This trip to the desert lasted for two months. For the first half, he was mostly slacking off, the middle part was all about killing, and on the way back, as he looked at the carriages full of slaves and the corpses of Imperial soldiers, he was reflecting.
The result of his reflection was that he came to a conclusion: he was too weak.
If he had been strong enough, he might have been able to stop the slaughter of the Aogiri Tree. If he had been strong enough, he could have gained the respect of the CCG and even asked them to research food that Ghouls could eat. If he had been strong enough, he might have been able to ban the slave trade...
But the premise was always the same: he needed to be strong enough!
Only by being strong enough can one change their own destiny, or even control the destiny of others. The weak can only drift with the current, and sometimes, no matter how much they try, it can't stand up to a single word from the strong.
After Lancer returned to the western fortress, he set off again to return to the Imperial Capital.
This time, as he returned to the Imperial Capital and saw the city that was no different from when he left, his mood was incredibly calm.
When he had persuaded himself to stay, he had held the idea of 'changing the future', but looking back now, he was simply too cowardly at the time.
Staying in this city had no meaning at all; it was just wasting time!
Even if the key to changing history appeared in front of him, could he hold it?
No!
"General Budo! I hope to be transferred to the border army! In these two months, I have realized my shortcomings and deficiencies. The me now is not qualified to join the Imperial Guards!"
When Lancer said these words, Budo didn't respond but simply tapped on his desk with his hand. It was clear that he was considering what Lancer had said.
"Bang~!"
With a slightly louder tap, Budo nodded at Lancer.
"Alright, I'll agree to your request. Since you want to go to the border army, I'll allow it. But remember one thing! You are someone from the Imperial Guards. Don't embarrass the Imperial Guards, don't embarrass The Emperor!"
"Yes!!"
Although Lancer was temporarily transferred to the border army for service, he was still a member of the Imperial Guards, similar to being 'dispatched' or 'seconded'.
For the second time, Lancer, with Budo letter of introduction, embarked on the road to leave the Imperial Capital. But unlike the first time's confusion and drifting with the current, this time, Lancer eyes were filled with a firm will!
Become strong! Only by becoming strong can one change their own destiny and the destiny of others!
"Hah! Hah!!"
Accompanied by low shouts, Budo stood at the very front of the training ground as always, looking at the meticulous Imperial Guard soldiers below without expressing any opinion. But in the eyes of the people below, this was normal. After all, this was the man known as the 'Empire's Strongest'.
But no one knew that at this time, his mind was on another matter.
Lancer departure from the Imperial Guards was completely unexpected for him. However, as the top military figure in the Empire, as long as Lancer was still in the army, it was impossible for him not to be aware of Lancer information, such as what had happened a while ago.
It had been almost a year since Lancer left the Imperial Guards. He had also been promoted from a second lieutenant to a lieutenant colonel, and was now serving as the deputy to Major General Liver of the western border army.
The reason he was thinking of Lancer today was because Lancer was returning to the Imperial Capital after a year. And this time, he wasn't recalled by Budo, but because of the merits Lancer had earned in a battle with the foreign races at the western fortress.
But along with the merits came his title of 'Iron-Blooded Executioner'.
Generally speaking, no matter how strong a general was, they would not always charge at the front. After all, not to mention the possibility of 'accidents', the so-called 'pride of the strong' alone would prevent them from making a move on ordinary people, but Lancer was different.
He would always lead the charge in every battle, and his number of kills was always the highest. It could be said that when he raised his lance level, it meant that the Imperial border army was about to charge, and this charge would definitely bring death!
If it were just that, he wouldn't have been given the name 'Executioner'. The most crucial thing was his way of dealing with the 'foreign races'.
'You are just a bunch of bandits who plunder the Empire's border. I will give you an opportunity! An opportunity to choose how you die!'
During this time, it wasn't that no one tried to be opportunistic. A guy cleverly said, 'I want to die of old age', and his fate? Is there even a need to say? He was pierced through the heart with Lancer lance and violently thrown onto the rubble.
There was no doubt that most of the foreign races would rather be killed, but there were also a few who would rather be slaves. Lancer didn't make any comments about these people; it was their own choice.
It was true that most Imperial people didn't have a good impression of the 'foreign races', but Lancer himself had blood all over his hands, and his extremely low capture rate seemed to stain his reputation with blood.
When some soldiers from other regions thought of Lancer, their first reaction was: a psychopath.
But in reality?
People who knew Lancer knew that he was a battle-crazed person but not a villain who senselessly killed innocent people. After all, he had no desire for money, women, or even power, as if he simply craved battle.
After going through the information he had recently obtained in his mind, Budo walked toward his office. As expected, Lancer was sitting in front of his desk at this time, no different from when he had left a year ago.
"You have done very well this past year."
While saying this, he sat down in his chair, and on the other side, Lancer stood up.
"Thank you for your guidance, General."
What Lancer said was not just a compliment. He hadn't felt it at first, but upon careful thought, whether it was the attitude of the commander of the legion when he returned to the western fortress, or his choice to kill those foreign races instead of selling them to slave merchants, there must have been an influence from General Budo behind it. After all, the former was fine, as he was going back to the Imperial Guards sooner or later. As for the latter... blocking someone's path to wealth is no different from killing their parents.
However, Lancer attitude toward Budo was completely different from his attitude toward Kureo Mado.
If Kureo Mado's initial rescue of him was just fulfilling his duty as an investigator, and helping him enter the Ghoul investigator training camp was because he saw his potential, then after that, the other party never forced him to do anything. Even joining the training camp was Lancer own request. But what about Budo? His purpose was obvious, so Lancer treated Kureo Mado as his 'teacher', while Budo was just a 'patron'.
Does it seem like there's no difference? In reality, the difference is huge. If one day Kureo Mado asked Lancer to go and deal with the 'One-Eyed King', Lancer would not hesitate for a moment. But when it came to Budo, he would take it with a grain of salt.
But no matter what, at least in a 'normal' situation, Lancer was still very respectful of this General Budo.
"This time, The Emperor will be conferring honors on you warriors who have fought for the Empire, and all the ministers will also be present..."
"!!"
The other party's words made Lancer body tremble, but he quickly suppressed it. Budo just glanced at him casually. In his eyes, Lancer was just excited because of the conferment of honors tomorrow, but what was the reality?
The real reason for Lancer excitement was that he could finally meet the man who had been 'haunting' him!