Chapter 389: I Really Didn’t Need to Make That Phone Call…

With the “click” of the phone hanging up, the previously somewhat noisy administrative office instantly plunged into silence.

Several staff members had bounced up from their chairs, standing ramrod straight with chests out and stomachs pulled in.

They had heard that phone call.

“Army General Staff,” “Department III,” “Major Nicolai”—these terms were full of mystery and deterrent power to ordinary citizens. And the name this young officer had just announced—Friedrich von Morin—was like a blockbuster bomb exploding in their minds.

The blurry black-and-white photos in the newspapers now superimposed with this vivid, medal-bedecked figure before them.

“Lieu… Lieutenant Colonel Morin?! Do you have any orders!”

The leading supervisor wearing thick-soled glasses practically roared it out. When shouted, the Saxon language naturally carries a combative style.

However, despite the supervisor’s desperate attempt to imitate the tough-guy voice of an “iron-blooded soldier,” the unconcealable tremble at the end of his sentence betrayed his inner panic at this moment.

“Relax, gentlemen, this is not a barracks, and I am not your commanding officer.”

Morin waved his hand, his tone calm, but that sense of authority remained undiminished.

“You all heard the content of the phone call just now. A group of people with ill intentions has sneaked into this beautiful theater, wanting to make a big scene tonight… But obviously, none of us want this to happen, so I need your cooperation.”

The supervisor swallowed hard and nodded vigorously: “Just give the order! Anything for the Empire!”

“Very good.”

Morin pointed out the door.

“First thing, find someone quick on their feet to contact the police maintaining order outside… Tell them the situation here and have them quietly lock down all entrances and exits… Remember, quietly lock down. I don’t want to see any panic.”

“Also, have them keep an eye out for any suspicious persons approaching, especially the back door and the staff entrances on the wings.”

“Understood! I’ll go personally!”

The supervisor turned and prepared to rush out, as if he had received some holy mission.

“Wait.”

Morin stopped him and walked to the window. It was positioned on the right side of the main entrance, and through the window, he could just see the square outside the opera house’s main doors.

As Morin’s gaze swept over, information on the mini-map in his vision also began to refresh.

Those green dots representing police were scattered around the square. Although they looked a bit dispersed, at least there were no hostile red dots mixed among them.

“The police outside should all be our people…” Morin turned around and said to the supervisor: “Go, act natural… Don’t look like a clumsy spy delivering intel. Um… just pretend you’re going out to borrow a light, or chat about the weather tonight.”

The supervisor took a deep breath, adjusted his slightly crooked tie, tried his best to look calm, and then pushed the door open and walked out.

After arranging the perimeter, Morin looked down at his own conspicuous outfit.

This military dress uniform covered in medals was indeed majestic under the spotlights, but for the operation he was about to execute, it was obviously inappropriate.

“I need to change my skin too.”

Morin didn’t hesitate. His fingers quickly unbuttoned, and he neatly took off the military jacket representing his military exploits and status.

He folded it neatly, along with that chest full of heavy medals, and handed it to a staff member nearby who looked the most honest.

“Keep this safe for me. I risked my life on the battlefield to get these; if they get lost, my heart will ache,” Morin said half-jokingly.

The staff member took the jacket with trembling hands, as if holding not a piece of clothing, but some fragile, priceless treasure.

He didn’t even dare to breathe heavily, afraid his hot breath would dirty the medals on it.

“Rest… rest assured! I will keep it safe even if it costs me my life!”

Morin smiled, his gaze sweeping over the remaining people in the office, finally locking onto a rather rotund employee.

“Buddy, let me borrow your jacket.”

The fat employee was stunned for a moment, then, feeling overwhelmed by the favor, took off his oversized dark gray suit jacket.

Morin took it and put it on.

Although the shoulders were a bit tight and the waist a bit loose, making it look somewhat mismatched on his current physique, at least it covered the conspicuous white shirt and suspenders.

“Thanks.” Morin rolled his shoulders, adapting to this ill-fitting suit.

Before leaving the office, his gaze was suddenly attracted by a furry ball in the corner—it was a fat cat lying there.

Morin’s eyes lit up, and he walked over quickly.

“Sorry, little guy, for the safety of the Empire, I’m borrowing something from you.”

Before the fat cat could react, Morin had already nimbly used the scissors on the desk to snip a small tuft of cat hair from its tail.

“Meow-ow—!”

The fat cat let out a dissatisfied protest, but ultimately didn’t dare to hiss, only depressedly letting Morin pet it a few times.

Morin naturally didn’t get this cat hair for fun, but as proper spellcasting material.

