earlier, Siegfried understood the current situation and his expression became somewhat strange.

But then he coughed lightly, and then, steeling himself, loudly reminded his superior across from him:
“Assassin from the Allied forces, by order of the great Commander John Maslow, I, Siegfried Fafner, will be here to stop your atrocities. With me here, you will not be able to harm a single hair on Lieutenant General Dolan’s head!”

"If you know what's good for you, leave right now, and I might spare your life!"

"Otherwise, once our troops arrive, you will surely die without a burial place under our attack!"

"Don't say you didn't predict what you said!"

……

(End of this chapter)