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

Chapter 232 A Series of Tactics, A Plan Against a Plan

"Rockish, you really couldn't resist falling for it after all."

Through the magic spell, he watched as the enemy attacked his position with fire. However, the termite acid mines he had planted beforehand created a chain reaction of explosions, splitting the fire line and completely reversing the burning zone that was originally heading towards his side, thus completing the counter-encirclement of the enemy.

John, who was in the command post inside the ancient tree trunk, immediately revealed a smug smile on his face.

However, he also knew that this plan to counter-encircle the enemy by burning the zone could only temporarily slow down their advance and could not truly stop Roxie's troops from advancing.

After all, during their previous advance through the burning zone, the ground they had traversed had been completely reduced to scorched earth, leaving no plants that could reignite.

All Roxie needs to do is have his troops tighten their formation, stay together in the scorched earth area, and wait for ten minutes for the shrinking fire circle to burn away before they can launch another advance.

"But unfortunately, after obtaining the Peak Spirit Core formed by the collapse and condensation of a supermassive red giant star and completing the breakthrough to the Origin level, once Roxie cast the Spirit Heart Technique and completed the construction of the Spirit Energy Heart Thread, the technique could not be interrupted unless her magic power was exhausted or she was interrupted by external events."

"Once the forced release is lifted, the unique spell circuit within Roxie's body will be paralyzed for up to a day due to the retraction of the psychic energy core. Only when the internal circuit can resume the flow of magic can the psychic energy spell be used again."

"It is precisely because of this flaw that Roxie is so eager to complete the quick attack after unfolding the spell."

"Because, from the moment she chose to counter my delaying tactics with a swift attack, this battle was no longer an ordinary battle for her."

"Instead, it has been transformed into a timed race."

However, if time is limited and the commander needs to launch a quick attack.

Even knowing that rash decisions would cause unnecessary damage, in order to win this battle.

Driven by the desire to win, the opponent may also choose this risky decision.

This is exactly the situation I wanted to see!

"Therefore, in order to bring the pace of the battlefield back to a fast-paced state, you can only choose to have Liria deploy her domain to slow down the spread of the fire in front, and have Orion cooperate by using water magic to forcibly tear a hole in the fire ring in front."

"Then, relying on the fire resistance granted by the Spirit Heart Technique, he led his troops to forcefully break out of the fire circle, intending to strike at the heart of the enemy and then try to kill or capture me!"

John tapped the table in front of him, looking at Roxie, who was on the battlefield, as shown through the magic eye within the spell, with an unpredictable expression on his face.

Having already understood the other party's intentions, he immediately withdrew his right hand, then crossed his arms, a calm smile slowly appearing on his lips, before softly murmuring:
"But unfortunately, after you chose to attack quickly, what awaits you is not my head."

"But these are the remaining four wonderful gifts that I have carefully prepared for you."

"In other words, on this chessboard, Roxie Sancaster, you're checkmated by me!"

……

So that's how it is. By using the trenches created by timed-detonation bombs, and releasing pre-set flammable liquids during the explosion, the three fire lines that should have spread in a straight line were quickly divided by these ignition channels, causing the fire to spread rapidly and completely surround our position.

Then, by using the pre-engraved wind spell, the flame band was blown around, and the annular wind pressure effectively controlled the flame band to shrink towards our location.

By relying on the high temperature of the flames and the limitation of heat, you forced me to stay in place, ultimately realizing your idea of ​​trying to bring the battle back into a protracted war?
“No, if it were John Maslow, he probably would have planned to go beyond that.”

"The greater probability is that the other side has calculated that under this open scheme, having already activated the Spiritual Mind Technique and being unable to interrupt and restart it, they will most likely choose to forcibly lead their troops to break through this band of flames."

"Furthermore, the other side's goal is likely to force me to make this decision, thereby using a pre-set trap to reduce my combat strength."

They even attempted to annihilate their own forces!
So, is the opponent's backup plan an explosive plant trap?

