Thunder Warrior Saves the World

Page 15

The army, unaware of the heavy losses the air force had just suffered in Svobrella in the south, was also unaware that the air force leadership had lost the courage to launch an offensive. They now only wanted to preserve these precious aircraft and pilots as much as possible, rather than risk being annihilated again to provide the army with negligible tactical support.

……

摸了

Volume 1: Chapter 83 (Seventy-Five) - International Community Concern

Just as the Battle of Fabandi broke out, news of a self-proclaimed "Amelia Volunteer Army" emerging during the Elgia-Belken War spread widely in the international community. Whether it was the superpowers of Donghuang and the Xins Federation, or the remote island nations to the south, amidst the overwhelming media coverage, even the poorest and illiterate civilians, through their daily exposure, generally knew that a new nation called "Amelia" had appeared on the Xins continent, and that it had even actively participated in the war between the Kingdom of Elgia and the Belken Empire.

Speaking of media publicity, Lu Wu has to thank the major media outlets in Ireland. Without their help, the 7th Brigade would have had to put in a lot of effort to make its name known in the international community.

When it doesn't concern them, people are always happy to gossip. These suddenly appearing Amelia people undoubtedly brought some novelty to the boring daily lives of the lower classes. Although they lacked various effective intelligence, this did not prevent them from using their extraordinary imagination to deconstruct a "Amelia" in their minds, and even arguing about their different deconstructions.

If even the common people are so concerned about these four Amelias, then the political animals and nobles who consider themselves the social elite are even more so. They can be said to be the group of people on the entire continent of Ens who are most concerned about "Amelia". Especially the two superpowers, who are racking their brains over this "Amelia".

It is common knowledge that the emperors of the Siens Federation and the Belken Empire are related, and the Kingdom of Elgia has always maintained good relations with the Eastern Empire. Therefore, it is natural that the Siens Federation began to suspect that this "Amelia Volunteer Army" might be a group of troops secretly sent to Elgia by the Eastern Empire, who, seeing that Elgia was on the verge of collapse, disguised as such. They did not believe the explanation given by Elgia and Amelia.

If this is true, then they can't stand idly by. The Eastern Empire's troops can crush the Belken forces today; tomorrow they might just trample the Siens Federation's troops underfoot. They must prepare as soon as possible.

However, when the aggressive Ambassador Seans came knocking, the Donghuang people, who were also confused about the situation, argued for a long time with Ambassador Seans, and after exchanging several investigation reports, they finally came to the conclusion that it seemed, perhaps, maybe this group of "Amelia Volunteers" was not a cover for any country, and that there really was such a country or regime.

This conclusion left the officials of Siens and Donghuang looking at each other in bewilderment. However, upon seeing the information submitted by their intelligence personnel about this unit—for example, that this volunteer army possessed tactics and equipment completely different from the existing warfare system (information relayed by their agents in Belken or Elgia)—they began to find the claim somewhat credible. After all, Siens and Donghuang were old rivals. As the saying goes, the one who knows you best is your enemy. While this understanding might not extend to knowing the exact color of the other's underwear, it was certainly possible to confirm whether they preferred boxer shorts, briefs, or boxer briefs. Siens's men were also reluctant to believe that Donghuang could create such a completely different army right under their noses.

Not to mention that the Amelia Volunteer Army, whether in name or in the race of its soldiers, was closer to the Western world than the Eastern world.

This conclusion made these people even more restless. Especially the people of the Siens Federation, who clearly already knew that the Belken Northern Army had suffered a major defeat in Svorbella. The Siens Federation was also well aware of the Belken Northern Army's combat capabilities. What would they do if they were to face this group of "Ameria Volunteers" in the future? They didn't want to end up like the Belken people, getting thoroughly beaten.

The atmosphere in Donghuang was relatively relaxed. After all, it seemed that they had no conflict of interest with the "Amelia Volunteer Army". In some respects, they were even on the same side. The possibility of a conflict with them in the short term was not high. They might even be able to get in touch with these people by taking advantage of their good relationship with Elgia. After all, they were also very interested in the weapons, equipment and tactics of the Amelia Volunteer Army and would not miss any opportunity to learn about them.

