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

Chapter 215 False Information, Direct Attack
"The engineering corps ambushed at Luoyue River was unexpectedly caught in an enemy trap, resulting in the annihilation of all 1500 engineers and two artillery regiments. Only the 1st Artillery Regiment and the heavy combined arms battalion survived because they were far from the riverbank."

"The 500 members of the reconnaissance unit and the 1st Heavy Combined Arms Battalion in the north were exposed to toxic smoke, leaving them with less than one-tenth of their combat effectiveness. They were surrounded and quickly annihilated by enemy ambush forces. The Burners force only managed to evacuate less than 200 people?"

At 8:30 PM, in the Allied command tent at the Cocobia rainforest, Gal's face turned ashen upon hearing the two pieces of news, his eyes blazing with fury as he glared at the communications director before him:

"Do you even know what nonsense you're spouting, Lieutenant Colonel Sharu! As the head of communications, you should know better than I do the consequences of falsely conveying military orders!"

"Before I lose my temper, I advise you to think things through before you report the battle situation to me!"

"Yes, Commander, the battle reports I relayed all came from the communications personnel of these two units, so their authenticity is..."

"Oh!"

"You fucking fart!"

However, before the trembling Lieutenant Colonel Sharu could finish speaking, the enraged Gal slammed his hand on the command table, stood up abruptly, and a large amount of steam billowed from his nostrils. His bloodshot eyes were filled with unprecedented rage as he stared intently down at the pale-faced Lieutenant Colonel Sharu in front of him.

While angrily pounding the command table with his large knuckles, he roared at the other party:
"So you're trying to tell me that, with the cover of a large rainforest, the enemy has no idea of ​​our specific deployment range and the location of our military equipment, and that with Davis, the mole, exposed and the enemy, having lost their spy, has no idea of ​​our current specific action plan."

"That damned enemy commander, without any vision or intelligence, somehow predicted my impromptu plan and took countermeasures in advance?!"

By the end, Gal was so excited that he couldn't help but spit out his saliva.

Yes, how could such a thing be possible?

Even the most brilliant strategist has a limit, but what's happening now defies common sense.

Even Roxie, who was considered by countless people to be the most likely to become the kingdom's military god, was far from being able to achieve this level of strategy.

The ability to perfectly predict all the actions a stranger general will take through strategy, and to set a trap one step ahead of the opponent, is something no human being could do!

Only a vanished god of war could have accomplished such an operation!

But the enemy commander, John Maslow, was clearly just a human, so the idea of ​​him fighting the god of war was utterly absurd.

The only explanation for the failure of their current scheme is that there is a traitor within their own ranks; there is no other possibility!
"A mole! Yes, there must be another mole!"

Gal muttered almost obsessively, then ignored the trembling Lieutenant Colonel Sharu in front of him, pacing back and forth with a ferocious expression, constantly screening members of his own troops who were suspected of being traitors.

The unit that Roxie led this time left the base under the pretext of carrying out a secret mission, so the other side was completely unaware of his mission orders. Therefore, the Silent Assassin unit and the Independent 1st Battalion led by Will can be ruled out as suspects.

The two directives were kept secret from all units except the communications department and the two units involved in the operation. Therefore, the suspects could only be selected from these two groups.

The Burning City troops who were safely withdrawn were all trusted confidants of their own families, so there was no possibility of a leak.

Therefore, the suspects could only be selected from the 1st Heavy Combined Arms Battalion led by Yimir, which had escaped safely, the 1st Artillery Regiment led by Lieutenant Colonel Bai, and the existing 109 members of the Communications Department.

However, because the two units were carrying out their own orders and were unaware of each other's mission details, both units suffered defeats in this mission.

Taking this into account, the scope of suspicion can be narrowed down further.

"Therefore, another damned Imperial spy must be in our own communications unit!"

"It was this damned rat who secretly leaked our intelligence to John Maslow, causing two of our decisions to go wrong and resulting in such great damage. That must be it!"

After quickly analyzing the truth, Gal's gaze towards Cell instantly turned icy.

