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

Chapter 233 Forbidden Magic, Decisive Strike!

With a sudden burst of intense light, the Allied troops, caught off guard, were immediately covered by a large number of flashbangs and were all blinded.

The originally orderly marching formation began to uncontrollably scatter due to the panic caused by the loss of sight.

Some soldiers who instinctively tried to escape through the gaps in the fire line ended up walking into the raging flames and being engulfed by the fire due to their chaotic footsteps.

"what!"

For a time, screams of agony filled the entire battlefield.

Perhaps because she was relatively far back and had closed her eyes before the flashbang exploded, Roxie recovered from her dizziness in just over ten seconds.

Looking ahead, they saw a hidden temperature detection circuit revealed by magic due to the previous frost, and a large net hanging down from the tree trunk.

In an instant, Roxie understood where these flashbangs that were aimed at their side had come from.

Clearly, this was a trigger trap deliberately set by John Maslow.

Through a simple temperature detection spell, utilizing its concealed and tiny magical circuitry, and engraved on the inner layer of the ancient tree's bark, near-perfect concealment is achieved through the ancient tree's magic resistance.

Once this spell detects that the surrounding temperature has dropped to a certain level, it will connect to another spell hidden at the top of the tree trunk, which acts as a switch. At the same time, it will activate the flashbang by injecting a small amount of magic power, and simultaneously open the switch of the large net.

Using gravity, these flashbangs, which cause no harm but are deadly to our own side, all land within our formation.

Ultimately, by blinding all allies, their movement is restricted, and while surrounded by flames, they can inflict as much damage as possible.

It was a clever trap, but unfortunately, John Maslow, have you forgotten?

As the holder of the Spirit Heart Technique, I am more adept at micro-management than you.

Therefore, even if your trap blinds our entire army, as long as I, as the commander, remain clear-headed, I can continue to make our army exert its strongest combat power, just like operating a puppet!

"So your trap is useless against me, John Maslow!"

Roxie smirked, then without a word, forcibly manipulated the bodies of all the troops, using psionic threads to forcefully pull them out of the flames that were about to spread again.

"despair!"

After leading her troops out of the inferno, Roxie intended to lead them directly towards the enemy's main camp, whose exact location she had calculated.

But the next second, as if sensing something, her pupils shrank immediately, and then without hesitation, she used her psionic telekinesis to control the entire unit to jump forward off the ground.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Almost the instant Roxie led his troops forward, a barrage of gray-brown wood spikes, like a torrential rain of pear blossoms, rained down from the surrounding tree trunks and bushes.

It swept towards the area where everyone was, instantly covering the spot where they had been standing.

At the same time, the air was filled with a lot of popping sounds, like watermelons being crushed.

"They placed the Exploding Fruits at fixed locations beforehand, and then activated them using a magic perception spell? And it seems like they prepared a considerable number?"

After a little thought, Roxie understood the principles behind the traps that attacked their own side.

However, she did not order Orion, who had regained his senses, to use magic to remove the traps.

Because Roxie knew that the trap of the exploding fruit was just a bait deliberately set by John Maslow.

The opponent's true purpose was to force me to dodge according to their plan in order to minimize damage by using the poisonous spikes shot out by the exploding fruit.

Finally, they arrived at the next trap set by the other side.

At that time, the other party will use the last bait to reveal their true killing plan to you.

"But unfortunately, I have already anticipated all your thoughts."

"Therefore, the winner of this game will be me, Roxie Sancaster!"

Seeing the poisonous stingers attacking from all sides again, Roxie's expression remained unchanged. Instead, he calmly controlled his troops, dodging and speeding towards John Maslow's true location.

At the same time, she used her telepathic communication ability to issue a secret command to Orion, who was following closely behind her.

Orion paused upon hearing the contents, and after taking a deep look at Roxie's back, he silently gripped the grimoire in his hand and began to pour magic into it without saying a word.

……

Why do I suddenly have this uneasy feeling? Is it just my imagination?