After their meeting, the two superpowers, each with their own agendas, immediately submitted their opinions to the central government. They both agreed that sending a military observation mission to Belken/Ergia was the best course of action. Both Siens and Donghuang knew that their old adversary was likely doing something similar. At this juncture, whoever obtained detailed intelligence on this volunteer force first would gain the upper hand in the ensuing military competition.

Driven by this sense of crisis, both the Xins Federation and the Eastern Empire mobilized their bloated administrative agencies, passing resolutions to dispatch military observer missions with remarkable efficiency and formally submitting related proposals to the Belken Empire/Elgia Kingdom.

The Belken Empire readily agreed to the request, as their Northern Army Group was currently struggling to deal with the Amelia people of Svorbella, and having high-quality officers from the Siens Federation advise on countermeasures was a good idea. However, this proposal encountered some resistance from the decision-making level of the Kingdom of Elgia: a considerable number of Elgia nobles believed that the Eastern Huang people's military expedition was aimed at stealing technology from them, posing a serious threat to the Kingdom of Elgia's national defense and security, and therefore must be firmly rejected.

Fourthly, it's true that although the cooperation between Amelia and Elgia has only been going on for a short time, Amelia's performance in Svorbella alone has already made these Elgia nobles eye Amelia's technology, considering it their own. How could they let others touch their own things? With this in mind, these nobles, who are obsessed with building a Great Elgia Kingdom, strongly opposed Donghuang's proposal.

Rosetta was understandably enraged by the nobles' reaction. These greedy and clueless people were the epitome of fools. If these scoundrels weren't dealt with decisively, they would inevitably cause a great disturbance sooner or later. Rosetta reaffirmed her resolve.

Volume 1: Chapter 84, Section 76: The Future of the Belken Prisoners of War

However, Rosetta did not directly force the government to agree to Donghuang's proposal. He first notified Lu Wu's 7th Brigade.

Ha, anyone with eyes can see that the delegation traveled all the way from the Eastern Ring not to see the Elgia Kingdom's army, but to see the Amelia people. How could they hide this from the Amelia? After all, if the Amelia people were unwilling to open their doors to observation in the Eastern Ring, they, as partners, couldn't very well force them to. Besides, did they even have the capability? Ultimately, this matter still rests with the Amelia 7th Brigade.

"Yelena, what do you think about this?"

After receiving the telegram from Fabanti, Lu Wu quickly skimmed through its contents and then handed it to Yelena.

"Does Donghuang want to send an inspection team over? This might have both advantages and disadvantages for us."

"How so?" Lu Wu asked with interest.

“The advantage is that we can take this opportunity to expand our influence and establish relations with more countries,” Yelena said to Lu Wu, giving him a warning. She didn’t believe he couldn’t see through these things. “The disadvantage is that some of our secrets will inevitably be exposed in the process. This will inevitably have a negative impact on our operations in the future. Of course, it’s hard to say exactly what the impact will be now.”

"So what do you think we should do?" Lu Wu continued to ask.

"Let me guess, Commander, you're thinking of agreeing to Donghuang's request?" Yelena answered the question with a question.

"Why not?" Lu Wu replied. "What do you think is the most obvious weakness for us that they can reach?"

“It’s manpower,” Lu Wu answered himself. “We don’t have a real country supporting us. Currently, we recruit new soldiers through Golden Eagle, which can only be obtained through missions. This makes our troop replenishment and formation speed completely limited by missions. To put it bluntly, obtaining Golden Eagle through missions is like relying on Brother Anton to get by, just enough to keep us from starving. If we want to strengthen the 7th Brigade, we have to rely on ourselves.”

"It sounds like you already have a plan, Commander?"

"Well, I have some ideas, but whether they'll work and how effective they will be, we'll have to try them to know." Lu Wu said this, clearly not very confident himself.

