First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 239
Chapter 239: Extra 8: Instructor Lian and Her Little Companions
Regarding the frontline personnel's report, the Red Team commander's conclusion was: "Probing attack."
Lian Sheng's conclusion was: "Probing response."
If the opponent didn't launch a strong attack, they would continue collecting supplies. It was impossible to guarantee they wouldn't change positions later, and leaving bullets with the opponent was a regrettable matter.
Although they lacked professional scouts, Lian Sheng still had each squad assign two people to observe for enemy attacks slightly ahead using sniper rifles.
The Red Team was initially very confident in their skills. They brought sixteen people over, six in the front row, ten in the back ready to fill in.
They spread out the battle line, planning to use concentrated firepower to take down a wave of enemies from behind while the opponent was under attack and retreating in panic. Harass and probe the situation, looking for an opportunity for a strong assault.
But reality didn't match their thoughts.
The White Team didn't turn and run; instead, they held their ground. They also didn't retaliate rashly but directly adopted a strong defensive strategy.
The problem was, their defensive line seemed quite good.
The Red Team captain had already given the order for everyone to advance, but now they were still stuck in place.
Any slight movement from them would be met with a bullet grazing past their cover. Even small movements were impossible; the opponent was watching closely, and often from different directions. The tight coordination made them feel like prey firmly targeted.
This completely contradicted his expectations.
The Red Team captain thought for a moment, then said, "We can waste their bullets. Their firing rate isn't high, shouldn't be too dangerous. Everyone just wiggle around a bit."
The group tried moving slightly outwards, then propped up their guns, attempting to bait the opponent into attacking.
The White Team didn't react.
The Red Team captain gritted his teeth, "A bit further out! Everyone, expose yourselves boldly!"
Several people reluctantly leaned their bodies out a little more, glancing at the opponent through the corner of their visors.
The opponent still didn't fire, maintaining their previous state.
But the Red Team's abnormal, strange, and suddenly quiet situation clearly exposed their intentions.
Within the aiming range, a hand flashing a middle finger suddenly appeared, then quickly retracted.
All Red Team members: "..."
They almost coughed up blood.
What kind of ghost did they encounter today?
The White Team captain reported, humming, "Great General! They're really selling themselves to lure us in!"
Lian Sheng smiled, "See? First, they looked down on your strength, now they're looking down on your intelligence."
The White Team members protested, "We are the high IQ combination!"
"Stay calm, don't get angry," Lian Sheng said. "Your firing rate isn't high, but it's not low either. As long as the bullet trajectory is chosen well and the position is accurate, even if you can't hit every shot, it's still a powerful deterrent. Just maintain your rhythm, and the opponent won't dare act rashly. Unless they want to launch a strong assault."
One-on-one surveillance relied more on technique than shooting skill. And within technique, displacement and coordination were the most important aspects.
Each White Team squad was equipped with one or two data analysts. Staying behind the team, they could help find fixed points from the most professional angle and comprehensive perspective, directing them forward as replacements.
The Red Team squad came to probe, firstly due to their own negligence, and secondly because their expertise didn't match; their research on these two points wasn't thorough enough, far less refined than the White Team's.
So, compared to a standoff, a strong assault by the opponent actually held more advantage. From the moment they exposed their positions, it was impossible to safely break through the White Team's interception.
But the Red Team should also be collecting supplies currently; dispatching a single team wasn't suitable for launching a strong assault.
The Red Team captain had everyone observe the White Team's weaknesses from different angles.
"As long as we break one corner of their defense, we'll have a chance to break through. Their rear should be collecting supplies, so right now they just want to block us," the Red Team captain said. "The target is their supplies. Snatch and run, snatching means winning."
The Red Team's rear personnel began quietly moving forward, observing the White Team's movements together. As they moved, the White Team quickly responded, also assigning a group to move forward.
The Red Team members never expected that a probing attack would result in not even being able to fight.
Someone from the White Team started humming a song again: "Don't look at me like that~ My face looks like a red apple~"
Red Team: "..."
