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

Chapter 250 An Unprecedented Dilemma, A Fight for Life
"So, apart from a dilapidated dock, the enemy didn't even have a single soldier stationed on this front?"

Inside the battleship Damister, Reginald frowned slightly as he listened to the reports from his own reconnaissance ships, his eyes filled with doubt and confusion.

Although he had anticipated that John Maslow would not be able to deploy many troops on this easy-to-attack but difficult-to-defend front after ordering the advance to Black Rock Beach.

But what he never expected was that the other side really didn't send out a single scout.

Could it be that the other side has completely abandoned this front?
Or perhaps the other party set up a special trap in a way that was beyond my imagination?

Reginald kept speculating about various possibilities in his mind, but after only ten minutes, he decided to stick to the original plan.

As he had said before, no matter what kind of traps the enemy had set up, they would be destroyed once our warships used their cannons to bombard the area.

Once our own army successfully landed at Black Rock Beach, and coordinated with the Blood Howling Legion which had already launched a flanking attack, we could then proceed.

At that time, even if John Maslow possessed godlike wisdom, in the face of such an absolute dead end, there would be absolutely no way he could lead the Imperial forces to escape from this artificial island!

"On my command, all naval guns prepare to load and fire, and launch a barrage of artillery fire on everything within a five-kilometer radius of Black Rock Beach!"

"Yes, Marshal!"

"Boom boom boom!"

A large number of shells tore through the dense rain curtain and then fell to the ground.

The muffled roars and dazzling flashes of fire continued to erupt and fly across the Black Stone Beach battle line.

As time passed, the naval bombardment from the sea finally ceased after a full hour.

Under the relentless bombardment of the Blazing Sun Fleet, the Black Stone Beach battle line had long since lost its original appearance, transforming from a rocky beach covered with rubble into a land riddled with pits.

The only relatively modern dock landscape on the ground was now completely reduced to ruins by the warships' shelling. Large amounts of broken wooden planks floated on the nearshore sea, and the smoke in the air was covered by a dense curtain of rain before it could rise.

But soon, this curtain of rain was torn apart by a series of ghostly transport boats, and after arriving at the shattered Black Stone Beach front, pairs of black leather boots stepped onto the muddy ground for the first time, and under the command of their respective officers, they moved forward with their weapons in hand.

Upon reaching the central area, the Allied soldiers in the front ranks were horrified to find that their bodies were inexplicably sinking rapidly to the ground, and that a large number of magical cannons were inexplicably appearing in the air.

As artillery shells bombarded the Allied landing forces who had no time to react, a massive explosion occurred at the center.

The landing and blocking battle was launched at this moment!
"Boom!"

……

"Reporting to the commander, the No. 1 battle line at Black Rock Beach has completed its artillery bombardment of the enemy forces that landed at Black Rock Beach and is now retreating in an orderly manner to the No. 2 battle line at Black Rock Beach!"

……

"The enemy forces have crossed the Black Stone Beach front using their engineering corps magic and reached our pre-set minefield. However, after stepping on a booby trap and causing an explosion, the enemy forces have stopped advancing and are now using their engineering corps to dismantle our traps."

……

"Colonel Cambert has, as you instructed, remotely launched the Plague Spell Monster via the magic cannon and initiated the poison explosion, achieving the intended kill."

……

"Colonel Roderick's Raider landing force encountered an enemy special operations regiment on the eastern flank of Front 2 and is currently engaged in combat with enemy super-rank mages. Due to the significant disparity in troop strength, the situation is not optimistic. As per your instructions, the 1st Division's Magic Artillery Regiment has been mobilized nearby to provide long-range artillery support."

……

"Major General Edgar's 2nd Division encountered the enemy's Hellfire Suicide Puppet Legion on the western flank. Lieutenant Marda has completed a wide-range telepathic communication as you instructed and successfully destroyed the enemy's suicide weapons. However, they were attacked by the enemy's super-level mage's wind magic attack. Two companies of the 2nd Division have been wiped out and have been ordered to withdraw to the mangrove front as you instructed."

