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

Chapter 324 John's Treachery, His Despicable Declaration

Among the active Grand Rank warriors of the Empire, Manny Copperfield's combat strength is not particularly outstanding. He cannot unleash near-destructive power instantly with a magic cannon by adding a spell like Duke Ostan, nor can he defend against a full-force attack from three Grand Rank warriors with amplification effects like Camille Isidore, the Imperial Wall currently serving William.

The reason why his Grand Rank is higher than both of these is entirely due to his technique called 'Leg Ley Line Mastery'.

Just as its name suggests, this unique technique from the Copperfield family, one of the thirteen heroic families, requires the use of ley lines to achieve its effect.

After Manny expanded his domain and connected with the ley lines, he could not only recover and move through space by relying on the power of the ley lines beneath his feet, but also condense various ley line inscriptions with different attributes through the control of spells. He could then imbue them with four different qualities: imprisonment, defense, purification, and silence, and make the effect of each inscription cover an area within ten kilometers.

At this moment, relying on the flowing properties of the earth's ley line magic, Manny can easily impose powerful restraints and temporary magic bans on enemies within the area, or provide barrier protection and remove abnormal statuses from his own soldiers.

In short, the opponent is positioned as a top-tier support character in large-scale wars, and is also a Grand-rank earth magic user. With the healing effect of their unique spell, they are practically invincible.

Unless the attacker possesses non-physical offensive means such as spatial confinement or mental attacks, and unless the opponent's power can directly attack the core of the earth's vein power three thousand meters below the ground and shatter nearly forty kilometers of land at the same time, it is impossible to cause any substantial damage to Manny.

It is precisely because of this ability to be killed by ordinary people and to act as a super support in large-scale battlefields, boosting friendly forces and suppressing the enemy, that after many players encountered it, it was recognized by countless players as the 'super troublemaker' in the game.

Unlike his ability to survive at full capacity, which can be described as a shameless fighting style, Manny himself is an absolute mad scientist.

Furthermore, he was extremely obsessed with ancient magic. So much so that in the background of the story, when Perus XI was only twenty-six years old and serving as an assistant to a professor of earth magic at the highest magic academy in the empire, the Eleno Magic Academy, he was forcibly removed from his assistant position by the Eleno Magic Academy for repeatedly skipping classes to explore ancient ruins, and became a student with a bad reputation.

He was rejected by numerous universities and expelled from the Copperfield family, which he considered a disgrace.

Later, when Perus XII officially ascended to the throne and continued to expand outwards, the Copperfield family's high-level combat power was wiped out during the war by the Valdren family, known as the 'Mind Weavers,' which relied on intelligence from agents and cooperated with the Corwin family to assassinate the Valdren family members at their location. As a result, the empire lacked corresponding top-level support powerhouses on the front lines.

Manny, who was obsessed with ancient studies and relied on writing magic papers for others, but whose own class had already reached the level of a super-ranked mage, was found again by Perus XII, given the rank of colonel, and thrown into the battlefield.

It wasn't until the subsequent establishment of the Demon King's army, and under Trolowski's almost overwhelming magical attacks, that the Empire successfully annexed a number of countries in the eastern part of the Otto continent, completing an unprecedented integration.

Unbeknownst to him, Manny, the troublemaker, had successfully risen to the position of General Staff of the 6th Army of the Empire. Under the Empire's policy of recuperation and development, he retired as a general and successfully obtained the invitation to become a special academician of the Empire's Supreme Research Institute, which he had always dreamed of. Thus, he smoothly transitioned from a commander and legionary assistant to a top scientific researcher of the Empire.

In terms of life experiences, Manny and John have many similarities.

One is a mad scientist who dreams of developing ancient magic, becoming a top researcher, and replicating the legendary floating city, but ends up being thrown into the army by mistake, rising to the rank of general as a troublemaker before retiring.

