First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 102
Chapter 102: Map
"Clearly their movements are quite restricted," the commentator Stroke of Brilliance remarked while watching the screen. "The Piaoqi Great General possesses exceptional tactical talent. However, she currently cannot trust her soldiers—all strategies are being carried out while keeping the troops in the dark. Though I find it astonishing she can manage this, maintaining such deception will inevitably cause unrest and instability within the ranks. If one of their company commanders falls in battle with no one to relay information back to her, the entire squad will collapse."
Generally speaking, modern battlefield maps are shared with all soldiers, and it's the frontline troops who execute missions. If there are spies among the ranks, then eighty percent of the plans would be exposed to enemy forces.
After all, no matter what tactics are employed, they will inevitably be reflected on the map.
Even though Xia's team has now entered their ambush zone, any troop movements by the Piaoqi Great General to reinforce defenses would still be immediately transmitted to the opponent, allowing real-time countermeasures.
Ambush? Impossible.
"Do they plan to keep using these counterintelligence tactics to weed out all the spies? Can they always devise brilliant countermeasures against enemy offensives? Some might remain deeply hidden, waiting for a final reversal."
Stroke of Brilliance rattled off several points, his brows tightly furrowed as he sighed: "Testing human loyalty is a task that never ends."
Ultimately, he remained pessimistic about Lian Sheng's team.
Liliana said, "Not necessarily. On the battlefield, whether enemy or ally, soldiers only see what the two commanders want them to see."
"Huh?" Stroke of Brilliance said. "You mean..."
Liliana shook her head and didn't elaborate further.
The online audience nodded with feigned profundity.
"Mmm... actually, I understand."
"When will I ever be as skilled as Liliana?"
"I feel like Liliana sees through everything!"
"I just feel like she's showing off..."
"Stroke of Brilliance keeps getting shut down—I'm thoroughly impressed, hahaha!"
"As a data analyst, I keep feeling there's something off about the map. Does anyone know how skilled the deputy commander on the Great General's side is?"
"A top sophomore in the Alliance University Military Department, Hundred Meter Flying Dagger's younger brother. Just look at his points—what do you think?"
"Then why does the model feel so dissonant? It seems glitchy and weird. That shouldn't be the case."
As Xia's two companies advanced closer, they rebuilt signal converters in the rear. The remnants of the stranded squad, who had lost contact while trapped in the greenbelt, regained audio transmission.
The soldiers who had been hiding in the bushes without daring to emerge—yet never came under attack—immediately reported: "Alert! There are spies on their side leaking our intel! Be careful!"
The vanguard of the advancing troops stumbled mid-step and asked, "What? What spies? What about your company commander?"
The soldier: "Our CO just got taken out! Right after reporting, their converter was destroyed, and then our CO was eliminated."
The company commander asked, "And you? How did you escape?"
The soldier: "We... we stayed hidden without moving."
"..." The company commander said, "Was there also an orange tree?"
The soldier urgently replied, "I'm not lying, damn it! Probably just four or five people—after we hid, they left too!"
The company commander said, "Give me your position first and prepare to regroup."
After hesitating briefly, the company commander relayed the situation to his own command.
Xia Yanfeng pondered for a moment before saying, "They likely just encountered a small enemy patrol by chance. Four or five people couldn't have been a deliberate ambush. And if it were premeditated, they wouldn't have let those few survive this long."
Company commander: "Then..."
Xia Yanfeng said, "Continue the advance."
Xia's team's momentum hit a slight snag before resuming their offensive formation.
Meanwhile, Lian Sheng's Seventh Company, led by Bright Bulb, had finally reached their target position.
Approaching the intersection, Bright Bulb stepped forward, halted, then turned and shouted: "Halt! Form ranks!"
The scattered soldiers hurriedly braked before arranging themselves into two long columns, taking cover along both sides of the street.
Bright Bulb pulled out several soldiers who were carrying scavenged GG-brand signs and dismantled notice boards, placing them on the ground to serve as makeshift barricades in the middle of the street.
Bright Bulb ducked into a nearby safe point and addressed the troops: "Open fire on my command! Don't worry about direction—just shoot straight ahead! With how densely packed they are, every shot will count! There won't be a second chance—if you want to feel like a hero, make every attack count!"
His confident pep talk made some in the ranks uneasy. A few couldn't resist double-checking their position with Xia's team to confirm they hadn't taken a wrong turn.
The Xia company commander examined the transmitted mini-map, confirming their squad was still two intersections away from Bright Bulb's position—they could easily detour and avoid them entirely.
The urban district's roads were uniformly constructed. To maintain aesthetic consistency, building heights and color schemes were nearly identical. The mini-map only displayed rectangular markers representing structures without specifying building types.
Someone muttered in confusion: "Did their scouts misreport the location? Or are their scouts actually our people?"
Deputy commander: "No, the scouts aren't ours. I don't know either right now, but I can confirm the intel is accurate."
Company commander: "Then is this misdirection? Or an attempt to confuse us and disrupt our rhythm?"
Deputy commander: "Could be either. Maybe they want us to second-guess ourselves like this to buy time for the Sixth Company's retreat. Trust your eyes—make decisions based on the data."
Reassured, the company commander replied: "Got it."
He decided to proceed with the original plan.
The fleeing Sixth Company had now reached the third intersection Lian Sheng mentioned.
