First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 82
Chapter 82: Answer
Yellow sand filled the sky as violent winds raged. The mech forces of both sides clashed head-on.
Limited visibility ruled out long-range group combat, but Team Liu's close-quarters combat strength wasn't weak. Mechs had been waiting in the rear and now directly filled the gaps to engage in slaughter.
After all, Lian Sheng's foot soldiers had come from the direction of the mountain cliffs. Even if scattered, they were still easily identifiable in the short term.
Some low-spec mechs mixed in the ranks were hindered by the swirling sand. Due to their own weight, each step sank them halfway into the ground. With energy and hardware limitations preventing them from maintaining speed in the desert, they were quickly eliminated.
The numbers on both sides were rapidly dwindling.
Lian Sheng glanced at the map and urged: "Infantry! Rear infantry need to move faster! Get back to camp positions immediately!"
Lian Sheng: "Zhao Zhuoluo, launch a frontal assault from the current direction! First clear out enemy forces at the map edges."
Zhao Zhuoluo arranged within his squad: "Spread formation, prepare to advance! Watch your surroundings!"
Lian Sheng shouted again: "Fang Jianchen!"
"Alive!" Fang Jianchen directly responded, cutting off her follow-up question: "Can't snipe, visibility restricted! Currently retreating."
Lian Sheng said: "Don't retreat. I know you can't snipe now—take your squad to scavenge equipment!"
With howling winds filling his ears, Fang Jianchen yelled: "Scavenge what?!"
"Grab all functional energy cannons you find, grab and run—doesn't matter whose side they're from! Cannons should be easy to spot." Lian Sheng said, "Your sniper team is useless in this terrain. Take the spoils and evacuate immediately!"
"Run where?" Fang Jianchen said, "You want me to elope with these cannons?"
"Oh, besides your warm camp, what other place would take you in?" Lian Sheng snorted, "No more joking around, brothers! Get in position immediately! The battle changes every moment with fresh lives being lost—don't delay the opportunity!"
Fang Jianchen let out a furious roar: "Aaaah—! Did you all hear that? Sniper mechs are now on garbage collection duty!"
To think of him—the Alliance's top artilleryman—first ambushed at the start, now reduced to scavenging scraps. Was this the treatment a sniper deserved?
This was no stage for him!
On Team Liu's side, their rear forces spotted Zhao Zhuoluo's group.
Scouts reported: "The enemy really has rear support! They seem to be preparing to withdraw."
Liu Hao shouted: "Intensify the assault! Brothers, go wild! Make up the deficit in kills—this time we'll definitely strip a layer of skin off them!"
He glanced at the numbers comparison on the map and immediately jumped back into his mech as precaution.
Liu Hao said: "Kill! Kill as many as you can! We don't need to keep them all here, but absolutely can't give them a chance to recover! Right now, whether mid-spec or high-spec mechs, we hold absolute advantage. Break their formation—victory will be ours!"
Lian Sheng's forces didn't even need disrupting—they were already chaotic, scattered everywhere in fragmented combat.
Fang Jianchen and other snipers weaved through various enemy forces, finally managing to grab several still-functional cannons amidst the chaos. Following Lian Sheng's orders, they immediately began retreating toward the map edges, with Zhao Zhuoluo's team covering their escape.
Since their squad was small, it didn't attract Team Liu's attention. Only as both sides' numbers dwindled after clashing did this change gradually become noticeable.
Team Liu noticed their low-spec mechs were also withdrawing in sequence.
Lian Sheng: "Elite teams and squad leaders cover the retreat! Foot soldiers withdraw first! Rear foot soldiers stop dawdling and hurry to the edges! What's the point of lingering?"
"Run run run!" Lian Sheng stood up excitedly: "Foot soldiers run! Don't block the way! Stretch your legs and sprint for your lives back to camp! Hesitate for one second, and your mechs and lives stay on enemy soil! Charge!"
Zhou Shirui watched her from behind.
A commander should be this kind of person—even with just a back view, they can become their pillar.
Even without standing on the frontlines, they must constantly boost morale and adjust formations, letting everyone keenly feel the commander's dominance.
Though strength is the foundation of dominance.
Lian Sheng waved her arms as if standing on that desert herself, pointing toward some unknown location: "Tighten the battle lines! Cover the retreat!"
"Attention! Now's the time to act it up, shout it out! Make the situation seem desperate—a little chaos is fine. Let the enemy see you in disarray! Our forces are beginning a disorderly retreat!"
At the mention of acting, the Sanyao masses didn't quite understand, but Alliance University comrades were old hands.