After all, according to the description of biodiversity in the Cangyuan Ancient Forest, after crossing the spore plants and the previous low-level termite monster gathering place, the only thing that can still be considered distinctive ahead is a plant called the Exploding Cone.

Its characteristic is that it explodes when attacked by external force, releasing a large number of sharp needles. If you are not prepared in advance, you can easily be turned into a hedgehog.

Then, the toxins in the needles caused poisoning and hallucinations.

However, for their own side, which had already received the blessing of the Spirit Heart Technique, the spikes from those exploding spheres had no chance of breaking through their defenses.

Therefore, it is highly likely that this can only be considered bait deliberately thrown out by John Maslow.

The other party is definitely hiding some tricks that we don't know about!

Is it a sniper shot using the highest level of magic power from a magic soldier?

Or was it support from naval gunfire?

If the other side wants to request the Horst battlecruiser to launch an Omega-class naval gun attack on this location, not to mention that after firing that shell, one of the Empire's most powerful battleships will be semi-paralyzed due to the impact of the 4.5M caliber magic cannon being released, even if it is towed to the shipyard for repairs immediately.

However, it would take the enemy at least a month to repair the cannons and the cracked hull, during which time the ship would be unable to exert any combat power.

Without the battlecruiser Horst as their main battleship, the enemy was simply unable to cope with the subsequent arrival of their fleet, given the already limited number of ships in the Third Navy.

Moreover, the design far exceeded the specifications, with thirty-six complex spells engraved on the outer barrel and seventy-two multiple enhancement spells engraved on the inside. The cannonballs used were enhanced by one hundred and eight spells of various kinds. The precision of its spell circuit construction was such that even a high-ranking mage would faint due to insufficient mental strength if they peered at it for half a minute.

Whether in terms of coverage, firepower, or range, it ranks first in the world's magic cannons with undeniable destructive power. The Omega-class magic cannon, which is like a deformed monster, is the one that releases catastrophic shells.

Not to mention the small ancient forest in Cangyuan where they were.

Even the Star Gazing City, which is more than 200 kilometers away from here, will probably be covered by this shell!

Therefore, whether it was for the sake of the subsequent battle, to avoid affecting the outcome of the main battlefield, or to cherish one's own life, it was all for the sake of the battle.

John Maslow would never choose such a self-destructive style of play.

However, if the support of long-range naval guns is not chosen, and the number of people is far from sufficient to launch a surprise attack.

If John Maslow wants to limit his team's ability to launch a fast attack.

Therefore, the only option left is to target the two super-ranked mages and their subordinates.

After these restrictions are lifted, the opponent's forte becomes a series of schemes within schemes, which, after simulating their own real-time decisions, strip away all pretense under layers of traps.

Finally, in the moment when he let his guard down, he revealed his true killing move and completely reversed the situation!

What I need to do now is to list out all the possibilities of the opponent and analyze the trap that can truly achieve a chain reaction and is the most unexpected among these tactical ideas.

If this series of schemes can be locked down, then the seemingly opportunistic compliance will actually be a pre-planned trap.

He can make the opponent believe he's already in the game, and then break the deadlock in a way that surprises them! Moreover, after the previous three layers of traps, in this series of traps, he must overturn at least four layers of predictions before he can find a real solution!

"..."

Thinking of this, Roxie immediately closed his eyes and rapidly processed his brain, constantly deducing various possibilities.

The unprecedented strain of thinking intensely and constantly overturning her own views in a short period of time caused her face to turn uncontrollably pale.

But less than a minute later, she opened her eyes again, and the hesitation in her eyes was gone, replaced by an unprecedented calm.

Because, by integrating all the information obtained at this time and making inferences based on John Maslow's fighting style, she had figured out John Maslow's follow-up plans.

They also learned about the other party's true plan.

Now that they have figured out the opponent's hand, the final winner of this game is self-evident.

"However, before that, let me follow your lead and pretend to be a pawn that you are controlling, and obediently continue playing my part."