After leaving the office, Morin brushed past the supervisor who had gone out to report the news in the corridor. The two exchanged a glance and then went their separate ways.

Entering a combat state, Morin’s entire aura changed.

He didn’t rush upstairs directly but moved quickly along an inconspicuous route on the first floor.

The mini-map in his vision constantly refreshed… After confirming there were no red hostile units on the first floor, he dodged into the stairwell between the first and second floors.

No one was going up or down the stairs here at the moment, making it an excellent preparation area.

After confirming there were no anomalies around, Morin glanced at his spell slot interface.

Ever since being injected with the modification potion in the Paris underground research institute and lying in the Imperial Medical Center for so long, this was his first time seriously preparing to cast spells.

Because he had stayed in the rear for a long time, after waking up and recovering for a while in the Imperial Medical Center, Morin had equipped himself with a “general-purpose” spell combination.

And his time staying in the capital gave him no opportunity to use spells, making him almost forget the feeling of magic flowing in his body.

Today was also his first time using spells since waking up.

Originally, he wanted to put a whole “family bucket” of buffs on himself, such as [Haste] and [Mage Armor].

But unfortunately, both of these spells required casting materials. [Haste] required licorice root, and [Mage Armor] required a small piece of leather.

In combat conditions, Morin had a dedicated spell material pouch in his chest rig, but coming to watch an opera today, he obviously hadn’t brought spellcasting materials.

“Seems I’ll have to prepare a portable spell material pouch next time I go out…”

Morin complained silently in his heart.

Fortunately, he still had quite a few practical spells in his spell slots that didn’t require materials, such as [Counterspell] and [Dispel Magic], as well as the main event coming up next—[Greater Invisibility].

It wasn’t that Morin disdained using [Invisibility]. Compared to the short-duration [Greater Invisibility], [Invisibility], besides not allowing attacks, could last for 1 hour.

But the problem was [Invisibility] also required casting materials, while [Greater Invisibility] didn’t…

However, Morin didn’t use [Greater Invisibility] immediately. He opened his palm, and the few strands of cat hair he just “borrowed” lay quietly in it.

Morin chanted an obscure incantation in a low voice, his fingers gently twirling those strands of cat hair.

As magic was injected, the cat hair turned into specks of faint light in the air and merged into his body.

Tier-2 Transmutation spell—[Enhance Ability: Cat’s Grace].

A light feeling instantly spread throughout his body. Morin felt his muscles become more flexible, and his reaction speed increased by a tier.

He tried jumping in place, making almost no sound when landing, like a true feline.

Not only did it vastly increase his agility attribute, but it also allowed him to be immune to fall damage from a certain height.

“Preparation complete.”

Morin adjusted the ill-fitting suit jacket, his eyes becoming as sharp as knives.

The hunt begins.

His figure, like a gray phantom, silently crept up to the second floor.

Using the pillars and decorative statues in the circular corridor as cover, his gaze quickly swept over the waiters shuttling through the crowd.

The gallery on the second floor was currently a busy scene.

Many waiters carrying trays shuttled between the boxes, serving the important figures who needed alcohol and snacks during the opera intermissions.

And on the mini-map in his vision, four glaring red unit cards quickly spawned, moving slowly.

They were disguised very well; even their posture carrying trays had been professionally trained. They wore that humble and professional smile, making them almost indistinguishable mixed among the real waiters.

But under the system’s judgment, they had nowhere to hide.

“Four on the second floor, but mixed among other normal waiters…”

Morin quickly made a judgment, then his figure flashed, continuing up the stairs straight to the third floor.

The third floor was the top-tier VIP box area, exactly where Cecilia and the others were.

Following the same routine of stealthy reconnaissance, three red unit cards also appeared on the system map.

One of them was carrying a bottle of red wine, his footsteps seemingly steady but actually moving extremely fast toward the end of the corridor—that direction was exactly the box where Cecilia was.

“I’ll make my move here…”

A cold glint flashed in Morin’s eyes.

Hiding in the shadows at the top of the stairs, one hand quickly made a gesture, while a short syllable spat from his mouth.

[Greater Invisibility]

A strange ripple appeared in the air, and Morin’s figure instantly vanished from the spot, as if swallowed by the corridor lights.

[Greater Invisibility] allows attacking while invisible without breaking the invisibility state, but its duration is only one minute.

For an ordinary mage, this one minute might only be enough to run halfway down a corridor.

But for Morin, modified by the potion and buffed with [Cat’s Grace], this one minute was enough for his “Dance of Death.”

The assassin walking towards Cecilia’s box suddenly felt a breeze brush past him.

This breeze came somewhat abruptly, seeming exceptionally bizarre in this enclosed corridor.

