They Deserve It!

"That thing was pretty big." Flanking the battlefield with his players, Chu Guang silently judged the blast after seeing that brilliant flash of light. His players, however, weren't quite of the same mind. "That's supposed to be a nuke?" "It's way too small! Didn't it barely cover a few kilometers?" "Are you an idiot? That's a tactical nuke, not a strategic nuclear weapon." "Then why didn't they use one? Wouldn't dropping a strategic one right away be way better?" "Go grab two lumps of mud and pinch one out yourself!" "Quiet." Chu Guang scolded the chattering players, popped open a capsule, tossed it into his mouth, and swallowed before continuing, "Take the capsules I handed out to you earlier." The players were obedient. Even as some muttered that this was "totally unscientific," they complied meekly. The capsules they took were oral anti-radiation drugs. Compared to injections, they took effect a little slower, but the function was the same. As long as one didn't take a direct hit from a nuclear warhead or roll around in the crater, there wouldn't be any major issues. Once they left the radiation zone, taking another anti-radiation pill would completely eliminate what little contamination remained. As for where these pills came from? Victor had given them to him, naturally... Rewind to half an hour earlier. The moment eight o'clock struck, Lu Yang set out on schedule with his marines, marching toward the Legion positions ten kilometers away. Because many players had to log off for dinner or request time off from their real-life jobs, Lu Yang's forces were already engaging the enemy on the front lines by the time Chu Guang arrived at the operational camp with his troops. Seeing Chu Guang appear at the camp gates, Victor wore an expression of sheer astonishment. What surprised him even more was that Chu Guang hadn't come alone. Behind him stood a large crowd of bluecoats wielding an assortment of makeshift weapons. Without Chu Guang even having to speak, Victor could already guess what they intended to do just by looking at the murderous expressions on their faces. "This is too dangerous!" Chu Guang's answer, however, was resolute. "This is our unanimous decision. We cannot sit in the rear while our allies fight on the front lines. A blood debt must be repaid in blood!" Unable to dissuade them, Victor had no choice but to report the situation up the chain of command. As it happened, the front lines were locked in a fierce stalemate. Li De, the Chief of the Logistics Division, deliberated for merely two seconds before approving their request to enter combat. He even supplied Chu Guang and his men with three hundred oral anti-radiation drugs, three hundred anti-radiation pills, and three hundred green glow sticks. The medicine was intended to counter radiation, as they planned to deploy a tactical nuclear warhead onto the battlefield thirty minutes later. The glow sticks, on the other hand, were for friend-or-foe identification. After all, bullets had no eyes. In such chaotic fighting, without clear markers, the probability of being hit by friendly fire was higher than being shot by the enemy. Unfortunately, there were no spare night-vision goggles, or Chu Guang would have seized the opportunity to request some. That nocturnal godsend was not only great for combat, but also unmatched for scavenging through the ruins. Though he didn't secure night-vision gear, Li De had hesitated before gritting his teeth and bringing out the remaining stock of twenty assault rifles fitted with red dot sights and light grips, along with twenty-four hundred rounds of ammunition. On average, each rifle came with four thirty-round magazines. Chu Guang accepted the supplies without hesitation and distributed them among his players. The anti-radiation medication went to everyone, while the rifles went to those with the highest contribution points. For fairness' sake, the weapons were naturally on a timed loan. A total of 210 players received the quest this time, all veterans equipped with VMs. Many had participated in two prior campaigns, possessed considerable "combat experience," and held gene sequence levels of LV4 or higher, with the highest reaching LV8. And so, Chu Guang successfully led the players to the flank of the battlefield. In the distance, the mushroom cloud from the nuclear blast had already been dispersed by the wind and snow. The power armor troops, having torn an opening in the Legion's defensive line, seemed to have been surrounded by incoming fire. Just then, high-altitude drones circling overhead launched two high-explosive shells, which struck eight hundred meters ahead of Chu Guang's group. Flames erupted with a roar, blasting trees and structural ruins to splinters. Billowing clouds of dust surged into the sky, leaving behind two craters several meters in diameter and drawing shouts of awe from the players. "Holy crap! That's insane!" Mosquito's eyes went round with amazement, and the basket of crude grenades on his back suddenly felt thoroughly unappealing. "Now that's what you call art, all right?" Elven King Fugui glanced at him from the side. "Yours is just a firecracker." Mosquito scoffed. "Heh!" "Brother Fugui, your night vision can finally come in handy," Brother Mole said with a grin, cradling an automatic rifle in his arms. "What do you mean? Was it useless before?" "Uh, mostly that it never showed its worth?" In the distance, clone soldiers whose hair and clothing were on fire could no longer scream. They crawled out of the trenches, rolled into the snowdrifts, and ceased breathing. Recognizing that their allies were creating an opening, Chu Guang did not hesitate. Seizing the window of opportunity, he blew the charge whistle. No