"Then, Commander, tell me your thoughts, and I'll give you some advice?" Yelena put the telegram back on the table, returned behind Lu Wu, placed her hands on his shoulders, and began to massage him.

Volume 1: Chapter 85 I'm in Guangzhou, just arrived at the hotel

I'm currently in Guangzhou, just arrived at the hotel, have some business to attend to, so I'll remain anonymous.

Ahem, actually I just suddenly had to go to Guangzhou for something, and I didn't bring my computer, so there haven't been any updates for the past two days. I'll probably resume updates on Monday or Tuesday. That's all.

My perfect attendance record is gone! *crying*

Purple potato pudding Purple potato pudding Purple potato pudding Purple potato pudding Purple potato pudding Purple potato pudding

Volume 1: Chapter 86-77 International Brigade?

“But wouldn’t doing this be too slow?” Yelena quickly realized the flaws in this plan to supplement manpower by modifying prisoners of war.

Political work is never accomplished overnight, and eradicating the brainwashing of militarism requires a long-term investment of thought. Trying to completely change someone's mindset and turn them into one of our own in two or three days is virtually impossible. Even the Japanese workers' and peasants' schools in Yan'an only successfully transformed these Japanese invaders into proletarian soldiers against imperialism through long-term interaction and the tireless efforts of the cadres. The cultivation of beliefs requires time and accumulation; without this accumulation, so-called beliefs are nothing more than a fragile paper tiger. This means that the reformation of prisoners of war cannot be rushed.

"It is indeed slow, but I believe that soldiers trained in this way are trustworthy." Rather than assembling a bunch of cannon fodder with quantity but no quality, Lu Wu prefers high-quality soldiers. Genuine recognition allows these soldiers to unleash 120%, or even 200%, of their combat effectiveness.

“Yes, I understand.” Lu Wu’s idea of ​​recruiting and training people from the Ens natives to supplement the manpower gave Yelena another idea. “Maybe we can directly recruit the Elgians into our troops? That way, we won’t have to spend too much time correcting wrong ideas.”

Lu Wu nodded; he did indeed share this idea. "However, whether this matter can be accomplished depends on the Kingdom of Elgia. Although our current identity has been recognized by the Elgia, we ultimately do not belong to this country. If the Elgia want to join the army, their first thought will definitely be the Kingdom's army, not the volunteer army."

"In this way, we can control the scope of conscription within our actual control area, where our influence is greatest."

“Theoretically, that’s true,” Lu Wu shrugged. “But look at where we actually control now. Wakan Village no longer exists. The nearest inhabited settlement is Swobella, but I guess most of the eligible young men in Swobella who wanted to join the army have already joined the Kingdom Army. Even if some haven’t joined the Kingdom Army yet for various reasons, this place is practically the 44th Division’s own reserve for recruiting. If we recruit in Swobella, we’re essentially competing with the Kingdom Army for manpower, which is a very offensive thing. If word gets to people who already have a bad impression of us, it will further damage our reputation.”

“Human nature is a complex thing. Once the 7th Brigade develops a bad impression in the public eye, it becomes extremely difficult to correct. People are willing to believe that good people can turn bad, but they find it hard to believe that bad people can turn good.” Lu Wu sighed. Whether it was Yelena or other cyborgs, they spent most of their time on the battlefield and didn’t have much exposure to this kind of thing, so it’s not surprising that they overlooked it.

"So, are we just going to give up like this?" Yelena was clearly somewhat disappointed.

"Of course not. Although that's the idea, there's still some room for maneuver." Lu Wu changed the subject and continued, "We can adjust our recruitment target to those of eligible age who want to resist the invaders but are unable or unwilling to join the Kingdom's army for various reasons. Especially after the positive public opinion that foreign volunteers are assisting the Kingdom of Elgeia in resisting the invasion has taken hold in international public opinion, I believe that a group of enthusiastic people will definitely want to join this ranks. At that time, we might be able to rename ourselves the International Brigade. Yes, if Donghuang wants to send an observation team, it must give something in return. What we want is the public opinion war waged by this great power, Donghuang, in the international community to support us."