He subconsciously stopped in his tracks, glancing warily to the side.

An empty corridor, with only mottled shadows cast by the wall sconces.

“An illusion?”

The assassin frowned and was just about to continue stepping forward.

Suddenly, a massive force hit the back of his neck without any warning.

It felt like being smashed hard by an iron rod wrapped in cotton cloth.

He didn’t even have time to let out a muffled grunt before his vision went black, and his whole person instantly collapsed limply.

But the instant his body was about to touch the ground, an invisible hand steadily supported him, smoothly catching the expensive bottle of red wine in his hand without making a sound.

Morin revealed a slight outline, knocking out this unlucky bastard and casually tossing him aside like a bag of garbage.

Having eliminated the biggest threat, Morin didn’t stop. He turned and charged towards the other two assassins still loitering at the other end of the corridor.

Those two guys seemed to have heard the strange noise over here and were communicating with their eyes, seemingly planning to come over and take a look.

Suddenly, the assassin on the left felt someone kick the back of his knee hard, and his whole person knelt uncontrollably.

Before he could react, a powerful knife hand had already chopped the back of his neck, and he just rolled his eyes and passed out.

The companion on the right watched this scene in horror. He saw his teammate suddenly kneel as if possessed, and then slump to the ground.

He subconsciously reached to grab the pistol at his waist.

But his hand had barely touched the hem of his clothes when a sharp pain came from his wrist.

Crack!

The crisp sound of dislocation was exceptionally harsh in the silent corridor.

Followed by another heavy and powerful knife hand.

Two seconds, two professionally trained assassins, both down on the street.

Morin didn’t waste time admiring his masterpiece. Because there were temporarily no other staff members on the third floor, Morin just dragged them near the stairs.

At this time, the duration of [Greater Invisibility] had 40 seconds left.

“That’s about enough…”

Morin turned, vaulted directly over the railing of the third-floor stairs, and landed lightly on the carpet of the second floor.

The situation on the second floor was much more complex than the third floor.

Those four assassins were scattered in different areas, with real waiters working around them. If he acted rashly, it would easily cause panic.

But Morin was currently invisible, which was his greatest advantage.

Like a gust of wind blowing through the crowd, he began reaping.

A “waiter” who was just about to enter a guest box suddenly felt someone trip him, and his whole person fell forward.

But he didn’t fall to the ground, because an invisible hand precisely chopped the back of his neck an instant before he hit the ground.

To bystanders, this waiter just suddenly felt unwell and fainted on the ground.

“Oh! My goodness! Someone fainted!”

A real waiter nearby let out a low exclamation.

The surrounding waiters quickly looked over here, and the other three assassins were also attracted by this commotion, looking warily in this direction.

This was the effect Morin wanted.

Taking advantage of the moment they were distracted, Morin had already rushed behind the second assassin.

This assassin was leaning against a pillar observing the situation, suddenly felt a chill on the back of his head, followed by the world spinning.

The third, the fourth…

Morin’s movements were astonishingly fast. Every strike was precise and ruthless without any sloppiness.

This was not just the buff of spells, but even more so the physical quality enhanced by the “Second Generation Sentinel Potion” at work.

His strength, speed, and reflexes had all completely surpassed the limits of ordinary humans under normal circumstances.

Oh, and he could f*cking cast spells too.

So in an invisible state, Morin was simply an unsolvable bug to ordinary people.

When the last assassin was knocked out by Morin with a punch, the effect of [Greater Invisibility] also ended exactly.

The air twisted, and Morin’s figure appeared out of thin air in the corridor.

A few waiters who were just about to scream saw the suddenly appearing Morin, scared their screams back down their throats. One by one, their eyes widened as if they had seen a ghost.

Morin adjusted his somewhat messy collar, a calm and unhurried smile appearing on his face.

He raised a finger, placed it to his lips, and made a shushing gesture.

“Shh—”

Immediately after, Morin pulled out an ID from his pants pocket and flashed it—it was the officer’s ID he carried with him, but in the dim light, this bunch of waiters couldn’t see the specific content clearly at all, only seeing that golden Imperial Eagle emblem.

“Army General Staff Department III Special Operations, executing a classified mission.”

Morin casually pulled a big banner. That matter-of-fact tone and the “grand transformation” magic trick he just displayed instantly cowed these inexperienced waiters.

“We are handling a secret case involving national security. These guys are spies.”

Hearing the word “spies,” the fear in the waiters’ eyes turned into awe and curiosity.

In this era of war, catching spies was considered a drama that made civilians’ blood boil and gave them a sense of participation.

In the early days of the war, Saxons everywhere organized “spy-catching” activities spontaneously quite often.

