Reborn: Imperial Officer Promotion Guide

The next day, Hull woke up with a hangover.

The night before, Queen Balayya made Hull drink a lot of wine, and he didn't remember how he returned to the room.

After getting up from the bed, Hull still felt dizzy.

Alcohol makes the mind dull, that's why Hull never liked drinking.

Heer was about to wash his face when suddenly, Queen Balayya walked in.

"Good morning."

"What's wrong? Why did Her Majesty the Queen suddenly come to see me? Is there a problem with the treaty?"

"No, I think you haven't had enough to drink yet, so I came here specifically to find you to continue drinking."

“Ahhh… Please forgive me.”

"Hahaha! I was just kidding. I've already gone to find Ling, and there's no problem with the new treaty."

"Why didn't Ling come here himself? He even asked the Queen to make a special trip. It's really outrageous. It seems that I have to keep a close eye on him from now on."

"You are still so harsh to Xiaoling. You misunderstood. She didn't ask me to come here. I came to see you on my own. I have something to tell you."

Hull was stunned for a moment and then quickly asked the queen to sit down and talk.

"Heer, I want to know, what is your purpose in giving us those lands?"

During the negotiations, neither of them tacitly mentioned that returning the original homeland of the Kumins and giving up so much territory in exchange at one time was too favorable for the Kumins, and even the Queen of Blue had doubts.

“…I hope that the Kumin tribe can continue to grow and develop in this mountainous area in the north.”

By acquiring so much land at one time, the power of the Kumin people and their influence in the North will be enhanced.

"But what good will this do you?" Queen Balaya showed a puzzled expression.

He Er did not hide it: "In five years, just like I troubled you to occupy the Arugail Defense Fortress this time, I may use the power of the Kuming clan again."

The queen smiled slightly: "I see. I understand."

"Don't you want to know the reason?"

"You won't tell me anyway, right? Besides, we, the Kumin people, will never forget the favor we have received. No matter what you ask us to do, we will repay you for it."

"A favor? This is just a fair deal. It's really not a favor at all."

"But, because of you, my people no longer suffer from hunger and cold. Not only have we fulfilled our long-cherished wish to regain the lost homeland of our ancestors, but we have also gained so much fertile land. In the next five years, we no longer need to worry about the threat of the empire. After all these years, we, the Kuming people, have finally regained peace."

“…This is only a brief peace.”

The Blue Queen nodded and said, "There is no eternal peace in this world. In order to make this peace last longer, my people and I will not stop."

"..."

Hull stared into her eyes in silence, and soon Ling came in.

"He Er! You! You made me stay up late, but you slept soundly. It's almost noon and you just got up. How can you be so ashamed!"

"Has the new treaty been drawn up?"

"Ha! ... You didn't even say a word of comfort? This is too much!"

"Okay, okay, you did a good job. Now can you let me see the treaty?"

Hull took the parchment handed to him by Ling and read the contents carefully.

"Well, in that case, there will be no problem. Ling, go and call Colonel Giroud Maguno."

"Tsk! You only know how to order people around! Colonel Giroud Maguno has been in an out-of-body state since yesterday. I can't call him to do anything."

"If that's the case, it would be easier. Can't you just ask Goliath to drag him over here?"

"Ha!? That's a bit too rude! He's an old man!"

"Hurry up and finish the work here so that the old man can return to the Northern Fortress to rest faster. I am caring about the old man's physical and mental health. Don't be ungrateful."

Queen Balaya, who was listening to the conversation between the two, suddenly laughed.

"Hahaha, as expected, just listening to the two of you bickering is really interesting!"

"Ah... Queen, come to think of it, you have already mastered the Imperial language. I was deceived by you before."

"Oh, does Ling mind this? I'm not pretending on purpose. I'm just worried that the Empire will secretly plan something in front of me. I didn't expect such an unpleasant thing to happen. This is also beyond my expectations."

"I am very sorry about this matter, Your Majesty."

Queen Balayya waved her hand and said, "Ling, you don't have to apologize. This is not your fault. I wanted to ask Heer for an explanation for this matter, but what happened yesterday was something I didn't expect. Seeing the major become like that, all my anger is gone."

"Ah... Indeed, although I know that Major Schneider is not a good person, I still feel some sympathy when I see him being tortured by a demon like my teacher."

The black-haired girl let out an indescribable bitter smile.

