When the six divisions of the Pyro Company advanced towards the northern forest, the massive formation of infantry troops moving behind the cover of the E-33 armored vehicles and E-34 tanks looked extremely magnificent.
The Pyro Company was taking a layered approach as they advanced forward in the wilderness. The tens of thousands of troops who were densely packed together on the ground awed those watching from the top of the Great Wall. This was the power of the Central Plains people.
Due to the missile barrage, a wildfire had started burning in the forest. But at this moment, the first spring rain started falling from the sky. Before the wildfire could burn uncontrollably, it was extinguished.
The 3rd Division did not launch an all-out attack yet like the other divisions. Instead, they only dispatched a recon company and an infantry brigade exactly like they had done yesterday.
Curious, Ren Xiaosu asked P5092 about this arrangement. P5092’s answer was that the main force of the 3rd Division had always been the artillery, and the artillery were best at fighting positional battles. In a battle where they were required to advance quickly, the artillery would only become a burden.
So instead of bringing a burden with them, it would be better to leave the artillery on the Great Wall and let them play their optimal role.
P5092 was still a little uneasy about this battle. If any problem cropped up in the north, they would still have the artillery as their trump card on the Great Wall to provide cover for the rest of the troops to retreat.
When they were about to enter the forest, P5092 suddenly ordered Ren Xiaosu’s armored vehicle to stop. He came over to the side of the vehicle and said to Ren Xiaosu, “I need you to maintain full communications at all times.”
Ren Xiaosu wondered, “Why?”
“Because I need to use your understanding of the barbarians and the wilderness to fight this battle.” P5092 explained, “During the battle at Mt. Dashi and yesterday’s battle, I realized your anticipation of where the barbarians would appear has fully exceeded my expectations. So I need your help in this battle.”
Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and said, “But you’re the commander.”
P5092 shook his head. “What the commander needs to do is not to indulge in arbitrary decisions but to use whatever useful resources, intelligence, and manpower to win the war.”
Being the commander did not mean one was omnipotent. A commander was inferior to the recon troops when it came to gathering intelligence, and he was inferior to the T5 combatants when it came to open battle. However, the reason why P5092 was able to become one of the top commanders in the Pyro Company was because he was good at leveraging others’ strength.
In Mt. Dashi, it was the same when he felt he could not resolve the problem of the barbarians’ sneak attack on the military base. As such, he applied for a special forces unit from outside the 3rd Division to take on that mission.
Ren Xiaosu felt that this humility was actually very good. War was very pragmatic. Even if you insisted you could handle everything, the outcome would not just play along with what you expected.
P5092 then said, “Furthermore, we need two snipers to provide suppressing fire on the front. So after seriously contemplating things just now, I felt that the recon company would only become a burden to you two if you had to lead them. In that case, why don’t we have the two of you act alone instead?”
The recon company’s commander, T40219, was also seated in the armored vehicle. When he heard his commander say the recon company was a burden, he was a little speechless. Although he knew this was the truth, the commander could have been a little more subtle.
The recon company was definitely not a burden to the Pyro Company, but the soldiers knew that if Ren Xiaosu were to be attached to them, he would indeed be a little restrained.
Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin jumped out of the armored vehicle, and he said, “Alright then, the two of us will act alone. I also think it’s better that way.”
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Only by doing so could he and Yang Xiaojin roam freely in the forest without becoming obvious targets on the battlefield.
P5092 watched Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin depart. When they left, Ren Xiaosu even took a copy of the command center’s map with him. It was labeled with grid coordinates that marked various zones so it would be easier for Ren Xiaosu to provide information and coordinate with them.
The battle had started, and the forest was rumbling. The usually quiet forest was now especially active as startled birds in the treetops flew off into the distance.
There were many soldiers across the Pyro Company’s six divisions. The elder from the Pyro Company had originally ordered P5092 to command this battle, but in fact, the Pyro Company did not officially appoint an acting commander for the battle. So P5092’s authority as commander was only limited to the planning of the battle. Once it started, the other P5 division commanders would no longer have to follow his lead.
In this battle, a few of the division commanders intended to vie for the position of commander-in-chief of the military corps. This was also the reason why everyone had targeted P5092. It was because they did not want him to keep getting all the credit with his contributions.
But now they discovered that P5092 had only brought along an infantry brigade with him. How then was he supposed to vie for credit with them? As such, the division commanders breathed a momentary sigh of relief.
Although there were a lot of troops in an infantry brigade, the numbers seemed a little insignificant in the face of this battle.
In the eyes of the other division commanders, the other divisions were going all out in this battle. If the 3rd Division was only sending an infantry brigade, the contributions P5092 could achieve would surely be incomparable to theirs. Therefore, the division commanders even felt that P5092 was showing weakness and concluded that he did not intend to fight for the position of commander-in-chief of the military corps.
The divisions of the Pyro Company would receive a situation report every hour. This was so the various troops would know about the battlefield situation in a timely fashion and have a general understanding of what was happening.
In the first hour after their departure, the other division commanders discovered the 3rd Division’s infantry brigade was moving at a slower pace than the other troops.
The other troops were all advancing quickly in hopes of gaining valor, but 3rd Division was not in a hurry at all.
During the second hour of the battle, the other troops started making direct contact with the expeditionary army. In the situation report, the number of enemies killed and casualties suffered was starting to be reported.
However, some of the other P5 division commanders suddenly realized that on the 3rd Division’s side, the number of enemies killed or the number of casualties suffered still remained at zero.
It was as though 3rd Division were only here to observe the battle. “You guys fight. We’ll just watch.”
The other division commanders thought to themselves, ‘Could P5092 really have no intention of vying for the position of commander-in-chief of the military corps? Is he voluntarily stepping back after being targeted by the other commanders during the meeting?‘
Actually, it did not matter to them how many enemies the 3rd Division killed. What everyone cared about was P5092’s attitude.
But this was also good. If P5092 did not compete with them, they would have one less person to worry about.
At this moment, P5092 was sitting in the command vehicle with his eyes closed. After the infantry brigade entered the forest, they actually slowed their pace further. His adjutant next to him was getting anxious. After all, if P5092 were to become the commander-in-chief of the military corps, he might even be able to get officially promoted to commander of the 3rd Division.
But P5092 was in no hurry. He knew it would not help to be anxious.
“Sir, the other troops have already started fighting,” his adjutant reminded him. “We already have fewer troops on the battlefield than the others….”
“I’m waiting,” P5092 said without even opening his eyes.
“What are you waiting for?” his adjutant asked.
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu’s calm voice rang out over the radio, “Advance towards alpha-one-seven, then turn towards alpha-two-one and set up an ambush.”
…