Meanwhile, inside the ancient tree, Roxie watched as Roxie, completely following his own plan, rushed towards the final trap, trapped within the very snare he had set.

John suddenly felt a twitch in his right eyelid.

This feeling was very familiar to him, after all, he often had this premonition when he was on a mission in Bahamut Town and things were disrupted by unexpected events.

Is it an illusion?
Or has something really happened that has exceeded my expectations?
For example, did Roxie see through his plan and make preparations in advance?
"..."

John frowned in thought, but after a moment's reflection, he dismissed the absurd idea.

He then focused his attention on the final trap, on the 16 magic soldiers who were waiting under his command. After calculating and confirming that Roxie would arrive at the trap within five minutes at his current speed, he decided to proceed.

He immediately gave the order to this last small squad:
"All members of the Third Front are here. The enemy will arrive at the Third Front in five minutes. Once the enemy arrives at the ambush site, immediately execute the Magic Gun Explosion Ignition Plan."

"Once the fire attack is complete, immediately escape through the internal root passage. There must be no mistakes!"

After giving the instructions, John immediately had Wendy initiate long-distance communication.

The link led to Charlie Mambo, a scout, and Barbabella, a communications soldier, who were currently carrying out the final kill plan under his command, 50 kilometers off the coast of Faoken Bay.

After informing the two that they could carry out the final bomb detonation mission in the area, John ended the telepathic communication and let out a long sigh of relief.

At this moment, his dark eyes were filled with a chilling killing intent.

Even though there was nothing but an empty brown tree trunk in front of him, he seemed to have glimpsed the future, the future after Charlie and his companion detonated the ultimate cannonball they had brought.

The explosion of the Empire's most powerful cannonball, generating a terrifying shockwave in the deep sea, created an uncontrollable tsunami at least thirty meters high. This tsunami completely engulfed the ancient forest of Cangyuan, along with Roxie's troops!
That's right. His goal from the beginning was not to use a trap created by scarce troops to annihilate the enemy forces that far outnumbered him in both strength and numbers.

Rather, it was to lure the opponent into the final trap, and then, as part of a backup plan, utilize the characteristic of standard magic guns that, when detonated with excessive magic power, produce flames that are extremely difficult to extinguish.

The entire forest surrounding the trap was set ablaze, creating a terrifying wall of fire with immense power.

In order to extinguish these flames that ordinary magic could not put out, Roxie would surely arrange for Orion to use a wide-ranging super-tier magic.

As is well known, the release of super-tier magic will greatly drain the magic power in the surrounding space, causing the surrounding space to fall into a state of magic depletion.

Otherwise, with the magic power within Orion alone, the release of super-level magic would be enough to turn the opponent into a dried-up corpse on the spot.

This state of magical depletion is exactly what John wants to see.

"Besides its strong vitality and ability to release common oxygen and magic through photosynthesis, the most important thing about the ancient trees in Cangyuan is that..."

"While releasing magic, they also expel a large amount of anti-magic factors. However, because the released magic exceeds the anti-magic factors, the magic in the air reaches a surplus state, so it is not noticed by anyone."

"It wasn't until the Allied forces' Anti-Magic Technology Workshop reached the third stage and stagnated while attempting to break through the magic nullification of the fourth stage that Leon, who had already lost the battle for the Supreme Commander and returned to the path of scientific research, noticed the anomaly in the Cangyuan Ancient Forest by chance while studying the literature."

"Only after personally investigating and testing did they discover the existence of the anti-magic factor, and from this they developed the fourth stage of the anti-magic device, the 'magic-free zone'."

"And it has been a full six years since the anti-demonic factor was actually observed."

"Under such intelligence strikes that transcend time, no matter how gifted Roxie may be, the other side would never be able to predict that his real killing move would not be to surround and kill him with fire, nor to restrict his movement and arrange for naval guns to bombard him to force him to retreat, thus achieving a draw."

