Lord of Cinder in American Comics

"It wasn't our investigation, it was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigation. Those sons of bitches conducted a full-scale background check on us on their own. What you have in your hands is intelligence from the Sheffield Shadow Force."

Ross leaned back in his seat, pointed to Sheffield sitting opposite him smoking a cigar, and spoke with obvious displeasure about the underhanded tactics of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"What about Davelin? I gave Davelin some leverage last time, he should have been prepared."

Ash brought up the role of B.F. Deavern, the B.F. Director, in front of Ross. For the three present, the B.F., responsible for all domestic affairs, had always been a stronghold of the military. Every director of the B.F. had risen to power under the protection of high-ranking military figures. In contrast, the CIA belonged to politicians.

"After what happened last time, Davelin managed to find a few SHIELD agents infiltrating the team. Davelin then launched a major purge within the Bureau of Investigation, but unexpectedly, the history of the investigation has extended all the way to Hoover's generation. Now Davelin is a bit overwhelmed with his own problems. It's really disappointing."

Sheffield took a bite of the damp cigar butt, spat it out, and commented dismissively to Davelin.

Ash quickly finished reading the investigation report on himself and asked with some curiosity, "Then why did you come to me?"

"The last joint operation made the Pentagon aware of new operational plans. They are thinking of building a new department specifically to handle special matters. Sheffield and I are thinking of having you as the head of the department to avoid that the position being taken up by those useless agents."

Ross spoke rapidly, his mustache trembling as he spoke, perfectly complementing his serious expression. Ash's gaze remained fixed on his mustache.

Ross, speaking sternly, noticed that Ash didn't answer him but instead kept staring at his beard. Ross couldn't help but pat the steel chair to get Ash's attention.

"Oh, uh, why are you looking for me?"

Sheffield chuckled instead and said, "Because you're a professional, you know and are capable of handling this kind of thing..."

Sheffield's drawn-out words drew Ross's ire. Ross straightened up and kicked Sheffield's chair, signaling him to stop speaking in that tone.

"Because we can only turn to you, Ash, we hope you can agree to this. This is our request."

Rose's words left Ash somewhat bewildered; how had he suddenly become the object of everyone's demands at this moment?

"Because of what that idiot Fran Hammer did, his retirement was a foregone conclusion. Originally, the successors of the military, apart from that useless intelligence staff who were the henchmen of politicians, all military commanders needed to be determined by their predecessors and informed of the other commanders."

However, Fran Hammer's retirement came too suddenly, and the Marine Corps was completely unprepared for a successor. Furthermore, due to internal problems within Davelin's Bureau of Investigation, there wasn't time to conduct background checks on the chosen successor.

With this orc incident, the whole world has come to know that fantastical species exist in this world, and countries have begun to launch their own special incident handling departments.

Previously, handling internal Ami incidents was always a military matter, but this time the Pentagon is preparing to separate the matter.

"If it weren't for our own people taking over this department, the military's influence would definitely have been eroded, and even Fran Hammer's Marines might not have survived. We can't abandon these brothers."

Ross said a lot, but the core idea can be summed up in one sentence: "The military is under threat and urgently needs help."

Ash pondered Ross's words; she had her own thoughts on this matter. But adding another buff to herself wasn't out of the question.

However, there are some things Ash needs to clarify beforehand, so as not to cause misunderstandings later.

"My question is, why are you contacting me? Although I've asked this twice, you understand these aren't the same questions. My second question is, where will the funding for setting up this department come from?"

When Ash asked the question, Sheffield burst out laughing.

"Flying Chicken, you didn't fool this guy, hahaha! Look at this kid."

Sheffield handed over a tablet with clippings of various news reports.

'God favors Ami, angels descend,' 'God's blessing, the holy office that can summon angels,' 'Shocking, the past of the angel summoner,' 'It was he who saved 20,000 brothers,' 'The army chaplain, a great doctor.'

Various clickbait news articles were neatly arranged on the tablet, with even an interview with Stark at the back.