One dreamed of being a peaceful dog, enjoying a comfortable and luxurious life, but one accident after another disrupted all his plans, forcing him to use his commander's instincts, accidentally rising to the rank of Imperial Lieutenant General, and becoming the unlucky leader of the new generation of Imperial officers recognized by countless people.

Although he greatly envied Manny for getting what he wanted, John decided to abandon his martial ethics and use some standard player tactics on Manny after considering his own current situation.

While it's true that it's a bit unethical to trick an old man, it's still a good thing compared to causing trouble for the young witch Alafia and the suspicious lord William.

Obviously, it would be incredibly wise to try and fool Manny, an old man who is seriously obsessed with ancient magic and whose chin is practically buried in the ground and who doesn't have many days left to live.

"Moreover, I wasn't entirely fooling this old scholar. After all, I did know the exact location of the ruins of the fallen floating city, which was what old Manny had been searching for all along. So my actions were simply an exchange of information, an equivalent exchange."

Of course, John would never tell the other party that the crystal energy array that formed the core of the floating city had been completely damaged over time, and that even if it were found, it could not be repaired, let alone replicated.

However, having something to look forward to is better than having nothing at all, right?

Therefore, my actions should be called helping the passionate Deng fulfill his life's regrets, and it doesn't count as deception at all, right?

John mentally tried to convince himself of his inner sense of transgression.

However, in his imagination, Manny, full of excitement, led his research team to the ruins of the floating city. They used almost all their strength to dig down to 30 kilometers underground and finally found the entrance to the ruins.

They crawled forward through the dark tunnel, overcoming countless difficulties to finally reach the core of the floating city. With an unprecedented sense of pilgrimage, they pushed open the dusty door, only to find a pile of abandoned ruins.

Manny was immediately stunned, and there were even scenes of him rolling his eyes and dying due to excessive emotional excitement, and even scenes of him angrily cursing John for being an inhuman son before he died.

Even with John's flexible moral compass, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty at this moment.

Of course, as a player and commander, being despicable is just a basic tactic, so after feeling a little guilty, John began to carefully plan how to get Manny involved.

Meanwhile, John, a despicable player, was secretly plotting how to harm a lonely old man in order to obtain the information he wanted.

Leia, who was directly opposite, seemed to have thought of something, and her gaze toward John began to sharpen.

So, if I haven't misunderstood...

John, has he already made secret contact with Princess Alafia?

They not only had lunch together, but also shared heartfelt conversations after many years.

And it's possible they held hands under the influence of the atmosphere?

Or even more radical actions?!
"!"

As her extraordinary wisdom was activated, scenes that Leia had once imagined and realized began to reappear before her eyes.

However, unlike before, the faces in the picture that are having a pleasant interaction with John are not hers, but Alafia with her annoying smile.

"Crench!"

In an instant, an unprecedented surge of complex emotions overwhelmed Leia, causing her to unconsciously clench her fists and her breathing to quicken uncontrollably.

She wanted to directly question John about what had happened between him and Alafia, but then she remembered the first rule of the love manual taught by Head Maid Lorian: don't let anger cloud your judgment.

Leia took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the bitterness and resentment in her heart, and returned to her usual calm state.

However, her gaze into John's emerald eyes now held a complexity and depth she had never seen before. Only after John seemed to have finished thinking, and a somewhat smug smile played on his lips, did Leia speak, feigning calmness:

"By the way, John, from what you're saying, you went to visit Princess Alafia, right? How did it go? Did you regain your memories?"

After she finished speaking, Leia stared intently at John, afraid of missing any of his subtle expressions.

I wonder if it was truly extraordinary wisdom that came into play.

This is in conjunction with the unusually intimate behavior that Alafia and John displayed at the victory celebration earlier.

This analysis examines the personality of the princess who never shows her true smile in public, but always maintains the poise and dignity befitting a first princess.

And the fact that the other party risked punishment by directly sharing top-secret intelligence with John during his visit.

