I only wanted to retire, but I ended up becoming an extremely popular character.

When Zod saw how capable his two warrant officers were, he didn't hold back his praise.

"Warrant Officer Cassius, well done! I caught a glimpse of your fight with that lieutenant when I was fighting that Holy Kingdom lieutenant; it was quite a spectacle!"

Especially considering that Cassius had just been promoted to warrant officer, he was already able to make initial use of the abilities of the "Hakuja," so it is not an exaggeration to call him a gifted individual.

Given time, he might actually become a colonel in the empire, or even a general.

Thinking of this, Zod did feel a sense of relief.

Upon being praised, Cassius instinctively reached up to touch the back of his head, but lowered his arm halfway up and instead straightened his back even more.

Although a sense of pride and joy inevitably arose in my heart, it was quickly overtaken by the duty and sense of honor of a soldier, and finally settled into a calm and firmness like steel after being tempered.

Zod turned to look at Hitis, his tone authoritative yet gentle:

"Warrant Lieutenant Hitis, your marksmanship is much more accurate and faster than it was in Clock Tower. This must be due to your daily practice. In today's battle, you led your troops to destroy the enemy's artillery positions, and your performance was outstanding."

When Hitis heard Zod's praise, her ears burned as if they had been scorched by a small cluster of warm candlelight.

Her breathing paused for a beat, she forgot all the prepared expressions and movements, her lips awkwardly tried to turn up, then she pursed them, and finally just lowered her eyelids.

Of course, Zod said so much today not only to praise his subordinates who performed exceptionally well tonight.

More importantly, these words he spoke today were probably his final farewell to Cassius and Hitis.

With Cassius and Hitis's current strength, even without Zod, they are capable of making great achievements and creating even more impressive feats within the "Imperial Blade" legion.

However, Zod could not accompany them on the rest of the journey.

His goal is to retire.

He had no imperial glory, nor was he a citizen of this country.

Zod was, in the end, just a stranger in a foreign land, and his simplest wish was to survive.

He had no desire to get involved in the final battle of the "Imperial Blade" legion.

This is too dangerous for someone who just wants to survive.

"Lieutenant, let's head over and rendezvous with the main force of the 'Imperial Blade' Legion now!"

Cassius gazed toward the city of Saarlom, where flames soared into the sky and the sounds of cannon fire could be heard intermittently.

"Ahem~" Zod coughed lightly, feigning composure as he spoke:

"Okay, Warrant Officer Cassius and Warrant Officer Hitis, you two immediately form a team and proceed to the city of Salrom to rendezvous with the main force of the 'Imperial Blade' legion, as per the previous mission instructions."

"As for me... I won't be traveling with you for now. I'll catch up later; I have other things to do..."

Zod had already prepared his speech in his mind; he had a perfect argument to convince Cassius and Hitis.

However, to Zod's surprise, his prepared remarks were completely useless.

Before Zod could finish speaking, Cassius immediately saluted and replied, "Lieutenant Zod, I understand! We'll form ranks and depart immediately!"

Cassius noticed that Zod hesitated slightly when he said the rest of his sentence.

Clearly, Lieutenant Zod had other plans, or perhaps he had received a secret mission from his superiors and was hesitant to tell his subordinates directly.

After all, that man's thoughts were always so far-reaching, beyond his comprehension.

He certainly couldn't put Zod in a difficult position.

However, at this moment, Hitis frowned slightly: "Lieutenant Zod, you are different from us..."

She clearly wanted Zod to travel with the troops.

She not only felt more at ease with Zod in the group, but was also worried about his safety when he acted alone.

Zod, who was standing to the side, was about to speak when he said the words he had prepared.

Unexpectedly, Cassius came to Zod's rescue again: "Lieutenant Zod always has his own plans. Warrant Officer Hitis, carry out the order!"

History has shown that no matter when Cassius questioned Zod during a crisis, it was always the same.

The final results invariably showed that Zod's judgment was always correct.

"I understand!" Warrant Officer Hitis looked up and gazed firmly at Zod.

The image of the "Eagle of the Empire" in her mind is not much different from the image of Zod in Cassius's mind.

Therefore, she readily accepted Cassius's persuasion and Zod's orders.

"Then go and carry out the order!"

Under Zod's orders, Cassius and Hitis led their troops toward the city of Sarlöm.

Watching the Imperial army's retreating figures, Zod wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

They were always so easily startled, making Zod think they had actually discovered something.

Zod watched his troops disappear into the night, a final farewell to them.

Goodbye to the soldiers who fought alongside me, goodbye to Cassius and Hitis, and Captain Spente, goodbye to Colonel Xavier…

And goodbye to the Zod Empire, which showed no reluctance whatsoever!

Zod pulled out a map from his pocket, which marked his planned escape route.

This time, instead of drawing the complete route as before, he only marked the key points that needed to be avoided, as well as the locations that had to be reached at each stage.

To avoid having one's intentions exposed at a glance, just like last time.

This route was meticulously drawn up by him day and night, combining the Empire's existing intelligence with the Holy Kingdom's defenses in the city of Sarlom.

At this moment, the attention of the armies surrounding the Holy Kingdom has been completely drawn to the battle in Sarlom, making this escape a perfect opportunity with favorable timing and location.

It's absolutely impossible to fail again.

As for his escape to other countries, Zod devised a plan to avoid further trouble.

Once they reach a relatively safe place, Zod will take his military uniform and sidearm, along with any items that can prove his identity (such as a mechanical watch engraved with Zod's name), find an unidentifiable corpse, swap these items onto the corpse, and then throw it into a river.

In times of war, finding a corpse is not difficult.

Thus, no one knows the actual location where the body was killed.

Subsequently, once the Holy Kingdom's intelligence department discovers the corpse wearing the uniform of a lieutenant in the "Imperial Blade" legion, they will certainly be able to determine the corpse's true identity as "Imperial Eagle" Zod based on the corpse's personal belongings.

After all, the Holy Kingdom had already created a personal intelligence file for Zod.

And so, the man named "Zod" will be completely wiped out from the world.

From then on, Zod would cease to exist, and instead live under a completely new identity.

This is Zod's perfect plan.

Alone, Zod followed the route already planned on the map to another border of the Holy Kingdom. His destination was still the Lombardia Trade Federation in the southern part of the Holy Kingdom.

After leaving Tono Village, he took off his Imperial Army uniform, revealing the ordinary civilian clothes he was wearing underneath.

Zod tidied up his Imperial lieutenant uniform, packed it up, then squatted down, grabbed some dirt, and smeared it on his face and neck.

This is more like a refugee who fled to another place to escape war.

The second lieutenant's uniform is definitely not to be thrown away; it will be of great use later!