Translated by Tianic, edited by Grammarly
Major edits (chapters with more than 10 suggestions) of previous chapters in vol.7 & 8 have been completed. Appreciation to Tana N, LordBunnyBone, Loose Less
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While the AUFs were cheering for their ultra high morale, PUFs were having super large relationship recognition party.
"Which tribe are you from? Toukichi? Over there."
"And you? Dercedes? Find yourself to a big man by that wall!"
"Oi, Malphite! Get these orc brothers to your team!"
Each officer kept them busy a.s.signing the slaves that just surrendered. Thanks to Cohen, due to his style to do weird things at any given time, his men were capable of coping with any emergency cases.
Thousands of slaves were graded and cla.s.sified to all military levels. To take the current strategy into consideration, the slaves were deployed onto the frontline of the fight. Each slave soldier was going with at least one PUF veteran soldier of the same tribe or race.
The slaves certainly had b.u.t.terflies in their stomachs. They had no idea what they"ll be dealing with. Were they going to the dungeon jail or be beheaded right away? They did not expect the ones that came for them were their own races. And these guys came with huge smiles.
PUF soldiers ignored the slaves" dull faces, they welcomed them with a thoughtful expression and greeted them by holding their hands.
"Bro, what"s your name? Where"s your home? Oh, really, that"s not far from me home…" (soldiers" broken English slang)
"Yo, brother, buckle up! You made a good call going here! We"ll take good care of you! Though things look bad now, but only for the time being! Our commander is a bad a.s.s. As long as you listen to Commander Cohen, no one will slave you no more…"
"You see him? The man with a flower on his collar, that"s my boss. He"s a second lieutenant, I report to him. See this mark on my shoulder? This means I"m an acting sergeant. So I"m your boss, you’ll report to me…"
"Stop crying! Orcs shed blood, we never tear! I"m Malphite, Commander Cohen"s soldier! He wants you to stay with me, that"s where you shall be. Do as I tell, I will have your back!"
Protoss soldiers made the best use of their time to communicate with the slaves. Over time, the fact that the troopers stayed with Cohen hasn"t given them a nimble tongue, but they did know how to meddle with others. Shh, they learned that s.h.i.t from their Commander Cohen.
"What is a supervisor? We don"t have that s.h.i.t. We do have tons of brothers here! If you get hurt, brothers behind you will pull you back!"
"We have a law department and a judge group. Once you break a rule, they"ll have a "nice", "heart-to-heart" talk with you in a secret place. Ask our captain, last time he came back from there, a.s.s swallowed."
"And yes, the order will come directly from the commanders. I know you"re not familiar with the ritual, just follow me. We"re all bros, I"ll take care of you, you"re welcome…"
"Don"t freak out. Later, once the battle starts, I"ll shield you with my armor, you thrust the d.a.m.n spear! No, from this side. Look closely, if I do this, you do that. If I do that, you do this…"
For the newcomers who were still suffering from the initial shock, although their fate was still on the battlefield, their job was still to fight tooth and nail, such familiar scene, voice and feeling were all too cozy that made their minds a bit more peaceful.
In the new place, the surroundings were not super good; they were already much better than that of the AUF. Everyone was treated equally. The officers stayed where the soldiers were. If a slave can"t help crying, he"ll only be comforted by an officer who also welled his eyes.
It was essentially what differed the two armies.
"Attention!" Moments later, officers started shouting orders, "Incoming enemies, prepare for battle!"
All soldiers gripped their weapons, eyes dug in the front. At the frontmost of the city, the veterans were whispering the most crucial battle tricks to the little brothers around them.
The AUF 27th Legion was closing in in neat formation.
The AUF command post was seeing flows of orderlies going in and out bringing the most detailed intel to their commander.
"Sir, the first batch from the 27th is in position!"
"Sir, the 27th has initiated its first strike. They’ve deployed 2 regiments!"
"Sir, the following 3 striking batches of the 27th have completed preparation!"
Lieutenant General went to the edge of the wall and looked up. His troops were almost touching the enemies like a ma.s.sive dark cloud.
