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

Chapter 240 Clear Rewards and Punishments, Support

"Therefore, our army currently has about 1.4 troops, and in this main battlefield, the casualties were only 821?"

An hour later, in the council hall of the Stargazing City Lord's Mansion, John was stunned when he heard Hawke's military intelligence report on the main battlefield of the Bone Forest Swamp.

Although he had already considered that the casualties on the main battlefield would be much less than in the previous battles on the plains, he had used a total of 11 types of terrain and the biodiversity of magical beasts in the rainforest region to launch multiple ambushes and luring operations against the enemy before he laid out the main battlefield.

But he never expected the casualty figures to be this low.

After all, aside from the 800-strong suicide squad that carried out the attack to determine the enemy's deployment and troop strength, the total number of participants in this battle was nearly 100,000. Normally, even with his strategic assistance, our side should have suffered at least 20% casualties.

But the facts told him that his side had only suffered 821 casualties.
Even excluding the decoy troops who had to be sacrificed for the sake of the plan, 18 of the 21 casualties were injured by stray bullets from friendly forces of the Independent 3rd Division and had to go for treatment.

The last three men were separated from the main force during the forced march and ended up missing.

What kind of godlike battle casualty ratio is this?

So what about the incredibly meticulous tactical command at the Silverstone Mine?

What does it mean to anticipate the enemy's moves and make predictions and decisions dozens of steps ahead?

There was also the arrangement of ground support troops disguised as Allied forces, who launched a surprise attack on enemy cities under the pretext of transporting ore, capturing seven cities in one night. They then moved on to other cities to help complete the plan to conquer 15 cities. How come it was his doing again?

All I did was arrange for you to conduct a strategic defense against the enemy and find a way to lure that unlucky guy, Dolan, out of the battlefield.

How come in your mouths I've become a military genius who can control the course of every battlefield, big or small, in every detail?
Is this definitely a combat report, or just some blatant attempt to flatter me?
Looking at the military intelligence report in front of him, which almost entirely praised his command as if it were divine, the praise and amazement were almost overflowing.

For a moment, John, as the person involved, couldn't help but fall into deep self-doubt.

"Yes, Commander, under your brilliant command and with our negligible initiative, everything on the battlefield unfolded exactly as you planned, resulting in this miraculous victory that is worthy of being recorded in the annals of the Empire's military command history!"

Meeting John's 'appreciative' gaze, Hawke, a sergeant who had won the unanimous approval of officers of all ranks with his perfect interpretation and participated in a military operations meeting that was usually reserved for colonel-level officers—a first in history—immediately stood up with admiration and pride and said to John in a deep voice:
"Although the enemy's true commander, Roxie Sancaster, was forced to temporarily replace his commander due to your psychological warfare tactics in the Dark Corridor, the enemy commander's strategies could not be effectively utilized on the current Kokobia rainforest front."

"But this cannot negate the brilliance of your battle plan. After all, Roxie's departure was orchestrated by you. Moreover, it was designed to prevent the enemy from forcibly seizing command of the Fifth Legion when the enemy orc legion suffered heavy losses, thus making the main battlefield of our army more unstable."

"You led only 14 magic squads with 28 members, and by using terrain and tactics, you confined the enemy's force of more than 2,000 men to another battlefield, and escaped with a brilliant plan that the enemy commander had not anticipated at all."

"All of this is enough to demonstrate your supreme wisdom and courage!"

"Therefore, you need not be modest, nor do you need to doubt."

"Even the surveillance troops, faced with this absolutely unshakable miracle of battle losses and the annihilation of the enemy, would never utter a single word of doubt!"

"This point has become a consensus among everyone in the entire army!"

"Instead of being modest, your subordinates think, Commander John, you could be a little more arrogant and confident!"

Having said that, as if he had voiced everyone's thoughts, the group of officers in the room immediately cast admiring glances at Hawke, and at the same time, they all raised their hands in unison to echo John, who sat calmly in the main seat:
"Sergeant Hawke is right!"

"That's right, that arrogant damn Morning Star of the enemy army was utterly humiliated by you, Commander John. Commander John, you have become the undisputed strongest commander in the Empire. So what if you're a little arrogant?"

"That's right, if anyone fucking disagrees, I guarantee I'll be the first to smash that guy's dog head into his stomach. I, Samuel, mean what I say!"

"Seconded!"

In an instant, the entire meeting room was filled with excited shouts, as if it had transformed into a bustling market rather than a solemn and dignified council hall.

The noise gave John a headache, especially after seeing the stack of reports, as tall as teacups, written by officers of various ranks and filled with praise and a few battle reports. He felt utterly exhausted.

Damn it, isn't it the empire's traditional skill to steal credit? How come when it comes to you guys, instead of stealing credit, you all want to pile all the credit onto me?

What's the difference between this and seeing a ghost in broad daylight?
Looking at the report in front of him, which represented a great deal of military merit, John was not happy at all. Instead, he felt that this was a hot potato.

Although it was a fact that he had led his troops to annihilate the enemy, he was not happy about his superior stealing credit from his subordinate.

Even though many of these credits were voluntarily given up by the people.

But John knew very well that this kind of bottomless greed would not only destroy the trust he had painstakingly built with everyone, but would also push him into a bottomless abyss.

It cannot bring him the future he truly wants to see.

After a brief moment of thought, John raised his hand and tapped the table, interrupting the noise, before slowly speaking:

"I deeply appreciate and am very grateful for everyone's consideration for me and the respect they have shown me."

"But frankly, I am very dissatisfied with this kind of behavior where you voluntarily give up your own merits in order to curry favor with your superiors!"

"To be precise, I am extremely, extremely dissatisfied!"

