Counterfeit Hero

Cheng Zhixuan’s words brought silence to the room.

After a while, Cage softly spoke to Su Kezhou, ”Chairman, speaking of which, that Colonel Tian from Leray can be considered one of us. Why does the Command Department always guard against them? Their Vice President Flavio is hanging around our Presidential Palace all day. Honestly, achieving such a feat barehanded is really not easy. Leaving them to die like this feels unreasonable. Besides, destroying the Northern Commerce Alliance, from any angle, the bandit army can’t outpace us, right?”

Su Kezhou sighed, shook his head solemnly, and did not express any opinion on Cage’s words. He asked Cheng Zhixuan, ”Colonel Cheng, what about the Mecha Team attacking the Center City? If they succeed in beheading the Northern Alliance leaders, wouldn’t the situation change?”

Su Kezhou’s words startled all the officers at once. They knew that the Mecha Team belonged to the bandit army. After all, the image data just returned showed those dozens of strange Fatty mechas, which were almost identical to that Leray fatty. However, to everyone, it seemed almost like a joke. Or rather, the Leray fatty, desperate, was smashing the pot as a last resort, clinging on doggedly.

Fifty mechas attempting to carry out a beheading operation against the well-protected Northern Alliance leaders was simply impossible. Not to mention the Northern Alliance had three battalions of the Blood Wing Armored Group stationed near the base. Even without these battalions, their Mechanical Infantry Division and defense line alone could make these dozens of mechas crash and burn.

Furthermore, judging by their actions, the bandit army’s Mecha Team had missed their best opportunity. Whether it was due to intelligence errors, after they surprisingly broke through the enemy’s outermost defense line by sneak attack, instead of using the most direct route to thrust into the Northern Alliance Base, they inexplicably took a large detour north via the Inner River Bridge. What happened afterward is still unknown, but just based on this mistake, completing the beheading operation is obviously impossible.

”When I received this intelligence and made this deduction, I thought Colonel Tian’s actions were simply nonsense.” Cheng Zhixuan shook his head with a bitter smile, ”After all, relying on fifty mechas to successfully execute a beheading operation against the Northern Alliance leaders, you must depend on aircraft carriers to directly airdrop into the core area of Center City to deliver a fatal blow. For the current bandit army, this is simply an impossible task!”

Cage laughed beside him, ”If they really succeeded, it would save us a lot of trouble. Without even a fight, we would have already secured a victory, so we would just sweep through effortlessly like a gust sweeping away fallen leaves.”

”It’s difficult for us to capitalize on this campaign... or rather, we cannot put too much hope in this opportunity and disrupt our plans in the process.” The speaker was Gao Yizhen, the division commander of the Longxing Association Iron Armor Division standing beside Cheng Zhixuan. This towering man, standing at 195 centimeters, with a square face and thick eyebrows, had a pair of eyes that were disproportionately small compared to those thick eyebrows. At this moment, deep in thought, he habitually drooped his eyelids, making his eyes appear as mere slits: ”Feiler’s attack planning seemingly aims to manipulate the bandit army... on the other hand, he is also laying the groundwork for the global offensive in the next phase.”

”Hmm!” Su Kezhou mused, gesturing with his hand, ”Go on.”

Gao Yizhen pointed at the electronic map and said, ”Although the Northern Alliance deployed substantial forces to besiege the bandit army, judging by their force composition, the strongest five armored battalions of their Blood Shadow Mecha Group remain in Center City. Two of these battalions are stationed motionless in the Northern Industrial Zone, obviously guarding against us. The forces attacking Puluo Town have deliberately left the northern direction open, encircling three sides while leaving one side open. Aside from avoiding exposing their back to us, they also aim to drive the bandit army toward us, preventing them from jumping elsewhere and disrupting their overall deployment. If we launch an attack now, targeting Center City, they could hold out for forty-eight hours until the troops finishing the Puluo Town operation turn back north to form a pincer attack on us, possibly even encircling our rear.”

Surveying the crowd, Gao Yizhen continued, ”Feiler excels at scheming. In attacking Puluo Town, he considered the potential connection between us and the bandit army and incorporated this possibility into his overall strategy. In other words, the only opportunity they left us is to reinforce Puluo Town. If we ally with the bandit army, we will inevitably need to break through their defense lines to rescue Puluo Town. However, that would present two problems...”

”First, we cannot confirm if Feiler plans just these six offensives on Puluo Town. If we rashly fall into a trap and the Northern Alliance has sufficient contingencies, even if we don’t die, we would be skinned alive!” Gao Yizhen, with a serious expression, bent his second finger: ”Second, we’re unsure how long the bandit army can hold out! There’s a high chance that they might collapse before we reach Puluo Town, and once engaged with the Northern Alliance, we won’t be able to conceal our strategic intent and strength. Strategically, we would be walking right into fighting the enemy at their designated place and time, which is very disadvantageous for us.”

”What if we simultaneously launch large-scale attacks on both Center City and Puluo Town?” an officer suddenly interjected.

His suggestion was quickly met with objections from his peers: ”That requires us to be certain that the bandit army will either win or hold out until we reach Puluo Town. Do you think that’s possible?”

Another bout of silence enveloped the room. The officers gazed intently at the electronic map they had all seen countless times, trying to identify an overlooked route. However, in the end, they looked at each other and shook their heads. After the analysis by Cheng Zhixuan and Gao Yizhen, everyone understood that Feiler had accounted for everything.

”Your analyses are correct.” Su Kezhou’s voice broke the silence.

The officers looked up, and unexpectedly, the expression on the old man’s face was completely at odds with their grave demeanor, his tone surprisingly relaxed: ”However, let’s not forget that Feiler is also human. He is not an all-knowing god. There are some things that cannot be grasped through deduction and calculation.”

Under the officers’ astonished gazes, Su Kezhou took out an electronic file, inserted it into the electronic map reader, and with an inexplicably strange look on his face, said to everyone, ”This is a battle report I just received. Take a look... This is the reason I summoned you all!”

The maps on the virtual screen split into two. On the left was the Northern Alliance Center City defense map drawn by the Longxing Association Intelligence Agency. Everyone present had seen this map over a hundred times and knew it by heart. The officers glanced at it briefly before turning their attention to the map on the right.

Then, everyone widened their eyes and gaped.

This was also a Northern Alliance Center City defense map, forming a stark contrast with the one on the left.

Su Kezhou’s finger traced down the chaotic, tempting-to-attack defense line on the right map all the way south, finally landing on Champs Elysees Street, as he said slowly, ”The bandit army Mecha Team has just annihilated the 4th Armored Battalion of the Northern Alliance Blood Shadow Mecha Group here!”

A buzzing sound filled the room as an uproar broke out. The ceiling almost seemed about to be blown off by the incredulous voices.

Cage’s voice rang out particularly loudly in the uproar, ”My God... Did you say annihilated?!”

”I’m not God, and you didn’t mishear...” Su Kezhou nodded emphatically, ”Annihilated!”

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. (To be continued, for further content, please visit www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, support legitimate reading!)