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

Chapter 121 Gale Valley
Under the charge of the Third Infantry Regiment, John and his men quickly and easily captured Horseshoe City, which was defended by fewer than 800 men, thanks to their numerical advantage.

After capturing the city, John arranged for Wendy to lead men to imprison the centaur leaders of the city lord's mansion in the dungeon, and then had someone fetch a map of the area surrounding Horseshoe City to examine.

"Major John, what should we do next? Should we hold the city and wait for friendly forces to arrive?"

Inside the Lord's mansion in Horseshoe City, Samuel's face was filled with fervor as he watched John, who was deep in thought with a furrowed brow. He was so excited that he began to tremble uncontrollably.

He never imagined that the siege of a large city with a population of nearly 500,000 could be so easy.

Under the arrangement of the young major in front of him, he did not even release his proud 'High Spirit' spell from beginning to end. He only took advantage of the moment when the city gate was broken to lead the soldiers to charge.

Then they completely occupied this city, which was like an iron fortress.

Apart from two unlucky individuals who were ambushed and wounded by centaur soldiers while eliminating the guards, not a single soldier died in this siege.

In his fifteen years of military service, he had never heard of such a feat!

Even the Allied forces' rising star, the Morning Star, has not achieved this in recent years.

Even considering the series of chain reactions that would be triggered after the fall of Horseshoe City, this surprise attack, which completely reversed the overall situation of the Imperial Army on the Iron Horse Mountain front by raiding the enemy city, is enough to become a classic case in military teaching.

It's simply art!

Samuel grew increasingly amazed as he thought about it, and his gaze toward John became more respectful than ever before.

Just as he was about to confidently assure John that he would lead the Third Infantry Regiment to defend the city and ensure it would not be easily recaptured by the enemy, John's next words left him stunned:
"No, we can't keep this city, and we must leave as soon as possible."

John shook his head. Unlike Samuel, who was excited about capturing the city, after looking at the map of the tribes around Horseshoe City and the surrounding terrain, he understood that he had to give up this newly acquired city.

Regardless of whether the Allied Seventh Army has arrived in Morningstar Territory, it could arrive at any time to provide support.

The distance between Horseshoe City and another city, Starshine City, is less than 100 kilometers, which is enough for him to abandon this city.

Although capturing Horseshoe City could give influence over the entire Morning Star Territory, and even allow for the seizure of most of the Aiken Sea area, thus providing a strong rear for the Third Navy.

But John knew very well that with his current forces, he was no match for the 101st Division and the Seventh Army.

He had already prepared for this before marching into Horseshoe City and had made arrangements in advance.

Before the advance, he arranged for Barnapo to lead the 1st Demolition Company to garrison the Iron Horse Mountain front.

And by relying on the large-scale explosive capabilities of the 1st Company, the enemy's troops were kept active on the edge of the battlefield, creating the false information that the Empire's magic troops were still on the Iron Horse Mountain battlefield.

Furthermore, during this siege, he did not allow the magic soldiers to unleash any explosive magic. Instead, he used assassination and Siegfried's Wild Hunt power to break down the city gates and, with the help of the Third Infantry Regiment's attack, captured this sparsely defended city.

This would lead the enemy to believe that the force participating in this battle was a powerful Imperial Army unit, not a magic soldier unit.

After all, under the combat style of the Empire's 1st and 2nd Air Force Groups, the impression that magic soldiers would blow up the entire city once they attacked it was deeply imprinted in everyone's minds, and magic soldiers thus earned the reputation of being a demon legion.

If the enemy knew that the troops in Horseshoe City were magic soldiers in this battle, they would likely assume that Horseshoe City had been destroyed and give up on defending it.

However, if it were a regular army unit, after news of Horseshoe City's fall to the Empire spread, the Morning Star Clan army, which was besieging the 1st Division at Iron Horse Mountain, would most likely send troops to try to retake the city.

This is what John really wanted to see.

Because his goal from the beginning was not to capture this city that might trap him here and prevent him from completely turning the tide of the Iron Horse Mountain battle.

It was the reinforcements that rushed back to defend!
He planned to rely on a surprise ambush to destroy the enemy's main force, then return to the Iron Horse Mountain front to launch a surprise attack on the 101st Division's wide-open rear.

And together with the revitalized 1st Division, they completely defeated it.

Only in this way can he truly capture Horseshoe City and thus deal with the Allied Seventh Army, which may have already arrived!

To achieve this goal, he must lead his troops to a location on a road that reinforcements are bound to pass through, and that location is...

John's gaze swept across the map of Horseshoe Ridge in front of him, his mind constantly calculating the possible routes the enemy might take to launch a counterattack.

Countless roads began to emerge in his field of vision, numerous routes began to intersect, and finally his gaze was firmly fixed on one point.

Then, under the watchful eye of Samuel, who seemed to have grasped something, John gently pressed his index finger on it.

At the same time, he slowly spoke:

"Next, we'll head to Gale Valley!"

John's voice was very calm, without any emotion.

But to Samuel, it sounded like an indescribable, chilling killing intent.

Colonel Samuel, who had a record of killing a thousand enemy soldiers, was among the bravest in the 1st Division, and had never known fear, was a prime example.

A chill ran down my spine for no apparent reason.

It was as if the decision was made by the extremely young major in front of them, who seemed to possess supernatural abilities.

The valley they passed through on their way here was covered in fallen petals and had an extremely beautiful scene.

It will soon be transformed into a terrifying inferno filled with the souls of the enemy soldiers!
……

"Tap, tap!"