"Won't this compromise the purity of the unit?" Yelena asked, her face showing worry, clearly sensing that this "helpful" person had ulterior motives. According to her previous thinking, Paz was going to conduct rigorous political vetting of new recruits to prevent the inclusion of Tzeentch followers. If they were locals from Svorbella, they could use methods like visiting neighbors and reviewing Elgian files to eliminate them. But if the scope was expanded to the entire province, the nation, or even the world, it became an impossible task. These soldiers, who believed that "unreliable loyalty is absolute disloyalty," and who never kept secrets from their commanders, were simple and devoted to their commanders. For them, for the 7th Brigade to have disloyal members because of them was unthinkable, an indelible stain, as despicable and contemptible as Horus's betrayal.

But for Lu Wu, this wasn't a big problem. "This problem is relatively easy to solve. We can use these new recruits to form a completely new army, but all officers above the rank of sergeant will be our own people. The soldiers only need to learn basic tactical maneuvers at this stage. While they are learning these tactical skills, our officers and sergeants can use the guise of forming study groups to instill in them our idea that 'soldiers should not become victims of dirty politics.' We will regularly evaluate the performance of the group members. Those with high scores will be developed into our own people and can enter more elite units to use more advanced equipment, while those with low scores who cannot accept this idea will be removed from the ranks."

"In that case, we would probably have to draw a large number of people from our troops. I think this would have a significant impact on our combat effectiveness in the short term."

"There's no such thing as a perfect solution in this world; it's all about trade-offs." He shrugged. If you want to rapidly expand your fighting strength, the integrity of your team and its short-term combat effectiveness will inevitably be compromised. Different solutions simply correspond to differences in the degree and duration of this damage.

"Regardless, we can put the recruitment of volunteers from civilians on hold for now. After all, I don't know the extent of their propaganda capabilities, and it takes time for public opinion to take shape. We need to let things develop. But the reformation of Belken prisoners of war can be put on the agenda immediately. In the upcoming battles, there will definitely be more and more Belken prisoners of war."

……

I'm back. Today I went to the community clinic and waited in line for more than two hours. I encountered a bunch of bizarre things: including, but not limited to, a couple who let their three children roll around on the floor and threw public service leaflets everywhere; an elderly couple who missed their turn but insisted on being seen by the doctor; and a woman who let her child cry for almost ten minutes...

My already high blood pressure went even higher.

So there will only be one update today.

Volume 1: Chapter 87 (Seventy-Eight) - Flies Outside the Base

However, Lu Wu did not specifically issue a mission to capture Belken soldiers. After all, the 7th Brigade was not a mercenary organization like MSF or Diamond Dogs that had the "Fulton Recovery System". To send prisoners back to the base, they could only use helicopter air transport or road transport by vehicle, which was not only troublesome and laborious, but also easy to cause changes to the reconnaissance company's mission.

After rigorous training under the Moonlight, Fire, Water, Wood, and Metal regiments, the Ergia soldiers of the 6th Battalion are rapidly familiarizing themselves with the performance characteristics and unique tactics of these Soviet-style equipment. Under Bai Xue's command, after nearly a month and a half of intensive training, they are striving to transform into the technical branch of armored troops. Meanwhile, the reconnaissance company sent to search for the mobile forces has finally caught up with this large combat group consisting of four divisions, pinpointing their location.

Based on the speed of this mobile force's advance, it should take them only three days to reach the designated attack position.

Therefore, the training missions of the 6th Battalion and the Tank Battalion were suspended. Two tank battalions, two mechanized infantry companies, one self-propelled artillery company, and an engineer company, under Lu Wu's orders, were deployed to the designated battlefield in the north. Bai Xue would lead a mixed force of veterans and new recruits, with vastly different equipment, to engage the Belken in the first armored decisive battle in the Ens world. Naturally, the journalists sent by Ergia would not miss this grand armored battle, and some of the lucky ones would be granted the right to accompany the troops.

