Counterfeit Hero

”I have always meticulously examined every decision, never overlooking any details.” Hastings’ voice was somewhat somber: ”For thirty years, I have continuously held meetings, discussing Feiyang’s every military action, formulating every battle plan... But I forgot one thing. I forgot the natural law of survival of the fittest. Sitting in this position, controlling the highest military command like a cage, while isolating external dangers, also turned the invincible army with rich tactical imagination from thirty years ago into a rigid, stiff machine.”

”Without sacrifice, there is no victory...” Hastings turned back, his smile tinged with an indescribable bitterness: ”This is something I’ve said, yet my students, my subordinates, had a thousand interpretations, none of them truly understanding the essence of this phrase. This is the mistake I’ve made over the thirty years... And the Binart Empire, within thirty years, has nurtured a Sobel and his three great generals!”

”So...” Hastings’ fingers tapped on the control panel embedded on the tabletop, and a long list appeared in a sweep on the huge central computer screen.

The list was scrolling, Hastings’ voice was calm and firm: ”I want to use this final year to correct my mistakes. These people will not receive any guidance or aid from me. If any of them truly require my intervention, it means they have already been eliminated. The thirty-year survival of the fittest in peacetime will be completed in a year during wartime! They need to defeat not only the enemy... but also me!”

Francis quietly looked at the list in front of him...

Leefer, Qian Bolin, Douglas, Fiscella, Margaret... Feiyang’s list has hundreds of names, including dozens of colonel-level officers.

Moreover, the list includes not only Feiyang’s officers and generals but also renowned generals from other nations. For example, Lunan, a great general from the Ryan and Leon Yulis, Simon Rabinsky from the Chuckna Republic, Chen Fengxi, Li Hongwu, Zhang Pengcheng, Amin Husseini from the Silliac Federation, Harvin Hest from the Puditok Federation, and Harriet Shuzman from the Tatania Alliance.

This is a list that almost captures all the great generals of the Fei Alliance and the genius commanders that emerged during the war.

Hastings’ trust extends beyond the Feiyang Republic but throughout the entire Fei Alliance!

Perrin Ayaba, Ailes Magira, Tom Bruce, Tian Xingjian... The list rolled to the end and stopped.

Francis suddenly felt a bit cold.

”Without sacrifice, there is no victory.”

For the people on this list, this year will be so cruel!

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Douglas leaned his head against the high chair back, turned sideways, and slowly twirled the knob on the control panel.

The optical lenses at the top of the battleship’s bridge silently and steadily rotated as the knob was twirled. The vast universe was captured in the lens and appeared on the huge virtual screen in front of Douglas.

The vast universe was obscured by countless stars, as if someone had sprinkled shimmering silver sand across a dark curtain. Distant nebulae appeared in various colors on the screen: gray-white, purple, red... Those weren’t the nebulae’s true colors. They were merely the reflections of starlight for human visual perception. Sometimes, seeing isn’t necessarily believing.

Douglas’ neck was gently embraced from behind by a pair of soft arms, whispering intimately into his ear: ”What are you watching?”

”Looking at the insignificance of humanity.” Douglas didn’t turn around. He gently held the jade hand on his chest, tilting his head to rub his cheek against the woman’s silky skin: ”Is the reconnaissance ship back?”

”Mm!” The woman’s beautiful white face rested on Douglas’ shoulder, her long lashes slightly drooping, eliciting affection: ”It just returned, and the collected intelligence has been transmitted into the intelligence system for analysis.”

”Hopefully it brings back some good news.” Douglas sighed: ”We’ve stayed here too long.”

”Don’t you often say that a good hunter must have better patience than a crocodile?” The woman fondly touched Douglas’ handsome face, feeling the newly sprouted stubble on his determined chin.

”But Claudia...” Douglas smiled slightly: ”If a crocodile starves because of its patience, it would be too foolish.”

With a soft giggle, the chair was turned around, and Claudia’s radiant face appeared before Douglas. Subsequently, this passionate kiss from the ship captain of the 19th Group Fleet’s ”Mermaid” battleship blocked her superior’s mouth.

After the embrace, Douglas reluctantly watched those enthusiastic and sweet lips leave him, smiling: ”Sometimes, I can’t distinguish whether it’s the patience for capturing prey that keeps me here, or this beautiful female crocodile in front of me...”

”Who’s the female crocodile!” Claudia chuckled, patting Douglas while sitting on his lap. Watching the virtual screen resembling a miniature universe, her eyes filled with admiration: ”It’s truly beautiful.”

”Yes...” Douglas turned back, sighing: ”Compared to the universe, humans are so insignificant. We haven’t truly conquered any Star System within it. For example, the Hermit Crab Star System before us... Aside from its edge, where we discovered a Jump Channel and several Jump Points, the billions of planets remain untouched by us. We can only stand here, admiring the enchanting starry sky.”

”If we could freely explore planets among the stars without relying on Jump Points...” Claudia pursed her lips, her eyes displaying a trace of melancholy: ”...Wouldn’t there be no war?”

”No war?...” Douglas’ face showed a hint of mockery: ”Apart from resources, humans have numerous reasons for war: race, religion, hatred, hegemony, human rights, and so-called justice. Perhaps, there’s no need for a reason at all... Human history itself is a history of war. And what we encounter is the largest war ever known to humanity...”

”As a soldier... Truly unsure if this is our fortune or misfortune!” Claudia pressed her forehead against Douglas’, continuing his thought with a laugh: ”Don’t you think discussing this with me is not romantic enough?”

The two exchanged smiles. ”Claudia...” Douglas gazed into her eyes for a long while and sincerely said: ”...You are my soulmate.”

Claudia playfully bit her lip, her eyes shimmering as she teased him with a little wrinkle of her nose: ”So, when do you plan to... propose to me...”

”I think...” Douglas gently kissed Claudia’s lips, murmuring: ”I can’t wait for the war to end...”

The young couple immersed themselves in each other’s rapid breaths and fervent kisses until interrupted by a knocking sound.

”General!” The knocking officer entered without hesitation, immediately seeing Claudia standing with her back towards him at the porthole. Without much thought, he quickly approached Douglas, sitting upright, and handed a document: ”This is the intelligence just collected by my reconnaissance ship. The Suss Fleet has completely launched their attack on Mars, and two fleets from Jiepeng have already left the Longbow Star Domain to replace patrol and escort tasks on the main channel.”

”Oh?!” Douglas’ eyes lit up upon hearing the report, quickly grabbing the document to read it. On the other hand, Claudia, standing by the porthole, with a hint of shyness and blush, couldn’t help but turn her head around.

The officer hastily continued: ”It’s confirmed that currently, the Longbow Star System is guarded by only one Jiepeng Level A fleet...”

Douglas motioned for the officer to stop, continuously reading and analyzing the intelligence in his hand repetitively. After a long period of silence, as he stood up again, his eyes shone brightly: ”Order, Level 1 battle readiness, all ship captains, attend the flagship command meeting within five minutes.”

”Yes!” The officer saluted and quickly left.

The automatic door closed with a soft hiss. Silence enveloped the room where Douglas and Claudia exchanged silent glances!

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.Apologies, I’ve indeed faced issues in my writing concepts recently. Not sure when this bottleneck will pass. These over four thousand words are the smoothest among the ten thousand words I’ve produced in recent days. Exhaustion, headaches, every time sitting in front of the computer, my mind goes blank, unable to concentrate. The doctor said I’ve been staying up late too much. It seems that I must strengthen my exercise and change my schedule.

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.(To be continued, if you wish to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com for more chapters, support the author, support legitimate reading!)