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

Chapter 259: A Test to Deceive the enemy into surrendering; the bombardment of the Red Tide ends in certain death.

"Wow!"

The surging waves crashed against the stone wall, making a series of dull sounds.

Two figures, facing each other 800 meters apart atop the cliff, were locked in an eerie silence. Neither spoke first, but their gazes remained fixed on the other.

Once they perceive the desired fluctuations through each other's expressions, they will act without hesitation according to their plans.

"Now that I am completely desperate, Marshal Gromas, you don't intend to capture me yourself?"

Gromas stood motionless, seemingly unmoved by any attempts to tempt him.

Knowing his empty city ploy had worked, John's lips curled into a subtle, enigmatic smile, before he deliberately scoffed:
"Could it be that the renowned Crimson Tide Core is so cowardly as to lack the courage to fight me, a mid-level mage?"

"So Gromas Shattertooth Bloodwolf, who claims to be the strongest warrior of the Bloodwolf tribe, is actually such a spineless coward with nothing to his name. To be honest, I'm starting to feel a little disappointed with this meeting."

“John Maslow, I think it’s best to stop using this useless tactic of provocation.”

"After all, we both know very well that I would never step into the trap you set at the Sea Cliff at the cost of your own life, would I?"

Gromas paid no attention to John's taunts, and instead sneered as he exposed John's 'scheme'.

Then, while tightening the reins to stop the restless Moon Devourer from taking any steps, he stared coldly at the sinister human ahead and unhesitatingly exposed the other's 'purpose':
"If I'm not mistaken, you just want to use yourself as bait to lure me and the Blood Howl Legion to the Sea Cliff, then use a trap to try to kill me, and then remotely command the Imperial forces that seem to have mutinied but are actually still under your control."

"Should we launch a forced march to reinforce them, and then use the advantage of this surprise attack from the rear to try and annihilate the Bloodhowl Legion?"

"But unfortunately, you underestimated my patience, while overestimating your understanding of me."

"As long as I stay outside the safety line, your traps will be ineffective, and your attempt to use traps to kill me and leave the Bloodhowl Legion leaderless will be thwarted."

"Moreover, I have already arranged for Niels to lead two thousand troops to pursue and harass the Imperial army. Under Niels's command, the Imperial troops will definitely not have time to come back to defend and support you in the short term."

"In other words, all your plans have now been seen through and thwarted by me, John Maslow. How can you possibly fight me like this? What do you have to fight me with?"

Gromas coldly revealed the 'truth,' and before John could offer any excuses after being 'exposed,' he changed his tone and began to persuade him to surrender:

"So, if you're really smart enough, then obediently order your fifteen mage soldiers who are lying in ambush to give up resistance, tie their hands, and come before me."

"In the name of the current patriarch of the Blood Wolf Clan and the holder of the title of Core of the Crimson Tide, as long as you surrender obediently, I can put in a good word for you before the Great King and try to make you the commander of the Saga Kingdom's specially invited legion."

"After all, compared to serving a corrupt empire and being abandoned by those conservatives who discard you as a pawn in factional strife, joining our Saga Kingdom and receiving glory commensurate with your own talents is a better choice, isn't it?"

"Such a thing that any intelligent person could figure out, you, who are one in a million even among intelligent people, shouldn't be unable to understand, right, Mr. John Maslow?"

"...I must say, Marshal Gromas, your invitation was indeed a very tempting offer. Even I would find it hard not to be tempted."

"Since you're interested, why don't you hurry up and do it..."

"But, I refuse!"

"!"

Meeting Gromas's astonished gaze, John slowly revealed a calm smile:

“My favorite thing to do, John Maslow, is to say no to those who think they know everything!”

"...utterly foolish!"

Hearing John's arrogant and willful remarks, even Gromas couldn't help but laugh in anger.

He truly didn't expect that his well-intentioned invitation would be rejected by the other party for such a hasty reason.

This was practically a humiliation and a brutal trampling of his dignity. He, who had initially held some appreciative feelings towards this genius commander of the empire, immediately abandoned all such thoughts and was replaced by a strong killing intent.

Gromas believed that since the other party was so tactless, there was no need for him to waste any more time with them.

Just wait a few more minutes, and your deputy will bring news that the magical facilities have been laid out and fully deployed.

He would then order his army to clear the 'trap' ahead for him, and through this act of eliminating potential danger at the cost of flesh and blood, he would forcibly kill John Maslow at the Sea Cliff!

Although killing someone brings fewer merits than capturing them alive.

But if we can annihilate them here, that should be enough...

Just as Gromas was pondering how many of his people he would have to sacrifice to kill John Maslow, and how much reward this feat would bring him,

"Tattoo!"

The next second, accompanied by a series of hurried footsteps, he was surprised to find that his second-in-command was riding his mount and galloping towards him.

However, contrary to his expectations, the other party's face was filled with an ugly expression.

It was as if his originally foolproof plan had encountered an unexpected turn of events.

Wait, could it be that...

The next second, as if to confirm Gromas's conjecture, his deputy immediately uttered a piece of information that made Gromas's vision go black:

"Reporting to the Marshal, our elite troops, who were dispatched in advance to deploy anti-aircraft and anti-magic devices, have not arrived at the Sea Cliff. The anti-aircraft and anti-magic devices have not been deployed, and the Allied communications unit seems to have disappeared at some unknown time!"

"what?!"

Upon hearing this answer, Gromas immediately lost his composure, practically wanting to grab his deputy and demand an explanation. But then, as if struck by a sudden thought, Gromas's pupils constricted as he looked at John, who was 'sneering' in the distance.

