Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 21 - 21 Magic Revealed

Major Raffael, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the First Mecha Group under the 32nd Armored Division of the Gazalin Empire Army, was extremely furious. His battalion, while carrying out a pursuit order, had plunged headlong into an enemy ambush. They were subjected to a disgraceful sneak attack, one company of mechas was destroyed, and the other two companies were barely rescued by the support from the 2nd Battalion behind them.

After breaking through the blockade of the Federation Special Mecha Forces, just as Major Raffael was commanding his troops in pursuit, he received an order from above, demanding he abandon the pursuit. The pursuit mission would be completed by the 2nd Battalion, while his battalion had to immediately head to a prisoner of war camp in the west, search for and annihilate all the enemies near the camp, making sure no one escaped, and to destroy the entire camp upon mission completion.

This order, sent directly from the division headquarters bypassing the regiment commander, had no room for negotiation. Despite his fury at not being able to personally pursue the disgraceful attackers, Raffael dared not disobey the order. The punishment by the Empire for disobedience could make one regret ever being born. Hence, he chose to comply.

Raffael decided to vent his simmering anger on the new enemy. Under his urging, his troops reached the designated location in less than twenty minutes from the time the division headquarters issued the order.

The prisoner of war camp was in chaos, with gunfire and explosions resounding from every corner. Some battered Imperial Guard Mechas were being pinned down inside a barrack at the center of the base, still desperately unleashing their firepower. The camp was swarming with rioting prisoners, their figures barely visible as they darted behind various cover. Other guard mechas were using the walls for support, struggling to suppress the rioting prisoners with all available firepower.

”These pesky Federation bugs, full assault!” Major Raffael issued the order without hesitation. Once his two companies of mechas stormed the camp, no one would be able to resist, and the rioting prisoners would be turned into pulp.

Perhaps the sight of the advancing Imperial Mechas shattered the rioting prisoners’ hopes of escape. With desperate fury, their firepower suddenly surged. Following this reckless barrage, a massive explosion ignited the ammunition depot, leading to a succession of catastrophic secondary explosions. The resulting shockwaves not only leveled the entire camp but also toppled the advancing Raffael in his mecha. In the explosion zone, including the mechas that had just rushed in, no living being remained standing. The raging inferno and the ever-looming threat of further explosions kept all the Imperial soldiers at bay, staring dumbfounded into this hellish scene of mechanical wreckage and mangled bodies.

Raffael leapt from his downed mecha, his face bathed in the flickering light of the flames that surged towards the sky. Shielding his eyes with his arm against another sudden explosion, the intense brightness from the blaze pierced through the surrounding forest, stinging his eyes sharply.

After a long while, regaining his composure, Raffael issued another order: ”Conduct a meticulous search in the surrounding area within a twenty-kilometer radius, five times back and forth, ensuring no prisoner escapes from here.”

”Damn those Federation cowards! When did they start becoming so desperate?!” Raffael muttered as he gazed at the still-burning camp, feeling for the first time a sense that the war on Miloke Planet would no longer be as easy as before.

An hour later, as the flames started to diminish, Raffael led a squad of mechas into the charred battlefield. The camp was littered with the bodies of Federation prisoners, many still locked in combat with Imperial guards. All buildings had collapsed completely. In the center of the field lay a small pile of Federation prisoners’ bodies, stacked together. Seeing this heap, Raffael instantly understood why the Federation prisoners had fought so fiercely. To them, with no chance of survival, they had decided to gamble everything in a final desperate struggle.

The result of that gamble was the collective death of all these prisoners; they had failed.

The two company commanders responsible for the search returned, reporting that they found the surrounding dozens of kilometers completely devoid of any life and without any trace of anyone.

”Burn all these bodies!” Raffael commanded. He suddenly felt a sense of relief: ”Perhaps it would be better if this report bypassed the regiment commander and went directly to the division headquarters.” With that thought, he left the loathsome place in good spirits.

Ten hours later, certain that all Imperial soldiers had departed, a suppressed cheer exploded from the underground tunnels. The prisoners wept, embracing the soldiers of the Special Reconnaissance Team, with some female soldiers even expressing their gratitude with fervent kisses for these brave warriors.

Fatty’s Magic had achieved unprecedented success. He had effectively erased the existence of several hundred prisoners from the minds of the Imperial Army, causing them to vanish into the limitless wilderness.

