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

Chapter 141 Leon Lee will die here!

Hmm? Why did the rhythm of the music change again?
What exactly was John Maslow doing?
Outside Horseshoe City, to the east, near the Blue Vine Forest.

As the music in the air changed again, Leon Lee's brows furrowed slightly, and his expression became somewhat uncertain.

At this moment, the original sound of horses' hooves still existed, but it was now interspersed with the neighing of warhorses as they galloped.

It was as if the army was already upon them, and the roars and howls they emitted as they surged forward began to give Leon an indescribable sense of unease.

Could it be that the other side is confident in eliminating their Black Feather troops?
But how could that be? After all, his Black Feather Army had gone through countless selections to choose the most suitable successors to the Ghost Feather Technique.

They were created as a top-tier assassination squad by combining Heim alchemy technology.

In less than five years, they rose from an unknown unit to become a top-tier assassination squad.

Even compared to the Empire's Black Hawk Special Forces, it is not inferior.

John Maslow, who only led a magic-based unit, was simply outmatched by the enemy!
Therefore, it must be myself...

"Report, General Leon, the liaison office has just received an urgent telegram from the Black Feather troops in Horseshoe City!"

Just as Leon was trying to reassure himself, the communications soldier's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Seeing the somber expression on the communications soldier's face, Leon's heart tightened, and he felt an unprecedented sense of foreboding.

But he suppressed his emotions and said in a deep voice:

"Read!"

"Yes, the Black Feather unit was ambushed by an enemy assassination squad. Their magic completely countered our forces. The assassins are suspected to be instructor-level members of the Imperial Black Hawk Special Forces. Lieutenant Colonel Enzo was killed in action, and the remaining members of the Black Feather unit were all... completely wiped out..."

By the end, the communications soldier's voice began to tremble, and his tone was filled with horror.

"What!?"

Leon slowly widened his eyes, his heart filled with astonishment.

Before he could even grieve over the news of his deputy Enzo's death, Leon's first reaction upon hearing the news was that there was something wrong with the intelligence.

After all, the intelligence provided by the Kingdom's Central Intelligence Department only stated that John Maslow led a reinforced battalion of magic troops with a strength of 1000 men, and made no mention of the fact that the other side had also formed an assassination squad.

At most, there would be only one ground support force of 64 people...

Wait, ground support troops?!

So, are all the ground support troops instructors of the Black Hawk Special Forces?

Otherwise, how could the enemy have so easily defeated his Black Feather troops?

That's it!

No wonder John Maslow dared to be so arrogant, no wonder the other party dared to confront him so directly.

It turns out that the enemy had already prepared a backup plan for their assassination squad!
A full 64 Black Hawk team members at the instructor level, that's quite a large-scale operation!

"Crack!"

Driven by intense rage, Leon slammed his hand down and smashed the binoculars, his dark eyes fixed on the figure in the distance.

But as he listened to the murderous music filling the air, his expression became somewhat uncertain.

He hesitated whether to order his army to immediately charge towards John Maslow.

The reason he hadn't ordered an attack earlier was twofold: first, to wait for news of the Black Feather troops' victory, so that he could take advantage of the chaos in the Imperial Army to launch an attack and defeat the Empire at minimal cost.

The second point was to guard against traps and ambushes that John Maslow might have set up around the area, thus preventing them from falling into his trap.

But now that the Black Feather Force has been defeated, he no longer has the possibility of achieving his first goal.

After the assassination attempt failed, the opposing side, having already received news of their victory, should have immediately ordered their troops to launch an attack.

But John Maslow's lack of action seemed somewhat illogical.

So, the enemy has only set up a feint here, and their real troops are indeed in the hilly area that I predicted before?
No, no, no. Given the other party's cunning, they may have already guessed my thoughts. Therefore, out of this consideration, I deliberately held back, hoping that I would misjudge and, in the course of my charge, step on a landmine that the other party may have laid in advance, so that they could catch me like a turtle in a jar!

However, it is indeed possible that the other side has already considered this third layer and deliberately does nothing, instead proceeding with the ambush as originally planned...

Leon, who was constantly thinking back and forth between ambushes and feints, began to sweat profusely from his forehead. The mental exertion gradually turned his originally rosy complexion pale.

At the same time, his eyes were fixed on the figure in front of him.

Just as he was about to grit his teeth and order his army to launch a charge, hoping to break the deadlock at the cost of casualties, he was about to...

The next second, the dark clouds in the sky suddenly dissipated.

The bright moonlight shone down on the sky again, illuminating the three previously dim figures in front of them, and also shining on the dense forest behind them.

"!"

However, upon seeing the scene ahead, Leon's pupils instantly constricted to their maximum size.

At that moment, the moonlight brushed past the treetops, casting long shadows of John and his two companions.

Behind the three, the blue vines that had been clinging to the tree trunk and were now blooming cast large shadows in the dim light.