Red Team: "..."
The Red Team captain shouted angrily, "What the hell are you guys doing? Can you fight properly or not?"
The White Team fell silent for a few seconds, then another person continued singing: "Even crying is my fault~ What else can I do in front of you~"
Then someone exclaimed excitedly, "Hahaha! I'm truly a genius! A singer delayed by being a soldier!"
"Awesome!"
The comrades in that vanguard squad went from feeling the White Team was crazy to feeling they themselves were about to be driven crazy, experiencing life's turbulence. They were itching to advance.
"Don't rush, it'll be ready soon," Chen Yuzhou said. "Don't make pointless sacrifices. Start organizing the teams now, we're preparing for a strong assault. You stay put and wait for my command."
He then dispatched several more teams to conduct probing attacks from various points along the border, randomly spaced apart.
Without exception, they immediately encountered resistance.
From the opponent's reaction speed, Chen Yuzhou roughly understood their troop deployment. They covered almost the entire border line. Guessing from the numbers, they probably couldn't spare personnel for ambushes in the rear.
With equal numbers on both sides, their greatest advantage was individual soldiers, so the best attack method was a strong assault. No need for restraint or caution; the boldest approach was the safest.
Currently, the White Team's action of dispersing their forces seemed very disadvantageous to them. But in reality, in a battle like the Red vs. White Faction Battle with fewer participants and imprecise data, the most crucial factor was the adaptability of both sides after the fight began. As long as the initial troop deployment didn't make major mistakes, the impact wasn't significant; it merely reflected the different styles of different commanders.
Chen Yuzhou turned his head and nodded at Huang Hao. The two confirmed details with each team captain and began planning the strong assault on the map.
Multiple teams reported encountering enemy attacks on the public channel. Lian Sheng nodded, "Comrades, comrades, attention. Supply collection is mostly complete, the bloody battle is about to begin. The opponent is very likely to launch a strong assault. There will be drastic changes next. Please remember your individual responsibilities."
Lian Sheng said, "Stick close to the vice commanders in your teams, stretch your long legs, and run hard. And vice commanders, don't miss any of my instructions. Time is limited, I'll only say it once. Clear your ears and listen well!"
Everyone answered forcefully, "Yes!"
Lian Sheng: "Everyone, follow my command! Front row responsible for interception, rear row begin retreating!"
Zhou Shirui and Lian Sheng were currently sitting deep in the mountain forest. Two sheets of paper lay before each of them, showing the previously marked map sections.
Zhou Shirui held four or five pens in both hands, currently modifying the map based on the updates.
He disliked using pens, being accustomed to electronic operations. Paper wasn't like models where data could be instantly erased and replaced. As soon as personnel changed, a sheet of paper became chaotically colorful, very confusing. And it was slow.
Under these circumstances, it required more of the commander's own mental calculation. She had to maintain absolute clarity. The vice commander assisted her in clarifying the overall situation and memorizing data but couldn't provide too much input.
It all depended on the tacit understanding between them.
After eighteen minutes of supply collection following the start of the battle, the Red Team initiated the attack.
Chen Yuzhou and Huang Hao understood the enemy situation well, or rather, both sides roughly understood the opponent's general situation. Thus, once the battle began, it immediately shifted in the direction both sides had anticipated.
The White Team's front line began to panic. Amidst the opponent's rapid movements and strong offense, they frequently made mistakes, had their weaknesses exploited, and showed signs of wavering first.
The vice commanders hid behind, directing casualties to plug the gaps, barely maintaining formation while simultaneously stretching the defensive line to halt the opponent's advance.
The White Team members tightly suppressed their urge to immediately retreat, followed the orders from above, and braced themselves to counterattack.
Their reason actually understood that if they fell into disarray and changed formation at this time, the situation would only worsen. Orderly resistance, while still inevitably incurring losses, could jointly deplete the opponent's combat strength.
One's own back was the most dangerous place.