To Lu Wu's surprise, two days after the unit was deployed, reports came from the outer perimeter of the base that a large number of Belken infantry squads were approaching the base. These squads totaled almost a battalion in size, but showed no signs of carrying any heavy weapons.

"Our location has been exposed? What happened?" Lu Wu's first thought was whether some of the reporters had leaked the information. After all, he couldn't recall any unidentified flying objects flying over the base area, and the sentry posts around the area hadn't reported any signs of Belken scouts. This ruled out the possibility that Belken's scouts had bypassed the security perimeter.

The question immediately made Paz nervous. She quickly reviewed her work over the past few days in her mind, and only after confirming that there were no oversights in either the radio surveillance of the base or the management of the whereabouts of outsiders did she answer: "I think the reason why the Belken people know the location of our base is not because someone here leaked the information, but because they obtained the location of the base through other means."

"Then investigate and find out how they found out. If there was no leak, that would be best. But if it is indeed a problem with our confidentiality work, then we need to fix the loopholes as soon as possible." Lu Wu waved his hand and handed the task over to Paz.

"Understood, Comrade Brigade Commander!" After confirming that Lu Wu had no further instructions, Paz snapped to attention, saluted, and hurriedly left to assign tasks.

Lu Wu then turned to the lieutenant in charge of airport security, who was also his personal guard, and asked, "What are those Belken men on the outskirts doing right now?"

"They're gathering in a small grove to the southwest, and it looks like they're going to attack from that direction." After discovering a small group of enemy troops approaching, the lieutenant led a few men to take the initiative and find out the details of this force. She suggested to Lu Wu, "We can give that grove a few rounds of artillery fire, and that will be the end of it."

“No, let them in.” Lu Wu abandoned the tempting plan to annihilate the enemy and instead chose a different approach. “You set up a defensive line in the southwest of the base. I will have the anti-aircraft company send three Tunguskas to support you. Your goal is not to annihilate the enemy, but to break them down and force them to surrender.”

"It's easy to crush them, but whether they surrender or not isn't up to us..." The lieutenant shrugged, somewhat helplessly. Three Tunguskas, with their insane firepower, were enough to annihilate the Belken infantry battalion that was determined to make a big splash. However, those who could shoulder the mission of raiding enemy camps were generally elite troops. The reason why elite troops were elite was not so much because their equipment was better than that of ordinary troops, but because their organization, morale, and tactical skills were all superior to those of ordinary troops. Getting elite troops to give up resistance and surrender voluntarily was a far more difficult thing than annihilating them.

"Whether it works or not, we'll try and see." Lu Wu was optimistic. "In the past, we talked about surrounding three sides and leaving one side open. Now our goal is to capture as many of them as possible. So naturally, we need to make them realize that there is no hope of continuing to resist and that it is impossible to escape. In this way, the probability of them surrendering will increase a lot."

Hearing him say that, the lieutenant could only nod in agreement. Of course, she could only do her best to follow Lu Wu's ideas; whether she could achieve the desired effect depended on how much the Belken people valued their lives.

The anti-aircraft company quickly deployed three Tunguska tanks, which she arranged laterally in the direction the Belken were expected to attack. Her two platoons then deployed longitudinally on either side of these three SPAA tanks, forming a triangular encirclement of the Belken attack. The remaining platoon served as a mobile force, ready to engage the Belken once they were fully within the ambush zone, cutting off their retreat. Finally, the encirclement tightened inwards, forcing the enemy forces within to surrender.

However, implementing this tactic would be quite difficult. The Belken had already sent two groups of scouts to watch them, and this sudden troop deployment would make them realize they had been exposed, making them unlikely to foolishly rush into their pre-set ambush. But if they were to eliminate these two groups of scouts, the Belken would also realize they had been exposed.

How could Lu possibly deceive these scouts?

The answer is: Night.