And because of the lush trees, the huge flowers that bloom in overlapping layers form an arc that resembles a human head.

Combined with the long, slender vines, and the influence of the 800-meter distance.

When Leon looked out from a distance, what he saw was a terrifying scene of tens of thousands of people surging in the dense forest, ready to launch an attack on the enemy forces ahead at any moment once the order was given!
John Maslow had indeed laid an ambush here!
Fortunately, I didn't act impulsively, otherwise I would have regretted it too late!
Leon was startled, but then felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

Before he could even regain his composure, he mocked John, saying that his scheme had been seen through and that his side could now withdraw calmly and fight the enemy again in the future.

The next second, John's music ended, but the simulated neighing of warhorses, achieved through virtuosity, suddenly reached his ears.

"Xilulu!"

"It's been so long since I practiced the piano that my technique has become so rusty. Piano skills are just like learning; if you don't practice regularly, they'll fall apart. Luckily, I haven't completely forgotten them. But after this incident, I'll never try to show off like this again!"

John felt a growing ache in his hands and was filled with frustration.

In his previous life, he was drawn to this final, virtuoso performance, which led him to join the erhu performance club in college. He thought he could rise through the ranks and become a national-level master performer.

Unexpectedly, after two years of diligent study and practice day and night, all he could do was work part-time doing funerals or go to rural areas with wedding companies to eat at large banquets.

Although the treatment wasn't bad, it was quite different from the path he envisioned for an artist.

As for why he didn't become a Wall Street wolf after graduation, but instead went on to work in the increasingly declining real estate industry in China, it can only be said that it was a matter of timing and fate.

However, with such a dazzling skill, given Leon's suspicious nature, he should be scared off by his own imagined "killer" performance, right?

John pondered for a moment, then shook his wrist and looked ahead with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

……

Oh no, the enemy is about to attack!

Upon hearing this 'attack signal' and seeing John's gesture of waving his hand, Leon realized that John had 'seen through' his trap and was therefore planning to order his ambush troops to launch a strong attack. He was immediately alarmed.

Given the enemy's previous seemingly supernatural scheming, he could no longer imagine what kind of secret weapon the enemy's ambush troops had brought to counter his own forces.

But he knew that if he succeeded in provoking the enemy to launch an attack, the Independent 4th Division would most likely suffer a crushing defeat. He himself might even perish as a result!
This was clearly an outcome he absolutely could not accept.

Feeling a great sense of 'crisis' upon realizing this, Leon immediately and without hesitation gave the order to the Independent 4th Division:
"All troops, listen to my command: immediately retreat to the northwest!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing the commander's order, despite their doubts, everyone quickly rearranged their formation and retreated towards the northwest.

As for why they didn't retreat to the west, which was closest to their main force, it was because Leon still suspected that there might be an ambush in that hillside area.

Although reason told him that John Maslow, who had already deployed tens of thousands of troops in the blue vine forest, could not possibly have any more troops to deploy in that area.

But he didn't believe that the cunning John Maslow would be so kind as to leave a safe zone for his side to evacuate.

"Therefore, it must be a trap!"

Although he lost the Blackfeather and Shadow units this time, as long as he could bring the army back to Starshine City intact and reunite with the Seventh Legion, then this defeat would be barely acceptable.

Watching the rapidly retreating army, Leon Lee convinced himself of this.

Before he could carefully analyze this tactical mistake and try to find the weakness that would defeat John Maslow, he suddenly discovered that the troops that were retreating had stopped for some reason.

Before he could even frown and ask what had happened, his temporary adjutant strode forward and, with an extremely grim expression, delivered news that left Leon stunned:
"General, some of our soldiers have found a suspicious sign in the middle of the road ahead, with suspicious writing on it, seemingly written in the Qin Small Seal script, which we can't understand. So, I'd like to ask if you would like to take a look yourself?"

"Signage? Text? Qin Dynasty Small Seal Script?"

Leon exchanged a somewhat bewildered glance with Major General Damon beside him.

At first, he thought it was a trap set by John, but after questioning the scouts and learning that there were no enemy troops coming from behind and no landmines were found around the tree trunk, it turned out to be a safe area.

After much deliberation, Leon decided to go and see for himself.

Under the protection of soldiers, he quickly arrived at the so-called sign.

Contrary to expectations, the so-called sign was actually a tree trunk, which appeared to have just had its bark peeled off, with some faint green sap still visible on it.

But what shocked Leon the most, and even angered him the most, was...

At the center of this strangely shaped tree trunk, eight large characters were carved in the Xianqin Small Seal script. According to the inscription, their meaning is:

"Leon Lee will die here!"

Furthermore, at the end of this passage, the other party seemed to deliberately provoke by adding a symbol resembling a human head, which was maliciously smeared with animal blood on the neck of the head.

Combined with that passage, it seemed as if Leon's head was about to be chopped off here.