It was just that previously, no one would protect their backs, nor did anyone need them to protect. So, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, the first thought was to run.
Now, they had to stop these people and wait for Lian Sheng's further actions.
In the external video feed below the mountain, Lu Mingyuan tuned the channel to the White Team's public frequency, then began building a model based on the chaotic information within.
His fingers flew, eyebrows slightly furrowed. Clearly, the information changed too much, making it somewhat strenuous.
An instructor whispered, "...What is this..."
All instructors: "Hmm..."
It was like electronic music mixed together; they couldn't hear clearly at all. They only knew everyone was shouting, useful and useless data interfering with each other. They didn't even know if the first and second halves of a sentence were spoken by the same person, requiring the vice commander for secondary judgment.
"Team Three, Team Six currently in the upper east section of Zone Nine, preparing to move to the center of Zone Ten."
"Team Eleven has detached from Team Ten's group, successfully rendezvoused with Team Five in the central section of Zone Twelve, preparing to proceed to the center of Zone Ten for rendezvous nearby."
"Insufficient manpower, Twenty-one, Twenty-three fill in together. Team Twenty-two is isolated, heading to the center of Zone Sixteen for rendezvous."
"Requesting orders! Team Twenty-one encountered strong assault, currently retreating, formation beginning to deform, captain in danger needs replacement!"
"Team One remains on standby, currently safe."
Looking at the map, the instructors could see their movements very intuitively and clearly, but Lian Sheng and Zhou Shirui were behind the lines; they had nothing.
Those instructors less sensitive to numbers closed their eyes, trying to process the information.
Less than two seconds later, their heads exploded. Forget clarifying intelligence; they couldn't even remember a single command.
This must be brainwaves from another dimension.
However, someone did receive those brainwaves.
They personally witnessed Lu Mingyuan's arrows appearing on the map, along with various team identifiers and demarcations of weak points. Thanks to the positioning system, his workload was much lighter than Zhou Shirui's, allowing him to perform further tactical analysis.
An instructor's Adam's apple bobbed, asking hesitantly, "Do you... do you usually fight wars this chaotically?"
Was the work faced by the Expeditionary Force always this insane? Thankfully, they were combat soldiers. Forget working in the command post; staying in this situation for even a day felt like shortening one's lifespan.
Ji Ban also hesitated, "Did I used to report like this too?"
The pressure on the commander was truly immense.
"There isn't just one vice commander, and not all data is useful," Lu Mingyuan said. "Normally, not so many people report simultaneously. In the Expeditionary Force, those who can serve as team captains generally have their own judgment capabilities. For minor matters like this, they conduct activities themselves based on the commander's overall guidelines and strategies. If errors occur, the commander then provides guidance and correction."
The instructors understood.
The teammates familiar with the mountain map lacked decisiveness; few actually possessed captain-level abilities. Additionally, when facing the Red Team, most were psychologically disadvantaged.
They had studied for most of the previous night, reaching their limit, unable to absorb more information in a short time.
Without any training or experience, independent judgment was an overly demanding requirement for them, placing excessive pressure and leading to mistakes. Therefore, Lian Sheng chose to guide them step-by-step, also using her status to help them calm down and stabilize the team.
Facing the attack, the White Team members excitedly reported once, then realized it had been too chaotic just now. The two commanders hadn't uttered a word, possibly not even hearing clearly.
The comrades needing to report next subconsciously paused, unsure how the data recording behind was progressing.
A team captain asked, "Great General, were we speaking too fast?"
Lian Sheng shouted energetically, "Louder, everyone, continue! Team Nine, what are you doing? Don't pause when speaking, read it out smoothly without punctuation! Stuttering?"
"Team Twenty-two continue back to support Team Twenty-one! Team Nineteen, Team Twenty-four follow to support."
"Team One remain stationary awaiting news."
"All teams carefully confirm enemy numbers, continue reporting now!"
Lian Sheng's timely and accurate responses, while shocking everyone, also provided immense reassurance.
