You Despicable Villain!

You Despicable Villain!

Success!

That dead fatso really knew what he was doing!

Upon hearing Bolter's words, John instantly understood that he and the other man had reached an understanding. Though the way this guy looked at him was somewhat strange, the thought of soon bidding farewell to the Empire and boarding the Allied Forces' great ship made him pay it little mind.

Even that face and art style of his, so full of things to complain about, suddenly looked especially kind and pleasant in John's eyes.

Thinking of this, John could not help but smile. Under the other man's expectant gaze, he immediately nodded in response:

"Yes, Colonel Bolter. I believe we will have plenty of common ground to discuss."

Although a few minor mishaps had cropped up along the way, overall, it was still acceptable.

The gates of freedom had opened for him!

As long as he took one more step forward, his dream would be within arm's reach!

"Hahaha! Adjutant, go tell the cooks to prepare a proper feast. Today, I'm going to—"

Just as the equally excited Colonel Bolter was about to have his adjutant prepare a banquet so he could have a good talk with John, the colleague who could help him soar to great heights, several surges of magical energy suddenly erupted from the trenches behind them the very next second.

Then, before everyone's astonished eyes, over a hundred dazzling blue lights surfaced from the Allied Forces' trenches almost simultaneously.

As if some terrifying bomb had been ignited, those bizarre blue lights expanded and spread in every direction beneath everyone's frozen stares, like fireworks rising into the night.

What followed were deafening explosions powerful enough to leave everyone on the spot permanently deaf!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The earth burst apart, and the ground shook.

The terrifying shockwaves swept outward at breakneck speed, instantly blowing everyone who had failed to react in time flat on their backs.

When John finally recovered from the inexplicable explosions and looked toward the trench ahead again,

he discovered in shock that the "friendly forces'" previously impregnable trenches looked as though they had been struck by a meteor. The once-level camp had already been replaced by countless craters.

Three hundred members of the Black Eagle Special Forces were currently darting across the battlefield, continuously raising their guns and firing at Allied Forces soldiers who had survived the explosions. Like ruthless Grim Reapers, they rapidly harvested the lives of those enemy soldiers whose ears had been deafened by the blasts.

For a time, the entire battlefield was filled with gunfire and the final dying screams of Allied Forces soldiers.

What, what the hell was going on?

How had the Allied Forces' base just exploded when everything had been fine?

And when had that bunch wearing Imperial Army uniforms slipped into the trenches?

John felt as though his head had turned to mush.

He could not understand the situation before him at all. All he could do was stare blankly at the hellish scene ahead.

Yet Bolter was just as stunned by this sudden turn of events.

He climbed up from the ground in a bedraggled state, his tiny bean-sized eyes bulging as he watched the Imperial Army soldiers inside the trenches continuously gun down his own men, listening to the screams ringing in his ears.

At that moment, his heart ached so badly that the fat on both cheeks would not stop trembling.

Then, as though he had understood something, he abruptly turned his head. His eyes locked onto John ahead, who wore an innocent expression, and his face instantly twisted into something incomparably vicious as he roared:

"John Maslow, you fucking dared to play me!?"

?

You dead fatso, why are you slandering me? What the fuck does this have to do with me?!

I fucking want to ask you what the hell is going on too!

John was dumbfounded as well. But looking at Bolter's expression, so vicious it could practically be called art, and at the Imperial soldiers slaughtering the Allied Forces,

he instantly realized that this friendly commander might have misunderstood him. Sweat pouring down his face, he immediately tried to explain:

"Colonel Bolter, you—"

But before John could finish, a hearty laugh suddenly rang out across the field the next second:

"Hahaha! Warrant Officer John, our plan has succeeded. There is no need for you to keep putting on an act with this fellow!"

As the voice fell, Colonel Jett, dressed in a black-and-gold Imperial uniform, instantly emerged from the Phantom Spell Formation and appeared beside John like a ghost.

Looking at the "brilliantly clever" Warrant Officer John before him, his tone brimmed with praise and appreciation:

"I have to say, even I cannot help but marvel at your exquisite plan. It seems the general truly did not misjudge you!"

"..."

No, buddy, who the fuck are you?

And are you even speaking Imperial? Your voice sounds familiar, so why can't I understand a word you're saying?

What plan? I'm here to switch sides, alright?

Since when did I have some other plan?

John stared blankly at the Imperial lackey who had suddenly appeared before him.

At that moment, no matter how slow-witted he was, he realized that his flawless plan to switch sides

had somehow been played for a fool once again by that damned goddess of fate.

