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

Chapter 144 I will not accept any failure!

They were caught in a pre-set trap on Fengpo Road and surrounded by the 1st Division army, which was already in position.

This ambush in the Beehive Slopes ended, unsurprisingly, with the Empire emerging victorious.

Unfortunately, although John managed to break through the defenses of the Starseeker Cavalry Brigade, which was leading the Independent 4th Division, by using targeted oil burning, he still underestimated the ferocity of these orcs.

Even facing the excruciating pain of being burned alive and the penetrating blows of fifteen beam magic cannons, this cavalry regiment, with a total strength of only 3000 men, still taught John a lesson with the strongest charge of the medieval era.

With qualities far exceeding those of humans and a madness that feared no death for honor, they smashed through various traps that hindered their progress with their lives, tearing open the encirclement of the Bee Slope with terrifying strength.

They also used a self-destruct attack to directly blast four beam magic cannon vehicles hidden in the earthen slope.

If Lünebo hadn't sensed something was wrong and promptly notified the Beam Magic Cannon Regiment to retreat along the pre-set route, this powerful and expensively built Beam Magic Cannon Regiment would likely have been completely annihilated by this suicidal attack.

After the Star Chaser Cavalry Brigade broke through the encirclement, the Independent 4th Division behind them did not hesitate and quickly broke out under Leon's orders.

Although the 1st Division continued to launch attacks in an attempt to annihilate the enemy, the Independent 3th Division left behind three artillery regiments to continuously bombard the surrounding area to cover their retreat.

Even though they were unwilling, everyone could only helplessly watch as Leon led the remnants of the Independent 4th Division out of Fengpo and disappeared completely from their sight under the cover of night.

After annihilating the enemy forces that attempted to resist and capturing the surrendered enemy soldiers, the 1st Division, having recovered the bodies of its own fallen soldiers, returned victoriously to Horseshoe City.

……

"Our army annihilated 9854 enemy soldiers in this operation, including 67 mid-level officers and 376 junior officers. We also captured 1647 enemy soldiers, including 3 mid-level officers and 94 junior officers. Among them, there were 31 orc prisoners, including 1 mid-level orc officer and 0 junior orc officers."

"Our casualties in this battle totaled 1678, including 1 mid-level officer and 24 junior officers. In addition, 4 beam magic cannons were damaged, and 5 of them suffered varying degrees of barrel cracking due to excessive firing in a short period of time during last night's ambush. An engineer battalion has been arranged to carry out rapid repairs."

"It is expected that simple repairs can be completed within two days, and the equipment can be put back into the battlefield for combat!"

"In addition, the members who performed outstandingly in this battle are..."

The next morning, in Horseshoe City, in the city lord's meeting room, John, sitting at the head of the table, listened to Samuel's battle report, who was beaming with pride. However, instead of a smile, his brows furrowed.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

He had assumed that, given the various schemes employed and even his own daring trip to the battlefield to implement the "empty city ploy," he could succeed.

In this ambush at Horseshoe City, he should have been able to kill Leon Lee.

But in the end, this assassin managed to lead his troops to escape.

It can only be said that, as expected of a minor character with a significant role in the original work, he managed to find a glimmer of hope even in a situation where death seemed certain.

If it were Roxie instead, the problem would probably be even more complicated to solve.

Sigh, just thinking about it gives me a headache.

Fortunately, the Fifth Legion shouldn't be able to arrive at Faoken Bay so quickly, so I still have plenty of time to deal with the problem of the Seventh Legion.

After advancing into Morningstar City and taking over Morningstar Territory, the rear of the Third Navy will be well secured. At the very least, subsequent supplies and the coastal magic cannon defense belt should no longer be hampered as in the original storyline.

In this way, there is still quite a lot of room for maneuver in this war.

Of course, all of this is predicated on the premise that one can defeat the Seventh Legion despite being nearly five times outnumbered...

John frowned in thought, his eyes gradually glazing over.

It wasn't until Wendy, who was standing next to him, secretly tugged at his sleeve several times that he snapped out of his daze.

It was then that he realized that Samuel, who had been compiling battle reports, had stopped at some point.

At this moment, the other party and the other four regimental commanders of the 1st Division at the conference table were looking directly at him, as if waiting for his next instructions.

He immediately collected his thoughts, cleared his throat twice, and said:

"Ahem, very good, Colonel Samuel. I am aware of the battle report. Regarding this victory, you can arrange for the liaison department to report to the Imperial Military Affairs Department. I believe that once the news of our victory is received, the Imperial commendation will arrive soon, and you will all receive the honors you deserve."

After saying this, before the five regimental commanders could even begin to flatter him and praise his brilliant command, he finished speaking.

John then tapped the table in front of him with his finger, creating some noise that interrupted everyone's thoughts of pledging loyalty.

His words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads, instantly calming the five team leaders who were overjoyed by their great victory:

"However, gentlemen, I do not think it is time to celebrate yet, because according to intelligence from our agents, the Seventh Legion has already arrived in Morning Star Territory, and the Allied Independent Fourth Division is merely the vanguard of the Seventh Legion."

"Although we annihilated most of the Independent 4th Division at a small cost, we still have to face the 1st, 3rd and 6th Divisions of the 7th Army Corps."

"Compared to the Independent 4th Division, these three divisions are no weaker in terms of combat strength, and, most importantly, these three units are renowned for their advanced technology in the Kingdom of Victoria."

"Aside from the permanently stationed anti-magic devices, the number and types of other magical technology devices carried by the enemy are countless. It is foreseeable that in this upcoming battle, the role that the magical forces can play will be very limited."

"Therefore, the other party can be considered a formidable opponent for us."

