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

Chapter 219 Questioning, General!
While the main Allied forces were resting and receiving treatment on the spot under Gal's orders after he had seized power.

On the Imperial side, the Imperial 2nd Division led by Edgar, the Imperial Reinforced Battalion led by Samuel, the Independent 3rd Division Guard Regiment led by Siegfried, the Magic 1st Battalion led by Barnabo, and the Raiders Land and Sea Force led by Roderick had all marched to their strongholds on the outskirts of the Bone Forest Swamp north of Stargazing City and met up.

Inside the Imperial Army's command tent, Edgar, the commander of the 2nd Imperial Division, was lost in thought as he looked at the officers of various ranks before him, including a sergeant.

Although he was puzzled as to why the current meeting scene was so different from what he had expected, he was influenced by the fact that he had followed John's orders and annihilated an enemy division with unprecedented zero casualties.

He suppressed the complex emotions in his heart and turned to look at the colonels in the tent, whose ranks were second only to his own. Then he voiced his doubts:

"Colleagues, could you please tell me where Commander-in-Chief John is right now?"

"Uh, Major General Edgar, this..."

When Edgar asked about John's whereabouts, Samuel and the others exchanged glances, but none of them dared to tell the truth.

Their military experience taught them that it was best to tell the major general the truth about such important matters; otherwise, if the reconnaissance unit found out later that they had lied about the military situation, they would inevitably be punished.

The problem is that John, who is currently the commander, not only has no intention of coming to this temporary base, but has also led a small squad of less than 30 magic soldiers to another location.

With the decisive battle imminent, the absence of the commander-in-chief is truly alarming.

If the truth were revealed, they worried that the rendezvous, orchestrated by Commander John with his godlike command abilities, would be disrupted by the absence of their commander, causing discord within their own forces that should have been united. This could lead to problems in the subsequent planning and ultimately result in their defeat.

Even they dared not speak rashly on such a crucial matter concerning ultimate victory.

As a result, under the influence of this mentality, the entire command tent became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

"..."

Seeing this bizarre scene, Edgar's brows furrowed. Just as he was wondering what John was up to, a soft laugh suddenly rang out from inside the tent:
"Hehe, Major General Edgar, I can answer your question about Commander-in-Chief John's current whereabouts."

"Ok?"

Looking in the direction of the voice, he raised an eyebrow when he saw that the speaker was a male sergeant in an Imperial Air Force uniform.

"you are?"

"Hawk Sparrow, Sergeant First Class, I am currently serving as the temporary staff officer for this decisive battle under the authorization of Commander-in-Chief John. I look forward to your guidance."

Hawke put away his feather fan, then smiled and bowed to the major general in front of him, whose brows were furrowed.

The other party is just a sergeant? Yet he was assigned as the temporary staff officer for this decisive battle?
John Maslow, what on earth are you doing?!
"..."

The more Edgar thought about it, the more incomprehensible it became. However, considering that the commander who had helped him achieve such remarkable feats was no ordinary man, it was understandable that an extraordinary person would do extraordinary things. Therefore, he didn't pay too much attention to this strange decision and instead asked the temporary staff officer in a deep voice:

"Hawk is the temporary staff officer, right? Commander John said how long he would have to wait before arriving? Although intelligence indicates the enemy is currently resting, I estimate it won't be long, so..."

"Reporting to General Edgar, the Commander-in-Chief is currently engaged in a more crucial decisive battle on another battlefield, a battle that will determine our army's ultimate victory. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the Commander-in-Chief will come to this battlefield where the main force is engaged in the decisive battle."

"What did you say?!"

Edgar looked incredulous, and felt an unprecedented sense of absurdity and anger.

He clearly valued John's leadership abilities, which is why he risked the entire team's annihilation to participate in this rescue.

But with the decisive battle imminent, the other side told him that John, their commander-in-chief, did not intend to arrive at the main battlefield. What difference was there between this and admitting defeat?
Absolutely ridiculous!
Just as the furious Edgar was about to immediately call the communications officer to directly contact John and ask what the other party meant, the next second, Hawke's words instantly made his pupils shrink to the extreme:
"Major General Edgar, there's no need to be angry, because there's nothing we can do about it. After all, compared to us ordinary soldiers, as a major general who has also fought against that Morning Star under the command of the corps commander, you should know better than us how difficult that Allied commander is."

"If Commander John hadn't taken the initiative to use himself as bait to lure that commander away from the main Allied force, then given the enemy's command and the current disadvantage in our forces, I think you should be well aware that we would have had little chance of winning in the confrontation, wouldn't you?"