He could not help but fall silent.

Yet John's "calm" demeanor, in Colonel Jett's eyes, became the confidence of a man who held every winning card in hand. Jett's appraisal of him rose several notches without him even realizing it.

As expected of a man who could toy with the enemy in the palm of his hand through strategy alone.

He had already grasped victory in his hand, yet he could remain so composed and unhurried.

As if he had foreseen everything long ago.

Such bearing and calm were simply awe-inspiring!

Colonel Jett could not help silently praising him in his heart.

However, once he noticed the gaze directed at him from ahead, he suppressed his thoughts and gently lowered the brim of his cap instead.

His azure eyes looked directly toward Bolter, whose face had turned livid. Under the latter's gloomy stare, a mocking smile slowly spread across Jett's face, as solid as granite:

"Long time no see, Colonel Bolter Master. It has been five years since we last parted. I never expected to cross blades with you again on this front line. It truly brings me some joy!"

"However, compared to the last time Iron Wall Unit ambushed us, this time, offense and defense have changed hands!"

"Jett Slaifute!!!"

Once Bolter recognized the man before him as the person in charge of the Imperial Black Eagle Special Forces, his pupils constricted to their limits, and his expression became uglier than ever before.

At that moment, how could he not understand that he had fallen into an Imperial scheme?

This so-called defection was nothing but a trap!

That bastard named John Maslow had deliberately spouted all that long-winded nonsense before the lines to draw his attention.

That way, he had created enough time for the Black Eagle Special Forces to launch a surprise attack on the trenches.

That was precisely why the Iron Wall Unit under his command had been severely hit by the enemy before they even had the chance to activate their magical equipment!

If that supposed defection had not distracted him, things would never have developed to this extent!

But now, everything was over.

Not only had he failed to complete his mission of wiping out the Black Eagle Special Forces, he would also have to bear responsibility for the breached front line. There was a high chance he would lose the colonel's rank on his shoulders.

And the culprit behind everything he was suffering was that seemingly harmless yet utterly despicable bastard ahead!

John Maslow, you deserve to die!!!

At that thought, Bolter's gaze toward John was instantly filled with unprecedented hatred.

If killing intent had ranks, then his desire to kill John had reached the very highest level:

"John Maslow, you damned despicable villain! You actually used a fake defection to scheme against me!"

The more he thought about it, the more Bolter felt he had been toyed with. Murderous intent surged in his heart, and he immediately barked an order at the soldiers beside him:

"Everyone, open fire at once! Kill that Imperial dog bastard for me! Now!!!"

If I said I really don't know this guy, would you believe me?

I really am a friendly! Why, why won't you believe me, you dead fatso?!

John felt like crying without tears.

But looking at the dark gun barrels aimed at him from ahead, he knew it was already too late to say anything. That dead fatso Bolter had firmly decided that John was playing him.

Thus, ignoring the confusion and indignation in his heart, John immediately activated his Analysis Spell Formation in his eyes, attempting to analyze the trajectories of the bullets ahead while preparing to lie flat on the ground to reduce his target area.

And the direction in which he was about to lie down was right behind that Imperial lackey named Jett Slaifute.

He had clearly decided to use this Imperial dog, who had ruined his grand plan to switch sides, as a human shield.

But before he could move, Colonel Jett gave a cold snort and abruptly raised his right hand, snapping his fingers.

Snap!

As a black magical formation emerged from his fingertips, countless streams of dark magical energy suddenly spread from beneath his feet in every direction, enveloping the two of them in an instant.

At the same time, a circular wall, entirely black and gleaming with a metallic luster, formed around them.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Orange-yellow bullets tore through the air, then struck the wall in unison. Under John's uneasy gaze, they gave off piercing blasts of sound.

Though the wall trembled continuously under the barrage, the bullets that should have pierced their bodies failed to break through it and strike the two men within.

They were all blocked.

Only after the Allied Forces soldiers had emptied the magazines in their guns did Colonel Jett manipulate the formation to split the wall open with a crack. Then he smiled lightly at Bolter, whose face was so gloomy it seemed ready to drip water:

"Bolter, the reputation of the Iron Wall Unit under your command has always thundered across the front lines. Yet seeing you today has truly disappointed me."

Colonel Jett spoke softly, then slowly drew the twin guns at his waist.