"Inform the 27th, mind the distance and time gap between each batch."
Right after the Lieutenant General said the order, PUF initiated a continuous wave of arrow rains.
Due to the close distance and AUF’s tight formation, such a way of attack was lethal. A considerable number of AUF soldiers were shot down on the spot. The ones who weren"t were challenged immediately by PUF"s various traps. AUF"s first wave of attack of 2 regiments of 5, 000 soldiers was left with only a few rushing into the clay city.
However, AUF troopers were known for the fierce and tough disposition, let alone these men came from the 27th Legion. They were the infantries who went onto the battlefield on their horses! They were glorious champions because actual power earned their expensive supply instead of mediocre performance. They will fight until the last man standing fell.
Hundreds of champions who survived the first wave of the arrows roared "Cecilia" while howling into the PUF ground.
"Kill!" The frontmost PUF soldiers also roared and came to confront the AUF champions. Though the champions were not ordinary soldiers, PUF soldiers were not wusses. Their commander, Cohen Kheda, has become the most imposing soldier in the entire Protoss United Forces!
For the men under Cohen"s command, they"ve been leading AUF armies by the nose during the Camp strangle. During months of operation, AUF"s mystique has long f.u.c.king gone. Since the Asmodian soldiers were also made of flesh and bones, they will also die given a clean slash. The ones that just came running inward were just enough for the Protoss soldiers to stretch their tense muscles and set examples for the newly arrived brothers.
AUF troopers knew they would die, so they did not hold back at contact. They did even bother to dodge the incoming blades. Instead, they just send over their blades to the enemies" chests.
Protoss forces welcomed their enemies with pikemen. These soldiers had fine armors and excellent reflexes. Before they were deployed, their commander clearly stated that for the confrontation this time, they"ll be competing which party was more imposing. They must hold nothing back, use as many dirty moves as they can. Wipe out all opponents even it meant to get themselves injured.
The two armies impacted, pikes to blades. The impaction area immediately sunk into an uproar. Blood splashed in the middle of sounds of metals clashing on each other. After PUF troops paid nearly a hundred casualties, they"ve completely vanquished all enemies in their area.
As AUF soldiers" body parts were tangling on the pike head, the Protoss soldiers who were wounded and rescued were still yelling like madmen, "Your old man! I killed 2 more! 2 more! Wrap me up, and I"m coming back! You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, hold your positions!"
"They"ve done an excellent job!" PUF acting sergeants and officers took the chance to lecture their soldiers, "Calm and steady! Kill a few Asmodian soldiers; you can call yourselves old man too!"
On the Asmodian side of the battle, their commander, the Lieutenant General"s was humping his brain to think of the next move the moment he saw his 5, 000 men were annihilated on the battlefield. A whole team of orderlies was waiting to pa.s.s on the newest order.
"Tell the 27th"s second and third striking batches to spread out and continue marching!"
"Roger!"
"Follow-up troops, destroy all spotted enemy traps at all cost!"
"Roger!"
"Give me 50% heavy-loaded mobile infantries of the 27th to join the forth striking batch!"
"Roger!"
"I want 2 more armies from the 28th! Special forces, standing by!"
"Roger!"
As he said the orders, they were pa.s.sed out at the fastest speed possible.
The four regiments of the 2nd striking batch were already halfway to their target, however, as a few horn blows and yellings, these soldiers abandoned their initial formation then spread out all of a sudden! Right after them were a good amount of soldiers with either long or short wooden trunks. Their job was to sabotage PUF"s lethal traps.
"Sir, the enemies have spread!" On the other side of the city, Carlos nearly shattered Cohen"s ears.
"Send my order, all archers ceasefire after 2 more arrow sprees!" Cohen planted his black steel machete, his calm disposition never resembled less of a teenager at his 20s, "Enhanced bows, stand by to fire! Frontline soldiers prepare to fight!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Elf marksman, float. Snipe enemy ringleaders at will!"
"Roger!"
Due to AUF"s loose formation, PUF"s arrows resulted badly this time. As the front AUF soldiers who were shot just fell, hundreds more stepped on and marched closer. The head of the strike was already in PUF"s bastion.