And Stark, just like in the news above, went to great lengths to praise Ashe.

During this time, Ash stayed at the Firelink Shrine and didn't pay attention to the news outside. He was mainly focused on various vehicle models and didn't have time to read such gossip.

However, in such a short period of time, he actually became the new 'representative'?

Besides these two bigwigs, who else could generate such a buzz and get the entire ARMY media to give one person comprehensive and positive coverage?

I remember the last time I was forced to take the stage was the time before last, when Yulia pushed me into the position of King of the Souls in Londor in the Dark Souls world.

Now the same thing is happening again.

Chapter 108: Questioning and Meetings

Sheffield and Ross, those two old guys, had blocked all escape routes in advance, so now Ash only has one path to take.

The grand spectacle at the Firelink Shrine was all for the purpose of getting Ash onto the helicopter and then telling him the whole story.

When Ash saw the two military bigwigs appearing together, he thought something big had happened again and had arranged all the escape routes for the Firelink Shrine. He didn't expect it to be this.

Sheffield laughed heartily and handed Ross a cigar. The two lit the cigars and smoked them, watching Ash give his only reply.

"Don't worry, the establishment of the new department is supported by a special fund, and Fran Hammer's Marine Corps team will also be transferred to you. Ross and I will also send a group of elites to your department. Rest assured, they are all brothers who have fought alongside you."

At this point, Sheffield seemed to recall his fallen soldiers, and continued in a low voice, "This will free up more budget to provide pensions to the children who died in battle."

Ash understood that this was the best option for everyone, and looking at the scenery below the helicopter, they had arrived at Peanut Village Special Zone. It was too late to change his mind.

The helicopter landed on one side of the pentagonal building, and following the directions of the ground crew, Ash and the two bigwigs arrived at the conference room.

The main focus of this meeting was the handling of Fran Hammer's case and the establishment of the new department.

However, just as the meeting began, S.H.I.E.L.D. intervened.

"Fran Hammer bears responsibility for the origin of this incident! He is the culprit!"

A bald man stood up and explained S.H.I.E.L.D.'s perspective.

Pretending not to know her, Ash asked Ross, who was standing next to her.

"Who is this?"

"Jasper Sitwell, the one you called the 'atmosphere team,' Brock Rumlow's underling who got thrown out of the room. A member of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Listening to Ross's words, especially the word "atmosphere group" coming from Ross's mouth, was incredibly funny. Ash couldn't help but burst out laughing.

During the meeting, this voice undoubtedly attracted everyone's attention, and Attorney General Lasseter, who was chairing the meeting, turned his gaze to it.

The bald Attorney General slammed the document he was reading shut on the table, leaned back, and asked, "What do you think of this recently famous pastor, Ash?"

"Sir, it's laughable to blame someone who has never done anything wrong."

Ash's answer clearly piqued Lasseter's interest, and before Lasseter could obviously press for more information, the others interrupted him.

Although this might offend Lasseter, it was necessary to interrupt Ash to prevent her subsequent explanation from resonating with more people.

Sitwell continued, "Fran Hammer's attempt to launch VX nerve gas at NY is a clear act of KBism."

Ash continued, picking up where Sitwell left off, and asked, "What behavior?"

“KB-ism behavior”.

"So you're labeling a Marine Corps general who served his country as a terrorist? Do you realize that your accusations indirectly label the entire Marine Corps as terrorists?"

“I didn’t say the entire Marine Corps, just Fran Hammer alone.”

"So what did he do?"

"He fired VX nerve gas at NY."

"Where did he launch it? I live in New York, and I haven't seen anyone die from the gas. Instead, it's the rampaging orcs that are endangering the lives and property of New York citizens."

Sitwell quickly realized the flaw in his statement, defining what Fran Hammer intended to do as an action that had already been completed.

"He attempted to launch a poison gas bomb at New York, and he threatened the Pentagon and the military!"

"Threat? Do you have any evidence? Has any news media reported this? How did something completely fabricated become a threat in your eyes!"