Having said that, seemingly to demonstrate his resolve, John slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, much to the astonishment of the crowd. He then fixed a stern gaze on everyone present and spoke in a cold voice:

"What do you all take me, John Maslow, for? An incompetent man who only knows how to steal credit from his subordinates to whitewash his own incompetence?"

"I remember that before this, I clearly told you all that if we were to lose this battle, it would be my responsibility alone, but if we succeed, I would share this glory with you all, and with all the soldiers in the unit!"

"Do you all take this statement lightly?"

"Oh!"

John slammed his fist on the solid wooden table in front of him, instantly punching a hole in it. Before anyone could react, he picked up the stack of documents ostensibly military intelligence reports—which were actually attempts to curry favor with him by offering up merits—and threw them into the air.

"Snapped!"

As he snapped his fingers, the next second, to everyone's astonishment, the numerous documents flying through the air suddenly burst into flames at their base and were quickly burned to ashes.

As if in submission to the Lord of Ashes who wields fire, they drifted gracefully to the ground.

And under John's exquisite control of his power, the word 'veto' was formed on the ground in Imperial language.

Everyone who noticed this scene instinctively widened their eyes.

Even Roderick, a super-powerful being in the audience, couldn't help but look at John with unprecedented seriousness after witnessing this scene.

John's level of manipulation is certainly something he, as a super-ranked mage, can achieve.

But it is far from being able to achieve such a nonchalant attitude from the other party.

Moreover, he was able to do this because he possessed the area control ability inherent in a super-rank mage.

On the other hand, John, who is not even a high-ranking mage, is able to reach this level simply by relying on his calculation ability and control over magic.

If you give the other party enough time to grow, coupled with their unparalleled wisdom and decisiveness, the implications are self-evident.

'John Maslow is far more complex than the current intelligence suggests!'

Roderick murmured to himself, then, as if sensing something, he instinctively turned his head to look in the direction the gaze was coming from, only to meet the eyes of Major General Edgar, who also wore an incredulous expression.

Both were startled for a moment, then nodded to each other in tacit agreement, and then returned to their composure.

Immediately, John's calm yet inexplicably admirable voice rang out again from the meeting room:

"Regardless of the rules of your previous armies, in my case, glory and merit must belong to those who truly give. This is my rule, John Maslow's rule!"

"Whether you act out of good intentions or selfish motives, I absolutely cannot condone such fraudulent behavior regarding merits!"

"Therefore, I will not accept this false report. Everyone here, go back and rewrite it immediately!"

"If next time you submit intelligence that is written against your conscience in order to embellish your superiors, then you don't need to attend the military conferences I organize anymore."

"Do you understand?!"

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing this statement, everyone responded sincerely.

Although 90 percent of the officers present were of higher rank than John, none of them felt uncomfortable about it.

It was as if they were facing not a major, but a true marshal who was fair in rewarding and punishing, and who could lead the entire army group.

"Very good. As true soldiers of the Empire, your convictions are very gratifying. I hope you can continue to maintain them and persevere to the end."

Seeing the fervent gazes fixed on him, and realizing he had done his job well in terms of reward and punishment and that no one would complain, John stopped his bureaucratic jargon and nodded to Hawke, whose eyes were practically filled with adoration.
"Now, Sergeant Hawke, you can proceed with the next phase of the intelligence briefing."

"Yes, Commander!"

……

After John finished distributing the rewards and punishments, the subsequent meeting did not last long, ending completely within two hours.

Besides reporting on the numerous security problems in the cities of the occupied Faoken areas, the current consumption of military supplies, and the treatment of the wounded, the report focused more on the handling of the corpses of both enemy and friendly soldiers.

Regarding the security issue, due to the current shortage of manpower, although John wants to restore the stability of the local residents' lives as soon as possible, he has to put it aside for the time being, considering the possibility of enemy warships attacking at any time.

Regarding the issue of supplies, John arranged for the Independent 3rd Division Guard, currently led by Siegfried, to cooperate with his own logistics forces in carrying out long-distance transport operations to move the remaining large amount of military supplies from Mad Fang City to Stargazing City in preparation for the subsequent naval battle.

As for the issue of the wounded, before John could even make any arrangements, Cambert, as the head of the medical unit, immediately expressed his opinion, stating that he had already dispatched his troops to Mad Fang City and other medical sites to provide treatment assistance. If all went well, relying on the large amount of medical resources left behind by Lieutenant General Dolan, they should be able to pull all 9800 wounded soldiers from the three units back from the brink of death.

However, considering that 73% of these wounded personnel are seriously injured, even if they complete treatment, they will not be able to return to the battlefield due to their disabilities and will have to be discharged after the battle, which is somewhat regrettable.

As for the final disposal of the bodies, after much deliberation, John decided to arrange for some logistics personnel to handle the collection and identification of the bodies, as well as to carry out cremation and record the identities.

This was to prepare in advance for the distribution of compensation after the war ended.

After the military meeting concluded, it was already noon.

Just as John was feeling dizzy from the overwhelming amount of information in his mind, he was about to call Martha and have her contact Marshal Bob, who was currently on standby in Crescent Strait, to inquire about the current status of the Third Navy and whether the patrol ships deployed on the perimeter had detected any traces of the enemy.

The next second, accompanied by footsteps, Mia walked in with a delighted expression, much to his surprise, and then said the news that made him completely stunned:

"Reporting to the commander, just five minutes ago, our army received a message from the Imperial Military Affairs Department. In view of the tense situation in Faoken, the Empire has officially dispatched a total of 70,000 reinforcements to our army, namely 60,000 ground troops from the First Legion of the Rhine Military District and 10,000 magic soldiers from the First Air Force Army!"

"And they will all arrive in Mad Fang City within two days. The Ministry of Military Affairs has instructed our army to make immediate preparations for the rendezvous."

……

(End of this chapter)