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

Chapter 226 Schemes, Collapse, Opportunity
"Bang bang bang!"

The deafening explosions and gunfire echoed through the troops. In an instant, many soldiers who had not had time to react and deploy the Iron Wall technique were maimed by the shattered metal and shrapnel.

Blood splattered everywhere, along with mangled limbs and flesh, staining the ground crimson.

Before the shocked and enraged generals could recover from this sudden turn of events, they immediately sensed a powerful magical force that sent chills down their spines, emerging from the distant valley exit.

Especially after sensing the powerful pressure emanating from the individual that was constantly gathering magic power, which came from a super-level.

At this moment, all the generals couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and at the same time, they subconsciously looked at the figure in their own camp who had arrived directly in front of them at some unknown time, and who was also of the super-rank.

"Roderick, you damned bastard!"

Directly in front of the Allied forces, Gal stared at the figure he wished he could kill even in his sleep, his face contorted with an unprecedented ferocity.

But compared to his usual anger, his expression now was filled with madness.

In fact, Gal understood this after realizing that the red giant ant's nest was located directly below the valley.

If he were to use a super-level earth magic to block the supernova explosion that Roderick was about to unleash.

The residual force from the collision of their super-level magic was enough to completely awaken the giant red ants hiding hundreds of meters underground, making these damned monsters realize that their territory had been invaded by outsiders.

Driven by the instinct to protect the queen ant, it went berserk and attacked all living things on the ground.

And that's exactly what John Maslow wanted.

The enemy's objective was never to carry out this ambush with a small number of soldiers whose combat strength was unequal to that of their own!
Instead, they used that damned horde of monsters to overwhelm their own forces!
"Therefore, I absolutely cannot use earth magic to defend; I must attack!"

"Use the attack to cut and pulverize that damned supernova explosion, turning it into dust before it generates a powerful shockwave, completely negating the effect of the spell I've cast!"

"And for someone like me who has mastered the forge, the only way to achieve this is through the Melting and Cutting Ray!"

Under normal circumstances, relying solely on the operation of the magic furnace, I would probably find it difficult to unleash a ray powerful enough to neutralize an opponent's attack at the same level.

But the scorching heat around him made it possible for him to achieve his goal.

If we use an earth-based ley line coordination technique to absorb all the surrounding heat, and at the cost of sacrificing one of the three magic furnace cores behind us, we can convert geothermal energy into magical fire through overload.

Then, I will be able to unleash the strongest rays ever before!
Even if Roderick's supernova exploded, it would be absolutely impossible to withstand the cutting power of this level of high temperature!
feasible!

Thinking of this, and feeling the terrifying magical power accumulating ahead, so intense that even the air was becoming scorching hot, Gal immediately stopped hesitating. He abruptly lifted his burning metal combat boots and shattered the cracked ground with both feet, burying his lower legs and below completely into the earth.

At the same time, a massive earthen-yellow magic circle was generated from the ground where he stood and spread rapidly.

The soil behind him seemed to have a mind of its own, and began to rapidly converge towards his body, instantly transforming him into a giant mud figure covered in mud clods and filled with countless strange dark red patterns.

Then, the ordinary metal that had become scorching hot due to the sound wave vibrations and remained on the ground in a molten state, now seemed to be drawn by some force, and began to transform into tangible red light, rapidly converging along the ground towards Gal.

In an instant, countless lava-like patterns appeared on Gal's body, which had turned into a clay figure.

At the same time, the exposed magical furnace behind him changed from its original crimson color to an eerie deep red.

Of the three rapidly spinning turbines, the lowest one was now involuntarily belching out thick black smoke, while simultaneously emitting chilling roars.

"boom!"

However, Gal was not concerned about the magic furnace behind him that was about to explode due to overload. Instead, he continued to manipulate the large amount of magic power behind him and frantically poured it into his raised, charged gauntlets.

His bloodshot and ferocious eyes were fixed on the valley exit, where a figure that had transformed into a lava demon at some point was now standing with its hands in front of its chest, releasing dark lightning outwards, like a star about to explode, enveloped in a nebula.

In the instant they met each other at a distance of several thousand meters, these two extraordinary powerhouses saw the emotions contained in each other's eyes.

That was the same emotion, seemingly capable of devouring everything, called murderous intent!

The instant they understood each other's gazes, they simultaneously unleashed the attacks they had just gathered.

They attempted to completely engulf each other in their respective seas of flames.

"Buzz!"

Two blazing red lights suddenly reappeared on either side of the valley, and then became even more dazzling.

