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

Chapter 85 He's a damned parasite

Bahamut, Keller's Beer Hall.

"Squeak!"

As the tavern door was slowly pushed open, the ten members of the temporary squad, led by Siegfried, walked in to the astonishment of everyone in the tavern.

They ignored the fact that the tavern, which had inexplicably gone from a lively atmosphere to a deathly silence after they entered.

After glancing at the patrons inside the tavern, Siegfried gave Prida a look, signaling him to lead the other members to guard the tavern's entrance and prevent anyone from leaving.

Immediately, amidst the horrified and tense gazes of the crowd, he strode straight to the tavern counter, smiled at the astonished, balding owner:
"Mr. Sheldon, it's been a long time. How's business lately?"

"Uh, sir, have you seen me before?"

Upon hearing the Imperial soldier call him by name, tavern owner Sheldon was both puzzled and somewhat bewildered.

He nervously scrutinized the Imperial soldier's face, repeatedly trying to recall when he had seen him before.

It wasn't until he discovered that the other person's appearance inexplicably matched that of the rustic villager he had met seven days earlier.

As if he had discovered something incredible, Sheldon couldn't help but widen his eyes, his tone filled with disbelief:
"You, you're the villager who came to me to sell wine seven days ago?"

Sheldon was immediately startled when he recognized the Imperial soldier's true identity.

But soon, his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Because Sheldon clearly remembered that this villager named Siegfried had come to the tavern a few days earlier to ask if he would buy his homemade wine.

But at the time, he felt that the other party was dressed in a poor and shabby manner, and did not seem like someone who could provide high-quality drinks.

So without thinking, he immediately sent people to kick the other party out.

Sheldon thought he would never have anything to do with the other person again in his life.

But no matter how much he planned, he never expected that less than a week later, this person would come knocking on his door again.

Moreover, the other party has transformed from a mere villager into an imperial soldier!
Damn it, if Sheldon had known this would happen, he would never have kicked them out that day.

But now it's too late!

At this moment, Sheldon, the tavern owner, was filled with regret.

Just as he was about to take all the money out of the cabinet and hand it over to the other party, and kneel down in front of him to apologize and beg this damned imperial dog to spare his life.

The next second, to his astonishment, Siegfried slowly pulled a Penny coin from his pocket and slapped it on the counter:
"Give me a whiskey, undiluted."

"Uh, yes, yes, sir!"

Upon hearing this, although he didn't know what the other party was up to, Sheldon quickly took a bottle of wine from the counter.

Then, under Siegfried's 'cold' gaze, he shakily poured the other person a full glass.

"Thank you."

Siegfried didn't pay any attention to the tavern owner's fearful expression.

Instead, he thanked the other person, picked up his wine glass, and casually chose an empty table to sit down.

Feeling the fearful gazes directed at him from everyone in the tavern, Siegfried realized why Warrant Officer John had chosen him to carry out the reconnaissance mission.

The townspeople were terrified when this local donned the Imperial Army uniform. If it were anyone else from the unit trying to gather intelligence, their battlefield-trained, chilling aura would likely have sent these ordinary people fleeing on the spot, or even causing them to lose control of their bladders!

In that situation, let alone gathering intelligence, even making some normal actions could be misunderstood by the residents as wanting to massacre people.

The situation will definitely become extremely chaotic.

Siegfried also knew that if he took off his uniform and changed into ordinary clothes to gather intelligence, the difficulty would definitely be much lower.

But after thinking it over, he decided to wear the military uniform to carry out the mission.

Besides upholding this honor, the most important thing was that Siegfried wanted to prove through his actions that the Imperial Army was not as brutal as rumored.

Furthermore, he can only stir up the emotions of the crowd by appearing as a resident of a kingdom that has joined the empire.

This will further complete the promotion plan for Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

However, although they had anticipated that the residents of Bahamut harbored considerable resistance to the Imperial Army.

But I never expected it to be this serious.

Although I wasn't much better than them in the past.

Fortunately, guided by the principles of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, I have found my way forward.

Now, it's time for me, under Warrant Officer John's guidance, to spread this dazzling light to more people!

Thinking of this, Siegfried's eyes suddenly became firm. Then he gulped down the wine in his glass and walked onto the stage amidst the fearful or curious gazes of the crowd.

He then took a deep breath, tapped the table in front of him, and said in a deep voice:
"I'm sure that everyone here has heard about the Allied defeat at Walden and the Empire's great victory recently."

"As a native of Walden Territory and an Imperial soldier in a temporary squad, I can tell you definitively that this is true, and just last night, under the command of my unit commander, we successfully captured the lord of Dragon Eye Territory, Micah Hardman, and officially occupied the town."

"In other words, the town of Bahamut is now under the rule of the Empire. So, if any of you still harbor the wishful thinking that you can become residents of the Kingdom, then I can tell you clearly that you can give up on that idea as soon as possible."

"..."

Upon hearing this, the tavern, which had previously been filled with only faint sounds, fell into complete silence.

All eyes turned to Siegfried on the stage, some with fear, others with anger.

But no one dared to utter a single word, fearing that they might anger this traitor to the kingdom and lose their lives.

"I know that there are probably many people here who are afraid of me, mocking me, or even secretly cursing me as a traitor to the kingdom, but before we discuss my changed political stance, I would like to ask you all a question."

Siegfried looked down at the crowd below, whose expressions varied, and then asked:

"What are your thoughts on the former lord, Baron Micah Hardman?"

"Let me start by sharing my own thoughts. In my opinion, Micah Hardman is a parasite, a parasite that lives off the name of the kingdom's nobility and lives by sucking our blood and marrow!"

“Yes, Micah Hardman, he’s a damn parasite!”

On the stage, Siegfried placed his hands on the podium, as if recalling a cold winter night in the past, when his mother wove cloth for three days and three nights straight to avoid her son becoming a slave to the Hardman family due to insufficient tax payment, and ultimately died from overwork.

A fierce flame flashed in Siegfried's eyes, and he spoke to the crowd in a low voice.

……

(End of this chapter)