First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 76
Chapter 76: Ancient Path
Lian Sheng was genuinely surprised—the world really was small. She rubbed her chin and asked, "Your brother is also a military academy student?"
Zhou Shirui: "No, he's over ten years older than me. He graduated long ago."
Lian Sheng nodded meaningfully.
"He probably took this match because of me, since I mentioned your name to him before." Zhou Shirui stood up, expressionless. "But it doesn't matter. I don't plan to lose. Sooner or later, I'll surpass him."
Zhou Shirui: "Although I can't compare to him now, I dare say you won't find a second data analyst in Alliance University better than me."
Lian Sheng leaned back in her chair, arms crossed as she studied him for a moment before standing as well. "Hearing you say that puts me at ease. I don't care what your relationship is—once we're on the battlefield, he's the enemy. As long as you have this determination and understand your position, that's enough. As for the rest, I'll lead you to victory."
Zhou Shirui smiled faintly at her and said, "I'll go back and organize the data now. I hope to finalize the personnel arrangements before the match starts. Otherwise, this will be our biggest disadvantage."
The opposing side surely knew their own forces well—after all, they were once comrades. As for them, they could only rely on these few days to bridge the gap between each other.
Zhou Shirui gave her a nod and turned to leave, only to find someone blocking the staircase in an odd posture.
Fang Jianchen leaned against the pavilion pillar with one hand, tilting his head to flash her a grin. "Hello, Classmate Lian."
Lian Sheng: "..."
"Need help?" Fang Jianchen walked over and said generously, "I know you're short on people—especially elites like me."
Lian Sheng: "...Are you sick?"
Fang Jianchen put on a solemn face. "Your match isn't just about you—it concerns the reputation of our entire Alliance University. As a member of the military department, how can I stand by and do nothing? I even brought reinforcements, so no need to say more."
Zhao Zhuoluo and the other two appeared behind him.
Zhao Zhuoluo mercilessly exposed him: "That's right. After hearing someone issued a challenge match, he voluntarily withdrew from the military academy league qualifications."
Fang Jianchen cut him off with a roar: "Yes, exactly!"
Ye Buqing continued: "He wanted to join the First Military and Allied Military teams to get revenge on you."
Fang Jianchen rushed over, grabbed his collar, and shook him in grief. "Old Ye! You're not the Old Ye I knew anymore! How could you do this to me?"
Cheng Ze picked up the thread: "Then the other side rejected him."
Fang Jianchen stopped and spread his hands. "No, I came to my senses on my own. What hatred? Nothing compares to our school's honor!"
"Anyway, because of this, he suddenly found himself stranded on both sides and wanted to join your team." Cheng Ze ignored him. "But he thought you might refuse, so he forced us all to withdraw and come play this match."
"I was trying to salvage our fragile brotherhood!" Fang Jianchen said mournfully. "But now it seems completely shattered."
Lian Sheng: "..."
"Although his description was wrong, the conclusion is correct." Fang Jianchen extended a hand to her. "Hello, Commander-in-Chief."
For some reason, she felt that letting him join would make the battle situation chaotic. Fang Jianchen tilted his head and gave her a bright, toothy grin.
Lian Sheng: "..."
In truth, Fang Jianchen and the others just wanted to follow her into the external battlefield.
The two military academies had allied specifically to challenge Alliance University—how could they possibly recruit someone like Fang Jianchen, a sniper who never followed the rules? Bringing him in would be courting disaster. They hadn't held out hope for it in the first place.
The military academy league had one major drawback for them: the randomness was too high. Although the four of them had enough points to guarantee their selection, they would most likely be split into opposing factions. With good luck, they might become commanders; with bad luck, they'd end up as grunts. Whether in terms of efficiency for earning points or the overall experience, it was far from ideal. There was simply no chance for them to cooperate properly in a match.
Not wanting the match to be so restricted, yet unwilling to miss the valuable experience of a large battlefield, they naturally jumped at Lian Sheng's opening. Fang Jianchen's cunning yet smug expression was just... too stupid.
With Fang Jianchen and the other three willing to participate, at least Alliance University's current batch of students wouldn't have to worry about lacking leadership.
However, this year's military academy league was missing quite a few people.
The First Military and Allied Military students were one thing, but Ji Fangxiao and others seemed busy with graduation matters. After the initial registration ended, as the match approached, the system recruited over a thousand more people. Such a massive number was truly unprecedented.
On Wednesday, Zhang Ce's application was approved. The school agreed to hold the match, requiring participants to submit their names and ID numbers within a set time.
Since this wasn't part of the military academy league and didn't go through the school network, anonymous participation was allowed, with registrations recorded by the Sanyao officials.
Lian Sheng and the others finalized the match time and prioritized registration based on the previously selected candidates.
Unlike the First Military and Allied Military academies, their military academy wasn't a specialized military school, so student numbers were scarce. The seniors had no time to participate, and some of the remaining students were recruited for the league. The freshmen lacked experience, so Zhou Shirui didn't recommend selecting them. There weren't many outstanding sophomores either—he only recommended a few. In the end, their school's participation didn't even reach a thousand, relying entirely on Sanyao's player base for support.
Fortunately, the quality seemed decent.
The First Military students had been waiting at the school office for a long time but never saw the second batch of applicants. Only when the list came out did they realize the "Piaoqi Great General" was the legendary Lian Sheng.
Deeply feeling their intelligence had been mocked, as if returning to the terror of being dominated in the first league match, they huddled together and cried before the match even began.
