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

Chapter 257 The scorching sun terrifies, solidifying the will to kill; the blazing sun illuminates the night, and heavenly fire rises.
"Did it succeed?"

On the edge of the forest, forty kilometers away from the Sea Cliff, Wendy, standing beside him, delivered the latest battle report from the front lines. She learned that the Blood Howling Legion had already divided its forces as she had anticipated, and that Gromas was leading the main force to attack her as she was 'fleeing'.

John immediately realized that his bait plan had been largely successful.

Next, he only needed to slow down his escape, giving the Bloodhowl Legion a distance where they could see him. Like fishing, he used himself as bait, constantly sending signals to the Bloodhowl Legion that they could completely devour him with just a little effort.

Therefore, upon seeing himself 'escaping severely wounded,' Gromas would undoubtedly choose to pursue him relentlessly, even breaking away from the main force, in an attempt to capture him alive.

And just as he had anticipated, he perished under the bombardment unleashed by Reginald!
"Of course, to achieve this goal, the Dark Assassins must successfully destroy the anti-aircraft devices that the enemy is trying to set up on the sea cliff before the artillery fire arrives. Otherwise, they will only face the fate of dying together with Gromas."

John, whose left shoulder was wrapped in bandages and who exuded a weak aura, was being escorted slowly by the members of Squad 14 driving a jeep. He kept looking back at the jungle behind him through the car window, his gaze somewhat uncertain.

At this moment, John wasn't really confident that his bait plan would succeed.

Unlike the Imperial forces, whom he knew very well, he wasn't entirely confident about the loyalty of the Dark Assassins.

Although, judging from Galil's performance, the fabricated history he made up to lure others into the game seems to have become a fact by accident under the invisible hand of fate.

Even so, he still couldn't be sure if the other party would actually carry out the orders he gave.

"So, in the end, we can only entrust our hope of survival to some vague and uncertain fate?"

This out-of-control situation left John feeling inexplicably helpless.

But as Wendy reported to him, Gromas's Bloodhowl Legion main force was advancing at full speed and was less than five kilometers away from his location.

John had no choice but to suppress his worries and instead instructed Charlie, who was driving the car, to speed up and maintain a safe distance from the enemy.

"Whoosh!"

……

"So, the Imperial forces successfully ambushed the main force of the Bloodhowl Legion and, without losing a single soldier, blew nearly four-fifths of the Bloodhowl Legion's forces into the air? What a joke!"

Inside the command center of the battleship Damister, Reginald looked incredulous as he listened to the latest intelligence from the communications unit he had left behind within the Bloodhowl Legion.

Before he could even ask that idiot named Mortas how he had fallen for the trap set by that imperial brat John Maslow, leading to the Bloodhowl Legion's defeat without a fight, another intelligence report came through the other end of the communication device.

Upon hearing the contents of this information, Reginald's pupils instantly contracted to an extreme degree, and his expression turned extremely ugly:

"Reporting to the Marshal, I can guarantee with my life that the above information is completely true. In addition, perhaps because the ambush consumed too many military supplies, after completing the ambush on the main force of the Blood Howl Legion, the enemy directly led the main force to move rapidly towards the direction of the Sea Cliff."

"Furthermore, according to the reports from the scouts of the Dark Assassins unit who arrived at the Sea Cliff ahead of time, the enemy commander seems to have placed warships in the canyon area at the bottom of the Sea Cliff and deployed corresponding troops around them, so..."

Did John Maslow place warships and deploy defenses at the Sea Cliff?

So, is the other side planning to lead their troops directly onto the warship and completely abandon this battlefield?

The veracity of this intelligence...

"Probably!"

"After all, if I were in the same situation as John Maslow, I would probably make the same decision."

Reginald's eyes flickered as he began to analyze the details in his mind.

Although, according to extensive intelligence reports previously submitted by their own forces, the Empire had successfully wiped out four-fifths of the Bloodhowl Legion's forces.

