475: Chapter 456 Playing Guerrilla Warfare with Me?

Brando sat alone in the tent for half an hour, gathered his scattered emotions, and decided to make one final attempt.

An attempt to defeat Lake.

Since war was inevitable, if he fought Lake using the same methods as previous wars against other nations, the outcome would surely be a crushing defeat. He had to be flexible and adaptable to find a glimmer of hope.

Brando walked out of the tent, found the Vice Legion Commander who was arranging the defensive lines, stopped his command, took full control of the military power, and then issued a series of orders that left the mid-to-high-ranking officers baffled.

The main legion was to retreat to the nearest border city to garrison. Among the many Second-tier Legions, one was to remain in place to form a formation to resist the incoming Lake vanguard, while the rest were to disappear into the mountain forests in front of the border city.

Brando's plan was simple.

Although the Kingdom had gathered a large amount of military intelligence about Lake on the coalition battlefield, most of it concerned legion tactics. Weapon types and performance were mostly based on visual observation, with very little detailed data known.

After wiping out the coalition, Lake had rested for another half a year. Anyone thinking with their toes would know that Lake's weapon development would never stop at what was currently seen; they would surely be working tirelessly to research even more powerful weapons.

Brando did not want to lose the war due to a misjudgment of Lake's weapon performance, nor was he willing to be caught off guard mid-battle by some secret weapon Lake suddenly pulled out, leaving him with a head full of lumps.

He envisioned using the fodder legions to conduct a long-term guerrilla war against Lake in the mountain forests to gather information on Lake's latest weapons—this tactic was not created by Brando but learned by observing the Laike Legion within the coalition's territory.

Conveniently, the undulating terrain and the natural obstacles of the trees in the mountain forests could weaken the Laike Legion's formidable mobility, making it the best battlefield for both sides to become entangled.

The mid-to-high-ranking officers of the Kingdom legion were utterly shocked when they received the order. They immediately left the Soldiers they were assembling and went to find Brando together to raise their doubts.

Open ground was convenient for cavalry charges and more conducive to Infantry Regiment formations. Why should they voluntarily give up the advantageous terrain?

Infantry Regiments could not withstand the bombardment and crushing of the steel monsters called "tanks." While High-tier Professionals could indeed easily overturn tanks, he did not dare to directly send out High-tier Professionals.

Lake clearly knew that High-tier Professionals could destroy tanks, yet they still ordered the tanks to lead the way, obviously having something to rely on.

As for what that reliance was, that was exactly what Brando was curious about.

He really wanted to spend a whole day explaining these things in detail to everyone, but the approach of the Lake army did not give him that leisure. He could only use his superior status to force the various legions to execute the military orders.

Brando was the commander-in-chief. Even if everyone had doubts about his arrangements and wanted to file a complaint, that would be a matter for after returning to the royal capital; for now, they could only obey.

The Legion Commanders returned to their respective units and ordered the Soldiers to immediately pack important supplies, discard low-value items like tents, and advance toward the border city.

Everyone had many doubts, but fortunately, the mission was a retreat rather than a suicide mission, so their moods weren't too gloomy.

Except for the Legion Commander who was ordered to block the Lake vanguard.

On the way back to the main camp, his tightly knit brows never relaxed. After entering the military tent and sitting behind the desk, facing the adjutant's inquiry of "whether to retreat with the allied forces," he kicked over the wooden table in front of him.

As a Second-tier Legion where the vast majority of Soldiers were ordinary people, the armor and weapons they received every year were the low-quality leftovers picked over by the First-Tier Legions.

Their allocated food budget was at the bottom among the various legions of the Kingdom, and during the resource-strained wartime, it had to be further reduced. At the worst of times, it could even be compared to the feed of the Pack Rhinos.

Oh, wait, the Pack Rhino's feed was wheat mixed with soybeans; compared to the wild vegetables mixed with wheat husks they ate, the nutrition and taste were clearly a level above.

The Legion Commander had endured these injustices. The standard for a First-Tier Legion was that Professionals occupied at least half of the Soldier structure; they were far from that, and no amount of complaints could change the facts.

But if they got the worst food and clothes, was it not too much to also arrange for them to be the first to go to their deaths?

He really wanted to walk up to Brando right now and argue his case, but in the end, it was only a fantasy. Brando was a Magister; without even mobilizing his subordinates, he could bury him and his entire legion into the earth alone.

After a few heavy breaths, the Legion Commander's clenched fist slowly relaxed: "Form up, engage the enemy."

Lake's vanguard only accounted for one-tenth of the total force, and the number of Soldiers was very limited, but it was still not something a single Second-tier Legion of the Kingdom could withstand.

Unsurprisingly, later, as the tank groups approached the Kingdom's border line, their tracks crushing the open fields, a single round of main gun volleys caused the Second-tier Legion in square formation to instantly collapse.

The Soldiers lucky enough to be outside the range of the shelling dropped their spears and turned to flee. After running for a while, realizing the armor was slowing them down, they simply stripped it off and threw it aside as they ran.

The Armored Regiment Commander, watching the entire process through a periscope, was almost stunned. He had participated in all of Lake's wars against the coalition. He had faced dozens, if not hundreds, of enemy legions, and he had never encountered a legion whose morale could be crushed by a single round of shelling.

Today was truly an eye-opener.

Wait, wait, wait, pursuit!

The tanks covered the Lake infantry as they hunted down the fleeing enemy Soldiers; these were military merits, the kind picked up for free.

Of course, the Armored Regiment Commander was not blinded by the joy of gaining military merits. He contacted the rear and dispersed drones around to scout whether there were any Kingdom legions lying in ambush in the forests on both sides.

Upon receiving notification that there were no ambushes and that the Kingdom's main forces had all retreated to the city, the commander immediately urged the tank commanders to floor the gas. Shell after shell was fired into the dense crowds of enemy Soldiers until the gunners shouted "out of ammo," only then stopping the tanks to rest and wait for the logistics team to transport ammunition and gasoline.

The frontline battle report was quickly delivered to Domit's desk.

Domit was somewhat confused as to why the Kingdom gave up on a direct confrontation and only left a fodder legion to perform a meaningless suicidal act. Later, when he saw that the Kingdom had deployed an elite legion in the mountain forests in front of the border city, he suddenly understood.

"Intending to engage in guerrilla tactics with us in the mountains?" Domit understood that the Kingdom must have observed Lake's tactics on the coalition battlefield and couldn't help but laugh. "Then let me see how much of the essence you've learned. Adjutant."

"Present!"

"Here!"

"Notify each legion to concentrate their Sniper Squads to go... heh, to test our students and see if they've studied hard enough."

"Yes, sir!"

The adjutant received the order and walked out of the office. Domit pinched his chin and thought for a moment: "The sniper rifles of the Sniper Squads are not magic-conducting weapons; they cannot break through the Magic Shields and physical bodies of High-tier Professionals... Damu."

"Present." Suddenly, another person's voice responded in Domit's room.

"Send three squads to snipe and kill the High-tier Professionals of the Kingdom."

"Understood."

"Hmm... do I need to go?"

"No, you must stay in the rear to guard against a surprise attack on the Command Post by the Kingdom's Saint-level."

"I'll go arrange it."

The room returned to silence. The door opened and closed automatically. Domit ignored the "ghostly" phenomenon and turned his attention back to the battle report.