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

Chapter 227 Marching, Explosion

"Snapped!"

11:07 AM, Bone Forest Swamp.

As the speeding tires rolled across the muddy ground, they splashed out large amounts of mud and water, leaving deep tire tracks on the ground.

Inside a heavy armored vehicle in the Allied forces speeding toward the Bone Forest Swamp.

Looking ahead through the car window, the Bone Forest Swamp was completely black, with nothing to obstruct its view except for the thin, withered trees and the exposed skeletons of large magical beasts.

Gal was filled with excitement at that moment.

He knew that as long as he could successfully break through this distance and reach within three kilometers of his own heavy artillery units, he would be able to succeed.

Then, without the enemy's knowledge, he could bury that damned John Maslow, along with that hateful enemy army, in this filthy swamp through a barrage of artillery fire.

Of course, after the previous series of encounters, they had fully realized how insidious John Maslow was as a commander.

Gal also knew that this seemingly ordinary battlefield was actually an area where his side had an absolute advantage.

It's also possible that, due to the other party's insidious schemes, some unforeseen changes might occur.

"Therefore, I must always be vigilant."

We must never allow the ambush we experienced before to happen again.

Otherwise, this final opportunity for victory will likely slip through their fingers.

This is something Gal absolutely will not allow to happen.

Gal pondered for a moment, then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he immediately picked up the communication device at his waist and gave an order to the main force:
"Immediately notify all ice and earth mages to change vehicles immediately, ride in light tarpaulin jeeps, and once adjusted, proceed directly to the front of the troops."

"Once the troops have officially entered the swamp, have them constantly cast earth-based solidification magic and ice-based crystallization magic on the swamp ahead to ensure that all pits and traps are rendered ineffective!"

"The preparation must be completed within ten minutes, understand?!"

"Yes, Commander!"

"Beep, beep!"

After issuing the latest instructions, Gal breathed a sigh of relief, then looked anxiously at the real-time map in his hand.

Although he now almost wished he could immediately lead his troops to that damned enemy headquarters and then utterly destroy the enemy with irresistible force.

But Gal knew that the closer he got to victory, the less he could afford to be impatient.

After all, there are far too many instances on the battlefield where a promising victory has been squandered due to negligence.

Moreover, the strategies previously displayed by the enemy commander had already instilled in him an unprecedented sense of fear and suffocation.

When facing such an abyss that seems capable of devouring everything, the closer he gets, the more vigilant he must be than ever before.

"Although, given that there was no time to make preparations in advance, even if John Maslow was exceptionally talented, the other side could only avoid engaging in battle by using the swampy terrain where their wheels would sink into the ground and prevent them from advancing."

"The other side definitely couldn't think of a better way to deal with it!"

This situation has now been successfully avoided through his previous orders.

If I can lead my troops to within three kilometers of the enemy, and if I can order the heavy artillery to cover the enemy's main camp with fire before the enemy completes its withdrawal...

Then, this war can be declared over with our victory!

"And it's the kind of outcome where there's absolutely no suspense!"

Gal muttered to himself, trying to cheer himself up, but whether it was a misperception or the lingering shadow of being constantly outmaneuvered by the opponent from the previous battle, he was unsure.

Despite constantly instilling the idea that his side was bound to win in his mind, Gal did not feel his courage increase. Instead, as he increased his self-hypnosis, his anxiety began to grow stronger.

It even made him feel a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.

It was as if some terrifying danger was rapidly approaching him.

Even as a super-powerful being, he couldn't help but feel an unprecedented sense of unease at this moment.

What is this...

As Gal pondered with suspicion where this strange sense of crisis came from,

The next second, the communication device in his ear suddenly connected, and the report from his deputy immediately startled him:
"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, our forward reconnaissance team has observed a large scavenging crocodiles converging on our troops from a distance. There are quite a few, at least no less than a thousand!"

A group of carrion-eating crocodiles?
I don't recall that this monster's low combat power was due to its pointed mouth, its overall resemblance to an enlarged rhinoceros beetle, and its relatively weaker bite force compared to other types of crocodile monsters.

And because of its slow movement speed and its ability to survive by feeding on decaying organisms, it has always had a very low aggression and basically does not take the initiative to attack humans?

Logically speaking, these are useless monsters that are not only huge and smelly, but also have extremely low defense due to their bodies being corroded by years of soaking in swamps, and can be easily pierced by ordinary blades.

Upon observing a large number of invasive alien creatures entering their habitat, shouldn't the first reaction be to immediately return to their nests, hide, and wait for them to leave?
Why would they unexpectedly come to us on their own initiative?

And there are a whole thousand of them?

This number is almost equivalent to the total number of all the carrion crocodiles in this swamp, right?
"So, this was all John Maslow's doing?"

The opponent used a spell they didn't know to command these magical beasts to attack their side, attempting to use these completely defenseless beasts to instill fear in their side, who were unaware of the specifics of these beasts.

They then launched an attack on the group of trash monsters as if facing a formidable enemy, which greatly slowed down their own advance.

To buy the other side enough time to complete their final evacuation?

Haha, that's a great idea.

If our commander at this moment were not me, but that idiot Zalga, we would probably be fooled by your hastily devised delaying tactic.

But unfortunately, I, Gal Loken, am completely different from that foolish orc!
"So, your delaying tactics are probably going to fail completely, John Maslow!"

Gal sneered inwardly. Although the scene before him felt strangely familiar, and it seemed that not long ago, he had also been overconfident, which led to John Maslow's prediction and resulted in a crushing defeat that almost made him vomit blood.

