Chapter 3: Paralyze the Enemy, Making Them Believe That Your Side Intends to Fight a War of Attrition.
This way, as long as your side's soldiers are promoted to veterans through the War Lord's bonuses, they can retreat to the safe perimeter of the base camp. This not only gives them time to adapt to the battlefield but also accumulates the number of veterans.
When you have enough veterans under your command, and the total number of soldiers reaches over 300,000, triggering the War Lord's 'Blood·Soul Power' ability, the bullets of the veterans will be imbued with true damage. This becomes an incredibly formidable force.
No need for too many, just 50,000 veterans, plus 10,000 Transcendents, and 250,000 ordinary soldiers, and Su Xiao can sweep through the Western Continent in one go.
In the early stage, lie low and develop quickly; in the mid stage, continue to lie low; in the late stage, become invincible. As the saying goes, when still, steady as an old dog; when moving, heaven collapses and earth shatters.
Su Xiao pondered for a moment and decided to dispatch the Second Corps and the Third Corps, leaving the First Corps and the Fourth to Seventh Corps to garrison the area around the base camp.
"Goya."
"Here."
Goya, dressed in an Alliance military uniform, stood straight. She had now given up struggling; let things be whatever they would be. She had no feelings left.
"Go notify the Second Corps and the Third Corps to advance toward the Rocky Area and engage the enemy head-on. The First Corps is to be ready for reinforcement at any time. The Fourth Corps' heavy artillery units are to advance 6 kilometers and then await orders. The Fifth Corps is to prepare for flank reinforcement..."
After Su Xiao issued the orders, Goya took out a small notebook, scribbled down notes, and then went to convey the commands.
Half an hour later, Su Xiao heard the sound of artillery fire from outside the command post. The Second Corps and the Third Corps had engaged the enemy, and it was estimated that they would withdraw after an hour of combat.
The waiting time felt somewhat long. Just then, Tide Hunter, not far behind Su Xiao, spoke up:
"Are you sending the soldiers to their deaths?"
"Pretty much."
Su Xiao actually had two choices. With conventional tactics, at least seventy percent of the soldiers would die, and victory might not be guaranteed. There could even be large-scale desertions during the war. The extreme tactic, on the other hand, was to send batches to the front lines. Calculated this way, the death toll would be around twenty to thirty percent.
Even though the latter resulted in fewer casualties, it appeared more insane during implementation, as if sending Alliance soldiers batch by batch into a furnace. In reality, by ensuring the number of reinforcements and covering troops in the rear, the soldiers sent to the front lines were more likely to retreat, unlike those in passive defensive positions who could only fight to the death.
"Aren't you afraid they'll rebel?"
"..."
Su Xiao turned his head to look at Tide Hunter, sizing him up, then ignored him. Baha laughed and said:
"Sister Tide Hunter, let me ask you, even if the Second Corps and the Third Corps rebel, which side would they defect to? Surrender to Emperor Taiatu? What you're talking about is a mutiny. Don't worry, there won't be a mutiny. They are soldiers, not warriors. A soldier's duty is to obey. Warriors have more diverse thinking, like you, who can also moonlight as a female secretary. When we get back to the Southern Continent, I'll get you an OL outfit. Oh my~, Granny, I was wrong, don't point that arrow at me."
Baha leaned sideways, habitually running his mouth, but under the might of the Tianba Clan, he backed down.
An hour passed, and the battle report came back. The dispatched Second Corps and Third Corps had a total of over 12,680 deaths. The parasitic insect warriors' attack methods were too strong; the nematodes inside their bodies meant that our soldiers died upon contact.
Su Xiao checked the list of his own faction, which only he could see. The data for his faction appeared, and he only looked at the numbers of Transcendents and soldiers.
Transcendents: 11,519.
Ordinary Soldiers: 233,734.
Elite Soldiers: 7,260.
Veterans: 5,726.
...
Among these, the elite soldiers were between ordinary soldiers and veterans, about to be promoted to Gun Masters under the War Lord's enhancement.
This was far from enough. The overall combat power of the Western Continent faction was much stronger than Su Xiao had anticipated. He felt that this time, he would need to consume 30 ounces of Space-Time Power to exchange for 3 days of mission time limit.
This way, he would have 4 days and 15 hours to deal with the Western Continent faction. Of course, he wouldn't recklessly use Space-Time Power before the existing mission time limit was exhausted.
Su Xiao let the hearts of the seven Major Generals rest for 10 minutes before issuing his second order, commanding the Fourth Corps and the Fifth Corps to go into battle, still following the original strategy.
