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

Chapter 161 Considerations and the Demon King

So, is Bob considering himself?

Was it at the behest of the Duke of Ostan, or was it the Duke's own idea?
John pondered for a moment, then, under Bob's gaze, spoke:

"Marshal Bob, I believe that although the overall situation of our army in Faoken is not optimistic, now that we have quelled the threat posed by the Seventh Legion of Horseshoe Ridge and the 101st Division of the Orc First Legion, our chances of victory on the Faoken front are at least 90%!"

Seeing Bob's surprised expression, John slowly rose and walked to the map hanging in the command room. He then pointed to the Starry Sea where they were currently located and said in a deep voice:

"First of all, once we take Horseshoe Ridge, the Third Navy's supply lines and resupply will be secured. Regardless of whether the enemy sends more warships to the battlefield, the Third Navy will not need to risk being attacked by the enemy's coastal defense artillery in the subsequent naval battles with the enemy by forcibly taking over the Cocobia Rainforest."

"Even if the enemy sends out a large number of warships, as long as you secure the rear supply points and control the evacuation area, even if the enemy's numbers are so great that the Third Navy cannot cope with them, you can still, like today, use Ian's magic and the help of the Demon Whale to quickly break out of the enemy's encirclement, thereby completing the resupply and the next ambush plan."

"Therefore, although our army relinquished control of the Aiken Sea this time, it was actually a strategic retreat. By shifting the battleground to a sea area where our ground forces could provide support, we reduced our casualties and ultimately destroyed the enemy fleet at the lowest possible cost."

"With no worries about the rear, the Third Navy can attack or defend at will. In my opinion, such a situation gives our army a 30% chance of winning!"

Upon hearing this analysis, Bob's admiration for John deepened even further.

However, his expression remained unchanged; instead, he nodded slightly to John, his tone calm:
"continue."

"Secondly, there are the 2nd and 4th Divisions of the 2nd Army Corps, which are currently fighting against the Allied forces. Although these two units are from different political parties, they are still playing a role in blocking the enemy on the front lines and effectively preventing the enemy from invading the western and southern fronts of Faoken."

"Although the combat capabilities of these two friendly forces are relatively ordinary, the two Allied divisions have suffered varying degrees of damage under the fierce fighting of the First Army Corps in the Rhine Theater. Therefore, given the command capabilities of the commanders of those two divisions, they can at least buy our army more than fifteen days of rest and recuperation time."

"After I lead the 1st Division to complete preparations and go to Mad Fang City to seek Lieutenant General Dolan's help in the subsequent personnel treatment and replenishment, I will be able to go to the western front to support our allies and seize control of the Talzan Wetlands. After consulting with the two major generals and integrating the three division headquarters, I will then join you in advancing straight to Crescent Strait to cooperate with the Third Navy in the final annihilation operation."

"At that time, with the northern part of the Faoken Peninsula completely occupied by our army, the enemy force hiding in the Crescent Strait will have no other way to escape but to board a ship."

"However, since the specific situation of the two divisions on their respective fronts is still unclear, and whether any unexpected changes have occurred, to be on the safe side, the odds of victory should be reduced by one point. The joint operation strategy of the army and navy can be barely considered to have a 20% chance of success."

"Furthermore, during the battle in which I led troops against the enemy in Horseshoe Territory, I successfully captured members of the Shadow Force of the Kingdom of Saga, and through special intelligence, I bribed an enemy officer and recruited him as a spy for our side."

"Moreover, this person has a special identity and wields considerable influence within the Shadow Orc tribe. After confirming the authenticity of the information I provided, it is preliminarily estimated that within fifteen days, the Dark Assassin tribe will completely defect from the Saga Kingdom and join our army."

"In the subsequent battles against the enemy forces in the west and south, the enemy can provide our army with specific intelligence on the enemy forces at critical moments, and carry out assassinations of the enemy's high-ranking officers for our army at appropriate times, thereby assisting our army in winning subsequent battles."

"The enemy's morale has been broken but they are unaware of it. Their intelligence is far behind ours. Therefore, this move can increase our chances of victory by another 30%!"

At this point, John slowly withdrew his right hand from the map and turned to look behind him at Marshal Bob Ariel, who had somehow stood up and was now staring intently at him, his eyes almost overflowing with admiration.

Then, meeting the other person's gaze, he smiled, pointed to himself, and slowly began to speak:

"As for our army's last 10% chance of victory, in my opinion, it lies with me, John Maslow."

"Although saying this may seem arrogant, or even presumptuous, he is the chief of the Empire's First Military Academy, and through his command, he has successfully defeated enemy generals tactically on several occasions and accomplished many battles where the weak defeated the strong."

"I have always believed that if I were to personally lead this war, then no matter who the enemy's commander is, I am confident that I can lead my troops to completely defeat them and win the final victory for the Empire."

"And this outcome is absolutely certain; there can be no other possibility!"

"These are my views on the situation of our army in the Falken campaign. If there is anything I have said that is not good, I hope that Marshal Bob will give me some pointers."

After saying that, John gave Bob a standard military salute.

He then waited quietly for the admiral to judge his answers to the questions.

“...John, I thought I had overestimated you enough, but the facts have proven that you are even more outstanding than I imagined. It seems that Marshal Dormammu was right after all; you are indeed a true genius.”