"After all, only when I reach the true deadly trap you have constructed, and at the moment you are in high spirits and trying to declare victory, will I defeat you through tactics, tear apart the ancient tree you are hiding in, and trample you under my feet, while you are incredulous."

"At that time, the expression of resentment and anger on your face can be called true bliss, can't it?"

That kind of scene must be something you can't help but reminisce about, right?

Ha ha!

Roxie murmured to himself, but the smile on his face grew increasingly ferocious and morbid.

Without hesitation, she immediately waved her hand and gave a stern order to the crowd:
“My Spiritual Mind Spell only has fifteen minutes left to last, and John Maslow saw through that, which is why he deliberately used the ignition channel to try to slow down our progress. Therefore, we absolutely cannot fall for his trick!”

"Everyone, heed my command! Immediately break through the fire zone ahead. Once you get close to the fire zone, Colonel Liria will immediately activate the Slowing Field, and together with Colonel Orion's water magic, extinguish the fire zone."

"As long as we can tear a gap in the fire belt and allow our troops to break out of the encirclement of flames, the scales of victory will once again fall into our hands!"

"In the name of the everlasting light of Victoria, I swear that if anyone helps me kill the enemy commander in this battle, I will personally apply to Her Majesty the Queen for a noble title on his behalf!"

"If you can help me capture the enemy commander alive, then as the sole heir of the Sancaster family, I will grant him any request he may make, and I will never break my word!"

"!"

As Roxie finished speaking, everyone in the room instinctively widened their eyes, even Orion, a super-ranked mage, showed an expression of disbelief.

The field fell silent for a moment, but less than two seconds later, a wave of unprecedentedly excited shouts erupted from the Allied forces:

"Yes, General!"

"Wow!"

……

Spurred by the promises made by Roxie, the Allied forces, blinded by their achievements and glory, immediately unleashed an unprecedented fighting spirit.

Even knowing that under the protection of the Spirit Heart Technique, if they forced their way through the raging flames that not only had extremely high temperatures but were also filled with a large amount of toxic gas, there would definitely be casualties.

But with the title and a promise from the Sancaster family, no one felt fear; instead, they were eager to rush out of that damned band of fire.

After all, as long as they can survive and break through the fire zone, it means that they can risk their lives to try and obtain that one in a million chance to embark on the road to a fulfilling life.

This is the kind of profit that no commoner, or even a nobleman, can resist.

Even if the price is death, countless people will flock to it!
With the Allied forces advancing in perfect unison, they soon arrived at the front of the raging fire.

"The field expands!"

Despite feeling a strange unease as she looked at the raging fire ahead, Liria gritted her teeth and activated the Slowing Barrier.

A gray barrier spread outwards from her body.

Soon, the rapidly spreading fire began to be slowed down uncontrollably under the effect of the barrier.

Even the pervasive toxic smoke solidified in mid-air due to the slowing effect.

However, compared to attacks that slow down and are imbued with magic, the consumption and burden caused by forcibly interfering with the speed of secondary ether matter are unprecedentedly enormous.

Therefore, after only two seconds, Liria felt her magic power draining away at an alarming rate.

He immediately turned to Orion, who was rapidly drawing a magic circle, and roared:

"Orion!"

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Orion didn't speak, but responded to the other party by waving his magic book.

As countless dazzling blue lights burst forth from his hands, the next second, an enormous magic circle formed in front of him and began to rapidly release a large amount of frost wind outward at an indescribable speed.

In an instant, the raging fire was completely extinguished under the suppression of this high-level magic.

The originally tight band of flames was thus torn open!
"It's now!"

Roxie let out a low growl, but before she could use her psionic telekinesis to forcibly pull the troops away, the next second, in everyone's constricted pupils, countless dense black objects fell from the sky out of thin air.

And its target was the Allied forces below, and then, in Liria's narrowed pupils, who had just deactivated the slowing barrier and had no time to reactivate it.

Accompanied by a series of ear-piercing explosions, countless rays of light burst forth, enough to blind any naked eye!

"Bang bang bang!"

……

(End of this chapter)