Immediately afterwards, they began to rapidly spray and shoot at each other.

"Oh!"

The instant the terrifying magic was released, the impact of the magic eruption caused twenty-three visible white shock rings to explode directly in front of Gal.

The pure red flames, like pillars of light, traversed the boundaries of distance at an astonishing speed. Under the scorching heat, it seemed as if space itself began to distort under this terrifying attack.

The surging flame rays, as they sped along, generated intense heat that left numerous black scorch marks on the ground and stone walls they passed through.

And as the melting and cutting rays continue to travel, its color changes rapidly from the original red to white at an imperceptible speed.

Finally, it collided with the star-like sphere that arrived at the same time, which was entirely black and red and constantly exploding outwards with dark red arcs of electricity.

"Buzz!"

The two super-level magics, which shared the same properties but contained completely different spells, unleashed a terrifying beam of light the instant they collided, enough to completely blind an ordinary human.

But this light of destruction did not last long; it vanished in an instant.

Amidst the astonished and ecstatic gazes of the Allied forces, the white melting ray released by Yugal held its ground against the exploding sphere of the supernova for several seconds.

Then, in a devastatingly swift manner, it instantly pierced and severed the supernova explosion sphere, a symbol of death and destruction.

It was as if, in the face of Gal’s terrifying power at this moment, the enemy’s super-powerful beings were nothing more than paper tigers that could be easily punctured!
The Allied forces who witnessed this scene were unconsciously filled with pride, and they felt an unprecedented sense of admiration and respect for their commander-in-chief.

"!"

However, unlike the Allied forces who were planning to cheer for Gal, Gal did not show a smug grin the moment he felt his molten ray successfully cut through the supernova explosion released by Roderick. Instead, he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

wrong!

Totally wrong!

This force is too weak!

It wasn't even as strong as the attack the enemy had casually unleashed when they ambushed us in the rainforest!
Therefore, from the very beginning, the opponent never intended to use magic to engage in a direct confrontation, but rather...

"not good!"

Realizing he had fallen into a trap, Galton's pupils constricted immediately, and he tried to stop the spraying of the melting and cutting rays.

However, in the next second, in his despairing gaze, directly in front of him, a previously unremarkable piece of ground suddenly and strangely rose rapidly into a huge, white, and wrinkled 'hill'.

Furthermore, with an almost astonishing computing power, it blocked the path of the melting and cutting rays just before they arrived.

It easily burned through and pierced through this 'hill'!

"Hey!"

Under the penetration of the super-level spell, the white 'hill' was immediately torn apart, with most of its body torn apart. The wrinkled parts burst open and then quickly turned into ashes under the scorching white flames.

The intense pain and the sense of impending death jolted the anesthetized queen ant awake, only to discover that her abdomen had been completely burned away.

Realizing it was about to die, it immediately opened its densely packed compound eyes and looked with hatred at the densely packed Allied troops in the distance.

Then, unwillingly, it opened and closed its fangs, twitched a few times, and then helplessly lowered its huge head, dying.

"Buzz!"

At the same time, the instant the queen ant died from the melting ray, all the Allied troops were horrified to find that the ground beneath their feet began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

It was as if a horde of terrifying creatures were running beneath the ground, about to break free of the earth's constraints and tear apart and devour all living things on the surface.

be cheated!
Just as Gal realized that he had once again been tricked by the enemy, and felt like he was about to vomit blood, he was about to sternly warn everyone to watch their step, because the queen ant had died and the ant swarm that was about to go berserk and devour everything on the ground was about to attack.

The next second, accompanied by the sound of countless stones breaking, the originally flat ground was instantly cracked open with countless terrifying deep pits.

Then, to the horror of the orc and human soldiers, one after another, huge red ants with red bodies suddenly poked their round heads out of the deep pit.

Then, as if possessed, it opened its massive, meter-long pincers towards the soldiers or metal cannons in front of it, and with a chilling ferocity, cut these beings that had caused the queen's death in half!

"Crack!"

"puff!"

"Where did these monsters come from? Damn it, counterattack! Counterattack immediately! Kill them all!"

Seeing the sudden appearance of the dense swarm of ants, all the officers felt a chill run down their spines and instinctively ordered their soldiers to attack.

Gal hurriedly dispelled the earth vein coordination, intending to quickly regroup and escape from this damned ambush point before his side fell into the trap again.

Upon seeing the soldiers firing at or unleashing magic at the giant red ants attacking the large group in front of them, the person immediately felt a sudden blackout before their eyes.

He knew that his warning was already too late!
"Hey!"

"what!"