Seeing Edgar suddenly stop running, Hawke immediately realized that his initial persuasion work was complete, and a smile involuntarily flashed in his eyes.

But then, remembering John's earlier orders regarding the decisive battle on the main battlefield, his expression immediately turned serious, and he said in a deep voice:
"Furthermore, although the commander-in-chief is not on this battlefield, he has already made detailed plans for our army's operation in advance, so you do not need to worry about any changes in our subsequent operations."

"No need to worry? Are you kidding me!"

Upon hearing this, Edgar couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

He felt an urge to angrily rebuke the other party for being so arrogant.

After all, anyone who has led troops in battle knows that the situation on the battlefield can change in an instant, and there are far too many uncontrollable factors involved.

Even though John Maslow displayed unparalleled command skills in this battle of Fauken.

But this doesn't mean the other side can be infallible.

After all, the enemy has no way of predicting future developments, especially since the enemy's commander has been replaced and it is currently unclear what decisions the enemy will make.

If John could predict the next few steps, or even dozens of steps, of a stranger's command before the battle even begins, then such an opponent could no longer be called human.

Rather, it is a god worthy of being called a war god.

The problem is that the other party is just a mortal.

As long as someone is a mortal, it is impossible for them not to make mistakes!
The man before me, who had been promoted to a lowly sergeant through exceptional means and wasn't even a reserve officer, was blinded by his previous victories. That's why he completely deified John Maslow and treated the other's orders as divine pronouncements.

The only consequence of doing so is that it will lead to a crushing defeat for our side!

Damn it, if I had known things would turn out this way, I should never have agreed to support them!
This time, it seems there's no chance of them coming back!
Edgar was filled with regret. Just as he was considering whether to immediately lead his troops to retreat in order to avoid being killed in battle under the influence of these fanatical followers of John Maslow, Hawke spoke up: "I know, General Edgar, you are in a hurry, but don't rush, because things are not as bad as you think."

Hawke smiled and fanned himself with the feather fan in his hand, his face full of composure.

In this command tent, where officers of all ranks, from company commanders to division commanders, were present, he, as a sergeant, should have been obsequious and silent.

But at this moment, he showed no sign of nervousness at all. Instead, he calmly got up and poured Edgar a cup of black tea. Then, amidst the admiring and amazed gazes of the crowd, he manipulated his magic to move Edgar in front of him.

Then, stroking his mustache, he smiled and said:

"Major General Edgar, it's normal for you to question the Commander-in-Chief's decision without knowing the full picture. After all, before truly witnessing the Commander-in-Chief's amazing strategy, I, or rather, everyone here, were just as puzzled as you are now by similar astonishing actions taken by His Excellency John."

"But whether it's the defeat of the Morning Star Clan, the defeat of the Assassin Star, the annihilation of the Seventh Legion, or even the unprecedented first defeat that the Morning Star has faced this time, haven't all of these things already proven Lord John's command ability?"

"I understand everything you're saying, but..."

Edgar, looking annoyed, was about to rebuke the other party for being too reliant on John's abilities and failing to consider the actual situation when Hawke, on the other side, lightly tapped his feather fan and interrupted:

"No buts. Since you have doubts, why don't you listen to my arrangements for the decisive battle first, and then give your opinion?"

"...Alright, go ahead and tell me. I'd like to see what brilliant ideas Commander John has, hehe!"

Edgar, whose words were repeatedly interrupted, was filled with anger and responded with a mocking laugh.

At this moment, he had already made up his mind. No matter how eloquently this arrogant soldier would speak, he would never fall for his tricks and join this damned John Maslow fanatics in a war that was bound to be a death sentence.

Since he has already achieved military merit, withdrawing immediately will not have any impact on him. On the contrary, he may even gain more power due to his achievements.

The reason he agreed to come and meet them was not only to pay homage to and try to befriend that amazing major, but also because he wanted to gain some merit along the way.

But now it seems there's no need for that anymore!

Edgar sighed slightly with a hint of regret, but before he could even sneer at the absurd performance of this fanatical follower of John Maslow, Hawke's first words sent chills down his spine and made his eyes widen instantly.

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck his heart, making his very soul tremble!
"In this decisive battle, in order to completely annihilate the enemy, His Excellency John has prepared a total of five annihilation plans."

"1 is the plan to destroy the quartzite wall by bombardment, 2 is the plan to cover the rainforest with fuel by long-range fire, 3 is the plan to devour the carnivorous acid ant monster swarm, 4 is the plan to ambush the simulated base camp of the Phantom Parrot, and 5 is the plan to bombard the bone forest swamp with swamp gas!"

