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

Chapter 157 Trump Cards and the March

As the Imperial forces continued their eastward advance under John's orders, the Allied forces split into two groups: one pursued the Imperial forces from the rear, while the other attempted to encircle them in advance along the Imperial forces' southern withdrawal route.

In order not to arouse Frank's suspicion, John would occasionally detach a small force to attempt a breakout to the south during the evacuation.

However, due to the enemy's well-prepared resistance, all the troops that attempted to break out were driven back.

It seems that John's performance also led them to conclude that the empire had been driven to the brink of collapse and was ready to make a desperate breakout at any moment.

Therefore, Frank did not order his troops to press forward relentlessly. Instead, he ordered his men to maintain a certain distance from the enemy and advance slowly, intending to force the Imperial army to this inescapable coastline and then encircle them to achieve final victory.

Under this relentless pursuit, a day passed in the blink of an eye.

After traveling for a day and a night, John and his group finally approached the final battleground known as Starry Coast.

"Wow!"

At 10 a.m., the gentle sound of waves, accompanied by white foam, slowly lapped against the rocks around the shore, making a series of sounds.

As the most famous coastline in the northern part of Faoken Bay, the Starry Coast itself is an alluvial fan plain formed by the deposition of a large amount of silt carried by the wide source river in its middle and upper reaches. The land is flat and open, and the soil is fertile.

In addition, the rivers flowing into the sea bring a large amount of nutrients from the upper reaches of the river, so the fishery resources around the coast are very rich. Every night, under the moonlight, a large number of fish called 'star scale fish' in the shallow waters around the area will absorb the moonlight and release streaks of light on the seabed.

Looking down from the coast, one can see a scene that resembles stars that should be hanging in the night sky, but are now shining beneath the sea.

The Starry Coast got its name from this unique scenery and has become a famous tourist attraction in Morningstar Territory.

Even later, when the Saga Kingdom felt threatened by the growth of the empire and voluntarily withdrew from its closed state and joined the Allied Forces, many foreign tourists who came to the Saga Kingdom would make a special trip to visit Faoken Bay.

Seeing the business opportunity, the centaur residents of Morningstar Territory spontaneously established a small town called 'Star Town' around this coast.

But unlike usual, the peaceful town of Star Town was completely disrupted by the arrival of an army.

"Tap, tap!"

The heavy boots of the Empire marched crisply across the stone pavement. Then, amidst the hateful or fearful gazes of the centaur inhabitants, the Imperial soldiers, dressed in light green Imperial army uniforms and wielding cold, black firearms, stepped forward without a word and forcibly drove all the centaur residents from the town into the surrounding jungle.

"..."

On the coast, watching the Yuan River, carrying a lot of mud and appearing mostly yellowish-brown, rushing into the sea, listening to the sound of the waves, and feeling the salty, humid sea breeze blowing in my face.

At this moment, John's eyes glazed over.

But soon, his attention was drawn to the sound of footsteps behind him, and he turned his head to look back.

In his field of vision, Samuel, dressed in an Imperial Army uniform, was walking briskly toward him, but at this moment, the expression on the other's face showed a hint of hesitation.

Upon reaching John, Samuel first saluted him, then reported in a deep voice:

"Reporting to Lord John, as per your orders, I have now arranged for soldiers to drive out all the centaur residents of Star Town, and we have completely occupied the town!"

"Furthermore, Your Excellency John, according to the scouts, the enemy forces on the west side are now less than fifteen kilometers away and will arrive in about half an hour."

"Should we use this town as a base to prepare for an attack on the enemy?"

They seemed to feel that, apart from engaging the enemy in direct combat, they had no other options.

Although Samuel was somewhat disappointed, he did not complain about the other party's decision-making error.

Instead, they placed all their confidence in the other side's godlike military command capabilities.

Based on the experience of commanding more than two hundred troops to fight the enemy on the battlefield the night before and gaining the upper hand, Your Excellency John should surely be able to lead your side to victory this time as well!
Yes, that must be it!
His Excellency John will certainly, as before, use the terrain and personally intervene in the command of each unit to completely annihilate the enemy on the front...