Heer patted her head gently and said, "Ling, there is nothing wrong with being kind to others, but don't mistakenly think that you can understand everything about that person. The Queen has seen too many filthy people in the Empire. You should learn from her. Be more careful and hone your ability to judge people."

"...Please, teacher, don't keep saying things like this, okay?"

"Of course, one day when you have the strength to make me shut up, I will naturally shut up."

"Oh! I really can't stand it! Queen, please buy me! I want to be by your side and work like a slave for you!"

Ling put on some acting skills and acted like a pitiful person with tears in her eyes, then jumped directly into the arms of the smiling queen.

After crying for a while in the queen's arms, Ling seemed to remember something and raised her head.

"By the way, when did Her Majesty the Queen discuss this with the teacher?"

Ling is very concerned about the territory exchange.

Julong Mountain, the burial place of the emperor of the empire, must be a trap set by Hull.

However, he had always been with Hull, and in the letter that Hull had written to Nandar before, he only asked him to ask the Queen to send troops and exchange territory with the empire afterwards.

The land of Julong Mountain was not mentioned at all.

However, Queen Qing took the initiative to ask for Julong Mountain during the previous negotiations.

When did they plan this?

Ling wanted to know this matter no matter what.

Although Ling was reluctant to admit defeat to Hull, she had no idea of ​​the trap at Julong Mountain.

Otherwise, Hull would definitely not be able to achieve his wish, and maybe he could really escape.

It was a miserable defeat, but that was not the point. As long as I could summarize the experience of this time, I would not make the same mistake next time. Sooner or later, I would be able to escape from Hull's clutches with my own ability.

"Well... Actually, we didn't discuss it. In fact, the last time I met with He Er was two months ago. At that time, he hinted to me that Julong Mountain was the burial place of the Blood Emperor."

"Two months ago...?!"

"Yes, and when Nandar said that we could exchange the fortress seized from the principality for the empire's territory, I thought of using Julong Mountain as an opportunity."

Ling was speechless. Seeing Ling's silly look, Hull smiled and patted Ling's head gently.

"You are still too weak. In front of a true wise man, I don't need to make everything clear. Ling, you have to learn to imagine all the options from the beginning and then find the best solution."

"So, Sensei, when did you first start planning this territory exchange?"

"When my suggestion to send troops was rejected from the top."

"..."

The balance in the North was broken when Hull signed a truce with the Cumin.

He expected that the Principality would launch an attack on the Imperial fortress soon.

At that time, he had already considered how to deal with the situation later - using the Kumin people as a surprise force to seize the principality's foothold in the north.

Then exchange territory with the Empire.

The trap at Julong Mountain was also ready at that time, waiting for Colonel Giru Maguno and his men to take the bait in the territorial exchange.

In a rapidly changing battlefield, if you cannot control the direction of the entire situation, you will never be able to plan ahead...

Ling looked at the two people in front of her. For some reason, the phantoms of red and blue demons appeared on Hel and the Queen.

Too far...I am still so far away...

"Teacher...why on earth did you do that?"

"Anyway, we will have to exchange territories after the war. The Julong Mountain trap is not only an insurance for myself, but also a way to maximize the benefits of territorial exchange. Of course, this benefit is not for the Empire."

"..."

Simply put, is it to maximize the benefits for the Kumin people?

"Of course, this insurance policy is not reliable. For example, if it was Captain Lorenzo who came to negotiate, we would definitely not be able to hide it from him. Originally, this trap was just a casual move. I didn't expect that not only Major Schneider, but also Colonel Giroud Maguno was so stupid."

"...Why did the teacher know that Colonel Gillette Magno couldn't see through this trap?"

"No, I wasn't sure at the time. At that time, I hadn't seen through Colonel Giroud Maguno's strength. If it worked, it would be the best. Even if I was found out, I wouldn't be at any risk. I also prepared several insurances outside of Julong Mountain, but I didn't use them in the end."

Now that I think about it, it was normal that Colonel Giroud Maguno didn't see through it.

Julong Mountain is the location of the Blood Emperor's tomb. It is unknown how many generations ago this happened. Even few people in the Empire remember this.

In the eyes of Colonel Giru Maguno and his men, it was even less likely that the Kuming people would know.

Major Schneider did not think in this direction when the Blue Queen pointed to the map and asked for the land.

Afterwards, they thought it was just an accident at most.

