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

Chapter 316 An Unexpected Request, A Spy Spying on Us

The handover of prisoners went more smoothly than John had anticipated.

After the cooperation agreement was finalized, Faumu sent up seven Allied Special Operations Department members who were wearing anti-magic suits from the Church, with even their heads covered by specially crafted anti-magic helmets.

After bringing these seven people to the palace, Archbishop Famille even personally blessed them:

"May you who have been tempted by darkness and become enemies of the light of St. Lucifer find inner peace under the guidance of Lieutenant General John."

John, though unable to understand Famille's fanatical behavior of always trying to assert God's authority, expressed his respect for him.

Just when John thought everything was over and was about to call Serbia and the other man to leave with their men,

But at that moment, Famille called out to him:
"Lieutenant General John, please wait a moment."

"?"

"It's like this, just now, I suddenly remembered something from recent reports, which might involve the future security of the Faoken Territory and the Empire, so..."

Upon hearing this, John immediately stopped and turned around to listen attentively.
"Please speak frankly, Archbishop."

"You may not know this, but in fact, recently, some unusual disturbances have begun to appear in the flow of magic on the borders of the Empire."

"The specific manifestation of this is that monster activity has become more frequent, and unlike previous migrations, recent monsters have shown stronger aggression and ferocity."

"And at the same time as the monster uprising, a large number of cult groups also emerged."

"This year, the number of missions the church has sent to the border of the empire to exterminate monsters and destroy cultists has doubled compared to previous years, and the number is still increasing recently. Currently, thirty itinerant priests and six investigation teams of the church have lost contact one after another."

At this point, Famille's peaceful smile gradually faded, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness and solemnity.

He then walked to the window and looked out into the courtyard. The statue of St. Lucifer, gleaming in the sunlight, appeared somewhat somber.
"In fact, there are similar precedents in the descriptions of the current abnormalities in magic power and the appearance of magical beasts in the church's holy books. However, since that part of the content was erased by the saints of the past, I have no way of knowing the specifics. I only know that the similar phenomena in the past seemed to be caused by the influence of certain cult groups."

"Furthermore, the recent loosening of the seal on the sacred relic of the forbidden gate within the church is truly worrying. Therefore, if possible, I would like to issue you a commission on behalf of the church."

"Your territory of Faoken is relatively close to the continent of Morno, which is teeming with powerful magical beasts. Therefore, I would like to request that you send some soldiers to the heart of Morno to hunt and bring back the carcasses of some powerful magical beasts, so as to find out the root cause of the large-scale riots and magical anomalies caused by the magical beasts."

"As for the matter of the rampant cult, after the other archbishops have completed their respective tasks and returned to the church, I will join the other archbishops to seek His Holiness the Pope's permission, and then His Holiness the Pope will report to His Majesty William, so that His Majesty can make a decision."

After saying this, Famille turned around and looked at John with sincere eyes:

"Therefore, for the safety of the people and the stability of the empire, General John, would you please accept this commission from me?"

Monster riots and abnormal magic?
And what about the frequent incidents involving so-called cults?

Upon hearing this, John immediately understood what Famille was talking about.

If he remembers correctly, in the early versions of the original work, in order to add training storylines to the special operations forces and improve their combat power, the official team not only designed small-scale skirmishes, but also added a lot of training stages and challenge stages.

The monster riot and the cult incident are among the challenges, originating from a super-level mutated monster and an organization called the 'Star Worshippers', respectively.

After solving the problem, each person can obtain a special magic crystal called 'Heart of Limits'. After fusing them, they can effectively amplify Anna's combat power, fully activate the 'Blood Burning' technique of the Stun family from her mother's clan within her body, and balance the All Things Stripping Technique, ultimately advancing her to become a unique being with two exclusive techniques.

There is also a special notebook called the Star Chart, which records star techniques that correspond to the unique techniques of another member of the main characters' group. Learning these techniques can allow their bloodline to advance.

As for the final magical mutation, no corresponding plot route was given in the original work, which seems to be a foreshadowing for a sequel. It was not resolved even after John completed all the endings.