But all of those have one premise.

That is, the opponent had ample time to plan ahead, and it was precisely because the opponent made the first move that he was outmaneuvered due to insufficient information. However, in order to annihilate the Magic Technology Third Regiment, the opponent had to temporarily transfer all of its remaining forces to this swamp, and suffered heavy losses in the battle.

The enemy, exhausted from their retreat, could not possibly conceive and fully devise a scheme within a scheme in such a short time of less than two hours.

If he wasn't mistaken, John Maslow most likely discovered that his side had abandoned its corrections and was advancing rapidly after observing the magical soldiers.

However, the enemy forces had not yet completed their withdrawal, so they had to use a special spellcaster under the command of the unit to hypnotize or temporarily enslave the monsters.

Thus, they control these monster hordes to attack their own side.

Unfortunately, this was not an opportunity for someone who not only possessed military command skills but also had some knowledge of different types of magical beasts and happened to recognize this particular one.

The moment I realized that the other party was using this delaying tactic, I understood it.

I've already seen through it completely!
"Therefore, I will never fall into your trap again and suffer that damned defeat!"

"The victor this time will surely be me, Gal Loken!"

Gal murmured to himself, then without hesitation gave the order to his deputy in the communication device:
"Notify the entire army: ignore those defenseless monsters. Have the army continue at full speed and use that speed to crush those damned monsters into mincemeat!"

"Don't stop! You must reach the range of the heavy artillery before the enemy completely withdraws, understand?"

"Yes, Commander!"

……

As Gal gave his order, the soldiers in the front row, though doubtful, dared not object and obediently carried out the order, flooring the accelerator of their vehicles.

It then charged at full speed towards the swarm of crocodiles that were attacking from the front.

Then, amidst everyone's anxious expressions, the anticipated scene of the vehicle being overturned by the 'ferocious' horde of monsters did not occur.

This massive horde of monsters, constantly emitting a foul stench, caused no impact on the friendly vehicle when they collided with it.

Instead, they were like a group of soft, unyielding slimes, instantly smashed to pieces by the speeding armored vehicles and jeeps, turning into countless filthy pieces of flesh and blood.

"call!"

Upon seeing this, the soldiers and officers who had been somewhat worried immediately breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but silently admire their commander's sharp eye.

They were able to see through the enemy's feint so easily.

If things continue to develop smoothly as Commander-in-Chief Gal judges, then presumably, our side will arrive at the artillery firing location in a few minutes.

At that time, under the bombardment of our own artillery, which could cover the sky, the enemy troops who were busy retreating would probably perish here.

It's even possible that our side could capture the enemy commander, who symbolizes countless military achievements, under the anti-aircraft device set up in advance by the 3rd Magic Technology Regiment!
However, just as all the soldiers were lost in thought, a scout who was constantly observing with his binoculars was drawn to the crocodile charging towards them.

To be precise, I was attracted by the light emanating from the other person's abdomen.

Ok?
Wait, why does this light look so familiar?
It was as if I had seen this scene somewhere before.

The soldier was filled with doubt, and his mind subconsciously searched for similar scenes, trying to match them with this strange blue light.

While pondering this question, he quickly recalled where he had seen a similar light before.

That was the magical light that appeared just half an hour ago, when our side was at a disadvantage due to the attack of those damned giant red ants, and was fighting against the Imperial Army on the stone wall. It was just before the magic grenade thrown by the enemy was about to explode!

Wait, a magic grenade?
Is it possible...

"!"

At that moment, as if finally realizing something, the soldier's eyes widened to the extreme, and his face quickly turned deathly pale.

However, just as he was about to shout at the top of his lungs to warn the driver to immediately avoid the monster ahead that was about to unleash an unprecedented explosion,

The driver, enjoying the thrill of smashing monsters into a pile of mud with his vehicle, excitedly floored the accelerator.

The vehicle he was in, without exception, headed straight for the charging crocodile.

"puff!"

A dull thud and the sound of flesh tearing suddenly rang out from the air.

In slow motion, large amounts of flesh and blood turn into rain, splashing and scattering wildly in all directions under the impact.

The scouts could even clearly see the crocodile's detached eyeballs slowly rising into the sky.

However, compared to the poignant beauty and horror of such trampling of life, what truly made him feel a tightness in his throat and an unprecedented sense of despair was...

As the crocodile's body was torn apart, its fragile stomach, covered in filth and mud, was also successfully exposed in the impact.

During the impact, the dozen or so terrifying magical grenades inside, each round and radiating brilliant blue light, which had recently been blasted so powerfully that they could barely lift their heads, were completely revealed.

Then, in the scouts' despairing gaze, this crocodile, which should have been crushed by a vehicle like the previous monsters, turned into mud and merged into the swamp, and finally dissipated as nutrients for the land, was left to rot.

This time, however, the silence was not as profound as when their own kind were being crushed.

Instead, it unleashed countless unprecedented, blinding blue lights amidst the astonished or terrified gazes of the other soldiers.

Immediately afterwards, under the watchful eyes of everyone in the group.

In this forced march, which should not have encountered any unexpected changes.

In a way that no one expected, it brought about a series of breathtaking and unprecedented explosions!

Ruined!
Looking at the eerie blue light that almost completely filled his vision, the soldier's face was immediately filled with bitterness.

At that moment, he knew clearly.

I and my teammates will probably have to return to the embrace of the River of Souls.

"Boom boom boom!"

……

(End of this chapter)