Bob spoke softly, his previously expressionless face now replaced by a satisfied smile.

Although he had vaguely guessed after reading the letter from his old friend at the behest of Grand Marshal Ostan, that this young man, who was praised to the highest degree by Dormammu who had never praised anyone before, was definitely no ordinary person.

However, after witnessing firsthand the other party's command abilities, which even he himself admired, as well as the intelligence analysis and strategic planning capabilities demonstrated in this assessment, he realized that...

Bob then realized that Dormammu's praise of the Empire's rising star in his letter was still too conservative.

Given enough time, John Maslow would surely be able to become a figure on par with the Kingdom's Morning Star.

It's not impossible that they could even surpass their opponent.

So, I guess I've witnessed the birth of a peerless commander ahead of time?

How truly heartening!
Bob's mind was racing, but looking at the young and outstanding black-haired major before him, he hesitated for a moment before giving his assessment:

"Major John Maslow, my assessment of your battlefield analysis is perfect, although I am very curious about what kind of classified intelligence you used to accomplish the subjugation of the Shadow Orcs."

"However, considering that you didn't mention this in your answer, and that you proactively informed me about the magical abilities of Lieutenant Ian Grant, who played a significant role in this support mission within the Third Naval Fleet."

"So, if I'm not mistaken, the source of these two pieces of information should be related to the independent intelligence network of that esteemed Mr. Trotsky, right?" By the end, Bob's tone had inexplicably become somewhat awe-inspiring.

It was as if the being he was reciting was not an old man who was already 123 years old and whose lifespan was entirely up to fate.

Rather, he was someone who once made the entire world tremble.

"Yes, Marshal, this information of mine is indeed related to His Excellency the Principal."

John lied without batting an eye.

In fact, John had anticipated that Bob would make such an association and show such an attitude.

After all, as a player, he knew perfectly well the true identity of Principal Trolovsky, who had personally bestowed upon him the Iron Wreath in his memory.

As the former president of the Empire's Magic Association, and having mastered nearly ten thousand spells, he is known by many as a walking encyclopedia of magic.

Furthermore, in the later stages of the game, when the empire was on the verge of collapse, he almost managed to kill the entire protagonist group by creating a dimensional stripping barrier using all the knowledge he had acquired throughout his life.

He is also the only Grand-ranked powerhouse in the entire game who was forced offline due to a plot-driven death.

In John's view, Ivan Daovich Trolovsky was arguably the most legendary mage in the game's storyline.

He clearly only possessed a weak 'Insight' technique, which was even inferior to the Magic Eye.

Furthermore, his own magical aptitude is only average, or even almost inferior.

However, the opponent relied on his research into magical formulas to find the commonalities of magic. After thirty years of continuous research and integration, and after experiencing countless life-threatening crises, he successfully completed the source transformation of his own magic power in an almost impossible way.

With the magic completely mutated, a magic source flow was achieved that surpassed even Siegfried's magic symbiosis.

This completely broke the limitation of aptitude and broke the curse that magicians could not cultivate more than ten spells.

After reaching the Grand rank, he single-handedly destroyed a city with a population of one million in less than half an hour on the battlefield.

He became the undisputed strongest of that era, and also an existence that countless mages could never catch up to, even after a lifetime of effort.

Because of the sheer number of spells he mastered, which was beyond estimation, and the immense destructive power displayed by those composite spells, Troysky, upon reaching the Grand rank, rightfully earned the title of 'Demon King,' a title among mages representing supreme power and dominating all magic.

Even someone as powerful as Trolowski ultimately couldn't break the curse of lifespan. As he aged, his magic began to decline uncontrollably, and his strength decreased year by year.

Now 123 years old, he looks almost identical to Bob in front of him, although he has achieved the source of magic.

But John, who knows the plot, knows that Trotsky is actually living in purgatory.

Although the flow of magic gave Trolowski a lifespan more than twice that of humans, his magical will was completely eroded by external forces after he reached the age of one hundred.

The magic contained within him by the source of magic not only cannot be controlled by him at will, but also backfires on his body.

If left unchecked, these magical forces would completely devour Trotsky's life, taking him to his death.

However, if one wants to condense it, one must split one's spiritual power into these alien magical powers to complete the assimilation of one's own will.

According to the game's description, this act of infusing magic with mental energy through splitting one's mental power can be understood as simultaneously piercing countless silver needles into the nerves throughout the body and starting to stir them wildly.

The pain it generates is enough to kill a person instantly due to the unbearable agony.

This purgatory-like feeling is something Trotowski experiences almost every month now.

Furthermore, this cycle will shorten further as he gets older.

It was as if some powerful will was intervening, preventing the reappearance of an immortal being capable of destroying everything in this world.

"Therefore, ultimately, in this world, any extraordinary power comes at a price!"

"If you want to survive well in this world, it's better to use your brain more and rely less on force."

"After all, I don't want to be in so much pain every day when I'm old that I can't even control my bowel movements."

John murmured to himself, then looked at Marshal Bob, who seemed lost in thought, and hesitantly asked him:

"By the way, Marshal Bob, how is Lieutenant Ian Grant doing? Would you mind telling me about his situation?"

……

(End of this chapter)