However, since this incident never caused any major upheaval in the original storyline over the course of ten years, it shouldn't be considered a big problem.

While the first two incidents affected the borders of the empire, their origins were in the Kingdom of Brown and the Kingdom of Loran, which was further north.

Therefore, even though he has now captured members of the Special Operations Department and wants to obtain these two special items to help the original protagonist group members who will be tricked into joining the Empire in the future to complete their promotions, he is currently like a skilled cook without rice to cook.

However, after the peace negotiations concluded and the Empire and its allies reached a brief peace agreement.

At that time, I could consider secretly sending people to resolve the matter and obtain those two key items.

Of course, all of this happened later...

Slowly gathering his thoughts, John paused for a moment before replying with feigned seriousness:
"It is my responsibility to maintain peace in the territory. If the situation is as you say, I will naturally handle it."

"After returning to the hotel and interrogating these prisoners, I will then notify the drow and half-dragon troops stationed in Faokon to send people to investigate the monster riot and the magical anomaly."

Upon hearing this, Famille's face immediately lit up with a relieved smile:
"May the light protect you. In addition, to show my support and to help you more professionally identify any 'contamination' that may involve the soul, I would like to send a scholar-priest who is well-versed in magic and ancient secrets to accompany you back to the territory in the future."

"Of course, this pastor will not interfere with any of your decisions after he returns to the territory with you. He will only act as an advisor and provide some...theological and mystical references when you need them."

As expected, the so-called investigation was just a pretext.

Is your real purpose to plant a legitimate spy in my life under this pretext?

John's eyes flickered slightly; in an instant, he saw through the true nature of the request.

However, he also understood that if he directly rejected the other party's "good intentions," it would only cause changes to the cooperation that had already been agreed upon.

After all, although the handover has been completed on the surface, in front of this Grand-level powerhouse, he could probably easily wipe out all the members of the Special Operations Department with just a flick of his finger.

He will also be blacklisted, or even put on the kill list, by this terrifying and mysterious powerful fanatic.

Therefore, after a moment's thought, John smiled slightly, but his smile carried a hint of coldness that was difficult to detect:

“Since it is Archbishop Faum’s kind offer, I will naturally accept it without hesitation.”

"Moreover, having such an expert by my side will surely make dealing with these mysterious events much easier. And with such a professional priest, even if I get injured, I can receive timely and effective treatment. It's incredibly reassuring!"

Famille merely smiled knowingly at the sarcasm in John's words, his tone still sincere: "It's good that you understand. Well then, the hostage transfer is complete, and the mission has been accomplished. May you have a safe journey, Lieutenant General John."

After a slight pause, Famille, under John's enigmatic gaze, followed the blessing ritual of the Holy Light Cult, lightly touching his forehead, lips, and heart, and then offered a meaningful blessing to John:
"May the light of the great Lord whom I follow illuminate all the fog on your path, and grant you unobstructed progress, both outwardly and... inwardly."

"May the glory of the Empire be with you, Archbishop Famille."

After exchanging pleasantries with the troublesome fanatics, John, along with Serbia and the others, left the Hagia Sophia Church, carrying prisoners dressed in anti-magic suits from the church, whose genders were indistinguishable, and with Famí's promise of a "counselor pastor."

"despair!"

Looking at the Hagia Sophia behind them, Serbia, walking beside John, sneered, then turned to John and asked:

"Hey John, what are you going to do with that vixen's spy? You're not really planning to keep such a ticking time bomb around, are you?"

She paused slightly, as if recalling the other person's fervent praise of the gods just moments before, and the profound meaning in his eyes when he shook hands with John—a meaning only a woman could understand. A cold glint flashed in Serbia's eyes.
"Don't blame me for not warning you. Although this woman may seem respectable, judging from the things she's arranged, she doesn't look like a good person at all. I advise you to think carefully and not fall into her trap because of a momentary lapse in judgment."

“What Miss Serbia said is indeed reasonable. I also feel that the archbishop just now was a bit strange.”

Carrie, who was standing next to her, quickly expressed her opinion with a serious expression.

