God of Tricksters

Five people sat down at a round table, looking at each other.

"I have heard that the headquarters have agreed to put him as the commander of this defense operation," said a thin old man while showing interest in the decision with his smile.

"Then, where is he? Will this battle be similar to the previous one where he came out only at the end?" An elderly woman asked while snorting, a bit impatient about the commander's appearance.

"I don't think so. He has stated clearly that he will be the one leading this battle personally. So, I doubt he will give anyone his authority this time." A middle-aged man shook his head.

"Well, it's impossible for us to know what that man is thinking and doing. So, why don't we just wait? After all, we still have a few days before the eruption." Another old man sighed. He didn't want conflict between them. He just wanted to have a chill meeting.

"That's true. Although the eruption can happen any time now, we have gathered enough people. They're elites who have gone all the way here to participate in the battle. So, our five armies might be the strongest one right now in the entire base." A middle-aged woman explained, de-escalating the situation by stating facts that boosted their morale.

These five were the chosen generals that were going to fight alongside Theo.

Suddenly, a soldier entered the tent, passing the message.

"We have a message from Sir Theodore Griffith."

"It's about time." The old woman glared at the soldier and asked, "What did he say?"

"Tomorrow at 9 AM. Gathered in the meeting tent to discuss the battle plan."

"Tomorrow, huh?" The old woman frowned, wanting to complain. But since Theo had said tomorrow, there was no point in arguing about the time anymore. At the very least, he finally wanted to meet them.

"It seems that he has finally taken everything seriously. Tomorrow and today are the same, so I'll be patient for one more day."

The other four generals agreed with her. Although it was disappointing that they couldn't meet him as soon as possible, meeting a person like Theo was a rare opportunity. It might even be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

So, they had to be patient.

However, the soldier added before they left the tent. "There is one more thing that he wants you to know. You're to prepare your own tactics to be discussed in the next meeting."

"Huh? Our own tactics? Isn't the commander supposed to do it?" The old woman was completely confused about what Theo wanted.

But another general added, "He might be trying to test us."

"That's probably the case. After all, there is no way someone like him needs us to prepare the tactic."

They seemed to agree with that statement. Knowing Theo's reputation, they believed Theo had prepared a plan that could destroy the enemies. However, he wanted to see whether the generals were smart enough or not.

His plan might need an intelligent general to perform, so they were trying to make the best plan.

All of them exchanged looks as if telling each other that they would show off tomorrow.

The soldier was completely clueless about what they were thinking as he could only watch them leave the tent, preparing for their own.

…

The next day.

Each general walked into the tent with a confident smile. They believed their plan was the best.

"It seems that you're going to lose this time." The middle-aged man smirked, taunting all of them.

"Well, if I lose, then I lose. Though, I wonder where our commander is. There are just five minutes left."

"Is he running late?"

"Well, he's not from the military. I can forgive his tardiness a little bit."

When there was only one minute left, they had become impatient, thinking Theo would be late for who knew how long.

At the same time, a soldier entered the tent, seeing these five. "Excuse me. I'm bringing Sir Theodore Griffith's words. He—"

"What?"

"Is he going to be late?"

"How many minutes should we wait?"

They were demanding an answer from the soldier, but the reason why the soldier suddenly fell silent wasn't because he was interrupted by these five. Instead, it was due to him finding the sixth person in the room.

And he recognized that face. The soldier instantly straightened his back and saluted. "Good morning, Sir! I apologize if I was too late to convey your message…"

"Huh?!" They were confused before their bodies shuddered in panic as they turned around, finding Theo in his seat. He was even pouring the hot tea into his cup as if he was waiting for them to notice him.

"W-what?!" Theo's sudden appearance startled them. Two of them even stood up while holding their weapons out of reflex.

"You… You are Theodore Griffith… No, Commander!" One of them hurriedly stood up to give him basic respect.

"When did you arrive, Commander?" Another one asked while furrowing her eyebrows, trying to figure out the situation.

But an old man called Haivan shook his head. "No. Looking at him, it seems that he has been here for quite a while. The only reason why we hadn't seen him was due to his ability. We were in his illusion this whole time, thinking there was no one in this place."

Theo smiled, looking at them. "Two with great adaptability, one with fast response, one with good perception and another one with good judgment. This is good enough."

"!!!" They widened their eyes before exchanging looks. It turned out Theo's appearance was to startle them to see how they reacted. It was clear that he had grasped their characters with this simple performance.

"Well, you are dismissed." Theo waved his hand to the soldier, asking him to leave. After that, he looked at the five commanders and said, "As for you five… I won't go easy on you even if you're a lot older than me. If you don't like it, you're free to leave."

They gulped down, not wanting to make the same mistake again. Hence, they saluted and shouted, "Yes, Sir. Thank you for the opportunity."