As gunshots and the cracking of insect armor rang out, a large amount of acid, sprayed out instinctively by the dying red giant ants, hit the soldiers' bodies. Those hit by the acid began to dissolve and vanish at a visible speed, like candles being lit. In just a few seconds, they were corroded down to mere black skeletons.

After letting out a miserable scream, it crashed heavily to the ground with a dull thud.

"Oh!"

"All mages, immediately cast functional spells to contain these damned giant red ants and prevent them from catching up!"

"The rest of you, immediately follow me and evacuate to the exit at full speed!"

"be quick!"

……

They realized that if they continued to stay in this valley, all that awaited them was to be swallowed up by an endless swarm of ants.

Gal immediately issued the order to evacuate at full speed.

However, due to the death of the queen ant, which caused pheromones to become disordered, the red giant ant army, which had become completely frenzied, was besieged.

Even though Gal kept directing the mages to try to contain the swarm of berserk red ants, the rate at which the soldiers were being strangled did not decrease much.

What infuriated Gal the most was that when he was leading his troops in a breakout attempt and was about to reach the exit, the situation became even more dire.

At the valley exit, which was originally deserted, hundreds of magic soldiers suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The opponents lined up in an orderly fashion, and then, without saying a word, unleashed an explosive spell towards the valley's exit, blasting open a massive fissure hundreds of meters wide, with an unfathomable depth, and stretching for several kilometers.

Finally, Gal was forced to use the Melting Ray again, expending a lot of magic to carve through the southern stone wall. He was also forced to leave behind the Black Knight tank force and a large number of orc soldiers to cover the rear, which allowed his remaining troops to successfully evacuate through the Valley of Death via this newly opened road.

Just as Gal, filled with rage, led his troops out of the newly carved mountain path, they were met with a ranged magical attack and a barrage of artillery fire from Roderick and Samuel's forces.

Due to negligence, nearly three thousand people were killed on the spot.

After completing the ambush, they seemed to have guessed that Gal was currently in a state of uncontrollable rage due to the heavy losses of his troops.

Once the enemy forces approach our temporary camp, a brutal war of attrition will surely await us.

Thus, before observing that the enemy was about to break through the ant swarm's encirclement.

The battle-hardened Roderick immediately abandoned the order to continue the ambush. Instead, before the enraged Gal and his remaining troops arrived at the ambush point where the Raiders were located, he joined forces with Samuel and their respective men to quickly retreat.

They left the other side with only an empty temporary camp, causing them to miss their target.

"Crack!"

"Roderick, you deserve to die!!!"

Looking at the empty camp in front of him, Gal, who had rushed over with a large army, was so angry that he almost vomited blood. With a frenzied expression, he punched a tree trunk next to him and smashed it through.

After catching his breath for a long time, he finally calmed down and gave his troops a temporary rest order.

At this moment, despite successfully escaping the ant swarm attack and the Imperial Army's assault, their total strength was reduced to just over 13,000 men.

Compared to their initial massive force of 70,000, their current situation can only be described as miserable after being repeatedly ambushed by the Empire.

And, most importantly, due to these heavy losses, they have not even been able to engage the enemy on the main battlefield until now.

The enemy, relying solely on that damned tactic, caused them to lose more than 80% of their troops!
This situation is unprecedented in the history of wars around the world!
If we fail to win this battle, and if word gets out, every single one of them will be branded with shame!

They were all labeled as stupid pigs.

As the commander-in-chief, his name will henceforth be synonymous with trash!
Just imagining that scene in his mind was enough to drive Gal to the brink of madness.

"Therefore, I absolutely cannot let that damned John Maslow continue to dominate the pace of the battlefield!"

"We must advance swiftly and not give the enemy another chance to regroup and continue their ambush!"

"As long as we can successfully reach Guanxing City before the enemy sets up new ambush points, as long as we can seize the time difference and arrive at Guanxing City ahead of schedule!"

"Then, with the backup plan I prepared in advance, combined with my existing troops and a large number of heavy artillery and armored vehicles, I still have a chance to win this battle!"

"Yes, that's it, that's exactly it!"

Gal muttered to himself almost frantically.

Then, with red eyes, he looked at the silent officers behind him, and before they could offer any words of advice, he directly summoned his disheveled deputy:

"Have you heard anything from the Magic Technology Regiment 3?"

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, not yet, but..."

Having lost an arm in the ant swarm and now with half his body wrapped in bandages, the adjutant hesitated for a moment before finally steeling himself and telling Gal the truth:
"However, according to reports from the surviving communications units, the 3rd Magic Technology Regiment, where Commander Water is located, seems to have completed the installation of the anti-air device half an hour ago. While setting up the anti-magic device in area D14, they had already cut off communication with us."