However, the enemy had already suffered heavy losses in previous battles with their own landing forces, and in order to avoid being hit by their own naval guns, John Maslow had repeatedly issued orders to abandon their positions and move quickly. Under such a rapid march, the enemy would inevitably abandon a large amount of military supplies.

In this massive explosion that annihilated the Bloodhowl Legion's main force, the enemy had clearly used up all their bombs and explosives, which meant that the Imperial forces had very little combat power left.

In addition, after nearly two days of continuous fighting, the enemy's morale, endurance, and even the energy of their commander, John Maslow, should have reached their limits.

Given this absolute disadvantage, if John Maslow continues to lead his troops against the Bloodhowl Legion, then death will likely be the only outcome awaiting them.

Once they realize this, it's normal for the enemy to lead their troops to the Sea Cliff, board warships to withdraw from the battlefield, and attempt to rendezvous with the Third Navy, or re-land from another location and retreat to an Imperial safe outpost for rest and recuperation.

"However, how did he manage to make such a perfect prediction? Just five hours ago, he secretly sent the warships stationed in Crescent Strait to the eastern coast, intending to join forces with the Blood Howl Legion to complete the final encirclement of the Imperial Army."

"Furthermore, to ensure that the intelligence was not leaked, he abandoned the communication device and specially dispatched soldiers to deliver the message by speedboat."

"Yet the intelligence transmitted through such primitive means was detected by the enemy. Moreover, the enemy, with a preemptive approach, managed to find a way out for the doomed Imperial Army, dozens of steps ahead of them in this seemingly hopeless situation?"

This is absolutely outrageous!
So, is it true that the other party possesses the legendary ability of prophets and apostles to predict the future?
Otherwise, how can all of this be explained?
It can't all be a coincidence, can it?

"Crack!"

Realizing he was about to watch John Maslow lead his troops to successfully escape a deadly situation, even Reginald couldn't help but clench his teeth, his aged face turning ashen.

At this moment, of the 63 warships he led, 20 were located in the artificial seaway north of Crescent Island, 23 heavy firepower warships led by the Damister were evenly distributed in the artificial seaway in the west to prevent enemy forces from crossing the battlefield by ship, and 15 of the remaining 20 warships were placed in the eastern Aiken waters.

The last five dreadnoughts used for the patrol were all redeployed to the east five hours earlier after learning that the Imperial Army was about to clash with the Bloodhowl Legion advancing south, in an attempt to coordinate with the landing forces to encircle and annihilate the enemy.

Today, the closest warship to the location of the sea cliff is nearly 200 kilometers away.

At this distance, even if he immediately gave the order to turn the ship, by the time the warship reached a range where it could fire its cannons, the Imperial soldiers would probably have already boarded the warship and escaped from their encirclement.

So, am I just supposed to watch them escape like this?
"..."

Reginald's expression shifted repeatedly. Then, as if he had made a decision, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he gave the order to his 'own troops' on the other end of the communication device: "Soldier, I am issuing you the latest instructions as the Marshal of the Blazing Sun Fleet."

"In the next two hours, the 103rd Company must report the movements of the Imperial Army to me in real time. Once the enemy arrives at the Sea Cliff, you must report to me immediately."

"There must be no mistakes, understand?"

"Yes, Marshal!"

"very good!"

"Beep, beep!"

After issuing the order to monitor the Imperial Army's movements in real time, Reginald immediately hung up the communication and walked out of the command room.

He then stepped to the main gun control panel, interrupted his domain, and sat down on the special steel chair that was specially made to facilitate the infusion of his blazing sun power. Without hesitation, he poured the power within his body into the connecting pipe.

A pair of eyes, seemingly transformed into the sun, peered through the scope in front of him, displaying a wealth of data. Combined with the map, he continuously ordered the soldiers to make fine adjustments to the gun barrels based on the location of the artillery fire.

But his eyes grew colder and crueler as the cannon muzzle was constantly adjusted.

Realizing that the brat named John Maslow was about to escape, he made an unprecedentedly crazy decision.