Seeing the opponent's confident expression, he immediately understood that his order to send elite troops to lay down magical devices in advance had been seen through and successfully thwarted by means he was unaware of.

So, the other side had already prepared a backup plan for their withdrawal?
Is that why he can always maintain such a calm demeanor?
Those damn imperial dogs!
Upon realizing this, Gromas was nearly driven mad with rage.

He desperately wanted to ride the Moon Devourer to break through the distance and cleave the human in front of him into four pieces with a single claw.

But soon, recalling another piece of information his deputy had mentioned, he couldn't help but pause in surprise:
"I can understand John Maslow taking down the elite troops who set up the magical facilities, but why would they go to the trouble of taking down the Allied communications unit?"

"Those humans are completely useless except for reporting the battle situation to the Blazing Sun Fleet!"

"Why would they still..."

Wait, report on the battle situation?
And it's the Xiang Lieyang Fleet?
If I remember correctly, according to the Kingdom's Grand Rank intelligence and military intelligence records, the main guns of the battlecruiser Reginald's ship, the Damister, after being enhanced with Grand Rank power, seemed to have a terrifying range of nearly 400 kilometers!
If John Maslow succeeds in taking down that communications unit and sending fabricated intelligence to Reginald, wouldn't that mean...?

"not good!!!"

Gromas felt a chill run down his spine after realizing what the real trap John had set up was.

He immediately wanted to have his deputy relay the order to evacuate quickly.

However, the next second, a dazzling ray of light suddenly burst forth from the northwest, and a sphere of light appeared, illuminating almost the entire Faoken Bay, just like the midday sun.

Gromar immediately realized that it was too late to evacuate.

He immediately turned his ferocious gaze to John, who was 800 meters away, and without hesitation, he vigorously urged the Moon Devourer beneath him, intending to completely kill this extremely cunning and treacherous imperial human on the spot before the terrifying cannon hit the ground.

Before he could even act, the moment he saw the light burst forth, John, who was already prepared, activated the magic pack on his back. He poured all his magic power into it with almost all his might, ignoring the strain on his body, and sped towards the sky in a near-mad rush.

"Whoosh!"

With a piercing whistling sound, in an instant, under Gromas's desperate and venomous gaze, John transformed into a blue arrow shot from a bow.

It rose rapidly above the clouds with lightning speed, and continues to climb.

John only came to a slow stop when he reached an altitude of 5,000 meters.

Immediately from this height, which was completely invisible to the naked eye, he slowly activated his demonic eye and looked down at Gromas, who was driving the Moon Devourer and constantly roaring angrily, urging the Blood Howling Legion to quickly move away from the Sea Cliff.

He then subconsciously glanced at the giant shell falling two hundred meters away from him, feeling the terrifying power carried by the approaching shell, which made him marvel.

Like a messenger sent by the Grim Reaper, he strolled leisurely through the clouds, his magic bag activating with ease, while silently calculating in his mind when the cannonball, containing the full power of a Grand-rank expert's attack, would finally unleash its power.

And just a second before it was about to erupt, it slowly snapped its fingers above the clouds.

"Snapped!"

As John snapped his fingers, the next second, as if a terrifying bomb had been ignited, dazzling aurora burst forth from the ground.

The world seemed to freeze in that instant. Pure light and heat began to spread outward rapidly like silk. The brilliance of the light was so dazzling that even John, who was already five thousand meters in the air, had to withdraw his magic eye spell to avoid having his eyes burned by the terrifying light.

After a brief flash of intense light, a terrifying explosion that would make even a Grand-rank expert feel despair was followed by massive bands of flame that expanded rapidly outwards, much like the bursting of solar prominences.

Almost instantly, white flames engulfed the Bloodhowl Legion soldiers who hadn't even had time to react to what was happening, and before they could even let out a scream, they were instantly burned to ashes.

Then, amidst the crumbling earth and the roars that sounded like the fury of Thor,...

The white flames rushed forward at a desperate speed, quickly reaching Gromas, who was now three kilometers away.

And with no decrease in speed, it pressed down on him amidst the other's despairing gaze!

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!!"

Seeing the terrifying attack so close at hand, Gromas went almost mad and unleashed his domain with all his might, attempting to counter the naval bombardment that terrified him as well.

However, to his despair, under the destructive attack unleashed by Reginald's hour-long power-building infusion, coupled with the most powerful naval cannons currently in use by the Kingdom of Victoria, the situation became dire.

Even though they were both Grand-rank beings, the Grand-rank domain that he had temporarily unleashed, which he had always been proud of, couldn't even last two seconds before it shattered completely under his bloodshot gaze!

"Crack!"

As the domain shattered like paper under this terrifying attack, he could hear the violent screams of his mount as its body burned uncontrollably.

At that moment, realizing his utter demise, Gromas roared to the sky, his face filled with despair and resentment, attempting to curse that despicable and utterly dishonorable human in the most vicious way before he died:
“John Maslow! You…”

However, before he could utter all the curses in his heart, the scorching solar prominences instantly burned his body into charcoal, silencing him abruptly.

Then, as the blood core continued to repair itself and the external flames continued to burn it, Gromas's body began to convulse in the flames due to the excruciating pain.

Then, with this terrifying bombardment, the spherical destructive force that was constantly expanding outward from within arrived at his side. In the next instant, Gromas's body was completely engulfed and shattered.

Finally, amidst the towering flames, they vanished from the world along with the main force of the Blood Howling Legion!

It also reveals that the newly promoted crown-level powerhouse of the Blood Wolf Tribe, known as the Crimson Tide Core, perished along with seven thousand main force members of the Blood Howling Legion at the Sea Cliff!

"Boom!"

……

(End of this chapter)