Despite the fact that Cell's mismanagement caused his flawless plan to fail and resulted in massive losses for his own forces, he was so angry that he almost wanted to tear this useless piece of trash to pieces.

However, considering that the other party was, after all, the head of the communications department personally selected by that madwoman Roxie, if he were to kill him indiscriminately, he would definitely not get away with it.

So he suppressed the impulse in his heart, and instead stared at the other person expressionlessly, saying:

"Lieutenant Colonel Sharu, as the head of the communications department, you should bear primary responsibility for the leak of information by the communications department, which led to the enemy discovering my orders and setting up a trap in advance, ultimately resulting in heavy casualties on our side!"

"!"

Upon hearing this, Cell's eyes widened instantly, staring at Gal in disbelief.

He never imagined that Gal could be so shameless. Even though it was the enemy's scheme that was exposed by the enemy commander, the enemy had the nerve to blame him.

Even a fool could tell that Cell couldn't take the blame for the losses of over five thousand men; otherwise, he would surely face hanging. So he quickly began to explain:

"Commander Gal, this matter has absolutely nothing to do with me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gal raised his hand to interrupt him:
"Of course, I also know that as the head of the communications department, you do not have much counter-espionage ability. Moreover, you were personally selected by Lieutenant General Roxie, and your loyalty to the kingdom is beyond reproach, so you can be ruled out as a spy."

"But ultimately, if we cannot eliminate that hidden spy, similar leaks will happen again. Therefore, after careful consideration, I have decided to give you a chance to make amends!"

Meeting Cell's surprised and uncertain gaze, Gal smiled slightly, and then said something that silenced Cell on the spot:
"Next, I will send troops to secretly monitor the actions of all members of the communications department. In addition, I need you to spread a false intelligence to all members of the communications department as soon as you return."

"The intelligence states that due to Lieutenant General Roxie's mistake and the setbacks suffered by the Fifth Army in the battle of Faoken, the Kingdom Council, in an emergency meeting three days ago, approved the Klein Military District's request for reinforcements, proposing to send the Second Army Group to support Faoken Bay aboard new Heim Furnace-powered warships, which are expected to arrive in five days."

"!"

Upon hearing this, Cell's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty.

Reason told him that if there really was a mole within the communications unit, then after spreading this false intelligence, there was a high probability that his side would be able to capture the spy, thus ensuring the secrecy of his subsequent orders.

But his military experience told him that if this act of falsely reporting military intelligence were verified, he would likely not only lose his position as head of the communications department, but also face a military court trial, which would most likely end his military career. The members of the Fifth Army Corps' communications department were all personally selected and assembled by General Orko, and given the one-eyed hunter's strictness, the rigor in selecting these personnel was unimaginable.

Therefore, he didn't really believe Gal's claim that there was a mole within the unit.

But looking at Gal's forced smile, Cell understood that if he didn't agree today, he might be accused of negligence later.

It's not impossible that they might even be directly accused of treason.

After all, no one understood the extent of the ruthlessness of those damned noblemen better than him.

Therefore, when the other party made this statement, I had no choice at all.

Realizing this, Cell couldn't help but sigh inwardly, but ultimately, amidst Gal's cold smile, he lowered his head to the other, his face ashen.
“Sharu Shabak understands. I will carry out your orders, Your Excellency Commander!”

"Very good. In addition, after completing the dissemination of false intelligence, immediately send someone to notify Major General Zhalga in the north, explain the situation to him, and request that he immediately join forces with our troops to prepare for an immediate southward advance!"

Gal sneered, then, to Sharu's astonishment, kicked over the command table in front of him. His eyes, like those of a raging tiger, were fixed on the southern direction where the tent exit was located, his tone ruthless and decisive:
“Since John Maslow wants to use the advantage of spying to transmit our military intelligence and then launch ambush attacks on our army by setting up traps, then I, Gal Loken, will not do as he wishes!”

"I want to see if this damned, cunning rat can still pull off a so-called comeback with his laughable schemes after our army, which outnumbers the enemy's sevenfold, has marched south, successfully forced them to their main camp, and completely surrounded them!"