Ash deliberately changed the subject, drawing public attention to Fran Hammer's situation. Because of the close cooperation between the FBI and the military, only a select few knew about it.

Of course, everyone in the office knows the truth now, but no one is saying it out loud.

When pushed to the limit, Sitwell directly revealed, "I have it. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigation shows that Fran Hammer sent threatening emails to the military and threatening notices to the Pentagon."

"Wow, wow. S.H.I.E.L.D. actually has this kind of ability. I received my first call from S.H.I.E.L.D. on the battlefield a few days ago. I didn't expect them to have such great capabilities, being able to investigate the military and the Pentagon. I thought only Forborough and the Department of Homeland Security had investigative authority in America!"

Ash's words, revealing his true intentions, effectively pinned S.H.I.E.L.D. to the wall. Within America, S.H.I.E.L.D. has no investigative authority; Sitwell's words directly exposed their illegal activities.

Although everyone present was aware of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s underhanded tactics, just like with the case of Fran Hammer, some things could be discussed privately, but absolutely could not be brought up publicly. Breaking the established rules would make one a target for everyone.

Attorney General Lasseter tapped his gavel to maintain order throughout the meeting.

Lasseter warned Sitwell with a displeased expression: "I will be investigating S.H.I.E.L.D. regarding their illegal investigations and evidence gathering. Since your actions were illegal, your evidence is invalid."

Upon hearing Lasseter's words, Sitwell's face turned deathly pale. Just then, a man dressed entirely in black entered through the door.

Nick Fury, the current director of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s San Francisco office, has arrived at the scene.

"Your Excellency, S.H.I.E.L.D. is indeed at fault, and we have decided to drop this charge."

As soon as Fury spoke, he abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D.'s proposed course of action regarding Fran Hammer. After all, Sitwell had lost too many points, and there was no point in continuing to argue about it.

Next, the scribes passed on reports about Farran Hammer's final actions, one by one. These reports detailed the mission procedures and resistance strategies employed on Brok'airan Island to repel the orc invasion and counterattack.

Ash also carefully examined the report, trying to find any loopholes in it, in preparation for the upcoming questioning.

However, in his report, Fran Hammer attributed all of his own logistical command achievements to Ash, leaving only the final, concluding section for himself.

After everyone had reviewed the report, Lasseter asked, "Does anyone have any objections to this report?"

Just as Ash was about to step forward, Ross grabbed Ash's arm and shoved her hard onto the chair.

“This is the only thing that old guy can do. Don’t let him down, Ash.”

Chapter 109: Fury's Deal with the Devil

Unexpectedly, Fran Hammer and Ross teamed up to trick Ash, no, Sheffield also joined in.

It's impossible that the two high-ranking military officials didn't see this report beforehand; their silence now is an admission of Ash's role in it.

In comparison to Ash's outstanding performance on the front lines, she is definitely the best candidate to become the new head of the department.

Seeing Ash being held tightly by Ross, Attorney General Lasseter said nothing, but struck the gavel to signal to everyone to pay attention to his next speech.

"In view of General Fran Hammer's achievements and his increasingly incapacitated health, he is hereby granted special permission to retire. Do you have any objections?"

Everyone was satisfied with the outcome; the military wanted to give Fran Hammer a peaceful end. The others, however, needed Hammer to vacate his position so their own people could be placed in charge of a military unit.

Therefore, no one objected to the resolution.

Seeing the silent room, Lasseter said nothing and simply continued to chair the following contentious discussion.

"What are your thoughts on the new draft of the pentagonal building, which proposes creating an independent department specifically for handling paranormal matters?"

New departments, new budgets, new combat units, new spheres of influence.

Everyone present was eager to acquire this department. Politicians, aside from the CIA, wanted a new law enforcement force domestically. The military believed it was a division of military responsibility and should remain with the military. S.H.I.E.L.D., on the other hand, wanted to acquire this department to return law enforcement to Armenia's homeland.