"Heh, John Maslow, do you really think this pointless provocation can provoke me?"

Upon seeing this malicious curse, Leon Lee sneered, then kicked it over without a word, and continued to order his troops to retreat northwest without hesitation.

He knew that John Maslow must be unwilling to let him lead his troops to escape, so he set up such a cursed sign so that he would be cowardly and lead his troops to change positions, thus entering the enemy's ambush zone and suffering heavy casualties.

But he insisted on doing the opposite!
Didn't you say that I, Leon Lee, would die here?
Then I'll show you what I'm capable of!
I refuse to believe that you, John Maslow, truly possess such supernatural abilities that you could calculate even my simplest move...

"Boom!"

Before Leon Lee could finish his sarcastic remark in his mind, the next second, hundreds of sudden cannon shots roared into his ears.

As bursts of fire erupted from within the unit, in an instant, the once well-organized 1st Brigade was bombarded by landmines, resulting in the deaths and injuries of most of its troops!

"What's going on? Where did that explosion come from?!"

Leon Lee was both shocked and furious. Just as he was about to ask the scouts where the attack was coming from, the next second, a sudden burst of shouts from Imperial soldiers erupted from all around:

"Kill! Cut off Leon Lee's head!"

Immediately, to Leon Lee's incredulous expression, they realized that this was a place they had passed through on their way to Horseshoe City, a place where there shouldn't have been any Imperial soldiers.

Suddenly, countless enemy troops appeared and, taking advantage of the cover of the jungle, kept firing at them!
The number is at least three thousand!
Is this an enemy attack?!

What?! Where did these enemy troops come from?!

Wasn't John Maslow's main force all in that blue vine forest?

Leon was filled with confusion, but seeing the 1st Brigade suffering heavy losses from the inexplicable landmines, he was overwhelmed with anger. After reorganizing his troops, he immediately ordered his soldiers to counterattack, intending to wipe out the damned Imperial Army that had ambushed them.

However, whether the enemy received orders or felt that they had already achieved enough with the landmines and the previous attack, before Leon could order the Star Chaser Cavalry Brigade to cooperate with his own magician legion in a formal attack.

The Imperial forces that launched the surprise attack retreated silently, taking advantage of the cover of the jungle.

Aside from leaving behind a pile of cheap camouflage uniforms made from grass and wood and orange bullet casings, not a single enemy soldier's corpse was left for him!
Despite having a force several times larger than the enemy, they were ambushed and lost an entire brigade without even killing a single enemy soldier.

What's the difference between this result and saying that Leon is a good-for-nothing?
Disgraceful, utterly disgraceful!

"Oh!"

Looking at the deserted forest ahead, Leon, filled with extreme resentment, slammed his fist into the tree trunk beside him. His elegant smile vanished, replaced by an unprecedented ferocity and rage.

This left the temporary adjutant, who had never seen his superior in such a state of disarray, somewhat at a loss, and he didn't dare to step forward to ask any questions.

Finally, Damon, who empathized with Leon, stepped forward on horseback to offer words of comfort:

"Major General Leon, calm down. This is not the time to be angry. John Maslow did this to provoke you and force you to give the wrong orders."

"...Phew, I understand. Thank you, Major General Damon. I'm not that weak to be provoked by such childish tactics. He underestimates me!"

But why do I get the feeling that you've been provoked?

However, to be honest, if this kind of thing happened to me, I would probably be even more pathetic than this Major General Leon!

John Maslow, that guy is like a devil who can manipulate people's minds!

Recalling the reports of his side's repeated setbacks, Damon, feeling a pang of sadness, lost his original arrogance. Now, he only wanted to follow Major General Leon back to the Seventh Army's headquarters as soon as possible.

Having witnessed the terrifying nature of John Maslow through this battle, he no longer believed that he could defeat him with equal forces.

Perhaps the Allied forces can only prevail against this demon by having a force several times larger than their opponents!
Damon sighed inwardly, then forced himself to ask Leon:
"So, Major General Leon, where should we retreat to next? Should we continue this way?"

"No, I suspect John Maslow has still planted landmines ahead, so we must change our evacuation route immediately!"

Leon suppressed his anger, turned his gaze to the other side, and then said in a deep voice:

"This time, we're retreating directly to the north!"

He didn't believe that John Maslow, who had sent out extra troops to set up minefields and ambushes in this northwest direction, could set up new ambush zones in the rest of the north!

Whether in terms of troop allocation or strategy, the probability of achieving this is less than one percent!

If the other party can really do that, he'll just rip his head off on the spot and kick it like a ball!
However, after changing direction and traveling one kilometer, under Leon's ashen expression and Damon's silent gaze, a tree trunk, exactly the same as before, stripped of its bark, was stuck in the middle of their army's path.

The content depicted above is exactly the same as before:
"Leon Lee will die here!"

"John Maslow!!!"

……

(End of this chapter)