When they received this order, Major General Aibedi of the Fourth Corps and Major General Duke of the Fifth Corps both felt a shiver in their hearts. This time it was their turn. Both knew clearly that the Alliance soldiers had never participated in war. This was the Commander-in-Chief allowing their soldiers to adapt to the environment. If they didn't even have the courage, then what was the point of fighting? They might as well surrender directly.
The Fourth Corps and the Fifth Corps were both composed of soldiers and officers from the Southern Alliance. They were holding onto a sense of pride. Just now, the Second Corps and the Third Corps had been beaten like grandsons by the enemy. They were different; they were soldiers of the Southern Alliance, not like those soft eggs from the Eastern Alliance.
"Warriors, show them our morale!"
In front of the trench, a Second Lieutenant shouted, looking at the determined eyes before him, feeling immensely proud. These were the soldiers of the Southern Alliance, the brave men of the Southern Continent.
Two hours later.
The Second Lieutenant, covered in blood and grime, huddled in a tent, holding a metal cup in his trembling hands. Inside was boiled black tea. He took a sip, and the warmth gradually spread from his mouth to his stomach, warming his entire abdomen.
"I'm... still alive, hehehe."
The Second Lieutenant's laughter pulled at the wound on his face, causing him to flinch in pain. He heard faint footsteps approaching. At first, he didn't pay attention, but suddenly, he noticed the footsteps lighten.
The Second Lieutenant stomped the rifle butt, grabbing the upright rifle in his hands. He pulled the bolt, chambered a round, and aimed in one fluid motion, targeting the forehead of the person entering the tent. His calloused index finger was steady, even though his lips were still pale from the hellish scene he had just witnessed.
"Shh~"
A female officer, more masculine in appearance and sturdier than the Second Lieutenant, crawled into the tent. The Second Lieutenant dropped his rifle. This was exactly what he needed right now—his old flame had arrived.
...
At the enemy's camp, a dark earthen hut was packed with parasitic insect warriors. Most of the time, parasitic insect warriors disliked light; unless necessary, they wouldn't actively expose themselves to sunlight, even though it had no effect on them.
In a spacious wooden hut next door, several Contractors were either standing or sitting.
"Everyone, don't be so formal. Lady Xianji is now one of us."
The Mystic Mage spoke with a smile. In the wooden hut, Tyrant, Guangmu, Shuige, and the Charm-type female Contractor all remained silent, as did the others, all watching Xianji warily.
"Mystic Mage, should I thank you? In such a battle situation, you actually called for my aid."
Xianji looked at the Mystic Mage, who was actually Gray Gentleman, with a half-smile. She was puzzled as to why he was being so kind.
"With you here, our chances of victory are more stable."
As Gray Gentleman spoke, he glanced at the brand on his palm. He inwardly regretted that this puppet would be consumed here. Based on his understanding of Su Xiao, he had already guessed that Su Xiao was definitely holding back a big move. Once that side showed its fangs, of the twenty-plus people here, except for Xianji, no one else would even have a chance to escape.
"Lady Xianji, are you really one of us now?"
Tyrant still had some concerns, but Xianji was a Violator from Holy Light Paradise, not one of those madmen from Reincarnation Paradise. The Violators among those madmen were completely uncooperative.
"Not one of us, just a community of interests."
"Lucky for you, you're not one of those madmen from Reincarnation Paradise. If you were, I'd turn and leave."
Tyrant stood up as he spoke. The Mystic Mage suddenly asked:
"Tyrant, do you have a prejudice against Reincarnation Paradise?"
"A big one."
"Prejudice can evolve into weakness..."
"Weakling, shut up."
"..."
The Mystic Mage, Gray Gentleman, was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. Xianji's brow twitched slightly, but she said nothing.
Xianji re-evaluated Tyrant, this brave but seemingly muscle-brained strongman. She guessed he was a Contractor from Apocalypse Paradise; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived to such a high rank, even if he was called the Undying Tyrant.
"This time, it seems pretty stable?"
Guangmu stepped in to smooth things over. She figured that if this continued, there might be internal strife, so she changed the subject. Based on the previous battles between the Western Continent faction and the Alliance faction, Guangmu had basically confirmed that the enemy faction was all show and no go. After three engagements, the enemy had suffered three consecutive crushing defeats.
Hearing Guangmu's words, Tyrant nodded in agreement. He said:
"That's right, this time it's stable."