“No, Samuel, we don’t need to hide our troops in this town, or rather, we absolutely cannot use this town as a base to engage the enemy in direct combat!”

John's voice interrupted Samuel's thoughts, and before the astonished Samuel could ask why, John's next instruction left Samuel completely bewildered:
“Samuel, I am ordering you in the name of the support troops to have all the artillery drivers drive their vehicles into the houses in Star Town and prepare for cover.”

"...Yes, Your Excellency John."

Although Samuel was full of doubts about John's instruction, he agreed out of trust and left with a heavy heart to carry it out.

Watching Samuel's departing figure, John didn't wait any longer. Instead, he activated the communication device and contacted Martha, who was currently under his command, frantically constructing trenches on the outskirts of Star Town and in the Functional Company. He then gave her the order:
"Martha, how's the trench digging going? How much longer do you estimate it will take to complete?"

"According to the standard of a normal trench, it will probably take me about fifty more minutes to finish here."

"Too slow. I'll give you twenty-five minutes. This trench doesn't need to be perfectly constructed. Just enough for people to stand in, and enough for the enemy to recognize it from a distance. Understand?"

"understood……"

"Beep, beep!"

After hanging up with Martha, John then contacted Mia from the guard team and, through a magic amplification device, established a long-distance communication with Wendy, who had been assigned by him to carry out a secret mission the previous night but had failed to locate the enemy command post.

Upon inquiry, he learned that the other party had already erected a dam in the middle reaches of the Yuanhe River last night, following his instructions, and completed the work of storing the river water. He realized that the plan was ready and now victory was only a matter of time.

John, whose communication had been interrupted, continued to gaze at the endless sea in the distance, letting time slip away second by second in the sea breeze.

Listening to Samuel's reports and Martha's tired voice coming through the communication device in her ear.

John's expression remained unchanged until a shocked Mia informed him of a communication request from an unknown source outside his own forces. Upon answering, he heard the other party's calm yet indescribably authoritative voice and learned that the other party would arrive at the combat location within twenty minutes.

John breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense body began to relax.

He then turned to look outside Star Town, at the lush jungle where it was impossible to tell whether the enemy reconnaissance force had officially arrived.

It was as if they could already foresee the enemy forces, leading their troops to attempt to encircle Star Town, being overwhelmed by that surging, violent tide, and then utterly annihilated under the overwhelming firepower of their own side.

A slow, gentle smile crept onto John's lips.

At that moment, he knew clearly that victory was just around the corner!
"Reporting to the battalion commander, the reconnaissance company has confirmed that the enemy has arrived two kilometers outside of Fanxing Town and is advancing in an encirclement posture. They are expected to reach our battlefield within four minutes!"

"Very good. Have the functional company notify the entire army to carry out the operation according to the established instructions without fail!"

"Yes, battalion commander!"

……

"So, John Maslow plans to launch a final battle against our army in Star Town?"

Two kilometers away from Starry Town, in the temporary command post behind the Seventh Army Corps, after listening to the intelligence from the reconnaissance troops that the enemy had occupied Starry Town and built trenches around the town.

Because Leon had fallen into a coma due to anger and had been sent to the headquarters to recuperate, Damon, who had been granted temporary command of the Independent 4th Brigade by General Frank, couldn't help but frown, his heart filled with doubt and uncertainty.

If Damon hadn't repeatedly questioned the reconnaissance unit to confirm the authenticity of this intelligence, he would have definitely considered it false.

Having witnessed John Maslow's combat methods multiple times, Damon had long recognized just how formidable the guy opposite him truly was.

Even Major General Leon, an assassin who has never been defeated, was easily manipulated by the other party. Now, he was so angered by the other party's psychological warfare that he vomited blood and fell into a coma. Even if he recovers, he will probably suffer many aftereffects.

Would someone as cunning and treacherous as him, both in tactics and personality, really choose to lead his remnants and a force several times larger than his own to fight a deadly battle in a location that seems completely disadvantageous to the enemy?
Thinking of this, Damon immediately turned to the Seventh Legion's generals, who were beaming with excitement and planning to surround Startown and annihilate it, and solemnly reminded them:

"Gentlemen of the Seventh Legion, I believe John Maslow may have laid traps around Startown beforehand, so I suggest we observe first and not rush in, lest we fall into the enemy's trap..."