"despair!"

……

Meanwhile, in the northern part of the Cocobia rainforest, the location of the Orc Synthetic Army.

After the explosion caused by the magnetic pollen, which resulted in the complete annihilation of six artillery units of the orc army and the deaths of many orc infantrymen who could not take cover due to the flying shrapnel, the orc army was wiped out.

Driven by unprecedented rage, Zalga, his eyes red, led his troops in a charge toward the location of the Imperial 2nd Division.

He had thought that this time, with the superior combat power of his own troops, he could at least annihilate this imperial army of more than 1 in close combat at a negligible cost, thus making up for the previous losses.

But when he led his troops to the enemy's 'camp', he discovered a fact that almost made him want to vomit blood.

That is, this camp that appears to have 10,000 people is actually just a damn empty camp!

Aside from the fluorescent ferns scattered all over the ground and a large number of photographs, they didn't find a single damned Imperial soldier in the camp!
The sight of ten thousand enemy soldiers they had seen earlier was entirely the work of that damned Imperial Major General Edgar, who used a plant called the 'Image Fern' in the Cocobia Rainforest. By feeding it magic beforehand, he activated the Image Fern's ability to briefly record the environment and made the enemy soldiers move in front of the Image Fern, thus recording the illusion of the soldiers' movements.

These illusions create the false impression that the enemy forces are numerous for one's own scouts.

He then fell into the trap and, without realizing the enemy's treachery, ordered the artillery to fire. In the end, these damned imperial rats, without suffering any casualties, caused him to lose nearly 10,000 men with just a bunch of damned straw!

"Crack!"

"Damn it, damn it!!!"

With eyes blazing with fury, Zhalga crushed the still-playing phantom fern in his hand into dust. His serrated teeth made a chilling sound as he squeezed, and his muscular chest heaved violently.

The thought that his pursuit had not only failed to bring him the glory he deserved, but had instead resulted in an unprecedented humiliation and defeat due to the enemy's ridiculous tricks made Zalga tremble with rage.

But under the varied gazes of the orc generals, he couldn't lash out.

Because doing so would only cause him to lose his prestige as the current commander of the orc army, thereby losing his ability to control the troops and ultimately causing his originally flawless path to glory to completely vanish.

This was an outcome he absolutely could not accept.

Therefore, what I need to do right now is not to continue pursuing the enemy, but to stabilize the morale of my troops.

Otherwise, the losses from this battle alone would be enough to earn him the title of an incompetent commander from the kingdom!
Realizing this, Zalga immediately took a deep breath. Just as he was suppressing his resentment and preparing to calm everyone down, a goblin soldier who knew how to operate the Allied communication devices and was responsible for intelligence communication between the orc synthetic army and the Allied headquarters interrupted his train of thought:

"Reporting to Commander Zhalga, just fifteen minutes ago, the Fifth Army Corps was ambushed by enemy forces in the Anmian Mountain area north of the main camp and the Luoyue River area to the east, suffering approximately five thousand casualties."

"The current commander of the Fifth Army Corps initiated communications with our army three minutes ago, suggesting that our army abandon the pursuit and instead join forces with the Fifth Army Corps, and then head south with all our might to seize the enemy's location in Guanxing City, in order to annihilate the enemy's commander!"

The enemy was ambushed at their base as well?

So, that imperial rat named John Maslow not only successfully outmaneuvered himself, but also outmaneuvered the Fifth Legion, which was on guard.

And they even managed to carry out two ambushes?
This……

Upon hearing that even the Fifth Legion, which had been left behind, had been ambushed, Zalga was filled with disbelief. But soon, he realized that this would be his last chance to turn the tide.

So he immediately and without hesitation gave the order to the orc generals:

"Pass on my order: the army shall immediately cease pursuit, change direction, and head south to rendezvous with friendly forces!"

"The objective of this march is: to capture Stargazing City and cut off John Maslow's head!"

"Execute immediately, without fail!"

"Yes, Commander!"

……

(End of this chapter)