As a mechanized force fully equipped with night vision goggles, and some vehicles even equipped with high-definition thermal imaging, the impact of darkness on them was minimized. Conversely, while the Belken people had gained some enhanced night vision through drugs, human capabilities are finite. No matter how much the human eye's night vision is enhanced, it cannot compare to the night vision goggles equipped by the 7th Brigade. In a sense, darkness was the 7th Brigade's friend. And this asymmetrical advantage was precisely what they intended to exploit.

qi……

Sorry, I haven't updated for the past few days.

The reason is simple: my cold got worse, and my cough was severe. It's a little better today.

I will resume daily updates after I fully recover, but there may only be one update per day after that. Double updates would require a lot of time and energy, which would make me very focused on my cultivation. For the sake of my health, I can only take it slow for now.

Volume 1: Chapter 88, Chapter 79: Namo 2S6 Bodhisattva and Demon

As darkness once again became the dominant theme in Villand province, the 7th Brigade's base, as always, implemented necessary blackout measures. The base, mostly shrouded in darkness, undoubtedly provided convenient cover for the mechanized infantry company and Operation Tunguska.

And so, a mechanized infantry company plus three Tunguskas quietly set up an ambush position right under the noses of the Belken scouts, opening their trap and waiting for their prey to take the bait.

With the stage ready, it was time for the actors to take the stage. Half an hour after the ambush positions were completed, sensors around the airport transmitted images, and the Belken men began their operation. These three hundred-odd men did not spread out in a loose skirmish line, but instead charged towards the base in a relatively compact formation. Their method of attack was exactly the same as the captain's predicted direction, plunging headlong into the trap set by the 7th Brigade, like actors meticulously performing according to a script.

The Tunguska gunners brought their eyes close to the sighting equipment, and what they saw was instantly shrouded in a fluorescent green, but also became clearer. The Belken's originally tight formation finally changed when they were about 500 meters from the base; they began to widen the gaps between each other, but the attack did not slow down.

"Ranger 2, Ranger 3, await my orders."

The gunner of Ranger 2 silently placed his finger on the trigger. As soon as he pulled the trigger, with the blessing of the four 30mm 2A38 cannons, he would instantly transform into the Bodhisattva Namo 2S6, with four pure AP rounds, turning 3,600 times in a breath, and compassionately saving all beings.

Soon, as the Belken advanced to a distance of 340 meters, a flare rose from the camp. The light emitted by the violently reacting chemicals allowed the advancing Belken to clearly see the three strangely shaped armored vehicles in front of them.

"Fire," Ranger 1 ordered.

A red streak of fire flashed, accompanied by a cacophony of almost indistinct "rat-a-tat-tat" artillery fire. Belken scouts were instantly scattered everywhere, like jam spilled by a mischievous child. Caught off guard, the Belken scouts either dropped to the ground or instinctively moved to the sides, trying to avoid the direct fire. Unfortunately for them, a mechanized infantry platoon was positioned on each side of the SPAA, waiting for them. Tear gas canisters were hurled from the hands of the 7th Brigade soldiers, rolling to the feet of the Belken scouts, hissing as they released a white mist of gas.

The white mist quickly enveloped a large area, trapping all the Belken soldiers attempting to flank them. A chorus of painful coughs erupted from within the mist. The compound irritant, a mixture of capsaicin, piperine, and o-chlorobenzyl malononitrile, caused intense, burning irritation to the eyes, facial skin, and respiratory tract. The pain in their eyes made them instinctively try to rub them to remove the contaminant, but their hands were already contaminated with the irritant in the air. This action only exacerbated the damage. They tried to cry out in agony, but opening their mouths only inhaled more irritant. The cries turned into coughs, each cough resulting in the repeated inhalation of large amounts of irritant. This vicious cycle inevitably led to oxygen deprivation and suffocation. Those who could still walk while covering their eyes soon swayed and collapsed, their convulsing bodies on the ground a testament to their continued existence. The Belken soldiers at the edge of the white fog were still able to walk independently. They realized that this pain was undoubtedly caused by the white fog, and driven by instinct, they staggered away from the fog.