"Major General Damon, you're overthinking it. Under General Frank's command, the enemy has been cornered by our forces and has no time to set up any so-called traps!"

Before Damon could finish speaking, a burly Colonel named Dunter interrupted him from the temporary command post, then said with a disdainful expression:

"Besides, given the current situation where they are about to be surrounded by our army, no matter how many traps the enemy commander sets, how could they possibly inflict effective casualties on our troops?"

"In my opinion, Major General Damon, you seem to be a little too afraid of the so-called John Maslow. However, I can understand that. After all, it is normal for a general to feel fear after being defeated by the same enemy. But personally, I think you should not bring your personal feelings to the battlefield and affect our army's victory!"

"Furthermore, if Major General Damon doesn't even have the courage to fight the enemy, then why not hand over command of the Independent 4th Division to me, and I will personally lead the troops to complete this annihilation battle in your stead? What do you say?"

After saying that, Dunert curled his lip in disgust and looked at his ally, the former commander of the 101st Division of the Saga Kingdom, with a look of mockery and contempt.

In Dunter's view, the so-called traps were all bullshit.

Under the advance strategy commanded by General Frank, they relentlessly pursued the enemy from beginning to end. After splitting their forces, the unit led by Lieutenant General Faco, located in the southern withdrawal zone of the enemy, successfully repelled the enemy's attempts to break out on several occasions.

From beginning to end, the enemy commander had no time to prepare any so-called traps.

The enemy has clearly been cornered and can only fight like cornered beasts!

It's laughable that Damon would talk about a trap when he has such an unprecedented advantage.

Unless the commander named John Maslow is a son of God, he could not possibly set up a trap capable of annihilating his own side in just half an hour.

But this is obviously impossible.

The only reason is that Damon was so terrified of the enemy that he completely lost the courage to fight them.

That's why he made such absurd remarks during the meeting!
What a load of bull! The first warrior of the Morning Star Clan is worse than a cowardly recruit!
"you!"

Upon hearing this, Damon's face instantly turned bright red. Just as he was about to angrily rebuke the other party for not understanding how insidious John Maslow was, a cold voice interrupted their argument, accompanied by a slamming of the table:
"Oh!"

"Enough, all of you shut up. What do you think this command post is, making such a racket?"

Lieutenant General Faker coldly stared at the two officers in front of him, then impatiently raised his hand to interrupt Damon before he could continue speaking:

"I have heard about the situation with Major General Damon and Major General Leon. I deeply sympathize with your repeated defeats due to the enemy commander's machinations, and I know you have been under a lot of pressure."

"But this encirclement operation plan was personally ordered by General Frank, and no one is allowed to question it. If you feel that the attack is inappropriate, you can immediately inform General Frank through the communications officer. Once General Frank approves your request to avoid battle and officially issues the order, I will immediately follow the general's command to withdraw the troops."

"But until I receive new instructions, I can only follow the general's orders to encircle the enemy. You should understand that, right?"

"I……"

He faced the calm or disdainful gazes of Lieutenant General Fako and the officers of the Seventh Army Corps.

Feeling humiliated like never before, Damon clenched his fists. If it were according to his usual personality, Damon would definitely have smashed his fist into the other person's face without saying a word.

He angrily rebuked the other party for daring to question a true orc warrior.

But considering his current situation of being dependent on others, he ultimately suppressed his emotions and silently lowered his head to apologize to the other person:
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant General Fako, I was overthinking it."

"Very good. Since you have no objections, the battle plan will remain unchanged. As per General Frank's instructions, our army will immediately tighten the encirclement and launch an attack on the enemy!"

Seeing that Damon had taken the initiative to admit his mistake, Falk did not pursue the matter further. Instead, he glanced around at the excited officers of the Seventh Army Corps, all of colonel rank and above, in the command post, and then waved his hand and gave a stern order:
"In the name of the everlasting light of Victoria, I demand that you wipe out that damned Imperial Army within twenty minutes. Can you do it?"

"Yes, General!"

"Wow!"

……

(End of this chapter)