That is, by pouring all his power into the Grand Rank, he would launch an unprecedented and devastating bombardment on the Sea Cliff.

The Imperial army that tried to escape, even the Bloodhowl Legion, and even Gromas were all wiped out here!

The reason why the frontline communications company was not ordered to inform Gromas about the shelling was because Reginald believed that the Bloodhowl Legion would retreat or exhibit strange behavior after learning about the shelling.

John Maslow would notice and realize something was wrong, thus using a precognitive technique that he himself couldn't confirm to predict the future when he might launch an attack.

This will lead to the development of a completely new evacuation route.

Therefore, in order to ensure that this bombardment would annihilate this monster that should not exist in the world.

Reginald then planned to use artillery fire on friendly forces to deliver the final blow to John Maslow.

In this way, even if the opponent's precognitive spell successfully predicted the impending bombardment, they would have no way to escape the deadly bombardment under the pursuit of the unsuspecting Bloodhowl Legion.

Instead, they could only lead the imperial forces in vain and despair, step by step toward their doom.

"Although I will certainly be tried after the war because of this bombardment, and may even be removed from my position as Marshal of the Blazing Sun Fleet."

"But as long as I can kill John Maslow, as long as I can kill this Imperial commander who almost completely overwhelms Roxie Sancaster in terms of both danger and growth, then everything I've done will be worthwhile!"

Therefore, let alone bearing the responsibility of accidentally injuring friendly forces, what harm would it do to bombard the capital of Saga Kingdom?
A fierce madness flashed in Reginald's eyes.

An hour later, through the communication device in his ear, he heard the report from his own communications unit that the Imperial Army had arrived at the Sea Cliff and was beginning to land.

At that moment, Reginald pushed the magic stone wrench in his hand without hesitation.

Inside the main cannon, the shell, already brimming with the power of the blazing sun and almost transforming into a miniature sun, was launched with a roar like that of a giant dragon towards the distant sea cliff 'filled' with enemy troops!
"Oh!"

With the dull thud of the main guns firing, the sea beneath the Damister was instantly shattered, creating countless terrifying waves.

Then, an intensely hot flame, carrying a terrifying pressure, suddenly shot out from the massive main cannon.

Like a newly risen sun, it tore through the silent night in an instant and climbed rapidly into the night sky at an astonishing speed, its flames and light illuminating almost half of Faoken Bay.

Even though it was still night, the light gave people the strange illusion that it was already noon.

Then, under Reginald's gaze, filled with killing intent and excitement, this epic projectile, which had gathered the full power of a Grand-rank expert, took on an arc trajectory after reaching its highest point, under the influence of gravity and the astonishing power of calculation.

It plummeted precisely and even faster towards the location below, known as the Sea Cliff.

Like a terrifying meteorite from outer space, its imposing aura caused everyone below to feel an unprecedented sense of despair the moment they gazed upon its form!
This is an attack that can be described as a catastrophe!
Don't underestimate John Maslow just because he's a minor mid-level mage.

Even if the opponent is a Grand-rank powerhouse like Gromas, or even a Grand-rank with powerful regenerative abilities.

Faced with this terrifying cannonball infused with the power of a Grand Rank, only death awaits the opponent!

"Checkmate is about to die!"

"This was a devastating bombardment launched at the cost of killing friendly forces' Grand-level experts, instantly killing nearly ten thousand friendly forces, and even at the cost of losing his own marshal position."

"John Maslow, at this moment, you have absolutely no chance of survival."

"And what extraordinary foresight and wisdom lies behind my successful killing of you? Even if no one understands it now, history books and future generations will surely prove it to me in the future."

"And I will never regret the choice I made today!"

On the deck of the battleship Damister, he watched as the projectile, which he had calculated to hit its target, exploded into a towering column of fire that could be clearly seen even from 300 kilometers away.

At this moment, Reginald, who believed the outcome was already decided, couldn't help but reveal a smug smile.

He understood that, thanks to his wise decision, the war would ultimately end in an Allied victory.

……

(End of this chapter)