Accompanied by the thunderous clatter of hooves, two regiments of centaur rangers, each numbering over 4000 men and equipped with superior weaponry, were galloping swiftly across the vast plains. Doronin Morningstar, commander of the 2nd Ranger Regiment of the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Division, holding the rank of Allied Colonel, was leading the charge.

At this moment, his handsome face, with its dreadlocks, was filled with rage, and he gripped the giant scythe tightly in his hand.

He desperately wanted to rush to his own city as quickly as possible to rescue his family, whose fate was unknown, and lead his valiant rangers to slaughter the enemy forces that had launched the attack, thus quelling his hatred.

As the eldest son of the third chieftain of the Morning Star Clan, Kenny, the third cousin, was already deeply saddened by the news that he had just been ambushed and killed by magic soldiers.

Just now, he heard that his city had been inexplicably attacked by a damned imperial force and occupied by the enemy.

Upon hearing this devastating news, he immediately resigned from his post and planned to lead his troops back to defend Horseshoe City.
He had assumed his eldest cousin, who was a division commander, would refuse, but after the other party learned from the Shadow Forces that the force that attacked Horseshoe City was an army unit, and that the damned Imperial Magus soldiers who ambushed his third cousin Kenny were still active near Iron Horse Mountain and trying to rescue the scattered Imperial army.

After some consideration, the other side immediately agreed to his request, not only temporarily transferring more mobile cavalry from other units to replenish the number of his cavalry regiment that had been lost in battle.

Furthermore, he also dispatched a foreign commander from the 2nd Brigade and 3rd Regiment, with 4200 troops, to return with him to defend Horseshoe City, thus ensuring that he could recapture his own city from the enemy in one fell swoop.

The thought that his father might have been killed by the enemy under the attack of that despicable imperial army, and even his wife might have died, made him feel uneasy.

He felt a fire of anger rising in his chest, burning him to the point that he was almost losing his mind!
"Faster, faster! Everyone, give it your all! We must reach Horseshoe City within ten minutes! Charge!"

Doronin roared, his face contorted into a grotesque grimace, resembling that of a demon.

"..."

Upon seeing this, the cavalry commander who was assisting in the battle frowned slightly. He wanted to remind the other side that even if they could reach Horseshoe City as soon as possible by marching at this speed, the soldiers would need some time to recover from their fatigue.

But when his gaze met Doronin's bloodshot eyes, he gave up trying to persuade the colonel who was blinded by rage.

After all, according to the information brought by the Shadow Orcs, the Imperial army that raided Horseshoe City seemed to consist of only one infantry regiment, while their numbers were twice that of the enemy.

Moreover, unlike the centaur cavalry regiments of other clans, these two cavalry regiments were elite troops of the 101st Division, all equipped with Freed armor. The Imperial Army's laughable armor-piercing shells could not break through their armor defenses at all.

Even if the soldiers' combat effectiveness declined due to the forced march, it was still not something an ordinary Imperial infantry regiment could handle.

The only troublesome point is that after the enemy occupies the city, they may install magic cannons on the city walls. Under the bombardment of those powerful cannons, they will need to suffer some casualties to break through the enemy's defenses.

After completing the battle for Horseshoe City, he could then gain the gratitude of the city lord's son, who commanded a population of 500,000. This would allow him to advance further within the 101st Division, and it was even possible that he might receive a name from the Great Chieftain of the Morning Star Clan.

Therefore, he could accept losing some of his troops because of Doronin's emotions.

"But why do I have this bad feeling? Am I overthinking it?"

The commander of the 3rd Regiment frowned, feeling deeply puzzled.

But feeling the howling wind around him and the intense fighting spirit emanating from the faces of the imposing cavalry members behind him, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself at his own suspicion.

How could the Empire's group of dwarfs, each less than two meters tall, possibly defeat their unparalleled cavalry?

Therefore, the outcome of this defensive battle was already predetermined the moment they set off!

They will crush that despicable imperial army and reclaim Horseshoe City.

Then they rejoined the main force and, with a charge powerful enough to pierce through any defense in the world, wiped out all the imperial troops who dared to set foot on their land!
Just like a thousand years ago, when they dominated the world under the leadership of the great sage!

"Buzz!"

However, just as Doronin was anxiously waiting, and the commander of the 3rd Regiment was so immersed in the past glory of Saga's kingdom that he could not extricate himself.

The next second, they arrived at Gale Valley. Just as they were about to rush through the terrain and reach Horseshoe City not far ahead, they all suddenly realized that the magic in the air was being rapidly drawn away and quickly gathered in a certain direction.

It was as if an invisible hand had completely covered this place, and the atmosphere itself became indescribably suffocating.

This sudden change caused everyone to slow down their pace.

What is this...

Doronin, who was leading the way, also came to a slow stop amidst this sudden change. He nervously shook his horse's hooves, his brown eyebrows furrowed, and his azure eyes were filled with doubt.

He then used all his strength to carefully sense the flow of magic, and subconsciously looked in that direction.

That location, however, came from the dark cloud above their heads.

Wait, why are those dark clouds glowing?

not good!

At that moment, as if realizing what that dark cloud was, Doronin, who was originally full of anger, was suddenly filled with horror. Just as he was about to order his troops to withdraw immediately,

The next second, countless dense red lights suddenly poured down from the sky.

Then, under Doronin's desperate gaze, the valley passage was completely covered!
Immediately, his vision was completely shrouded in darkness amidst countless crumbling lava and flames.

"boom!"

……

(End of this chapter)