The close combat initiated.
PUF"s ground was like a b.l.o.o.d.y maze as hundreds of clay walls divided the entire area into separated sections. The 2-man tall walls interlocked with each other to form as many small rings inside as many larger rings outside. AUF can"t expect them to kill a single living soul in such a labyrinth, a mere clean exit after going in was a problem for them now
A ma.s.sive number of AUF troopers marched in without fear. Commanded by officers, they stepped into their graves from the entrances left on the walls.
Days of chasing and dozen days of siege, they"ve been fighting with methods they did not like and not familiar with. All of them wished to have a face-to-face and fair combat with the enemies. However, the Protoss United Forces did not give them the chance.
Cohen Kheda had abundant military knowledge. His troops have been through vigorous street fight training. His soldiers were dirty fighters who were good at fishing in troubled water by nature. Demanding a face battle with such an army was a total daydream.
As the enemy wave was closing in, PUF rats all hid between the walls. They either stood by chances to turn on a trap or aim down the wall with arrows. Even, there were countless spears thrust out from the holes in the clay walls. The whole set of "service" has kept AUF troops so busy that they just cannot attend every aspect. One moment they dodged a trap, the next moment, they were killed by flying axes. The various incoming attacks have given AUF soldiers no chance to see how they died. They just lost their lives for nothing.
On the wall, Cohen"s vision bounced between battlefield sections rapidly. His orders were pa.s.sed on by a fluent operating system which perfectly related the whole seemingly scattered bastion into one. They defended, they supported, they fought back. Each troop on the ground cooperated like they were there to form a complete functional body.
By abandoning the front wall, Cohen has successfully dragged his enemies into this never before existed positional battle in this world. It was a way to exert his troops" advantage. Brave and mighty as the AUF was, they"ve never fought in such a way of battle. They will panic. Their panic will cause a chaotic situation, which will give Cohen the edge to build more advantage through timely commanding. Now, after wiping the enemies in one section, the soldiers were perfectly capable of being directed to another section quickly to join more fights.
By exploiting strategy, Cohen gained his advantage to reduce the legion-level war into regiment-level or even platoon-level fights. Due to his previous life"s military experience was all about tactics, strategy was something he learned only on books instead of from real experience.
Now, Cohen Kheda was as if he"s standing in front of a giant LED map in his old life to conduct a regular attack-and-defense battle. His force and the enemy"s force, as well as the battlefield condition, were unfolding in front of his eyes. As Cohen gave his orders, his alert and resourceful reaction, flexible strategy have earned the staff officers" thumbs.
However, unlucky for the Asmodian forces, they had no idea what was 3D crossfire attack or negative slope bastion, neither did they know what utilization of depth of defense exchanging time difference was. They were indeed brave without fear. However, they could not find a single target after charging into the city. The result, teams of soldiers were surrounded without any s.p.a.ce to move. A whole battalion was cut into several chunks. An entire regiment that charged in only ended up being divided and absorbed.
In Cohen"s operation plan, PUF"s basic battle idea was to allow the enemies to enter the city. The bastion was 3 miles in depth; Cohen would even allow them to charge for 2 and a half miles. And they will be wiped out on their way among the clay, maze-like walls. Without an object of reference, most of the enemy troops will lose their direction and be divided and killed.
If Cohen had enough arrows, he could even strike the enemies more efficiently. However, he couldn"t. Resting the archers was the only option because he intended to save the arrows for the VIPs to escape.
As the PUF stopped their arrows, Lieutenant General in AUF command post immediately discovered the problem.
"The enemies are out of arrows! 3rd striking batch spread out and catch up on the 2nd! Capture the enemy frontier!"
"Roger!"
"Bring the 27th and 28th commanders…"
"Roger!"
"… and scouts that came with the first striking batch, immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
Among the first three striking batches from the 27th Legion, the 3rd batch had the most forces. Thus the spread soldiers almost instantly scattered the entire battle line and pressed like locust clouds to the PUF b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. They were just in time to catch the 2nd striking batch, filling the gap between them.
