After Roxy's flanking assault tactic was broken by John's advance preparations, forcing her to withdraw at the cost of sacrificing Orian's Unique Formula circuits, the battle in the Chokehold Peak region—where both sides had already revealed all their trump cards—was forced into a grinding war of attrition after Roxy's plan for a swift victory failed. Having seemingly learned from her defeat, Roxy no longer insisted on smashing the Imperial Army head-on after returning. Instead, she redeployed the front, pulling part of her forces from the frontal battlefield and extending them toward the flanks, intending to use the Allied Forces' numerical advantage to encircle and annihilate the Imperial Army.
However, John's Mage Soldiers remained airborne at an altitude of over a thousand meters, using the Magic Eye to provide real-time enemy intelligence. Having inferred Roxy's intentions, John further dispersed his forces and used the limestone peaks to block lines of sight, engaging the Allied Forces in mountain warfare and guerrilla tactics.
He also continuously sent out two elite teams led by Roderick and Kambert to strike the enemy's Magecraft Technology units. Though Roxy had anticipated this form of strategic attack as well and deployed elite forces to intercept them, the Imperial side still achieved some results after several clashes.
Thus, under the constant probing and clashes of both sides, under the commands of encirclement and counter-encirclement.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
By then, the unceasing torrential rain had stopped three days earlier.
The Chokehold Peak Range, shaped by wind and water erosion and once known for its unique scenery, had lost its former splendor beneath the bombardment and magical attacks of both sides. Most of it had become ruins.
The magical beasts that had once inhabited the region in great numbers had also migrated elsewhere under the