"In the commander-in-chief's judgment, the first order would be discovered in advance because the enemy's deputy general, Gal Locken, was a graduate of the Kingdom's Military Academy and possessed superb military skills. This would turn the annihilation plan into a decoy, forcing the enemy to change their route of advance and abandon their continued advance on our main camp from the east, thus avoiding the collapse caused by the bombardment of the first company and the naval guns, which would lead to the annihilation of the entire army."

"Then we will proceed to the Third Navy, which is already on standby in Crescent Strait, ready to launch an attack at any time. The magical soldiers have already selected a suitable area for burning based on their aerial reconnaissance and site selection."

"When the enemy arrives, the Third Navy will use its naval guns to launch a long-range attack on them, along with a large amount of fuel that Colonel Samuel captured during his lightning raid on six enemy ports."

"Then Colonel Cambert, who had already completed the poisoning of the enemy's river channels and had arrived at the burning zone as planned, joined forces with special medical combat units to launch a large-scale fire magic attack after the fuel was used to cover the area, thus completing the large-scale burning of the rainforest area covering 15 square kilometers."

"But in Lord John's prediction, given that the enemy's super-powerful being named Liria, who possesses the Slow Barrier, could probably only wipe out about five thousand enemy troops if she used her unique spells at full power."

"But that doesn't matter, because Commander John, who had anticipated this, had already left a Death Valley area leading to the 'safe' zone for the enemy."

"Given the previous Tear Vine trap and the enhanced diarrhea poisoning targeting the relatively weak Darkmoon Clan goblins, the enemy goblin forces have most likely withdrawn from the battlefield and are no longer able to provide terrain warnings to the enemy. Therefore, with nowhere else to go, the enemy will risk stepping into this seemingly calm place, which is actually filled with countless carnivorous giant acid ant monsters that are over three meters long and over one meter tall beneath the ground."

"At that time, the pre-deployed land and sea assault troops will carry two hundred mockingbird cages captured by the Magic Assault 2nd Company. At the designated location, they will strike the mockingbirds' throats to stimulate them to chirp. This will then cause the metal to resonate through the echo in the valley, causing the metal-armored orc army and the allied forces' metal firearms to overheat under the resonance, forcing them to drop their weapons and armor."

"After confirming that the enemy has removed their armor, Colonel Roderick will launch a supernova blast into the valley, which will awaken the giant acid ant monsters below and trigger an unprecedented ant swarm that will devour the enemy."

"Of course, considering that the enemy's commander, Gal Loken, is also a super-level powerhouse, and that he and Colonel Roderick are both earth magic users, there is a possibility that after the ant swarm appears, they will use super-level magic and leave some soldiers behind to cover the rear."

"Therefore, John's fourth step of the inducement plan came in handy."

"Using Major General Edgar's mimicry technique, combined with the projection effect of the Illusionary Parrot, our army can set up a fake base camp in the central area of ​​the Bone Forest Swamp behind Death Valley, thereby luring the enemy to launch an attack on this empty camp."

"And when the enemy forces reach the central area of ​​the Bone Forest Swamp, the final killing move prepared by the commander-in-chief will be unleashed."

"Through Lieutenant Ian's 'Song of the Mermaids' spell, which was specially assigned by the Commander-in-Chief, we can easily control the carrion crocodiles living in the Bone Forest Swamp. We can make them swallow the magic grenades with a countdown of fifteen minutes in advance, causing thousands of crocodile beasts to surge towards the enemy and launch a self-destruct attack. While killing the enemy, it will also blow up the mud on the surface of the Bone Forest Swamp, expelling the swamp gas that has accumulated for hundreds of years due to the large number of corpses inside."

"Ultimately, the long-range artillery provided by the Third Navy ignited the pervasive marsh gas while bombarding the enemy, resulting in an unprecedented explosion that completely engulfed the enemy."

"This is Commander-in-Chief John's complete method of defending against the enemy!"

"With this five-fold intricate strategy, I can guarantee with my life that the enemy will have absolutely no chance of survival!"

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Hawke raised his hand and placed the empty teacup back on the table. Then, in a calm tone, yet filled with an irresistible, fervent excitement, he spoke:

"In other words, the outcome of the battle is decided; we have already secured the victory in this campaign!"

"The enemy has absolutely no chance of survival!"

"Our army will surely win this battle!"

……

(End of this chapter)