Although ultimately they were all proven to have caught the wrong people, it was undeniable that the populace indeed had an extra enthusiasm for this activity.

“Alright, don’t just stand there.” Morin pointed at the assassins on the ground. “The main force will be here soon. Continue your work, do what you have to do, don’t alarm the others, understand?”

“Yes… sir!” The waiters nodded their heads like pounding garlic, not even daring to take another look at the ground, and turned and ran.

Morin sighed, bent down resignedly, and began doing manual labor.

He ran back and forth twice, like a hardworking ant moving house, dragging all four unconscious assassins from the second floor and the three from the third floor into a utility room.

“One, two, three… seven.”

Morin looked at these piled-up human sandbags and nodded in satisfaction.

He casually grabbed a passing waiter who looked like he had been scared silly, and told him to go find a bundle of rope and a few napkins.

The waiter ran off trembling and brought the items.

Morin skillfully separated the seven people and tied them with hog ties, preventing them from saving themselves or helping others.

Then he stuffed the napkins into their mouths to prevent them from screaming or biting their tongues to commit suicide after waking up.

Having done all this, he began searching them.

Soon, a pile of “loot” was laid out on the floor.

Seven Luger P08 pistols, seven sharp combat knives, and… about a dozen spherical hand grenades that were gradually being phased out of active service.

Looking at those hand grenades, Morin’s pupils shrank slightly.

“These madmen…”

If they detonated these hand grenades in this kind of enclosed theater, the consequences would be simply unimaginable.

This was no longer a simple assassination, but a terrorist attack.

Morin stood up, looking at this mess on the floor, suddenly feeling that his phone call earlier seemed a bit redundant.

He clenched his fists, feeling the still abundant energy in his body.

Is this the power of “Captain Saxony”?

This feeling of controlling everything was indeed easy to get addicted to.

Morin stood in the utility room, looking at the pile of captured weapons on the floor, and then at those assassins tied in a string, sleeping like dead pigs, and couldn’t help shaking his head.

“This is the so-called ‘Free Saxon Alliance’ elite?”

He casually picked up a Luger P08, pulled the slide, and inspected it.

Very well maintained. A bullet was already chambered, obviously prepared to fire at any time.

This kind of active-duty officer’s sidearm was very hard to leak out of the military, and seven appearing at once, plus those hand grenades…

…If there wasn’t support from some “parasites” behind this, beat Morin to death and he wouldn’t believe it.

“It seems these Britannians have infiltrated quite deeply in Saxony here… But thinking about it, it’s also normal.”

Morin played with the gun in his hand, calculating in his mind how to fleece that bunch of people from the General Staff later.

This was solid merit, and could even be said to have saved the lives of the entire Dresden upper class.

Just then, the door of the utility room was carefully pushed open.

That fat supervisor from the administrative office poked half his head in, sweating profusely, obviously having run all the way here after being guided by other waiters.

Behind him followed a panting policeman.

“Lieu… Your Excellency Lieutenant Colonel?”

When the supervisor saw the scene in the room, his eyeballs almost popped out.

The assassins tied solidly all over the floor, and the rows of gleaming weapons on the ground, were truly too impactful for him, a civilian staff member.

“They’re all here.” Morin pointed at the assassins on the floor. “Seven in total, there shouldn’t be any that slipped the net.”

And the policeman behind the supervisor originally had his hand on his holster, looking alert, but upon clearly seeing Morin’s face, his whole person instantly froze.

Immediately after, a look of fanatical worship surged onto his face.

“Lieu… Lieutenant Colonel Morin?!”

The policeman was so excited he even forgot to salute, rushing straight in, looking at Morin with shining eyes.

“Good God! It really is you! I grew up reading reports about you… No, I mean, I’ve read every one of your battle reports in the newspaper! Next to the outstanding officers’ list in our station, there’s a photo of you cut out from a newspaper!”

Morin instantly felt somewhat embarrassed and awkward. After all, he never imagined he could still encounter a fan under these circumstances.

“Ahem, thank you for your support, Officer.”

Morin pointed at the weapons on the floor, changing the subject.

“But shouldn’t we deal with these things first now? If these hand grenades explode, we’ll all fly to the sky.”

“Ah! Yes! Yes!”

The policeman only then reacted. Looking at the hand grenades on the floor, cold sweat instantly poured down.

He hurriedly went outside and called a few more policemen over, then had them transfer these hand grenades out first. After that, he stayed on guard in the utility room with Morin.

During this process, this policeman also told Morin that they had completed the lockdown of the opera house’s surroundings and were calling for more backup.