Before the enemy could fire again, he lightly squeezed the triggers, shooting bullet after bullet infused with black magical energy forward.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The black bullets passed through the crowd and struck walls one after another. Black magical barriers rapidly spread outward from their impact points, linking together in an instant and extending chains that emitted eerie black mist. With indescribable precision and speed, they shot toward the soldiers behind Bolter.

In only an instant, they slaughtered every ordinary soldier who had not reacted at all.

Having done all that, Colonel Jett merely tossed aside the magical guns in his hands, which had been completely scrapped from overuse, and instead drew the rapier from his waist.

His blade pointed straight ahead at Bolter, who looked somewhat disheveled after dodging the Dark Energy Chains. His tone was calm yet arrogant:

"This makes me wonder whether, even without Warrant Officer John's strategy, your so-called Iron Wall Unit would still have been slaughtered as easily as pigs and dogs by us!"

"After all, without your magical equipment, you have no right to face us head-on, do you?"

"Don't get so fucking smug, Jett Slaifute. Do you really think you've already won?"

Bolter ripped off his tattered military uniform with a savage grin, revealing the blood-red metal armor beneath. At the same time, he stirred the magical energy within his body. Veins gradually bulged across his face, and an oppressive aura began to surge from him.

He clenched the massive metal gauntlets that had somehow covered both hands. His blood-red eyes locked firmly onto the two men ahead, and a bloodthirsty grin slowly appeared on his face:

"I admit that your despicable scheme did indeed cause me considerable damage."

"But surely you don't think that taking out this trench is enough to make us retreat? Have you forgotten that this is Allied Forces territory, not your damned Empire!"

"Our Allied Forces' Anti-Magic Device base is on the hill five kilometers away. What is stationed there is not merely my force of fifteen hundred men, but a true army!"

"The explosions here have already entered the sight of all our friendly forces."

"And I only need to lead my men in holding this place for a few minutes before our allies return to reinforce us."

"When that happens, how will you, with only a small force under your command, deal with the countless soldiers of our Allied Forces?"

"Victory has been in the hands of the Allied Forces from beginning to end."

"Jett Slaifute, from the moment you stepped onto this land, your death was already destined!"

"Today, both you and that bastard named John Maslow will die here! Hahaha!"

As his words fell, Bolter stomped his foot. His entire body shot toward Jett like a cannonball as he swung his fist and smashed it down with vicious force.

"!"

Seeing his old rival attack, Jett's pupils shrank. Yet his body did not pause in the slightest. Instead, he activated his magical energy and raised his sword to meet the blow.

The two instantly became locked in battle. Sparks burst continuously whenever their attacks collided, every move brimming with killing intent as they clearly fought to take each other's lives.

Yet while fighting Bolter, Jett vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

He had already noticed that, in John's "perfect plan," the squad of magical soldiers that should have appeared by now to assist them in completing the surprise attack had yet to show themselves.

According to the plan, 14th Squad should have been helping the Black Eagle Special Forces finish off the enemy.

After routing the enemy, they should have completed their mission and retreated calmly under each other's cover.

But 14th Squad had not appeared as promised.

Could something have happened?

This was a serious problem!

Colonel Jett's heart sank, and he could not help considering whether he should force Bolter back and immediately withdraw with John.

However, just as Bolter laughed loudly and Jett began to consider retreating,

the next second, as if sensing something, Bolter's laughter abruptly stopped. He and Colonel Jett then pulled apart in perfect unspoken understanding and simultaneously looked toward the sky five kilometers behind them.

Almost at the same time, dozens of terrifying auras that made one's scalp go numb suddenly emerged in the distant sky.

Thirty streaks of crimson light, dazzling to the extreme, formed one after another before their eyes, as though a god of destruction were casting his gaze down upon the earth from the heavens.

Even the air became thick and suffocating at that moment.

This was Imperial explosive magic?!

Wait, that direction—wasn't that where our Anti-Magic Device was actually set up?!

How did those bastards find its true location?

"No, no, wait..."

Feeling the terrifyingly powerful magical energy that had finished condensing in the distance, Bolter finally began to panic. His face turned deathly pale as he looked toward the increasingly brilliant red light on the hill behind him, at the dark crimson magic formations growing larger and larger under the magical soldiers' control.

Until those thirty deep crimson rays, regarded as nightmares by countless people, poured from the formations and struck the stronghold below—the Allied Forces' greatest reliance against the Empire—while Colonel Jett's face filled with wild joy and John stared in utter stupor,

Bolter, whose lips had begun trembling at some point, deeply realized at that moment

that he was finished.

"No!!!"

Rumble!

(End of chapter)