pre-assault sniper ambush this time? Hearing the whistle sound, the players—who had long been itching for a fight—surged forward as if injected with adrenaline, howling at the top of their lungs. "Charge!!" "Ura!!" "For an unbreakable alliance!" "Avenge Brother Jieyan!" "Demacia!" Watching the players sprint headlong into the fray, a faint smile curved Chu Guang's lips. His right hand brushed against the Type 20 "Needle" Gauss rifle slung over his back, but after a second thought, he felt it wasn't necessary. Letting go, he drew the Nitrogen Power Hammer hanging at his hip instead. Since this was a ruin overgrown with forest, going in a little reckless was fine, wasn't it? Still, to play it safe, he intended to let the players charge first to bait out the enemy's "ultimates," after which he would decide whether to wade in based on how things unfolded. *** Meanwhile, on the main front of the battlefield. The armored spearhead thrusting deep into the Legion's gut was facing encirclement from clone light infantry flanking their rear. These clone infantrymen had dug numerous foxholes and trenches throughout the forest, linking the ruins and moss-covered low concrete walls into a continuous defensive network. Though he had fought countless battles of varying scales, this was Lu Yang's first time clashing with the Legion, and he dared not let his guard down in the slightest. He could sense that the enemy felt the same way. When ten quadcopter drones had plunged into the trenches, the junior officers had clearly been caught off guard. The rocket launchers they had prepared went unused as the machine guns slung beneath the drones chewed through them, dropping them alongside their clone brothers. Even so, the Legion decurions possessed remarkably high combat discipline, far superior to marauders who picked brawls with lead pipes. They swiftly adjusted their tactics, pulling the light infantry equipped with anti-armor weapons back to the second defensive line to reorganize their defenses. It was from that point onward that Lu Yang felt the resistance more than double, visibly stalling their advance. At the same time, large numbers of clone light infantry began outflanking them on both sides, attempting to recapture the positions they had previously lost. If they succeeded, the breached defensive line would turn into a pocket, trapping everyone caught inside. When that happened, let alone heavy infantry in power armor, not even a shielded heavy tank could withstand wave after wave of light infantry armed with rocket launchers and demolition charges. At the end of the day, destruction was always easier than defense. The Pioneer's marines were suffering from a shortage of boots on the ground. Had they been followed by one or two hundred infantry to pack the captured foxholes and protect their rear, they wouldn't have been backed into this corner. Lu Yang's plan was to leverage superiority in firepower, armor, and mobility to punch straight through the enemy lines. With limited personnel, this was the optimal choice. His opponent had evidently realized this as well, decisively abandoning the first defensive line to pull the battle into the second, issuing orders to hold the line at all costs. This was the most densely ruined area of Yumu District, sitting on noticeably elevated ground compared to the surrounding plains. Lu Yang knew well that if they could seize this high ground, he and his comrades could establish a defense based on the terrain, and victory would be well within reach. If they failed to break through, however... It would only be a matter of time before the pocket snapped shut behind them. Coincidentally, the enemy thought the exact same thing. At this stage, it had become a fight to the death. The trenches and foxholes had turned into meat grinders. Bullets and shrapnel whirled like churning blades, and every inch of the line seemed paved with severed limbs. Even armored in steel from head to toe, Lu Yang felt the strain of the relentless onslaught as he swapped out his overheated barrel for the second time. Comrades beside him had already fallen. The battle was locked in an impasse. The enemy seemed resolved to sacrifice more than ninety percent of their effective fighting force, frantically driving the clone light infantry forward. Unable to bear the electric shocks to the napes of their necks and the crushing mental strain, many clones suffered mental breaks and leaped out of the trenches. Some seemed purely bent on suicide, while others charged like madmen clutching cluster grenades, intending to take their enemies down with them. These men were sheer lunatics. Their minds had been thoroughly assimilated by the doctrine of war. Ordinary marauders would have broken the moment the tactical nuke detonated, but not these clones; they would rather be riddled with holes than turn back. As casualties began to mount among his squad, a hint of frenzy crept onto Lu Yang's face. Fortunately, word came from the rear command center just then: two hundred reinforcements from Shelter 404 had arrived on their flank. A look of surprise flashed across Lu Yang's face, quickly followed by the overwhelming relief of pleasant astonishment. Without hesitation, he ordered the drones—which had just finished resupplying and arrived back at the front lines—to drop the two newly loaded high-explosive bombs directly onto the eastern sector to help their allies blow open a breach. And his allies did not disappoint, seizing the moment to launch their charge. Wielding their mismatched weapons, the bluecoats showed no fear in the face of the raging flames, rapidly collapsing the Legion's right flank under the cover of aerial strikes. Their fighting style was fiercely aggressive. Braving the