"Instead, it takes advantage of the most hidden characteristic of the Cangyuan Ancient Tree, and the fact that the opponent's super-level magic can draw away magic power on a large scale, so as to completely break the original balance between magic power and the anti-magic factor."

"This creates a vast anti-magic zone, forcibly severing the opponent's spiritual magic while restricting all of the enemy's magic in a non-magical state."

"And under the influence of the anti-magic zone, even if Orion were to exhaust his own life force and potential, he would have no chance of casting the phase portal, let alone safely sending Roxie out of this battlefield!"

"Then, under the massive tsunami created by the prematurely detonated final shell, at the moment when all our troops were evacuated from the battlefield through the underground evacuation tunnel."

"Death is the only fate awaiting Roxie and his entire force!"

“Use your power and turn it into a grave to bury you all.”

"And this is the ultimate weapon I've prepared for you!"

"Rockish Sancaster!"

John muttered to himself, but as he mentally reviewed the entire plan for the kill, he felt no relief whatsoever.

Instead, I felt that the frequency of my right eyelid twitching had become more and more intense.

The feeling, as if the goddess of misfortune were stomping on his head, made his hair stand on end, and filled him with an unprecedented sense of bewilderment.

Just as he was frowning and pondering the source of this unease, John, rubbing his throbbing temples in frustration, inadvertently caught a glimpse of Wendy, the pig-headed squad leader, squatting on the ground wiping the magic gun with oil.

A hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes.

He remembered that every time his right eyelid twitched, it seemed to be related to Wendy, that idiot.

Could it be that his meticulously planned and executed strategy for the enemy, which he had nearly exhausted all his mental energy for, will fail due to an unexpected incident involving Wendy, that idiot?
Haha, how could this happen...?

"No, very likely, there's a 99% chance!"

After all, how many times has this guy ruined his plans?
If she continues to have her ups and downs and trigger the Apocalypse, then no matter how smart I am, I'm afraid my scheme will fail in the end, and it's not impossible that I'll be leashed and imprisoned in a dark room by Roxina's Ace!

No, we have to get rid of that idiot Wendy. We absolutely can't let her stay here and cause trouble!
Thinking of this, a resolute glint flashed in John's eyes. Without another word, he went to Wendy and said in a deep voice:

"Wendy, I have a very important task for you to carry out."

"Um?!"

Upon hearing this, Wendy, who had initially looked listless, immediately widened her eyes. Without saying a word, she sprang to her feet, her round face filled with seriousness and earnestness, her tone brimming with excitement:

"Captain, are you planning to send me to snipe that old, ugly, stinky woman? No problem, leave it to me. I'll definitely carry out your orders and blow that guy's head off!"

Smash Roxie's head?

just you?

I think it's more likely that your flesh and blood were replaced by enemy bullets.

Seriously, you stupid pig, do you really want to die?

It's only because you encountered a powerful figure like me; otherwise, with your pig-brain, you'd probably be in an urn by now.

Ugh!
John inwardly scoffed, but outwardly forced a smile at the smug-faced squad leader:

"I appreciate your dedication, Captain, but this kind of sniping mission is very risky and has a low success rate, so I don't plan to let you carry it out."

"Oh, I see. Okay then..."

Wendy lowered her head in disappointment, then listlessly fiddled with the magic gun in her hand. John felt a vein throbbing on his forehead watching her, but he forcibly suppressed the urge to use his merciless iron hand on the pig-headed squad leader, and instead forced a smile as he spoke:

"However, compared to such a trivial matter, I have something more important that I need you to do right now, and it can't be done without you!"

"!"

Wendy looked up abruptly, her eyes sparkling with unprecedented excitement, and gazed at John with anticipation.

However, just as the loyal squad leader thought she was about to carry out the amazing surprise attack plan devised by her brilliant captain, John's words instantly stunned her:
"For the sake of victory in this battle, Lieutenant Wendy, I need you to immediately evacuate this battlefield through the underground tunnels. There must be no mistakes!"

Wendy: "?"

……

(End of this chapter)