Lian Sheng wasn't just a demon—she was the devil incarnate. Why, out of all of Sanyao's vast player base, did their foolishness have to land them in her hands?
The day before the match, Zhou Shirui finished scanning the available data on the opposing side late at night. Feeling drowsy, he got up to go to the bathroom.
He splashed cold water on his face, grabbed a nearby towel to wipe it off, and glanced at his flicking optical computer.
"Haha, I knew you'd go there as deputy commander. But I won't go easy on you. Let me see what kind of commander you've been talking about. [Strong] [Strong]"
"I noticed your side is all scattered forces, so I sent your Brother Liang and the others over to help. But don't worry—I didn't discuss anything with them. I don't know your battle situation."
"You didn't block Big Bro, did you? [Sad] If you don't cozy up to me now, you'll really regret it tomorrow."
Zhou Shirui swiped his finger across the screen and deleted all the messages.
A deputy commander wasn't some kind of eyes—just a stepping stone. An excellent commander could use it to climb higher, while a mediocre one would only trip over it.
It was because he had been too naive that he ended up where he was now.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger—was this all he amounted to?
No, it shouldn't be like this.
Zhou Shirui clenched his fist. This was one match he absolutely did not want to lose.
The next afternoon, the match began on schedule.
Any large-scale match required broadcasting. Alliance University still used the stadium, but since the morning's military academy league hadn't ended yet, the two events overlapped, forcing them to switch broadcasts.
By the time the match entered the preparation phase, the stadium was already packed.
Students crowded the stands, shouting: "We want to see Hundred Meter Flying Dagger!"
"We want to see Piaoqi Great General!"
"We want to see the new match!"
"Switch the broadcast! Teacher, hurry up and switch—I want to see my idol!"
Since the military academy league was currently at a stalemate and not particularly interesting, the administrator temporarily switched the feed to the second match.
At that moment, the two commanders were in pre-match negotiations.
On Lian Sheng's side, she and Zhou Shirui were handling it. The opposing side was still the original Liu team commander and Hundred Meter Flying Dagger.
Both sides were teleported to a small room to decide the match map and participant position assignments.
Lian Sheng said, "I'll choose the map."
The Liu team commander replied, "Of course."
They were already prepared. There weren't many options for large battlefield maps. To prevent players from deliberately choosing obscure maps, the system would select a portion from the regular pool for them to choose from.
Lian Sheng looked down to check.
Over four thousand of their players were recruited from Sanyao, so they were more accustomed to mech combat. Only two mech maps were available this time.
Lian Sheng hesitated over the city map for a while until a hand reached out to block her.
She turned her head. Zhou Shirui said, "City maps have many combat restrictions and complex rules. Factors like building preservation, surviving NPC counts, and urban defense facilities all affect the final victory. As a beginner, I don't recommend choosing this."
Lian Sheng looked at him. "Then what do you suggest?"
Zhou Shirui: "Mech Ancient Path."
The so-called Ancient Path referred to a developed but ultimately abandoned route, passing through plains, rivers, cliffs, and deserts—a simple yet diverse map.
Following his advice, Lian Sheng ultimately selected Mech Ancient Path.
The Liu team commander stared at the result on the screen in surprise. "They really chose Ancient Path."
"Right?" Hundred Meter Flying Dagger laughed. "The opposing commander is probably a beginner. If it were me, I wouldn't let her pick a complex map."
Next was personnel assignment, which meant mech assignment.
Each squad leader could pilot a high-spec mech, but including the two commanders, the number was capped at twelve.
Since Lian Sheng chose to command from the rear, she gave up this opportunity, allocating all limited slots to the frontline fighters.
Additionally, the elite squad could all pilot mid-spec mechs—one thousand people.
Lian Sheng selected five hundred each from Alliance University and Sanyao's players to form this squad. The Alliance University members would be led by Zhao Zhuoluo, while the Sanyao players would be led by someone Zhou Shirui recommended.
The remaining soldiers would pilot low-spec mechs, prepared to switch to infantry at any time if they ran out of energy.
Zhou Shirui was loading the previously arranged squad formations. Bored, Lian Sheng looked up and saw Hundred Meter Flying Dagger waving cheerfully at them. Both sides could no longer hear each other now.
Zhou Shirui had said he was over ten years older, so he should be in his thirties. Hundred Meter Flying Dagger had short, neat hair and fair skin, looking like a sunny young man. It was unclear if these were his real features. His back was straight, and his overall demeanor seemed energetic.
Meeting Lian Sheng's gaze, he pointed at Zhou Shirui, made a heart gesture, then waved even more enthusiastically at her.
Lian Sheng glanced down at his younger brother. Their personalities were truly nothing alike.
So-called brothers often complemented each other like this.
Both sides finished preparations and took a step back, waiting for teleportation.
Zhou Shirui finally saw Hundred Meter Flying Dagger's brotherly affection and raised a hand to respond half-heartedly.
Then a flash of light passed, and Lian Sheng, piloting a low-spec mech, appeared on the far right side of the map.
Before her was the commander's exclusive detailed map, displaying each squad's troop distribution, types, and various markers.
Zhou Shirui's mech stood beside hers.
"The moment we've all been waiting for has arrived!" Lian Sheng placed both hands on the map, took a deep breath, and uttered those long-awaited words: "Everyone, follow my command!"
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Ahhh so hype, so funnnn
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