Counterfeit Hero

The cigarette butt flicked between his thumb and middle finger traced a rolling bright red arc in the dark night, landing with a hiss into the muddy water.

Jeremiah gave a bitter smile, having studied for two terms as an outer disciple in the Tai Sect, he truly wished that Fatty had been the Director of his branch in the West 7th District, instead of Puluo Town’s Director. If that were the case, perhaps he wouldn’t feel so much pain and confusion about the future now.

This planet will belong to the bandit army. This has always been Jeremiah’s steadfast belief.

He is not a military strategist and can’t analyze the situation. He only knows that the bandit army started from nothing, and their achievements far surpass those of the long-established Northern Commerce Alliance. Moreover, just by comparing the current dilapidated and tragic state of Central City to the vibrancy of Puluo Town, it’s enough to make him obsessively stick to his stance.

He hopes his commander will make a decision soon.

Central City is about to become a dead city. Hunger, plague, massacre... this hell, he doesn’t want to stay here another moment.

Drowsiness finally showed signs of creeping in.

Jeremiah found an excuse for himself to crawl into a pit. Before entering the pit, he instinctively looked up at the sky......

His mouth dropped open, his eyes widened.....

A shadow, ghost-like, swooped down from the sky onto the vertical wall of a Space City, clinging to it like a gecko. Silent and still for a second, it then leapt, darting towards another Space City. This time, it didn’t stop but used the momentum to pivot and pounce towards a third Space City.....

Behind it were dozens of dazzling shadows, swiftly jumping through the air and amongst the towering Space Cities. Like bats in flight, their astonishing agility allowed them to leap from building to building, clinging to the outer walls, with just a gentle push of their legs..... Moments later, everything vanished into the darkness,

The gun in Jeremiah’s hand fell to the ground. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, in the sky, apart from the soaring Space Cities and a sky full of stars, nothing else was there.....

Jeremiah glanced around, looking for companions to verify if anyone else saw the same scene, to prove he wasn’t hallucinating or having a nervous breakdown.... That level of agility, at that height.... was it a mecha or a fighter among mechas?

Where did they come from, and where were they headed?

Time to sleep!

Jeremiah shivered, quickly crawling into the entrance of the hole. He knew, some things were better left unseen. As long as no shell landed on his head, it wasn’t his concern. Tomorrow he would continue to seek out the commander and make sure he decided to defect to Puluo Town; with only a few rusty mechas left, there was no surviving in this world!

********************************************************************

Markovich, upon receiving Fatty’s orders, immediately gathered the troops.

He read the battle plan and the entire battle situation simulation sent by Fatty three times. He knew this Puluo Defense Battle would be an extremely tough test for the SM3 battalion, stepping onto the battlefield for the first time.

The enemy’s five-prong assault is spread across Puluo Town’s east, south, west, and north. Had the Colonel not ordered an immediate consolidation of forces to defend the third ring line, just running back and forth alone could exhaust the 3rd Group before even engaging in battle.

The current Northern Alliance Armed no longer resembles the sort of armored group that once attacked Puluo Town. The mechanical energy combat system and electronic mechas provided by the Suss Empire have elevated their combat level by more than one notch, and the prolonged fighting has turned these once merely trained guys into bloodthirsty and ruthless soldiers.

Besides being less experienced in combat than the Northern Alliance, the 3rd Group also faces another issue - fatigue!

This was a major concern highlighted in Fatty’s battle plan.

The 3rd Group’s fatigue is not just physical, but psychological as well. Any new soldier, after experiencing their first large-scale battle, the first bloodshed, the first victory that set their blood boiling, will go through a period of excitement. However, if this excitement lasts too long, the subsequent fatigue phase will become increasingly severe.

This is unavoidable. The best solution is to have time for rest and recovery post-battle, relying on human psychological adjustment to change their mental state, becoming more composed and rational.

But, the 3rd Group doesn’t have such time, from now until thirty-six hours later, none! Not only that, they must keep relocating, ambushing, launching attacks, traversing long distances.... in various intense, static, and diverse behavioral environments, this is a massive test on one’s willpower!

During combat, they might experience excessive excitement, while during monotonous marching and ambushing, they could become distracted or even fall asleep. The longer the time lags, the more severe this situation gets. And all of this directly leads to a significant reduction in combat effectiveness.

The enemy is racing against time with the bandit army, but this time is relative. Fatty emphasized in his battle plan that if the enemy wanted, they could even surround without attacking or rely on their command and coordination, fighting by playing east and pounding west, with the initiative in their hands, they’re not in a hurry. This is why their troops advance steadily and surely. Only when the 3rd Group hurts them and imposes time urgency on them will they rush to break through Puluo Town before their allied forces are overwhelmed. Otherwise, dragging it out could eventually break down the 3rd Group.