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

Chapter 265 Clash of Light and Shadow, Wendy Worries; War Ends, 'Friendly Forces' Arrive
Three hours later, in the Cocobia rainforest, at the Imperial forces' main camp.

John, sporting a bright red handprint, was sitting in the commander's chair, receiving warm greetings from his subordinates.

Meanwhile, Serbia, who had carried him all the way to the rendezvous point, was sitting leisurely to the side, legs crossed, sipping red tea. But upon closer inspection, one could notice that her eyes were slightly vacant, as if she were pondering something.

And she seemed to be thinking of something happy, because even the dignity and coldness she always deliberately maintained disappeared without her realizing it, and the corners of her mouth even turned up in a rare smile.

He was clearly in a very good mood.

Especially after glimpsing John surrounded by a crowd, constantly being advised never to make such impulsive decisions again, with some even threatening suicide to force the commander to swear an oath, leaving John looking utterly hopeless.

Her smile immediately widened.

But soon, Serbia felt a gaze fixed on him. After pushing through the crowd, he locked onto the figure that had been staring at him the whole time, and confirmed that it was Wendy, who had been following John around like a little shadow.

Sensing the complex emotions in the other person's eyes, she immediately raised an eyebrow.

Recalling the scenes he had observed in the town of Bahamut, and the intelligence Glenn had gathered during his spare time.

Coupled with Wendy's gaze that seemed to defend sovereignty, all of this was telling Serbia.

This female mage seems to harbor extraordinary feelings for her superior.

So, besides that monster Leia, this little potato who isn't even 1.7 meters tall is also planning to try to become his competitor?
In terms of taste, they are indeed very good.

Unfortunately, under the treaty I made with Dormammu, neither you, little potato, nor Leia, that monster who doesn't know how to express emotions, are allowed to do so.

Even other people who might appear in the future.

You will all become incompetent losers before me under that sacred vow called 'marriage'!
However, this was inevitable.

As someone I personally chose, no one can touch her.

After all, I am Serbia Reinhardt.

Having passed the Dragon God's Trial, surpassing everyone else, and destined to reach the pinnacle of power!
"hehe!"

Sensing the resistance in Wendy's eyes, Serbia showed no anger. Instead, she gracefully raised her glass in a gesture of respect.

Upon noticing that the other person had observed his movements, he silently moved closer to John, while his gaze became increasingly serious, even carrying a warning connotation.

It's as if a little girl is about to have something she cherished taken away by someone else, and she intends to stop the other party in this way.

Serbia couldn't help but chuckle, but showed no emotion whatsoever. Instead, he gave the other person a meaningful look, while glancing out of the corner of his eye at John, who was staring blankly at the tent above his head and had been denounced by everyone as a hopeless loser.

A playful smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

He then placed the teacup on the table, whispered a few words to a half-dragon soldier from the Red Dragon Clan who had been waiting behind him, and then stood up and walked out of the camp under Wendy's wary gaze.

"That wicked woman who ran away, how despicable!"

Watching Serbia, who seemed to have John completely under his thumb and maintained a composed demeanor as he left, Wendy couldn't help but mutter a resentful remark to herself.

But soon, an indescribable sense of crisis arose in her heart.

It was as if some great being was subtly reminding her, through the Brown family’s inherited good fortune, in a way that resembled intuition, that if she continued to let things unfold unchecked...

The captain she admired would one day become a plaything of that wicked woman ahead, thus losing all the brilliance that belonged to the captain.

As a loyal squad leader, how could I allow such a thing to happen!
"We have to find a way to stop this. I, Wendy Brown, will not allow the captain to fall into the trap of this wicked woman!"

"no way!"

However, this wicked woman has now become the recognized queen of the two large tribes, the Red Dragon Clan and the Sea Dragon Clan. Once the final coronation ceremony is completed, she will officially ascend the throne.

Compared to her, how could he, an ordinary magic soldier, possibly stop all of this?
How can we stop all of this? Looking at the captain who was surrounded by people in the center, as if he were enveloped in a radiant light.

At this moment, the loyal and reliable Lieutenant Wendy couldn't help but feel a trouble that she couldn't tell anyone.

……

The covert conflict unfolding between their reliable ally Serbia and their own pig-headed squad leader, and the anxieties that weigh on Lieutenant Wendy's mind.

John, of course, was unaware of this.

Rather than Lieutenant Wendy, who was troubled by her girlish feelings, he had already been tormented into a woodpecker who could only nod due to the united condemnation of everyone.

Before this, he had never imagined that the kindness shown to him by others could be so heavy.

So much so that he felt a long-lost sense of conscience, and at that moment he was filled with self-reproach for betraying everyone's trust.

Therefore, sometimes good intentions are more troublesome than malice.

After all, the latter only needs to solve the problem or get rid of the person who caused the problem, while the former has to bear enormous mental pressure and has nowhere to vent it.

It's just not that bad.

After being denounced by the crowd for a full hour and forced to write a guarantee to prove that he would never act alone again, he was forced to do so.

Once they confirmed that John was genuinely repentant, the crowd stopped condemning his irresponsible behavior and began to systematically report on their own battle situation to him.

In fact, two hours after John successfully lured the enemy naval guns to annihilate Gromas and seven thousand Blood Howl Legion soldiers, Serbia contacted everyone through the magic force's communication radio.

Guided by a telepathic spell, they learned that John had abandoned his soldiers to carry out the deception alone. They immediately dispatched 1000 elite magic soldiers, all members of the Black Hawk Special Forces, and the newly incorporated Red Dragon Special Operations Legion to land on Crescent Island and conduct a thorough search of the area around the Sea Cliff.

Thanks to the precise search and location by a thousand elite magic soldiers and the Black Hawk Special Forces led by Jet, Serbia was able to successfully storm the battlefield like a surprise attack before John's death, narrowly saving his life.

Besides saving the commander who was nearly killed, the Red Dragon Special Operations Legion, now with a force of 3, has now joined the ranks. Sensing the danger, the enemy forces immediately began their evacuation towards the warships.

Upon learning that the Imperial Army had received an unprecedented number of reinforcements, Reginald, realizing that he could no longer kill John, made a decision immediately, ordering all warships of the Third Fleet to withdraw westward through the Crescent Strait. They have now completely withdrawn from the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the Second Fleet of the Blazing Sun Fleet, which was engaged in battle with the Third Navy, also received orders to withdraw and planned to head north to withdraw from the battlefield.

However, thanks to Serbia's advance warning and the deployment of a total of 2 Sea Dragon Special Operations Corps to conduct a ship-breaking operation on the seabed, this fleet, whose firepower and speed were both terrifying, proved to be formidable.

Ultimately, they could not withstand the penetration by the Sea Dragon Legion. With the cooperation and encirclement of the Third Navy, they were completely annihilated in the southern part of the Aiken Sea, with no survivors.

"So, if I understand correctly, the battle of Faoken is completely over?"

After listening to everyone's reports and understanding the current situation, John couldn't help but ask this question.

"In terms of the war situation, that is indeed the case. Although you will need to spend a lot of time on post-war regional reconstruction, it is not as important as another matter."

As if anticipating the trouble to come, Hawke's expression gradually turned serious as he was giving his report.

The others wore the same expression, which immediately puzzled and confused John.

"Another thing? What?"

"Our 'friendly forces' are expected to arrive in Mad Fang City in two hours, and 'Lord of Ravage' specifically stated in the communications that you should immediately muster your troops and head to Mad Fang City to prepare for reporting."

"what?"

……

(End of this chapter)