hail of whizzing bullets, they charged without the slightest regard for death. At long range, they took potshots with bolt-action rifles; at close quarters, they jumped straight into the trenches to brawl with bayonets, rifle butts, and even hatchets against the clones. Pincer-attacked from two directions, the Legion's right flank began to falter noticeably, and the scales of victory started tipping toward the coalition of Shelter 404 and the Pioneer. Right then, a raspy roar echoed across the field. A massive figure bearing an iron boiler on its back bellowed as it burst through the swirling snow, tanking the sweeping machine-gun fire with the steel plating across its chest. Using sheer bodily momentum, it crashed into the Legion's second line of defense and broke into a half-collapsed ruin. When he barrelled in, the decurion and clone soldiers inside were completely dumbfounded. Before them stood a lizard clad in a breastplate, blood streaming from its shoulders and arms, yet clutching a javelin and an axe with an iron grip, while a boiling contraption hissed and fumed on its back. They had never seen such a bizarre creature. Even less had they expected this brute to be so fearless! Caught up in the rush of excitement, Scavenger didn't hesitate in the slightest. He had been stifled nearly to death back at the shelter, and now he had finally caught an opportunity to go on a rampage. "Hahahaha! Daddy's back on the battlefield!" With a wet thud, his javelin pierced the chest of the dark-blue-coated decurion—evidently an elite mob. Freeing his right hand, Scavenger seized a clone's head and smashed it against the concrete bricks, while the axe in his left hand cleaved through another soldier lunging with a bayonet. Only then did Scavenger notice a machine gun mounted beside the slumped corpse, with palm-length rounds lying in a nearby crate. His breastplate had been completely shredded during the charge. Glancing down at his claws, Scavenger sighed in regret, yanked the javelin from the decurion's chest, and plunged into the trench behind the ruins. A whirlwind of blood and slaughter erupted once more! It wasn't just the Legion decurions who were stunned; even the friendly forces pushing the main front were struck dumb, staring at the steam-spewing lizard without knowing what to say. "Where did that lizard come from?" "A mutant?!" "...Is that a friendly?" "Probably a pet kept by the bluecoats, just like that white bear? Look, there's a glow stick attached to his shoulder... Let's just treat him as an ally." Lu Yang roared over the comm channel. "Our allies have captured the eastern sector of the Legion's second line! All power armor units, leave the trenches and push forward! Light infantry, follow up!" "Leave the rear to our allies! Now we leverage our armor's mobility and split them right down the middle!" "Yes, sir!" *** The Pioneer's sole disadvantage had been a shortage of manpower. Now, that deficiency had been rectified. Though no one knew where they had recruited this squad of fearless fighters, the reality spoke for itself. These people fought with even more ferocity than the clone light infantry, and while showing no fear of death, they were far more agile and adaptable... The second defensive line fell in short order. The pocket that had been about to close was torn wide open once more. Having seized the high ground, the power-armored troops drove deep into the enemy lines, swiftly punching straight through the Legion's positions under air support and completely severing the battlefield. Behind them came the bluecoats, leaping into the trenches to deliver finishing blows and mop up the remnants... Inside the makeshift command post. Listening to the reports coming over the radio from the front lines, Vannus stared in utter disbelief. He could not fathom how he had ended up pincered by a third-party force. Reinforcements? Where on earth did the Enterprise find reinforcements? This was River Valley Province! Could there really be a survivor settlement in this region bold enough to meddle in Legion affairs? Vannus bellowed with rage. "Who are they?!" The frontline adjutant's voice trembled with dread. "We don't know! They're wearing fur coats, carrying mismatched weapons cruder than our cannon fodder's, and fighting with sheer barbarity, just like... marauders! And there's a lizard! Dammit..." Marauders? A lizard? Vannus's mind descended into absolute chaos... Meanwhile, in the Pioneer's command center. Watching the aerial drone footage of the bluecoats fighting valiantly, everyone present fell into a prolonged silence. To everyone's surprise, the one who broke the silence first was Li De, Chief of the Logistics Division. Many in the room had heard him grumble about the bluecoats in the past, especially about that greedy, scheming Administrator who was always looking to take advantage of him. Now, he spoke in a solemn tone. "Allow me to pay them my highest respects. They are true warriors. Guided by righteousness, they fear neither sacrifice nor formidable foes, extending a helping hand to us in our hour of need." "I retract every hasty, prejudiced remark I made previously and offer my sincere apologies... I will tell him so in person later." Pausing, Li De seemed to make a firm decision as he looked around at the officers nearby. "Though this is somewhat unprecedented, I still intend to see it through. I will use my credit score as a guarantee and submit a formal application to the board of directors of the Silverwing Group." "To confer upon them the honor of Enterprise Permanent Strategic Partner!" Though surprised, no one voiced any objection. Yi Hai, the adjutant of the Marine Division, nodded in agreement. "Count me in on the signature." "They deserve it!"