……

"The Independent 3rd Regiment encountered the enemy's Shipbreaker Special Operations Regiment head-on. After two hours of fierce fighting, it suffered heavy losses and is rapidly withdrawing!"

……

"The enemy has broken through the final defense line at Black Stone Beach and is pursuing our retreating troops. They will reach the edge of the mangrove forest front in ten minutes!"

……

In the continuous fierce battles, he constantly predicted the location of the Sunfire Fleet's bombardment and ordered his own troops to complete the withdrawal in advance. At the same time, he issued a series of orders to each unit to either attack or defend to the death.

In the blink of an eye, 25 hours have passed, and it is now 1 a.m. of the next day.

Behind the mangrove front, in the temporary headquarters, John, who hadn't slept for 40 hours and whose eyes were bloodshot, listened to Wendy's battle report. After downing a cup of magic stimulant, he rubbed his throbbing temples and kept scanning the map in front of him.

Although he maintained his usual calm and composed expression, he was well aware of the weakness emanating from his body and the inexplicable dizziness in his brain due to overuse.

All of this indicated to him that the defense of the mangrove front probably could not, as he had anticipated, successfully delay the enemy for 18 hours under his tactical command.

In addition, the latest report from the magical reconnaissance force indicates that after completing the landing on the Black Rock Beach front, Reginald had divided the fleet half an hour ago and dispatched heavily armed warships, including the battlecruiser Damister, into the artificial waterway they had created.

Even though he forced himself to continue micro-managing his own army, he managed to delay the enemy on the mangrove front for a full 18 hours as planned.

By then, the entire artificial waterway would probably have already been completely occupied by the enemy fleet.

This would put our side in a situation where we are constantly under enemy artillery fire and have no means of defense.

What this situation means is self-evident.

And, most importantly, John has yet to see the Bloodhowl Legion on the front lines!

According to intelligence, all the landing forces at the front line appear to be from the Shipbreaker landing operations force within the Blazing Sun Fleet.

As for Galil, whether due to some unexpected situation or some restriction on the use of the Messenger Bugs, he had not received any intelligence from the other side in the past 25 hours.

This was undoubtedly the worst news for John.

After all, the landing operation with the Blazing Sun Legion had already exhausted him to this extent. If the Blood Howling Legion were to launch a surprise attack on him from a specific location, undetected by his own magic soldiers, then defeat would likely be the only outcome awaiting him!

"This is truly an unprecedented predicament..."

John murmured bitterly to himself, but he quickly put that unease aside, took a deep breath, and refocused his attention on the mangrove front.

After pondering for a moment, he said hoarsely to Wendy beside him:

"How many missile shells does our army have left?"

"According to Lieutenant Lünebo's previous calculations, we currently have 5200 basic magic cannon shells left, and only 141 high-energy magic cannon shells left. In addition, our reserves of firearms and ammunition are almost exhausted. The Raiders' land and sea combat forces even had to resort to hand-to-hand combat three hours ago due to insufficient supplies."

"Colonel Roderick stated that if the Raiders' combat effectiveness could not be provided with special ammunition, it would drop by about 30%, and the casualty rate would increase further. Therefore, he hoped that the command could provide them with some ammunition support."

"In addition, due to the large number of wounded, our medical units' emergency rescue work has been overwhelmed. Colonel Cambert proposed that the logistics units transfer the wounded to the Cangyuan Ancient Forest in the east, which was once submerged by the tsunami and whose waters have now receded."

"The reason is that although many ancient trees have been broken by the sea, their roots still survive. If the wounded are placed in the root system, the concealment effect of the anti-magic factor can shield them from the enemy's perception, thus maximizing the survival rate of our wounded in this battle."

Wendy silently told John about the situation, then looked at John's pale face with worry and heartache in her eyes.

"I see."