This was the War God of the Expeditionary Force—
This was that legendary pervert—!
Zhou Shirui's pen flew across the paper.
For teams progressing smoothly and reporting confirmation midway, he directly skipped parts of the process, connecting them to the endpoint.
At this moment, arrows of various colors crisscrossed and overlapped on the map. The central area was almost illegible, let alone the numerical statistics on it.
But Zhou Shirui knew Lian Sheng could understand.
For him, the most important part of drawing the map was the process. Lian Sheng watched him draw stroke by stroke, so she definitely understood his thought process. Putting pen to paper was just to clarify his own thoughts.
The current situation on the field was still relatively clear.
The Red Team first spread out the battle line, using a small number of soldiers to advance across the entire front, probing the White Team's troop deployment.
The firepower of the initial line wasn't dense, merely ensuring the dynamics of the entire map could be grasped by them.
Behind the battle line, three large units advanced forcefully in an arrowhead formation, already showing a tendency to pierce the White Team's defensive line.
The White Team's layout was very similar.
A thin defensive line team at the front ensured they could gather information on enemy soldier numbers and attack status, while personnel movements occurred behind the line.
Upon discovering the opponent had three large units conducting assaults, Lian Sheng quickly began deploying forces specifically against these three points.
—Unconditionally thicken the defensive line at those points, halt their offensive momentum.
Lian Sheng directly used half her forces for defense, a purely defensive, interception mission at any cost.
Given the objective disparity in strength between the two sides, this was a heavily skewed war of attrition.
The numerical gap between the two sides began to widen. Although the speed was controlled, this trend couldn't be alleviated.
If the White Team didn't respond further, defending would be equivalent to feeding heads.
The Red Team members fought cheerfully, but amidst the cheerfulness, they vaguely felt something was wrong.
Huang Hao stared at the map, feeling a deep sense of strangeness, whispering, "What's going on? Is the opponent really crazy?"
A team captain said, "Judging by their tone earlier, they seemed quite confident."
"What damn use is confidence? Can confidence change the world? Your thinking is very dangerous, comrades!"
The team captain hesitated, "The opponent's commander... is that bad?"
"Can't say she's bad, mainly the opponent's combat strength is bad. Their retreat speed is too slow, feinting posture too stiff. Feels like I'm bullying people, ha."
"But she made this team arrangement, looked so arrogant before. I thought there'd at least be something different. I was anxiously worried all night."
Huang Hao had to praise, "The opponent's defensive line remaining stable under such unfavorable conditions, without collapsing, is already very impressive. After all, she's not leading professional combat soldiers."
Anyone who had commanded knew that maintaining formation wasn't a simple matter of a few words. A change in one place, if not adjusted promptly, would worsen uncontrollably like dominoes.
"Ah, stop talking nonsense. Everyone is trying hard to defend. If they could still be directly wiped out, they wouldn't need to continue schooling; theory would have gone to the dogs."
Chen Yuzhou slapped his thigh, "Don't relax your guard! As long as the opponent's formation doesn't collapse, they have a chance to counterattack! What kind of state are you guys in now? Unacceptable, boys!"
Yu Yang spoke up, "It's not that simple. I think there might be an ambush."
"The defensive line is almost pushed past halfway, what ambush could there be?"
"Learn from Yu Yang, be neither arrogant nor impatient, okay?" Chen Yuzhou said. "Whether there is or not, at this time, defend under the assumption that there is!"
Ding Xuexi said, "Although we don't know their plans, the headcounts we can take now are real. There's no resurrection buff on the field either. Let's seize the time to secure the headcount advantage. By then, even if the opponent wants to counterattack, it'll be too late."
Chen Yuzhou thought about it and agreed. The current situation was the most direct indicator.
Their main forces had now entered the White Team's sphere of influence; the opponent couldn't stop them even if they wanted to. With their combat strength, even if they pulled off miracles, they couldn't drive them away.
The outcome of victory or defeat could be said to be 99.9% recurringly determined. The remaining possibility infinitely approached zero, considered a tiny fig leaf left for them.