"Unfortunately, given the current situation in Faoken, it is difficult for our army to obtain troop support, which means that we need to confront the attack of these three divisions on our own and try to annihilate them."

"After the defeated Independent 4th Division returned from Horseshoe City, there was no doubt that after the enemy regrouped and reorganized, we, located in Horseshoe City, would become their next target."

"Therefore, gentlemen, we do not have much time left to prepare for the next war."

"..."

John sighed inwardly as he watched the five commanders fall silent upon hearing his words, their eyes flickering with excitement.

But he also knew that, as the true commander of the 1st Division, he had to find a way to boost morale. Otherwise, before he could even begin to carefully plan the war, his side would completely lose its fighting spirit due to the pressure from the enemy's 4 troops.

This led to defeat.

And this is something he absolutely cannot accept.

Therefore, even though he had not yet figured out a perfect way to stop the Seventh Legion, he still had to pretend to be confident in front of everyone. Only in this way could he win this war.

Thinking of this, he immediately took a deep breath, and then, under the astonished gazes of everyone, said in a deep voice:

"I know that this is destined to be an extremely difficult war for you all, one that could even be described as a fight with a slim chance of survival."

"But I want to ask everyone here, are you really willing to stop at this meager victory and then choose to flee, deceiving yourselves and using this cheap military merit to avoid a court-martial?"

“I don’t know what you all really think, but I, John Maslow, am not resigned to this!”

"Oh!"

John slammed his hands on the table, then slowly stood up, his body slightly thinner than the five commanders.

At this moment, he appeared inexplicably enormous and exceptionally majestic in everyone's eyes. His black eyes seemed to gleam with boundless light, and his handsome face maintained a peaceful smile, but the words he uttered sent chills down everyone's spines:
"Yes, I'm not reconciled!"

"I am not reconciled to the fact that after all the hard work of killing so many enemy soldiers, all we are left with is a humiliating withdrawal!"

"I refuse to accept that I, John Maslow, possess talent comparable to the best in the world, should suffer such a damn defeat!"

"I am unwilling to hand over the battlefield that I should have controlled to the enemy to dominate because of a mere difference in troop strength!"

"I am unwilling to accept this ending, and I absolutely cannot accept it!"

"From beginning to end, I have only one goal: to use my wisdom and the overwhelming power of the Imperial Magic Soldiers to completely turn this damned war around and bring Faokon back to the Empire's territory!"

"Let those damned Allied forces, those orcs who dare to oppose the Empire, tremble with fear at the mere mention of my name, John Maslow, and not even dare to entertain the thought of fighting me!"

"This is my true purpose in coming to this damned battlefield. Do you bunch of indecisive idiots finally understand what I really need?!"

"Oh!"

Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, John abruptly ripped off his military cap and slammed it onto the table in front of him.

Before the fanatical Samuel could be the first to pledge his loyalty, John raised his hand to interrupt him, then said in a deep voice:

"To be honest, I don't really care what you think. After all, the reason I either retain or promote your current command authority is simply to bring the 1st Division completely under my command so that the 1st Division can act according to my orders and win this war."

"But I feel that since you are all soldiers of the Empire, you should all retain the spirit that soldiers should have to some extent. Therefore, this is the second and also the last time I will have this kind of heart-to-heart talk with you."

"I need your support, but I don't necessarily need your support."

“You may call me a dictator, you may curse me for being tyrannical, disrespectful to my superiors, and unworthy to be a soldier of the empire.”

"It doesn't matter. I don't care about these empty titles, because all I need is victory, and only victory!"

Facing the gazes of the crowd, some enthusiastic, some fearful, John put his hands behind his back, smiled, and slowly began to speak:

"Gentlemen, I love war!"

"Blitzkrieg, assault warfare, defensive warfare, guerrilla warfare, siege warfare, ambush warfare, tunnel warfare."

"I love seeing the enemy's core buildings razed to the ground by shells fired from the Empire's 4.5-meter Omega-class magic cannons in the hurricane. The sight of the enemy's tattered flags fluttering in the gunfire, the smell of gunpowder, is the best sleeping pill for me."

"I like to see the foolish enemy surrounded by our army, fighting desperately like cornered beasts, and then being annihilated by our army with absolute superiority, with their national flag trampled underfoot and crushed."

"I love to see the enemy defeated under my command, I love to see the enemy being devoured by our artillery fire, and I love to see the shattered land after the war enveloped in the glory of the empire, regaining its unprecedented vitality!"

"I like anything related to war, but there's one thing I hate, and that thing is called defeat!"

"Because I, John Maslow, never accept any failure, and I will never fail!"

"This is not a goal, but an absolute fact!"

"If you, facing an enemy force several times larger than ours, are overcome by that ridiculous fear and have any thoughts of retreat, then I will give you the confidence to win!"

"By the fact that the Imperial Magic Soldiers have never been defeated, by my unparalleled command ability, and by the undying glory of the Empire, I, John Maslow, hereby declare to you all."

"In the upcoming war, you only need to obey my orders, lead your respective soldiers under my command to advance and kill the enemy!"

"Apart from that, there is nothing else to think about."

"Only in this way can you obtain the military merits and victories you have always dreamed of!"

"And I will certainly share this honor equally with everyone present, and even with every soldier of the 1st Division!"

Facing ahead, they all left their seats and knelt on one knee, looking up at their five division commanders with unprecedented reverence, as if worshipping gods.

A smile slowly spread across John's face, then intensified, eventually becoming somewhat ferocious. His voice was deep, yet it sounded like the roar of a lion king about to lead a ferocious pride into battle.

"Now, tell me, what is your response to my command!"

"We will completely obey your will, follow in your footsteps, and bring victory and glory to the Empire, Lord John Maslow!!!"

……

(End of this chapter)