At the same time, they also found people attempting to approach the opera house from the direction of the back door, but those people directly retreated after seeing police blocking the entrance…

Hearing his description, Morin guessed in his heart that these people who retreated were highly likely some backup team.

It was just that he didn’t expect the other party’s vigilance to be so high, slipping away directly at the slightest sign of trouble…

About fifteen minutes later, just as the Department III duty officer had said, an Imperial Guard unit deployed in the capital arrived at the opera house and took over the lockdown of the surrounding area from the police.

A few minutes later, a figure familiar to Morin also appeared on the second floor of the opera house.

Major Nicolai of the Army General Staff Department III had also personally led a team and arrived at the scene at this moment.

When he saw the captives and weapons on the floor, a trace of surprise appeared on his originally heavily clouded face, subsequently turning into admiration.

“Good thing you were here, Lieutenant Colonel Morin… We were worried on the way here that we wouldn’t make it in time… I didn’t expect you to solve all the problems single-handedly.”

Major Nicolai looked at Morin, his tone carrying a bit of sincere awe.

As someone who did intelligence work, he knew too well how difficult these trained assassins were to deal with.

To single-handedly eliminate seven fully armed targets in such a short time without alarming anyone… that was indeed something only Morin could do.

Or in other words, fortunately Morin was also at the Semperoper today, otherwise, no one dared to imagine how the situation would have developed.

“Just convenient~”

Morin shrugged. “I’ll leave these few people to you. I hope you can pry open their mouths and dig out something valuable.”

“Rest assured, once in Department III’s interrogation room, even the dead will speak.” Major Nicolai revealed a “sunny and cheerful” smile.

Since the professionals had arrived, Morin couldn’t be bothered to interfere with the subsequent cleanup work anymore.

He declined Major Nicolai’s kind offer to escort him away, stating he still had to go back and continue watching the opera.

“After all, the ticket price is quite expensive. It would be too much of a loss not to finish watching it.”

Morin made a joke, and then, under everyone’s gazes, turned and left.

He first went back to the administrative office on the first floor.

The employee responsible for keeping his military uniform was still sitting there holding his military uniform. Seeing Morin return was simply like seeing a savior.

After expressing his thanks to him, Morin took off that ill-fitting suit jacket, returned it to the fat employee, and put his military dress uniform back on.

He stood before the mirror, carefully adjusting his collar and cuffs, and straightening every single medal.

Then he went to the washroom, washed his face, and washed off any strange smells that might have remained on his hands.

When he appeared at the door of the third-floor box again, he had transformed back into that elegant Imperial noble officer.

Knock, knock… Morin knocked gently on the box door.

“Sister Cecilia, I’m back~”

A burst of light footsteps came from inside, and then the door lock was opened.

Cecilia’s slightly worried face appeared behind the door.

Seeing Morin standing there safe and sound, without even a crease on his clothes, she visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’re back?”

“Yeah, took care of a little trouble.”

Morin smiled and walked into the box, closed the door with a backhand motion, sat back beside Cecilia, and smoothly held her hand.

The latter didn’t ask much, just gripped his hand back tightly, and then spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear: “It’s good that you’re back…”

Continuing to keep the three company watching for a while, the plot on stage also came to an end.

The Count, with the help of the quick-witted and upright barber Figaro, broke through Bartolo’s obstructions and precautions, and finally tied the knot with Rosina.

Neither the actors on stage nor the audience below knew that during this performance time just now, Morin had thwarted an assassination operation aimed at key figures of the Empire’s upper echelons.

Originally, Morin also thought this stage play was about to end, thinking in his heart that going back early was just right, and he could still “snuggle” with Cecilia for a while longer.

As a result, the plot on stage suddenly took a new turn.

Amidst the grand wedding crowd of the Count and Rosina, several figures wearing Britannian military uniforms and Brodie helmets suddenly appeared.

The audience immediately let out a burst of exclamations, some children even shouting to warn the actors on stage of the danger.

And right at this time, these “Britannian soldiers” also rushed forward and “beat” the female lead, Rosina, to the ground.

Seeing this scene, the Count immediately fell to his knees in grief, howling:

“Nein!” (No!)

And a sense of foreboding suddenly arose in Morin’s heart because he always felt he might be about to see a familiar plot.

Sure enough, the lighting on stage suddenly changed at this instant, leaving only one spotlight shining in the middle of the stage.

“Hahahaha, looks familiar?”

A man wearing an Imperial Army infantry uniform appeared under the spotlight. He stepped forward with a valiant smile, and then spoke a string of lines that Morin had almost memorized.

“This kind of scene is playing out across all of Europa right at this moment. You could be next~”