With the intuition that comes with her extraordinary wisdom, Leia immediately realized that there was definitely a story between the two of them.

Moreover, this differs from Alafia's earlier explanation at the victory celebration that they were just ordinary old acquaintances.

The bond between these two is definitely much deeper than this superficial explanation suggests.

Otherwise, given Alafia's personality, the other party would never have acted so rashly and in a way that was inconsistent with the image of the First Princess.

"And if my judgment is correct, then once John regains his memory and finds his bond with Alafia again..."

"So in this competitive game, facing His Highness who not only has the advantage of status, but now may also have the advantage of emotions and the filter of the past."

"Even if Major Wendy wholeheartedly assists me, and even if I have the help of Head Maid Lorian, I'm afraid I won't stand a chance against this behemoth!"

After all, the maid had told Leia that the first love she longed for in her youth was something that no man could forget.

This principle would probably apply equally to John, wouldn't it?
Thinking of this, Leia's heart sank to the bottom, and her usually calm emerald eyes now showed a hint of anxiety that shouldn't have appeared.

"?"

Meanwhile, directly opposite, John was initially puzzled upon hearing Leia's words, but after meeting Leia's scrutinizing gaze...

In just a moment, John, who understood that look, felt cold sweat break out on his back. The sly smile that had appeared on his face when he had successfully come up with the perfect plan to trick the old man also froze at that moment.

At this moment, he realized that the horrific crisis he had just escaped seemed to have returned.

Damn it, what's with this weird feeling of being caught cheating again?
When did Leia, this socially awkward but strong girl, become so intimidating?

Is this still the same little Laia I know, the one who struggles to even speak?
"Uh, this, that..."

John, drenched in cold sweat and filled with confusion, was trying to steel himself and prove that he and Alafia were completely innocent so that Leia wouldn't overthink it.

Before he could even deliver his weak testimony, Leia opposite him instead toned down her oppressive gaze and spoke first:

“I’m sorry, I may have asked too many questions, Lieutenant General John, please don’t mind.”

"...It's alright. I did visit Princess Alafia, but this visit wasn't initiated by me. It was Princess Alafia who extended the invitation, and I couldn't refuse."

Seeing Leia withdraw her oppressive aura, John immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Then, fearing that this strong woman might have some wild thoughts and punch him, he quickly added:
"Leah, you know me. I personally don't really want to have too much contact with that prince. After all, the past is the past, and people always have to look forward, right?"

"Moreover, His Highness's attitude towards me was merely that of a friend, without any special meaning. He only struck up a conversation with me out of nostalgia for an old friend. There really is nothing between us."

"That's it...I understand."

Listening to John's 'self-justification', Leia did not express her opinion, but simply nodded silently.

However, his eyes remained fixed on the obsidian pocket watch in John's hand, or more precisely, on the openwork pattern around the watch that represented royalty, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

As the current Earl of the Binott family, and someone who received aristocratic education from a young age, she understood perfectly well the true meaning behind these openwork patterns.

But as someone who had gone through countless life-and-death situations with John, she also believed that what John said was true.

Furthermore, after Major Wendy's explanation, she, who was already familiar with John's personality, naturally knew that if the two of them had indeed had an ambiguous relationship, then given John's personality, he probably wouldn't have bothered to explain.

Instead, they would only lower their heads guiltily, not daring to look into their own eyes.

In that case, the matter will be clear.

"So, this is the challenge you've issued to me, Alafia Caster Perus?"

As a princess, she did not choose fair competition like everyone else, but instead used such despicable means to declare her sovereignty.

It's really unpleasant!
In an instant, Leia understood the intention behind Aurafia's gift of the pocket watch.

However, her expression did not change on the surface. After simply telling John that he could contact her anytime if needed and that she would come immediately, she quickly walked out of the Imperial Hotel under John's hesitant gaze.

But after leaving the hotel, her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the Jingquan Manor, a suppressed cold glint flashing in her eyes.

"!"

……

(End of this chapter)