To further prove her point, she also specifically mentioned some details she had noticed:
"After successfully recovering as a Drow, through self-study, I discovered that my eyes had become extremely sensitive to color, especially the withered gray of the magic left behind when animals die."

"And because it is difficult for others to detect, and can only be detected by the drow who worship the goddess Lolth who controls darkness, I call this scent the Scar of Death."

"But during your negotiations with that gentleman just now, I saw obvious signs of death on him."

"Although it is uncertain whether the other party killed the human or the monster with their own hands, or accidentally got the contamination on themselves while walking past the dead, this situation is obviously abnormal for an archbishop."

"Furthermore, given the schemes they displayed during the negotiations just now, Commander John, I think we must treat this matter with utmost care. Their motives are probably not as simple as they claim!"

"..."

John did not respond to their reminders. Instead, he silently stroked the obsidian pocket watch he had received from Alafia that afternoon, squinted his eyes, and glanced at the magnificent Hagia Sophia Cathedral behind him.

A blue trace of magic flashed from his eye sockets and then merged into the barely perceptible blood ring in his pupils. As the spell unfolded, it stripped away the scene before him, breaking it down into a vast amount of data and information that he could comprehend.

However, in the analysis conducted with the help of the new version of the Magic Eye, John obtained a result from the data feedback that the other party's magical aura was not the same as that of the strange nun who attacked him that day.

A hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

So, is it just an illusion?

John wasn't sure why he always felt there was some inexplicable connection between Famille and the nun who attacked him, but based on the feedback from the Magic Eye and the large amount of information the other party had shared this time...

All the clues pointed to the fact that his suspicions about this fanatical believer who wanted to ascend to the papacy were nothing more than a psychological misjudgment.

But is that really the case?

Being too normal, in a way, is actually the biggest abnormality, isn't it?

Especially considering that she was the only Grand-rank mage in the church, and that she never demonstrated any specific unique spell abilities in the original work until her disappearance.

Although the motivation is indeed somewhat unclear.

"...Let's go, it's time for us to head back."

After a brief moment of thought, John withdrew his gaze.

Shaking his head, he cast aside his confusion and turned to look at the seven members of the Special Operations Department who remained trapped in the anti-magic suits.

Although this journey to demand the prisoners ended in a way he never expected, he himself was also drawn into the cult's conflicts.

But compared to these relatively insignificant things, the acquisition of these seven prisoners was what made John happiest.

However, one thing that puzzled John was that he couldn't understand why the Allied Special Operations Department only had seven meager members.

In his memory, the first Allied Special Operations Department should have had at least fifteen members, including his game character.

Although, because of him, Serbia and Ian, who were supposed to join, were unable to join the department as planned.

Even without those three, the newly established first Special Operations Department should still have at least twelve people.

But why has Trotsky only captured seven people so far?
Could it be that I caused the butterfly effect?
"I guess so. After all, it was established two years ahead of schedule, so it's understandable that the number of staff in the department would be reduced uncontrollably."

But barring any unforeseen circumstances, Anna, who was chosen by Olko more than ten years ago and trained by the Sprint family, and who was destined to become the strongest member of the Special Operations Department, should be among the seven at this time.

If I can capture this true protagonist of the game, who can unleash his full power three times in a row and whose stats are all top-tier, then this mission will be worthwhile!
Although, given the other party's personality, persuading them to abandon the Allied forces and join the Empire may be much more difficult than expected.

But as long as he has her in his hands, John knows his old comrade-in-arms and former lover well.

He knew very well that given enough time, he could completely deceive the other party from a staunch Allied soldier into the Empire's newly crowned invincible war god.

After all, there have been precedents in this regard, haven't there?

Thinking of this, John's previously furrowed brows immediately relaxed, and then, under Serbia's puzzled gaze, he gave the other a meaningful smile.

Ignoring Serbia's puzzled question about why he looked at her that way, John then waved his hand and led everyone into the car, heading towards the location of the Imperial Hotel.

"Whoosh!"

……

(End of this chapter)