The horrific scene of the flank squads undoubtedly stunned the six scouts lying prone in the center. They stared at the white mist on both flanks, trembling. They clearly didn't know that the people inside the mist weren't dead; the gradually weakening coughs gave them the illusion that the number of living people in the mist was rapidly decreasing. This mysterious weapon, capable of causing intense pain and massive casualties, was undoubtedly a more terrifying existence than the steel monster before them.

"I can't take it anymore! Get me out of here!" Some Belken soldiers could no longer bear the unknown fear; they threw down their guns and ran away.

Although he had run at a speed comparable to Usain Bolt, unfortunately, it was still a little short of the speed of a shell. This idiot who had broken free of his cover exploded instantly, and a large chunk of limbs and flesh flew right in front of the nearest scout, startling him and causing him to feel a surge of heat in his crotch, leading to an unexpected and hilarious scene.

Meanwhile, the mechanized infantry of the 7th Brigade also sprang into action. Wearing PMK-4 gas masks and carrying AK-12s, the infantrymen left their cover and began advancing into the white fog. Some of them left behind to drag the Belken soldiers, who were incapacitated in the fog, out of the fog, while the majority of them continued their advance through the fog.

Then, a demon wearing a strange gray-black mask, with green reflections in its eyes and green "skin" descended from the white mist.

The scene unfolding before them was utterly horrifying for the Belken people. Unaware of gas masks, they naturally equated their menacing appearance with demons born from the fiery sulfur of hell. They were merely mortals; what could they possibly do against a demon? So they closed their eyes in despair, awaiting the demon's slaughter.

However, what they encountered was not the claws of a demon, but rather the muffled, universal language: "The Chinese People's Volunteer Army treats prisoners of war well; those who surrender will not be killed!"

"Those who want to live, drop your weapons, cover your heads with your hands, and crouch down!"

Living beings always prioritize their own survival, a instinct determined by their very nature. Only those with unwavering will can overcome this instinct. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these Belken scouts were clearly controlled by this instinct, and faced with this glimmer of hope, they ultimately chose to obey the "devil's" orders.

Once the first "role model" surrendered to the "devil," the scouts around him followed suit and completely gave up resistance. Even the few diehards who wanted to continue resisting were suppressed by the scouts around them to avoid being caught in the crossfire. With the cooperation of these Belken people, the Elwin battle group's plan to raid the airfield and destroy the air superiority of the Elgia-Emelia coalition was officially declared a failure.

Volume 1: Chapter 89 (No War on the Southern Front)

The weapons collection and battlefield cleanup went smoothly without any unexpected incidents. Paz's men quickly took possession of the prisoners and began interrogation. Given that Lu Wu's re-education program would be carried out later, Paz and her team adopted relatively gentle methods, mainly using psychological theories such as the prisoner's dilemma to get the prisoners to talk willingly, rather than simply and brutally using drugs or creating pain to force confessions.

The previous surrender had already cracked the loyalty of these Belken soldiers to the Empire, especially among the scouts who had stopped their comrades from continuing to resist. Paz keenly noticed this during the interrogation. Starting from this point, the psychological defenses of these scouts, which had already shown weaknesses, were utterly destroyed. Thus, the 7th Brigade quickly understood why this task force, composed entirely of elite scouts, was here.

About a week ago, this elite reconnaissance force drawn from various units of the Elvin Combat Group assembled in the jungle. Two-thirds of these more than 300 men were sergeants or above, including more than 40 junior officers. Led by a major, they were tasked with destroying the Elgia-Emelia Allied Airfield.

Initially, they were completely clueless about how to carry out this mission, as they had no idea where the airfield was. However, the major leading the team quickly devised a plan: using friendly forces as bait, they ordered several infantry companies to abandon some of their camouflage and march through easily exposed areas to lure the Allied aircraft into attacking. Meanwhile, they would observe the general direction of the returning aircraft to deduce their return flight path and then send small teams to verify it.