Meiduo clung tightly to Fatty’s neck. She didn’t know when it had started, but she found his plain, chubby face irresistibly attractive, making her unable to pull away. She wept freely in Fatty’s arms until his clothes were drenched with her tears.

”Fatty, you mustn’t leave us.” A warm body pressed firmly against Fatty’s back, and a pair of soft, boneless arms wrapped around his neck.

”Nia?”

Fatty felt his blood pressure skyrocketing... When did he start having such luck with the ladies? The startled Fatty quickly escaped the embrace of the two women and hid to the side, telling himself, ”This is definitely not a good thing.”

It’s not just that Fatty didn’t know how to handle the situation between two women; just thinking about what would happen if Nia’s good friend—Milan, the slave master, found out, he would be in big trouble. Milan would undoubtedly slice him up. Fatty had the desire but not the guts; he feared that when he finally got both the desire and the guts, Milan would still slice him up.

”If the thief is gone, what’s left to play with!”

Thinking of this, Fatty immediately decided that until he figured out this messy relationship, he could only keep his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart when facing those two enticing beauties.

He solemnly adopted the appearance of a devout monk, with a serene mind untouched by worldly matters, making people want to brandish a knife at him.

Seeing Fatty look so utterly pious yet still so lewd, Meiduo and Nia couldn’t help but laugh. This guy was born a clown. They really had no idea what was going on in his head; when they disliked him, he’d thick-skinnedly take advantage, but when they liked him, he’d act all scared as if someone were about to molest him. It was infuriating.

Along the way, the two beautiful women didn’t spare Fatty any glares. All the pinchable flesh on his body had been pinched by them. As they made their way through the underground passage, advancing while digging, they could only maintain a speed of two kilometers per hour. By the time they returned to the Federation-controlled area along this highway that spanned the continent, Fatty estimated there wouldn’t be an inch of unpinched flesh left on him.

”Fatty, what exactly were you doing up there?” Nia’s sweet lips pressed against Fatty’s ear, making him sway as if ensnared by a spirit, itching all over. He wanted to wiggle his waist and lecherously answer Nia, ”Just going in and out like this.” But life’s precious, so he didn’t dare say it.

”Spill it!” Nia’s teeth had already touched his ear threateningly. Tian Xingjian quickly said, ”Don’t bite, don’t bite, it’s actually quite simple.” Struggling to move the clingy Nia away, he glanced sheepishly at the smiling Meiduo and said, ”This plan actually comes from a magic trick called ’the great human transformation.’

Nia’s eyes lit up and she leaned against Fatty, rapidly asking, ”You know magic?”

Meiduo burst out laughing and said to Nia, ”Do you really believe him if he says he’s not good at such tricks?”

Nia nodded but twisted Fatty’s ear, exasperatedly saying, ”This guy just loves to deceive people.”

Fatty hurriedly changed the subject, continuing, ”Those guard mechs and the guns firing at them were remotely controlled from behind bunkers. The positions of those bunkers were pre-arranged. Although they seemed to cover the entire base, as long as everyone showed up when the enemy arrived and then ran along the direction of the bunkers, they would be in the blind spot of the enemy’s sight, running to the barracks where the underground hole was. I had arranged for guard mechs from the prisoner of war camp to exchange fire there. The enemy wouldn’t expect that amidst such heavy fire, our people would actually enter the barracks. Once everyone was inside the hole, I’d jump in last, use a mechanical arm to refill the hole, and then detonate the pre-placed explosives. As long as the refilled dirt was covered by the collapsed barracks, it would be fine.”

Feeling proud of his masterpiece, Fatty boastfully said, ”Using visual deception and habitual thinking, that’s the secret of this magic trick. The Imperial Army would definitely think that since the barracks were still occupied by their guards, captured Federation soldiers could only be outside. With no place to hide outside, they’d all be done for when the explosion happened. Seeing all the bodies, anyone not falling for it would have to be smarter than me.”

”You’re such a liar, you deceived them all to death.” Meiduo, holding Fatty’s arm and cheek to cheek with him, said coquettishly. Although she was reproaching him, her words were sweet, and her smiling face didn’t show a hint of having been deceived to death.

”Exactly, I’ll pinch this lying cheat to death!” Nia teased, pinching the soft flesh at Fatty’s waist while snickering.

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