Ji Fangxiao pointed to one side and shouted: "Vanguard units prepare to turn left on the map—that's your right side! Everyone else follow the turn! Move quickly—don't waste time! Dying to enemy fire because you're slow earns you no glory!"
The Sixth Company's main force swerved into the intersection. Ji Fangxiao positioned himself at the column's center, constantly adjusting their pace to prevent excessive gaps between front and rear.
After running such a long distance, some were already flagging. To maintain formation integrity, their speed had slowed considerably. Fortunately, Xia's team had also decelerated for various reasons, granting them breathing room.
"Halt!" Ji Fangxiao raised his hand. "Form a cross formation centered on this intersection! Troops ahead of me line up vertically, those behind me horizontally. Then take cover and prepare to engage! Get into position now—you should have combat awareness by this stage of the match, friends!"
The downtown roads were neatly interconnected in straight lines, intersecting like a grid with clear sightlines.
Bright Bulb listened to the scouts' reports while frequently checking Zhou Shirui's predictive model. His left foot tapped restlessly until he finally counted down to the critical moment.
"We're making our move first!" Bright Bulb grinned and slashed his hand downward. "All units ready—fire!"
As if on cue, a row of enemy soldiers rounded the corner and appeared before them.
The troops fumbled nervously, but by the time they fired their first shots, the enemy vanguard had reached the exact center of the road.
Though called a main road, the street itself was quite narrow. This battlefield area was far from spacious. Most fighters sheltered behind the frontliners, waiting to fill any gaps.
The Xia soldiers who had emerged from the intersection stared blankly, turning to meet their gaze—only to face a wall of gun barrels.
Gunfire erupted instantly, collapsing Xia's left flank entirely.
The company commander checking the map for troop movements froze momentarily. Noticing his side's numbers plummeting, he jolted awake and demanded: "What happened? What's the frontline status? Where's the ambush?"
"Ambush confirmed! East of the intersection we were about to cross!" A soldier who had retreated safely reported. "They weren't at the position you marked! How did they get to the previous street?"
The company commander barked: "Hold position! All able units fall back—don't advance into the intersection!"
Xia's vanguard, realizing the trap, either fell instantly or, if lucky, sprinted past the kill zone.
Now both sides faced off across the street.
The scattered soldiers on the opposite side asked: "What now, commander? Which way do we go?"
Before the company commander could respond, the scouts reported: "Alert! Enemy Second, Third, and Fifth Companies are moving downward—likely to cut off your retreat."
Turning back now would waste their efforts. This was too good an opportunity. And if caught between two fronts, casualties were inevitable—so why not...
The company commander narrowed his eyes: "All units turn left on the map—head west!"
He deployed one squad to pin down the enemy at the intersection while the rest slipped away sideways.
Meanwhile, masses from the enemy's Second, Third, and Fifth Companies were aggressively pushing downward. With another company blocking the right flank, their best route was downward—their original objective anyway.
"Downward! We're pushing deep into enemy territory!" the Xia company commander roared. "Watch for encirclement from above—move fast! Circle past the next block and cut downward!"
The deputy commander warned: "Their map might be faulty. We're double-checking now—be careful."
Company commander: "Understood."
But in such moments, where was the luxury of caution? Whether breaking through or fighting desperately, once committed, there was no turning back. Any hesitation would cost them even the chance to resist.
The comms crackled with another update: "Alert—Hundred Meter Flying Dagger's company is mobilizing. Lower left on the map, moving rightward."
"Position and speed marked accordingly."
The company commander checked, confirming the gap between forces before plotting a new route to safely descend while evading pursuit.
Mid-route, Xia's team encountered another ambush from Ji Fangxiao's squad. The company commander had anticipated this—with a cross formation, any downward or leftward movement risked engagement. But Ji Fangxiao's stretched-thin ranks, depleted from initial clashes, posed little threat.
Mindful of pursuers, the company commander opted for a swift breakthrough, charging downward.
While running, he couldn't shake his confusion—what had happened earlier? Had he misread the situation, or had the enemy accelerated unnoticed?
He scrutinized the map, carefully calculating to prevent another mishap. Upon reaching the next position, just as he prepared to adjust course and evade Hundred Meter Flying Dagger's approaching force, another wave of screams erupted from the front.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger's squad had already crashed into them, triggering direct combat. Caught off guard, Xia's team suffered heavy frontline losses while the rear ranks disintegrated.
"What the hell?!" the company commander yelled. "Weren't they on the next street over?!"
The map showed clear distance between them, yet they were already clashing—creating a bizarre discrepancy in the data.
The deputy commander panicked, frantically reviewing the panels: "Their map is faulty!"
Company commander: "Wasn't the intel verified?"
Deputy commander: "It was confirmed authentic! They had no reason to deceive us."
Company commander: "Then is their transmitted map delayed? Did you miss something?"
"Impossible—the timestamps are correct," the deputy commander said. "I wouldn't make such a basic mistake."
Company commander: "Then what the hell?!"
This was one thousand troops—twenty percent of their forces. Combined with the earlier probing company, that made three entire companies.
They had held the opening advantage—superior intel, even numerical superiority—only to deliver three companies into enemy hands for sport?
What could explain this?
Exhausted, the frontline company commander directed his remaining troops to fight forward, hoping to breach the encirclement before reinforcements arrived—though prospects looked grim.
He said grimly into the comms: "Our side... might genuinely have moles. We need to investigate when we can."
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How shameful, if ur commander has no ability, just say so!
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