Just as Erwin was about to call off the operation after losing five infantry companies, they finally got lucky. Although the small detachment they sent out didn't directly spot the base, they discovered a large number of vehicle tracks and wheel marks on the ground. The troops heading north probably didn't expect Belken to be able to infiltrate so close to the base, so they didn't clear the tracks. The detachment called for the main force and followed the tracks. While they encountered the guard line set up by the garrison, the rest of the scouts also reached the perimeter of the base by forced march.

Then comes the story of Namo 2S6 Bodhisattva and the Demon in the Smoke.

Upon learning the reason for the base's location being exposed, Lu Wu's mood was far from pleasant. It seemed that the Belken reconnaissance team's discovery of the base was merely a result of a series of accidental events. However, behind these accidental events lay a series of inevitable events. This inevitability stemmed from the fact that when the officers and soldiers of the 7th Brigade discovered that their enemy was no longer the same level of power, or even a super-powerful one, as they had faced on Andon Star, but rather an enemy with a technological level decades behind their own, after a series of overwhelming victories and earning the praise of the Elgins, they inevitably developed complacency. Thinking about it carefully, this was normal. It's like driving a CW-21 to low-level battlegrounds to farm for chips; the more you farm, the more likely you are to make a mistake. If you happen to encounter an enemy with the same mindset, or a skilled player who has exploited the system, then…

Fortunately, this time, the enemy the 7th Brigade encountered wasn't the same kind of enemy looking to grab fries. At most, the 7th Brigade had temporarily forgotten about SA, and ended up being overwhelmed by the newbies. (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentences.)

But this also served as a wake-up call for Lu Wu. In the words of the great leader, they should underestimate the enemy strategically, but take them seriously tactically. The Belkens weren't armed with firecrackers; they were carrying real gunpowder-powered firearms, using full-power rifle ammunition—a shot would still kill. This time they faced Belken light infantry; perhaps next time, they would face Belken heavy artillery.

Adjusting their mindset needed to be prioritized. Lu Wu knew that as the commander of the 7th Brigade, he bore undeniable responsibility for this situation. Fortunately, they hadn't yet paid an irreparable price for this basic mistake; they still had a chance to correct it. Public reprimands, self-criticism, and holding relevant personnel accountable were essential procedures, but given that most of the responsible personnel were on combat missions, their criticism and education had to be postponed. This forced Lu Wu to consider whether his unit needed to add a political commissar position to prevent similar situations from recurring.

The reporters remaining at the base noticed a strange phenomenon: although the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had won another victory—killing over a hundred enemy soldiers and capturing over two hundred in fifteen minutes without suffering any casualties themselves—a truly remarkable achievement, why were the soldiers so somber? The usually talkative soldiers were now completely silent, and the officers were quietly intensifying their training… All of this piqued the reporters' curiosity, making them eager to extract details from the soldiers. Unfortunately, the soldiers remained tight-lipped, leaving the reporters empty-handed. They could only conclude that some unknown events had indeed occurred within the Volunteer Army.

Regardless, with the internal reorganization of the 7th Brigade, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's offensive south of Swobella had to slow down. The enemy, Erwin, immediately sensed this change. Seizing this opportunity, Erwin's battle group, after a brief reorganization, began a forced march towards Swobella, attempting to break through the various obstacles previously erected by the Volunteer Army. This was not only to create opportunities for the northern mobile forces but also an attempt to revive the pincer movement. However, the Belkens hadn't anticipated that the 7th Brigade's internal reorganization would take far less time than they had estimated. And once the 7th Brigade completed its reorganization, the enemy they faced would be far more formidable than before—in the parlance of Kankoku, the difficulty level had increased from B to A.

Belken's enemies would subsequently act more cautiously and plan more thoroughly. While this would slow down the 7th Brigade's deployment, it also meant the Belken lost more opportunities to exploit enemy mistakes. This put the Belken, already at a significant equipment disadvantage and forced to rely on tactics to compensate for the desperate gap, in an even more passive position. More fatally, this change wasn't overt; the Belken would only realize it after paying a heavy price.