No one would doubt that this was a premeditated plan by the Kumin people.

The responsibility naturally fell on the empire.

"To be honest, Ling, you have somewhat surprised me. No, I should say that you have acted in a way that I expected. You have actually found the answer by being able to read my intentions and find the book 'History of the Founding of the Empire'."

"Ah...! I can't accept this! Why did I fall asleep in the middle of the night? I couldn't remember anything when I woke up in the morning... Wait... Wait a minute... Could it be..."

Ling looked in Hull's direction with her mouth open.

"That's right. You were too low on guard. Goliath is my subordinate, and he told you that directly. You ate the food he brought back for you at night without any doubt."

"Ah! So you put sleeping pills in my dinner!?"

"Yes, even so, to be on the safe side, I still carefully erased part of your memory. Of course, how I did it is a secret."

"Ah... You are so cunning that you can do such a thing!"

"Ling, I admit that you have a talent for this. But if you don't hone your skills, your talent will be meaningless. At present, you cannot pose a threat to me, not only in terms of your brain but also in terms of your strength as a magician. After I cast my magic, you can't even put up a basic resistance. Moreover, there are no such things as rules in this cruel world. No matter how much you curse your opponent's cunning, you can't change the outcome of failure. This is reality."

"Gu!" Hussen held Ling's head down hard while looking down into her eyes.

"But I'm not a demon. If you want to compete with me in a fair fight, I will do the same. This is to make this game of master-disciple duel more interesting. But you cheated on me."

"Cheating?"

"After reading my thoughts, you tried to seek answers from others, especially trying to trick me directly into giving you answers. You are really brave. I will not be so merciful to despicable thieves. You will naturally end up like that."

"You...you are so terrible."

Facing the grinning Heer, Ling couldn't help but hold her head with both hands, trying to protect herself.

"Don't say that. If you really find the answer on your own, I will be happy to accept the result. That's what I planned from the beginning. Next time, don't rely on others and try to find the answer yourself."

"next time?"

"Homework, this one is over. You should have learned a lot, right?"

"..."

Ah...complete defeat. Ling knew she was a complete defeat, but she still felt very regretful.

"...Teacher, what exactly are you planning to teach me with this kind of homework?"

"people."

"..."

"The most difficult people in the world are the idiots who are on the same side as you and hold important positions. Major Schneider and his people are typical examples."

"...Colonel Giroud Maguno seems quite normal to me."

"From a military perspective, his abilities are indeed not a problem. However, the colonel only keeps people who cater to him around him. Over the years, he has lost the judgment that a commander should have. Stupidity is an infectious disease."

"..."

"As his position became higher, he had more subordinates, and naturally more people who refused to obey him. So he excluded those who were not his comrades and kept those who would only obey his orders around him. This is why the people headed by Lieutenant Colonel Keneck formed a faction and finally escaped at the critical moment. In the final analysis, it was Colonel Giroud Maguno who put the entire Northern Fortress in crisis."

"But Colonel Giroud Maguno doesn't seem like a bad guy to me."

"Ling, you have to remember that there are many more bad guys with good faces than bad guys with evil faces. A scum like Major Schneider who is easy to identify is actually a special case."

Hull analyzed Colonel Giroud Maguno very thoroughly.

Regardless of his motives and whether or not it played a positive role, Major Schneider at least personally went to the battlefield in the war against the Principality.

Regardless of the purpose or the outcome, Major Schneider ventured to the Alugel Defense Fortress to negotiate with the Blue Queen.

But Colonel Giroud Maguno is different.

In the previous battle, he stayed in the military headquarters without taking a single step out.

In the subsequent negotiations with the Kumin people, he only came forward to conclude the treaty after the results were achieved.

He is clearly the person primarily responsible, but he has always been a bystander.

Push everything onto others, and then jump out and reap the fruits of victory in a dignified manner.

What a joke!

This is exactly the behavior that Hull hates the most.

Even after saving the country, his former chief disciple was forever branded as a monster.

Looking at the nobles who were saved because of their apprentices, they jumped out and snatched away all the applause and glory.

Only she was left to degenerate into a monster disciple, and was executed by her most admired teacher...

"..."

Ling was silent for a while. Soon, she stuck out her tongue and hid behind the queen.

That look is so similar...

Hull smiled bitterly and thought, forget it, this child still has a long way to go in the future.

It doesn’t matter if you can’t understand it now.