As the soldiers bathed themselves in blood and the killing sounds flooded the clay city, Cohen was trying every way to defend his frontier; the other commander was making the best effort to break it.
By the time 2 majors of the 27th and the 28th Legion have arrived the AUF command post, a few scouts returned from the frontier were debriefing to the Lieutenant General.
"… we couldn"t spot the enemies! They"ve all hidden up. The enemy has constructed a great many clay walls in their fields, we can"t see nothing!" A blood-stained face knelt and said cynically, "The walls are sandwiched, between walls there were blockhouses. Most of our troopers died from arrows and flying axed…"
"What about you?" Lieutenant General questioned the other scout.
"Likewise, countless traps. They also have well-concealed caves to hide their men. When we marched cross them, they attacked us from behind. The clay walls are higher than a man so our soldiers could only go around like headless flies. Some forces were trapped in blind alleys; some never made it back once they go in! There"s no chance we can master the enemy"s whereabouts…"
"You"re dismissed!"
"You all have heard that. Our opponents are cunning. Their strategies are strangers to us! The Phantom Legion, worthy of their name, is a strong rivalry!" Lieutenant General nodded to the 2 legion commanders who just entered, "We cannot underestimate the Phantom Legion. Their equal strength is far more than 50, 000. They"ve been dominating this battle!"
"Lieutenant General, we need your orders!"
"Yes, general, tell us what you want us to do!"
The reality forced these 2 majors to just face the fact that they"ve underestimated the Phantom Legion since the start of this war.
"Our opponents took advantage of our eagerness to win. Then they made such an unusual battleground. We have to change the tactics." Lieutenant General hinted the 2 majors to approach the wall. He looked at the frontier and said, "Now, deploy 2 more regiments from the 27th. Strike them with heavy-loaded mobile infantries! Put extra attention to capture the enemy frontier. You don"t need to push the line forward. Hold your position once you capture it! 28th, deploy 2 more regiments likewise, bring special forces as well. I need you to attack them with the former! Before the attack, utilize the special force to ascertain the approximate field geography. Split your units. Make the advancement steadily and slowly. Pay attention the cross support between each squadron!"
"Roger!" The two replied neatly.
"Our tactic is to nibble them little by little. Pay close attention in case they strike back. Whenever you occupy an area, fill it with your troopers!" Lieutenant General told the 2 majors, "They"re tough, so our front soldiers will suffer grim casualties, make timely adjustments! You two will take turns to command!"
"Roger!"
As the PUF soldiers were fighting a fierce battle with the enemy"s 3rd batch, Cohen discovered the 4th batch that came was somewhat different from the previous hostilities. Their colorful outfits were stunningly eye-catching.
"Carlos!"
"Sir!"
"Send out my 1st reserve! Exterminate the remaining cons asap!"
"Roger!"
"Deploy the hunting squadron! Kill the enemy special forces!"
In a blank area behind PUF"s battleground, a reserve troop of 5, 000 has already lost their patience. At the order came, these agitated soldiers, like a swirl of a tornado, roared and popped to their pre-designated area through a tunnel.
Thanks to the immediate support from the reserve troop, the ups and downs on the slaughtering ground had more twist and turns. As the ups died gradually, Cohen knew that the remaining enemies have been neutralized completely.
As the 1st reserve was killing the enemy remnants, they"ve steadily approached the frontmost of the battleground. In the same time, the enemy had 2 more mixed forces arriving as well.
AUF"s special forces have finally been deployed. These soldiers wore gorgeously colorful uniforms, so it was easy to tell them from plain soldiers. They also held peculiar weapons and advancing with the main force.
AUF"s new tactic was being resolutely executed. Heavy infantries built a dense formation with their bodies. Their extra-thick armors were blocking the coming arrows and axes. After they approached the target, they spread then a vast number of small but concentrated units quickened and launched. These units included various soldiers: champions, barbarians, plain infantry soldiers. Their weapons were all melee.
Though AUF took a downfall in the fights earlier, its commander made a timely adjustment to the tactics. PUF"s frontier was facing an even more severe ordeal.
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