"therefore……"

"So, you're trying to tell me that the Magic Technology 3rd Regiment, which led a full force of 1,500 men and used camouflage techniques to prevent the magic soldiers from tracking them, was also ambushed by the enemy and wiped out, just like the main force?!"

Gal laughed in exasperation, his body trembling, like a volcano about to erupt.

He wanted to angrily rebuke his adjutant for talking nonsense, after all, in the previous battles, the enemy had to send at least nearly eight thousand men to achieve such an ambush effect in such a short time.

Given the current strength of the Imperial Army, if 8,000 troops are dispatched, the enemy's remaining strength will not exceed 4,000 at most.

The force consisted of 4,000 troops, excluding the assassination squads and the 1,000 guards stationed around the commander, as well as 2,500 soldiers stationed to guard the Stargazing City.

John Maslow could never have deployed more than five hundred men to carry out the ambush.

Five hundred men against fifteen hundred, and with no information or intelligence about this force, it would be difficult to launch an ambush in advance. It is highly likely that the attack would be launched by Walter's forces during close-range reconnaissance.

The enemy, with only 500 men, not only failed to be annihilated by our army, but also managed to turn the tables and kill them.

What a load of bullshit!
Just as Gal was about to unleash a torrent of abuse, the next second, as if receiving some crucial information, the adjutant, who had been bowing his head and behaving meekly, immediately trembled.

Then, under Gal's gaze, he suddenly raised his head and uttered a piece of information that made everyone's eyes light up:

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, just now, our forward reconnaissance troops observed what appears to be an enemy headquarters in a swampy area ten kilometers to the south."

"Furthermore, according to the last battle report from the communication devices carried by Commander Wot's troops, the D14 area seems to be not far from the enemy's main camp!"

"Furthermore, if the Kuronuma clan's reconnaissance forces are not mistaken, the enemy forces there appear to be carrying out evacuation-related transport operations!"

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing this, Gal, who had been furious, was immediately stunned, and then his expression was replaced by unprecedented ecstasy.

Upon hearing this information, Gal quickly deduced what had happened using his highly developed brain:
After receiving his orders, the enemy led the Magic Technology 3rd Regiment at breakneck speed along the main road, and through the road built by the Darkmoon Clan, they arrived near the swamp ahead of their own.

However, due to the unique terrain of the swamp, the tire tracks left by their vehicles were noticed by the enemy's magical scouts, thus revealing their location.

This prompted John Maslow to realize the situation and, before the Magic Technology 3rd Regiment could complete the installation of anti-magic facilities in the D14 area, he immediately dispatched his entire force to launch a siege operation against them.

After successfully annihilating the Magic Technology 3rd Regiment, the enemy forces, suffering heavy losses, were forced to establish a temporary camp in this swampy area to clean up the battlefield and inspect the surrounding anti-magic devices and anti-aircraft devices.

This would prevent our side from discovering that the enemy had mobilized its entire army to ambush the 3rd Magic Technology Regiment.

Only in this way can we explain why Walter, who led 1500 men and should not have encountered any accidents, died mysteriously in battle, without even having a chance to send a distress call or report the situation.

If the enemy's numbers far exceed theirs, then all of this makes sense.

Although Walter's death was a very sad thing for him.

However, in previous reports, the other party had indicated that the anti-aircraft device had been deployed and that the anti-magic device had not been deployed in only the D14 area.

The enemy is currently in a retreat phase. If I could wipe out John Maslow's last main force through a forced march, wouldn't that mean...?

"That's right, this is an opportunity!"

"An opportunity that can enable our army to successfully seize the final victory, an opportunity that we absolutely cannot miss!"

"!"

Gal's eyes gleamed with unprecedented excitement, and driven by this burning desire for victory, he didn't hesitate for a moment. He immediately waved his hand and gave the order:

"Everyone, halt your rest and advance immediately with me. Target: the enemy's temporary headquarters, ten kilometers away!"

"Once we defeat them, victory will be ours!"

"You will all be transformed from defeated soldiers into heroes, sharing in my glory!"

Facing the varied gazes of the crowd, Gal slowly raised his right hand, then pointed sharply towards the enemy's 'headquarters,' and roared angrily:
"Follow me into battle immediately! Slaughter those damned imperial dogs!"

"Yes, Commander!"

……

　One more chapter, about 4,000 words, I'll try to finish writing and post it before 3 PM.
　
(End of this chapter)