Upon hearing this answer, John did not question the supply, after all, he had issued several orders to abandon supplies and evacuate quickly on the Black Rock Beach front.

Although these orders were ultimately proven accurate by enemy naval gunfire, their own supplies were destroyed in the bombardment. Therefore, he had already prepared for resource shortages before even asking this question.

That being said, John truly did not expect the situation to have deteriorated to this extent.

Not only are artillery shells running low, but even the medical units are already overwhelmed.

Add to that the Blood Howl Legion, whose whereabouts are unknown, and it seems that our side no longer has the qualifications to continue fighting the enemy on this battlefield.

So, should I abandon the mangrove bait line and the illusion line, lead my troops on a forced march to the north, and try to use my pre-arranged demolition company in an area called the 'Gray Rock Belt' to control the blasting depth, so that Martha can easily complete the evacuation at the final location of the underground tunnel?

Just as John was considering whether to abandon the delaying strategy and lead his troops north to retreat.

Suddenly, as if receiving a special message, Wendy's expression changed drastically while maintaining a long-distance telepathic connection. She then uttered information that made John's heart tighten:

"Reporting to the commander, just now, our forces received the latest intelligence from Major Galil."

"The Bloodhowl Legion has arrived in the northern part of Stargazing City ahead of schedule by warship and has completed its landing in the Bone Forest Swamp area. It is currently heading south from Stargazing City and is rushing towards the battlefield where our army is located at full speed."

"Because Gromas deployed Bloodtide Domain to support the Legion's advance at full speed, the spatial transmission effect of the Messenger Bugs was limited under the Grand Domain, resulting in extremely severe delays in intelligence transmission."

"Therefore, although the intelligence message appears to have been sent just now, it actually came from 15 hours ago. And considering the Bloodhowl Legion's marching speed, if they were to march at full speed, then according to Lieutenant Lünebo's final calculations..."

By the end, Wendy's voice was even trembling, but meeting John's calm gaze, she forced back her panic and uttered the answer:
"I'm afraid that the Blood Howl Legion will arrive at our current mangrove combat zone in five hours and completely surround and annihilate us with their numerical superiority!"

"..."

Upon hearing this answer, John fell silent.

But he said nothing. Under Wendy's uneasy gaze, he slowly lit a cigarette, but did not put it to his lips, letting it burn slowly.

He calmly looked at the map in front of him, even without the real-time map provided by Marda or the data assistance from Lunepo.

With his analytical techniques running at full power, John was still able to clearly depict on the map the scene of his forces being surrounded by the enemy in a few hours.

With insufficient ammunition, inadequate supplies, and insufficient manpower, their strategies were constrained by the environment, their energy was almost completely exhausted, their top combat power was far behind that of the enemy, and they had no neutral resources to rely on or utilize.

Everything seemed to be proving to him that his side was completely trapped in a desperate situation.

So, I'm going to lose?
As a player who considers himself a military genius, I, John Maslow, have won countless victories in this game, despite not being the main character, yet far surpassing them.

Is he going to end his career here?

Are we to stop here on the battlefield?

To have one's brilliance extinguished by the machinations of those despicable and shameless nobles?

This is absurd, ridiculous, damn, bastard, and utterly imperfect outcome!
How could I allow it? How could I agree to it?!

"Oh!"

John slammed his fist on the command table in front of him with a ferocious expression. The cigarette in his hand was completely shattered into ashes that were indistinguishable to the naked eye by the terrifying power emanating from his body.

"!"

Before Wendy could recover from this astonishing scene, John, who suddenly stood up from his chair, exuded an aura that made even Wendy, a high-ranking mage, feel inexplicably terrified.

Then, to her incredulous surprise, John gave her an instruction she had never expected:

"Notify the main force to abandon all defenses, immediately regroup, and prepare to march north!"

"Target: Bloodhowl Legion!"

"Get everyone ready to fight to the death!"

"We must win this battle, at all costs!"

"!"

……

(End of this chapter)