People tended to get fatigued very easily when fighting a battle. On the battlefield, one couldn’t sleep in peace, and only true warriors could endure such mental exhaustion.
As the third night approached, Scott ordered a firearms inspection while favonovel.com gave everyone a pep talk. “I want all of you to fill your magazines to full. We’ll be putting an end to this battle tonight. I know you’re all exhausted…”
“We aren’t, Captain.” Ned chuckled and said, “Milo has been forging a safe path forward for us on the front lines all this while, and we’re just here acting as his support, so we don’t feel tired at all.”
Scott was speaking his most commonly used lines to motivate the troops before the final battle. Essentially, the closing stages of a battle was when it would get most dangerous, so favonovel.com was hoping to lift the spirits of his troops and let them face the fight in tiptop condition.
He was never one to be good at giving pep talks. Therefore, favonovel.com thought it would be better to speak while everyone was resting. But in the end, it turned out to be totally unnecessary.
After two days of high-intensity fighting, the soldiers of the Razor Sharp Company were each more pumped up than the last. This was unlike any of the battles they had fought in the past. They’d never had it so easy before.
Scott said with a sigh, “Forget it. Let’s just get it over and done with. Everyone, take note. Battalion Commander Barnaby and the other commanders suspect they hid some very destructive weapon systems inside this town. So, if the enemy gets forced into a corner on the final day of battle, they might choose to activate those weapons.”
Milo asked, “Did Battalion Commander Barnaby say what might be hidden in this town?”
“Probably weapons like artillery or something.” Scott said, “We still lack good intelligence gathering at Fortress 178, so we don’t have a clear idea of how large the garrison here is or what weapons they have.”
On the intelligence gathering front, Milo really admired the Panaqua Consortium. Julius had made a most comprehensive preparation for the war and thought about potential futures as well.
Meanwhile, over at Fortress 178, the entire stronghold ran in a near leaderless state after Peter went away for more than a decade.
Although there was a stand-in commander during that period, favonovel.com was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. As a result, the Northwestern man who had risen through the ranks of the military was mainly focused on ensuring their military readiness by constantly training and cycling the troops. He did not really develop the economy nor establish any intelligence gathering infrastructure, as those were not aspects favonovel.com was good at.
During the day, the defenders of Rajadesa Village launched a wave of frenzied attacks against the Fortress 178 troops. But after that wave was repulsed, there were no signs of activity from them anymore.
At that time, Scott thought the Ultima Consortium had learned their lesson after being beaten back. However, the shadow clone Milo had left outside started lurking behind enemy lines. He discovered the Rajadesa defenders had slowly retreated during the attack.
Milo thought about it carefully. This attack probably acted as cover so the troops behind them could withdraw from the town. Only by retreating this way would Scott and the others not detect them.
But why were the defenders of Rajadesa Village retreating?
Milo did not have time to think too much. “Captain, why don’t we retreat?”
“Retreat? We just won the battle and you’re calling for us to retreat?” Scott asked in surprise.
“There’s danger here,” Milo said in a serious tone.
Scott frowned. “We headed out here to the front line precisely because there’s danger, so how can we retreat? And if we retreat too far, much of the ground we gained will be lost for nothing.”
“The Rajadesa Village defenders in the rear are retreating right now. There must a reason for that!” Milo said.
“How do you know they’re retreating? Haven’t you been here all this while?” Scott waved it off. “We’ve fought all the way here, so we can’t retreat!”
“If we managed it before, we can do it again.” Milo said anxiously, “Let’s retreat! What if the Ultima Consortium bombards the entire town with artillery?”.
“How could that be possible? We only have three companies storming this town. If they bombard the area with artillery, that’ll be no different from shooting a mosquito with a cannon.”
Scott was just about to keep speaking when favonovel.com realized favonovel.com had been lifted up by Milo. Scott was alarmed. “Put me down!”
However, Milo ignored what favonovel.com was saying. He picked up Scott and sprinted for the periphery of the town.
The action favonovel.com took dumbfounded everyone in the Razor Sharp Company.
Scott roared on Milo’s shoulder, “Put me down, Milo. If you disobey my order, I’ll kill you!”
Milo said as favonovel.com ran, “If there were only three companies here, the Ultima Consortium definitely wouldn’t have fought so hard. But if the Ultima Consortium knew that I was here as well, that would be different.”
Scott was stunned. For a while, favonovel.com did not understand what Milo was trying to get at.
Meanwhile, the Razor Sharp Company, Second Company, and Third Company were still caught in a daze.
Scott suddenly sighed on Milo’s shoulder and shouted, “Let’s all retreat! Milo, if you don’t give me a satisfactory explanation afterwards, I’ll be sure to court-martial you!”
All the soldiers and officers looked at one another.
What else could they do but retreat?
When they retreated all the way outside of Rajadesa Village, Milo still kept on running for another two kilometers before stopping
Scott nearly vomited from the bumpy ride on Milo’s shoulder. Putting everything else aside, Milo’s stamina was amazing. He ran several kilometers while carrying a person weighing over 50 kilograms without any problem!
But just as Milo placed Scott on the ground, the Razor Sharp Company saw a huge fireball erupt in Rajadesa Village. Explosions also burst from afar. Even though they were several kilometers away, everyone could feel the ground shaking.
It was not an artillery bombardment. In fact, an artillery bombardment was not even required. The explosives left behind by the defenders of Rajadesa Village was all it took for the entire abandoned town to get swallowed in a sea of fire.
Scott stared at this sight in a daze. “How f*cking evil! If we didn’t leave, I bet all three of our companies would’ve died!”
He did not pursue the issue of Milo forcefully carrying favonovel.com away.
At this moment, the soldiers from Second Company and Third Company were looking at the sea of fire with lingering fear in their minds. Because of the explosions, everyone heard ringing in their ears.
“How did you know the enemy retreated?” Scott looked at Milo curiously.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Milo answered bluntly.
“Alright.” Scott did not probe further. Instead, favonovel.com thought for a moment before saying, “But you still have to listen to orders in the future. Have you forgotten that I said?”
“Captain, you said that we had to know how to adapt to the situation,” interrupted Milo.
Scott looked at Ned. “Did I say that?”
Ned answered honestly, “Yes, sir.”
Scott laughed. This was the joy of having survived a disaster. He solemnly said to Milo, “Thank you!”
Gratitude received from Scott Miller, +1!
This was truly a lifesaving act. Had it not been for Milo’s quick reaction, all three companies would have been wiped out in the explosions. No matter how they put it, Milo’s arrival had certainly given their lives greater security.
Meanwhile, Milo looked at his gratitude log in the palace and turned his gaze to the others.