But... this uneventful progression was precisely what surprised him most.
Never had there been such an easy battle, so easy he was starting to doubt life.
Chen Yuzhou thought with dark lines on his face, if they really won the match, he'd go buy a lottery ticket.
Truly such an own goal. Simply the greatest in Alliance University history.
The Red Team captains imagined it, feeling sympathy mixed with a trace of excitement:
"The consequences for the White Team getting negative points will be tragic. Lighting a candle."
"Lighting a candle."
"Lighting a candle."
The White Team members they were lighting candles for were currently gathered in a secret squad, hidden somewhat far behind their defensive line.
Everyone held their guns, hearts pounding, awaiting Lian Sheng's instructions.
Lian Sheng took a deep breath, "All defensive lines prepare to start moving. Vice commanders, listen up, help teammates maintain formation, guide the Red Team's attack. Acknowledge receipt, report difficulties as well."
"Received."
"Received."
"The masses have a heavy task," Lian Sheng said. "Everyone must follow my instructions closely, be careful not to make unnecessary noise, maintain full alertness! Start moving now!"
Lian Sheng: "Twenty-three, withdraw left three positions, down two positions. Team Eighteen, withdraw down to support. Don't let the enemy discover your objective. Start reporting movement positions!"
"Assault squad start moving right four positions, curve forward two positions."
"Team Twenty-six move right two positions, down one position."
"Everyone remember my position, don't exceed the mark!" Lian Sheng reminded when she had a moment. "Watch your speed, not too fast, otherwise it will strengthen the opponent's offensive."
"Assault squad, don't rush, control your actions, maintain concealment, maintain concealment!"
"Team Twenty-three prepare to reverse direction, move right three positions, continue moving down two positions!"
Everyone carefully blocked the opponent, beginning to move according to Lian Sheng's instructions.
Simultaneously, the Red Team seemed to notice a slight loosening in the opponent's defensive line, but it wasn't obvious, and the White Team worked hard to adjust back, so they didn't think much of it.
Just listening to Lian Sheng's commands made it difficult to understand her command, but from the surveillance video and Lu Mingyuan's model map, her arrangements could be seen clearly.
In the battle distributed across the mountain, the White Team used their defensive line, relying on the mountain's height variations and visual illusions, to guide the Red Team's assault forces slightly off course to the left and right, causing temporary gaps in the battle line.
The White Team's assault unit seized the opportunity, slipping through the fleeting gap, striking directly into the Red Team's heartland. Then the White Team quickly helped the Red Team pull the battle line straight again.
The entire process was swift and covert, unreported. The Red Team command remained completely unaware.
All the instructors collectively shouted, "Holy crap—!"
It was normal for the Red Team not to notice. They lacked accurate map data, vice commanders had no optical computers, and team members had no positioning.
Huang Hao's grasp of soldier positions was already as precise as possible. Besides captain reports, he also relied on mutual distances and gunshots for confirmation and reinforcement.
But the mountain forest was, after all, very similar, and captains weren't professional data analysts. They could roughly mention nearby landmarks for Huang Hao to judge, but lacked time for more precise descriptions.
This inevitably led to slight discrepancies between their actual positions and Huang Hao's perceived positions.
Lian Sheng was different. She relied on precise reports from each team to draw the map and visualize the three-dimensional space.
The instructors hadn't expected to witness such flexible and covert troop movement in a Red vs. White Faction Battle.
They also hadn't expected Lian Sheng to dare gamble the team's victory on such a dangerous move.
As third-party observers, they were already so shocked, let alone the two commanders within the battle itself.
The grasp of timing, the boldness of tactical arrangement, the prediction and calculation of the battle situation, the processing and analysis of information data – had already left Huang Hao and Chen Yuzhou far behind.
It was truly different. The gap between commanders was ruthlessly magnified at this moment and presented before everyone.
And what would be behind the Red Team's sphere of influence?
—Of course, their unprepared command.
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