Finally getting a chance to perform, soldiers clutched their chests dramatically: "Ah~ no!"
"Don't come over! All of you stay away!"
"Take me with you! Quickly take me too!"
"How could you abandon me?! How could you watch me fight here alone?!"
Jiang Fengyu Huo: "..."
Gods, what idiots!
This was when veterans proved their worth.
"Scram!" Bright Bulb shouted, "You all stay back!"
This was a heartfelt plea as he directly raised his longsword against nearby comrades.
Super Bright Bulb charged out: "What are you doing? Order! No chaos! Hold steady! Orderly retreat!"
Bright Bulb's roaring voice rang out: "Why panic?! Retreat slowly! Low-spec mechs make way—let the skilled pass first! Can you even call this a formation? Utter trash!"
Team Liu members were baffled.
What exactly was happening now?
Lian Team's elite squads began randomly charging around to disrupt Team Liu's vision. Rear mechs exited one after another from the edges.
Seeing fewer and fewer enemies, Liu Hao finally erupted: "All forces temporarily withdraw! Fire cannons—blow them to hell!"
Yet before he could act, as both sides' formations gradually clarified, Zhao Zhuoluo's team fired first.
The scene grew even more chaotic.
Current kill ratio:
Lian Team (1459) : Liu Team (1998)
Lian Team members seized the chance to retreat toward the mountain cliffs, then sprinted madly toward camp. A few hundred remained gathered at the map edges to hinder pursuit—all elite squad members capable of independent judgment.
Lian Sheng studied the map: "Zhao Zhuoluo block them! Hold the mountain pass entrance! Prioritize safety—both flanks provide good cover for ambushes!"
Lian Sheng: "We're running low on high-spec mechs. Retreat if overwhelmed, but buy as much time as possible—judge the situation yourselves!"
The narrow mountain pass and mechs' extreme sprint speeds required safe distancing during passage. The time needed could only be entrusted to them.
Zhou Shirui could already foresee losing nearly two-thirds of elite forces after the main troops escaped the desert.
Trading elite sacrifices for majority foot soldier survival to set up later battles—was it truly worth it?
He buried himself in data calculations.
Lian Sheng stood ahead, her shadow stretching long across the ground. She suddenly asked: "May I ask a presumptuous question? Zhou Shirui, why did you study data analysis?"
Zhou Shirui paused before replying: "Haven't you already asked this?"
"But you never answered." Lian Sheng turned: "That was your brother's answer, not yours."
Zhou Shirui lowered his head: "No reason. Just wanted to."
"Xiao Rui, look!" Zhou Shiren held his hand, gazing at the stage screen: "How beautiful this model is!"
Zhou Shiren said: "Even the fiercest battlefield can appear on such a small panel."
"You know? On the entire battlefield, those who understand the situation first and detect changes earliest aren't commanders—it's data analysts. Everyone relies on you. You're the battle's core."
"Data analysts don't accept errors or excuses."
"Amazing right?!"
"Data analysts are amazing right?!"
"They bear the heaviest responsibilities and strictest demands while standing behind everyone."
—"But this is a position that cannot function without you."
That was a data analyst's meaning.
Zhou Shirui countered: "Commanders—don't you all dislike being overshadowed? Hate others stealing your spotlight?"
Lian Sheng: "What? How so?"
Zhou Shirui said: "Commanders must maintain absolute authority from a high vantage to analyze enemies and deploy troops. Whether soldiers or vice-commanders are just stepping stones to elevate them further. The higher you stand, the farther you see."
Lian Sheng gave a noncommittal "Hmm."
Zhou Shirui felt a pang of disappointment.
"But I don't need pawns who only act as backdrop and blindly charge." Lian Sheng spread her arms: "I want comrades sharing the same hopes, goals, and passion—people I can rely on through any hardship."
"Battlefields are never shouldered by commanders alone! I want their trust, and I'll trust them in return. Commanders and soldiers aren't superiors and subordinates—no hierarchy exists beyond what's needed to unite against enemies by entrusting lives to one another."
"This trust is life itself! Not some glory! Every honor the army earns belongs to every soldier! If someone can steal it, let them try! If someone can lead everyone higher, I'll boost them up! But!"
"How high you stand depends on yourself. I'm here because no one can outperform me."
Lian Sheng extended her hand: "I have no need for so-called stepping stones."
Want to dive deeper into the story? You can request bonus chapters or grab the complete Part 1 (147 chapters) as an EPUB from my Ko-fi shop!
Felt her charisma shining through my phone
ReplyDelete